Society Burning

Society Burning - breaking the 4th wall

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 00:32:51 -0400

Part of my sensibility is going “what the hell just happened?”. What can I call that in the later references to the event? A show? A performance piece? Fucking around? All of the above?!

I drafted a template for this “thing” with Twitch back a few months ago, predicated on the idea that an electronic show could actually be fairly straightforward and simple to produce. So we set up some rules. 1) One day to prep, then perform to anyone willing to participate the following the evening. 2) No direct recycling of content from TACTIQ or IC. 3) Give the audience an opportunity to control the performance.

I knew this had to be closer to New Mexico, both in physicality and in overall openness and vibe (as crazy as that would make me in the wind up). While we originally talked about throwing down in a local gallery, it became clear in the early conversations with Twitch that we should set up and play in the same venue. So Taos Media Collective’s space that houses Studio PeligrOso was decided.

Reasons to not do this were piled on like trailers in the ‘stacks’ of Cline’s “Ready Player One”. It was moderately expensive for me to haul my shit all the way across the country to perform a non-paying gig of my own design. Also - what the fuck would it end up sounding like to put 4 (ultimately 3) musicians who haven’t been in the same room for decades - and give them free license to do whatever? What about the neighboring businesses to Studio PeligrOso - how would they respond? Who the hell would bother driving to northern New Mexico to witness this kind of ridiculous exposition?

But, you know what? Fuck those reasons. Worrying about what people think of me never paid me back once.

So - I jumped on a plane, packing up my favorite guitar, mac, and favorite controllers. I said - go.

Theoretically, there was a video link via ustream going. I (maybe embarrassingly) admit that I could’ve cared less for the video, save for a couple of faces. In my mind, that was “cute”, but no surrogate for living it for yourself in the same room. I’m thinking I don’t remember a single person at the event not getting into the lime light at some point in the evening. It was a little strange that we’d committed to starting at 7pm, in full blown daylight - not exactly when ‘the freaks come out’, but…

Rule 3 ended up becoming the most critical element to the performance. Breaking the 4th wall was perhaps much more relevant than the 3 of us playing together for the first time in ages. When things loosened up fully (maybe after 9:30ish, I’m guessing), I had the great, great fortune of getting to play with some amazingly talented people in the Taos, NM scene. Eric, the flamenco dancer, ended up providing a full on ‘Rock God’ moment, while Ian, a celebrated local stone sculptor, rocked a drum and bass rap that easily put to shame the recent show I’d seen in NYC for my ‘actual’ birthday. Facing Dustin for all of the new material was nothing short of amazing - the rhythm section we formed poised directly within the crowd itself, careless of the heads bobbing around us.

So - I’m placing my bets that you’ll see this “motive” crop up again - probably not directly by us. But that’s quite alright - I hope that they do it even better than we did. As I spent my Sunday going from artist studio to artist studio in Taos, I’m well aware that we’ve set the bar friggin’ high; hopefully now, people realize where the actual bar is.

This is why I believe that Saturday the Fourteenth of June 2012 is one of the best dates in history.

Latest installment to the Society Burning Internal Combustion...

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:10:00 -0500

Latest installment to the Society Burning Internal Combustion run. The Official Video for the track Nausea ad Nauseam. Enjoy!

New screen images from the forthcoming video ‘Nausea ad...

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:00:12 -0500

New screen images from the forthcoming video ‘Nausea ad Nauseam’

Society Burning Update No. 02

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:42:09 -0500

Hello again from the outskirts of Philadelphia. This has been an exciting little time since the last update two weeks ago. Foremost, to each of you who’ve ordered a shiny new copy of our latest industrial rock onslaught “Internal Combustion”, thank you! We’ve owed you this album for quite some time, and it’s fantastic to see the true believers out there!

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! You can have this hand-numbered, limited edition digipak in your CD player in no time at all! Click here to purchase the album!

Daveoramma is continuing his work on the ‘Nausea ad Nauseam’ video at Studio Peligroso in Taos, New Mexico. The team has reached the editing phase now, and we can anticipate seeing a few more visual ‘leaks’ in the coming days. Daveoramma assures me that he’ll get you this ‘gift’ by Christmas time (this year…)

Last night, we had the distinct honor to chat with Joseph Graham of the Razor Blade Dance Floor podcast via a 4-state/4-way Skype call. We talked for quite a while about the album, as well as some of the challenges we needed to overcome in this ‘long distance’ effort. We’ll keep you up to date when that conversation surfaces, but certainly, in the meantime - if you’re not already up to speed on the RBDF, you need to subscribe to this podcast NOW!

