Witness A Wall Of Death In India

Witnessing a wall of death is equivalent to a right of passage for motorized events. In the US, seeing this stunt is usually only at biker rally's and there are only a few individuals who actually still perform on this vertical wall on a regular basis.

Understanding that this wall of death is based in India just seems to have a different level of crazy to it and therefore makes it that much more compelling to view. Life is all about taking risks and watching these guys do it on such a gnarly level without blinking an eye is a testament to human spirit. Thankfully daredevils like these are alive and well. This gives me hope that maybe the wussification of America is just a passing fad.

Check out original post on This Is Colossal

Want more history on the Wall of Death?

"This fantastic bit of filmmaking blends music video and documentary in a new clip for British rock group Django Django’s 2010 track WOR. The subjects of the video are Allahabad’s Well of Death riders who risk life and limb daily to earn money at local melas (fairs) by driving cars and motorcycles inside a temporary cylindrical structure about 25 feet high and 30 feet across. The cars are held in the air by centripetal force and needless to say there’s very little room for error. The Well of Death is extremely risky for both performers and audience members, but regardless, it frequently draws a huge crowd as evidenced in this video. Directed by Jim Demuth, based on an original concept by Vincent Neff. More music video documentaries, please."

Hellbound Glory Featured In News Review Reno

Hellbound Glory feature write up in News Review

Link to article on News Review

“I’ll be eternally grateful for Kid Rock,” says Leroy Virgil of country rock band Hellbound Glory, while speaking over the phone from the bright light city of Manhattan, clear across the country from his home base—the Biggest Little City.

While Virgil and his band mates have been on the road since they left Reno the beginning of August touring with fellow country rockers Supersuckers, it’s the infamously controversial Kid Rock who garnishes the most gratitude from Virgil—and with good reason. After the band’s current manager, who formerly worked with Kid Rock, played the country rock singer Hellbound Glory’s music, he invited them out to play on his cruise ship, which later led to a three-month tour as his opening act, along with a Detroit date later in the year at a show that also featured ZZ Top.



“For some reason he liked my crazy music,” Virgil says. “He really liked the words and where we’re coming from.”

Going hand-in-hand with shared musical tastes comes similar personality traits—meaning brutally honest, if not somewhat brash, tendencies which generally don’t mesh so well together, think two negative magnet sides repelling each another’s energy when pushed together.

“He’s just like you would imagine him to be, kinda a dick but in a good way,” says Virgil. “I wouldn’t say we get along, but we’ve got a good rap going back and forth.” Virgil then gets sidetracked into an argument with someone on his side of the line over points of destination, then transitioning back into the conversation.

As for the Supersuckers, that touring relationship has been smoother sailing. The collaboration which happened thanks to Hellbound Glory’s manager’s ties once again—this time to the Supersuckers’ manager—is a perfect match in regard to musical style and collaboration.

“It’s been a good fit, and I’ve been a fan of theirs since I was a teenager,” Virgil says. “I’ve got the Supersuckers’ guitar player playing guitar for me now too, so we’re sharing musicians.”

Virgil’s self-described dream is to “become a star.” This goal brought him to Reno initially back in 2002 from a small town in Washington. But being on the road is not always easy. The lifestyle involved with touring, living out of a van for months on end, can take a toll if the homesick bug settles in.

“I consider my band co-workers, not my family—my family is my family,” Virgil says in regards to whether or not a close-knit group of traveling partners can help to ease the homesickness. “We’re all out here working together on this project, but there’s a lot of dealing with personality conflicts. … It’s difficult keeping the band together, it’s like being a human resource manager.”

Virgil is the sole original member of Hellbound Glory, which he started the very day he moved to Reno. But he continues to work hard at keeping both the band and his transplanted Reno roots vital.

“Reno’s my home,” Virgil says. “If you listen to my music, you’ll hear the Reno influences. It’s influenced by the Reno nightlife, experiences I’ve had, women I’ve met, fights I’ve gotten into—the local bar scene in general. The Hideout, Shea’s, Davidson’s Distillery—they’ve all been a big influence. They’re Reno.”

