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: Zine Assembly

Listening to the rock radio station (so far I've had blocks of Bad Company, Nirvana, The Eagles, and Led Zep) and putting together some zines. 

Keep yr eyes peeled for some announcements this month. Maybe. xoxo

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.

Update: Second Press Youth Funeral Cassettes In Stock

Restocked on Youth Funeral cassettes, this time on purple tint. Available now in our webstore.

Release information:

Professionally-dubbed cassettes, white imprint on purple tint.

Each order comes with:

-Cassette and clear case
-Double-sided 3-panel J-card artwork
-Digital download code
-Lyric insert
-Zine with hand-printed cover

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Edition out of /100.

Press: Cassette Corner - Youth Funeral's Symptom of Time

Modern Vinyl included Youth Funeral in this month's Cassette Corner feature, a recurring segment where editor Matt Bergeron takes a look at and reviews different cassette releases. Thankfully, he had very kind things to say about our release of Youth Funeral's Symptom of Time!

(Photo courtesy of modern-vinyl.com)

For anyone who hasn't seen what the package looked like, Matt was kind enough to take a nice photo of the contents.

"One of the more cohesive debuts from the recent happenings of hardcore, each of the 5 tracks flows effortlessly into the next, displaying intricate guitar work and uncompromising (if perhaps a bit gritty) vocal delivery…No Guidance, a music and art collective, puts lots of time and effort into the packaging of this release, as inside the hand-made slipcover is a standard, hand numbered (out of 50) J-card along with a lyrics insert. But the icing on the cake is the hand-made zine that comes along with the cassette…"

You can read the full article here.

Update: Youth Funeral Cassettes In Stock

The first No Guidance cassette release is now available for sale! Grab a copy of Youth Funeral's Symptom of Time from our webstore!

Release information:

Professionally-dubbed cassettes, white imprint on black smoke tint.

Each order comes with:

-Cassette and clear case
-Double-sided 3-panel J-card artwork
-Digital download code
-Lyric insert
-Zine with hand-printed cover
-Hand-assembled cardboard sleeve with spray painted art

Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.
Note: Attached photos do not show the spray painted cardboard sleeves; the sleeve in the photo is blank. Your final product will have an image on the sleeve.

Edition out of /50.

Update: Youth Funeral Zine Assembly

Preparing some of the goodies that will accompany the Symptom of Time cassettes.

12-page hand-made black and white zine with poetry, photography, short stories, lyric explanations, and more. Cover is made of cardstock with a hand-stamped linoleum print.

Lyric insert and digital download codes.

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.

Update: Machete Recording Debut LP

(Photo courtesy of the band's Facebook)

Derry's Machete, a highly energetic and riff-driven "Mexican metal" band, has finally entered the studio to record some songs after being a band for nearly four years. Although no release date has been mentioned, the band had a session with Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios this past Sunday to work on the new material.

(Photo courtesy of Andrew Ralston)

Youth Funeral played a house show with these guys this past summer (from which the above photo was taken) and they were excellent. As heavy as they were loud, the band shifted from fast-paced riffs to crushingly slow, Electric Wizard or My America-esque breaks.

More information will be posted as it surfaces.

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.

November Update

After a quiet month of October and with half of November behind us, No Guidance is finally rising from its slumber and seeing its first traces of activity. Despite some initial delays, the Youth Funeral Symptom of Time cassettes have been ordered and we are now currently waiting patiently for their arrival from the plant; more information and photos will be posted once we have them in our hands.

Meanwhile, the first visual No Guidance release has also been ordered. 50 hand-numbered posters, 11"x17" and printed on Premium 100# Glossy Cover, designed and illustrated by Raphael Bastek, will soon be available in our webstore and at live performances by assorted No Guidance bands.

New Hampshire has seen a variety of excellent releases as well. In a scene that has lately been crowded with hardcore and punk outfits, Pleasure Gap is a very unique band that blends alternative rock, folk, and many other elements to create an eclectic and charming sound. They released Tropical Barn on September 18th and it's fantastic.

November 2nd saw the release of Primitive Form by Guilt. The members of Guilt have been playing in and out of various hardcore bands in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts music scenes for the past few years and I think I speak for everyone involved that this new EP is the culmination of years of effort and growth.

That being said, I recently had the pleasure of attending FEST 12 in Gainesville, Florida with some of my best friends. It was quite an excellent showcase of punk and post-hardcore music and I had the opportunity to see some fairly impressive bands. One that particularly stood out was Ittō, a band that I had been listening to and following avidly for quite some time but just now saw live; I highly recommend them.

I unfortunately missed a fair amount of bands that I was eager to see (Wild Moth, Pile, LVL UP, United Nations to name a few) but the good certainly outweighed the bad and the warm weather was a pleasant change of atmosphere from the bitter cold of New Hampshire.

Keep posted for more information about art, music, New Hampshire, and everything else.

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: Youth Funeral's Symptom of Time

The debut Youth Funeral EP, Symptom of Time, is now available for free stream and download.

Be sure to check out Youth Funeral on Facebook  and Bandcamp and, as always, please let us know you think of the songs! Thanks.

Youth Funeral - "Lush"

Allow me to begin this update with a very humble thanks! Even after just this simple initial launch announcement and one Youth Funeral song stream, we have received remarkably positive feedback and interest. So thank you! As someone who is trying to start a new initiative in my life, this is an overwhelming level of support already.

To celebrate, we're sharing a few videos. For starters, here is a live video of "Lush" by Youth Funeral from their first show earlier in the summer. This is back when the song still had the working title of "O-ren Ishii" and this show was filmed by my friend James Attridge.

For anyone who doesn't recognize the name, the title "O-ren Ishii" came from the character of the same name from Kill Bill, vol. 1. Here is her origin video; it rules.

That's all for right now. If anyone is interested in hearing the Youth Funeral EP early and would like to review it, please let us know, either on Facebook  or through email ! Thanks!

The Machine is Sentient

After a little over a month of real planning and logistics (and countless months before that of daydreaming), the No Guidance Music and Art Collective is finally becoming a reality. In short, No Guidance is a collective that plans to try and help support the creative output of New Hampshire residents (and those of surrounding states), whether it be through music or art.

On Monday, September 9th, we will be posting a stream of the debut Youth Funeral EP, the first No Guidance release- check out a song from the release below! In the coming weeks we will post more information about the cassette release we have planned for this EP as well as more information about our next release.

[SINGLE TRACK REMOVED AFTER RELEASE OF FULL EP; STREAM HERE]

More about Youth Funeral: Characterized by fast tempos and rapidly changing time signatures, Youth Funeral is a chaotic and riff-dominant four-piece hardcore band. As dissonant chords build and crescendo over blast beats and a thick, distorted bass, the band's three vocalists often interweave their shouts and screams to create a cathartic and powerful sound.

Recommended if you enjoy: Hot Cross, Off Minor, Capsule

More info soon, so stay posted!