Harsh Vibes: Mind-Numbing Fuzz, East Coast-Style.
Text by Brian Wilensky. Images by Ryan Treitel.
Harsh Vibes were playing out around Philly, drenching basements and bars in driving acid rock, when suddenly it came time to rethink their name. Not because they started to mellow out, giving up the dense stoner riffs, but because someone else tried to steal it.
“We searched the Internet so hard to make sure there was no other band called Harsh Vibes,” says guitarist and singer Chris Ragnar Bergen. “After we’d been playing out for about a year, a band in California popped up with the same name. We found them because they signed up for all the same social media outlets, like Bandcamp.”
Synth player Evan Raab recalls the time they had to correct a promoter after he accidentally put a picture of the West Coast Harsh Vibes on a flyer for one of their shows in Philly. The joke is really on those Pacific Coast kids because our local guys’ shows have been listed on the West Coast Vibes’ social media thanks to the algorithm Bandcamp uses.
Bergen, drummer John Paul Titlow and guitarist Kyle Reiff graduated from Upper Merion High School in 2001. Bergen and Titlow have been playing together on and off since they were 15. Reiff joined in 2010, followed by bassist Peter Sabatino and Raab. Over the past two years, the five of them have recorded every practice, creating a backlog of what they estimate to be hundreds of hours.
“There are two different modes of us playing,” Bergen says. “There are rehearsed parts that I mostly wrote. And we have just jam outs all together.”
Bergen had been releasing solo electronic music on European labels for years under the name Moblin. As the music he was writing became more rock oriented, he realized he needed a band because he didn’t want it to be just him directing everything anymore. He says that a lot of the songs he’d recorded as demos are now pretty different after having the rest of the band work on them.
The reason Harsh Vibes have all this material but haven’t put out a full-length or even a 7-inch after gigging around the city since 2010 is because of trying to expose their name through playing live. However, they feel they aren’t always put in the right lineup.
“We’ve been put on a lot of inappropriate bills, which I guess is normal when you’re first starting,” Bergen says. “At first it seemed like people weren’t sure where to place us. We’d either be the heaviest band or it’d be a real heavy death metal show and we’d be by far the lightest.”
Recently they adjusted their focus to putting out a cassette of their improv psych jams from their recordings. With so much content to choose from, they plan to make it a series of cassettes, putting out several over a steady period, starting with Psychedelic Gin Blossoms in December. But they’re still set on putting out a full length eventually.
“There are usually three or four parts of each jam that are worthy of being turned into actual songs,” says Titlow.
Since they’re having a hard time getting funds together for recording, they’re hoping to find someone who might help send their jams around to different labels.
Until then, Harsh Vibes will keep a steady dose of mind-numbing fuzz in your ears on their own.
Harsh Vibes will have a cassette release party on Saturday at the El Bar. See here for details.
Back to Back Records: Doing What They Want.
Neil Patel booked hardcore shows in Atlanta before he came to Philly. That’s how he met Title Fight’s Ned Russin. The duo formed Back to Back Records here in 2009 and since then, they’ve pressed and sold about 5,000 pieces of vinyl, signed one of the West Coast’s biggest hardcore bands, Soul Search, and arranged the recording of Face Reality’s record at Studio 4, the same studio used by Circa Survive. Our Caroline Newton talks to Patel about the label.
What was the process of starting the label?
Ned’s from Wilkes-Barre and I live in Philadelphia. Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia and Boston have been the hubs for hardcore. Like, kids come from all around the country and the world just for our shows cause we have This Is Hardcore Fest here. As soon as we said we were doing this, kids instantly supported us. We put out the first record. I had finally put out a vinyl. The most exciting part was when we finally did this, Revelation Records, which is probably the most important hardcore label ever, hit us up and said, “We need these records.” They sold out very quickly. Our favorite label ever asked us for more records and then sent us a check.
How did you go about making the records and album art?
Ned drew the album art himself. And that just goes hand in hand with the whole do-it-yourself hardcore ethic. Hardcore all sprung out of a bunch of angry kids not feeling right in the mainstream. For the actual record, we screwed up. We were sending the audio to the wrong places and we got the colors wrong at first. But that’s just the fun in doing your own thing.
