Ottobar

The Spits
Electric Chair

Doors at 8/ show at 9

In an era that relies so heavily on quick-hit bands, there are very few things that are truly part of the subculture and not just the passing zeitgeist du jour. Closing in on three decades, The Spits have signified the crossroads between punk mayhem and well-honed songwriting, creating some of the most unhinged and anthemic tracks in underground music while standing tall enough to be uttered in the same breath as names like Jay Reatard, Dead Moon, Ty Segall and more.

The Spits are readying their highly anticipated VI, due May 1 via their own Thriftstore Records imprint. Recorded by Erik Nervous on cassette four track, the band’s new LP VI is ten hummable tracks, shrouded in chainsaw punk that mesh the wild showmanship of party-rock legends Van Halen and the leather-clad toughness and songwriting chops of the Misfits. Marking a “return to roots’’ approach for the LP, the band decided to record and write VI in the basements of Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, Michigan over the course of several spurts of activity, each yielding a few new songs from a terrible drum kit with a literal thrift store guitar. “We’ve only been into an actual studio like three times,” admits Sean Wood. “I don’t think we’ve had one record that was recorded all in one place, this may be the closest thing. And for these songs we’d record a couple tracks, step away and go back at it later– sometimes weeks later. You know, take our time.”

Originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, brothers Sean and Erin Wood formed The Spits with Lance Phelps in 1993 after realizing rock had gone limp, hated partying and just plain wasn’t fun anymore. And even though they didn’t even know how to play, the self-professed deliquents who grew up with New Orleans–style jazz and bluegrass “got cultured” and formed a band dead set on reminding the world how to have a good time. By the late 90s/early 00s, The Spits were almost as famous for rowdy shows and outrageous costumes as they were for their acid-fried melodic rippers. Releasing five LPs over the next decade-plus, in addition to EPs and 7-inches, the gospel of The Spits spread far and wide, expanding the band’s live legend further and further while giving more fans the chance to hear their uniquely catchy songwriting and punk mayhem. And while several band members have come and gone since their formation, including Wayne Draves and Josh Kramer, The Spits have never lost their edge, never lost their live chops and most importantly, never lost that sense of beer-soaked chaos.

Grails

Rather than pick up where they left off, Grails take the sky-high riff-based heaviness of their earlier albums and distill it into a nuanced, widescreen opus. The perennial influences of mid-20th century Western film scores, obscure library music, and psychedelic krautrock are indelibly imprinted, but Chalice Hymnalexudes an eerie patience in unfurling the many layers of its subtle details. Produced by the band over the past five years, Chalice Hymnal bears some of the European psych and experimental hip-hop production techniques of founding members Alex Hall and Emil Amos’ other group, Lilacs & Champagne. Amos’ meditative metal band, Om, and longtime singer-songwriter project, Holy Sons, also naturally find their way into the Chalice cauldron. Rounding out their line-up, cofounder Zak Riles (also of experimental kraut-psych trio, Watter) layers synths and programming into an electronic-prog hybrid that pushes Grailsfurther into the deep end, displaying a profound resonance, both musically and emotionally. No one else sounds like Grails, and on Chalice Hymnal they sound more like themselves than ever before.

THE MAKE UP is the Washington, DC group that re-defined underground music in the middle and late 1990s with their peculiar and incendiary blend of gospel, garage and yeh-yeh music. Known for their dynamic and interactive live presence at hundreds of shows across 5 continents, the group also recorded 7 LPs, 14 singles and EPs and and collaborated on films, videos, pamphlets, and happenings. They toured extensively as a headliner and with groups such as Royal Trux, Sonic Youth, Fugazi, Dub Narcotic Sound System, Lung Leg, Harry Pussy, and many others.

The group has been called “dazzling … best dressed … martial … terrifying.” Their shows were known to feature communication, sermonizing, crowd participation, and dancing virtually unknown in the staid world of indie and garage rock. Their style was perfect, with matching Mao style jackets, with new versions designed for each tour.

