Tim Barry "Rivanna Junction"- After making a name for himself fronting Avail since 1991, Tim Barry has taken a step back with this, his first solo album. "Rivanna Junction" is a collection of ten acoustic guitar-driven songs of folk, old time country and roots rock, giving nods to such legends as Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen in his "Nebraska" era. www.suburbanhomerecords.com
Melvins- (A) Senile Animal King Buzzo and the boys have stolen an entire band aka as Big Business (the band, not the theory) and created an epic thundering LP of double drums, double bass, double guitars, double FUCKING everything to make the thickest loudest sounds ever recorded. Sorta like a drug trip, with out all those bad toxins. www.ipecac.com
Witchcraft-"s/t" I swear that if you worship the first Sabbath album and bow to the altar of 70's era Pentagram you are going to freak on this album!! Unbelievably heavy and raw with a true doom vibe this album sounds ironically fresh in today's scene. Guitars are not overly heavy/fuzzed out but it actually makes for an overall sludgy and thick as mud sound! Add some nice Jethro Tull'ish progressive parts and you've got one killer record. www.candlelightrecordsusa.com
NY Yankees signing Johnny Damon: Nothing sticks my Boston Red Sox friends like our taking away their beloved Johnny Damon. You could almost hear their lil' Beantown hearts crushing all the way in the PHX. And its not like our D'Backs needed to be watched this year.
CBGBs closing: Yes thats right CBGB closing is one of the best things out of "06". Now lemme explain, losing a venue should not be viewed as a positive, I know, I know its blasphemy but let the corpse alone already. Being an insider having worked their for almost a decade I witnessed such a lack of concern for nurturing new music, shoddy booking processes, over priced even by NYC prices drinks and door covers, and almost payola like industry events that I'm appalled. Cmon no one gave a shit about that place until they said it would be no more. Now instead of worrying about putting together a respectable event they can just sell their T-Shirts online and in the long run thats all they cared about. I look forward to what that city (or its surrounding areas) can come up with. I look forward to seeing some creativity instead of relying on the same old standard. Isn't that what New Years are really for...
