Field Dispatch
Matt Connarton Unleashed 9-15-23
Game Plan
Erich Pilcher reviews George A. Romero's Knightriders.
All about every until I am old and the devil about the way the smokes
starting to kill. I hide a straight past, want to say asians gone
beat a mental notes, getting body got up, beloved t drink all two
you'll be in your call and you wi by Why why whine boy? Why
why hold your bl u h rinking? News from beautiful Manchester, New Hampshire.
An international coalition has surely declared itself as supreme leader of all things rock
and all things rolled. Tenents are rising as others have claimed themselves to be
quote the seavior of real rock and roll, but the coalition, founded and
headed by Jerry Robinson, says these claims are unfounded. As you can see,
war can be declared at any moment. The smallest act of aggression can
be seen by either side is oh god, we have a breaking news boult
and being published as we speak. The first struct Hello everyone, Jerry here,
So I am taking over the airways. I've taken over the radio and
now I want to all do understand that I am the supreme leader of rock
and roll? But not just me, of course, I would like to
welcome the brand new member of series Rock and Roll Army that commend tunas la
mat So call Don Hopwood is by Daddy Don Hopwood, Don Hopwood by Daddy
Don Don Gone God Gone Gone, Gone, Gone Gone. Welcome everybody,
here we go Happy Friday, my favorite day of the week. Here at
w m n H. It is that time again. Matt Connerton unleashed and
we are live from the studios of m H ninety five point three FM in
glorious downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, also on Comcast Channel six if you're in
Manchester, and hello to Oliver our online listeners across the nation and around the
globe. You can go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all of
your live streaming options, social media links, contact in folks, archives,
etcetera, etcetera. Today is Friday, September fifteen, two thousand twenty three,
so nice to have you all with me. We have a busy show
for you today. Coming up in a little bit, we have Eric Pilcher's
classic film review, as we do every Friday, and this week the subject
is the nineteen eighty one film directed by George A. Romero. As Erica
continues to honor his memory, of course, our Romero passing away recently.
This week the subject is the film night Riders from nineteen eighty one, So
we do love Eric's reviews and I look forward to sharing that with you in
a little bit. And then in the second hour, we have a great
musical guest coming in the band Ableblood. We'll be joining us live in studio.
Their new album actually just came out today, Arrival of the Waves.
It's called just released today, So these guys are gonna be in and I'm
really oh that song that I played, by the way, mental note,
kind of a long song to open the show, but it's just really really
cool. It's like a ten minute song but now whatever, it's Friday.
It's just so cool and getting a lot of positive response in the chat room.
Speaking of Eric Pilcher, I see I see him in the chat room.
He says this is amazing, and Jenny says, this is awesome.
Yeah, I really like their sound. They're they're doing something pretty unique.
That's the longest of their songs. Most of their songs are under five minutes,
but that particular track, I listened to it and it's so epic.
It's just like wow. So I thought that would be an appropriate opener for
today's show, but I'm really looking forward to meeting those guys today in the
second hour, they will be joining us live in studio. And as I
mentioned, of course, Friday is my favorite day of the week here at
WMNH. It's the day that I do double duty. Of course, I
do this show. I'm here with you until six pm, and then I'm
back tonight from eight to eleven PM for retro Spectrum Radio with Paul E.
C. And I've the honor and privilege of being one of Paul's co hosts
on that show, along with our friends DJ Steve and of course Mike from
Queen City Cabinetry. So we have a great time. We had a really
great time last Friday night. That was probably that might have been the most
fun I've ever had on Retrospectrum Radio last Friday night. And tonight's theme is
a continuation of that. It's going to be songs that actually Let me look
at Paul's post so I can make sure I get it exactly right. Here's
what Paul put up. Retrospectrum Radio starts at eight pm Eastern tonight. We
continue with famous songs that were plagiarized by your favorite bands, We'll also be
joined in studio by the loving Cuddy Scott Reinert. Scott's musical knowledge will be
put to the test when he competes with Matt and DJ Steve in Name That
nine at nine. Do join us, And of course you can stream the
audio from anywhere at WMH radio dot org. But we also love it if
you hang out with us in the Facebook live chat during the show. But
if you're hanging out with us on Facebook on the Retrospectrum Radio Facebook page,
open a second browser tab and go to WMH radio dot org and click listen
live. Paul mutes the audio during his show on Facebook because Facebook gets a
little ticky about all the copyrighted music and they end up interrupting the video and
it's a whole big thing. So chat with us on Facebook in the chat
room during Paul's show, But open a second browser tab, go to WMH
radio dot org and click listen live. But we love it when you hang
out with us in the chat room. So that will be tonight. That'll
be a lot of fun. I love shows like that. Like I said,
that was so much fun last week, so I'm really looking forward to
tonight as well. On retro Spectrum Radio. Also I should mention another really
cool thing next weekend. It's Saturday, I think, right the twenty third.
