This Is the Penalty Box

Mike Knott - Strip Cycle
TND#1025
Release Date: 1995

Michael Knott is probably the most prolific artist in the entire Christian music industry. I know that is a pretty big statement to make considering this includes musicians like Jason Martin, Ronnie Martin, Johnathan Ford, Shelby Cinca, Mark Salomon, and David Bazan. But this is nothing compared to the output that Mike Knott has. To date, Mike Knott has appeared on well over 100 albums, while some of these are just guest appearances or production credits, he has managed to release at least 35 of his own albums. If you aren’t familiar with Mike Knott, then maybe you’ve heard of some of the bands he’s been in; Lifesavers, L.S. Underground, Aunt Bettys, Cush, Bomb Bay Babies, Strung Gurus, or Struck Last May. He also released two other solo albums under the names Idle Lovell, and Michael Moret.

So why is it someone with such a massive catalog only release one album for Tooth & Nail. I’m not sure exactly. I do know that Mike ran his own label, Blonde Vinyl, for a long time so that makes up for those albums, and the Aunt Bettys were signed to Elektra Records. The rest of his work was released on random independent labels or self released. It very well could be that Mike just never felt the need to release anything on T&N again. Or maybe his one album didn’t sell well enough. A third possibility is that Mike Knott is a very controversial person in the Christian market. On the Aunt Bettys debut they re-recorded an older Mike Knott song called “A Rocket & A Bomb” adding in a few expletives to the end of the song. The song “Rock Stars on H” gained some negative attention due to it’s lyrical content about heroin. The original Aunt Bettys debut also had a drawing of Jesus as a bartender on the album cover. Mike Knott has been a very open person regarding his personal life, which includes divorce and alcoholism. All of these things are not subjects that the typical Christian audience enjoys to hear about.

So on to the album at hand. Strip Cycle is a mostly acoustic album, which is a bit different from the Goth Rock of LSU or the straight forward Rock of the Aunt Bettys. One of the first things about the album you will notice is how strange it sounds. BeforeStrip Cyclewas recorded, Mike Knott discovered one that day that his very young daughter had been playing with his guitar and taken it out of tune. But Mike liked how the guitar sounded and decided to record the entire album with this new “Twisted Toddler Tuning”.

So right away, the album starts off with an interesting topic. “Sugar Mama” is a throbbing tune about a friend of his who found a woman who gives him money and lets him do what he wants. The song also features an excellent trumpet solo on the bridge. Up next Mike keeps the controversy going with “Tattoo”, a song that actually managed to become a single for the album, even earning a music video. Pretty surprising considering the song is about domestic abuse. “Tattoo” is a very unsettling and certainly the darkest sounding song with it’s nerve wracking cello playing and jerky guitar playing. Luckily “Rockstars on H” comes in to lighten the mood. It’s a pretty funny song about how these rock stars can’t play their instruments anymore. The next song to really grab your attention is “Bad Check”, another humorous track about how many different bad checks he’s written, including one to the cello player on this particular song. A few more songs down the line, “Am I Winnin’ Something” has some of the best lines on the album. “I lost my license last year in Vegas/I haven’t been pulled over since then” and “my accountant says if I file for bankruptcy/I won’t have to pay back the lost money”.

With all these negative song subjects, there is still an attitude of hope all over this album. Album closer “Denial” has the most heartfelt moments, even if it’s about an alcoholic denying his problem.

One more drink and heaven could be calling
And I won’t care if the sky starts falling
Cause I feel free with God and a bottle and me

Knott’s warts and all approach to songwriting is incredibly refreshing for the Christian scene. While most musicians tend to shy away from such serious topics, Knott runs at them head on, while bringing in a sense of humor that one wouldn’t expect in these particular scenarios.

Strip Cycle is an incredible album, and the fact that Mike Knott is not a more famous musician than he is just blows my mind. Truly an underrated talent.

Focused - The Hope That Lies Within
TND#1024
Release Date: 1995

The “originators” of Spirit Filled Hardcore have returned with their follow up album to the game changing Bow. In the time since then, Christian Hardcore has made leaps and bounds thanks to contributions by fellow label mates Strongarm and Unashamed. Compared to the impact those two bands have made, Focused don’t seem nearly as dangerous as they once did. Unashamed took the framework ofBow and added an intensity that they saw was lacking. And Strongarm leveled the entire field by crafting more technical and powerful songs. So how doesThe Hope That Lies Within compare to the previous T&N Hardcore albums?

