Indiana's Finest: The Best Local Bands of 2011

It's been a pretty crappy year for the American music industry. With a handful of exceptions, the radio waves provided a pretty lackluster presentation of Top 40 artists and singles which were fairly forgettable after first listen. Despite this, Indianapolis has managed to carry on and put forth some of the best bands and music the city has ever seen, creating a shining beacon of hope in the Midwest for quality music that hopefully the rest of the country can get on board with. The best thing about this particular list is that all of these bands just recently got their footing in the last couple years, especially in 2011. And what's amazing is many of these bands consist of people who are considerably younger than the average pop artist, but already offer up something better and more refreshing. Here is a list of the best local bands the Circle City has to offer.

It's All Happening - Band Voted Most Likely To Succeed In Their High School Yearbook

If there's one band likely to come out of Indianapolis and establish themselves as the country's next big rock band, it'll be It's All Happening. From the start, it's easy to tell these gentlemen have had nothing but stars in their eyes, with music that could easily take its place on radio waves alongside the top rock artists in the country. Even the band's name, a reference to the movie Almost Famous, is a hint at their desire to go further than any band in Indianapolis. They know what they want, and they have it down to a science.With a punk and rock & roll style borrowing influence from bands like The Clash and Samiam, making it big shouldn't be a problem for It's All Happening.


Facebook page here.
Website here.

Subatomic - Most Punx Up'd in a Single Calendar Year

Subatomic is one of the best and most hard-working punk bands in Indianapolis. The band recorded and released their first full-length album, expanded their reach across Indiana, and went on a five-day tour known as the MidWest Fuck The Rest tour. On top of all that, front man Kenneth Keener put together the first all-ages, all-punk fest in Indianapolis, Punks Don't Give A Fest, featuring over a dozen young, eager punk bands. Their sound, which weaves back and forth between blistering street punk, catchy pop punk, and brutal hardcore, has fans going wild as they scream along and mosh with the most manic of energy, a sign that Subatomic's hard work is definitely paying off.

Facebook page here.
Bandcamp page here. 

Earthbound - Best New Band To Look Out For In 2012

Finally, ska has returned to Indianapolis in the form of this young and enthusiastic ska-punk band! Earthbound broke into the Indianapolis music scene after winning Piradical Productions' annual High School Battle Of The Bands, and have been making waves ever since. All of the members are still in high school, and during their first year of shows, they have shown incredible improvement in their musicianship and song-writing. With some more time and some more shows, they'll accomplish what few have managed to do: be a solid ska band Indianapolis can be proud to call its own.

Facebook page here.
Bandcamp page here.

Scumbelina - Best New Band In A Stale Genre

Also getting a boost from participating in Piradical Productions' High School Battle Of The Bands, Scumbelina is a breath of fresh air in the psychobilly punk subgenre, which is an impressive feat considering many of the best psychobilly bands are still in the middle of their own midlife crisis. The young trio feel right at home in their rockabilliy roots and have the musicianship to show it, displaying an energy that some bands of their genre just don't have anymore. Thanks to Scumbelina, rockabilly could have a bright future in Indianapolis.

Facebook page here.

Comfort - Most Underrated Band in Indy

If there's one band that hasn't yet received enough recognition in the Indianapolis music scene, it's Comfort. If Blink-182 drank more than they already do and got much more depressed because of it, Comfort would be the result. But for where they lack in optimism, they make up for in sheer power. For a pop punk band, Comfort is loud. So loud, Nigel Tuffman would shed a tear of joy. Their first full-length, "Hoover," is one of the best local albums to come out this year, and with it, they're starting to gain a better following. 2012 will very likely be their year.


Facebook page here.
Bandcamp page here.

Chaotic Neutral - The New Kings of Indianapolis Hardcore

The Indianapolis hardcore music scene took a hit this year with local hardcore legends The Dream Is Dead, In The Face Of War, and Bolth all calling it quits and playing their final shows in the last year alone. But Indy hardcore is far from dead, and Chaotic Neutral is a testament to this fact. A super group of sorts, Chaotic Neutral's members have all been in bands that have seen their demise, and eventually came together this year to form the band, whose hardcore punk blend features panicked and pissed-off vocals over thrashing guitars and fast, pounding drums. Chaotic Neutral is a force to be reckoned with, as they could very likely be Indy's next great hardcore band.


Facebook page here.
Bandcamp page here.

 

Pessoa - Best Drunken Cry Mosh

Pessoa is one of the many bands riding high on the revival of early 90's emo music, but what helps them stand out in the genre is how incredibly accessible they are when compared to their peers. The vocals are clear, the lyrics easily relatable, and their music is full of infectious punk and indie melodies and just enough of that noodly twinkle to keep emo veterans and newbies alike singing along to every song, and that's not an exaggeration. Pessoa has one of the most enthusiastic fan-bases in Indianapolis, hanging onto every word while shoving and climbing over each other to prove it, especially during fan-favorite "The Coming Up Right," which is easily one of the best songs to come out of Indianapolis this year.