I'm looking it up this uh, this is loading a little slow on
my computer. But next weekend is the birthday another birthday for the Hopknot are
amazing sponsor right across the street at one thousand Elm Street, and you can
get those delicious gourmet pretzels. They have an assortment of craft beer. They
do cool things like on Thursday nights, they have trivia hosted by Broderick Lying.
They do all kinds of great stuff. There. Such a wonderful place.
But let's see next next weekend it is the birthday of the hop Knot.
And just found out today DJ Reckless is going to be DJ in the
event. Oh here we go, yep. I found it Saturday, September
twenty three at noon, the Hopknot fourth Birthday Bash. So that will be
on Saturday the twenty third, next weekend. And like I said, DJ
Reckless we'll be DJing that. So really looking forward to that as well.
Jenny and I will be there of course, come on down and hang out
with us, meet us, we'll meet you, we'll have some pretzels.
No beer for me. I'm not much of a drinker, but we'll have
some pretzels anyway. It'll be a lot of fun. If you'd like to
join us on the program today, the studio line is open six zero three
two five zero six zero seven six zero three two five zero six zero seven.
You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four
seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton. You can email me
Matt at Matt Connerton dot com, and of course you can interact endo pine
in the Facebook live chat. But the best thing to do so that we
can hear it enjoy your dulcet tones is give us a call at six zo
three two five six zero seven, and we'll go ahead and say hello to
everybody in the chat room. Of course, we have a Jenny in there.
She says. Shalom peeps also as Banks from Greensboro, North Carolina in
the chatroom, easyg Eric Gagnon also joining us. Hello, Isaac Banks,
says good afternoon. Hashtag Tory stressman. Hope you can check your message on
Instagram if you can. Matt Connerton, I was giving a shout out to
my friend Tory Stressman from Greensboro, North Carolina. Well, shout out to
Tory Stressman and Greensboro, North Carolina. Very nice, very nice. Melanie
Elia Liberty from the great state of Vermont joins us and says, hey,
guys, Eric Pilcher, Of course, who does our classic film reviews?
We were just talking about you, Eric. He is in the chatroom.
He says, good afternoon. Isaac Banks says, good afternoon. Hashtag Eric
Pilcher. Maybe sometime if you do a movie review of nineteen eighty eight Jack's
Back, starring James Spader and Cynthia Gibb. I'm sure that's already on his
list. Isaac Banks don't know if I've ever even heard of that movie Jack's
Back. I mean, I'm familiar with Cynthia Gibbon, James Spader a fantastic
actor. I love James Spader, But I don't know that movie Jack's Back.
But it was nineteen eighty eight, so it would fall within the parameters
of what Eric considers a classic. I suppose. Melanie says, uh,
what, I didn't know it was your favorite gay of the week, Matt
No Day Day. I mean, I am, of course, uh An
LGBTQ plus ally, but no, I said favorite day of the week unless
Freudian slip there, who knows. Uh, let's see, Melanie said,
I'm not sure who your favorite gay is, but I have to say I
am a little curious now who would be? Actually, let's see, I'm
trying to think, is there a particular is there a particular gay person I'm
particularly fond of. I mean, I have gay friends whom I love,
but I was I'm assuming you're maybe a gay celebrity that I'm trying to think
of somebody who really who really stands out. I can't think of anybody.
I remember when I was a kid, I liked MERV Griffin's talk show.
I don't know if he was out yet at that point. Let's see.
Police joins us in the Facebook live chat. He's got the captioning on apparently,
he says, Facebook interprets your words as Endo Pine. When I say
endo Pine in the Facebook live chat, Endo pine cool name for a band.
