Chicago Open Air, 2017.

Trust me, I was happier about the event than I looked.

Tonight, I want to roll back the clock to last year. Since Woodstock, music festivals have been under the spotlight in American alternative culture. Big names like Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Riot Fest and Summerfest come to mind for summer music festivals. When our side of the Earth tilts a few degrees towards the sun, many young adults, older fans and dreadlocked gutter punks flock to mud-covered fields and watch gaggles of middle-aged men play songs they wrote in high school.
The summer I turned 20 was probably my least productive summer in my college life. I didn't get a job and I was either on my computer all day or going out with friends and blowing all my money. Before that, my friend Aaron convinced me that the best way to drain my savings was to spend almost 85 dollars for a Friday night at Chicago Open Air 2017. Though it was for one day, Open Air was a mix of the best and worst of the summer music festival experience that I've had for years.

I'll go in chronological order for this post, but you'll get a dose of my opinions on what happened that day. Here's the good, the bad and the ugly of Open Air 2017.

On July 14th, we drove from wonderful Milwaukee, Wisconsin to glamorous Bridgeview, Illinois where Open Air took place. We stopped in the parking lot outside of Toyota Park and joined a long line of patched vests, tour t-shirts and denim shorts to get into the fest. We took our place in line behind a nice Indiana family. The dad wore an Ozzfest shirt and trip pants. A woman who could either be mom or grandma said nice things to us, but we noticed she didn't have a tooth in her mouth. I remember telling my friend Aaron jokingly, "This is the America they don't want you to see."

Toyota Park, empty at noon. Photo by Aaron Gross

We arrived super early that morning, clocking in at 11 a.m. The actual lineup started in the afternoon, and the headliners we were there to see played at 6 p.m. Our first couple of hours at Open Air was roasting in the sun and making childish jokes back and forth before the opening acts played.

Opening acts at big name festivals will often have a hard time to get the crowd going, especially if they're a smaller band opening for a popular band. This is amplified tenfold when Friday night's headliners were Anthrax, Megadeth, Rob Zombie and Kiss.

The opening bands were definitely part of the bad category here - though they're granted a handicap because of the bands they're compared to. The songs weren't catchy and they didn't really leave a significant impact in my memory. I couldn't even remember any of the names of the opening bands, because frankly at the time I didn't care.

One thing I noticed about the opening bands is they were a lot younger than the headliners I was there to see. There's definitely a generational gap in music; younger bands want to sound like older bands, but just try to copy the style without bringing anything new to the table. When you listen to hair metal from decades ago, you can probably tell Def Leppard apart from Twisted Sister, even if their music sounds similar. The approach younger bands take is to not try to be labelled to just one genre, but their music sounds bland when this happens.

Though I didn't really enjoy the opening acts, they managed to hold their own and not be a total pain to the ears. When Falling In Reverse played the final opening, they really gave the other bands a run for their money at sucking. Maybe it's because I was never into post-hardcore/metalcore, but their awfulness really stood out in my memory. Here was the ugly part of the show.

Metalcore is an interesting genre because most songs will soar through intense shredding and angelic vocals, and then suddenly break into a ferocious YOU CAN'T FIX MY HEAD ANGST ANGST ANGST ROAR MY PARENTS DIDN'T PAY ATTENTION TO ME AS A CHILD. If you cross this formula with skinny jeans, tattoos and shitty, in-your-face attitudes, that's what Falling In Reverse's set was like.

I didn't particularly enjoy their set, but I sort of understood FIR's message. The method Falling In Reverse uses is by being so flamboyant that they would leave an impression, regardless of anyone's opinion on their music. They wanted to let you know that even if you thought they sucked, they were okay with that. Towards the end of the set, Ronnie Radke announced that the band would 'Just Like You' for their final song after saying he was aware that the crowd didn't like his band very much. The lyrics said something like, "Yes, I'm an asshole, just like you."

Anthrax on stage. Credits to Thomas Woroniak Photography.