The group was widely copied as well and precipitated and inspired a wave of “garage” imitators in the 21st century who often had commercial success but lacked the spark, character, nuance of the Make Up. Occasionally, when the moon is bright and the wolfsbane blooms, the group has come out of hiding for rare and exciting personal appearances since disbanding in 2001. They are making one of their rare returns now for a short time only, available for very special events.

Featuring Ian Svenonius on vocals, James Canty on guitar, Michelle Mae on bass guitar and Mark Cisneros on drums, and performing classics such as “they Live By Night”, “I am Pentagon”, Walking on the Dune” , “Here Comes the Judge,” “Every Baby Cries the Same,” etc, the Make-Up is as extraordinary as ever.

Prince Daddy and the Hyena

Saturdays At Your Place

Riley!

Carpool

Arrows in Action and more TBA

The Ergs! 20th Anniversary of DorkRockCorkRod

The Ergs! are an American punk rock band formed in 2000 in South Amboy, NJ, by three high school friends: drummer/lead vocalist, Mikey Erg (Mike Yannich); guitarist/vocalist, Jeff Erg (Jeff Schroeck); and bassist, Joey Erg (Joe Keller). Through touring and recording, The Ergs! became recognized on a national and international level, touring and playing with such noted acts as The Bouncing Souls, Lifetime, Less Than Jake, Descendents, The Loved Ones, The Gaslight Anthem, Dillinger Four, None More Black, The Explosion, Municipal Waste, Lemuria, and more.

mc chris
Crunk Witch 
more TBA

mc chris is most widely known for his reoccurring character MC P Pants on Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force where he was also an animator and writer. He’s been featured in the Aqua Teen movie, the video game and most recently on a series of You Tube videos called Aqua Donk Side Pieces. He’s also starred on several Adult Swim series including The Brak Show and Sealab 2021. When he’s not voicing some of his iconic late-night characters, he’s a full-time touring rapper. A pioneer of the hip hop subgenre Nerdcore, mc chris has worked with the likes of Talib Kweli, Andrew WK, and Donald Glover. His fans include the likes of Gerard Way, Post Malone and T-Pain and was even sampled by Run the Jewels for the latest Aqua Teen movie Plantasm. He’s toured with Reggie and Full Effect, Ninja Sex Party, Warped Tour, appeared on a GWAR album, performed at the gathering of the Juggalos and even had his own Honda commercial. His music has been featured on several Adult Swim Shows and commercials, Broad City and America’s Funniest Home Videos. mc chris is the widely accepted soundtrack to nerd culture. Not only does he rhyme about what nerds love most, but he was one of the first performers to encourage nerds to take pride in themselves and what they care about. He’s a full-time single father to his son, Tony, and lives in Los Angeles.

THIS SHOW IS AT ZIKA FARM

Fiddlehead

Gel

Since forming in 2014, Fiddlehead–Flynn, drummer Shawn Costa, guitarists Alex Henery and Alex Dow, and bassist Nick Hinsch–have been honing their unique sound, bringing together the energy of hardcore, the anthemic melodies of ‘90s alternative, the unbridled passion of Revolution Summer era emo. For Death Is Nothing To Us, the band again teamed with producer/engineer Chris Teti, and his punchy production captures the spark of Fiddlehead’s live show while doing justice to the massive guitars and undeniable catchiness that makes their music so immensely satisfying. The album’s concise 27 minutes sound like a natural extension of all of the band’s strengths, embracing the more melodic sensibilities of Between The Richness while maintaining the visceral bite of Springtime and Blind. “We knew we wanted to do something a little more aggressive sounding,” explains Henery. “That kind of stuff grounds the band. I think maybe people would have expected us to go cleaner with this LP but I see this as a real mix of the first two.”

