BAND

Skull Hammer
By Suzy Geers

What is “Harder than diamond, and heavier than cement?”

Besides lyrics from “Balls to the Bone,” welcome Framingham’s three piece Skull Hammer (that’s Skull Hammer, with an umlaut over the “U”)!

With just about one hundred different kinds of metal out there, Skull Hammer is an amalgamation of 80s metal, thrash, and what vocalist/guitarist Steve “Ace” McArdle and bassist Matt “Potz” Potenza declare “a scientific exploration into music metal, sonic boom metal, no fret left untouched metal.”

The band (including drummer Geoff Pennington) formed in late 2007 (after all three called it a day with their previous band, The Worst) with just one objective in mind: create powerful, heavy and original music. How does Skull Hammer do just that? Potz and Ace agree, “I guess those things are what’s pumping through our veins at the time, we don’t sit down and say let’s make this kind or that kind of song. We write what we feel at the time without worrying about offending people or if it will be commercially viable.”

“Fear the Truth” (title track to the band’s new four-song, Jim Foster-produced disc) is not quite as fast as most of the band’s tunes but has become the band’s anthem, with a declaration of independence to its listeners: “Don’t listen to others and believe in yourself!” It’s a message of anger and aggression, no surprise since songwriter McArdle boasts, “I’m pissed and angry in every song! [laughs] I wrote this about the way we are lied to by our politicians, government and even our friends, sometimes. The main theme of the song is think for yourself. I came up with the main riffs for it before the demise of The Worst and finished the lyrics sometime later. “Fear the Truth” and “Demons Roulette” were the first two songs we played as Skull Hammer.”

Fear the live show?! NEVER! Skull Hammer welcomes its brothers and sister in metal to the band’s performances filled with “…High-energy mayhem, a forty-five minute whirlwind of electricity and sound (with lots of beer!). Usually we go on early in the night because we are still a new band, however, after the end of our set and during people will enthusiastically say, ‘Love what you guys are doing!’ Or ‘Wow, that was killer!’”

Upcoming shows include the Sunday, June 7th Battle of the Bands at Tammany Hall in Worcester. The show is all ages and starts around 4:00 PM. Get out there and show Skull Hammer and all the other local bands support!

The Pulse: Complete this: Skull Hammer is to metal like blank is to blank?
Ace and Potz: Skull Hammer is to metal like propane is to fiery explosions.
Yeah!

myspace.com/skullhammertheband

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BAND

Tall Heights
By Alison Zawadski

Hailing from Sturbridge, the duo of Tall Heights, Tim Harrington, 20, and Paul Wright, 22, are getting ready for the release of their first full-length album. After two-and-one-half years of trying to create a buzz for themselves, the name and sound of Tall Heights is spreading throughout New England.

“There’s this false bravado in the term ‘word of mouth,’ that it’s easy,” said singer/songwriter/guitarist Harrington. “Word of mouth is fairly invaluable, but it doesn’t do justice to how hard it actually is. It’s been one of the hardest things to foster.”

Harrington, who might show off his kazoo skills if you catch him at a particularly inspired show, and Wright, who plays guitar, cello and piano, have evolved from a duo into a full band with the inclusion of Justin Tents on drums and Emmett Knox on upright bass.

“Over the last two-and-a-half years, we’ve played more as a duo,” Harrington said. “But now we play more as a band, it’s a natural progression.”

Harrington and Wright collaborate in the writing and performing of all their songs. In the winter of 2008, the duo released a self-titled six-track acoustic EP. The tight acoustic collaboration on this CD is one that Harrington says the duo, “is not leaving behind,” in favor of the full band.

Tall Heights’ newest CD, their first full-length effort, will be available June 19 at the band’s album-release party at Club Felt in Boston. One track to listen out for on the new album, which is currently untitled, is Harrington’s favorite, “Home Away From Home.” The song is akin to a journal entry, or snap shot of a moment in a young person’s life.
“It’s a reflection on the concept of home as you’re growing away from the one you grew up in,” Harrington said.

At the release party, first-time viewers and listeners can expect “a collaboration … a more rocking version of our recorded tracks with the emotion of recreation,” according to Harrington. He added that without taking away from the power of the band’s recorded tracks, him and Wright hear all the time that their “live show is even better than the recorded tracks because [they] thrive on the energy” of the audience.

The band’s influences include Dispatch, Jeff Buckley and Damien Rice and their sound is perfect beach music. As the weather gets warmer and people move outside to play Frisbee, throw around a softball and lounge by the pool, Tall Heights will provide the perfect soundtrack.

To listen to Tall Heights, get a full listing of their shows or contact the band, go to myspace.com/tallheights.

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BUSINESS

VowBids.com
By Tine Roycroft

Here comes the bride, all dressed in…debt? With the average wedding costing somewhere between $15,000 – $20,000, it’s no secret that one of the most important days of your life can leave you holding your head, looking at bills and wondering why in the heck you spent so much money on personalized chocolate candies.

But now grooms and brides have another tool against bankruptcy thanks to Matt Marhefka, the brainpower behind a hot and helpful site called VowBids.com.

“With VowBids we have the vendors competing over the consumers,” says Worcester resident Marhefka, 25. “Given the current economic climate, money is now even more important. Everyone needs a deal.

”Similar to the business plan of sites like Expedia.com and LendingTree.com, VowBids makes the vendors fight for the blushing bride’s business. And of course, when vendors fight for brides, the brides can get hitched in a place other than the local public dog park.

VowBids.com covers all parts of the wedding process from the dress to the honeymoon to the flowers, and the site is beautifully laid out and easy to navigate. “Bride A” can create a membership within seconds and then begin her quest for the best bargains. She can request information on reception sites, caterers, transportation, just about anything. Then VowBids takes it from there, letting her know which vendor will suit her best and leave her with more than dry rice in her pocket.