The first thing I notice is the production value. Nothing on this album manages to hit the way that it deserves to. The guitar’s do not crunch nearly enough, possibly due to not enough layering. The backing guitars that are found here, sound as if they are turned way down. The bass work is pretty strong, and comes through really well. The vocals are buried just a bit too far into the mix not letting Tim Mann’s power through. The drumming is the biggest disappointment so far, being buried so far in the mix they fail to accentuate the guitars in any way. Musically, the album doesn’t fare very well againstBow. The songs seem to lack the energy that the band was known for. Most of the songs drag on well past the four minute mark, and in Hardcore this is a big no-no.

The Hope That Lies Withinfeels like a band on their last legs. The band must have agreed because this is the last Focused album to be released. Not to sound like I do not like this album, because that is far from the truth. “My Blood” is my personal favorite Focused song. The Hope That Lies Withintakes a lot of chances that many of their peers were not. Not a single song here fits into the Hardcore “formula”. The standard verse/chorus format lines are blurred on nearly every track, possibly lending to why this album sounds so different. “Hurts to Ask” is the shortest and fastest song on the album, it’s also at the very end. Almost as if the band realized “Hey, we didn’t really right any fast songs” and threw one together.

I consider this album a hidden gem of Hardcore. While not being Focused’s strongest album, it’s still a shining example of how the mid 90’s were an exciting times for Hardcore. You saw a lot of bands starting to transition away from the way things had been done for years and really trying to make something new and exciting.

After Focused broke up they released a compilation album called The Wheels of Progresson Facedown Records. Bassist Dirk Lemmenes went on to play bass in the incredible Stavesacre, and guitarist Andrew Reizuch later played in Tredwell and le Shok. In 2000, Focused reformed and recorded a demo, but nothing ever came out of it, and in recent years the band has played a reunion shows. It is possible they will get back together again and play some more, but if they don’t, they will still be remembered as one of the most important Christian Hardcore bands ever.

Plankeye - The Spark
TND#1023
Release Date: 3-10-1995

Before listening to this album, I kept hoping that this was going to be a better than Spill. And while it is, it’s still not quite what I had in mind. Given the landscape of 1995, this is still a decent album as far as Pop Rock is concerned. A lot of the grunge elements from Spill have been softened by the success of bands like Green Day, but there is still a pretty heavy early 90’s feel to the album.

In certain places, Scott Silletta does his best locked jaw Pearl Jam croon, dating the album in a way that is pretty irritating. I do have to applaud the band for trying to utilize some guitar work that doesn’t sound exactly like what would have been on the radio at that time. Strangely though, there are a few moments where the guitars sound like Tool, and I can’t say that I enjoy those instances.

The album starts out pretty strong with “It’s a Perfect Day, Jerome”. There are some nice Everclear styled guitar’s during the intro, but Scott’s vocals bring the album back down again. Second track “Open House” is the best song on the album. Here is where we see the band at their best. This song is a lot of fun, with it’s upbeat music and catchy vocals. Pop is the bands strongest talent, and every song after this just falls back into Spill’s harder edge. The next four tracks are incredibly forgettable, until you get to “Wings to Fly”. With the boom of Ska in 1995, Plankeye attempts to throw in a few reggae flourishes on the verses on this song. Besides that it gets pretty forgettable again.

“Let Me Go” comes afterwards and it lightens the mood again with a faster beat, but doesn’t come as close to fun as “Open House”. The next two tracks are hard to remember, but the album closes out on a high note. “So Far From Home” is the closest to Pop Punk that The Spark gets, and it’s a shame that the songs is buried at the back of the album. This song could have been better used to break up some of the monotony during the slower parts of the album.

As I’ve reflected on the end of this album, I can say that I did not particularly enjoy The Spark. Many people consider this an important album for the Christian music scene at the time, and while I am not a fan, I can see why. It introduced a lot of Christian listeners to this form of Alternative Rock without managing to come across as a lame attempt at playing a carbon copy of radio rock.

Strongarm - Atonement
TND#1022
Release Date: 1995

Way back in 1991, there was a band called Planet X. In this band there were two kids named Matt and Josh. At that point in Hardcore, most bands only wrote songs using power chords. Matt and Josh thought that it would be cool try and play with a more technical style. Not too overboard, but just enough to distinguish themselves from other Hardcore bands. Over time Planet X broke up, and Matt and Josh went their separate ways. Josh Colbert went on to form a band with Nick Dominguez called Endure. After Endure was over with, Nick and Josh started a new band with Jason Berggren, Chris Carbonell, and Chad Nepture from another local band called Ikthus. This band was called Strongarm. What happened to Matt? Well that kid’s last name was Fox, and he joined a little band called Shai Hulud.

