By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times
For Today
For those who live “for today,” today is for you – especially if the “for today” in question is the band For Today.
For Today, a Christian metalcore band from Iowa, will bring its “Farewell Tour” on December 6 to the Theatre of the Living Arts (334 South Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1011, http://www.lnphilly.com).
The band was formed in 2005 by Ryan Lietru, Mike Reynolds, David Morrison, and Jon Lauters. The final line-up features Ryan Leitru (lead guitar, vocals), Brandon Leitru (guitar, bass), Mattie Montgomery (unclean vocals), and David Puckett (drums).
“We grew up in Sioux City, Iowa and that’s where the band has always been based,” said Ryan Lietru, during a phone interview last week as the band was driving through Arkansas on its way to a show in Florida. “Right now, I’m living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Lietru explained why For Today was calling it quits after 11 successful years of making its own style of music.
“A lot of it has to do with family,” said Lietru. “We’ve been doing it for a long time – 11 years. We’ve accomplished what we wanted to do.
A lot of us are married now and the singer has a few kids. There are more things to do in life that touring and playing in a band.
“We’ve had a great career. We’ve put our wives through college. But, there comes a time when transition is necessary. We’ve all spread out. My brother lives in Cincinnati. Our singer lives in Mobile, Alabama. No-one lives in Iowa any more
“Now, we have the rare chance to celebrate. We have the opportunity to do one more tour and see it off well. There is a life cycle in every band. Bands don’t last 30 years any more. We’ve accomplished what we’ve wanted to do as a band and now we can call it on our own terms.”
For Today has released seven albums – “Ekklesia,” “Portraits,” “Breaker,” “Prevailer,” “Immortal,” “Fight the Silence” and “Wake.” The prophetically-named “Wake” was released on Nuclear Blast Records in October 2015.
“Ironically, we didn’t plan on ‘Wake’ being our final album,” said Lietru. “Our previous tour focused on songs from ‘Wake.’ This ‘Farewell Tour’ is about celebrating the career of the band. But, in a strange way, it’s almost like a funeral service. With seven albums, it’s difficult to pick and choose songs. We play something from every record – the songs people want to hear.
“With hardcore, it’s more a collective experience. Audiences sing along. It’s about joining things together. Lately, we’ve been drawing audiences across generations. A part of it is that we’re Christian rock. We’re very upfront with the hope that we’ve found.”
Video link for For Today – https://youtu.be/kvOSqWHrugk?t=15.
The show at TLA, which also includes Norma Jean, My Epic, Silent Planet, Young Graves, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.
Loamlands
On December 7, Boot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528, www.bootandsaddlephilly.com) will host a show that is at the opposite end of the music spectrum. It’s highly unlikely that anyone attending the For Today concert will be back out a night later to hear Loamlands’ show at Boot & Saddle.
Loamlands is the musical vehicle for Kym Register, who performs as a duo with Will Hackney.
“The type of music we play is queer country/classic rock,” said Register, during a phone interview last week from her home in Durham, North Carolina. “This project was born out of the ashes of another band – Midtown Dickens. I’m doing this project with my longtime friend Will Hackney. Will and I found each other in that band.
“After listening to Creedence Queerwater Revival, we decided we wanted to play classic rock – that classic rock didn’t have to be cheesy. We grew up listening to classic rock and country was the music of our parents’ generation. After playing in Creedence Queerwater Revival, the music was moving to me.
“I grew up a Pisces. As a kid, I listened to music for self-expression. My grandfather William Minor was a pedal steel guitarist who played at the Grand Old Opry so I do have some of that lineage shit happening for me. When I was growing up, I listened to the Pixies and a lot of punk stuff. I came over to country listening to Bonnie Raitt.
“I started writing songs when I was around 13 or 14, I had an electric guitar and I was listening to Green Day. From the start, I always was picking things up – drums, banjo, accordion.”
Another life-changing event happened to Register during that time period.
“When I was when I was around 13 or 14, I realized I was gay,” said Register. “The South is The South. There were some queer bands. It’s always hard coming out that you’re queer or different. It’s especially hard if you’re living in North Carolina.”
According to Register, “Most of the important dates I can recall are moments of drastic change – because they’re painful. These are moments of personal growth that wedge themselves into our memories. These are the anniversaries, the birthdays, the points on a timeline. Moments that we remember clearly because they are recorded meticulously in lyrics, photo albums, and journals. Listening to recordings of my first band brings me back to parking garages with ‘good acoustics,’ and playing music with my best friend.
‘Those were songs written purely for ourselves that somehow made their way to DIY venues and houses across the country. The experience was formative, and then it imploded – leaving me to reexamine my relationship to music and performance. Thus was born Loamlands, a musical endeavor aimed at telling stories of being from the South through present day queer caucasian eyes.
‘When Loamlands began, I wanted to break out of the folk-punk cocoon that I had spun around myself for eight years. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to write thoughtfully. I was on the cusp of something new, but I wasn’t quite there yet. I rarely plugged in. I was terrified by the idea of writing a song that revolved around something other than a feeling.
