Album Review: Sunny Side Up - Paradise in the Sky

Ever get the urge to bust out the checkered vans, checkered sunglasses, checkered skinny tie, checkered hat, checkered (insert black and white accessory)?  Oklahoma City’s Sunny Side Up is here to make sure the third wave never dies in Oklahoma. Bands like The Ceiling Tiles, Tell It to the Brass (who turned into The Last Slice), Third Grade Scuffle, and others like them will never be forgotten in the ska scene; but after a while the ska/punk scene just died out in Oklahoma.

The album is a throwback to the mid-90s, with all of the standard ska-rock songs: a girl being cooler than you, not making it because you’re a ska band, being in a ska band, and so on. Combine the ska styles with the band’s love of anime and Japanese culture and you should hardly be surprised that they have comic style artwork, their own four part comic book series coming out, and Jun Senoue playing guitar on a track.

The sound of the album is very impressive for (what I understand) is mostly a DIY album. The two piece horn combo sounds powerful, and helps to direct the songs. The guitars drive on the rock parts and sound natural and pop on the skanky ska parts. On top of the sound, the album is just fun to listen to. I've said the word catchy a few times already, but it really does describe some of the songs. I currently have "Hipster Girl"on repeat.

A few critiques:

• the vocals are a little too overdone and layered too think for my tastes, but they make for some catchy choruses
• MORE BASS!
• four or five songs are from a previous EP. They’re some of my favorites, but people might already have half of the album.
• not enough songs about saying “fuck you” to hipster girls

This album is not reinventing anything, and it doesn’t really need to. Ska/punk in Oklahoma has been null for a long time. I am glad to see someone trying to keep it alive, and, so far, succeeding at it. Along with Classy San Diego, these guys have a pretty decent chance of making sure the punky skanky horn driven rock genre never goes away in the OK. This album is for the ska kids, by the ska kids. Not something recommended for the punx, but if you want to unwind and have some fun listening to catchy local music check, give this one a chance.

Oklahoma Musicians React to Moore Tornado

The music scene is just as tight knit in Oklahoma as any other part of the community. When a two-mile-wide tornado descended on Moore, OK on May, some of the first people to respond and help out were the musicians. Here are some reactions to the disaster from Oklahoma punk and ska bands.

Sunny Side Up (Ska/rock/punk from OKC)

“We're releasing our first album this Saturday at The Conservatory,

But TOMORROW we've decided to release a rare recordings collection!! ALL proceeds will go to tornado relief!!

Join us here tomorrow for an opportunity to do a great thing for your community AND collect rare SSU recordings!!”

The album can be purchased here: http://sunnysideupska.bandcamp.com/album/ssu-rarities

3 Dates Later (Punk/Rock from OKC)

“All proceeds that go to the band from our record release show will be donated to moore victims. Spread the word.”

“We're going to be gathering up a bunch of our old recordings from way back in the day to sell on our band camp page. All proceeds will go to Moore victims.”

“The sense of community and civic responsibility in Oklahoma is unmatched. Absolutely proud to be an Oklahomie today. What happened was terrible, but something amazing came from it. The people here really do take care of their own. It humbles me, and much of my faith in humanity has been restored. Oklahoma has a lot of love.:

They Stay Dead (Punk from Edmond/OKC)

“Give some of them $$$$$$$'s to help out the tornado victims here!!

You can help those victims right now by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999. By doing this you'll be donating $10.

If enough of you donate we will post nudes”

Violent Affair (Street Punk from OKC) who were on tour when it happened

“Sending lots of love to everyone back home affected by the storm. Nothing can keep us Okies down for long.”

The Dirty Mugs (Hardcordian Wonder Punk from The Dirty Woods)

“Donate directly to the OKC Tornado victims through

www.dirtymugs.com/donate !!!! Help our good friends in OKC out!”

Rude King (Ska/punk from Dallas)

“We are heading to OKC on Thursday to play a show with Classy San Diego and The Suspects at Leon's Lounge. In light of the catastrophic tornado yesterday, we have decided to take as many supplies as we can with us to be dropped off at a locally suggested donation spot. If you would like to help donate something for us to take up, please contact us at jon@rudeking.com and see where you can meet us in Plano or Dallas area to help donate water, supplies, etc... If we get enough response, we will be taking a small trailer to take it all. Thank you all in advance for your generosity and support.”

The Shame (Tulsa Oi!/Punk)

“Cheers to all our OKC friends! Stay Safe and all the best to you!”