Finally, we get to the good part. The headline bands gave it their all and seeing them was worth the agony of sitting through the blazing sun and mediocre music. Friday night's ensemble started out with Anthrax, the old school thrash icon. A circle pit had formed at the front of Toyota Park as the band ripped out recognizable classics like 'Indian', 'Caught in a Mosh' and 'Madhouse'. Megadeth, being such a similar band, pulled off a similar set. By this time the crowd finally gathered to the stage and went into a frenzy of moshing and skanking in spilled beer and sweat. Middle aged stepdads and wild music frat boys slammed together in chaotic harmony to the thrash metal music.

As the sun went down, Rob Zombie and his crew stepped up to the stage. Zombie's gritty humor and macabre performance bounced off the crowd. Zombie's electrifying, industrial-esque music was easily my favorite set of the night. Footage of old horror films flashed behind the band as they played, the light reflecting off their zany outfits. Girlfriends sat on the shoulders of their boyfriends, bouncing up and down in the air to 'Living Dead Girl' as concert security told them to get down.

The Hillbilly from Hell on stage. Credit to Thomas Woroniak Photography.

Rob Zombie's set had killed it, and now it was time for Kiss to revive it so they could kill it again. Kiss already has enough praise for putting on incredible performances and playing great music, but since this was my first - and it could be the only - time seeing them, I was left amazed by their set. To match the hard rock theme of the night, they opened up with their song 'Deuce'.

Gene Simmons tearing it up. Credit to Aaron Gross.

One of my favorite things about Kiss is their age. It's not uncommon to see old rockers play concerts into their 60s and 70s nowadays. Seeing older musicians isn't just a way to step into the past, but it gives some inspiration for when you get older. I don't picture myself slipping into leather when I'm Paul Stanley's age, but it does inspire me to not let down on doing things I love when I'm older.

On the other hand, merchandising and record deals has made Kiss millions, and they'll probably still make that kind of money even when they're six feet under. Playing at 60 years old is just a luxury for them.

Gene Simmons spat out fire while Paul Stanley floated above the audience while hanging on a circus ring. The mosh pit that Anthrax and Megadeth stirred mellowed out by the time Rob Zombie was up, and now almost 30,000 people were singing along to 'Deuce' and jamming to 'God of Thunder' and 'War Machine'.

At the end of their set, Kiss faked out walking off stage and played 'Detroit Rock City' as their final song. After a night of shitty opening bands, moshing, pyrotechnics and Paul Stanley's high voice, the show wrapped up around 1 a.m. and 30,000 people started flooding out of Toyota Park. As the crowd dispersed, a recording of 'God Gave Rock and Roll To You' echoed through the stage loudspeakers.

That night we drove home through the Skokie Highway, satisfied that we saw our favorite bands and enjoyed some fast food afterward. Though my summer was slow both before and after the festival, Chicago Open Air was easily my best highlight of 2017.

Interview with Jesus Garza - 8/9/2018

Photo credit to Nadia Uribe.

Garza has been a friend of mine since high school and we've both shared the same passion for music since a young age. Since his band Trepnacion has made it on Spotify, I decided to send him some questions about his musical career. Here's what he wrote back to me.

ED: Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from and what musical acts have you played with? Which bands have been the most impactful?

JG: Hello, my name is Jesus Garza and I’m from a city in Baja California, Mexico (like 10 minutes away from California). I have played with quite a few acts (mostly ranging from the heaviest types of punk to the most melodic). My first band was named “Cheap!”, but we split up 2 years after we started and we all headed on to have different projects. The latest projects I’m part of are Nuke (horror death grind) and Trepanacion (a bizarre mixture between hardcore punk and deathrock).

I have always been into fast, noisy music. I had a hard rock upbringing because of my dad (which means I grew up on bands such as Scorpions, AC/DC, Deep Purple, etc), but departed from it at the age of 12-13 when I listened to Minor Threat and Black Flag for the first time. I still listen to them at this age.

It’s kind of hard to list all of the bands that have had the most impact in my life since I tend to listen to a wide variety of genres, but I think that early West Coast hardcore was the one that made me feel the most inspired to go pick up my guitar and write songs.

