{"id":37210,"date":"2017-10-28T12:04:37","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T16:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=37210"},"modified":"2017-10-28T12:04:40","modified_gmt":"2017-10-28T16:04:40","slug":"on-stage-peaceful-music-or-anything-but-on-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=37210","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Peaceful music, or anything but on Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,<\/strong> Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Abbie Gardner<\/p><\/div>\n

People view Sunday nights in different ways. Some like to relax and get ready for the upcoming work week while others like to do things to squeeze the most out of their weekends.<\/p>\n

For those who like to maximize their weekends by enjoying live music, there are two choices this Sunday that are polar opposites \u2013 a quiet show by a solo acoustic artist or an intense show featuring acts known for visual and aural assaults.<\/p>\n

The \u201cquiet\u201d show will take place at Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) and feature Abbie Gardner.<\/p>\n

Abbie Gardner is no stranger to area music fans.<\/p>\n

She has played locally numerous times — as one-third of Red Molly and, more recently, as part of a duo project with Jesse Terry. Now, Gardner is on the road as a solo act.<\/p>\n

Gardner, a talented dobro player and multi-instrumentalist, has been touring with Americana act Red Molly for more than a decade. She also has three CDs on her own notable for award-winning songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing stuff from my whole catalog,\u201d said Gardner, during a phone interview last week from her home in Jersey City, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be doing a lot of solo stuff. \u00a0It\u2019s different now because my guitar player Jeff Ruggieri moved to Nashville. It used to be two of us but now I\u2019m onstage by myself \u2013 just me and my dobro.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has given me the kick that I needed. I was a little nervous but that\u2019s part of the excitement. You have to go outside your comfort zone if you want to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner has encountered some challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge is rearranging songs so they sound full. The exciting part is that when I play this way, I find myself wandering from one song into another. There\u2019s more room for improvisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstrumentally, I\u2019ll be sticking mostly to dobro. I used to do guitar but dobro now is my main instrument. I love it. It frees me up for vocals and melodic lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy main dobro was made by Paul Beard. I play a Hipshot dobro which is like two instruments in one. You can pull a lever and change the tuning. I put everything through a compressor microphone. It\u2019s a throwback sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gardner\u2019s songwriting has brought her much acclaim including 2008 Lennon Award Winner (folk) for \u201cThe Mind of a Soldier\u201d and 2008 American Songwriter Magazine Grand Prize Lyric Winner for \u201cI\u2019d Rather Be\u201d. Her song \u201cHoney on My Grave\u201d was also published in Sing Out! Magazine in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cLately, I\u2019ve been writing starting with melody and getting the words later,\u201d said Gardner. \u201cI try to work on it until it\u2019s so stuck n my head that it seems like it\u2019s on \u2018repeat.\u2019 That\u2019s the early stages.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t record a demo until I\u2019m set on the melody. If a melody comes to me when I\u2019m out \u2013 say in a park \u2013 I\u2019ll put it on my cell phone. If it happens at home, I\u2019ll use ProTools.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s good news for fans who are awaiting a new Abbie Gardner solo album.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new album is recorded,\u201d said Gardner. \u201cI\u2019m just waiting for the artwork. It should be coming out in January.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Abbie Gardner \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/BpbLfxf5sKM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Kenneth Flash, which has Hurricane Hoss as the opener, will start at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $23.<\/p>\n

On October 29, the music will be intense when GWAR and Doyle share a bill at the Trocadero (10th and Arch streets, Philadelphia, 215-922-6888, www.thetroc.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

GWAR<\/p><\/div>\n

GWAR was in the area back in the summer when it was one of the headliners at the Vans Warped Tour. Now, the band is back with a new album.<\/p>\n

The new album, \u201cThe Blood of Gods\u201d is nothing less than a sacred text chronicling the rise of humanity against its makers, and the massive battle between GWAR and the forces of all that is uptight and wrong with the world.<\/p>\n

Along the way, the band challenges the sins of their great mistake, from politics, pollution, and organized religion, to fast food, and factory farming. Humans are shown as what they are; a parasitical disease that must be eradicated before they suck the planet dry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Blood of Gods\u201d is the first GWAR album without the band\u2019s fallen leader, Oderus Urungus. The title of the album refers to the loss of Oderus. and the struggles and triumphs that produced the new sound of the band.<\/p>\n

GWAR — Beefcake the Mighty (bass), Pustulus Maximus (guitar), Balsac the Jaws of Death (guitar), Jizmak Da Gusha (drums), Bonesnapper, Sawborg Destructo and Don Drakulich (backing vocals) and Blothar (vocals, occasional bass guitar) — is a band known for its elaborate costumes and long, outrageously-themed concerts.<\/p>\n

Obviously, GWAR and the Warped Tour is not a match made in heaven. But then, nothing about GWAR could be considered made in heaven.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Warped Tour was good,\u201d said Blothar, during a recent phone interview. \u201cThere was a lot of sweating.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, we got to expose ourselves to children \u2013 getting a whole new generation lining up to have their hopes and dreams smashed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, we might have been their parents\u2019 favorite band. There were plenty of new children at the show \u2013 and some old faces. It was a lot to take in.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time, the focus will be on a new album.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cut the album over the later spring \u2013 April and May,\u201d said Blothar. \u201cIt was great. We did a lot of recording the old-fashioned way with the band playing together in the same room. We were happy with it \u2013 as happy as we can be for as unhappy as we always are.\u201d<\/p>\n