That would be a cool name for a band, Endo pine Pine,
of course, being a type of wood. I'm thinking something sort of Americana
or a jam band from Vermont. Melanie says, I very much appreciate how
how much thought you gave, how much thought you are giving to Who is
my favorite gay I'm trying to think, is there is there someone in particular,
a gay celebrity who whom I really like? Oh? I do so.
I've never paid much attention to him outside of this, but when Howard
Stern, whenever he has Andy Cohen on the show, I do enjoy that.
I like Andy Cohen, I like the rapport that he and Howard have.
So there you go. I guess it's Andy Cohen. He's my favorite
gay person. How's that? Until I think of somebody else? Six zo
three two five six zero seven six zero three two five six zero seven.
Oh, I've got one rob rob Halford from Judas Priest. There you go,
you got another thing coming one of my favorite songs. Yes, actually,
I'm going to change my answer. I'm going to make him. He's
he's the one, He's my favorite. Let's see, we should talk about
this. There is news on a subject that is near and dear to my
heart. Listen to this. Everybody, listen to this because for those of
you who don't know, and obviously if you are local to the area,
I'm sure you know but if you're one of our fine listeners from across the
nation and around the globe, as I like to say, you might not
know this, but here in New Hampshire we take great pride in the first
in the nation primary. We love being the first in the nation primary here
in the state of New Hampshire for the presidential primaries and caucuses and so forth.
Iowa, of course, our friend from Eric Pilcher, he's in Iowa.
They have the first in the nation caucus. But we have the first
in the nation primary, and we have for as long as I've been alive
at least, And so this is very important to me, and I'm very
selfish about it. And you know, it's the one time. It's the
one time every four years where the rest of the country sort of looks in
our direction and says, oh, yeah, New Hampshire, that's a place,
you know. So it's important we take a lot of pride in it.
Here. I take a lot of pride in it. And to paraphrase
Charlton Heston, as he once said in a speech in front of the NRA,
You'll have to pride the New Hampshire primary from my cold dead hands.
That's how much. It matters to me. I wouldn't literally die for it,
but you know, I mean as far as things I would actually be
willing to die for. It's a shortlist, but I'm just saying it matters
to me quite a bit. And we've talked about this on the show over
the past. I don't know how long this has been going on, six
eight months, maybe this issue of the DNC, the Democratic National Committee,
for the first time again at least since I've been alive. They want to
move, They want to take away our first in the Nations status, and
they want to make South Carolina the first in the nation primary. And apparently
President Joseph Robinette by In is very much in favor of this, probably because
if you remember in twenty twenty, uh he came in like fourth or fifth
or something in New Hampshire. Then he went on to win South Carolina.
But uh no, this this matters to me, Jenny says in the chat
room. We have been the first in the nation for over one hundred years,
not changing the laws to suit the Democratic Party. Yeah, and then
there's a word there. I don't think I can say, but uh usually
Melanie's the one doing that. Jenny very good, but she said tough something
something else that starts with tea h But I am not interested in giving into
the DNC's demands. Well, listen to this. Listen to this. It
says here. This is from the Hill dot com. This actually was reported
yesterday afternoon, but we didn't We didn't get to it. We had a
wonderful guest yesterday. Mike Laughlin was here with us in studio for the for
the full two hours old and Mike Laughlin very very talented musician and just an
incredible person. So so we didn't get to any of this. But listen
to this. DNC gives New Hampshire Democrats extension to comply with primary calendar.
See they've already changed the calendar. Oh this is nice. Though, this
is nice everybody. How generous of them. They're giving us an extra month
to comply with the calendar. Oh, how generous. It says here.
National Democrats voted to give New Hampshire party officials another extension to finally set a
new election day date amid tensions over the state's early voting status. In a
meeting with the Democratic National Committees Rules and by Laws Panel on Thursday, members
voted in favor of pushing the deadline to October fourteen for New Hampshire Democrats to
send in a revised outline for delegates and proposed lot on the calendar. State
party Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement, quote, we have done everything
in our power to comply with the DNC's requests with regard to our primary calendar,
and have every intention of complying with New Hampshire state law from which the
primary date is set unquote. So if you don't know what that's about,
what he's referring to, so it sounds like Ray Buckley, to his credit,
he's digging in on this, and our Republican Governor Chris Sanunu also and
we'll get to what he had to say about this is newest on this.
