Sometimes you have to look back at the past to realize how rad the present is. Sometimes looking back can point to a future you didn’t know existed. Sometimes you have to blast The Icarus Line to realize, WTF, in 2005 you had the most insane NYC birthday night and it was with those fucking heathens! In the early 2000s, I was a whiskey-soaked Crusty Dread Head skateboarding all over the Lower East Side. The first two The Icarus Line albums, Mono and Penance Soiree, were the soundtrack to my mayhem. I was all in on the Rock & Roll that was coming out of the underbelly of Hollywood. Once I met the band when they played Brooklyn, the rest was truly history. From then on, we supported each other in our creative endeavors, and still do to this day.
As a unit, The Icarus Line created music that spoke for those that did not have a voice and they did it with a don’t give a fuck attitude! I can’t front, I have always been a fan of Joe’s vocal style and his delivery is full of chaotic soul. Watching them perform live was like watching a sonic car wreck — you could not help but look. I almost think they were too rock & roll for Rock & Roll, which is why they are not a household name today. Those who know, know that this band has always done it by their own rules!
Buddyhead was the platform that was the portal into the musical underworld before blogs even. I know that I would check out the site on the regular. Aaron North of The Icarus Line and Travis Keller started the label and site in 1989. This platform was the online clubhouse for the band. Both Travis & Joe are friends to this very day. If you did not know that they are making a movie about Buddyhead and they need y’all to help them out. Real talk, this movie needs to made because it’s about our history!
JOE & TRAVIS
THE ICARUS LINE: Penance Soireé
