Music This Week 007: All About Grade

It's funny how some bands just could not exist without others, yet those other bands popularity never seems to be what it should compared to bands that use them as a direct influence. Think of The Velvet Underground for example. The Velvets continue to be cited by many bands of the last 20 years in alternative rock (even in mainstream rock) as a very influential group by many, like the Killers for example. Take the Velvets popularity into account though, and what you're left with is a handful of hipsters, appreciators and musicians alike (I disclude myself from this category, not because I don't recognize their valuable contribution to art and music in the post modern age, but because I don't really like their music all that much - keep in mind it's just a personal preference, I totally thank them for what they've done for so many artists and musicians in general).

Grade is one such band. To know that Grade started in 1993 is one of those things that when you find out, it's like finding out there is an entire album from Slayer of early 80's punk covers. It really brings you back to the roots of it all.

Grade hails from Burlington, ON, like such other bands as Jersey (now defunct) and Silverstein - who copied their sound so precisely in their debut How Broken Is Easily Fixed (2001) that Kyle Bishop himself, one of the founders and lead vocalist of Grade actually guested on the album. But there could be no Silverstein, or perhaps Jersey without Grade. I would also argue that there could be no bands from nearby New Brunswick, New Jersey like Thursday without Grade (Thursday's debut came out in 2000), or even most of the stuff Thrice got away with wouldn't have been possible without them.

The first recordings came in a split with band Believe in 1994, with the landmark And Such Is Progress coming in 1997. A lot of the early stuff is simply 'hardcore' and couldn't be classified as much else. Most of this styling can be heard on The Embarrasing Beginning (2000) which Grade has publicly said on many occaisons was a mistake to release in the first place. Atypical Grade would be probably classified as the majority of stuff from Under The Radar in 2000 from Victory Records. It's around this time that things started to change. What I felt was the golden child on Victory's roster; I was wrong about. Thursday got the big winnings going off to Island (where later they were released from, and went back to Victory before getting signed with Epitaph) and bands like Taking Back Sunday struck gold with Tell All Your Friends - which has now been rereleased 3 times (ridiculous). The Screamo moniker came out of this music...the problem was that Grade was maybe a little too hardcore. The emo part of screamo wasn't there. It was just a lot of Kyle Bishop screaming, and I guess what's considered punk rock (of course there are so many facets, for example, I keep getting confused as to why I'm finding It Dies Today in that section).

Grade was plagued by a problem that surrounds a lot of Canadian touring bands. Long tours, far between stops and day jobs and being on an indie label meant they never found more than home market success, and certainly not on the radio (being a screaming band and all). This meant that most of the guys were in more than one project. After Headfirst Straight To Hell (2001) was released, what I believe is their crowning achievement and probably one of the best albums of the decade, Greg Taylor, the original guitarist, left to play in Jersey full time (he was playing in both projects). Charles Moniz replaced their original bass player Chris Danner right after the release as well. Moniz was so new, in fact, that I remember seeing Grade for the first time live in '01, and Kyle saying that they couldn't do any more encore because Charlie was new, and he didn't know any more songs. The Casarin brothers from Somehow Hollow joined Grade for their final tours and the band brokeup thereafter. If you watch the video for Termites Hollow you can see the Casarin's in the background wearing S-H shirts to promote their own band. It was pretty terrible. Then they broke up.

Somehow Hollow was a terrible disappointment. It was no follow up, and the songs were just too poppy and without substance for Grade loyals. Jersey eventually broke up. Kyle Bishop was playing guitar on a horrible punk outfit called the Black Maria. It had all gone to shit.

Then there was a light. Greg Taylor had formed a new band called Saint Alvia Cartel. A cool, and distinctly Canadian sort of reggae-greaser punk rock band had a few incarnations of what sounded like Grade tracks on it. All in all, the self titled release from Stomp in 2007 was at least a worthy replacement to maybe fill 25% of that hole. They were touted as a 'Canadian Punk-Indie supergroup) with members of Bane, Jersey and Grade, and even got radioplay. The singles Don't Wanna Wait Forever, and Time To Go actually got radio play. Then their follow up hit, and it sucked so bad...I don't even want to go there. It was just really bad.

Then something even more miraculous. On July 1st, 2009, the original members stated on their Myspace site that they were actually playing together again. By fall of that year, two tracks were finished, and in winter of 2010, two split EP 7" pressings were released by At Both Ends magazine for their final issue. Now rumors surrounding a new Grade album, considering how well they got together and the hype around the release of just two songs continue to float around.