But Buckley clearly is digging in because when he refers to New Hampshire law,
we have a state law in New Hampshire that says we have to go first,
no matter what, we have to go first. There have been past
presidential cycles where another state tried to move up the date on their calendar to
try to get a jump on us. So what did we do, well,
we have this law, so we moved our date up. We can
play that game too. So that's what ray Buckley is referring to New Hampshire
state law says we go first. Now I can understand, I can't understand
from the point of view of the DNC. They're saying, well, wait
a minute, what do we care about New Hampshire state law. That's that's
their law. So what we're the ones this is a national process. I
can understand from their point of view, they're looking at us like, oh,
you have you made a law about it? Yeah? So what However,
while I can see that side of the argument, I shan't be caving
to it, because again I'm going to be selfish and say We're going first,
no matter what. How dare you think any differently. That's that's my
position on the matter, which is similar to ray Buckley's position. I think,
just I'm being a little less eloquent about it. Uh. The DNC
has been working on several changes to the presidential primary this cycle, with New
Hampshire being at the forefront of the debate and occasionally a cause of controversy within
the party that wants to put the procedural question to rest. The unrest started
when the same rules committee voted for South Carolina to go ahead of the Granite
State with support from President Biden and the White House. New Hampshire was bumped
down to second place as a result. Intentions escalated when officials blew past a
deadline on the first of the month the required members to clearly list a primary
date with the names of delegates. Top Democrats, including Buckley, told The
Hill in the lead up to the vote this week that they still see a
clear opportunity for Biden to compete well against Republicans on policies where they believe they
have the edge, including abortion, But the primary date discussions, which have
played out publicly as Biden seeks a second term in office, are also seen
to many as a distraction beyond the top of the ticket, potentially impacting down
ballot races where they need the full power of the party on their side.
He stressed the Democrats and his state our quote laser focused on winning our upcoming
special elections and the city races this year. We look forward to putting this
unnecessary distraction behind us and focusing on electing granted state democrats unquote. So it
sounds to me like he's saying, uh, yeah, no, uh,
We've got other more important things to worry about, So go away, leave
us alone. We're going first. That's it. Goodbye. It sounds like
that's what he's saying. I'm paraphrasing. I would just like to say too.
I mean, obviously I have no power or authority over anything, but
I would just like to offer I would offer, like to offer my own
response to the DNC on this matter specifically, but I actually can't. I
the particular response that I have in mind, I can't really offer here.
Perhaps I will later on social media. The problem being, uh, you
know, it involves uh, well, this is a radio show, so
it's not visual. I mean, there is a visual component if you're watching
online, but it is first and foremost a radio show, and the response
that I have in mind it it's actually visual, So that wouldn't work here
necessarily. It involves it involves one of my hands. Doesn't matter which one
left or right hand, you know, pick one, doesn't matter which hand,
but it does matter which finger. Either hand is fine, but a
very specific finger would be a part of the particular message that I'd like to
send them on this particular issue. So and and and that matters because,
uh, you know, different fingers convey very different messages. For example,
a thumb would be a thumbs up, you know, a pinky might be
you know, I'm promising something pinky swear or whatever. No, I have
I have something else in mind, so I can't really Again, but it's
radio, it's theater of the mind. So and if you are watching,
you know, online or on cable, you know, I don't think management
here really wants me doing that, really wants me to be doing that anyway,
So I'll just I'll leave it to your imagination. But I do have
I do have a you know, a response to the to the DNC on
this uh. And no, it doesn't involve my index finger. Like I'm
not gonna, you know, tell anybody you know you're you're number one or
I'm number one or anything like that. I don't even know what the finger
is called between the middle and the pinky. Anyway, it doesn't matter.
But uh, yeah, I have some uh, I have some ideas,
uh for for the DNC and what they can do on this stup particular matter.
Now let's look at because the other part of this that I've been kind
of uh just flunixed by is uh. Even if the DNC, the Democratic
National Committee, says you have to move the date of your primary, it
seems to me it's not only up to the DNC to say that and then
the state Democratic Party here in New Hampshire to comply or not comply. What
about the Republicans? They have a primary? Are we going to have separate
primaries? Are we are we gonna? Are we gonna actually change the date
of the New Hampshire primary but still have a Republican like have the Republican primary
be first in the nation but have the Democratic primary at a later date.