Was it expensive to start up?
I got a $1,000 loan from my dad. And Ned got a $1,000 loan from Title Fight, which we paid off immediately so it was fine. I had a bunch of graduation money from high school saved up as well, so with that we started making shirts. Honestly, we had a lot of support.
So you made you money back and more?
Barely more. You make almost no money doing this. It is strictly because we love hardcore. You really don’t make money off of 7-inches. If you’re ever gonna make money it’s off of LP’s and we’ve only put out one LP. But we plan on doing more.
Do you promote and manage bands as well?
Yeah. This label has a lot of hype. I have a lot of followers. I strictly stick to Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter for promotion. That’s enough marketing. People always want to talk about your image and networking but it really doesn’t mean shit. If kids like your stuff, it’s good.
Do you have advice for people who want to go down this path?
Really the best way to do anything is to actually do something you’re involved with already. Start with your friends. All the bands I’ve ever worked with are my friends. Do something within your friendships. If it becomes famous, it gets famous. But that’s not what the goal of anything should be. We’re just doing what we want.
Images by Caroline Newton.
Modern Colour: Band of Serendipity.
Text and images by Matthew Albasi.
Tom Weir and Chris Boyle had been playing together for years, trying to piece together a band. They played in the basement of their house, crammed into the laundry room. Much of the music they made, by their own admission, was without direction. It was experimental rock – or something like that.
Then one day, while Weir played along with a Black Keys album in his basement, Stephan Sirochman walked by the house and overheard Weir. So he stopped in. Sirochman liked what he heard and soon, Modern Colour was born.
Sirochman moved Weir from bass to drums. Boyle took up the bass. Sirochman became the frontman and guitarist. Everything fell into place and they decided on a sound that was decidedly soulful and 
rock ‘n’ roll inspired.
On December 7, they will release their first real recording, titled Rally the Summit. It was produced by Dave Clauss, who has done work for artists like Shakira, U2 and Janet Jackson. Clauss and Boyle’s girlfriend grew up together. Boyle’s girlfriend started inviting Clauss to shows and the relationship grew from there.
“He came to our first couple of shows when he was in town just to check us out,” Weir says. “He wouldn’t critique us but he’d say, ‘Good job. Keep working.’” After a few months, Clauss decided they were ready to go to the studio.
Armed with a professional recording, Modern Colour is looking to take the hand of serendipity and continue on to greatness.
Click here for details about the launch party.
Intern Matthew’s Weekend Picks: Party Before The World Ends.
Every week, intern Matthew Albasi brings you his concert picks for the days ahead …
Hey there, Philly. Long time no see. How’s tricks? Good, good.
So, we’ve got weekend full of shows for you and with the impending apocolypse being only a few short weeks away, let’s make the best of it. The shows this week run the gammut from church basements filled with punk to dance-y electronica at Milkboy. Also, I promise, there is no country music this week!
FRIDAY
Grime Status, Ratkicker, Indefinite Dyad and Cop Problem @ The M Room
In the mood for some crusty metal? Of course you are. Philly locals Cop Problem will be there to fill that yearning void. The bill is rounded out by all-female Indefinite Dyad, Ratkicker and Grime Status. Sadly, this may be the first and last time you get a chance to hear Grime Status play for a while. According to their Facebook, their drummer is taking some time off. So, go check them out while you can.
Moon Taxi, The Grand Nationals and The Cold Roses @ North Star Bar
This bill is rounded out by The Cold Roses, a bluesy four-piece of Philly locals. They’ve got a nice rock and roll feel with crunchy guitars and walking bass lines. Not overly complicated but comfortingly familiar.
SATURDAY
Keys n Krates and Les Professionnels @ Milkboy
Electronic music is one of those genres whose never ending, complex sub-variations get me all backwards. Regardless of how poorly I categorize these bands they are fun to listen to. Both Keys n Krates and Philly natives Les Professionnels have a sound that I’m more used to hearing on a dance floor than in a small venue like Milkboy. That should make this show interesting.
