SATURDAY DEC 30, 2017
529 Presents:
529 & Chunklet Present:
West End Motel Record Release Show
Blood On The Harp | Reconciler | DJ Dookie Platters
West End Motel Record Release Show
"West End Motel is a musical collective from Atlanta, GA. Sharing over 15 years together in light and in darkness. These boys play because they have no other choice. For the losers... for the down and out... for salvation.... for damnation. For Forgiveness... For their own collective conscience. Days turn to nights, then daylight again. All from the heart. All for you..."
"West End Motel is a musical collective from Atlanta, GA. Sharing over 15 years together in light and in darkness. These boys play because they have no other choice. For the losers... for the down and out... for salvation.... for damnation. For Forgiveness... For their own collective conscience. Days turn to nights, then daylight again. All from the heart. All for you..."
Blood On The Harp
For a group that started making inroads into the Atlanta music scene just a few short years ago, “Build Momma a Coffin” marks the beginning of a transitional era for Blood on the Harp. Led by songwriter Miguel Olascuaga, the band has grown from its original incarnation as a trio, morphing into dynamic collective featuring the talents of Keena Graham, Russell Blair, Chris Johnson, Christopher Salmon, and Troy King. This change has allowed the group to adopt a richer and more adventurous songwriting palette, resulting in well-layered songs that require some patience to unravel.
The new single is the first track Blood on the Harp has shared since expanding into a sextet and it provides a striking example of the dark country and Southern Gothic sound the group is quickly becoming known for. Opening with an eerie atmospheric swell of strings, the mood feels initially bleak before settling into the aura of deep resignation that guides the bulk of the song. Along the way a forlorn acoustic guitar and banjo are set adrift by a shuffling backbeat, while a melancholic accordion sweeps in as if to offer its condolences. Music this rustic and stylized often seems tethered to a distant time and place, but the song’s tale of anticipated loss, coupled with some stirring vocal harmonization, gives it a grim immediacy that’s hard to shake.
“Build Momma a Coffin” is the first installment in a series of new recordings to be released by the group, so expect to hear more from Blood on the Harp in the coming weeks. They’re definitely a band you’ll want to keep an eye on, especially if they can maintain a similar level of drama and intensity moving forward. - Immersive Atlanta
For a group that started making inroads into the Atlanta music scene just a few short years ago, “Build Momma a Coffin” marks the beginning of a transitional era for Blood on the Harp. Led by songwriter Miguel Olascuaga, the band has grown from its original incarnation as a trio, morphing into dynamic collective featuring the talents of Keena Graham, Russell Blair, Chris Johnson, Christopher Salmon, and Troy King. This change has allowed the group to adopt a richer and more adventurous songwriting palette, resulting in well-layered songs that require some patience to unravel.
The new single is the first track Blood on the Harp has shared since expanding into a sextet and it provides a striking example of the dark country and Southern Gothic sound the group is quickly becoming known for. Opening with an eerie atmospheric swell of strings, the mood feels initially bleak before settling into the aura of deep resignation that guides the bulk of the song. Along the way a forlorn acoustic guitar and banjo are set adrift by a shuffling backbeat, while a melancholic accordion sweeps in as if to offer its condolences. Music this rustic and stylized often seems tethered to a distant time and place, but the song’s tale of anticipated loss, coupled with some stirring vocal harmonization, gives it a grim immediacy that’s hard to shake.
