Dennis and Lois: The Untold Story of Rock and Roll’s Legendary Superfans - Film Review

Chris Cassidy’s award-winning documentary about a couple who have been going to shows for more than 40 years gives the term “all ages” new meaning.

BY CHRISTINE LEONARD

Lifelong music lovers Dennis Anderson and Lois Kahlert are perhaps the most widely recognized pair of superfans in the world. With a history of attending concerts that spans more than 40 years, the eccentric but unpretentious couple from New York City has endeared themselves to bands from around the globe, and have become more famous than some of their celebrity acquaintances in the process.

Spotlighted by director Chris Cassidy, Dennis and Lois are now the subjects of their own eponymous biographical documentary, which examines how and why they developed and fed their voracious appetite for live music performances. The film is studded with dynamic concert footage and candid interviews with dozens of performers who have come to know and love Dennis and Lois over the years. Members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Mekons, New Order, Doves, The Smiths, Budgie, The Fall, Elbow, The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays (who immortalized them in a song), and more, all queue up to pay tribute.

Regular pilgrims to the streets of Manchester, England, the unmarried but deeply bonded couple have accumulated a mountain of tour t-shirts and ticket stubs. This conspicuous consumption is echoed in their jammed-to-the-rafters personal residence. A shrine to pop culture, each room in the home is dedicated to a different franchise. Entire bedrooms have been claimed by Spiderman, Batman, The Simpsons – earning Dennis and Lois the nickname “The Toy People.” The basement, of course, is reserved for vinyl.

The Ramones get an entire hallway, featuring one of Dee Dee’s leather jackets and a pair of Joey’s shredded jeans. In fact, The Ramones were one of the first groups to bring Dennis and Lois into their extended family. As original patrons of CBGB’s, the enthusiastic youngsters volunteered to help work the band’s merchandise table and quickly became indispensable assistants. Whether they were scoring good weed for recording artists or giving a traveling troupe a place to crash, Dennis and Lois always found a way to connect with people in a manner that made them feel seen yet utterly at ease.

There’s a powerful lesson to be gleaned from how remarkably forward-thinking and open-minded these two septuagenarians are in their approach to absorbing new sources of inspiration and obsession. Despite the limitations imposed on their three-gig-a-day habit by increasing physical frailty, Dennis and Lois persist in their determination to expose themselves to live music. This is evident in their ongoing support of up-and-coming artists like John Grant and The Vaccines.

As audience members, punk-rock roadies and Godparents to the scene, they’re not content to simply reminisce about the good old times of yore when legends roamed the Earth. Recently stage-side as A Place to Bury Strangers stirred the room into a calamitous frenzy, an MS-afflicted Lois (the unjaded veteran of 10,000 concerts) raised her hands in ecstatic reverie.

“Smoke started coming up. Everybody was doing this mosh pit, slam dancing, and body surfing. All this stuff going on and I’m there sitting in the chair… They’re passing the guitars over. They’re passing guys over. And, it was like the most incredible show I ever saw,” she says.

Dennis and Lois is available to stream now via AMAZON or iTunes

Cannabis Corpse "Nug So Vile" - Album Review

Cannabis Corpse
Nug So Vile

Devised back in 2006 by Phil “Landphil” Hall (Municipal Waste, Iron Reagan) and Josh “Hallhammer” Hall, Cannabis Corpse is a virulent strain of “marijuana death metal” that pays homage to the heavy hitters the brothers grew up listening to.

Recently reduced to a svelte trio, the Virginia-based weedcentric band drew deeply on a green sense of humour and horror metal roots to generate their latest ripper, Nug So Vile.
Ripe with that familiar icky sticky Garbage Pail Kids stench, tracks like “Cylinders of Madness” and “Nug So Vile” ooze with layers of bludgeoning percussion and wailing guitar sirens.

The alluring “Blasphemy Made Hash” leans into storytelling sorcery, while dire prospects “Conquerors of Chonageddon” and “Cheeba Jigsore Quandry” thrash about like a man on fire. A pummelling rocket ride through Adrenaline Canyon, “Edibles Autopsy” will have you examining yourself for absent extremities.
Dignity is restored with the demonic war march “Dawn of Weed Possession,” propelled in menacing surges by junkyard dog barks and a tempestuous cadence.

The final drag, “The Ultimate Indicantation” stirs the pot one last time — sending up cinders, spiraling riffs and growling vocals that wreak devastation upon an already smouldering landscape.

Best Track: Blunt Force Domain

By Christine Leonard

Album Review: Little Lamb – Elephant Shoe Two

Little Lamb
Elephant Shoe Two
Independent

Blaze up in the saddle for a ride through a bygone era as singer/songwriter/guitarist Tad Hynes traces the bloodlines of American folk-rock and psychedelic pop through the hazy hills of yore.

As he explains, “Around the time I released the first Little Lamb album I had fallen head over heels for Buffalo Springfield, which lead my attention to bands like Poco, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and many more. This late 60s surf/country/western/psych/rock sound had a great influence on the way I wanted the new album to sound.” 

