Tag: Evil Army

Categories
Music Music Blog

MDC Tonight at Murphy’s

Originally emerging out of the the Austin, TX nascent punk/hardcore scene in 1979 as The Stains, the band that would become MDC completed that city’s trio of major players (The Dicks and The Big Boys being the other two) in the early years of our nation’s hardcore movement. Their first and only release as The Stains was 1979’s “John Wayne Was A Nazi” / “Born To Die” 7”, an introduction to the sort of confrontational M.O. that would coalesce once the band relocated to San Francisco and began operating under the infamous MDC moniker.

MDC’s full-length debut, titled Millions of Dead Cops after the first meaning behind their initialized band name, appeared in 1982 in two versions: A self-released original and a remixed (by Geza X no less) reissue by both the band’s R Radical imprint and the Dead Kennedys’ Alternative Tentacles label.

MDC Tonight at Murphy’s

Widely considered a classic document of early, hyper-politicized American hardcore, the set of now-classic HC blueprint songs provide the best summation of Dave Dictor and MDC’s “political humanist hardcore.” Besides a couple of songs that, unsurprisingly, reprise the album title’s (and for the moment at least, their moniker’s) whack-upside-the-head unsubtlety regarding where the band stood on law enforcement, other targets in their cross-hairs are highlighted by “Corporate Deathburger” (McDonalds), “America is So Straight” (homophobia- Dictor, like The Dicks’ Gary Floyd and Big Boys’ Randy “Biscuit” Turner, was one of the movement’s only openly-gay front-men), “Violent Rednecks” (self-explanatory), “I Hate Work” (ditto), “Church and State” (uh…ditto-ditto) and many other pointed interpretations of mainstream American culture at that moment in history.
         
After some negative blowback from within the punk/hardcore community about the original meaning of the band’s name, MDC was then “Multi-Death Corporation”, “Male Dominated Culture” and the mouthful “Misguided Devout Christians” (plus others) at different points on their long timeline. A slew of stylistically-disparate (though no-less politically/socially/culturally-charged) albums were released over the next decade-and-a-half, such as 1986’s Smoke Signals, 1987’s This Blood’s For You, ‘89’s Metal Devil Cokes, Hey Cop! If I Had A Face Like Yours… in 1991 and Shades of Brown in 1993 (with a tour of Russia that made MDC the first ever American punk band to do so).

After a hiatus during the second half of the ’90s, Dictor reactivated a lineup in 2000 and MDC released Magnus Dominus Corpus album in 2004. The band, in various incarnations led by Dictor, has released an impressive number of split LPs and EPs with other bands, plus several live albums over the last decade. This year marks MDC’s 35th anniversary and something tells me Dave Dictor has some commentary about the near chaotic state of current affairs facing not only our country at this juncture in history but the entire world. 
       
The undoubtedly packed evening at Murphy’s (doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the Facebook event page makes note of a very achievable “90 person capacity”) will kick off at 8:30 p.m. with Negro Terror (a hardcore spinoff of local roots/dub reggae aficionados Chinese Connection Dub Embassy), more Memphis no-B.S. hardcore from Hauteur, our venerable institution of genuine thrash metal Evil Army, and Wartorn. Door price is an un-arguably fair ten dollars. 

MDC Tonight at Murphy’s (2)

Categories
Music Music Blog

Evil Army Rules, OK?

Don Perry

When it comes to Memphis metal, Evil Army have held the crown for quite some time. The band has been around since the early 2000’s, and their following is one of the strongest in all of Memphis, uniting different factions of the local punk scene in addition to skate rats, metal heads, and the Black Lodge Video sect. They’ve released records on Contaminated (Alicja Trout’s old label), Get Revenge Records, Housecore Records, and most recently, Hells Headbangers.

My favorite era of Evil Army was when they practiced below singer and band leader Rob Evil’s house in a spot they dubbed The Armory, a one car garage that also served as a show space for around a year or so. Those that attended shows at The Armory weren’t there to look cool or to find a one night stand, they were in attendance for one reason: the music (well, that and to get loaded).

In Addition to Evil Army being the “house band,”  Armory gigs included locals like Bury The Living, Vile Nation, Porn and Grenades, and Jet Jaguar and the KR-3 Killing Spree, as well as touring acts like Uncurbed, Bitter End, Forward to Death, Life Crisis, Chronic Seizure, and Municipal Waste. Yeah, Municipal Waste played a one car garage on Cleveland Avenue. That’s something that won’t ever happen again. 