Those songs can be heard here:

http://www.myspace.com/gradeundertheradar

There was also a reunion show in 2008 at the Opera House in Toronto. I never heard about it, because unlike Americans, I don't follow Myspace. It was just never friendly to Canadians I guess. I would have easily dropped the money to fly down there and see them live. I'm guessing it was fairly impromptu.

Anyway, I wanted to give you a little sampling of Grade music for this week's playlist. This sort of goes through a little bit of the other groups I mentioned as well.

Optical Portions - Grade - At Both Ends Split - 2010
Dirty Dent - Saint Alvia Cartel - Self Titled - 2007
Somehow Hollow - The Witch Of Glen Cedar Gate - Self Titled - 2003
Little Satisfactions - Grade - Headfirst Straight To Hell 2001
Seamless - Grade - Under The Radar - 2000

And there's a little Grade-ology for you. I had them on while I was cleaning the house today. Hardcore really gets your house spotless. Until next time, keep listening to music.

Music This Week 006: The Stills Album I Couldn't Find, Underoath, and turning 27.

I'm old.

There I said it.

Actually an interesting thing crossed my mind the other day while driving to my parent's place for dinner. I had Underoath in the CD player. There was a point at which I though I'd be past this.

No, not this point on Wayne Gretzky Drive. I thought a time would come where I'd stop listening to hard music, but it just hasn't happened. Maybe in my 30's, but at 27, I'm still enjoying it, if not more now than I did when I was younger. It's interesting growing older as a music appreciator. In addition to having all the wierd hopeless romantic fetishes that music appreciators have (like in High Fidelity), you look back at all this mass of music you collected and wonder as to why...what drove you to take on this expansive undertaking of analyzing, enjoying, keeping it all in order, etc. There's also those other crazy things like

• -I want to be a rock star
• -I am a musician
• -I cannot find a girl in which so many musicians express so much passion for in songs. I want to write songs like that and therefore, I want a girl for which to be passionate about
• -Possibly I want a girl who is a musician

I was once told by this girl that I was dating that "[she] was used to being the star in the relationship." I told her by all means, she could be. I don't think that worked, because she didn't stick with me. I don't consider myself a star by any means, but being a music collector, appreciator and even a musician or just a general music nerd carries in itself a certain elitism that's undeniable. Some people can think it's nerdy and a waste of time and effort (and money if you're like me). Others might find it intimidating.

Now on to what I had on the laser turntable this week. First; I still can't stop listening to Jackson Square by the Arkells. Again, it took from July to freaking late March for me to get a hold of this album, but I did, and I've been obsessing over it since. There really hasn't been a day that has gone by that I haven't listened to it. I told you to pick up some songs from it in the last edition. I feel like everyone should just listen to the whole album.

I finally got the Stills Oceans Will Rise this week. Every store had been out of it for quite sometime, until I went to the HMV in Bonnie Doon mall after getting milk at Safeway. It is, I guess, a little wierder than I thought it would be. In spite of that, there are still some good songs on it, although my favourite is still Being Here which has already been licenced to Alexander Kieth's.

Fuck it.

Then there's Underoath. In 2004 AP gave them 5/5 for the album They're Only Chasing Safety, and said openly that it was "unlike anything else out there." Unfortunately, that's not even remotely true. I don't really think it's true of that album either. I picked up their most recent Lost In The Sound of Seperation and was surprised at how just like Norma Jean it sounded when Cove Reeber guests on their tracks. Spencer Chamberlain definitely has an emo whine when he isn't growling the rust off his vocal cords. Outside of that; I have no idea how this band was labelled as a Christian band. They are about as much a Christian band as Evaneasance was, or Hayley Williams of Paramour is. I mean, maybe the band itself is Christian, but this is far from a Christian band, just like how Norma Jean was supposed to be Christian, and perhaps some of the songs pertain to scipture, but not in a Love Jesus sort of way. The album isn't a 5/5 for me as Ross Robinson's produced Anti Mother by Norma Jean. But it fills a gap where there needs to be some hard music versus all the softy indie shit I've been listening to lately. Well, it's not shit. It's chocolate pudding, isn't it?

For the playlist this week, have a listen to:

1. Hands On Fire - The Stills - Oceans Will Rise 2008
2. Snow In California - The Stills - Oceans Will Rise 2008
3. A Fault Line, A Fault Of Mine - Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Seperation 2008
4. Emergency Broadcast: The End Is Near - Underoath - Lost In The Sound Of Seperation 2008
5. Burning Down The House - The Talking Heads - The Best Of, Remastered 2009

Why is that last one in there? Well you know, it was 2/25 and I picked it up because let's face it: The Talking Heads are freaking fun to listen to.

I know it's been a while since I made a tape. Maybe I should make myself one for my birthday (or maybe one of you should make one for me).