Young Poor & Angry Press

There has been something lacking in hardcore recently. The pure emotion, raw intensity and conviction that fueled most bands in the mid 90’s to early 00’s has been replaced by cookie-cutter bands that have no substance and don’t progress the genre. There have been few bands that have gone against this unfortunate new trend over the past few years. Defeater is one of the select few breaking a mold. These Massachusetts boys have crafted an explosively powerful bit of musical intensity, and more interestingly, have done so in the form of a concept album. Travels follows the life and times of a man from birth until his death, and the picture painted is not a pretty one, although it is extremely poignant and emotionally affecting.

Where they win the most points is in the songwriting department for treating  their influences as they should be – not as ideas to rip off, but as actual influences to help hone their own musical identity. There’s also bits of SoCal skate punk and post-hardcore in the mix, which makes for quite the eclectic listen. The acoustic folk section that makes up the latter half of “Prophet in Plain Clothes” comes out of the blue and can be quite jolting at first listen, but completely fits in with the overall scheme of what that band is trying to accomplish here.

The only complaint I have is that this is the only such part of this variety, and Derek Archambault’s surprisingly decent singing voice seems underutilized. Despite this, his vocals and lyrics are two of the standouts of the album. Lines like “There’s no place for me” and “His mother’s words like the biting wind/Please don’t leave me/He’ll never hear them again” scream of the kind of raw power and desperation that could only come from someone who truly means and feels what he writes about. Indeed, his lyrics are some of the best in the genre since Wes Eisold of American Nightmare/Give Up The Ghost.

Travels is not an easily digestible listen, as the diverse set of influences can be quite jarring. With fellow Bostonians Have Heart (who are also comparable purveyors of fast, musically-diverse melodic hardcore) having recently sang their swan song, Defeater not only fills the void but has begun strides into uncharted territory, at least in the realm of hardcore music. It’s “thinking man’s hardcore.” Those willing to give to album it’s due time should find a lot to like here.

Press Release from Trustkill Records:

Furthering its mandate to develop and nurture up and coming artists, Trustkill Entertainment has entered into an agreement with No Sleep Records. The announcement was made today by Josh Grabelle, President of Trustkill, and Chris Hansen, owner of No Sleep Records.

The tireless rising label No Sleep Records has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Trustkill Entertainment. The labels’ bands and releases will be marketed and distributed by Trustkill’s global network of executive and marketing/distribution partners in the physical, digital and mobile landscape.

“Having known Josh and everyone at Trustkill and having worked for Trustkill, I only see good coming from this. I think it will help not only me but all my artists get more fans and allow people to get their music easier and more world wide. After only 3 years and seeing how fast everything has grown this was the logical next step for No Sleep to continue to grow and to continue to be able to release good, and honest music” stated Chris Hansen.

“Trustkill is committed to developing and nurturing artists and is always seeking opportunities to partner with labels and companies to bring new music to the forefront of the scene and marketplace. As No Sleep continues to expand and develop in the underground scene, this partnership with Trustkill will provide them with more flexibility on how they distribute their music, while providing fans much easier access to a broad variety of content from the artists they are passionate about”, stated Josh Grabelle.

Look for No Sleep to release exciting music from brand new artists including Frontier(s) (Chris Higdon of Elliott fame), Monument to Thieves (featuring ex-members of Trustkill alum Eighteen Visions), Double Vision, La Dispute, and the highly anticipated second full length from The Wonder Years.

Hayley Williams fronted Paramore is back with a vengeance proving without a shadow of a doubt that Riot! was by no means a fluke. While Riot! had some really strong stand out hits like Misery Business and CrushCrushCrush, Brand New Eyes is a solid, well written and well performed third album that will get you dancing wherever you decide to listen to it.

While tracks like Careful, Ignorance, and the stand-out Playing God are further proof that twenty year old Hayley’s incredible voice is what makes Paramore stand out against other bands in their genre, tracks like the beautiful acoustic Misguided Ghosts show they don’t need the big bad guitars to write an excellent song. That and The Only Exception show that sweet, almost vulnerable side that anyone who has seen or read an interview with Williams has come to know and adore.

You can tell from Brand New Eyes that this is a band who saw the possibility of themselves falling apart and brought themselves back from the brink with a well tuned studio sound, kick-ass attitude, and jams that will force you from your seat and onto the dance floor. They put it best themselves on Looking up when they said “God knows this world doesn’t need another band/but what a waste it would’ve been/can’t believe we almost hung it up/we’re just getting started!” Keep ‘em coming guys!

For those of you who don’t know Lucy Vonne, she’s one of the most colorful, entertaining and funny critics in the adult entertainment industry. You may have seen her site Sexy Blog Time, or even read one of her sex toy reviews. What you may not know about Lucy might be able to fill a whole sex shop! We caught up with Lucy on one of her rare days off from working at one of the most well known sex stores in the country The Pleasure Chest, in New York City.

