Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (aka D.R.U.G.S.) is a post-hardcore/rock outfit formed from members of several other bands. Frontman Craig Owens left his previous band Chiodos in early 2010 to begin this new project, with drummer Aaron Stern (Matchbook Romance), guitarists/vocalists Nick Martin (Underminded) and Matt Good (From First To Last), and bassist Adam Russell (Story Of The Year). They released their debut self-titled album in February of last year.
Catch these guys with other hardcore band Like Moths To Flame and pop/rock groups Hit The Lights and Sparks The Rescue on the Strength In Numbers Tour, coming to The Door Dallas this Saturday, February 4th.
I will also be giving away tickets to see Anthony Green and The Dear Hunter the night before on February 3rd at Trees in Dallas, courtesy of Third String Productions.
Lucky for you, we’ve got a win-win situation courtesy of our friends at Red Cloud Promotions and Third String Productions. You can win these tickets by tuning into That’s ProgressiveTONIGHT, January 31st with Tim Cason, from 10pm to midnight. All you gotta do is follow his instructions and those babies are yours.
Beginning in the 1950s and through the 60s, the English-speaking world had been overtaken by pop and rock music. The British Invasion brought its rock nâ roll culture stateside and monopolized the ears of our countryâs youth. At the same time, West Germany disregarded rock nâ roll as kidâs music. It was entertaining, but hardly some form of high art. The Germans had no rock nâ roll scene to call their own until 1968.
The same year when student riots broke out throughout Western Europe inspired by the Prague Spring and a disdain for authoritarian regimes. The hippies reached Germany and brought a new kind of drug-induced-free-form-rock music with them.
Some of the first groups to play in the style were Amon Duul I and Amon Duul II. They came from a multimedia artist commune known as Amon Duul and spent days playing free improvisational concerts that would eventually be released as a double LP. Around the same time a certain British musician and his wife would also leave a mark on the German music scene. The collaborations between John Lennon and Yoko Ono convinced the young Germans that rock music could be experimental, innovative and inspiring.
What separated these artists from their English-speaking counterparts that were also dabbling in psychedelia was that they didnât see the need to recreate the effects of drugs through their music. Rather they fused free form jazz and electronic minimalist avant-garde to form their own interpretation of psychedelic rock.
Through out the 1970s pioneering groups from the movement rose up and added different elements to the mix. Two former university students started making music as Can and added jazz to the sound. Kluster focused on electronic keyboard music and the incorporation of static drones. Popol Vuh used electronic synthesizers and Tangerine Dream and Faust manipulated tapes and synthesizers in a way that would foreshadow the noise rock of the future.
The music was popularized and distributed through a small independent record label started by Dutch journalist Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser named Ohr. At its time, the idea of a small record label catering to a niche audience was virtually unheard of. The initial success of Ohr even prompted some major labels to create sub-labels to exclusively release German music.
These groups rejected the melodic patterns created by the American and British rock artists popular at the time and attempted to create a distinctly German sensibility in their music. However, these artists embraced some groups they had initially rejected when they started to create more radical and innovative music, such as Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, The Beatles etc.
The term Krautrock was ascribed to these musicians by the British press. It comes from a humorous play on the ethnic slur for a German, âkraut.â The artists didnât think of themselves as a movement because many of the groups actually sound vastly different from one another. Krautrock largely served as a term to describe how the British underground following of these musicians interacted with their music. Many of these so-called krautrock artists initially rejected the term because they didnât want to be pigeonholed but would sometimes ironically embrace it.
Krautrock ultimately had a profound effect on modern music. It can be heard everywhere from pop to rock to electronic music. The most popular group to come out of the scene, Kraftwerk, arguably popularized electronic music in the Western world and introduced synthesizers to pop music. Many movements from the 1980s and beyond can claim some influence of krautrock. Minimalist rock bands such as Joy Division, electronically influenced pop such as the New Wave movement, the free-form chaos of No Wave and even art-rock like Sonic Youth and Stereolab can trace their roots back to a small group of artists in West Germany.
The biggest influence of krautrock today can be seen in the rise of independent record labels. Before Ohr, an elite few controlled most record labels. In the 1980s, however, thousands of independent record labels popped up specializing in different sounds and styles of music.
In my research, I found a great mixtape featuring most of Krautrockâs giants. Itâs really amazing to think that while the rest of the world was listening to three-cord rock, the Germans were creating something so innovative and original.
Backed by only a drum machine, They Might Be Giants started their 29 year career in 1982 and with a quirky, out-of-the-box style. Best known for their experimental approach to alternative music, the band has released fifteen albums (their 1990 effort, Flood, went platinum and their childrenâs music album, Here Comes the ABCs, went gold!), has won two Grammys, dabbled in both childrenâs and theme music, and has sold over 4 million records. On February the 2nd (thatâs next Thursday), theyâll be bringing the legend and the music over to the Granada Theater.
Originating in Brooklyn, New York, singer-songwriter Jonathon Coulton used the internet and his special love of geek culture, science fiction and technology to spread his special brand of folk rock. With less than mainstream ideas of conducting his music (one song, âWâs Duty,â even sampled then President George W. Bush), and a fondness for unconventional instruments (think accordion, ukulele, and mandolin), Coulton has shown what folk rock can really do in the hands of a true nerd. His 2011 effort, Artificial Heart, came about with the encouragement of They Might Be Giants band member John Flansburgh and was the first of Coulton’s albums to chart.
Thanks to our friends at the Granada Theater, weâve scored some tickets to help get you in on the fun!
Tag yourself in the picture below that we’ll post on our Facebook page. Make sure you read the rules again so you know whatâs going down!
Thatâs it! Weâll pick the winner randomly and contact them! The contest ends Tuesday, January 31st at 5PM so work fast! Tickets are still available, but they wonât be for long. Itâs best you try to score them from us; weâre nice people. Bring your friends!
Two worlds collide and The Kills are out to prove to you that rock ‘n roll doesn’t have to be from the days of The Clash or British Invasion. The Kills is duo Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince. Though both members were previously involved in separate projects (or more recently, Mosshart and Jack White teamed up to form The Dead Weathers), they met, came together and have played at festivals such as Lollapalooza with their first acclaimed three albums. But things don’t stop there one bit. Recently releasing Blood Pressures this past spring, they’re back and going at it again at Granada Theater on Monday, January 23rd.
Thanks to our good friends at Granada Theater, we’ve got some tickets for you to win!
The duo will be here with Jeff the Brotherhood and Hunters. Going to be a night of moshing or crowd-surfing or just straight-up badassery. Meanwhile, check these two out so you’ll know what you’ll be seein’.