Facebook page.
Bandcamp page here.

Indian City Weather - Best Local Band of The Year

The pick for the year's band is pretty much a no-brainer. Indian City Weather (exclusive interview here) is one of the Circle City's most original bands, combining indie rock with hip-hop beats to make music so connectable and infectious it's hard to find a better band. Riding on the success of their "Leather Lungs" EP, the band has been all over the all-ages circuit and beyond, making it almost impossible to find a show they weren't playing on while making appearances on local news and opening for Machine Gun Kelly at the Egyptian Room. But for these fine, young gentlemen, the hard work has definitely paid off. Indian City Weather is in the middle of recording their first full-length album, which is expected to be out next year, so expect to see them continue ahead full-steam in 2012.

Facebook page here.
Bandcamp page here.

The Most Badass Christmas Songs Ever

Every December, shopping centers and radio stations devote almost all of their airplay to the yearly tradition of round-the-clock Christmas music. The songs are meant to promote cheer and happiness during a time when everyone is trampling over each other during Christmas shopping sprees and dreading the inevitable visit from their creepy, drunken uncle while they drown their sorrows in a glass of eggnog that never really seems full enough. Nearly everyone (except that one asshole that arranges your office's depressing holiday party every year) gets tired of Christmas music days before Christmas even arrives. This is why it's always important to spice things up a bit, so here's are five Christmas songs badass enough to make Santa Bot himself weep tears of joy.

Christmas With The Devil - Spinal Tap

The clown princes of heavy metal, Spinal Tap made their contribution to the ever-expanding catalog of holiday music and reinforced their relationship with Satan with "Christmas With The Devil." Haunting organs give way to a guitar riff so punishingly evil, it could only be written by the original metal gods themselves. The band says the song doesn't promote satanism, but instead claiming "Man’s relationship with the Supreme Evil One is a very private affair. The song is just a depiction, imagining what’s happening with Satan this time of year. Think about it from the devil’s point of view is all we’re saying." The lyrics give further insight:

The elves are dressed in leather
And the angels are in chains
(Christmas with the Devil)
The sugar plums are rancid
And the stockings are in flames
(Christmas with the Devil)
There's a demon in my belly
And a gremlin in my brain
There's someone up the chimney hole
And Satan is his name

With "No bells in Hell, no snow below" Spinal Tap prefer their Christmas as black as the Devil's soul, and they wouldn't have it any other way, which is why they deserve a spot on this list. It speaks for itself, really.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Alice Cooper

This classic Christmas song has always had creepy undertones painting Santa Claus as an omnipresent being that rewarded the good and punished the bad, but the cheery tune usually just left the listener without a care despite the fact the song exposes the jolly fat man as essentially Big Brother. Alice Cooper fixes this problem by giving the song the terrifying makeover it really needed. Want your kid to straighten up before the holiday season? Have him listen to this version of the song. Before you know it, he'll be shoveling the driveway and trimming the tree when he's not laying in bed awake at night crippled with fear at the thought of "Santa Claws" watching him while he sleeps. "He knows where you live. He knows that your window is open. He knows what's under your bed," Cooper says with menacing delight. Even though the original shock rocker is well past his prime, he gets this song, and does it proper, pants-shitting justice.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Ronnie James Dio

From the moment you hear the screech of the opening riff of this song, you'll know this isn't a Christmas rendition for mere mortals. Dio tells the classic story of the birth of Jesus Christ with the powerful and eerie wail he is known for. The song, featuring chugging guitars and a marching drumbeat that will have anybody banging their head almost immediately, is a testament to the former Black Sabbath front man's ability to make even the most simple or fantastical concepts seem terrifyingly metal and evil. But make no mistake, Dio is on a mission from God himself. A mission to spread the word of our lord and savior, and if the face-melting guitar solo in the middle of the song doesn't make you a convert, then the Holy Diver himself will force the Jesus into you with his commands of "God rest you, God take you, God bless you, ye Merry Gentlemen!" at the end of the song. Now throw up those devil horns, soldier of God! Spread tidings of good cheer, or Dio will find you.

