rea and Japan.
Other acts include local punk favorite Beach Party (!),
Street Shark, Landmine Spring, Baak Gwai, Nowhere
Squares and Kill, Baby… Kill!, with accompaniment by
Birmingham comedian Jason Fifi, who will do short sets
in between bands on the first night. While each group
works somewhere in the rock arena, they’re all gripped
with unique, eclectic influences, ranging from high-speed
surf guitar to howling punk vocals that defy listener complacency. The Shakedown is a palate cleanser for an area
that seems patently immune to new sounds.
“On a local level, people are sometimes resistant because,
quite simply, they don’t understand the kind of bands
that exist in the ‘ether’ between cover bands and mainstream bands,” said Trace William Cowen, lead singer
and guitarist for Beach Party (!), another organizer of the
event.
“The whole point of the show is to get people to come
see bands they aren’t familiar with,” said Erek Smith, bassist of Kill, Baby… Kill! and bassist and singer for Street
Shark, who is another organizer of the Shakedown. Many
of the bands playing are huge in the circles that know
them, but can easily be filed in “underground” material
for the Calhoun County area.
But don’t be confused: this isn’t about screaming teenagers with social anxiety, or bizarro, pretentious music trying to pass itself off as “artsy.” The bands all play fun, highenergy music that anyone can enjoy. Kill, Baby… Kill!’s
driving surf rock is made for dancing. Baak Gwai’s singalong hooks will be in your head long after the show. And
Beach Party (!), God bless ‘em, will have a drink or two.
“Success on our level is otherwise known as ‘breaking
even while getting drunk for free,’” jokes Cowen. •
The Bands
Beach Party
New 3 song EP coming in December.
www.beachpartymusic.bandcamp.com
Existential grunge pop from Jacksonville, Alabama. Established in 2011. Purchase the new (!) album entitled
Vestavia at Facebook.com/beachpartymusic
Nowhere Squares
www.reverbnation.com/nowherequares
Considered by many to be the godfathers of the Birmingham/Montevallo frenetic punk rock scene, the Nowhere Squares have been creating urgent rock tunes
for well over a decade. At times explosive, at other times
restrained, and, at other times, completely absorbed in
nervous geek punk energy, the Squares’ songs are an
onslaught of harmony driven bliss.
Their multi-year hiatus left many in Alabama depressed
and hungry for music with a pulse (and emphatic keyboard drum fills). Thankfully, they are back to doing
what they do best, playing music that sounds like the
inside of a rock scientist’s garage.
INSIGHT
October 2013
45