The lovely NINa of Fabryka Industrial Rock Magazine composed a wonderful review of Internal Combustion this week. She also gave the album the highest rating (four gears), which is quite an honor for us! Certainly check it out. Also, send some support her way!

By popular ‘demand’, we’ve added some more links to our website, specifically links that bring up preview versions of the songs on Internal Combustion. While we’ve had a few of the songs embedded within various socialnet audio players, everyone agreed that it would be better served to host up some preview tracks. The links are iPhone and Droid safe (no Flash players), so feel free to help yourself to a little Daveo shout while you’re on the go.

Speaking of websites, expect to see some serious revisions on the Society Burning site in the next month. We’ll be adding a few extra goodies as well as polishing it up around the edges.

Also speaking more about websites, we’ve spent time attending to the last.fm page for Society Burning by adding the tracks from Internal Combustion, as well as adding more photos.

Check it out using this link, or follow the link at the top of the page.

Some fans out there have been posting videos & photos of their copies of Internal Combustion. We’d love to see your pics! Post ‘em up!

Okay - time to wrap it up. Keep it loud & raw!

—*— Boom chr Paige (societyburning.com)

New screen captures from the upcoming Society Burning video...

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 22:23:59 -0400

New screen captures from the upcoming Society Burning video “Nausea ad Nauseam”

Society Burning Update

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:23:36 -0400

First off - a massive thanks to everyone who has bought our limited edition - hand numbered CD digipak Internal Combustion. It’s been an exciting time shipping out these CDs to the true fans of the genre, and as all of you know - I’m still getting quite the kick out of hand writing each of your names! Secondly - a huge thank you to all of your kind words and strong support of not only SoBu music, but to this growing scene as a whole. It’s exciting as hell that there are so many of us strewn about this little globe, and that we finally have some very wicked tools for communicating with each other.

So - In essence of using these “wicked” tools, I’m working to keep a running update on what’s going on with your favorite three timezone band o’ synthrockers throughout the rest of the year.

Obviously first - if you still haven’t picked up “Internal Combustion” - you’re just being lazy! We wrote this album just for you, and priced it for your budget! We even hand wrote your favorite number on the case and disc, just to show you we care. Seriously - this is 15 tracks of synthcore, punk rock goodness with 2 remixes from the winners of our remix challenge in April, PRODUKT and UCNX. Mats Monsen was uber-kind-enough to provide the first review of the album, visible on his blog here…

You noticed on facebook, we began letting the humor seep back in (since all work and no play makes Daveoramma a dull boy) with the timed release of the first SoBu chronicle via comic book interpretation. Pages 1-3 introduced you to Melvin Fisk and his evil plot to abolish creativity in music in return for higher sales, the HitMen whose choice of weapon is, well - rather unorthodox, as well as Daveoramma and Boom - both geared for action. I’m assured that you’ll be seeing pages 4-6 in the coming week as Dave-o finalizes his vision for the remaining characters.

In May, prior to the release of Internal Combustion, we began talking to some respected distributors around the coldwave / synthcore / rivethead community. While we’ve been keeping the distribution fairly localized to our site (http://societyburning.com), we have been working to get this a smidge more visible among the bigger community. More to come on this endeavor. If you’re bummed that SoBu isn’t “represented” by a known ‘record-label’, please feel free to take it up with me directly, :)

You’ve heard Dave-o touting that he keeps heading off to remote areas of the American desert to continue filming for the video for Nausea ad Nauseam. So far, his filming crew is 3 quarters of the way done, with hopes of finalizing the output for a Christmas present to you (how lucky you are to get two gifts from us in 1 year - better than our previous record). I desperately want to name names, but I’ve not received clearance. Did you play Half-Life, Doom, or Halo? Hrmmm…

Last but not least, I spent some time in Vegas this month (whoops - last month - it’s November now) learning about a “crew” called CrisisCommons. There’s a movement of hacks out there trying to make this rock a better place for everyone - more importantly - selflessly, for people they won’t ever meet. Hiking into every API out there, app by app, tapping further into this network that we humans built, using what we’ve learned in computer science and networking to turn into help to those in need.