Justin Newman: Okay Lucy so tell our readers what exactly it is you do for a living?

Lucy Vonne: I do a lot of things lol. I am a supervisor at one of the most famous sex store is the US, The Pleasure Chest. I have just started teaching sex classes there also which is really fun. Other then that I have my own sex blog where I review toys and porn and male porn stars. I also write for Smutlife.com and will be featured in the 2010 NYC Sex Bloggers Calendar coming out soon.

JN: So let me make sure I got this right? You get paid to masturbate, teach people to masturbate and work around things that are used for people to masturbate?

LV: Yeah that pretty much sums it up. Masturbation is my job on many levels.

JN: Wow. Essentially you’re living every guy’s dream as a woman huh?

LV: Or every women’s dream!

JN: Touche! Before you got into this business what were you doing?

LV: I was in college in Boston and working at starbucks. Nothing like what I am doing now

JN: What were you majoring in during your time in college?

LV: I was majoring in TV/Video and had a double minor in photogrpahy and Marketing/PR. I wanted to go into television production at the time.

JN: What you’re doing now is a pretty big jump from that. How did it end up you working in this aspect of the adult industry?

LV: I was becoming really fascinated with sex and the industry of porn. I was originally going to move to LA where I was going to try and work in porn production. But that fell through and I ended up in NYC first. So I thought working in a sex store would be a great way to get some knowledge. I looked up the famous and reputable stores and went and applied. The rest is history

JN: I was reading your website and some like it and what I noticed is that most of the sites reviewing porn and sex toys were by men. Also very few of them included interviews with male actors in the industry. Do you think being female gives you a unique perspective on the industry? And is that why you opted to interview the male stars in this industry who are often over looked?

LV: I agree that most sites out there are men who are doing the reviewing of the porn but most of the sites I have seen about toys have been women. I think that’s because the majority of the toys out there are for women. Not to say there isn’t good pickings for men but it’s mostly lady toys.
The whole thing with the male porn stars came about because I love porn, so much! For awhile I didn’t notice many attractive men and then realized I wasn’t looking in the right places. I didn’t want women to go through the same thing because having a hot guy to watch makes porn so much better. No one ever really pays attention to the men of the industry and I wanted to pay tribute to the hot and gorgeous ones who make my porn viewing a delight.
For a long time porn was geared towards mainly men but I think in the past few years it’s been changing. The toys have always been mainly towards women but that’s not the case with movies. I think they began to realize a lot of women are buying porn and want to watch it. There are a few lines out there geared just for women. But it still is mainly geared towards men.

JN: With all the porn viewing Lucy, does it skew your view of the world and your relationships? Or is work kept very separate from your social life?

LV: My work is my work, it doesn’t define who I am. But because of who I am I can do my work and do it well. I do think there is still some messed up views of the industry from people who don’t understand it and think it is dangerous. I think there are a lot of uptight people out there still. It doesn’t change how I view relationships. I want to be in one and have that special someone and get married and have kids. It does skew how men view me and what they think I am only after which is really hard to over come sometimes. Because I’m not going to hide who I am and what I do because that is a huge part of who I am in general. I just need to find someone who can handle it.

JN: You’re definitely more enlightened that most people. So aside from your work, what does Lucy do for fun?

LV: Fun, what is that? lol I’m always working. But when I do give myself some free time I like to go to the gym a lot. It’s how I deal with stress and makes me feel better about myself. I play Nintendo Wii which is so much fun. I have Dance Dance Revoution battles with people sometimes which is always a good laugh. I have a shopping problem which I have been really good with lately. Nothing out of the ordinary. I do like to color.

JN: You’re easily one of the most colorful girls I’ve ever met. When did you start getting tattooed?

LV: I got my first tattoo when I was 18

JN: Haven’t stopped since huh?

LV: Well I didn’t get another tattoo until I was 21 after that and then it was downhill from there

JN: What was your first tattoo?

LV: My tramp stamp lol. It’s the chinese symbol for light because Lucy means like and it’s inside the outlife of a star. Just in basic black.

JN: We cover a lot of music on YPA. Aside from the “chickah wow wow” of porn music, what do you listen to?

LV: It always depends on my mood what I will listen to. Usually top 40 stuff when I’m at the gym and need a pick me up. But some of my all time favorite are Jimmy Eat World, Jay Z, Coldplay, New Kids on the Block, Janet Jackson. I’m sure I’m forgetting somethings.

JN: So I’ve been told recently you’re trying to break into a little bit of modeling. How’s that going for you so far?

LV: Well I have had no bites yet but I’m hoping it works out for me. I have always wanted to try it out but the tattoos keep me from it. Also I’m rather short.

JN: Well we hope it works out for you too, because regardless of height, you’re definitely a breath of fresh air. Thank you so much for the interview Lucy!

LV: Aw thanks, it was my pleasure