Run Run Rudolph - Lemmy Kilmister

Although the formula that made the original Chuck Berry version of this Christmas rock song great has largely been left untouched, it's the addition of one of the most testosterone-fueled voices in metal that takes it into the most badass of territories. Lemmy Kilmister's voice is like blazin' hot sauce for the ears. Just a little bit is enough to make the most stalwart of elderly ladies get out of her wheelchair and kick Scrooge in the face. Men would finally have a reason to look forward to mass on Christmas morning with glee if Lemmy lead the processions and gave the sermon with his gruff, throaty man-growl. Using only the power of his voice, Lemmy put a full Grizzly Adams beard on Rudolph made with hair ripped from the chest of the infamous mole that resides on his face. Any more testosterone, and Rudolph would be leading Santa's Sleigh past the houses of sleeping children and onward into the heat of battle, dropping bombs on Baghdad and waging war with his bare fists.

Merry Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon

Were you still expecting distorted guitar riffs and unnecessarily intricate shredding on a Christmas song for it to be badass? Then you clearly don't know the definition of the word, my friend. It takes balls to be the man who stands up on one of the most joyous and festive holidays of the year and Debbie Downer that shit into the ground, but the Beatles resident hippie did it with the most famous holiday-themed protest song ever. With this song, John Lennon decided to be the Christmas version of the guy who preaches about the slaughter of Native Americans to his family during Thanksgiving meal every year. But Lennon manages to pull it off with finesse. Armed with acoustic guitars, jingle bells, and a children's choir, Lennon reminds everyone that while they're at home on Christmas morning opening their presents under the tree, wars and violence still rage on elsewhere. He manages to do what no one else can: make being a hipster douchebag on Christmas feel much more tolerable than it really should, and for that, "Merry Xmas (War Is Over) is truly a badass Christmas song.

My Response To The Indy Super Bowl Shuffle

I’m going to go rogue for this post and take a moment to talk about Indianapolis on a larger level than normal. It has come to the attention of Hoosiers who have had the misfortune of a friend sharing it on their social media page of choice that a video terrifying enough to rival the tape from The Ring has emerged from the bowels of the internet. In an extremely misguided attempt to recapture the nostalgia of Super Bowls past, TheIndianapolis Convention and Visitors Association banded together to release a promotional video known as the Indy Super Bowl Shuffle. Those with a weak constitution should refrain from watching the following clip. 

 

The horrors within this five and a half minute video involve staff members of various Downtown Indianapolis hotels touting the services and high qualities of their respective hotels in the form of terribly lip-synched, 80’s synth-drenched rapping a la the classic 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl Shuffle (which let’s be honest, isn’t that great either). Suited up in white headbands and dark sunglasses, the hotel community does everything but dignify our small hometown with this baffling video in an attempt to notify incoming Super Bowl visitors of the hotel services available in the Circle City during the big game in February. The terrible quality of nearly everything about the video had me immediately asking myself how I’ll be able to show the rest of the country Indiana as a whole does not approve of this video as a representation of the Hoosier State in the slightest. 

Given Indianapolis’ recent terrible luck on the sporting front, with the Colts in an endless pit of despair and the Pacers’ chance to, for once, finally take the spot light from football being delayed by the NBA lockout, this travesty to the senses does not help us look any better. Indiana is known to the rest of the world mainly for several things, including The Colts, The Pacers, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and corn. With two out of those four gone, our chances of defying any stereotypes the rest of the world may have of Indy decreases. 

Members of the ICVA and the creators of the parody have taken the video down from their Youtube page (although not fast enough for copies to emerge elsewhere) and have gone on record stating the video was only intended as a way to reach out to meeting planners in Chicago and invite them to visit their booth at a trade show in the Windy City. So simply put, the true mistake the ICVA made was forgetting to hit the “Private Viewing” button on the video. But the bigger crime the creators made was forgetting that good promotion requires better execution. 

However, this video can be seen as a minor speed bump in the road to Indianapolis’s expansion. Bringing the Super Bowl to Indy has been a blessing of which the Circle City has already seen the effects unfolding. Take a look at this promotional video Indy Connect created to inform the public of their plans to expand the city’s transit systems. Now check out this clip VisitIndy.com made to promote the Indianapolis Convention Center’s connectedness to the city’s surrounding hotels and landmarks. 

This video basically accomplishes everything the Indy Super Bowl Shuffle tried to convey, and did it while being classy and respectable to its own city. This is a video I can get behind. This is a video I would gladly show the rest of the country. Indiana has long been overlooked as just an insignificant part of the Midwest, but the expansion to the Indianapolis Convention Center, the construction of the J.W. Marriott hotel and the near-constant road construction in Downtown Indianapolis, all thanks to the Super Bowl being hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium (which was built with the intent of bringing the Super Bowl to Indy) are all a testament to the Hoosier state’s preparation to finally share the spotlight with major cities like Chicago. Yes, the Indy Super Bowl Shuffle was meant as a friendly, joking nudge to a convention hall full of business men and no one else, but Hoosiers have plenty of reasons to ignore it and be proud of the city they live in, even if the Colts make it difficult to do so.