Evil Army capture the best elements of bands like GBH, Slayer, Metallica, and the Misfits and crank out some of the most authentic thrash metal since the genre was created in the early ’80s. Their records are still pretty easy to come across, and Rob Evil’s two-song side project with Jay Reatard- the black metal band Winter Coffin- had a single released on Blak Skull Records last year. Get acquainted with Evil Army in the videos below, and read my interview with Rob Evil here.  

Evil Army Rules, OK?

Evil Army Rules, OK? (2)

Evil Army Rules, OK? (3)

Evil Army Rules, OK? (4)

Evil Army Rules, OK? (5)

____ Rules, Ok? is a weekly installment on the Memphis Flyer Music Blog where music editor Chris Shaw focuses in on Memphis music past and present.

Categories
Music Music Features

Evil Endurance

CREDIT: Don Perry

Few bands have helped shape the landscape of Memphis metal over the past years like Evil Army. As the landlord of the Armory, Rob Wilkerson opened up the one-car garage in his house to bands that likely weren’t welcome anywhere else. Evil Army were on nearly every bill. And while the Armory closed long ago, its rough-around-the-edges spirit lives on in Evil Army. After dropping their incredible self-titled record in 2006 through Get Revenge Records, Evil Army gained a national following, one that grew even greater when Hells Headbangers rereleased the album to a much larger audience.

That’s when things got weird. After a few run-ins with the law and a questionable record deal offered by Housecore Records (Phil Anselmo’s vanity label), Evil Army sort of disappeared. The band never broke up, but they certainly took a hiatus, occasionally selling homemade CD-Rs and singles in between sporadic live performances. I caught up with Wilkerson to learn more about the history between the band and Housecore Records, and to shed some light on the release show for the band’s first non-single release in nine years, the aptly titled Violence and War EP.

The Memphis Flyer: Other than a couple limited singles, there hasn’t been an Evil Army 12-inch release since 2006. Why has it taken so long for you to put out another?

Rob Wilkerson: I’m not legally allowed to release another full-length unless Phil Anselmo releases it, because of the contract I signed. That’s the only reason we haven’t released another album. We have plenty of new songs to record, and we’ve been trying to get out of that contract for years. The first label that put out our record was called Get Revenge, and that guy helped us get a few shows on the West Coast, but when it came time to re-press it, he said he would rather give it to Hells Headbangers instead of re-pressing it himself.

So that’s how you linked up with the label Hells Headbangers from Cleveland. How is it OK for you to work with them if you’re still under contract at Housecore?

Legally, I’m not supposed to do anything with another label, but I don’t think either label is worried about it, honestly. I’ve emailed Phil [Anselmo] plenty of times being like “let’s do the record, we are ready,” but I never hear back from him. Last time I heard from him, I was buying copies of our first album from him, and I told him that my brother was out of jail now and wanted to do the record, but he just ignored that part. Hells Headbangers is a great label, and if I can ever get out from under this contract with Phil, they will do a proper full-length.

How many full-lengths was Phil Anselmo supposed to get from Evil Army?

The contract was only for one record, but it still hasn’t been completed. I only signed that contract because I was in a position where I really needed the money. It was supposed to be a one-album deal, but when Hells Headbangers re-pressed the first record, Phil told me we had breached the contract. He’s been holding that over my head ever since, even though he told me originally that it was cool. I’m hoping to get out of the contract. I have lawyers looking at it right now. I mean, one of the guys who signed that contract is dead now.

We actually attempted to record the full-length for Housecore long ago. We went down to Folsom, Louisiana, to record, and a hurricane hit, and we had to cancel recording the album. Then about a month later, our bassist, Bones, died.

So the record could have been done, and all this could have been behind you if it wasn’t for a hurricane?

We were only down there for a couple days recording for Housecore when we had to stop. Hurricane Gustav wasn’t supposed to be that bad, but we ended up having to evacuate the city. We haven’t been back down there since then.

How many records have you done with Hells Headbangers at this point?

Well, they have re-pressed the first full-length like three or four times, and they did the “Under Attack” seven-inch and the “I, Commander” seven-inch. I think that’s all, but we also have those first two singles that Alicja Trout put out.

You’ve been recording a lot of the newer Evil Army stuff yourself, did you record Violence and War?

Yep, I’ve been recording everything myself for a while now. It might not sound as good as going to a professional studio, but I also know exactly what I want to get out of a recording. I’m definitely getting better, but I still have a lot to learn. I learned a lot from Jay [Reatard] when he was still alive, but I never really knew how tiring recording could be until I started doing it myself.