That wouldn't make any sense. Are there any states to do that? Maybe
there are, and I just don't realize it, But I don't think there
are. I think everybody has their primary. You know, you do it
all. It'd be logistically and I would imagine financially pretty challenging to have two
completely separate primaries on two separate days. Right, So don't you also need
if you're going to do this, if you're going to actually move the date
of the primary, don't you also need the other party's cooperation in doing that?
Well? Our Republican Governor Kris Sinunu. To his credit, he hasn't
blanked on this. He also uh, he and Ray Buckley seem to be
an agreement on something. Sono News a moderate Republican. So actually this is
probably a few things. But anyway, Snow has not budged on this.
Now. This is from This is from the Washington Examiner. This also went
up yesterday afternoon. Sun who claims New Hampshire will hold first primary. Quote
whether Joe Biden likes it or not. I like this, I like this,
says here. Governor Chris unw targeted President Joe Biden and the social media
post on Thursday, saying his state will hold the first presidential primary regardless of
whether the president likes it. The Democratic National Committee extended the deadline for New
Hampshire to comply. Okay, we know that we covered that already. All
right, skipping down. This is what Snow said on social media. Quote,
New Hampshire will not comply with the arbitrary demands and deadlines coming from Joe
Biden in the DNC. We will not back down. New Hampshire will be
going first, whether Joe Biden likes it or not. Unquote excellent, excellent.
The DNC Rules and by Laws Committee, which unanimously approved the extension,
said New Hampshire needed to overhaul its voting laws to secure the second primary date.
As New Hampshire law states, the Republican and Democratic primaries must be held
on the same date. Okay, and the state must be first. That
I didn't realize, by the way, I didn't realize that that was part
of the law, the law that says we go first. Apparently, according
to this it's also part of the law that says you cannot split the primary.
It has to be on the same date Republicans and Democrats. It has
to be on the same date, according to the law, according to this
article. It says here. Otherwise the grantited state could see the nomination Convention
decline to recognize its delegates in the voting process. According to the Boston Globe,
by the way, that's an empty threat. Who cares? So?
I remember? I think I seeven. Remember we talked about this specifically on
the show before, to this aspect of it. If we don't comply,
they might refuse at the Democratic National Convention to seat our Democratic delegates. What's
it matter? So what? None of that, Matt, It's all it
doesn't matter. Joe Biden, he is the incumbent Democrat. He is going
to be the nominee. Of course. Actually, I mean we know who
both nominees are going to be. It's also Trump is going to be.
Trump is in a sense the incumbent on the Republican side because he was the
last Republican to hold the presidency. So basically you've got two incumbents. They're
going to be the nominees. We know that. So you know, if
the DNC wants to play hardball and say, well, if you don't comply,
we're not going to seat your delegates, fine, don't What does it
matter, It doesn't matter, it's not gonna affect anything. You don't need
the does Joe Biden need? However many delegates we have here, is that
really going to be necessary because you the DNC don't seem to think that New
Hampshire is important enough for us to continue to go first. So if you
have so little regard for our wonderful state, then maybe you don't need our
delegates to be there. So whatever, and I would even add what you
can do with your delegates, But again that goes back to the hand thing,
and we've moved on. So it says here, if the state files
I'm sorry, if the state fails to comply with the party's demands, the
president could also be left off the ballot. Well, then you let's a
bit self defeating, isn't it. New Hampshire. So, in other words,
so is President Biden then by saying, by doing this because this is
all his doing and we know why. Again, you go back to twenty
twenty. He did horribly in New Hampshire. He owes his entire presidency to
Congressman James Clyburne of South Carolina for endorsing him. That's what put him back
in the race and propelled him to the presidency. Had all turned on South
Carolina. He did horrible here and in Iowa it all turned on South Carolina.
So again, so he might not be a So you're gonna leave him
off the ballot here in the primary because we didn't comply. Again, what's
it matter? It doesn't matter. Fine, leave him off the ballot here
and we'll let we'll let marry it. Maybe Mary Ann Williamson, we'll walk
out of New Hampshire with maybe maybe she'll actually win the New Hampshire primary.