The band’s agile sound, whether in their fiery attack or soaring choruses, is glued together by Flynn’s singular tuneful roar. From his seminal early band Have Heart, to Fiddlehead and his many projects in-between (Clear, Wolf Whistle, Free, Sweet Jesus…), the vocalist has earned a reputation as not only one of the most engaging performers in hardcore but also one of the genre’s most thoughtful lyricists. Here, on Death Is Nothing To Us, his lyrics cross into the rarified air where they could stand on their own, without the music. Across the album, Flynn seamlessly interweaves his ruminations on life, death, and all the joy and tragedy in between with references to Roman philosopher Lucretius; the author Jean Améry; other musicians like Bad Brains, Alex G, or Wire (doubling as a nod to the iconic Minor Threat cover of “12XU”); and even titles and lyrics from Fiddlehead’s own back catalog.

Yet Death Is Nothing To Us goes beyond simply touching on similar themes as Fiddlehead’s previous work. There’s a key distinction here–a sense of clarity, and perhaps even moreso, a sense of defiance. The title makes things clear: this is a statement, a line in the sand, and it’s not about one person, it’s about us. “I saw the title in this poem, ‘On The Nature of Things,’” Flynn explains. “It was rediscovered around The Renaissance, and it helped remind people more of the greatness of life and less about the sadness of death. It’s about not allowing death to rule over life.”

Sloppy Seconds
Raging Nathans
Over Our Eyes
Paperback Tragedy

Black Flag
The First Four Years

Jess Cornelius
and guests TBA

Everything Happens! Summer Tour
Stacked Like Pancakes
Lady Hatchet
The Soularites
The Great Heights Band

A Skylit Drive
Celebrating 15 Years of "Adelphia"
with guests 
VRSTY
Ovtlier

REDACTED
Relentless Souls

 

King Buzzo & Trevor Dunn
with guest JD Pinkus

We are bringing together a multitude of artists/performers/folks to have an intersection of the many corners of our arts communities that we love so dearly in Baltimore. Building on the past two showcases we’ve put together, we are partnering with producer not charles and beloved venue Ottobar to continue this work. Rather than focusing only on artists that are on our label, we want to involve other peers of ours who influence & excite us.

UŽ JSME DOMA
Consumer Culture
Severed Satellites

Music like the one played by UJD is hard to find anywhere else. It is wild in a punk way,
urgent, yet the composition is complex and elaborate with timeless lyrics. The typical
features are the trumpet sound, the incredible tempo and the live performances filled
with intense energy and humor. This is perhaps the reason why the band as well as their
audience don’t seem to get any older.
The music may seem chaotic, arranged randomly or improvised to an unfamiliar ear, but
that is far from the truth. The music relies on each tone, detail, band discipline and much
like a philharmonic orchestra, the musicians play according to sheets. An integral part of
the band’s footprint is the visual aspect provided by Martin Velíšek, a famous Czech
painter and graphic artist as well as a non-performing band member.
Už jsme doma was established in Teplice in 1985. About six months later, Miroslav
Wanek and Romek Hanzlík joined the band, having left the legendary punk band F.P.B.,
and they brought the work ethic and uniqueness that were characteristic of the F.P.B.
The music of Už jsme doma was heavily influenced by the Rock in Opposition avantgarde scene and most importantly by The Residents as well as by the punk scene
(Damned or Ebba Grön). On the Czech scene they have been in such company as the
bands Psi vojaci, Dunaj, Dybbuk or Krasne nove stroje.
Before the Velvet Revoluton the idiotic establishment had basically outlawed the band
making it illegal to perform publicly or make records. However, after 1989 they broke
through mostly because of their sophisticated originality, work ethic and will power
making it as afar as European clubs, North America and Japan where they have been
enjoying success in the form of regular concert tours. So far they have used their original
music to represent the Czech Republic in over 40 countries (just in USA more than 700
shows) and on 4 continents making them a respected part of the worldwide avantgarde.
The band often ventures into other art forms - animated film music (Krysaci - a TV
bedtime story, Fimfarum - Mira Wanek’s music was nominated for Cesky Lev - Czech
film awards), theatre (Ex-divadylko Zvolen, Minor, etc.).