The Icecapades, Krofft World, Caetano Veloso, Yximalloo, The Who, Betty Carter
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‘BLACK HONEY’ CD REVIEWS
Great low-fi soul-soaked rock ‘n’ roll that reminds me a hell of a lot of SYD BARRETT – especially his solo stuff…it’s got that calm wildness about it with fantastic roving song writing and raw production – there’s even a slight touch of PAUL WESTERBERG laid-back unruliness about it and the whole thing is delivered in a in post-punk mind-set…yep, this is a Gulcher release alright!! My wife’s Portuguese and some years ago I was introduced to Madeiran black honey and the black honey cake…and it’s no joke…the dark, suffocating depths are awesome and breath-taking (literally) and I really feel that that’s been reflected in this record…what a title…yes, in typical Gulcher style, the BON VIVANTS push limits with exciting experimentation and with massive success.
- NO FRONT TEETH (LONDON)
Years ago, Punk and indie rock came from a shared point of origin in the form of The Modern Lovers. Its repetitions and prickly touches inspired angry, young heads such as the Sex Pistols while Jonathan Richmans disenchantment and embrace of melody as a form of counter-culture to the dominant psychedelic and progressive modes of the early to mid 1970's could be said to have informed indie rock as practiced by bands like the Shins etc. Bon Vivants represent both these tendencies that they share with Modern Lovers.
"Reappearances" contains all the elements of conventional song played through Bon Vivants fuzzy approach. Every note trailed by the light haze, every clap and sung note echoes like it was recorded in a toilet. Those vocals sounding somewhere between Dave Thomas from Pere Ubu if the drugs worked and Lou Barlow circa Bakesale. This heavily pop sensibility is rarely varied from as "Suffering Bastard" attests; a heavy, noisy intro implies something different but it settles into the sort of punchy, indie rock number that makes up much of the record.
Despite the largely economical approach to song, the best moments are the more expansive. A or M operates along more elongated lines; working cycles and repetitions that are caked in psychedelic haze, stretching out over eight minutes.
Bon Vivants are highly competent purveyors of a kind of lo-fi garage pop. 7/10
- Foxy Digitalis Alex Kakafikas (29 October, 2008)
first full-length (after a debut EP in 2006) from Atlanta's Bon Vivants...this is scrappy, upbeat, tuneful garage rock that might have come from any time since 1967...the Bon Vivants are especially indebted to the Velvet Underground's third album (from 1969) for their unadorned rhythm guitar chunka-chunk and unflashy but propulsive drumming...no, they' don't approach the awesomeness of the Velvets, or the Modern Lovers, or the Lovin' Spoonful for that matter—but they're doggone charming and catchy, their harmony vocals and tambourine are just peachy, and mainstream radio will surely shun them for being so blithely homespun...(B+)
- WZRD chicago
Also rotating on:
WMBR
WUNH
WZBC
CKXU
WNYU
WREK
WPVM
WNYU (No. 14, 9/15/08)
and Rumble on Radio FRO, 105.0 MHZ, Linz, Austria.
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Reviews of the "Soul Action" 10-inch on Old Gold Records:
"Atlanta's Old Gold label made its rep with oddball underground releases of a distinctly warped nature. So it's surprising to hear the debut by Bon Vivants, a non-ironic hammer of lo-fi garage punk. Led by Old Gold's own Ben Young, the quartet sound almost like Billy Synth's old backing group The Turn Ups in their ability to do a fairly poppy thing in such a way that it sounds as good as drinking alcoholic mud. From looks to sonics to material, this could be a lost gem from anywhere in the last 30 years. and if you enjoy the basics raunch epistemology, well sidle right up."
- Byron Coley, The Wire, Nov. 2006
"OK. Heres the fantasy: this is the band that Pete Townsend would have formed had Entwistle and Moon really gone and formed Led Zeppelin with Jimmy Page. Menacing power chords, a dull, hungover buzz, pedestrian rhythm section. Somewhere along the line, Pete would have hooked up with Alex Chilton, and youd have something like this: eight brooding, sugar shit sharp power pop with an edge of rage that is timeless. ... read review ... The glee/anger is rivaled today only by Black Lips, who are in their own class. But I dare you to listen to this and not at least once think that they are the best band in the world right now. check out the ragged glory that is the Bells or Basketbakers and tell me Im lying. Their press sheet says that the lyrics are inspired by Surrealist poets, especially Eluard and Char. Fuck that. Surrealism was for upper class geeks who wanted to standardize Dada, and not even Breton could touch Rocket From The Tombs. A Classic is waiting for you."
- Mike Wood, Foxy Digitalis, 10/10 ......
"Garage torchbearers ... read review ... Ben Young's vocals, cagey and faraway, oversee the proceedings with an offhand cool. While the record starts off at a somewhat measured pace, Side Two features more lively cuts. "Pink Sangria" burns off its punk jitters in a mere minute and five seconds, while "The Mall Song" shimmies with delinquent energy. At either speed, this band is one worth watching."
- Amanda Langston
www.keenlyobserved.com ......
"falls somewhere between the Replacements, Husker Du and Big Star."
