Youth Funeral / Ittō

Mike and I recently had the pleasure of playing a few shows with Ittõ and Capacities as part of a few day tour with Youth Funeral. I've uploaded some videos and photos from the final show of this jaunt.

Perspective, a Lovely Hand to Hold


Chalk Li


Youth Funeral


Ittō




Lovechild

Update: What's in the Works

It's been slow here over at No Guidance HQ, but we're still going -- gasping, but somehow still alive, one might say. We've been slow with the updates due to our involvement with school and other far less interesting endeavors but, rest assured, we are slowly ironing out the details for our next few releases. Long since our initial announcement, we should finally be releasing something nice for Chalk Li, currently planning the packaging and accompanying goodies for the release as they prepare to record some new songs. We've got another cassette that I'm very excited for that we'll be announcing soon and we're also hopefully going to be helping to release a split 7" between Youth Funeral and Scowler (more details soon…it's always "soon, soon, soon").

The first batch of Youth Funeral cassettes are nearly sold out, with just two or three left and in the possession of the band now. The second run (out of a 100) have been ordered, are in, and are available for purchase either online or at the band's shows. In regards to those, here's a brief itinerary of what the band currently has planned, in case you were wondering or would like to help spread word. A number of these dates are with the seminal bands Capacities and Ittō so it's assuredly going to be a really good time.

ATTENTION: CANADIAN AUDIENCES -- We're sending a batch of the Youth Funeral cassettes up to our friend Dave at Zegema Beach Records for distribution. Finally, purchasing one of these will be financially reasonable and there hopefully won't be the issue of the exorbitant costs of shipping a single cassette and zine. I'll post another update when the package goes out and another, with link, for when Dave updates his distro.

Show Update

Some cool shows happening this week. Tonight, Choke Up, Bedroom Eyes, and Onslo are playing, with an art exhibit by Chelsea Mae. Choke Up is an excellent punk band that calls to mind a more aggressive The Lawrence Arms while Bedroom Eyes, a band I've talked about on here before, plays dreamy and thick shoegaze. Unfamiliar with Onslo but this should be a great show no matter what. Check out the Facebook event for more information.

(Flyer by Chelsea Mae)

Next, there's a completely stacked show happening this Saturday in Derry, NH. Armando, the guitarist of the short-lived emo band Athletes., will be opening with a solo set, followed by No Guidance sweethearts Youth Funeral and Chalk Li. I know nothing about Riis but Roosevelt and Notches both recently put out excellent new EPs (expect posts about those soon) and Machete will hopefully be playing some jams from the LP they just recorded. Waller is an interesting and noisy screamo band from Philadelphia (?) and I'm very excited to see them. Check out the Facebook event for more information.

Show Update: Badfellows, Pleasure Gap, Chalk Li, and more

I recently learned about a few more shows happening, which is always a good thing.

For starters, there's a house show this Friday (Black Friday) with Badfellows, The Pleasure Gap, and Foreign Tongues, but it's private so message one of the bands to get the address.

Badfellows plays a folk/alternative mix, not unlike their contemporaries in The Pleasure Gap. Although I've seen The Pleasure Gap play live before (they were fantastic), I've never had the pleasure of seeing Badfellows perform and I'm eager to see how they hold up.

Foreign Tongues, from what I remember, leans more towards the post-hardcore side of things on the alternative spectrum. I'm at work so I can't re-listen but Youth Funeral had the chance to play with this band over the summer and I thought that they (Foreign Tongues, that is) put on an interesting and engaging performance.

Next, there's a second show happening on December 13th. In case you forgot, Timothy Jackson Scott, Chalk Li, Pukey Stevens, and Chelsea Mae are having a performance at Modern Gypsy this same day. If that's not something you're interested in, however, Badfellows, The Pleasure Gap, and The Pants are playing Studio 550. Both venues are in Manchester, NH.

Furthermore, along with writing and recording new material, Youth Funeral is going to be playing a few shows in December and January, so keep your eyes posted for more information about that.