“Build Momma a Coffin” is the first installment in a series of new recordings to be released by the group, so expect to hear more from Blood on the Harp in the coming weeks. They’re definitely a band you’ll want to keep an eye on, especially if they can maintain a similar level of drama and intensity moving forward. - Immersive Atlanta
Reconciler
Considering the lineup, you’d think Reconciler would be garnering a fair amount of attention, but it’s not exactly as if the Atlanta four-piece have been shouting their existence from the rooftops. Conceived early this year by local punk troubadour Joseph Lazzari and bassist Derron Nuhfer (Gunmoll, Less Than Jake), the group has been content to remain in remain in relative anonymity as they slowly fleshed out their lineup and collaborated on new material. In fact, if it weren’t for some fortuitous circumstances, the pair might still be locked into that process and the band as it stands today would not exist. “We spent the spring writing and putting demos together casually until I mentioned having a solo slot booked on a Drag the River show,” Lazzari reveals via email. “Derron suggested that we play the show as a band and within three and a half weeks weeks we had ensnared Kelsey [Wilson] and Kyle [Bryant] and worked out a set of material that evolved into what we are right in front of us.” Bolstered by the success of the show, the group has spent the subsequent months refining that first batch of songs and getting to know one another as musicians. Although Lazzari and Nufher had spent much of the year collaborating and building chemistry with one another, it wasn’t until Wilson (All Night Drug Prowling Wolves, Anchor Bends) came aboard on drums and Bryant added his considerable talents on guitar that the music truly gelled and the group was able to begin carving their aesthetic identity. What that identity is exactly remains to be seen as the band continues to work on their debut release, but if their first single is any indication, you can expect plenty of scrappy, blue-collar screeds and fist-pumping anthems in Reconciler’s future. Given the title, perhaps it’s no coincidence the songs sounds conspicuously old-fashioned, but in this case familiarity should not be equated with predictability or staidness. Lazzari has always been a gifted storyteller, and the band’s rousing riffs and full-throttle energy help provide his heart-on-sleeve lyrics the cathartic sting they need to resonate beyond a few mindless playbacks. For Lazzari, the experience of playing in a new band has been a rejuvenative one, and that feeling of restoration has led to ample soul-searching. “I felt like I might be done with playing music all together before this project got rolling,” he confesses. “On a deeper level, Reconciler is about finding common ground and acceptance between the labels that define us. It’s about finding comfort existing in the grey. I’m a painter, a punk musician, a sculptor, a country singer, a designer, a furniture maker, a guitar player, and at the same time I’m none of those. Each one would take a lifetime to master on their own. I’ve got to be comfortable existing somewhere in the middle of it all. If Reconciler, the band, could be a symbol of one thing I’d hope it would represent being honest to oneself.” -Immersive Atlanta
Considering the lineup, you’d think Reconciler would be garnering a fair amount of attention, but it’s not exactly as if the Atlanta four-piece have been shouting their existence from the rooftops. Conceived early this year by local punk troubadour Joseph Lazzari and bassist Derron Nuhfer (Gunmoll, Less Than Jake), the group has been content to remain in remain in relative anonymity as they slowly fleshed out their lineup and collaborated on new material. In fact, if it weren’t for some fortuitous circumstances, the pair might still be locked into that process and the band as it stands today would not exist. “We spent the spring writing and putting demos together casually until I mentioned having a solo slot booked on a Drag the River show,” Lazzari reveals via email. “Derron suggested that we play the show as a band and within three and a half weeks weeks we had ensnared Kelsey [Wilson] and Kyle [Bryant] and worked out a set of material that evolved into what we are right in front of us.” Bolstered by the success of the show, the group has spent the subsequent months refining that first batch of songs and getting to know one another as musicians. Although Lazzari and Nufher had spent much of the year collaborating and building chemistry with one another, it wasn’t until Wilson (All Night Drug Prowling Wolves, Anchor Bends) came aboard on drums and Bryant added his considerable talents on guitar that the music truly gelled and the group was able to begin carving their aesthetic identity. What that identity is exactly remains to be seen as the band continues to work on their debut release, but if their first single is any indication, you can expect plenty of scrappy, blue-collar screeds and fist-pumping anthems in Reconciler’s future. Given the title, perhaps it’s no coincidence the songs sounds conspicuously old-fashioned, but in this case familiarity should not be equated with predictability or staidness. Lazzari has always been a gifted storyteller, and the band’s rousing riffs and full-throttle energy help provide his heart-on-sleeve lyrics the cathartic sting they need to resonate beyond a few mindless playbacks. For Lazzari, the experience of playing in a new band has been a rejuvenative one, and that feeling of restoration has led to ample soul-searching. “I felt like I might be done with playing music all together before this project got rolling,” he confesses. “On a deeper level, Reconciler is about finding common ground and acceptance between the labels that define us. It’s about finding comfort existing in the grey. I’m a painter, a punk musician, a sculptor, a country singer, a designer, a furniture maker, a guitar player, and at the same time I’m none of those. Each one would take a lifetime to master on their own. I’ve got to be comfortable existing somewhere in the middle of it all. If Reconciler, the band, could be a symbol of one thing I’d hope it would represent being honest to oneself.” -Immersive Atlanta