ED: When did you start playing music? What was the experience like?

JG: I started playing music at the age of 12, when I first learned how to play guitar. I owned a guitar a few years prior to that, but I never brought myself to actually find a way to learn how to play it. It was a pretty significant and enjoyable experience since that meant I had a way to connect with my favorite music and could write my own.

ED: What’s the scene like in Mexico? What’s the biggest or most important show you’ve been to?

JG: I cannot give you a concrete opinion regarding the Mexican scene, since it depends on the city and the bands. I can only speak for the scene I’m part of, but what I have seen is that most bands have a hard time getting national support, so they tend to share their work on other places in which the genre they play has a bigger following. I have known about a few bands that have been playing for more than 10 years and now they’re getting the attention they deserve from other places (mostly from the U.S.A). Also, it’s pretty cool that there’s a wide variety of bands to pick/choose from, but it is also unfair that great acts with a fresh proposal tend to split up due to the lack of interest/support.

I guess that the biggest/most important show that I have been to was the Municipal Waste set at Warped in the San Diego date. I met one of my favorite bands and I got to enjoy my favorite songs from them live. It was a changing experience that I won’t forget. Maybe it wasn’t that great of a show, but it surely was important for me.

Also, I have to give a shoutout to my homies from Ciudad Muerta and The Hand. They have been doing and organizing great shows for quite some time now, and they have been my favorite for sure. They do great things and they bring great bands. Those shows have taught me that you can do anything if you really want to get it done, and I have got to known great bands/people because of them.

ED:What places do you like to play shows the best? What was your worst show?

JG: Damn, man. That’s a hard question.

I like playing shows at bars but they don’t come close to house shows. I have always loved playing in living rooms, backyards, etc. A few of my best experiences playing live have been in those type of shows, and there’s nothing that compares to having a few people going nuts on your set in a small place.

My worst show could have been that time in which I didn’t even get the chance to play. We were promised to play at a certain hour, then they moved our set for a later time and once the band that organized the show played they disconnected all of the gear and the P.A and just left. We waited for 5 hours to play and at the end we didn’t even get a chance.

ED: Does the Mexico scene face any particular problems? If so, what kind?

JG: I guess that the biggest problem there is in the Mexican scene is the lack of support, how people tend to judge new, upcoming acts because they don’t compare to the others they tend to listen to, etc. I’m not saying everybody is like this, and these things happen everywhere, not only here, but I have seen that it happens quite a bit more than everybody would like it to happen.

There are a lot of non-lucrative collectives, zines, blogs and other types of diffusion outlets that help new bands get the recognition they deserve, but sometimes most of these don’t have a big audience to rely on. Shoutout to all of those people trying to bring the scene together.

ED: If you were stuck on a desert island with just your three favorite albums and a record player, what would those three albums be?

JG: This is going to be tough to answer but I’ll try my best not to regret it:

Despise You - West Side Horizons: This is a great powerviolence record, and can surely bring that adrenaline rush that everybody needs in their daily lives. It’s gritty, it’s angry, it’s dirty, and it is a masterpiece.

Deathreat - Consider It War: This record makes you want to pick up a skateboard and break all of your limbs in the most violent ways known to mankind, and yet keep skating. It’s in my morning playlist for sure.

Death - Scream Bloody Gore: As a friend once said, “this record is like listening to a horror movie”. As a horror and death metal fan, this record is a must in your collection.

ED: What influences you musically? Where do you get inspiration from?

JG: Bands that want to stand out from the rest without being too cocky or pretentious, bands that are faithful to their roots and yet try to bring in a new twist here and there, bands that aren’t afraid to try new things as long as they do it because they like it, and bands that made a record without knowing that it would go on to be one of the greatest influences to everybody in that genre.

