Le Diamant Brut: FFF Fest Edition w/ Mika Miko & The Roller
What’s the Deal: Fun Fun Fun Fest is always a yearly fix for punk lovers from Austin and beyond. And, bands like the L.A. noise/punk fivesome Miko Mika are responsible for bringing the stuff that makes the voices stop… or start. They have an energetic punk sound full of snappy drumming, power chord distorted guitars, catchy bass riffs and female vocals that make you miss groups like The Slits and The X-Ray Spex. They have a long list of 7 inches, self-released tapes and other recordings under their belts, but none do justice to their live show.
You can get a taste of the raw fun of their performances on the MySpace with a live recording of “On The Rise,” which sounds intense and less-than-perfect in a punk rock way. The fuzz and grittiness of the under two minute song is enough to make a nostalgic punker sweat. The group did a video for “I Got A Lot (New New New),” which was directed by No Age’s Randy Randall with Lana Kim, and with the dancing, smiling and general kick up your heels teenager tomfoolery, it’s clear what makes Mika Miko an act not to miss at the fest.
Something Interesting: Their Fun Fun Fun Fest slot is Sunday, November 8th at 2:55pm on the Black stage. Metallagher is also playing at this time on the Yellow stage. Although, it might not be so yellow after this blend of Metallica and Gallagher get a little messy.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Forensic Scientist” and “Take Hold”
Mika Miko [MySpace]
What’s the Deal: Just as Le Diamant was saying last week, Austin isn’t a town you immediately think of when you think thriving metal scenes. But, there’s definitely a thick and healthy undercurrent, and The Roller are part of that. They’re a four-piece sludgy metal group with creeping down tempo music, and their first tour was with Austin’s The Sword (also playing Fun Fun Fun Fest) and Black Cobra. According to the group, it was largely sold out. Not a bad start at all. They also got involved in Monofonus Press’ IF series early on. Their music was paired in a release with author Rebecca Bengal’s story Captioning for the Blind and painter Virginia Yount’s visions of surreal landscapes for the multimedia release of IF 02.
The Roller’s song “Zugunruhe,” which was inspired by the collaboration for the IF 02 release, is like trudging through a dangerous swamp surrounded by beasts. The guitars and percussion are paced but constant and unrelenting, and the scratchy screams are sometimes hard to make out, but invoke images of the vocalist wringing everything he has out into the mic while neck muscles and nostrils flare.
Something Interesting: High at the crest of noon on Sunday, November 8th, they will play the Black stage. The Roller will jump off the day on the stage, which will build all day until the eventual Danzig explosion at 8:30pm.
Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Rattle of the Shaman”
The Roller [MySpace]