And while being on the road has exposed the band to many new faces and places, traveling has only furthered Virgil’s strong sense of hometown pride.

“I’m looking forward to the big homecoming show,” Virgil concedes. “I just want people to know I love Reno and I miss it, even my enemies.”"

Antiseen Marks 30 Years Of Punk Progression, From Charlotte Observer

Antiseen featured in Charlotte Observer for their 30 year mark

Check out the article on Charlotte Observer

"The list of nationally and internationally known Charlotte bands is short. Those that can claim to have been around for more than 30 years is even shorter, especially if you consider the bands that willingly chose the road less traveled – forging a fiercely independent career with an aggressive, confrontational image that was never going to win a Grammy or enough royalties to buy a mansion on Lake Norman.

Yet 30 years after playing its first show at a place called The Barn in Boone on Oct. 1, 1983, Charlotte’s punk-metal stalwart Antiseen shows no signs of stopping. The band that was founded by singer Jeff Clayton and guitarist Joe Young celebrates its 30th “Antiversary” (as they call it) with a two-night event at Tremont Music Hall, where it celebrated its 20th and 25th years by upping the stakes of its long-legendary live shows.

Hickory’s Marty Thomas was there that first night in Boone.

“I spoke to Joe and he said, ‘Have you ever seen these guys?’” Thomas recalls. “I said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘Then you better hide.’”

With anyone else it would’ve likely been an empty boast. But with Antiseen, remembers Thomas: “We were all standing there with our mouths open.”

It wasn’t the bloody live show that Antiseen became known for with Clayton, who went on to brandish a barbed wire bat, cut his head open, and set tables on fire during concerts.

“They were so good, but they were a lot different than they are now. Then it was just cut and dry,” Thomas adds. Antiseen, which continues to put out new releases and still tours the U.S. and Europe, was a hard-charging slice of punk aggression inspired by bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, but with an ornery, unapologetically Southern streak.

“We’d never seen anything like that in North Carolina. You had to go to Los Angeles and New York. We were in shock over it,” she recalls.

It was another six years with Antiseen building its wild reputation before a then 17-year-old Russ Ward caught his first Antiseen show. Ward was blown away.

“They weren’t playing to put on a pose. The way Clayton performs – there was a genuine expression, a release. They weren’t doing it for money or ego and fame. It was a lot more direct and a lot more real,” says Ward, who couldn’t relate to popular bands like Guns n’ Roses. Ward eventually started his own bands as Mad Brother Ward and toured with Antiseen selling merch, acting as a roadie, and eventually penning liner notes for the band’s albums.

He’s toyed with the idea of making a documentary about the band, because its story is unique.

“I didn’t want to do typical fanboy kind of thing,” Ward says. “I wanted to do something that illustrated a band that does music that’s not commercially viable at all; guys that know they’re never going to see a payoff, never going to get a gold record or be a celebrity. They do it because it means something to them. And to be able to sustain 30 years? Who does that?”"

ANTiSEEN Featured In Creative Loafing For 30 Year Antiversary

Antiseen feature write up in Creative Loafing for their 30 year ANTiVERSARY Party

Link over to Creative Loafing for more

"On Saturday, Oct. 5, Antiseen celebrates its 30th anniversary with a blowout at Tremont Music Hall. It's a milestone that makes the Charlotte punk crew one of the city's longest-tenured bands, but the group hasn't always seemed interested in the music going on around it.

Antiseen's collaborators — most notably the provocative and (quite literally) shit-slinging performance artist GG Allin — have come mostly from other places, and the band has found much of its fame in areas outside the Carolinas. Just look at the name, an intentional bastardization of the term "anti-scene."

Antiseen's shows are sprees of burly fuzz and hard-driving riffs finished off with wrestling theatrics and very real barbed wire; singer Jeff Clayton almost always leaves the stage bedraggled and bloody. The band's aesthetic is an onslaught of offensive words and imagery. Confederate flags are frequent. Apologies are nonexistent. Antiseen lives and plays by no other standard but its own, with no intention of changing course now.