The sauntering Morricone-tinged opener “Sun Dance Kid” lays the scene with a sultry Stratocaster strut. All the good vibes continue to shine down on “Mr. Squito” and “Thirteen Lined Ground Squirrel” with their weightless falsetto vocals and rippling strings. 

Fleshed out by the presence of singer/guitarist Sunny Dhak (Pride Tiger, Three Inches of Blood), who appears on the title track and a couple more, Elephant Shoe Two bounds through a Woodstockian meadow of honeyed harmonies and subversive lyrics. Bravely capricious explorations such as the rocky “Tiger Lily” and “Cool Autumn Breeze” find their counterpoint in melodies as delicate as spider webs on “Carnation” and “Needles of Green.” 

Reposed yet acutely observant of its environment, Little Lamb’s bespoke second release recalls the efforts of genre-kaleidoscoping bands like The 13th Floor Elevators and Ween while remaining entirely laced up in thread-puller Hynes’ daisy chain of thought.

Best Track: Needles of Green

Friday 18th, October 2019 

By Christine Leonard

https://littlelamb1.bandcamp.com/album/elephant-shoe-two

Black Mastiff - Interview with Clay and Bob

Black Mastiff Seize Control
with Loser Delusions

by Christine Leonard

“All of the songs in my head are Black Mastiff!”

It’s a common condition among those who have been exposed to the Edmonton rock band’s wide-bottomed grooves and soulful vocals. Renowned for their thick curves and intuitive rhythms, the heavy blues-metal trio has eclipsed their local scene and grown in stature and repute on a diet of beefy riffs and Alberta rye.

Far from the desert canyons and rocky peaks pursued by their headbanging brethren, Black Mastiff is most at home prowling the urban landscape and exploring Edmonton’s dark underbelly. It’s where they found the inspiration for their latest album, Loser Delusions; its name a cheeky tip of the bandana to Axl Rose, reflecting Black Mastiff’s state of mind.

“It was first thrown out as a bit of a joke,” explains bassist Clay Shea. “We had a giggle and then we thought about it for a bit and it just kind of made sense to us, with the way the writing process had been going and our dedication to the process of getting together. Our drummer, Allan (Harding), had been living in Vancouver and we were just trying to stay motivated and were a bit delusional about the future.”

It was a trial and a test for the sludgy outfit, who’s self-titled debut appeared in 2011. Working on Loser Delusions, Shea and guitarist/vocalist Bob Yiannakoulias knew they had reached a crucial stage in the band’s development, a high watermark that would see the fuzzy entity sink or swim for its melodic life.

“We’re always going for it, but we had to work hard to make this one happen,” says Yiannakoulias of working long-distance. “It took a lot of motivation because that cathartic thing you get from going to practice, turning up the amps, cranking up, blowing through your songs and having those rewarding jams wasn’t there. Sometimes it was less fun, but we had to stay really focused, and keep our shit together, and put in that time. Everybody had to pretty much step up the level of dedication.”

And step up they did, creating their own record label Grand Hand, in cahoots with tourmates Chron Goblin, along the way. It was a decision that put them in charge of their destiny and once Black Mastiff had the leash in their jaws there was no restraining their artistic impulses.

“We never really lost control,” says Shea, “but I feel like this was all just about regaining control and knowing we can keep doing this. We’ve got the chops to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Black Mastiff perform Fri, Oct. 11 at The Palomino Smokehouse (Calgary), Fri, Oct. 18 at Hard Luck (Toronto) and Fri, Oct. 25 at Temple (Edmonton).

Tuesday 08th, October 2019 / 07:00 

in • Alberta, • Rockpile

BreakOut West Fest Heads Up North

BreakOut West Fest Takes Off To
The Great White North
For Annual Music Summit

By Christine Leonard

The call of the Great White North will be heard loud and clear as Western Canada’s annual music celebration, BreakOut West Fest, turns its eyes and ears to the wild frontier of Whitehorse, Yukon.

“It’s a showcase festival,” says BoW’s interim executive director Nat Kleinschmit. “We bring in 60 artists to play 120 shows over three days. And then we bring in delegates from all over Canada and even all over the world, to come and listen to those artists playing in front of an audience in a natural environment. It’s a real celebration of Canadian music.”

A movable feast of music, art, awards and information, BreakOut West takes place in a new location every year. According to Kleinschmit, the decision to hold the 2019 gathering in the Yukon will bring fresh and exciting energy to this year’s programming.

Acts including Astral Swans, Miesha & The Spanks, Crystal Eyes, HellnBack, The Won’ts, Ponteix, Rare Americans, The Sweeties and many more will filter through stages with fitting monikers like Dirty Northern, Miners Daughter, The Old Fire Hall and Gold Pan Saloon. As if that wasn’t enough, BoW will also play host to the Western Canadian Music Awards. This year’s Artists Awards Reception will pay special tribute to singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark who will be inducted into the WCMA Hall of Fame.

