Genki Genki Panic thrives on the fringes of the ecstatic, honing a musical aesthetic that eviscerates traditional notions of genre, while offering a dizzying array of threads to pull at every turn.
Hailing from the rolling and mystical expanse of terrain that lies between Atlanta, GA and Chattanooga,TN, GGP guitar and keyboard player Chris Moree, bass player Eric Waller, and drummer Chris Campbell’s musical bounds are as limitless as the landscape from whence the group sprouted. Each song draws inspiration from the deepest darkest recesses of pop culture.
It’s all on display in the three songs pressed onto the group’s first vinyl 7-inch — “The Munge” b/w “Gas Human Being No.1 The Human Vapor” and “Moth Mandingo Effect.”
Just a cursory scroll through GGP’s Bandcamp page reveals a deluge of musical excursions in which the group plays more notes in one measure than most technically skilled metal bands on the scene. Elsewhere, GGP mines the sonic palette of video game soundtracks and reassembles them to bear their own deranged adventures.
Layers upon layers of references come together around each new offering: A cover of the Deadly Ones’ “It’s Monster Surfing Time” blends album cover art from the Descendents’ Milo Goes To College with imagery from “Planet of the Apes.”
Ghoulie High Harmony *Director’s Cut is perhaps the greatest Boyz II Men reference that no one has ever caught. Still elsewhere, GGP’s sound and vision is a tangle of not-so-veiled nods to Bad Brains, OutKast, Big Black, Beetlejuice and classic horror film scenes, all tied together with an affinity for spooky vibes and haunted surf and sci-fi sounds.
“The Munge” (dubbed “The Munge Parasito” on the Bandcamp page) saunters in before the nearly three-minute tsunami jam takes over the song. “Gas Human Being No.1 / The Human Vapor” and “Moth Mandingo Effect” push the eerie irreverence beyond the record’s grooves, giving rise to a particularly twisted ambiance. It’s seemingly impossible to avoid being swept up in the group’s high-energy dirges, despite (or maybe because of) their defiantly wide-eyed ways.
Genki Genki Panic plays Hammerhead Fest 9.5 Sat., Nov. 27, at Boggs Social and Supply (outdoor stage) with Paladin, Order of the Owl, the Vaginas, Canopy, Black Candle, and Naw. $15. 4 p.m. (doors).
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An extremely limited quantity of Upchuck’s “In Your Mind” b/w “Upchuck” blood-spattered 7-inches will be for sale on the merch table—first come first served.
Doors open open at 7:30 p.m. Music starts at 8:30 p.m. $15-$20. Get tickets here.
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I first heard about Claire Lodge on a Tom Waits message board about 10 years ago. Everyone was fascinated, but no one seemed to know much about her. Then somehow we linked up online through an old musician friend. For years we’ve shared ideas and filthy jokes and suggested books and music and films to watch, without ever meeting in person. That all ended last week, when I was at a grocery store on Buford Highway in Atlanta.
We both tried to grab the same piece of fruit. She looked at me and said “You’re Tom Cheshire, I’m embarrassed I’m in my pajamas.” I responded saying “that’s OK I’m in my rain boots.” So there we were, finally face to face. We put our groceries in our cars and went and had a cup of coffee.
Three hours later and a lot of laughs a real friendship was born. We managed to squeeze out an interview and we are talking about doing an EP.
Here you go, I hope you enjoy.
Tom Cheshire: The first time I saw you live was in New York City, It was with Compartmentalizationalists. You had two drummers and a bassist.
Claire Lodge: Yeah, I co-write in that band. We have made three albums.
The Fainting Couch is your first solo album, do you approach your solo music differently?
With Comparts, most of the tunes have a set structure, even if we improvise within that structure. When I play solo, It’s almost all by feel. Some tunes will be two minutes one night, and eight the next. Life has enough structure, I like freedom. I like that in the artists I go see live too. If you are a rock band that plays everything the same way every time I see it, I get bored. I love people like PJ Harvey, Andrew Bird, Tom Waits. I like the element of surprise.
Did you set out to make it with just guitars? Did you try playing with a band first?
I set out to make it with just guitars. I love solo guitar albums. Bill Frisell’s In Line, Marc Ribot’s Saints, Masada Guitars, Sharrock’s Guitar, Etta Baker’s Railroad Bill, the list goes on. I like the intimacy of one person with one instrument.
The songs on the album have no titles. And it is an album, not a record. And where did the name come from?
They have titles. “Part 1,” “Part 2,” and so on. I want people to listen to the entire album, like you would watch a film. And no, no vinyl. They sell records at Target. So I hope I’m ahead of the curve on the comeback of CDs. As far as the title goes, I have always liked the words “Fainting Couch,” it sounds like it could mean several things.
