By Eric lochridge

I’ve never really been sure if The Reddmen play pop-punk songs or punk-pop songs.
But whichever it is, there’s always been something more to the Rapid City trio’s tightly packed music.
Listen closely and you hear bits of the blues, and occasionally, you can hear the muffled sound of an arena rock classic trying to kick its way out of the locked trunk.
On its new album, “White Omega,” the band cranks the power pop up a notch, though, and comes closer than ever to letting its inner pop star take center stage.
The influences here make up a laundry list of some of the best pop, punk and power pop artists known to humankind—Nirvana, Foo Fighters, the Pixies, Buddy Holly, the Beach Boys.
Lyrically, The Reddmen owe a debt to Nirvana here — even if a line in the title track claims that “Nevermind is just an album that I listen to”—but musically, “White Omega” is the spiritual descendant of the Foo Fighters’ debut album. That said, Dave Grohl only wishes he could still make an album like this.
“White Omega” hits its stride with the Cobain-ian guitar solo of “Transylvania Blood Drive,” and segues into the jangly harmonies of “Cordially Blue,” which recalls the Foo Fighters’ 1996 hit “Big Me.”
The band — J. Waylon Porcupine, Miyo One Arrow and Trevor Leo — ratchets up the melodic tension again on “Paper Aviator,” then releases it halfway through the following song, “Town of Tears,” and rides the momentum through the cathartic “Why Are You Always On?”
“White Omega” follows last year’s split LP with Denver band Eyes and Ears. Before that, the band released the stellar full-lengths “Arsenic Ballads” (2006) and “Sons of the Morning Star” (2003).
The Reddmen’s four-song contribution last year to the split LP seems to pack a harder punch than most of “White Omega.” That’s not to say the new album isn’t as good, though. “White Omega” tends to melody and harmony over sheer impact, and by tipping its sonic balance just a bit, the band shakes up its sound just enough to make us think ahead to what could come next.
Follow The Reddmen on MySpace at www.myspace.com/ thereddmen.

Hip-hop’s KOD plots ‘Blackhills Takeover’
Local hip-hop performer KOD (Andre Truitt) is back with “Blackhills Takeover.” The 17 songs on the “mixtape” CD are just what we’ve come to expect from KOD, who has been on the local music scene since 2002, first with his single, “Hear My Cry,” which got notable radio play here. Check it out at www.my space.com/kodbiggdoggrecords.

Call Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or e-mail eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.

By Eric Lochridge

If you go
Who: Indie rock band Cursive, with Box Elders and The Reddmen
When: 8 p.m. today
Where: Dahl Arts Center, 713 Seventh St. in Rapid City
Tickets: $14 at the Dahl.

Like many indie-rockers, Matt Maginn chafes at musical labels. As Cursive’s bass player, he’s hesitant to offer comparisons because the other members of his Omaha-based band might not agree. Sow that initial seed of discord, and the next thing you know, Cursive has been erased.
So, no, Maginn told me, he’d rather not answer my question of how he would classify Cursive’s music.
Fair enough. But as a music writer, I live for genre-bending labels.
Listening to Cursive’s sixth and most recent album, “Mama, I’m Swollen,” I was reminded of a pair of ’90s alternative bands — Sunny Day Real Estate and the Afghan Whigs.
What I wasn’t reminded of was “roots punk,” which is one of the odder descriptions of the band’s music I have encountered.
So when I got the chance to interview Maginn, labels were on my mind.
“I think that’s very difficult for a band to do for themselves,” he said. “We don’t really set out to be a certain genre. … It’s weird for us to try and claim one.”
But he and I did agree that roots punk misses the mark, and that “Mama, I’m Swollen” — released in March by Saddle Creek Records — is an intriguing rock record.
“It’s sort of all encompassing. In a lot of ways, I think it reaches back to even our first record,” he said, citing the album’s range, from “quiet slow brooding” to “a little more experimental, a little more odd.”
The band is happy with the reception fans have given “Mama, I’m Swollen.”
“I think the longtime fans are the ones that like it,” Maginn said. “We’ve put out a lot of records. I feel like it ebbs and flows.”
Cursive plans to spend much of 2009 on tour, and its show tonight — with locals The Reddmen and Box Elders — at the Dahl Arts Center will be its first performance in Rapid City. Touring with a strong album of literate songs is certain to raise the band’s profile — and the national exposure of playing “Late Night with David Letterman” earlier this spring won’t hurt either.
But any notion of success is secondary to what the band’s true intentions are.
“We’ve never written with success in mind, other than to write a good song, not to appeal to a certain audience or anything,” he said. “We don’t have a plan for that. We never have. Our plan is to try to put out a different record than the last.”

