Monday, August 2, 2010

SF ON SF: GIANT SQUID

Ok. So I don't live in San Francisco. I live in Oaktown. A city that only a mother could love.


Skimmy I want my dress back bitch

I mean, if you live in a place that has neighborhoods named "ghost town" ,"pill hill","bushrod"?!?!, "the murder dubs" (my old neighborhood- 23rd and 23rd...CHAOS CORNER UUUUUUUUUUGGHHH). Where if you stand on a semi-major street for more than 5 minutes your life might be threatened for those converse shoes you've been wearing since junior high or told by a little 6 year-old that you "have a fine ass booty for a white girl"...where was I going with this? Oh yeah.

GIANT SQUID
(Chugger, Shredder)

In the tails of Seanford's Grayceon and "Fancy Metal" posts I thought it appropriate to throw some mutha fuckin' GIANT SQUID in the mix. Because A) their music is aproximatley hella fancy and B) Giant Squid has two of the raddest, most inspiring and fucking METAL chicks I know. Jackie Perez Gratz once played cello with my old band (as seen below) on a song for a comp. She rules. (Spoiler Alert: Manslaughter and Cory Tozer-shredder extrordinare, *might just be conjuring some evil).

*maybe



(That would be me second from the left with the chain in my hand going UUUUGHH)


Anyways, they totally rocked me the other day at the Tidal Wave Festival in SF and I was like, WOAH. These guys are heavy duty. Which, is hard to impress a crowd when you are competing with these guys:



(No- for real, this really happened)


(can someone tell my bf that tidal wave is over???)




(Aaron makes Jack Sparrow eyes)



(It's not just my photography skills-these girls are HOT)












This video is amazing. Check out the dude in the orange pants. I was up front somewhere.



I think it's in order to entice you with their first album Metridium Fields: HERE. And a stellar sold out 7 inch split with none other than Jackie's other band GRAYCEON. You know who I'm talking about by now, I'm sure.

(FYI I gained full permission before posting this- Jackie even offered to give me a CD to upload-a true blue bro). They've gone through some major line-up changes, all for the better believe me. Jackie then joined the group after this album and they became heavier, more epic and focused.

The second and most recent LP (self released in 2009) the Ichthyologist is a concept album based on a graphic novel by Aaron Gregory (singer/guitarist), who, in fact is an Ichthyologist of sorts. I am so jealous of his profession. He's a scuba diver by trade that worked for a while for SF's Bay Aquarium feeding sharks. WHAT?!?! I was invited by their former drummer and his gf (and ex co-workers of Aaron's) to try my hand (or try not to lose it) doing this, but lagged and he moved to Monterrey to feed sharks down there. WHY GOD WHY?!?! Oh well, it's not like I haven't been up close and personal with sharks before:




Manslaughter Cousteau



This is what Aaron's description of what the album is about:

“Through the thoughts of the album’s protagonists, a man stripped of his humanity and left with nothing but the sea in front of him, comes a story about adapting in inhuman ways to survive the shock of human loss and total emotional tragedy, becoming something else entirely in the process”.

I really cannot say enough about this band and especially their last album. It is progressive, dark, moody, epic, post-metal and avante garde. FANCY!!! I would HIGHLY recommend listening to it on band camp and then BUYING the amazing tripped out colored Double LP on their site and
buy a shirt please too, because these guys work hard for their money, and you know they'll treat you right.



CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:


BONER MATERIAL




7 comments:

SEANFORD said...

Technically, MS on SF.

Also, you should be the IC photo journalist.


Also, the captcha word verification thing, was ASSRAPE. weird.

The Thing That Should Not Be said...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! I HATE SHARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Manslaughter said...

Photo journalist position: filled. ASSRAPE? It must have know it was you, sean.

I LOVE SHARKS!!!

Aylmer said...

I LOVE SHARKS TOO!!! I'm assuming that footage was taken in South Africa or Cali. Did ya see any white pointers??

Manslaughter said...

No it was in Hawaii. The waters in Ca are too murky to get a good view. I did grow up in S.A. though and Great Whites are about as common as birds out there. You ever see sharkies in Aussie Aylmer?

Aylmer said...

Hawaii is beautiful, isn't it? Other than some babies I've never seen one in the wild. I've been meaning for years to do a cage-dive down in South Oz where large Whites are becoming more common again since becoming protected. It's been pretty crazy here in Sydney, We had 3 attacks in 3 weeks last year with 2 of those in the same day! Also, I know a Māori fisherman who frequently sees 25 ft Mako's in the deeps off NZ. Monsters. Just for the record, I'm also in love with octopi and the mighty ARCHITEUTHIS! And I wish THIS was real.

Aylmer said...

PS my girlfriend just pointed out that there's no such thing as a 25ft mako and that our maori fisherman friend also frequently has his lips wrapped around a meth pipe lol