Tom Cheshire: What is the first song you remember hearing?
Probably “Happy Birthday.” My parents didn’t listen to any vocal music growing up. I don’t remember hearing anyone sing until I was 10.
How old were you when you wrote your first song? What was it called?
When I was 12 or 13 I got serious about guitar. I wrote a song called “Cincinnati String Bean.” It was a banger… I have never sung in my life.
Where were you born? Where did you grow up and where is home now?
I was born in London. I have lived all over. Mainly London and Atlanta. I went to school at Stanford.
Have you ever stolen a car?
Never. I can barely drive.
What is the best cross country driving record?
Oh man, probably Francoise Hardy. Anything by her. Or Pink Flag on repeat.
Who is your biggest influence as a guitar player?
I heard the song “Apache” by the Shadows and wanted to learn it. While I was learning guitar we were living in Italy and my teacher introduced me to Tom Waits’ music and I fell in love with Marc Ribot’s playing. Then when I heard Sonny Sharrock my life was forever changed. I wish I had a cool story about discovering him, but it was on Space Ghost.
Who is your biggest influence as a piano player?
First off, I can barely play piano. But I like to listen to this dude Francois Couturier a lot. Nina Simone, Monk.
What is your favorite film score?
A Zed & Two Noughts by Michael Nyman. It is insane and perfect. In the past 20 years, I also really liked Johnny Greenwood’s The Master.
Do you see colors when you hear music? Do you see colors or visuals when you write music?
My images are almost always black and white.
How long should a film be? What is too long?
90 minutes if you have children. Up to 2.5 hours if not. I hope Bella Tarr doesn’t read this.
What do you look for in a song?
Texture.
Your favorite city/country to perform in?
Poland. I have been going there for the past eight or nine years and it has been a blast. That’s what pushed me into recording my tunes.
Your favorite food on the road?
Red licorice.
Mexican vs Chinese. Your thoughts? That’s on food.
I hate goddamn cheese, so Chinese. Chinese food is awesome.
Go-to snack food?
Ice cream. Any kind, anywhere.
Guilty pleasure music?
I rarely feel guilty. I guess I will go with Poppy Family, Ace of Base. At this point… Nick Cave.
Favorite member of Wu-Tang Clan?
Inspectah Deck. He is the man. He has the best verses and he needs the publicity.
Who is your favorite comedian?
Living or dead? George Carlin might be the best ever. But I love so many. Chris Rock, Chris Elliott, Norm Macdonald, Louie, Pryor … Why didn’t he make a record called Pryor Convictions? Wait, did he?
Would you date a man who drives a Corvette?
Only if it was stolen. Jesus … I sound like Lana Del Rey.
Who would you like to work with, write with? Dream collaboration?
Chris Gaines. We could talk shit about Garth Brooks. I bet he sniffs glue. I should go easy on him. He survived tragedies.
But really, Tom Cheshire. Let’s make that happen.
Please say me, and do you want to put out a record together? If so, let’s do this.
Oh… I didn’t even read ahead. Yes! Let’s do eet.
Will we get a Claire Lodge U.S. tour soon?
I don’t think so. I play secret shows in Atlanta and New York a few times a year, but can’t hit the road anymore.
Last but not least, your thoughts on sandals? I personally can’t stand them.
Is Sandals a show on CBS? It should be.
Thank you so much for your time, Claire.
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Field Day (feat. Doug Carrion and Peter Cortner of Dag Nasty) plays Boggs Social & Supply on Sat., Oct. 23, with Noise Mountain and the Vaginas. $20. 7 p.m. Buy tickets.
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Southern California hardcore icons the Circle Jerks are on the road again, celebrating the 40th anniversaries of their first two albums, Group Sex and Wild In the Streets, both recently reissued by Trust Records Company.
The show also marks the Circle Jerks’ first show in Atlanta since they played the Masquerade in December of 2006. Were you at that show?
For this tour, drummer Joey Castillo (Danzig, QOTSA, BL’AST!, the Bronx, and more) joins the classic lineup, featuring bass player Zander Schloss, guitar player Greg Hetson, and frontman Keith Morris.
Trust Records also recently reissued 7 Seconds’ 1984 debut LP, The Crew. Both 7 Seconds and Negative Approach (!!!) fill out the bill in Heaven at the Masquerade. Friday, July 22. $32.50 (adv). 7 p.m. (doors).