Call Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or e-mail
eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.

By Eric Lochridge

Elton John fans who camped out at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center for choice tickets — some of them for several nights — were literally left out in the cold in February as online buyers snapped up the available tickets in about eight minutes, before the box office could even open its windows. A few days later, tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming show sold out in less than an hour.

Does this mean that the days of the ticket campout have come to an end?

“Realistically, probably so,” according to civic center marketing director Steve Montgomery. “But we still do everything in our power to treat those people special.”

For years, “those people” have been the ones who line up in the days before tickets go on sale in hopes of getting spots as close to the stage as possible. They pitch tents and snuggle into sleeping bags overnight; some hold vigil in shifts, having friends trade places with them every so often or bring food to keep their strength up.

But the broad reach of online ticket sales opens the field to a much larger potential audience, and now intrepid campers aren’t guaranteed front-row positions or sometimes even in-the-arena positions.

“On these super-sellouts like with Elton and Taylor, they go so fast that we don’t have a chance to sell them at our ticket box office,” Montgomery said.

A variety of factors determine how quickly tickets sell — such as prices, the popularity of the performer and how much publicity the artist is currently generating.

“We never know in advance how fast they’ll sell. There are some that go immediately and some that you’d think would take longer,” Montgomery said. “It’s terribly hard to anticipate the audience in Rapid City.”

Fan clubs are another factor. More performers have online clubs now and reserve the first few rows for registered fans at each venue.

“In those cases, the front row is just not available,” Montgomery said.

Through the years, the civic center hasn’t taken issue with having people camp out for tickets.

“It’s good publicity. We sure try to treat them as well as we can,” Montgomery said. “We always bend over backward the best we possibly can for our local audience.”

And although the Internet era appears to be breaking up a long-standing tradition, Montgomery believes the campouts will endure in some form.

“Some of our campers, it’s something they enjoy doing. They enjoy being around other avid fans. They form a little community out there,” he said. “I don’t think that will ever end. It’s just something they enjoy doing.”

Call Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or e-mail eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.

By Eric Lochridge

The recent release of Spearfish trio Violent Hippie’s debut CD, “Smokethisbaby,” comes after months of soul searching in the wake of the death of the band’s drummer.
Shawn Funk was killed Sept. 11 when his car collided with a horse on the roadway.
With “Smokethisbaby” nearly finished, the other two members of the band, Chris Cady and Tom Gorder, were at a loss over what the band’s next step should be.
“That night I had brought the final mix home from the studio,” Cady said.
But with the band’s future suddenly in limbo, taking time to grieve a friend took precedence over deciding whether to proceed with the CD or with the same moniker.
“There was definitely back and forth on it,” Cady said. “I really still wanted to press this CD. Our plans were kind of to release it in the fall and do some support touring on it.”
Ultimately, Cady and Gorder saw some signs that told them to continue.
A primary factor was how Funk’s family felt.
“Shawn’s parents are more than behind us on it,” Cady said. “Shawn was all about the music, and he wouldn’t want us to stop. He was a pretty passionate person when it came to the arts.”
Then, Cady and Gorder unexpectedly found themselves with a new drummer.
“We just kind of fell into meeting this kid, Jeff Ringle,” Cady said. Ringle had helped the band out with some shows and expressed a willingness to commit to the band.
“Me and Tom decided that we still wanted to press this CD,” Cady said. “And Jeff’s more than willing to do a full-time commitment with it. We’ll see where the next year takes us.”
The immediate future looks promising. “Smokethisbaby” features all-new material, no holdovers from either of Cady’s last two bands, Sweatband and Brother Otis — although the signature sound is intact.
“I’m digging it,” Cady said. “We had a lot of fun doing it. I think you can hear that on the CD. We wanted to keep it fairly raw and keep it true to the three-piece sound.”
Fifty percent of the lifetime proceeds from sales of the CD will go to the Shawn P. Funk Art Foundation. Violent Hippie’s next local shows will be at 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, at the Back Porch in Spearfish.

Call Eric Lochridge at 394-8321 or e-mail eric.lochridge@rapidcityjournal.com.