I usually get my inspiration from live videos/performances or from reading the lyrics/studying the musical composition of the albums that I love from the bands that I usually listen to. For example, let’s say I want to write some grindcore songs, so I spend a whole day listening to the grindcore bands that I like and discovering some others and study the way they play, the attitude they expel and how they write their stuff. I try to have at least a concrete idea of what I would like to do at the end of the day.

ED: What did it take to get your music on Spotify? What’s the process behind that?

JG: To be honest, I have no idea. The dude that released Trepanacion’s demo EP on CD (Testicular Records) did all of that for us.

ED: Give us a rundown on your gear. Your guitar, amps, etc. I like to know the specs.

JG: I play a Starcaster P-Bass (which is like a Squier P-Bass) that I fixed/kind of modded to get the sound that I wanted. I plug it in through a Boss TU-2 and a Behringer delay/reverb pedal. I usually borrow an Ampeg head (which I don’t know the exact model for) and a Metal Muff from Trepanacion’s guitar player (who also plays in Nuke) when we play live. For rehearsal I use a Peavey Tour TKO 115 that I borrow from a friend (big shoutout to my dude Alvaro for letting me borrow it).

ED: Do you have any future projects that you would like to tell us about? Where will you go next?

JG: Right now I’m just focusing on those two projects. I’m busy with school and I wouldn’t like to lose all of my attention on my career and those two bands for now. The next thing we’ll do is release Trepanacion’s new EP on Testicular Records and record Nuke’s new EP, we’d also like to play in another city by the end of the year.

ED: Is there anything else you’d like to say?

JG: I would like to thank everybody that has believed in my projects and all of my friends’ projects, the people that go out of their way to ensure that everybody has a great experience at shows, all of the dudes that I have been in bands with, all of my friends that put money from their own pocket to bring great bands that everybody might get to enjoy or get to know, all of the people that come to our shows and stick around to see all of the bands play, the people that have bought our merch and shared our music, our friends that have given us promotion and everybody that is making all of this possible.

Also, thank you for the interview, man. It’s always nice to share this type of stuff.


Check out Ciudad Muerta's Facebook page here.
The Hand Booking FB page here.
Trepnacion's latest recording, 'Exhumacion'.
Check out Nuke's Instagram HERE.

Teeth Made of Glass - Maverick/Reginald

Teeth Made of Glass has released another extremely unique and bizarre EP, Reginald/Marverick on July 28th. Formed in 2013, TMoG has been apart of a network of Bandcamp projects that are famous - or notorious - for making music that sounds cryptic and experimental. Reginald/Maverick's upbringing is weird, but in the right places it can leave the listener in awe.

TMoG is made of founding member Dakota Bull in Middletown, Ohio and Jack Whelan from Newfoundland, Canda. Bull was the sole guitarist, singer and producer of the music while Whelan provided moral support and advice. "He [Whelan] contributes constantly, he's an ideas man," Bull explained to me in a Discord conversation. "The current concept of Teeth Made of Glass wouldn't be formed as is without his passion."

The first thing Reginald/Maverick strikes you with is the guitar. The guitar work is what carries the EP, it's the meat and potatoes of what TMoG is. "I always wanted to make guitar focused music," Bull says, "I think there's a lot you can do with guitar!"

Each of the songs are folky, distorted, short and also extremely pleasing to the ears. The sound of mellow, distorted guitars together with Bull's chorus-like vocalization gives a feeling of mystery and wanting more. The songs are about a minute long on average, with the last track, 'Ford', being just over two minutes. For a lack of better words, the tracks sound like the best part you would hear in a song that lasts three or four minutes. They're climaxes, one after the other.

Bull says that his major influences are Modest Mouse, The Mountain Goats and They Might Be Giants. The guitar work is very reminiscent of early Modest Mouse albums and the substance of the songs are very loose and experimental like TMBG tracks.

In an honest attempt at criticism, Maverick/Reginald is good, but it's just too short. Each of the songs sound like the best part of a song, but needs more padding around them. Otherwise, the EP just isn't long enough to make it a frequent listen. Hopefully Bull finds his sound in the future and produces some real hard-hitting results.

Check out Maverick/Reginald on Bandcamp here.