In November 2011, Oderus was found dead by his fellow band members in the band\u2019s tour bus. The cause of death was \u201ca coronary artery thrombosis brought about by his pre-existing coronary artery disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took some much-needed time off after losing Oderus,\u201d said Maximus. \u201cIt\u2019s a difficult process for any band to lose a member after losing another member.<\/p>\n

This was the first time we were able to sit down and make a record as a group. Before, it was always under distress \u2013 like members needing money. This time, we pulled out all our best songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on the true definition of the word \u201cunique,\u201d there are really very few things that can claim to be unique — especially in the world of popular music where copycat acts and songs are more the rule than the norm.<\/p>\n

But, unique is the perfect word to describe GWAR. There is, never was and never will be a band like GWAR. The Virginia-based costume-wearing thrash metal band exists in a universe all its own.<\/p>\n

When GWAR first arrived on the scene back in the 1980s, no-one would have — or could have — ever imagined that the group would still be playing to packed houses more than 30 years later.<\/p>\n

GWAR was a metal band with music performed by outrageous characters that looked and acted as if they had stepped out of a horror film done science fiction style.<\/p>\n

With musicians wearing elaborately grotesque foam latex costumes, the band\u2019s live shows were best described as raunchy, graphic, obscene and over-the-top.<\/p>\n

According to the band\u2019s mythology, GWAR is a group of alien monsters who were banished to Earth millions of years ago as punishment for their cosmic crimes.<\/p>\n

GWAR was frozen in the wasteland of Antarctica, to wait for the cosmic summons that would herald their return to the stars. But fate intervened, and GWAR was de-thawed by global warming.<\/p>\n

Led by pig-nosed lead singer Oderus Urungus, they began wandering the world, where they were quickly discovered by music mogul and mob boss Sleazy P. Martini.<\/p>\n

Transformed into the ultimate heavy metal band, they set about the business of destroying the human race with this savage sound, throwing great \u201cconcerts\u201d where thousands of humans would be lured to their deaths.<\/p>\n

According to GWAR, \u201cPeople come to watch the destruction onstage every night. And, not many people survive. Humans are ground into cat food.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kill all enemies of GWAR who attack us. I hope the POTUS isn\u2019t listening to this. Whether or not he is, he still meets his fate at the hands of GWAR.\u201d<\/p>\n

A number of people are \u201cbeheaded\u201d in every show — including personalities from the news. Victims have included O. J. Simpson, John Kerry, Mike Tyson, Jerry Springer, Osama Bin Laden, Michael Jackson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Adolf Hitler, Lady Gaga, Sarah Palin, and every American President since Ronald Reagan.<\/p>\n

According to Blothar, \u201cThere is a lot of (fake) blood in our shows — 100 gallons of blood every night and we shoot it all at the audience. There aren\u2019t too many safe distances. Just ask our soundman. We empty the tanks at the end of the show and turn the hoses on the humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for GWAR — https:\/\/youtu.be\/GDcWhhC7Jawc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein<\/p><\/div>\n

Misfits Legendary guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein has just released his second solo album \u201cAs We Die\u201d on EMP Label Group\/Monsterman Records.<\/p>\n

Both Doyle\u2019s solo albums \u2013 \u201cAs We Die\u201d and \u201cAbominator\u201d — are sonically-thick and lyrically-evil slabs of horror-punk metal that finds him expanding in a logical progression upon the genre of music he helped create.<\/p>\n

Doyle\u2019s first band, the infamous Glenn Danzig-fronted Misfits, helped create the genre of speed\/thrash metal with their last album, 1983\u2019s \u201cEarth AD\/Wolf’s Blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cut the new album at House of Von Frankenstein,\u201d said Doyle, during a recent phone interview from his home in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded all the guitars and bass for both albums in 2012. The only thing we did in a studio later was recording the drums because we got a new drummer. And, I did some vocals over when we remixed it in 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recording both guitar and bass tracks for the albums, the unmistakable sound of Doyle’s signature Annihilator guitar cuts through on every tune.<\/p>\n

While the horror punk vibe of The Misfits does permeate the album, the guitar work on \u201cAbominator\u201d and \u201cAs We Die\u201d is more technical than your average punk rock record.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, both albums were made at the same time so they\u2019re the same album,\u201d said Doyle. \u201cIn my live show, I\u2019m doing stuff from both albums because they are the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been working on new songs. I have about a dozen things \u2013 some new ideas for the next album. But, I\u2019m not in any rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Doyle, \u201c Fans at his show should expect to get pummeled and then go home and ask themselves \u2018What the f*** just happened to me?!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing this is a job,\u201d said Doyle. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard job. We work really long, hard hours. I just keep writing and writing every time I pick up my guitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to do 150 shows a year and do a new album. I want to take this thing as far as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Doyle \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/S5-j82QECj4<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the Troc, which also features Ghoul and U.S. Bastards, will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times People view Sunday nights in different ways. Some like to relax and get ready for the upcoming work week while others like to do things to squeeze the most out of their weekends. For those who like to maximize their weekends by enjoying live music, there are two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[10145,10564,7426,7495],"class_list":["post-37210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-abbie-gardner","tag-doyle","tag-featured","tag-gwar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37211,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37210\/revisions\/37211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}