That'd be kind of cool. She was a guest on the show, so
I'm partial to her. I certainly don't agree with her on everything, and
she's definitely to my left. But you know, she did come, and
you know, I haven't seen President Joe Biden on my show, if you
know, by Mary Ann Williamson, she came and talked to us. Ah,
let's see. So the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee co chairman James Roosevelt
told Fox News, quote, we committed at the outset of this process to
allow for every opportunity for states to honor the opportunity of hosting there. Okay,
wait, I have to stop there. Dude. You don't use the
word opportunity twice in the same sentence. That is so obnoxious to me.
I don't like redundancy. I don't like repetition. I don't like monotony.
I don't like somebody using the same words over and over. It really bothers
me. It upsets me, It ruffles my feathers, it gets under my
skin. I try never to do that. I endeavor to avoid doing that.
I make a strong effort to avoid doing that myself. Oh, Jenny
said in the chatroom reasons why Matt makes a good editor. Thank you,
thank you. Anyway, Well, I hate this sentence, but I'll read
his full quote makes my skin crawl. Seeing the word opportunity pop up twice.
It's not even like it's used at the beginning of the sentence and then
again at the end of the sentence. It's like both opportunities are toward the
middle of the sentence. Anyway, I'm sure he's a wonderful person, and
I'm just that type of thing annoys me. Okay. Quote, we committed
at the outset of this process to allow for every opportunity for states to honor
the opportunity of hosting their nominating contests within the early window. We want to
recommit to that principle and continue to work with the New Hampshire Democratic Party towards
that goal and that opportunity. Okay, I added that last opportunity. I
was just being a does this being a wise? A wise? But Eric
Pilter in the chapram says the Bureau of Redundancy Bureau. Yes, yes,
I don't like redundancies. Okay, the extension. There's just a little bit
more here, and then we're gonna get to Eric's review. The extension will
last until October fourteen, twenty twenty three. State law grants New Hampshire Secretary
of State Dave Scanlan a Republican sole authority to schedule the primary, which he
has not done. On Wednesday, he announced that candidates. Candidates can sign
up between October eleven and October twenty seven. The committee has made similar demands
of Iowa. Oh I didn't realize this. You hear this, Eric ericson
Iowa. The Committee has made similar demands of Iowa, which holds the caucuses
before any other before any state's primary, but Iowa has also not reached an
agreement with the d n C. Good Stand firm. Iowa, fight the
power. You gotta fight the power, Fight the power that be. Miriam
Bannish joins us in the Facebook laugh chet Hello Miriam, all right, op,
And I see Chris from the band Edgewise also in the chat room.
Hello Chris. Eric says, take our caucus please. It is a caucus,
so you're probably not as protective of it as we are of our first
in the nation primary, which I'm willing to fight for we established earlier.
I'm not willing to die for it, but I am willing to fight for
it. And when I say fight, I don't mean violently. I don't
wish to engage in fisticuffs. I just mean that, you know I'm willing
to. I don't know. There's not really much I can do about it.
Actually I don't. I don't have any power. I'm just a talk
shows. But I suggest we all rise up. Maybe if this doesn't go
our way, we can pick a date and go and storm the DNC headquarters.
No, never mind, that's not a good idea. Eric says,
there are Tijuana donkey shows more organized than our Iowa caucuses. Yeah. If
if you're a long time listener, you might have heard this. But Eric
and I have had more than one conversation where on the show, where he
has tried to explain to me, very patiently, how the Iowa caucuses actually
work, how a caucus works, because it's very confusing to me. I
do have to say he wasn't necessarily successful. I still am baffled by it.
It does sound very confusing. You know, a primary is easy.
You go and you vote, and that's it. You just you go and
you vote, you vote, and you're done. You get the little I
voted sticker. If you if you happen to be are as you're walking out
of the after voting. You know, if you happen to see a box
of donuts, you know they're probably for the staff working, But you can
pretend you don't realize that and just grab one. No one's gonna say anything,
at least once you know your fingers are on it. You know it's
fun. But Caucus, it just sounds very confusing. All right, let's
do this. We're going to go to Eric Pilcher's Classic film review and then
we're going to show some love to our amazing sponsors, and then coming up
in the second hour, Newmerodos the band Ableblood will be joining us live in
studio. They are our musical guests today. Their brand new album Arrival of
the Waves just came out today. And really looking forward to beating those guys
and talking with them. So we've got a fun show today. But without
further ado, this is Eric Pilcher's Classic film review. The subject this week
is the nineteen eighty one George A. Romero film Night Riders. Check it
out. Once courageous Knights roam the land searching for adventure, Ready to brave
and each challenge. Night Riders. The Knight is a fighting machine, disciplined
in mind, at heart and lobo to the death. Night Riders, Action,
adventure, romance, heraldry, pageantry and magic that he got to do
with the Soul Man and the sould God Destiny. Night Riders, they ride
for the Crown, They fight for honor. That kid thinks an evil knevil.