Now that the new record is out, how often are you trying to tour?

We were pretty much just waiting on the new record to come out before hitting the road again. We played Hells Headbash Part 2, and that was really cool. There were metal bands there from all over the world. That was in September, when Violence and War was supposed to come out, but our record got pushed back because every pressing plant in the world is backed up right now. I’m working on a Midwest and East Coast tour, and I have someone working on a West Coast tour. I didn’t want to book all these shows on just a seven-inch, but now with the new EP out, we are ready to hit the road.

Categories
Music Music Features

Evil on the March

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Rob Evil has given his marching orders: This week, the mohawked Midtowner and his metal group Evil Army, which includes drummer Michael Murder and bassist Dr. Death, are headed out for a two-week tour that will take the band to the West Coast and back to promote its eponymous full-length debut, which was released in June.

Listen to songs such as “Realm of Death” and “Satan Made Me Do It” (both available on the band’s MySpace site, www.MySpace.com/EvilArmy), and you’ll hear an astonishingly tight trio that purveys horror-movie themes into virtuoso guitar solos, rapid-fire drum fills, and head-banging bass riffs that mine equal parts of D.R.I.’s inspired speed-musicianship antics and Reign In Blood-era Slayer’s lyrical mayhem.

“We’ve done shows in New Orleans, Texas, and Mississippi before, just weekend shows here or there, but this is the first time we’ve really taken off for a few weeks,” says Evil, who has booked the tour himself via e-mails and MySpace.

“As soon as we come back to Memphis,” he adds, “we’re gonna get back out and hit the East Coast. We’re playing with all kinds of bands along the way. Once we get to California, we’ve got six dates booked with Life Crisis.”

The San Diego-based thrash band and Evil Army are labelmates on Knoxville’s Get Revenge Records. The label pressed 1,000 CDs and 500 vinyl copies of Evil Army’s debut, which was recorded at The Armory, the band’s Midtown headquarters, by Jay Lindsey last winter.

“I’ve known Jay since I was 10 years old,” says Evil, who explains that “since there really isn’t a metal scene here, we’re down to play with everybody, especially garage and rock bands.

“I grew up listening to Slayer and Metallica, and our sound is definitely that old-style mid-’80s thrash. I write 100 percent of [the music], but they’re down with it,” he says of his bandmates, who can be heard on a split single with Bury the Living that was released on the local Soul Is Cheap label, and on the Conquer Human Life EP, released in 2003 on Alicja Trout‘s Contaminated label. The group also recently shot their first music video with local filmmaker Brent Shrewsbury.

“Now,” says Evil, “we’re practicing our asses off before we go on the road. We’ve got our next album written, and we’ll start recording again once we get home.”

Justin Fox Burks

Pellow and Mitchell

Scottish pop singer Marti Pellow — the voice behind ’90s club band Wet Wet Wet — just wrapped up a recording session at Willie Mitchell‘s Royal Recording Studio. Pellow has been making the transatlantic flight a regular commute — with Wet Wet Wet, he cut a platinum-selling album, The Memphis Sessions, at Royal in 1987, when he was just 19 years old. Pellow returned to the studio 14 years later to record his first solo album, Smile, then again a year later to cut a cover album of his own material, Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile.

Last year, Pellow collaborated with Mitchell and Squeeze lyricist Chris Difford to write the tracks that would ultimately become Moonlight Over Memphis, set for an October release in the U.K.

He returned last week to put finishing touches on the album, noting that, “Getting to work with people like Steve Potts, Leroy Hodges, and [Mitchell], I’m like a kid in a candy store.”

“When Marti came over here the first time, with Wet Wet Wet, he was just a teenager,” recalls Mitchell. “I heard the piano, the bass player, and the drummer, and I thought, How in the world are we gonna be able to cut some soul music with this. Then I heard this man sing — he has a magic voice.

“The label told us The Memphis Sessions was no good,” Mitchell continues, “but it went on to [great success]. Marti’s not very well known in America, but that’s gonna change. I’m a firm believer that good music will rise to the top.”

Cutting blue-eyed soul music in Memphis has been a learning process, Pellow says: “If you want to make records that inspire you, you have to go to the source. There’s no point in doing a pastiche. In this case, I’m lucky enough to know the source. Sometimes I’ll come to work; sometimes I’ll come to hang. But every time I come to Memphis, I fill my belly with music.”