"Up next, the hardest-drinking band in Nashville and the surrounding areas—the Alcohol Stunt Band. Songs about drinking, heartache, snakeskin boots and wrestlers. What's not to love? Chris Crofton's witty stage banter is worth the price of admission alone. He's also very informative. Thanks to him, the world now knows that Mary Kate Olsen does blow and Britney has just 'given up.' He should have a column in the Weekly World News. If you've never seen the ASB, do yourself a favor and check them out. You will be a fan." (Excerpt taken from an online review of the Alcohol Stunt Band, who would like to thank the writer for having excellent taste.) The Alcohol Stunt are equally influenced by John Denver and Motley Crüe. ASB cannot tolerate 30-year-olds who sing about high school. ASB are attempting to destroy Clear Channel. ASB love you.
Asschapel struck their first ominous chord in August 1999 and only two months later were delivering their first of many live attacks upon Nashville's local clubs and bars. Their straightforward Slayer-joins-Black-Sabbath-in-a-full-speed-AC/DC-cover-band sound was cranked past 11 and swallowed whole by all walks of the underground Nashville music scene. Everyone, from the proud alcoholic dive-bar burnout to the well-scrubbed student-by-day/revolutionary-counterculturist-by-night and devilishly diehard metalhead, soon rediscovered the lost art of throwing one's head back and forth to loud-ass thrash-and-burn rock music. Armed with only a demo tape and walls of amplifiers, Asschapel embarked on their first tour a mere six months following their blasphemous conception. Asschapel have now destroyed many cities from coast to coast and, as recently as last fall, spread their destruction overseas by conquering 13 countries across Europe. Asschapel continue in 2004 by spreading their unholy gospel as the band march across the globe, laying waste and sparing no one. Beware! The apocalypse has begun and Asschapel have provided the soundtrack.
Forget Cassettes are a two-piece rock band featuring Beth Cameron (vocals, guitar) and Doni Schroeder (drums, Rhodes). The band originated in May of 2002, when Beth and Doni rejoined forces after sharing a two-year stint in their former band, Fair Verona. Forget Cassettes' debut full-length, Instruments of Action, was released in January 2003 by Theory 8 Records. The album was recorded with Mike McCarthy, producer/engineer for ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Spoon. The album, with the exception of "A Legacy's Demise," was recorded completely in analog with the intention of capturing the band's live performance as much as possible. When asked what influences the album's unique style, Cameron cites Television, Karate and Q and Not U. Instead of comparing Forget Cassettes to other bands, Cameron would rather contrast themselves: "We DON'T sound like Minor Threat, The Go-Go's, Bread or Hüsker Dü." Since the release of Instruments of Action, they've seen radio chart success on the CMJ Top 200, peaking at No. 60 in just four weeks, and they've headlined sold-out shows in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio. Forget Cassettes will reenter the studio in fall 2004 with Mike McCarthy to begin recording their sophomore release with Theory 8 Records. The album is scheduled for an early 2005 release.
Lucky Guns formed in 1999, when Stephen Hitron (vocals), Corey McAfee (guitar), Geoff Hobbs (bass) and Casey Smith (drums) met at Middle Tennessee State University. Originally from Louisville, Ky., Steve and Corey, friends since childhood and musicians since adolescence, immediately set to work writing songs. Corey's fascination with a larger-than-life guitar sound, coupled with Steve's penchant for arrangement and production, quickly led to demos and, shortly thereafter, to a full lineup. Their sound began as an equation of early-'70s anthem rock and has grown to adopt the nuances of Southern blues with heavy bass and guitar grooves extending into angular, melodic hooks and unforgiving guitar solos. "True rock 'n' roll" is the only way to describe these boys from Nashville. The Guns have gained a strong local following through their manic live performances; they currently have one release, a 7-inch single ("Shake It to Me" b/w "Straight to Vegas"), on the upstart Nashville-based indie label Fictitious Records, owned by producer Roger Moutenot (Sleater-Kinney, Yo La Tengo). Lucky Guns are preparing to go into the studio to record their first CD.
With their no-frills attitude, anthemic choruses and high-energy live performances, Murfreesboro's Slack breathe new life into an industry filled with fashionably pessimistic hipsters and overhyped, overproduced assembly-line rock. With more than 10 years' experience playing, writing and recording, the band began their ascent with the release of their first album, Sorry to Drop This on You, on SSL (Superdrag Sound Laboratories). The band secured national distribution and worked exhaustively to promote the album. After a romantic dance with college radio (Slack was added to 63 stations within the first week of release, with no press or publicity), they continued to tour wherever and whenever they could, pausing only to work on new material and perfect their sound—big hooks, loud guitars and knock-you-off-your-feet drums, usually clocking in at under three minutes a song. Next stop: a production and publishing deal, with their song "Burn Out" featured on The Banger Sisters soundtrack. Voted in the Nashville Scene's 2003 Best of Nashville Readers Poll as Best Local Rock Band and Best Local Punk Band, Slack continue to headline shows at hot rock venues. Slack's latest album, Nothing Is Easy Enough (with Los Angeles producer Sean E. Demott), is slated for an early fall release.