That kid thinks you're William the Night, you're his hero. I'm not
trying to be a hero. I'm fighting the dragon, following a dream as
far as it would take them, because a legend lives as long as someone
believes. This isn't just a roadside carny anymore. Not for some of us.
It's a lot more than that. It's a whole lot more. You
know that, Morgan, You guys, it's most fun I got in my
lifeline. Just don't see all break up. You think it's breaking up.
It's money billing. It's all to do with money. Money makes the world
go around, even your work. Small town jails is uncomfortable places damn uncomfortable.
Throw down the gauntlet, take up the challenge. A new age begins.
Romance and adventure, Live Knight writers, the legend is born. Renaissance
fairs have long been a part of American culture. It attracts millions of people
every year across the nation. In many feel it is one of the inspirations
for comic book conventions and cosplay for this week's Romero film, The fair is
seen as an allegory for the ultimate divisiveness of society and what truly makes Romero
one of the greatest filmmakers. Night Riders, which was released in nineteen eighty
one, introduces us to a traveling troupe whose participants joust on motorcycles in battles
to determine the king of the group. The group has two differing views.
That of the leader, King William, who this is his life. To
him, there is no other way to live. Then there is Sir Morgan,
the chief rival of King William, played by longtime Romero collaborator and horror
special effects guru Tom Savini in the battle, who looks at the troop as
a business in entertainment and wants to see the group becomes something bigger to generate
more money. This film goes against the pale of films that George A.
Romero is known for horror. I feel it is best to start this review
with an explanation from the man of honor this month himself. In our first
two clips, Romero explains how Night Riders came to be, and then his
thoughts on the film and how he felt his fans would respond to it.
Sadly, Romero has often had an unfathomable self depreciating view of his work,
and it comes out in our second clip. It was funny. I had
written a script about basically the same story, but I had them on horseback.
I modeled it after there was a group called Society for a Creative Anachronism
that stages these jousts, and I was pitching it around and it was actually
sam Arkoff. We pitched it to sam Arkoff and he said, hey,
I'll tell you what they put the guys on motorcycles. Then maybe I'm interested
in typical sam Arkoff's style. And I just I fumed over that, you
know, for months, and then finally I had the script basically and I
finally came around to saying, you know, maybe that's not so crazy,
and it would modernize it and bring it up to date, and so I
decided to go with it. And all I basically did was rewrite the script
and Sawahassan, and he gave us a three picture deal, but he said
one of them must be sequel to Dawn and so fab So we wound up
under that deal doing night Rider's Creep Show and Day of the Dead. And
I never had so much freedom that ever in my life, my career.
Whenever, I mean, Salid basically let us make the movies. I really
felt when I was making the film that it was important. It was important
to me. That meant that I put my best into it, and so
I just I know that I was sort of at my best when I was
on that set. In Now, how were Meryl felt his fans would react
to this change? No, I have forever in my career tried to look
for something new that I could do. I've always wanted to make Tarzan of
the Apes, I mean, you know, and yet I'm stuck in this
sort of niche with horror. I don't know that anyone who is a fan
of my horror work, my zombie films is going to look at night Writers
and get much out of it. Only I think people that are either personally
interested in me or in interested in what makes me tick. Maybe, But
I think basically fans today audiences will react. General audience will react pretty much
the way they did back then, which is not respond very positively. I
feel, and many film critics agree, that William, who is played by
Ed Harris in this film, is in a way a characterization of Romero,
a man that has a vision, in a way he chooses to live his
life and do things. Romero, for most of his career had that same
me though, that his films would be done his way, and if it
meant not having major studio support or big budgets, then so be it.