Kinda Creepy (OKC rock/punk)

“We are playing a benefit show for victims of the Oklahoma tornados this Saturday May 25th at the Red Brick in Norman with Abby and the Norms plus several other bands more details to come”

Album Review: Streetlight Manifesto - The Hands That Thieve

It is hard to find a music lover who does not like Streetlight Manifesto. There are undoubtedly some out there, but I haven’t run into one yet. What this says to me is that Streetlight goes beyond genres, and simply translates into good music.

I have been a “super-fan” of Streetlight Manifesto since Everything Goes Numb came out a few months shy of ten years ago. People like me patiently wait for releases to be recorded, re-recorded, mixed, re-mixed, mastered, delayed and finally released. We loyally bought (and sometimes still listen to) Keasbey Nights and pretend the songs on 99 Songs of Revolution: Vol. 1 were originally written to be played that way.

When I heard that SM were breaking up and releasing what will probably be their final album I had some mixed feelings. I think that there isn’t much room for them to work in their current situation; ska-punk just isn’t popular, Victory Records has a strangle hold on their collective testicles and claims they owe them another record, and they have to listen to annoying fans like me say “the new album is good, but it’s no Everything Goes Numb.” Throw in that Tomas Kalnoky is a self-proclaimed perfectionist and the struggle just seems to be amplified. Knowing this I didn’t have a clue what to expect from The Hands That Thieve. The questions were mostly answered last week when the record leaked. (Disclaimer: I don’t encourage illegal downloading, but I do encourage you at least give the album a listen on YouTube. If Victory really wanted it down that bad, they would get it down like they did for ANY Toh Kay The Hand That Thieves video that surfaced).

The album starts off strong in typical SM fashion, with a track called “The Three of Us” which starts with Kalnoky’s classicly clean guitar strumming and the proclamation “I will never defend the man who makes a mends with the enemies friends//I will never pretend” before kicking in to a full band instrumental segment full of weaving horn lines and the quick, clean drum and bass work you have come to expect from the band. As it builds to the core of the song you get everything from skanky guitar riffs accompanied by thick gang vocals, to bouncy breakdowns layered with almost metallic guitar riffs. All in all it is the way a Streetlight album is supposed to start: with an easy intro, abrasive kick in, winding tempo changes, and overall really damn catchy.

From there, it moves to “Ungrateful”, which is reminiscent of a Catch 22 song. It starts with a lo-fi Dixieland muted trumpet then eventually kicks into a high paced punk tune along the lines of “Supernothing” by Catch 22. This is where the listener might start feel like they’ve heard these songs somewhere before. It isn’t a bad feeling by any means, almost a sense of familiarity. It is almost as if the band brought together elements of every album they have worked on, including Catch and Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution.

One of the few expectations most had for the album was that it would not be kind to Victory Records. To make a long story short, the band and the label don’t get along too well. It feels like every song has at least one or two jabs at Victory in the lyrics. The title track’s chorus proudly proclaims “and we will bite the hand that feeds//we will not turn the other cheek”. Of course all of Kalnoky’s lyrics can be interpreted in different ways, but with all of the anger from the band, it is a safe bet that a lot of the album is directed toward Victory.

One aspect that I enjoy is the length of the songs. This is not for the typical punk attention span, with the shortest song clocking in at 3:52 and the next shortest over four-and-a-half minutes. While I’m usually not too keen on long songs, I like that the melodies, horn lines, tempo changes, and sense of unpredictability all have room to maneuver throughout the album. The model for this is “With Any Sort of Certainty” which breaks down into an ambient section and a chanted chorus, and before building back into the structure on this 6:22 venture.

While the band has said they are not fully breaking up, the album just seems to be closure for them. A final hurrah, “fuck you” to Victory, “thank you” to fans, and homage to all of their previous work. I hope that isn’t the case. I hope the band goes on forever. I wouldn’t even mind if they take years to release records. I guess we won’t really know until it all pans out.

Punk is OK score: 8/10 (For the record, I would have given this record a good 9/10 if it felt like it was worth the 6 years wait)

Oklahoma Punk Calendar

April 20^th

Blacklist Royals, Black Canyon, They Stay Dead @ VZDs. Oklahoma City

April 23^rd

Voodoo Glow Skulls, Left Alone, Classy San Diego, Truckside Down @ Blue Note. Oklahoma City

April 26^th

Reno Divorce (greaser punk from Denver), Havana Affair @ VZDs. Oklahoma City

May 7^th

Total Chaos, The Dirty Mugs, The Scandals, Kinda Creepy @ The Conservatory. Oklahoma City