Let me paint a picture for you. All those reporters with perfect hair and great lighting amidst the terror in Haiti… it would beguile me how they had a second to spare to put their pretty faces on TV with so much atrocity happening right behind them. Who mapped the right road for those needing supplies? The reporters? Nope - it was people like you and I, the peeps with a little know how on communication protocols and interfaces, and more importantly - heart.

Alright - I’ve given you plenty to assimilate. Until next weekend - stay true, think for yourself, and live loud!

-=- Boom

Review of Internal Combustion

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 11:05:14 -0400

Review of Internal Combustion:

Big thanks to Mats Monsen for this review of our latest work “Internal Combustion”. And no, we won’t make you wait for another 13 years for a new release! Thanks to @Duffyman23 for pointing this out!

las cruces, new mexico

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:24:29 -0400

alone in the apartment with a television, a gun, and a can of sloppy joe mix. there’s foil stapled to the wall leading to an aluminum reservoir back to the black and white tv laying in the corner. a fly catches my attention as it thrashes around enclosed between the windowpane and the screen.

i’m holding this ground until I can see the storm. i’m not moving until I know…

Internal Combustion has been released!

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 03:45:08 -0400

Internal Combustion has been released!

More from Seibold

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:45:33 -0400

Seriously? Even the bathrooms require sponsorships?

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:09:10 -0400

Seriously? Even the bathrooms require sponsorships?

All in the name of shameless promotion

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:50:57 -0400

All in the name of shameless promotion:

And this surprises anybody? The best part was the action taken by Sony to fix the issue… You couldn’t buy a movie ticket for the award, even in the early 2000’s

Internal Combustion - Available Oct 12, 2010

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:04:21 -0400

Internal Combustion - Available Oct 12, 2010:

Join in! Get your copy of Society Burning’s new CD Internal Combustion, offered as a limited edition, hand-numbered digipak. Available now from http://societyburning.com.

Starting Over

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 00:53:00 -0400

Starting Over:

There is that moment when I’m headed to the local post office, and I get that same feeling I got when we started this whole mess called Society Burning all those years ago. That sense of satisfaction – where I feel interestingly better connected to those who enjoy our music than before. That point where I have stopped a conversation with someone directly in front of me because I need to write a recipients name & address on the label to send them a CD.

That feels good, again.

While I can say it is nice to have other (read: label) people who handle all the ins and outs of getting Society Burnings music to people, I really forgot how much I love being in the mix of this. It may sound a little odd – it is a recharge of the batteries. I have not only had the opportunity to write and record the music on the CD we are talking about, but I have been able to handle each one, how can you beat that?

The best part – it is like getting to start over (when you want to).

In my past, I have been in that awkward space where I stop, look around, and then realize (this isn’t even close to what I was hoping to achieve - for me, San Diego, 1995 / Denver, 1998). Much in that same way you hear people say things like if you went back 10 years, what would you change, I have found myself back to the beginning, only wiser.

Can it stay pure - I cannot lie to you. We did it once, it’s natural for us to do it again. Perhaps it will be a little better connected to “the (new) beginning” this time around.

NEW CD RELEASE - Internal Combustion

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:48:36 -0400

NEW CD RELEASE - Internal Combustion:

New CD only release, Internal Combustion. 15 new industrial rock tracks + 2 remixes from electropunk luminaries UCNX and PRODUKT. Available from http://societyburning.com.

Oh... we are "synthcore" not "coldwave"... ahhh, glad that's cleared up... or at least that's what this link says....

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:27:11 -0400

Oh... we are "synthcore" not "coldwave"... ahhh, glad that's cleared up... or at least that's what this link says....

10/12/10 Internal Combustion release date set!

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:37:21 -0400

10/12/10 Internal Combustion release date set!

Internal Combustion - Available October 12th

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:51:45 -0400

The latest offering of electrorock from Society Burning called Internal Combustion will be released on October 12, 2010. This pressing is a limited edition, hand numbered digipak to contain their latest 15 tracks. Also included for your listening pleasure are remixes of two of the tracks featuring the talents of UCNX and PRODUKT. On sale for $12 (+ shipping), October 12, 2010. Available from http://societyburning.com/

We're now on Vampire Freaks!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:44:18 -0500

We're now on Vampire Freaks!

society burning

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:08:21 -0500

society burning