Sister Mantos and Teeth!!! take over Mustache Mondays

miguel — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:18:13 -0600

I’ve been going La Cita, this little notorious club in downtown LA, for quite a while. It’s a very interesting place with a very different crowd compared to other places I’ve been to. Usually attracting scenesters, hipsters, artists, and the coolest of the cool. I like to go there because they always have some crazy performer or a band that would be like “Hey Los Angeles! Are you ready for us?” The thing that excites me about this place is that you never know what is going to happen. You either end up going home blown away or sort of frightened by what you just saw.
I dropped by recently to see what would be a collaboration between these two experimental bands: Teeth!!!, who are from London and Sister Mantos, from LA. I went in between the crowd that was cheering and screaming and pushed my way to the front. The band started making loud noises and the lead singer jumped around the stage diving on people…did he just do that? The super hyperactive group performed sounds that were a crossover of garage punk and sloppy drumming with off-key vocals. I totally felt in love with them and didn’t move away even when the eerie sound was ringing in my ears. A lot of times I feel that LA is so quiet and boring, but when I see a band that excites me, I just feel like I just arrived to the right place and I love Los Angeles once again. This band even had a fashion sense with one of the members wearing what seemed to be a piece of an Aztec dancer costume. And I still wonder what those B-day balloons were doing all over the tiny stage. Teeth!!! and Sister Mantos sure know how to entertain their audience.

What's the New What? Dissonance is the New Harmony

brett — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:44:47 -0500

By Avery White

What’s the new What? In the underground scene of Athens, Georgia, Dissonance……is the new Harmony.

That’s right…It’s happening here...the birthplace of REM….

(Song: It's the End of the World)

They pushed the boundaries of lyricism…Now musicians are pushing the boundaries of sound….…in a growing music scene called noise.

(Music: Better People)

Doug Patterson: "I challenge people to listen to it. I dare you to enjoy it because it’s anti-music and qualifies as unlistenable."

It might be unlistenable, but it’s got a huge following. Doug Patterson makes noise music under the name “Better People.”

(Music: Better People)

Doug uses tape manipulation, effects petals, and computer software in his creations. 21 year-old Tyler Rosebush is a fan.

Tyler Rosebush: "Since its so on the spot, it’s not rerehearsed it’s not prerecorded. The final product reflects the entire process and you’re intimately acquainted with every step of the way this music is created and you know now a days with digital music and iPods and stuff like that it’s easy to get caught up and just lost in this sea of just like stuff that is the end and not the means."

This isn’t about being weird, it’s about going into another state of mind. Pop music doesn’t exactly make you think with lyrics like: “get you drunk off my hump…my lovely little lumps”

(Song: My Humps)

Douglas Patterson: "That’s what my music is – it’s a rejection of pop, a rejection of rock and roll…because it’s harsh and abrasive and it’s not a pretty thing – it’s coming from a pretty angry place"

Noise performers are challenging the notion of what music is and who qualifies as a musician. Rob Peterson is a graduate student in Art at the University of Georgia. He experiments in sound sculpture, and performs at live shows:

(Music: Noise Music Performance)

Robert Peterson: "A lot of these shows you go to – there’s no stage. It’s like a room in a house. A lot of times all you can’t see the artist because they are on the floor – are you can do is hear because people are literally hovering. There is no barrier between audience and the performer. So it is this kind of mutual self expression."

But if you give music by artists like Doug Patterson a chance:

Douglas Patterson: "There’s an intention behind it and I’m trying to tell you something. If you take the time to get into it, the rewards will be so much more than listening to something that’s already been laid out for you."

I do want to be challenged…and for me, that’s the main difference between pop music and noise music. Without comfortable lyrics or a predictable groove, your mind works a little harder. And I like it that way.

Youth Radio - Topic: Noise Music

Sister Mantos and Teeth!!! take over Mustache Mondays

What's the New What? Dissonance is the New Harmony