Posts Tagged ‘skaterock’
DRI and Zero Percent Concert Review,Austin, TX, December 1, 2015
DRI is one of those bands that I could likely name most of their albums but not know a single song title off of any of them. A good amount of my friends love them and I never gave them much of a listen. I decided the day of the show that I’d go just for the hell of it. I binged listened to several of their albums at work to get a feel for what they were all about. The later stuff, as most people know, was more metal. They could really write some riffs. Out of all the stuff that I listened to, Four of a Kind is probably my favorite.
My friends in Zero Percent were opening up the show. This band features guys who have been in the rock, punk and metal scene in Austin for a long ass time. They hit the stage and ripped through their Lonestar and whiskey infused punk set to a good response from the crowd that was starting to fill in for DRI. It was an early show so they finished up around 9PM. One cool random fact is that the guitarist, bassist and drummer all play left handed.
After a quick break, DRI hit the stage and automatically a pit happened at the front and stayed active throughout the whole show. Lots of mohawks and studded denim jackets to be found. Spike (g) and Kurt (v) are the only two originals left in the quartet that originally hailed from Houston and moved to San Francisco.
I have to say that I enjoyed their set quite a bit, even not knowing any songs. I can also hear their influence in a lot of newer bands. The venue, The Sidewinder, is run by the folks who previously ran Red 7. It’s quite a bit smaller but that hasn’t stopped them from bringing in good sized national acts like DRI, Exodus and Agnostic Front. I’d guestimate that there were maybe 125 or so folks at the DRI show, maybe a little more. I was down near the front at the edge of the pit and it never got packed where we were.
Motorpsycho – Wrenched (1992)
Sorry, this is not the Norwegian rockers, so carry on.
I found this in the same record store at James Madison University that drunken weekend that I visited Kelz. 1992. I 
think it was $1. I figured I had nothing to lose by spending a buck. Fortunately I got something enjoyable. Motorpsycho hailed from somewhere in California and some of the Cali skate rock influence is to be heard in this, especially in the vocals. I’ve listened to this album a lot over the years and it always takes me back to that fun weekend at JMU and also of good times of that following summer in my 82 Trans Am.
Now don’t get me wrong, this whole album isn’t great. There’s some goofiness on here like Fuck It Up, which really is a tribute to the skate core influence. Thunderhead…Drunktank is pretty weak as well. The final track, not really a song, is Barstool Philosophy. Not really interesting at all.
Overall this album gets a 3/5 if nothing else for carrying on the “Thrasher” spirit of SoCal. Don’t Wait, Scarred for Life Some Kinda Friend are worth the price of the album alone, even if I had paid full price for it. So if you’re into that old skate rock stuff like JFA, Los Olvidalos etc, you’ll like this, even if just a little bit.
The Metal Files 
You must be logged in to post a comment.