David Yow’s penchant for physical prowess is not only evident in his four decades as noise-rock’s ultimate madman; the Jesus Lizard frontman also taps into his mesmerizing contortions and transformations as an actor. Fans of Yow and his bands – which have also included Scratch Acid, Qui and Flipper – may be aware of his various forays in film, but only a select few have seen this wacky demo reel he used to clinch acting roles.
Enjoy The Bad Penny‘s latest roundup of the best music videos that caught our eye last month. And be prepared to be both shocked and awed, as the songs and accompanying imagery run the gamut, to put it mildly.
Earlier this week, The Bad Penny caught up with Joe Love, vocalist/guitarist of brand-new, badass Boston band Merry Brigade, who freshen up grunge-era alt-rock with a modern sound. The quartet — which also features Dave Holmes (guitar/backing vocals), Kevin Delprete (bass) and Ben Chase (drummer) — self-released their debut EP, DDD, in mid-March. After taking that first step, Merry Brigade are moving full-steam ahead, with their first full-length slated to come out later this year and a second LP — which the band is already toiling away at — poised to materialize in 2027.
“The real deal” is a phrase that gets bandiedabout often – excessively and sloppily so when it comes to singer/songwriters. But listen to Nashville musician William Tyler say five words, and you’ll immediately identify his Achilles’ heel: bullshit. Tyler has no reason to bloviate when he’s spent so much of his decorated career recording and touring with a litany of other sacrilegiously overlooked yet irrefutably talented musicians of the indie-folk, Americana and cosmic country varities. Tyler had membership in Silver Jews and Lambchop, made a record five years ago with Marissa Anderson, and counts Bonnie “Prince” Billy as one of his multitudinous collaborators.
Over the course of his three-decade career, the immediately disarming and infectiously kind Tyler’s list of credits runs longer than one featured at the end of a Sergio Leone film. And yet occasions in which Tyler overtly tackles topical issues or shares his beliefs about politics and the like are rare. Which is why The Bad Penny took note of Tyler’s participation in a recent compilation co-produced by indie filmmaker Rick Alverson called Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers. A description accompanying the Western Vinyl release stated: “Passages is both an acknowledgement of work in progress and an invitation to do more. Our representatives need to see us. Our families need to hear from us. Our neighbors and local organizations on the front lines of this crisis are ready for us to join them.”
Curious to learn more about the collection and its participants, we reached out to some of the contributors. One of them curiously rebuffed our invitation to participate in On Tyranny, saying “I really don’t feel like any of my troubles are the real burden of this moment.” But as the days, weeks, months and years in the still-nascent fascist regime taking hold of this country are proving, none of us will be untouched by the shock, awe, pain and lament that is growing like a cancer inside our collective civic body.
As if any of us needed any more convincing that Authoritarian America is increasingly resembling Russia, thanks in part to Donald Trump modeling himself after his hero Vladimir Putin, this latest installment of The Bad Penny‘s ongoing series On Tyranny will demonstrate how chillingly similar life in the two countries has become. And for this we have a musician named n0 trixx to thank: The Russian artist is unwavering in her conviction that those who call themselves artists must be uncompromising, courageous beyond dispute and speaking truth to power.
At a time when more American musicians are finally speaking out about the full-scale assault on democracy that Trump and his band of sycophants and sociopaths effectively began launching a decade ago, artists in the U.S. still have much, much more to learn. If there’s an upshot to the pillorying of musicians here, it’s that they have learned, are learning or soon will learn that making art is not simply an exercise in entertainment: It’s a critical activity that ensures the circulatory system of democracy is in good shape.
No Kings 3, which took place last week and drew an estimated 8 to 9 million participants – exceeding the turnouts of the first two protests – provided more wind in the sails of the pro-democracy movement that is barreling toward a critical juncture at the November midterm elections.
Red-hot MC TINO – who hails from Dayton, Ohio – didn’t make it to the protest. But since the early 2010s, the hip-hop high-achiever has kept his mind trained on educating and galvanizing his audience with socially conscious messages while ensuring his lips are trained on spitting transcendent rhymes.
Enjoy The Bad Penny‘s latest roundup of the best music videos that caught our eye last month. And be prepared to be both shocked and awed, as the songs and accompanying imagery run the gamut, to put it mildly.
Franzi Szymkowiak – vocalist, guitarist and synth player for psych/shoegazers Lukka – joins The Bad Penny to share her unique perspectives of how tyranny is taking root in the U.S. similar to how it did in Germany, where she was born before the Berlin Wall fell. In addition to remembering how the German people were “manipulated by Russian propaganda” after World War II, she recalls stories from her ancestors about even more atrocious acts committed by Hitler against intellectuals and artists.
“Hitler was going against people who could see through his whole ideology and who could think more intellectually about [his regime, philosophy and actions] and convince people that was not the way to go,” Szymkowiak states. “It was way worse at the time because people got executed for raising their opinion against the establishment.”
Roger Herrera, bassist/vocalist for Los Angeles’ Voidhämmer, checked in with The Bad Penny on Sunday to talk about Noxious Emissions, the four-song EP that the new death-metal/grindcore band put out in January. When our conversation inevitably turned toward the topic of federal agents invading L.A. Angeles last summer to terrorize and harass residents – regardless of their citizenship or legal status – Herrera seemed equally proud of his neighbors as he is proud of his bandmates.
“If you look at the news for so long, it is definitely maddening,” he said, noting the social strife that is ripping American society apart. “You can become overwhelmed and distraught by everything that’s going on. So you do have to shut that out so you can just go about your day.”
It’s premature to say “don’t sweat ICE”; after all, the masked thugs continue to terrorize American cities and their residents without impunity. But on Wednesday night, The Bad Penny caught up with Justin Smith – guitarist/vocalist for hardcore-punk band Sweat – who alleviated some of our concerns, if only for the time being.
In a relaxed and reasonable conversation, Smith reflected on some of the lame acts of wanna-be aggression he witnessed when agents invaded Los Angeles, where he and his Sweat-y bandmates live. Smith also stated that “I don’t think the U.S. has a stomach for another forever war,” which we all need to hear as the increasingly demented lunatic living on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. involves our country in a criminally absurd war with Iran.