"People love Antiseen for what Antiseen does, and if they want to hear me do something different, I'll do it in a different context," Clayton offers. He founded the group in Charlotte with guitarist Joe Young, the only other original member remaining among the quartet. Bassists and drummers have come and gone, but the band has never diluted its consistent blend of Southern-fried grime. They're stubborn, Clayton proudly claims.

"Antiseen does what Antiseen does best," he continues. "That's make a loud racket and put on a memorable show."

This self-reliant philosophy has often kept the band somewhat separate from the city's music culture. Clayton says that they have "one foot in the Charlotte scene" and "one foot out in the rest of the world." He's right. The band is more popular in parts of Texas and in cities like Philadelphia, which played host to its 15th anniversary festivities, and it claims dedicated fans across Europe — especially in Germany. Obsessives in Australia have tattooed Jeff Clayton's dark-maned visage on their bodies. Hank Williams III has a similar piece of body art.

"Antiseen has always had a deeply disturbed following," jokes local rock critic Michael Plumides. His 2009 book, Kill the Music, chronicles his experience with hard rock in the South, including a stint operating the controversial 4808 Club in Charlotte. That venue was one of Antiseen's favorite local haunts during its early days. Clayton got married there in 1990. His bandmates played the wedding march.

"They've managed to carve themselves a niche in the annals of Charlotte rock 'n' roll," Plumides says. "Jeff and Joe, they're kind of the Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of raunch rock. One thing that Antiseen has always represented to me is the ugly underbelly of rock 'n' roll — exploitative Ramones-, Motörhead- and Mudhoney-styled, super-fueled, fuzz-metal punk. I don't know what kind of lasting effect they had as an influence. They were their own ship sailing the black waters of underground music."

For local rockers, Antiseen's convictions might be more important than its music. Through the early-'90s grunge bubble and the late-'90s wave of hip-hop-infused nu metal, Antiseen stuck to its guns, maintaining its rebellious vibe and never catering to mainstream tastes.

"We're very uncompromising," Clayton says. "We decide how we want to do things, and that's the way we want to do it. You can take that example in anything you do, whether you're an artist or a mechanic, or whether you have your own band. You don't even have to be punk rock. You could be a bluegrass band or you could be one of these new R&B-revisionist groups. I think we're a pretty good example of sticking to your guns and not being swayed or compromised."



That's not to say that Antiseen hasn't evolved. The brutish lo-fi muscle of 1991's Southern Hospitality was tidied on 1992's smoother, career-defining Eat More Possum. 2003's Here to Ruin Your Groove saw the group's Southern inspirations become more prominent as its roughness was matched by kinetic organ fills, fleeting acoustic charms and moments of Allman-esque boogie. The insistence on doing things its own way has become a frequent beacon to the bands that have followed.

"There is something weird about bands that are different that come out of Charlotte," says Josh Robbins. He plays bass in the punk trio Late Bloomer and runs Self Aware Records, a scrappy Charlotte imprint thoroughly invested in local music. He's not a huge fan of Antiseen, having scheduled Late Bloomer to play at a different venue on the night of the celebration, but he does respect the group's tenacity.

"They do it on their own, and I think that's where some of the longevity comes from," Robbins adds. "If you don't feel like there's necessarily anything to lose, or if you can do it yourself because you've had to do it yourself, then you just continue to do it yourself."

Today, the local scene boasts more than a few bands playing combative styles with a Southern flavor. The Dirty South Revolutionaries offer backwoods thrash with a serrated twang. Andy the Doorbum bellows foreboding rural histories over broken-down folk not far removed from Antiseen's softest moments. But while there are subtle similarities between Clayton's crew and some of Charlotte's more intriguing up-and-comers, their most lasting gift might be a simple reminder that rock 'n' roll can still be sustainable, even if you're unwilling to compromise.

