Olympia is not an easy city to call home. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the cold and insular nature of so many of its inhabitants. A few years ago, I realized I had perhaps attained “local” status when I noticed I complain about this city incessantly, yet never leave. Winter after winter, I find myself haunting these miserable, misty streets, looking for any respite from the endless gray.
Lucky for us, the misery that saturates Olympia like endless falling rain produces some wonderfully gloomy music. The music provides a soundtrack to the misery, thus creating an endless Sisyphean cycle. Lucky for you, you can catch two of our favorite bands on tour soon.
Harsh R is the brainchild of Avi Roig. If you’ve toured to, or played music in Olympia at all, you probably know Avi,. If you know Avi, you know that he is an all-around sweet dude. One of the nicest people in Olympia, to be honest. You would never tell from the music contained within the Harsh R tape. Think genuinely talented and interesting one punk rocker playing with harsh industrial beats, and screaming vocals and you’ve got it. Live, it’s almost as if a Jekyll and Hyde-esque transformation takes place. Gone is the nicest dude in Olympia, and a smoke machine and noise drenched beast stands in his place.
Not without a sense of humor and wide dearth of musical influences to draw from, Harsh R is known for its almost unrecognizable cover tunes.
Check out this exclusive cover of Venom’s “In League With Satan” here:
Exclusive Cock Sparrer “We’re Coming Back” track here:
Year Of The Dog EP
Clayface is the project of another one of Olympia’s nicest musicians, Jacob Estep. The Sister is dead LP made my own personal top ten releases of 2017. Jacob created an LP of truly harrowing early era Cure inspired gothic rock taking the listener on a journey through his own personal hell of grieving and loss. This record and live renditions of its songs are cold and unforgettable.
Sister Is Dead LP
You would be downright silly to not catch both bands as they export their darkness down the West Coast this fall:
9/18 – Blackbird, Chico, CA
9/19 – The Lash, Los Angeles, CA (https://www.facebook.com/events/1159351820874137/)
9/20 – Cemetery Gates, Riverside, CA w/ASYLMS
9/21 – Salon SJ, San Jose w/False Figure
9/22 – Golden Bull, Oakland, CA w/False Figure, Line of Flight (https://www.facebook.com/events/185939345556357/)
9/23 – Siren’s Song Tavern, Eureka, CA (https://www.facebook.com/events/678138445852595/)
9/24 – Old Nick’s Pub, Eugene, OR
9/25 – Lovecraft, Portland, OR w/Ritual Veil
9/26 – Cryptatropa, Olympia, WA
