When I was younger I lived in China. You couldn’t buy music there except for bootlegs of Richard Marx and Pink Floyd. When I moved back to the states I lived in the midwest, and then finally moved to Arizona when I was almost done with high school.
As it turns out a lot of people in my high school in Chandler, Arizona liked punk…not like the Dead Heads and Dave Matthews Band fans of Barrington, Illinois. They liked punk of all different types, too. Some punk sounded pissed off, and other kinds sounded stupid on purpose. I tried to go to punk shows at the Nile to figure out if I liked it or not but I felt like an idiot for not knowing anything. I liked Korn, one Miles Davis record, and I had never heard a full Beatles record yet (wouldn’t do that until college, coincidentally). If it’s of any consolation I grew up listening to newer solo-career Tina Turner records (dad) and the less platinum clad section of Randy Travis’ discography (mom). This is meant to be somewhat of a disclaimer: I, for all intents and purposes, was doomed from the start to have either weird or shitty taste in music.
Nowadays I think I’ve more or less gotta’ grip. As I’ve gotten older and hopefully more intelligent I’ve managed to more or less sort out some opinions, in retrospect, about what I feel about Punk or any other ‘kinds of music’.
If I like it I like it. If I don’t like it I try to figure out if it’s because it’s unfamiliar or if I just don’t like it. If it’s the former, I try harder and either eventually give up or end up having a new favorite record of all time.
I still don’t understand punk. I’ve never been punk. I never had a band sticker on my school stuff. I have barely any 7-inches, none of which are punk 7-inches. Some day I want to have health insurance, take vacations regularly, and now I really like listening to sports talk radio.
So there’s this band Custody Battle from Flagstaff, Arizona. An old band of mine played a show with them in Portland, OR about a year ago and they were really nice. As it turns out they were also one of the best bands I’ve ever seen. When I say ‘one of the best bands I’ve ever seen’ I’m talking about live shows here…and when I say ‘lives shows here’ I’m generally talking about a visceral emotional experience that ideally inspires me or makes me feel something.
I don’t know what kind of music Custody Battle makes, but as soon as their set started, my eyes widened, my ears rang, my heart pounded, and my awareness of being at a show collapsed. I was convinced they were unleashing something and that is captivating. What’s more is that they, despite their ramshackle, clearly cared about their songs. Sick riffs (un-fuck-with-able), drumming on the brink of reasonable playability, and vocal styles that don’t worry about whether or not you’ll be able to talk after the show. All descriptions aside, though, the thing that keeps live music relevant is that the best shows are not verbally describable, really. You had to be there, and it was really good. That’s it.
They’ve somewhat recently released a self-titled 10” on Morning Star that is, to my surprise, very nearly as enjoyable as their incredible live show.
Click the crummy picture I made above to go hear this record.
My favorite riff on the whole record is the intro to Friendship Weekend. When I hear this song I want to drool in a bucket and punch a mirror. My other favorite (tied for first!) is Thieves. I don’t know what to do with myself when I hear this but I think I generally want to destroy something with my body parts and set it on fire…kinda like punching a mirror I guess.
If they play in your town go see them. If you can afford to buy the record buy it. OR just go stream it on that bandcamp I linked you to (in the picture!) every single day like I do. I recommend this higher than everything of all time.
My first proper concert was Beauty And The Beast on ice in Mandarin.