“Sometimes we forget that there is strong activity in our Northern Territories—whether it’s the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or the Yukon Territory,” Kleinschmit says. “Holding this year’s event in Whitehorse is an exciting choice. It demonstrates that there’s a lot going on away from our big cities. There’s a ‘Northern Rush!’ We’re going to have a record number of artists from the Northern Territories. Some of the artists bring a particular viewpoint of the world and what it means to be Canadian. They have very different approaches in their songwriting and songs.”

In a land where musicians sometimes drive for hours just to jam, BreakOut West Fest will be an event to remember, for both artists and attendees alike.

BreakOut West Fest takes place from October 2 to 6, 2019 in Whitehorse, Yukon. For more information visit https://breakoutwest.ca

Tuesday 01st, October 2019

WAND "Laughing Matter" - Album Review

Wand
Laughing Matter

Los Angeles art-rock band Wand have outdone themselves with a new double LP that connects the dots of their discography like a trail of harmonic breadcrumbs.

Tracing the pathways worn through the tall grass by their EP, Perfume, and previous full-length release Plum, which both appeared on the Drag City record label in 2017, the aptly named Laughing Matter unpacks a bushel of happy lawn-dancing creatures.

Chuckling up his sleeve, frontman and master media manipulator Cory Hanson ushers his fuzzy navel-gazing quintet through fifteen equally imaginative and emotive pop-rock ditties. Painting pastel sunsets across a synthetic horizon, tracks such as the capricious “xoxo” and the atmospheric “Bubble” offer up easy-to-get-along-with melodies adorned with breezy instrumental and vocal outbursts.

Elsewhere, the aerodynamically acoustic “High Planes Drifter” breaks like a prairie dawn, drawing up to the warm and sketchy sand patterns of “Rio Grande,” as the beat-hurried “Scarecrow” thumbs a ride down the winding coastal highway.  Toeing the line between electronic pop and organic improv, “Hare” captures the buzz of a noisy mountain meadow, easily toppling the plodding piano of the lop-sided “Tortoise.”

Perhaps the brightest orb in the entire constellation, the reluctant “Evening Star” unveils itself slowly before leaping into your arms with a rose clenched in its teeth.

By Christine Leonard

Déjà View : Chron Goblin Interview

Chron Goblin Dismantles the Past
on New Album, Here Before

by Christine Leonard

Photo by Sebastian Buzzalino

Good fences make good neighbours, but if you’ve walked down the rambling alleys of Brentwood, Calgary in the past two decades, you might have caught drift of a hidden skateboard ramp and the band that dwells nearby like an ear-blasting company of trolls.

So the story goes, but no one knows the legend of this secret suburban shred-spot better than Devin “Darty” Purdy, aka lead guitarist to Calgary’s preeminent psych-metal outfit, Chron Goblin.

“The Brentwood Ramp, which has consumed the souls of many missed tricks, was built in 1997 by the City of Calgary and acquired by the Goblins in 2006,” says Purdy. “It was the main feature for many parties and band photoshoots and provided a great mental break from jamming. Unfortunately, termites got the best of it and we had to take it down this year, but its memory lives on!”

Purdy’s generosity in sharing his good fortune and square footage made the ramp a destination for members of Calgary’s skateboarding and indie music scene, just as his basement became the rehearsal room of choice for bandmates vocalist Josh Sandulak, drummer Brett Whittingham and bassist Richard Hepp. 

“It formed a hub for weekly backyard skate sessions, barbecues and basement jamming. So many memories of watching some of Calgary’s finest skating the hell out of the ramp well past dark, wheels clacking and trucks grinding, people hollering and dropping off the garage roof into the ramp,” Whittingham says reminiscing. “The band photo in our album Life for the Living is an awesome shot of us sprawled out on a couch in the middle of the ramp with a million beer cans strewn everywhere. Also, those nasty maggots growing in the recycling!”

It’s enough to bring tears to your eyes. Listening to the group’s brand new release, Here Before, it’s hard to believe that six years have passed since that sofa-king-cool snap was taken of the ambitious young punks with their desert-rock-meets-thrash dreams. Having furthered the arc of their ascent with 2015’s Backwater, Chron Goblin are accustomed to challenging themselves to master new techniques, but it’s their interpersonal skills that have truly elevated their game.

“I think the only way we’ve gotten to that 10-year mark is by evolving our relationship as friends and as bandmates in terms of our communication and being crazy honest with each other. Probably more honest than we are with anyone else in our lives. That in itself has caused us all to reflect more deeply on who we are as people and what’s led to a maturing of our band,” says Sandulak. 

Wild at heart, but growing wiser by the minute, Here Before delivers exhilarating maneuvers that come close to the thrill of pulling off rad stunts on the old Brentwood Ramp, but this round comes without the consequence of bruised up shins and beer can maggots.

Friday 20th, September 2019