Photo courtesy 7 Seconds
Negative Approach photo by Chad Radford
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At the top of the year, New Bedlam went into Maze Studios with Ben Etter to record a new EP titled Steady Diet of Bullshit (released June 18). Later, singer and guitar player David Bair, bass player Tyler Davis, drummer Mike Walden, and guitarist Michael Parrish returned to the studio to film live performances of each of the EP’s five songs.
Recently, Bair and I made our way to El Myr in Little Five Points to talk about the group and the latest EP while knocking back a few Grizzes — four and-a-half Grizzes each, to be exact. What’s a Grizz, you ask? It’s a pony-sized bottle of Corona with a shot of well Tequila dropped in, and a lime placed atop so you don’t spill too much on the way back to your table.
This is part 1 of our conversation. Keep an eye out for part 2 coming soon.
What brought you to Atlanta?
Me and our bass player Tyler were in a band called Bully Pulpit. We moved here from Charleston in 2016. Danny, the kitchen manager here at El Myr, was the frontman for that band.
We were touring up and down the East Coast, putting out records, and bought a van. Charleston just wasn’t a good place for our headquarters. We had some homies living here, so we moved. … Moving four guys into a house, who didn’t have jobs, and had never really lived with anyone else before … It fell apart pretty quickly. Me and Danny and Tyler stayed. We put a lot of time and money and energy into this band, and that’s what pushed me to pick up the guitar again and start writing music with a new band. Nothing will happen if you don’t try.
It’s taken three years to get the word out about New Bedlam. The songs are there, the sound is there, now we just need to get it into peoples’ ears.
Having some professionalism in our work ethic, staying on peoples’ asses, doing the live videos on Youtube is only going to help us.
The new EP is called Steady Diet of Bullshit … Clearly a Fugazi reference?
Yes! Tyler is a Fugazi nut. Originally, jokingly, we were going to call it Steady Diet Of Pizza, but that was too much. Obviously, Fugazi is a huge influence on us and we’ve covered “Merchandise” before. It’s that DIY ethic: If anyone’s ever seen a Fugazi show in person or on the internet, you’re going to church. You connect with it immediately when you’re watching those motherfuckers play. So the title was a clever way to give them a nod, and to signify that if you come to one of our shows, you’re going to leave with something new in your life.
I’m not on stage just because we’re some band on a bill. I’m here because we’ve culminated this with our homies, and wrote these songs to hopefully send you home in a way more positive mood than what you showed up with. We want it to be something that’s fun and exciting, something you hadn’t experienced before.
Let’s talk about some songs — “End Transmission”.
We had a bunch of songs in the can and everyone was like, “fuck it, let’s go record them.” At first, it didn’t make any sense to me when we recorded. But now, hearing them together, whatever the songs mean to the user makes sense. They all mean different things to me, they mean different things to the boys and the band. “End Transmission” is more personal. To me it’s about parents and childhood and shit like that.
The idea with Steady Diet Of Bullshit is something that me and you deal with every day. Something that everyone in Atlanta deals with everyday — the mound of bullshit you are constantly navigating to be happy, or to have a positive mental attitude, or just to keep your bills paid. People relate to that because it’s everyday life.
“Lurch” is a heavier song. Some of the other songs on the record are more punk oriented. “Lurch” has got more atmosphere, but when we hit the chorus it still punches you in the gut. It’s about how we’re always trying to move forward so fast — society, technology. But my personal experience is that we’re just lurching in one way or another, trying to get through whatever.
As much as I love Fugazi, I never detected much of a sense of humor in the music. A lot of bands wear the Fugazi influence on their sleeve, but calling the album Steady Diet of Bullshit is a new approach … And it’s a funny way to pay homage.
Yes! And even with our other EPs, there’s always a cynical quality to the music. You could take some of the lyrics seriously, or not. There’s always a light side of me saying some pretty heavy shit. So naming it Steady Diet of Bullshit is my way, and the band’s way, of bringing humility to the music. We’re all pretty humble people, but we’re still vulnerable.
It’s refreshing to be in Atlanta, and to hear this level of anger in a newer band. Atlanta is the music scene that you’re part of, but these songs resonate with a bigger picture that’s aligned with Melvins or Unsane.
We were learning “Scrape” not too long ago, just to have a fun cover to play! Dude, that kind of feeling that you get from listening to Unsane is what we want — that’s us in a nutshell. The way it makes you feel when you listen to it — that nasty, knee-buckling shit — when you hear it, however you relate it to your world, we’re in the same boat. 100%
New Bedlam is (from left) Tyler Davis, Mike Walden, David Bair, and Michael Parrish. Photo by DJ Bing.
Part 2 of our conversation is coming soon.
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