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No crowd? No problem. DIY punk bands rock the garage
by Laura Winn
Buzzing guitars, pounding bass, hard-hitting drums, passionate lyrics from attention-grabbing vocals, and a sense of family filled the backyard garage at Branch Street on Friday, April 12. Never mind that there were barely 20 people in attendance (that's including the band members), each punk band played with energy, presence and heart.
Local boys Splitzville opened the free show playing throaty punk in the vein of Crimpshrine. Next up was The Damage Done, a four-piece punk band out of Seattle that describes its style as "happy hardcore." The singer screams and growls until his face is cherry tomato red, and yet the music is melodic-enough that the crowd can sing and dance along. Seattle based Success! (formally Rough Chukar) made a fan out of me with their catchy tunes that reminded me of Pinhead Gunpowder and classic Rancid. One of my new favorite local bands, Bastards of Young, closed the close-knit show playing Bouncing Souls influenced anthems that have you singing along by the second chorus.
Bastards of Young bassist Sean Hills said he knew everyone in the crowd by name and that everyone in attendance was like family. All the bands were so friendly and welcoming that the show did have that punk family feel, but the punk scene in Sacramento is far bigger than the small crowd in the Branch Street garage that spring night. Maybe next time more family will show up to support not only their own, but also the touring bands. After all, the show was free and it was over in time to head to one of the many local venues hosting great bands that night.
Missed the show? You missed out. - Sacramento rock music Examiner
Discography
Tusken Hater - EP
Self released 2007 on Two-0-Sickness records
The Wrong Side of the Trax - Compilation
released 2008 on Basement Records
Scream All of Our Cliches- CD/LP
released 2009 on Better Half Records
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Bio
the house show, n. 1. An art perfected by hardcore heroes of the past.
When combined with enough beer, the loudest PA possible, and a basement or living room packed with far too many sweaty, singing, dancing friends, the house show is guaranteed to provide the touring band with a great time and enough gas money to make it to the next town. In a time when the community is oversaturated with egotistical bands, all-ages venues that last six months at the most, and nation-wide conglomerate booking agencies specializing in pay-to-play shows, the house show is one of the last free and humble bastions of awesome ear-splitting rock.
Seattle’s The Damage Done will play anywhere and everywhere, bringing a house-show aura to whatever stage they find themselves on. Their ultimate goal is to put on the best performance possible whilst keeping an open dialogue between those who are watching and those who are performing. Since April of 2007, they have recorded a self-released EP at Bear Creek Studios and a full-length titled Scream All of Our Cliches. They were featured on the Basement Records compilation Wrong Side of the Trax released in 2008, as well as a digital holiday compilation released by Solidarity Records. They’ve traveled out to Wantage USA’s Total Fest two years consecutively, as well as Fast Crowd Record's Awesome Fest. No stranger to the road, this group has toured the west coast a number of time and have also embarked on shorter jaunts including dates with Polar Bear Club, The Riot Before, Off With Their Heads, and Brainworms. Whatever you wish to classify their sound as—pop, punk, hardcore, or rock n’ roll—they possess an undeniable knack for catchy hooks and infectious sing-along choruses. A perfect compliment to many styles of underground rock, the boys have shared the stage/floor/backyard with a wide variety of touring and local acts including Broadway Calls, The Measure, Bridge and Tunnel, The Copyrights, The Old Haunts, A Wilhelm Scream, The Hollowpoints, The Flatliners, Shook Ones, Glass and Ashes, Mike Park, Classics of Love, Pierced Arrows, A Static Thought, Akimbo, Star Fucking Hipsters, Git Some, M.D.C., Defiance, Grabass Charlestons and The Real Mackenzies. Favorites on KGRG 89.9 FM, the Damage Done can be heard on a daily basis on radios throughout the northwest.
A teen center in Arizona, an unsavory bar in Eugene, Oregon, the basement of a hall in Missoula, an art space in Seattle, a bookstore in Salt Lake City: all of these are places in which The Damage Done have lived their dreams and dirtied their bare feet, fracturing personal relationships and wearing down touring vessels. They’ve spent countless hours writing poetry on napkins and songs in Walmart parking lots. Why do they do this? For the love of the music, and the adventure of it all!
If you are interested in this group of gentlemen, give Scream All of Our Cliches a spin, or better yet, come out to a show! They should be coming through your town soon and you will not be disappointed. If you bring some friends and beers down to the basement, they’ll provide the entertainment!
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