- Chad Radford, (Creative Loafing).......
"Although definitely post-punk in form and attitude ... read review .. the outsider improv mindset has once again embraced something that's even more basic to American cultural consciousness: R&R. No irony either. Hey man, these guys are for real, and not even slightly full of shit. How many rock bands in 2006 can pull that off?"
- Eddie flowers, Slippytown ......
"simple pop song, low fi, Raspberries, yes great stuff, noisey" - KZSU review of "Highway", the Bon Vivants track on the OGX 10th anniversary double album.......
The BON VIVANTS 10-inch SOUL ACTION on OLD GOLD is rotated on WRAS, WREK, WFMU, and WNYU (no. 25, week of June 16, 2006), and WCBN ......
"DO YOU REMEMBER ---- that legendary Big Star gig at the Matrix in '66, or how 'bout Moby Grape's killer punk comeback on Dangerhouse in '77, or yeah, the fragile beauty of that period when Garcia & the Warlocks '65 mutated into Mark Smith & the Fall '78--remember? No? Well, the Bon Vivants remember these things and many more--whether they "happened" or not. Heck, on this new Gulcher CD, they "really" do a cover of the Mothers' "I'm Not Satisfied" that has the brain-scrubbed freshness of, say, the Daily Flash or the Sons of Adam, rather than Zappa's cynical crew. Post-punk 'n folk-rock (NOT "freak folk"--eeek!), power-pop 'n acid-rock, howlin' at the Georgia moon like a lonely 16-year-old geek even as you stare at so-called middle-age in defiance. Television Personalities Soft Boys Swell Maps 'n Mr. Barrett hisself--post-Cale VU and the ghost of Arthur Lee--kids still 70s-drunk and runnin' free! SNAP! MANGLE! POP!"
"The Bon Vivants come from Atlanta, Georgia. That's Ben Young (rhythm and freak guitars, vocals), Rob Parham (rhythm and lead guitars), Ben Lawless (bass), and Jeff Patch (drums). In 2006, they released a 10" record called SOUL ACTION. It came out on Ben's Old Gold label, which has generally released noise, improv, and experimental stuff. The members of the Bon Vivants worked their way through all of those more outside approaches before settling on a song format for this band. It adds a lot to what they're doing now: the deep knowledge of noise and improv combined with structured pop-rock songs. And on their new Gulcher CD, things come into even sharper focus--the lo-fi cassette sound of SOUL ACTION is gone, revealing the band in crystal clarity and sounding better than ever."
"Dig the staggered wham-bam of the opening "Entropy," the druggy phased DMT-pop of "Reappearances" (love that guitar solo!), and "Interzone" with its hand-clappin' folk-punk-pop and William Burroughs title. There's the very, um, round and, er, totally stoned "Banana Song" (Hackamore Brick? Donner Party? yer mama gittin' wasted in 1971?). Dude, where's my mañana? You gotta hear the string-driven explosions on the scorchin' "Umbrella," and the extended Television-ish jam on "A or M." Extremely nice stuff. And how do these wise guys close the proceedings? They play a chooglin' country-rocker that sounds like a very loose take on the Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville"! But you know, there's nothin' "retro" here (more like "timeless")--and that's the trick, that's the magic. How come rock music won't just DIE? Because men like the Bon Vivants LIVE! "
-- Eddie Flowers, Slippy Town
Black Honey CD is available from Gulcher records at GEMM
Soul Action, the 10-inch or CDR, is available at www.oldgold.org
Past and present affiliations include Old Gold Records, The Bad Poet, Forever, The Last Unicorn, The Naked Christian, The Chocolate War, Death of the Party, The Paranoids, Dreams of a Saint, More (Ben Young); King Congregation, Pardner, The Roy Owens Jr., Heavy Medical Hardware, The Same, O/Z (Ben Lawless); William Carlos Williams, Bunnieslope, Dirtbrain, Readymades (Rob Parham); The Hepburns, The Whales, Ladies Night/The Rattler, The Rockateens (Jeff Patch)
How are you, BON VIVANTS? Haven't checked in on you lately, so I swung by to wish you a happy October & hope you are feeling well! Listen, I have another track up on my page, "Attack Of The Mushroom People." You can Hear it right Now, if you'd like at: www.myspace.com/psychedelicpablo adios for now! Pablo
Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat?
A while ago I found stuff that inspired me to make this film:
Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella
Both artistic (ensure you get the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice.
Though source materials are quite aged, much remains relevant today.
I encourage all to visit the YouTube page to learn more (Show support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly circulate as widely as possible, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4
Hey. Great to have you aboard! Got the disc, now I just need to pick up the Vinyl to feel complete. Any recommendations?
I've recently told somebody this, of your group: 'Should Be' the future pick of our friends "Rockin-night-out-at-the-bar" Now ain't THAT the truth!? - O. S D'vil
Good to have you as a friend! So great to see the internet in action this way, shortening distances between people.
I hope all's well with you and that you enjoy checking out my web site some time.
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Thanks for adding me as a friend BON VIVANTS! I really hope that you enjoy my music! If you have the time please, checkout my mailing list, facebook or last.fm to keep in touch :-)
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