So what was the point of that roundabout origin story? Really just to show the roots of two amazing Hardcore bands that helped revolutionize the scene, because two kids were tired of playing power chords. Both bands had a sound very similar to each other, but to no one else at that time.

In 1993, while Strongarm were still in their infancy, they recorded two demos. One was untitled and only had three songs on it. The other was called These Times That Try Men’s Souls. It was recorded in a local studio using a four-track recorder, and ended up sounding pretty good. During the recording of this Demo, Strongarm received a phone call from Tooth & Nail Records expressing interest in the band. Soon after the band had their song “Count the Cost” featured on the first Helpless Amongst Friends.

Here is where Atonement comes in. While Focused were the first Spirit Filled Hardcore band, Strongarm came in and changed the landscape. Atonement is a monster of an album. It is an urgent album that demands your attention from the first notes. Almost as if to say, “Hey, Christian Hardcore is cool but we can do it better.” Jason Berggren delivers his lines like a man on fire, physically and spiritually. The guitars on this album do their fair share of crunching, but there is a technical side that makes these songs standout. The bass playing on this album is just fantastic. Chad Neptune does more than play root chords or the equivalent of the rhythm guitar, instead he comes up with his own patterns. Just listen to the intro to “Stand Together”, the entire melody comes from Chad’s playing. On the other end of the rhythm section, Chris Carbonell just brutalizes his drum kit. There is something constantly being hit here. Most Hardcore drummers tend to favor the bass drums and snares, but Chris uses a lot of toms giving the songs a punchier sound.

Atonement is closer to Silence than it is to Bow, but it’s still a beast in it’s own right. Strongarm were a band that influenced nearly every Spirit Filled Hardcore band to come after them. But the best is yet to come.

Don’t Know - Coodli P. Ramaswami Memorial Cheesecake EP
TND#1021
Release Date: 6-7-1995

I’ll be honest. I have no idea what this album is supposed to be. All the information about this band that I have is from a Myspace fan created page, so forgive me if I get any facts wrong.

Don’t Know formed in the early 90’s and managed to garner some notoriety by being on a compilation for Fearless Donkey Records. Eventually they released an album called Chili With Beans on Morphine Records. The most interesting thing about this band isn’t the music or what labels they were part of. Instead it’s who was in Don’t Know. Dan Henry, Paul Henry, Matt Johnson, and Ed Carrigan. That’s right, this band is made up of members of Blenderhead. The funny thing is, most people thought this was a Blenderhead side project, but Don’t Know was around first. Paul, Matt, and Ed met up with Bill Power and Eben Haase to start Blenderhead, and once their first album came out, the guys must have convinced Tooth & Nail to release a new Don’t Know album.

It must have taken a lot of work, because I find it pretty hard to belive that Brandon Ebel listened to this album and thought it was something he HAD to release. This is a strange sounding album. A bizarre combination of Jazz, Funk, and Punk Rock swirls together to form a sound much like the legendary Mr. Bungle and Primus.

Coodli P. Ramaswami Cheesecake Memorial is a nine-song EP about cops and doughnuts, taco bell, cheez-wiz, coke-a-cola, and kung fu. I don’t know what else I can say about this album other than, it is that I can’t stand it. First, I’m not a fan of this style of music. I don’t particularly like Primus and I definitely do not like Mr. Bungle. The entire album sounds like it is trying to be weird for the sake of being weird. Second, these songs just sound bad. I dont’ have a problem with silly songs about taco bell, but it’s how these songs are constructed. There is not a single hook for me to enjoy.

I will say something positive, these guys really know how to play their instruments. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to play funk bass and jazz drums, and Paul and Matt are an incredible rhythm section. But I’ve know Matt Johnson is a great drummer from his work in Roadside Monument, and Paul’s bass playing was always great in Blenderhead. Don’t Know just feels like showing off. Ed’s guitar has a terrible tone here, and he doesn’t really play anything interesting. The music may have been a little more noticeable if Dan Henry would have had a more unique voice like Les Claypool or Mike Patton. At times he sounds like a lower voiced Jello Biafra, but completely lacking the power.

I hate to talk bad about them, but this album is just awful. Though, if you are a fan of Primus or Mr. Bungle, this might be the kind of band for you. Just don’t expect anything groundbreaking or even all that original.