Ahhh, the holiday season, where millions of Americans hit the malls in an attempt to buy gifts for friends and family that show them how much they care by purchasing tons of lame crap that no one could possibly love.
It’s the weekend before Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice and you still haven’t gotten crap for anyone! Whatever will you do!? Luckily, Racket is here to help you find them something appropriately awesome and useless to help them forget that the bank is foreclosing on their mortgage, they will be too busy having …

Racket Damara: So, it’s very nice to meet you first, first of all. You guys are all from Sweden, right?
In Flames Peter: Yeah.
RD: How did you guys escape the Arctic Circle?
IFP: Do you mean how we came abroad?
RD: Well, I’m just saying, there are so many polar bears there. How did you escape them?
IFP: *chuckles* We don’t have any polar bears in Sweden.
RD: Too bad. How far north have you been?
IFP: Uhhh… I’ve been all the way up. …

Underoath, Saosin, The Devil Wears Prada, The Famine
House of Blues, Las Vegas, Nevada
November 18, 2008
I showed up at the House of Blues, one of the very few venues actually left here in Vegas. I have seen both Saosin and Underoath a few times, so I knew to expect almost every sixteen year old in town to be at the show. I was right.
First up was The Famine, a death metal band from Texas. I read this on their myspace, “The Famine is about the now and the future, not …

Katie Mae
You May Already Be a Winner
Maggadee Records
7/10
Some rock bands imitate their muses, while others fuse their influences to create their own sound. Then others seem to sprout out of the earth. That is Katie Mae in a nutshell. Even though their new six track EP, You May Already Be a Winner is a wide-ranging, synthesis of sounds that is not pure rock, pop, or alt-country. And while the band hails from upstate New York, this is not a ‘cowpunk’ band.
From the bluesy opening number …

Within the Ruins is a small town metal band from Westfield, Massachusetts. They’ve previously shared the stage with The Acacia Strain and Shadowsfall. The guys were recently signed to Victory Records and are currently in the studio recording their second album, Creature. With all of their current advancements, Joe Cocchi (guitarist) was anxious to answer any questions thrown at him.
Racket Damara: Hello there! So, your new album is called Creature. Using incredible descriptions of characteristics, environment, behavior, and gore, what kind of creature is this …

Behemoth
Ezkaton
Metal Blade Records
6/10
I’ve seen Behemoth live in the past and I have to say I was never impressed with their stereotypical, badass metal style. You’ll see these guys playing with leather suits worn under their metal armor, painted faces, along with big black boots with heels. Their new CD Ezkaton proved my 16-year-old opinionated self wrong… kind of. Their music is very mosh pit acceptable. Walking around to these shrieking sounds coming out of your headphones would be quite difficult without having someone to push or …

Prior to this interview being set up, Polar Bear Club was unknown to me, but when I saw they were coming through town with a favorite of mine, American Steel, and The Gaslight Anthem I asked if I could write something on the show. Shortly thereafter an interview was set up and I marked the date on my calendar. What follows is a short interview conducted in Polar Bear Club’s van with lead singer Jimmy Stadt following an amazing opening set by the band. They really worked …

Even after putting up with technical glitches such as dropped calls and dying phone batteries, Delaney Gibson, the powerhouse vocalist from Ventura, California kindly and patiently answered my probing questions regarding staying true to herself as an independent artist, performing along side Andrea Bocelli and discussing cover songs for an upcoming album due out next year. She’s a real class act and I’m taking a quick mental note: the best reception lies in the kitchen. Enjoy!
Racket Gail: How has your life changed since your album released this fall?
Delaney Gibson: It’s …

Electric Six
Flashy
Metropolis Records
7/10
Oh, a blast to the past of my electric days. This album reminds me of the kids with bright colored hair, mismatched clothes, and excessive piercings. Don’t get me wrong, electronic bands can put on a mean show. Overall, I could really see Electric Six being a band I would’ve been into three years ago. Their musical energy and interesting lyrics could really pull in the crazy, rebel local scene. But watch out! They’re touring internationally.
Now, the album actually wasn’t too …

The Dead Trees
King of Rosa
Milan Records
7/10
Think of shrill bands, and about a half a dozen spring to mind. Asked to identify mellower groups and maybe a handful of talented groups can be counted on one hand. None are mellower than The Dead Trees. Originally from Boston, the Portland, Oregon based group is quickly earning a reputation as a counterweight to the glut of scream-o and teen music that’s personified FM radio for almost a decade. With their sophomore album King of Rosa, the quartet featuring Matt …

Rodney Dangerfield
Greatest Bits
Shout Factory
6/10
Oh, Rodney, even after you’re gone, you still get no respect. A post-humus album full of clips from various routines just drives that last nail in the coffin, doesn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, there are some great one liners (I only get women because of who I am: a rapist), but the problem with trying this with a comedy album is that it breaks up the rhythm. I give props to Shout Factory for the attempt, but comedy routines are often looked at as a whole, …

I arrived at the HOB and after about an hour of waiting around, I finally made it to the Saosin tour bus for a quick interview and sat down with Beau Burchell and Chris Sorenson, where I learned a little about the duo’s side project B2C, a mock rap group with spoof-parody type songs based on other hip-hop artists. Do I sense a possible future Saosin/B2C tour? Guess not…
RacketKristen: So what does SAOSIN even mean?
Chris: Well, SAOSIN means be careful what you’re doing especially in life because you never know …

Monikers
Wake Up
Kiss of Death
9/10
Dear 8lb, 6oz newborn Baby Jesus, don’t let these guys break up before I can see them. Please, for me? I know that I laugh really hard at every Family Guy joke at your expense, but we’re cool, right? I’m hip, I’m down with the cause. If I don’t get to see the band who reminds me that there is a life of punk beyond shitty band patches and suspenders, I swear I will try to convert as many people as I can to Zoroastrianism. I …

Norwegian Kenneth Ishak spent the better part of the last decade touring the world, both in the band Beesewax and as a solo artist. I spoke with Kenneth about the things he encountered on the road across the globe, and his impressions of the places he’s visited. His new album, Silver Lightning From A Black Sky, is available now in the U.S. and worldwide.
Coolhands Luke: Kenneth, you hail from Norway. Has it been difficult making a namefor yourself being from Scandinavia, which, in the United States at least, is …

Dreaming of Gwen Stefani
Evan Mandery
IG Publishing
8/10
Over the last several years, there’s been a glut of middle-brow novels centered around, and obsessed with, pop culture. The Autograph Man, Welcome to Yesterday, even Bill Gaston’s lofty sounding, but headache inducing novel The Cameraman. All had snark, all had oomph. What they lacked was…well, meat. Intellectual meat, and not only that, they tended to run fairly long, like a three hour epic running at a multiplex in Chapel Hill. None of this describes Evan Mandery’s …

Gentleman Auction House
Christmas in Love
Emergency Umbrella Records
5/10
Generally speaking, music and schmaltz- particularly the holiday variety- rarely go together well, or at least in a perfect world they wouldn’t. But for some reason people think they do. Why else would Paul McCartney have recorded “Wonderful Christmastime?” However, that doesn’t mean anyone should not get any points for trying to introduce a little holiday cheer into their repertoire. That includes Gentleman Auction House.
In their day to day incarnation, Gentleman Auction House is an art-punk band, sounding like …