And according to Marheka, the grooms and brides-to-be are loving the bargains.

“Currently, we have about 1200 brides using the site,” he says. “And throughout New England, we have about 700 hundred vendors now.

”But some ladies may ask how a 25 year old dude could know the ins and outs of the wedding biz. Marheka, who has a degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, started working at a Mr. Tux at the tender age of 17. He rose through the ranks from shining shoes to manager status to working in promotions and bridal shows and he knew that he could create a product that would search for the best deals in tuxes. Being an enterprising guy, he decided to expand that idea to cover the whole wedding business.

Sensitive, knows what a woman wants, intelligent and ambitious ~ Marheka could be the perfect man. But not only is he talented, he’s taken! Worcester’s new “Mr. Wedding” is set to get married on July 10, 2010. And what pearls of wisdom (other than visiting VowBids.com) does he have for happy couples?

“The number one mistake you can make when you decide to get married is to set a date right away,” reveals Marheka. “If you don’t have a venue first, then you are going to be very limited in terms of what places are available. A lot of people plan around a wedding date, but really, it puts a lot of limitations on what could be their dream wedding.

”For more info, visit VowBids.com

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GRADUATE
Weight of Gravity
By Tine Roycroft

There’s a certain type of music that fits on your soul like a favorite tee and enters your ears like lyrical sunshine. It exists the moment you’re walking down the street and realizing that life might not be so bad after all. It’s The Weight of Gravity.

The Weight of Gravity plays a genre that delicious drummer Robert Belanger calls melodic rock. It’s got a distinctive easy groove to it with a solid but non-intrusive rock and roll base. Saxophonist Laura Ramsey provides a yummy twist of brass in this musical cocktail that comes complete with two and three part vocal harmonies in many of their songs. Steven Lamoureux and Daniel Cook are responsible for the vocals, with the former taking expert control of the guitar and the latter showing us how it’s done on the bass. Evan Marcantonio finishes the fab five with a keen handle on the all things percussion.

Cited as a hot “Up and Comer” by Pulse in 2007, WOG has not disappointed. They’re gigging every week, making their fans sway, shake it and fall in love with tunes like “Someone” and “Bitterside.” It’s as if the band set out to design songs that will always make a crowd feel comfortable, chill and ready to enjoy a great night out.

Notably, one of WOG’s strengths is their obvious unity when playing ~ all musicians onstage and in the studio are connecting in both instruments and mindset. The camaraderie is palpable and does amazing things for the general vibe. But drummer Belanger admits that life isn’t always peaches and cream.

“There’s always going to be issues, especially with five people. You need to keep the communication levels high,” he laughs. “Then there is always the downside of getting to the gig and they don’t have the right type of equipment or they didn’t do enough promotion. There are variables in the equation that you can never really for until they jump out from behind the corner and kick you.”

Despite struggles with acoustics and MapQuest, Belanger speaks for himself and his band mates when he says that music is his life and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’ve had a lot of really good shows where everything was clear as to why we put all the work into it, and the frustration and time and effort,” says Belanger. “It never depends on where you’re playing or who you’re playing for. It’s a culmination of the energy in the room, the energy of everyone in the band that night. It’s just stepping back and thinking this is what we created this is what we present to people. It’s awesome.”

In the near future, Belanger and his band mates would love to take the show on tour. But in the meantime, WOG can boast of a mean debut CD and they are out and about in the Worcester area playing both public and private gigs and defining melodic rock for the masses.

For more info, check out myspace.com/weightofgravity. And follow these fine folks on Twitter.com: twitter.com/WeightofGravity

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Nine Millz
By Suzy Geers

RAPPER

Nine Millz is Worcester’s resident mic master with a pocket full of poetic rhymes, cruising with a melodic swagger that picked up speed in the halls of South High School.

At nine years old, with an aptitude for poetry, Millz began writing raps when most kids were writing letters to the tooth fairy. A coping mechanism that meshed with the influences of Horrorcore artists such a ICP & Twiztid to hip hop royalty 2Pac, Rakim, Eminem, Wu Tang, Nas and Biggie has brought Nine Millz to his dream ~ making music.

Having already independently dropped four previous mix tapes (and three collaborations), 2009 brought Nine Millz his first solo mix tape with the twenty-two track “Got Yo Peace,” featuring some of Worcester’s finest in the scene ~ Tech G, J Black, and mentor Osious (who put Millz on to rap).

Will a style that he describes as bi-polar, Millz believes in a good hook animated with concepts based on his environment. “Nuttin’ Less” represents his “all around swag,” a Worcester city anthem, with bump in its step, and as Nine Millz says, it “showcases his flow at best.”

What stands Nine Millz, a twenty year old white rapper from Worcester, out from the rest? “I am a peaceful kid ~ for the most part. The material my music comes from is based on the environment around me. I don’t claim to be what I’m not. My style isn’t like what you have been hearing the past few years. I remember what real hip hop is and I live for the music and the love that it brings to people. Hip Hop is my drug.”

Millz other drug: The Big 3, a Worcester super group featuring Tech G and J Black that combines old skool style with a lot of jazz and blues beats with smooth sounding hooks and verses. Millz describes it as, “Old school jazz club music with a hip hop twist.”

So I really wanted to know what a day in the life of a Worcester rapper is like.

“Well, there is close to no money in local hip hop right now, so you work your 9 to 5 or your 11 to 7, whatever it may be. You write with any spare time you have. Promote through Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Shop around for beats. Save money to get in the studio and press your mix tapes. It’s basically all a hustle to get ya name out.”

“The Accidental Album” is deep into production at Deep Blue Studios and will drop this summer. ‘Til then, meet Nine Millz and grab his music at myspace.com/ninemillz.