"There just aren't that many bands that have stuck to it as long. I think that really means a lot, especially to the younger bands," reasons Lisa Barr. She has booked bands at Tremont, Antiseen's most consistent Charlotte home, for about four years. "They see that these guys are a lot older than them, but they put on just as high-energy, if not more of a high-energy show than a lot of the young bands. There's no other band that I can think of in Charlotte that does that kind of hard music and still does it this many years later."

Five Reasons Antiseen Is the Most Important Punk Band Alive Today

ANTiSEEN featuredd in The New Times as one of the most important punk bands alive today

Need to find the source on this article, well click on over


"North Carolina punk legends Antiseen celebrate their 30th "Antiversary" this weekend with a pair of shows at the Tremont Music Hall in their hometown of Charlotte. I've had the honor of knowing these sods for 20 of those 30 years. I've seen their good, bad, and ugly -- but I have NEVER heard them play a solitary note of anything that wouldn't kick a hipster's ass at 100 paces.

Here are five reasons why Antiseen remain the most vital band still waving the punk-rock banner.



5. In eras ruled by stifling political correctness (early '90s) and watered-down mall punk ('95 to present), Antiseen has done its best to get under people's skin in proper punk fashion.
When you can buy $375 "punk" leather jackets at Urban Outfitters, it's easy to forget when the Sex Pistols and the Ramones hit the scene -- both society and rock 'n' roll itself were appalled. Like most cool things, once punk hit a certain age, many of its purveyors forgot it began as a series of sick jokes about beating brats with baseball bats and going on submarine missions for Malcolm MacLaren. A large element became preachy and embraced being "no fun." Antiseen has done its best to correct this by offending hippies and prudes whenever possible.

A prime example of this is its tune "Animals, Eat 'Em." "Animals..." began when singer Jeff Clayton cut up a "Love Animals, Don't Eat Them" bumper sticker and shortened it to mortify the PETA crowd. Now it is the greatest pro-carnivore anthem in rock 'n' roll history.



4. Instead of petering out after an album or two, Antiseen improved with age.
Generally speaking, punk and hardcore bands have a short creative shelf life. Nearly all punk bands get together in their late teens or early 20s, have a burst of creativity, record, and then the music biz/growing pains sucks all the juice out of them until they can't find a fresh riff to save their lives. So if they are still around, they are milking a one- to three-album burst of creativity they had.
Antiseen, on the other hand, made massive strides in the '90s, writing much better tunes and giving much fiercer performances than it did in their '80s halycon days. Unlike most of its hardcore peers in the early '80s, what Antiseen learned in musicality did not turn it into a lame-ass metal band. Its four best albums, 1993's Eat More Possum, 1995's Hell and the recorded-at-Churchill's One Live Sonofabitch, and 1996's Here to Ruin Your Groove were made 10, 12, and 13 years after they began. That is unheard-of.

Above is Here to Ruin Your Groove in its entirety.



3. Jeff Clayton and "Mighty" Joe Young are American punk rock's Jagger and Richards.
Jeff Clayton's mixture of pro-wrestling theatrics, Jim Dandy sass, and Alice Cooper shock-rock tactics make him an amazing frontman. It has been said he's never met a beer bottle he didn't want to smash across his forehead, unless his fanboys begged him to do it first. He's probably the only person to wear a Confederate flag onstage who had Rudy Ray Moore on speed dial.

While Joe Young may know only four chords, those are the only chords he needs to know. And because he has killer vintage Fender gear and "accidentally" hits open strings on his power chords, he has the most blood-curdling guitar tone on the face of the Earth.

Here the band is displaying the skills that has made Antiseen last for 30 years on its tribute to ECW wrestling legend SABU, live in L.A. a few years back.

2. It is the best cover band of all time.
When Antiseen covers a song, the song becomes its own. Much like its hero Sun Ra, who turned fluffy Disney songs into dark, twisted melodies that nightmares are made of, it is almost impossible to imagine an Antiseen cover song in its original form after it gets its greasy mitts on the notes. Here are several examples of the Boys From Brutalsville making Southern-fried love to some of their favorite tunes.