May 10^th

The Dirty Mugs, New Imperialism @ The Yeti. Tulsa

May 17^th

Brutally Frank, The Dirty Mugs @ The Yeti. Tulsa

May 18^th

Dirty Mugs @ The Blue Note. Oklahoma City

May 22^nd

ANTiSEEN, Hellstomper, The Costanzas @ The Conservatory. Oklahoma City

May 25^{th
Terveet Kadet (Finland), Lotus Fucker (DC), Sete Star Sept (Japan), Common Fears (Tulsa) @ Soundpony. Tulsa}

May 25th
Sunny Side Up CD release show, The Last Slice, Classy San Diego @ The Conservatory. Oklahoma City

May 31^st

The Casualties, The Dirty Mugs, Violent Affair, Chokehole Stab, Community Pools @ The Conservatory. Oklahoma City

June 4^th

Gogol Bordello @ The Cain’s Ballroom. Tulsa

June 22^nd

The Dirty Mugs @ The Blue Note. Oklahoma City

June 25^th

MDC, Verbal Abuse, In Defence @ The Conservatory. Oklahoma City

July 5^th-7^th

Fuck You, We Rule OK! punk & oi! festival: The Krays, Krum Bums, Brassknuckle Boys, Who Killed Spikey Jacket, Adolf & the Piss Artists, The Agrestix, Combat Crisis, The Bad Engrish, Ponx Attax, Victory, The Shame, Sniper 66, Violent Affair, Dog Company, and a lot more. @ Vanguard. Tulsa

If you have events coming up, contact Punk is OK on Facebook.

The Last Slice on Tour

The Last Slice are no new face around the Oklahoma scene. Since their first show in 2008 (a 15-or-so minute set at the King of Clubs in Claremore, OK), The Last Slice have figured out how to do things the right way. Several bassists, numerous tours, and a full length album later they are starting to hit their stride on the road. I got a chance to talk to Jason Ward, the band's trombonist and manager of sorts, before they head out on their Get Weird Southern US Tour.

PiOK: You guys are getting more and more experience on the road. This is your second tour of 2013. How have your tours progressed from the beginning to now?

Jason: Our first tours (and I'm talking like, 2009) we so poorly thought out and constructed, I look back at them now and I wonder how we even made it home without dying of starvation. Seriously, though, now touring is a full fledged business. I do most of our management and booking and have become fairly good at getting us in the right places with the right people. I wouldn't say we're profitable quite yet, but we have hit the break even point and for months out on the road at a time, that's something to brag about.

PiOK: What is your favorite part of touring with The Last Slice?

Jason: I could say something really cheesy about how I like meeting new people in different places, but since we've been really hitting the road hard over the last year, my favorite part of touring has become those few fans that come from god knows where (we had someone drive 6 hours to see us in New Jersey), just to see you, and then they scream every word of every song right back in your face. That's becoming a thing that happen more often than not now that we're constantly returning to these places, and it just gets more exciting every time we go out.

PiOK: What is your least favorite part of being on the road?

Jason: Money. I wish money didn't exist. That's an extreme obstacle for living on the road for a month at a time, because no one wants to starve.

PiOK: The band has done multiple tours to both the East and West. Which direction do you personally prefer to travel?

Jason: East. The west coast is fun in a lot of places, but those places tend to be way too spread out. The east has a lot of bigger cities just jammed right on top of each other. Your drive times are less and you can cover more ground faster. Plus, we've really built a name for ourselves in some spots out there and that seems to be where most of our fan-base resides now.

PiOK: What is one thing, other than your instrument, that you have to have on tour with you?

Jason: My phone/laptop. Both of those things keep our business running 24/7. I'm usually booking or doing something while we're driving down the road just to make sure we don't miss a beat.

PiOK: Best of luck to you all on tour. I would be doing the readers a disservice if I didn't take this opportunity to ask about your next album. Your debut full length, Fresh Cuts, took a long time for you to release and featured a lot of songs from your first few years as a band. Are we going to have to wait that long for a second album? Have you started planning it, and if so can you give any details?

Jason: I'm not going to say a whole lot, but no. You will not have to wait so long for our next album and I would almost guarantee you it'll be in your hands by this time next year if not way sooner. The album is pretty much written, it's just a matter of having a little time off from the road to actually get in to the studio and get it done.

PiOK: You have played a few new songs live since your album release party; how are the new songs coming along

Jason: Currently we've been playing Artificial Crab, a song about how bad artificial crab meat is, and another one called Chick's a Trip about crazy girls. Both of these songs are fully complete and have become sort of crowd favorites. On this last west coast tour, we added another new song called Strike That Match, which I feel is going to become a permanent addition to our live catalog.

PiOK: Is there a noticeable difference in style between the Fresh Cuts tracks and songs you have written since?

Jason: Oh yes. This is Last Slice 2.0. This next album is going to blow you away.

A list of tour dates can be found on the image below or on their Facebook.