Oneida
Brooklyn's genre-defying Oneida takes their primary cues from '60s garage and punk bands (especially the MC5), but throw in plenty of heavy, bluesy '70s stoner rock (think Blue Cheer, Foghat, etc.), plus dashes of jerky synth-pop, avant-garde jazz and kraut-rock. Originally featuring guitarist/vocalist Papa Crazy (aka PCRZ), keyboardist Bobby Matador (aka Fat Bobby), drummer Kid Millions, and bassist/guitarist Hanoi Jane (aka Baby Jane), the group made a name for itself in the New York area by virtue of its raucous live performances, which were frequently conducted in lofts and warehouses. Oneida's 1997 debut A Place at El Shaddai's was released by Turnbuckle, but by 1999's Enemy Hogs, they had moved to Jagjaguwar. They were especially prolific in 2000, releasing both the Steel Rod EP and the full-length Come on Everybody Let's Rock. They continued to issue albums at a relatively swift pace, issuing Anthem of the Moon in 2001(the last record to feature Papa Crazy who split from the band in late 2001) and Each One Teach One a year later. Atheists, Reconsider a split EP with the equally formidable Liars, also came out that year on the Arena Rock Recording Company imprint. 2003 saw Oneida release their sixth, and best, album Secret Wars, as well as writing and recording the score for Speedo, a documentary about Long Island and New Jersey's demolition derby circuit. Unfortunately, the music was for the most part left out of the finished film. It didn't slow the band down much though as they released the Nice./Splittin' Peaches EP for Ace Fu in late 2004 and The Wedding for Jajgjaguwar in early 2005.
Liars
Liars was conceived in November 2000 after two friends and ex-Los Angeles art students Aaron Hemphill and Angus Andrew reunited in New York City. They responded to a "musicians wanted" ad posted in a local record store by two Nebraskans, Pat Noecker and Ron Albertson. The lurching Aussie Andrew took on the vocal/frontman duties while Hemphill became their guitarist and drum-machine programmer. Bassist Noecker and drummer Albertson make up the Liars' rhythm section. Combined, they write music exhibiting fundamental elements of punk rock that is surprisingly formulated after the beats are laid down on the drum machine. Synthetic keypads, vocal modulation, and these interspersed pre-arranged compositions, mixed with their guitar-bass-drums equation, create angular yet melodic songs. Liars is reminiscent of U.K. groups who embraced dance music during the late '70s/early '80s — A Certain Ratio, Gang of Four, the Slits — bands who are all insidiously known for adding danceable rhythms to punk.
Only months after forming, the group played its first show. Liars' debut album, They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, was released on independent Gern Blandsten Records in October 2001 and was later reissued by Blast First/Mute. The album was recorded in just two days by producer/engineer Steve Revitte, who's best known for this work with the Beastie Boys and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Late the following year, Noecker and Albertson left the band and percussionist Julian Gross was recruited as a replacement. The trio began recording the second Liars album at Andrew's house in the forests of New Jersey with friend and co-producer Dave Sitek. The results, They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, which was inspired by experimental electronic music and German legends about witchcraft, arrived in early 2004.
Brooklyn's genre-defying Oneida takes their primary cues from '60s garage and punk bands (especially the MC5), but throw in plenty of heavy, bluesy '70s stoner rock (think Blue Cheer, Foghat, etc.), plus dashes of jerky synth-pop, avant-garde jazz and kraut-rock. Originally featuring guitarist/vocalist Papa Crazy (aka PCRZ), keyboardist Bobby Matador (aka Fat Bobby), drummer Kid Millions, and bassist/guitarist Hanoi Jane (aka Baby Jane), the group made a name for itself in the New York area by virtue of its raucous live performances, which were frequently conducted in lofts and warehouses. Oneida's 1997 debut A Place at El Shaddai's was released by Turnbuckle, but by 1999's Enemy Hogs, they had moved to Jagjaguwar. They were especially prolific in 2000, releasing both the Steel Rod EP and the full-length Come on Everybody Let's Rock. They continued to issue albums at a relatively swift pace, issuing Anthem of the Moon in 2001(the last record to feature Papa Crazy who split from the band in late 2001) and Each One Teach One a year later. Atheists, Reconsider a split EP with the equally formidable Liars, also came out that year on the Arena Rock Recording Company imprint. 2003 saw Oneida release their sixth, and best, album Secret Wars, as well as writing and recording the score for Speedo, a documentary about Long Island and New Jersey's demolition derby circuit. Unfortunately, the music was for the most part left out of the finished film. It didn't slow the band down much though as they released the Nice./Splittin' Peaches EP for Ace Fu in late 2004 and The Wedding for Jajgjaguwar in early 2005.
Liars
Liars was conceived in November 2000 after two friends and ex-Los Angeles art students Aaron Hemphill and Angus Andrew reunited in New York City. They responded to a "musicians wanted" ad posted in a local record store by two Nebraskans, Pat Noecker and Ron Albertson. The lurching Aussie Andrew took on the vocal/frontman duties while Hemphill became their guitarist and drum-machine programmer. Bassist Noecker and drummer Albertson make up the Liars' rhythm section. Combined, they write music exhibiting fundamental elements of punk rock that is surprisingly formulated after the beats are laid down on the drum machine. Synthetic keypads, vocal modulation, and these interspersed pre-arranged compositions, mixed with their guitar-bass-drums equation, create angular yet melodic songs. Liars is reminiscent of U.K. groups who embraced dance music during the late '70s/early '80s — A Certain Ratio, Gang of Four, the Slits — bands who are all insidiously known for adding danceable rhythms to punk.
Only months after forming, the group played its first show. Liars' debut album, They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, was released on independent Gern Blandsten Records in October 2001 and was later reissued by Blast First/Mute. The album was recorded in just two days by producer/engineer Steve Revitte, who's best known for this work with the Beastie Boys and Lee "Scratch" Perry. Late the following year, Noecker and Albertson left the band and percussionist Julian Gross was recruited as a replacement. The trio began recording the second Liars album at Andrew's house in the forests of New Jersey with friend and co-producer Dave Sitek. The results, They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, which was inspired by experimental electronic music and German legends about witchcraft, arrived in early 2004.