2a. Skrewdriver's "I Don't Like You" (live at Churchill's Pub, from One Live Sonofabitch").
Antiseen took a bunch of grief for covering this tune, due to the hideous, racist direction Screwdriver took after its first LP. Despite that bad seed, it's hard to argue that this antiwork screed isn't amazing in Antiseen's able hands. Unless of course, you are a PC candy ass who hates rock 'n' roll. 



2b. Curtis Mayfield's "Don't Worry, If There's Hell Below (We're All Gonna Go)"
When Bart Simpson asked if pirates are in hell on The Simpsons, he was asking if that's where the dead man's party is. Antiseen confirms it with this muscular rendition of Mayfield's soul classic.



2c. Gene Simmons' "Haunted House"
Classic Halloween novelty garage rock song turned into a hardcore screed? Yes, please!



2d. Sun Ra's "Space Is the Place"
By all rights, this should not be good. A bunch of four-chord Carolina crackers tackling Intergalactic Jazzbo Sun Ra's signature tune. Sun Ra's band the Arkestra had to take vows of celibacy and sobriety. Antiseen enjoy bourbon and the work of Cristy Canyon. Sun Ra would turn in his grave if he heard this. But not because it sucks. Because it is much, much funkier in Antiseen's hands with a few Planet of the Apes samples thrown in. Drummer Barry Hannibal (Antiseen's current bassist) gives the performance of his life here. 



1. "Fuck All Y'all"

Stevie Tombstone Lucky (live @ The Peddler Spartanburg SC)

Stevie Tombstone

"Stevie Tombstone is one of these fellas who has it going on in every way. The chords,lyrics and vocals that make you feel its very much real. This was recorded recently in Spartanburg SC's The Peddler Steakhouse. I love the applauds after he sings the line "Lucky I am not in jail""

Posted by Jason Mater Robinson on SoundCloud 

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Husky Burnette Featured For Week 6 On Itunes Blues

Husky Burnette featured for 6 straight weeks on the Itunes New & Noteworthy charts

Staying power is something you hear about in fights, endurance races and for folks that have longevity in their careers. Husky Burnette is proving with his new album that dedication to your craft shows on a much larger scale, when a company such as Itunes continues to rally behind his new album, Tales From East End Blvd.

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Download the album from Itunes

Portrait of Husky Burnette for his new album, Tales From East End Blvd.

One Huge Coyote Howls In The Desert

Photo from Flickr: Digital-Dreams

Many a time I had the chance to go out to Burning Man, while spending a decade back in northern California, but I never made the trek out to the playa. Not for a lack of interest in the festival but I just had too many other things cookin' at the time and also a bit burnt out on festivals after working numerous ones for quite a few years. 

Looking back though I have always had an interest in the events around the gathering. Not so much in the party vibe or seeking out a religious awakening, but more of an interest in all of the elements used to create the atmosphere known as Burning Man. 

It could be the yearly burn of the temple created for the one week event or checking out the incredible coyote inspired sculpture by Bryan Tedrick, but I always dig around checking out the sculptures. What I enjoy most is the scale on which some of these pieces are built. They are large and in charge and have to be that way in order to be seen across the wide expanse of the Nevada desert.

Maybe one of these years I will venture out for a few days and finally check out the cult of Burning Man.

Section of Bryan Tedrick's coyote sculpture for Burning Man 2013

Massive steel coyote head sculpture

Bryan Tedrick's monumental coyote designed for display at Burning Man 2013

ANTiSEEN 30 Year Anniversary Show, Oct. 5th

October 5th, ANTiSEEN 30 Year Anniversary Show at The Tremont Music Hall Charlotte, NC

Read the original post over on Sound Bites

"This weekend Charlotte’s Antiseen - internationally known originators of “Destructo Rock” - celebrates its 30^th anniversary. Each day this week I’ve asked someone who has witnessed the controversial Southern punk stalwarts for much  longer and more intimately than I have to share their thoughts, memories, and impressions of the band (pictured from left Phil Keller, Sir Barry Hannibal, Jeff Clayton and Joe Young).