Keepers, Family Vacation and The Reflexes @ The Fire
This show is Family Vacation‘s record release. The group of Temple students will debut their eponymous first EP. While they are pretty young to the scene, their sound is mature enough to capture your attention. Show some support for these guys before they blow up and move to New York.
SUNDAY
Six Organs of Admittance and Blues Control @ Johnny Brenda’s
Ben Chasny, the man behind Six Organs, is touring on the heels of his late-summer release of Ascent. You can expect this show to be a bit more rock than drone. From what I’ve heard of this new album Chasny has forgone the droning twenty minute songs of yesteryear for something a bit more digestible.
Bomb the Music Industry! in the church basement makes me feel like a teenager again. Since BtMI! manifests itself in about a million different variations of band members, I have no idea who will be playing with them. Since their on tour with their former keyboardist, Laura Stevenson –and her Cans– maybe she’ll make an appearance!
That’s all for now. See you all next week.
Kool A.D. and The Mad Decent Crew @ G Lounge.
It was wild at G Lounge last night when the Mad Decent crew took over the two rooms and had everyone dancing for part two of the Red Bull Public Assembly competition (the IllVibe Collective rocked The Blockley on Tuesday and the Shakedown crew will throw down next Wednesday at Underground Arts).
Kool A.D. (above) from Das Racist rhymed for a bit and and Dirty South Joe was joined in the DJ booth by Xaphoon Jones (dressed as DJ Felix Baumgartner, below). Riff Raff, GUN$ Garcia, DJ Sega and many others took part in the festivities.
Read more…
Talib Kweli & The IllVibe Collective @ The Blockley.
Tuesday was the first of three parties to be thrown by Philly DJ collectives as part of the Red Bull Public Assembly competition. The IllVibe Collective kicked off the series with a packed house that was treated to pumping DJs and Talib Kweli. 
The National Rifle, Traffic Nightmare and Sadie @ PhilaMOCA.
We had a fantastic turnout for our last Tuesday Tune-Out event last night. It was the largest crowd PhilaMOCA has had on a Tuesday since the series began last spring.
The folks in attendance were treated to great performances from The National Rifle (above) and Traffic Nightmare. And we saw the premiere of the first two episodes of Sadie, a web series about a young girl’s adventures in the local music scene. Shorty Boy Boy and En Fuego fueled the two episodes with their music and acting.
Afterward, we watched the cult classic, The Warriors, capping off a great night. Big thanks to all the artists who played and the folks who showed up, and to the good people of PhilaMOCA!
Jeremiah Sweeney from The National Rifle dancing with the crowd.
Hugh Moretta from The National Rifle.
Traffic Nightmare.
Nicole Agostino, the creator of the Sadie series.
Alyssa Kempinski, who plays Sadie in the series.
The packed crowd waiting to watch Sadie.
The Lawsuits Drop Their New EP, Numbers.
Check out the new music from The Lawsuits, who officially drop their new EP, Numbers, today. You can stream and/or purchase the music here.
We wrote about the group in the fall issue. Check out the story here.
TUESDAY: Party With The National Rifle, Traffic Nightmare, The Sadie Crew and The JUMP Team.
On Tuesday, we host our last Tuesday Tune-Out night at PhilaMOCA and it is a great lineup.
We’ll open up with Traffic Nightmare, which features our senior staff writer Kevin Stairiker.
After Kevin and his crew perform, we’ll watch two episodes of Sadie, a locally produced web show about a girl’s adventures in the music scene. The show features music from Philly groups like Shorty Boy Boy, Ruby the Hatchet and En Fuego.
Then The National Rifle will play their brand of electro-pop/indie rock, including (hopefully) a few tracks from their new album, set to be released album in January.
Here’s the schedule:
Traffic Nightmare goes on at 8:00.
We’ll show two episodes of Sadie around 8:30.
The National Rifle will go on around 8:45.
At 9:30, we’ll watch the cult classic, The Warriors.
There is a $5 donation to PhilaMOCA requested. They provide beer and drinks for another small donation. And you can grab the brand new issue of JUMP for free!
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 