Show Update

I recently learned about two shows that are occurring in New Hampshire, although they won't be happening until December. I'll be sure to post about these again once they draw closer.

1) Friday, December 13th, 2013 @ Modern Gypsy (Manchester, NH) 

Chelsea Mae will be having an art display from 6-7pm with live music performed by Timothy Jackson Scott, Chalk Li, and Pukey Stevens afterwards.

Chelsea has a whimsical style that often uses watered down oil or acrylic paints on top of film photography for a stunning effect.

Timothy Jackson Scott is a folk musician from Nashua, NH. With a warm voice that wavers in the right places, his set will surely be intimate and quaint. I couldn't find more information about Pukey Stevens but Chalk Li is a No Guidance band that plays punk in the vein of Title Fight, Basement, or Rival Schools.

(Poster created by Chelsea Mae)

2) Sunday, December 22nd, 2013 @ Sonny's Tavern (Dover, NH) 

Doomriders (MA) and KYOTY will be performing live music at 9pm.

Doomriders play a fantastic style of rock that is heavy, infectious, and sludgy all at the same time. 

KYOTY has been one of my favorite local bands for the past few years; well-written post-rock/post-metal and one of the nicest gear set-ups that I've seen.

There is currently no poster for this event; I will post an update once there is.

Shows in New Hampshire are infrequent so be sure to attend these if you can. Also, the No Guidance Collective is currently planning an event for late December, but we'll post about that once the details are more concrete.

Thanks!

Band Spotlight: Chalk Li's Frontier

We are excited to present the second planned No Guidance release - Frontier, by Chalk Li!

Be sure to check out Chalk Li on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Furthermore, in the days since we've posted about Youth Funeral's Symptom of Time EP, we've received numerous emails and messages with overwhelmingly considerate and positive reviews and blog posts about it. As a member of the band and a member of the No Guidance Collective, it is incredibly humbling to see such kind things said about this new venture and I am unbelievably excited for the physical release of this EP and for future releases.

Funeral Sounds : "..This is a powerful release, the quality of the recording definitely stands out. The vocals are all passionately strained and talent-fully delivered. Guitars and bass mesh together perfectly on top of some innovative drumming, and I’m excited to see more from both Youth Funeral (sounds) and this new record label No Guidance..." (7.3/10)

I Would Have Stolen You A Whole Orchestra : "Real screamo fans, this is one you need to hear..."

Figureheads : "...“Lush” follows up the stop-start ending of the first track with quick fretwork that shines due to certain tonal choices and thanks to the assistance of some raw distortion it sounds more like the extremely technical hardcore of Florida’s Capsule…"

The Elementary Revolt / Manic Compression : "…Overall, Symptom of Time makes for a chaotic, volatile, and discordant listen. Highly recommended!"

Keep posted for more information!

Band Spotlight: Chalk Li

Today has certainly been a remarkably exciting day over at the No Guidance HQ! Earlier in the day, we posted the stream and download to the debut Youth Funeral EP, Symptom of Time. For those of you who missed it, it's available on Youth Funeral's Bandcamp page or for stream below.

Now, we are pleased to reveal the first track from the new Chalk Li EP! This first track, titled "Knew," shows Chalk Li further refining and expanding upon the punk and emo sound first shown on display on their previous EP, their self-titled.

This EP is going to be the second cassette release by the No Guidance Collective! We will post more information and photos of both the Youth Funeral and Chalk Li cassettes as we have them.

More about Chalk Li: As part of the new wave of bands revitalizing the emo sound that was made popular in the 90's, Chalk Li sets themselves apart from their peers by eschewing angular "twinkly" guitar riffs in favor of a more melodic and structured approach, as a mixture of hoarse and clean vocals are guided by a tight rhythm section and dual guitars that harmonize and supplement each other as they weave in and out of fluid and carefully-measured passages.

Recommended if you enjoy: Title Fight, Giant's Chair, Sunny Day Real Estate

Be sure to also check out Chalk Li on Bandcamp and Facebook.