As you’ll find throughout the week, Antiseen leaves an impression whether it’s the legendary live shows that on many nights include Clayton incorporating hardcore wrestling antics - hurling himself through a flaming table covered in tacks, for instance - or Young’s chainsaw guitars, the tongue-in-cheek lyrics, or the mighty aggressive spirit. I first saw Antiseen open for the Ramones at The Ritz on Independence in 1995. I’d been in Charlotte less than a year and had no clue what I was in for. Much to my Ramones-obsessed 4-year-old’s dismay I remember more about Jeff Clayton waving the Confederate flag and bleeding all over the stage than I do about the Ramones.

Antiseen’s Antiversary show returns to Tremont Music Hall Friday and Saturday. The group headlines Saturday with fellow veterans the Meatmen and Kentucky’s the Hookers. Doors at 8 p.m. both nights. Tickets are $10 Friday and $15 Saturday.

Our first contributor is fellow Charlotte musician Jeff Williams of the Dead Kings and Biggy Stardust and his Wretched Hive. The latter plays Friday's Antiseen Antiversary Pre-show Party with Judas Bullethead, the Chalkies, Lucifer Jones, and Powerball. 

“In the fall of 1998, I accompanied Antiseen to Philadelphia, PA for their 15th anniversary show at the Nicks. At this point in time I was fresh to the camp.  My official reason for going with them was that I had printed a book for their label Baloney Shrapnel Records that celebrated their first 15 years.  I was going to deliver the product and to receive payment.  But honestly I was just excited as hell to be going to Philly and to see a huge event such as an Antiseen anniversary.  The reason they had the show in Philly was, at the time, Charlotte had become an unfriendly place for them to play. But in Philadelphia they have always drawn big, excited crowds.  I remember pulling into town. You could feel the buzz.  As we walked around South Philly, people would come up and talk about it. This kind of vibe didn't exist in Charlotte, and really, still doesn't. So it was new to me.

By show time, the energy in the room was electric. After being musically assaulted by the great Hellstomper, barely surviving the skinhead onslaught that ensued during Limecell, and being schooled by the late, great Cosmic Commander of Wrestling as he fronted the legendary Rancid Vat....emotions and excitement were at an all-time high as my hometown boys from Charlotte walked on stage to the sound of Joe Young's signature feedback.  I had spent many nights before this night going to punk rock and death metal shows here in town. Nothing had previously prepared me for the whirlwind of beer, blood, busted teeth, and broken glass that I found myself caught in the middle of.  I THOUGHT I knew loud.  I THOUGHT I knew aggressive. I THOUGHT I knew confrontational.  It wasn't until this point that I realized that everything before that I liked was part of a formula, whereas these guys were coming at you straight from the gut - no filler, nothing conceptual, just raw power in its most aggressive form.

Now, I've seen dozens, if not hundreds of Antiseen shows over the next 15 years. But to this day no memory has stuck with me more vividly than this life changing show in Philly. I blame and credit the dynamic duo of Clayton/Young for raising the bar as high as it is.  And should be!”

Hubble Eyes A Flock Of Stars, All Hail NASA

Hubble telescope captures a multitude of Galaxies over 11 million light years away

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"Hubble Eyes a Flock of Stars -- The glittering specks in this image that resemble a distant flock of flying birds are the stars that make up the dwarf galaxy ESO 540-31. Captured in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the dwarf galaxy lies just over 11 million light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Cetus (The Whale). The background of this image is full of many other galaxies, all located at vast distances from us. Dwarf galaxies are among the smaller and dimmer members of the galactic family, typically only containing around a few hundred million stars. Although this sounds like a large number, it is small when compared to spiral galaxies like our Milky Way, which are made up of hundreds of billions of stars. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Luca Limatola"