thePULSEBands, clubs, artists, and businesses that you may not have heard of yet…but that we think are going to make a name for themselves really soon ~ and you get to hear about them here, right before they make it big!
BAND
Before The Fall
By Matthew Erhartic
Rather than entering the cookie cutter alternative metal sweepstakes, Before The Fall have concocted a potent cocktail of aggressive radio gold confectionery with the uncompromising after bite of your older brother’s SST seven inches. Their recently released disc, In The Garden, carries on Worcester’s fine tradition of premium blend aggro-rock.
Despite citing nu-metal acts such as System of A Down and Korn as its musical muses, the Northern Worcester County based quintet displays shades of old school Pantera power in their material, impressively firing off plenty of punishing metal god guitar attacks that the late Dimebag Darrell would appreciate.
The right connections and some good ol’ fashioned luck pulled the band together two years ago. After disbanding his Atlanta based cover band, Sixes and Sevens, guitarist Michael Gendron packed up and headed north to hook up with his guitar playing cousin Jon McGee. A posting on craigslist corralled in drummer Dan Racine and conversations at a local instrument shop caught bassist Matt Fruit and singer Brian Miscuad’s attention. After a few ice breaking gigs around town, the band forged forward full time and never looked back.
Recording at their private studio, Studio 36 in Westminster, the band self-produced their audio calling card with jaw breaking, ultra aggressive spirit ~ grinding out massive riffs over thunderous rhythms and time signatures. Songs like “Eject” and “Vein” have enough full throttle drum tempo shifts and militaristic vocal barks to provoke devil horn hand gestures from the most casual of metal listeners. The title track is a USDA Grade A slab of rock, served deliciously raw. Bouncing around icy noodling and a Kamikaze riff that Helmet wished they wrote, the sparse verses alternate between menacing Phil Anselmo-esque inspired wails and ~ dare I say ~ a sing songy, catchy chorus. Don’t be fooled by the song’s lapse into a formulaic pop structure. Its delivery is uncompromising and unquestionably a muscular metal anthem.
This summer, the guys look to expand their fan base around New England with gigs in Burlington, VT and Northampton, MA on their wish list. The band takes enormous pride in their live performances and aspires to take their high octane act to higher profile venues such as the heavy metal happy Palladium and land a tune on WAAF’s playlist.
Before The Fall have all the key ingredients to become one of the best acts in Central MA’s metal and hardcore scene. Be warned. This is not for the faint of heart, women who are pregnant and children under four feet tall.
When singer Brian Miscuad howls, “Shut up and take it…,” you know he’s not messing around.
Check out Before The Fall at www.beforethefall.net for song samples and tour dates.
Pic: (L-R) Before the Fall’s Brian Michaud and Matt Fruit
BAND
Sunset Strippers
By Matthew Erhartic
Steven Adderall wants to punch me square in the mouth.
“We wrote all of these songs to show the world how we [expletive] party,” he growled in my grill, forcing me to wipe the whiskey stench spittle from my face.
“Who doesn’t like to have lots of sex and raise hell? That’s what it’s all about…right!?”
It seems that the drummer for the 80s glam metal outfit Sunset Strippers doesn’t appreciate having his music’s significance questioned.
To cool him down, his manager passed him a Rubik’s Cube and a swig of Thunderbird. I slowly came to the realization that Adderall, along with fellow local legends singer Sebastian C*ck, bassist Mr. P, guitarist Ace Freebase and backup singer Janie Paine are living in a strange, almost Twilight Zone-type of alternate reality where STDs are still just a nasty inconvenience and the term Nirvana is something achieved on a Mescaline-fueled binge in the Mohave with a couple of strippers. It’s still 1988 for these lost souls, but it wasn’t Doc Brown and his DeLorean that have brought them here. It’s their stubborn unwillingness to acknowledge the change in times.
Never achieving mainstream success, Adderall points fingers at his “contemporaries” for their failure to hit the big time.
“It really sucks ya know,” he pouted as he unapologetically adjusted himself in his zebra-patterned pleather. “Those [expletives] got all the credit in writing all the big hits you know and love. We were so ripped off by Motley Crüe, Guns N’ Roses, Poison, Skid Row, Warrant, Ratt.”
“Thanks a bunch to our so called friends,” spewed Adderall.
As Adderall sifted through stale cigarette smoke and foggy delusions, he shared tales of sleazy misadventures that the Sunset Strippers and these “friends” have had over the years. One story even involved soul diva Tina Turner, Sesame Street’s Big Bird, a pair of Atari 2600 joysticks and a plethora of illegal narcotics. Straight out of an ultra-twisted issue of Penthouse Forum, it’s one for the ages that our crack team of Pulse Magazine lawyers have forbidden us to publish.
The Sunset Strippers may never find their way to the top of the Billboard charts, but the band has made a home for their superb brand of sonic sleaze at The Lucky Dog Music Hall in Worcester, playing every Sunday night at 10 p.m. In between 80s classic metal, Adderall may share real dirty gems involving an all-girl summer camp that Keith Richards might even raise an eyebrow to ~ or a pint in approval.
Check out The Sunset Strippers at www.myspace.com/sunsetstrippersusa for tour dates!
Pic: (L-R) Sunset Strippers’ Ace Freebase and Sebastian C*ck
BAND
Pucker
By Rebecca Carter
Formed in December 2006, Pucker has been providing good tunes and good times to the bar scene in Central Massachusetts with their mix of rocking covers. They own an independent sound and bring an energetic collage of Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Nickleback and Jane’s Addiction ~ to name a few.
Hailing from Southbridge, the band is made up of Teddy Kubicki on bass, Marty Anderson on drums, and Corey Partlow and Bill Boaudry on guitar and vocals.
“We like to get the fans involved,” explained Kubicki. “We don’t want to scare anyone off. We play what we like and take input from friends and fans and play what’s hot.”
To date, Pucker has played venues including PJ O’Brien’s, Crossroads in Palmer, The Pump House, and the Anchor Lounge in Millbury and want to expand to playing some colleges.
Formerly performing in local bands such as Slackass Jack and Nobody’s Home, band members are now all exclusively in Pucker.
“Our drummer and two vocalists had been jamming together for about a year,” Kubicki said. “I originally also played guitar, but they were looking for a bass player, so I bought some bass gear and the band was formed.”
Although Pucker’s set lists currently are only made up of covers, the band is in the process of working on original material.
“We all have songs and ideas of our own that we would like to work into the set,” said Kubicki.
The band recorded several demos in Kubicki’s home basement studio and shot videos of their live performances that can be found on their MySpace page.
With dates scheduled through the end of August, you can be sure to catch Pucker in a bar near you this summer.
For more information including upcoming tour dates, check out www.myspace.com/southbridgepucker.
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