‘I had internal guilt around loving the major label classic rock and country music my parents listened to. I never imagined wanting to croon like Loretta Lynn or play the perfect guitar lead — because ‘punk,’ because ‘fringe.’ because ‘queer.’ I slowly started to accept my own influences. I fell in love again with Stevie Nicks and Bonnie Raitt and Kim Deal. And then I got them all tattooed on my arm, never to forget the power-houses that I grew up on, that saved my life.”
Loamlands is now touring in support of its recently-released debut EP “Sweet High Rise.”
“‘Sweet High Rise’ chronicles this journey of reaching outside of myself,” said Register. “When I learned – at a free school – that NC pride was born out of the protest and riots following the murder of two gay men on their way to a swimming hole in Durham I wrote ‘Little River.’ Seeing the constant barrage of police, borne out of the institution of slavery, killing people of color, queer folk, and countless marginalized communities and getting away with it, I wrote ‘Get Ready.’
“How can any thoughtful human not be angry at the current state of our world? Those people know that they will stay in poverty under the current system while the word ‘progress’ is used as a pat on the back for liberal policy makers and developers. The same story is repeated under a different guise, Slavery still exists — it’s just more covert. Prisons still cage folks and make them invisible to any passersby attending expensive reproductions of ‘The Lion King’ or whatever at the multi-million-dollar theater across the street.
“I’ve been in the South, and in Durham in particular, most of my life. I see the same things happening to my small town that I’ve read about for years in history books. Speedy gentrification is raising property taxes and kicking poorer folks further towards the outskirts of town. We know this. On this record, I’m telling stories. Stories about love, about abuse, about Durham’s brutal history with LGBTQ and police violence. I’m telling stories of my own, stories that I’ve encountered, stories that enrage me and that maybe not everyone knows.”
Making the album was a challenge for Register.
“We made the album about a year-and-a-half ago,” said Register. “We had bene working on the record for a long, long time. It was DIY and we didn’t have much money. We got our friends to play with us when we recorded it at studios in the Durham area. We finally finished it about six months ago. We also have a lot of unreleased tracks and writing some new tunes. Hopefully, we’ll have an album together soon.”
Register offers a great description of “Sweet High Rise” – “These are reflections of a queer dirtbag in love, of owning the desire to kill all abusers, of small town break ups, of the pent-up anxiety that comes being on the cusp of identifying as angry and of standing strongly as gender queer when I am misidentified as ‘she’ or ‘he.’ This record is a release.”
Video link for Loamlands – https://youtu.be/2Vz0eIi9xh0?t=217.
The show at Boot and Saddle, which also features Trophy Wife and Eric Slick, will start at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Yonas
Another interesting show will take place on December 7 when Yonas performs a show at the Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com).
Hailing from New York City, Yonas, whose full name is Yonas Mellesse, is one of hip-hop’s most-hyped emerging artists. Known for his incredibly unique style, the 28-year-old makes it known that he is unlike anyone else in the game.
Fusing thought provoking content and infectious melodies, with crossover music production, Yonas has begun changing the face of music. In just the past three years, Yonas has independently sold 100,000+ songs, 15,000+ Albums, and has accumulated over 70 million streams digitally. His albums have consistently reached Top 5 on the iTunes Hip Hop Charts, Top25 on the overall iTunes Albums Charts, and Top 50 on the Billboard Hip-Hop charts.
The buzz generated from Yonas’ movement has also captured the attention of Mainstream Culture. His song “Fall Back” was featured in the major motion picture “The Place Beyond The Pines,” leading to similar song placements in major campaigns with Warrior Sports, Pepsi, and Fuse TV.
“Right now, I’m in Virginia where one of my homes is,” said Yonas, during a phone interview last week. “I’m packing and getting ready for the tour. I’m leaving tonight for New York City. Half of the shows are with Felly and Gyps and then I’ll be headlining another 10 shows by myself. I’ll be touring for three months altogether. The tour ends February 28.
“I’ve got three EPs tee-ed up to go out over the next three-to-four months. They are five-to-six song projects. I’ll have one out in the next two weeks, another in January and another in February.
“I try to keep recording when I’m on the road. Logistically, it’s kind of crazy. I have a mobile setup. I use ProTools and Logic and I can even record in my hotel room.
“My music pretty much starts with the production. Something in the music will inspire me to start writing. Up-tempo or melancholic – the music guides me to what to write about. I just put into words what I hear from the music and combine it with my life experience – writing things that are true to me.”
Yonas began his music career at the early age of six, when he was enrolled into violin classes by his parents as an attempt to focus some of his otherwise wild energy. After putting the violin down, and getting more into the culture of New York City, Yonas became interested in writing hip hop music.
“Music has been there on-and-off relentlessly my entire life,” said Yonas. “My mom put me in violin classes when I was six. I also played sports in my high school and college years. Along the way, I started getting back into music. I got into hip hop and freestyle when I was in high school. I realized I could make money through something and decided to give it a shot.
“I learned how to make a song instead of just rapping and freestyling. It sets me apart that I write my own songs. I listened to a lot of oldies like Otis Redding. My style of music and influences are different than most of hip hop.
“I want to get away from original hip hop. I want to do it on my own and make it exciting. I can produce a song right on the spot. On the road, I’ll have a deejay with me. Eventually, it would be nice to have a full band behind me.”
Video link for Yonas – https://youtu.be/TKM_m0UOlLo?t=4.
The show at The Foundry, which also features Felly and Gyps, will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15.