That is evident in our next clip, over a campfire, William is speaking
with Steve, the troop's legal representative. Why I chose this scene is I
want you to hear William's dismissiveness over getting TV executives involved. And then at
the end, one of William's loyal members makes a case for him to consider
taking the deal that wants to handle us. What do you mean he wants
to handle us? I thought, that's what you did. Yeah, I
can get you in the alarms, I get you in the brower you but
I don't know the big circuit I'd still be with you for legal and all
the big circuit. You're gonna pull fifteen k out of Brower. You could
pull thirty or forty out of some of these big county affairs. Hell,
Billy, I can't even get those folks on the telephone. They book acts
from guys like this guy that they've been dealing with all along. We're not
an act. Well, neither's bull rope. And you know what I mean.
You do three or four of these big gigs of summer, you can
do whatever the hell you want it for the rest of the year. Tell
this guy's talking about setting up with all fancy new costumes. He's even talking
about setting up some deal with some cycle manufact I'm surprised you even brought this
guy around, Steve. Well, damna here, I'm just trying to help
you along. You guys, is most fun I get in my life.
I just don't see you all break up. Damn it, Billy, y'all
Stone broke most of the time. And then you're taking every damn long hair
that knows how to make a pair of sandals, and you want to pick
up the Blue Cross tab. Do you have the slightest idea with gas is
selling for or two by fors or Hamburger or anything else. Do you think
it's breaking up. It's money building. It's all we do with money.
Money makes the world go around. And even your word, you know,
it's just getting too tough. It's tough lived by the code. I mean,
it's real hard to live for something that you believe in. People try
it and then they get tired of it, like they get tired of their
diets or exercise, or their marriage, when their kids, when their job
with themselves, when they get tired of their God. You can keep the
money you make up the sick world, or I don't want any part of
it. Anybody wants to live more for themselves. It doesn't belong with us.
Let me go out and buy some pimpy psychiatrists favorite back says, it's
okay. Don't ask me to say it's okay. It's not okay. Once
I was in a jail in Alabama and I got my ass kicked just like
I did last night, only even it was because I was in there.
Well, I woke up in the morning and I didn't even have an energy
enough to lick my wounds. I found out i'd given up. So I
tried to kill myself, tried to cut my wrist with the best spring.
See, I found out so like giving up on it all because of where
I was, what was all around me. Well, last night I get
my ass kicked. I came up laughing because now I'm in Camelot. Good.
See the way I see it is this, you got two separate.
The one for truth and justice and the American way of life and all that
that's going to take a back seat to the one for stay and alive.
You've got to stay alive. You can have the most beautiful ideals in the
whole world, and if you die, your ideals are going to die with
you. The important thing is we got to stay together. We got to
keep the truth together. And if keeping the truth going means that we have
to take some of this promoter's money, well then I say let's take it
and get some sleep. As I mentioned in the opening, at the crux
of this film is the conflict between William and Morgan. Many film critics have
analyzed this film and tried to find the metaphor to it. What is the
major conflict or what does the conflict stand for? That is something that Romero
is known for. I feel it is sample. It is the battle between
those that simply want to live their life the way they want without compromise and
interference, the side of William, and then the side of making it big,
being successful, wealthy, in quote unquote normal, the side of Morgan.
Our next clip shows this as William and Morgan have a heated argument over
joining with a television executive. Again, at the conclusion of this scene,
I want you to hear the two TV execs joking and salivating at the drama
as this group, or some would say family, splinters in two different directions
to get your food and your supplies, and it is right that everybody gets
the same, and then spending money. All the decisions are made here,
but the merchants, they're like serfs, you know. Only then nice can
make decisions. The King makes the final decisions on the advice of the Knights.
We can all take it a little more cash. We didn't spend so
much on playing Yeah, a lot less on part okay, Billy Davis himself,
Hello, Yeah, the gods damn the Knights having cushions. My god,
he's hurt. I mean, we all understand their big brave MACHOs.
But things are getting out ahead. They don't care what they smash up.
We'd blow five bikes a week. Parts cost a fortune and those lances.
Then they let the town he's ride with the stuff. How you gonna get
all like it got? You think the people think? The people shopping to
buy your god damn jewelry if parts of corn, what't you gonna sund it's
up shopping mall somewhere. I just spend last night in jail, and the
Man of God has had paid then for nothing. They believed that. If
they don't believe it, they didn't get the hell out of here. My
brother, you don't even know we were talking about. All we were saying
is just like, what is this? What is this a council meeting?
Huh? This is a councilman. You can't I have a council meeting without
everybody being here. You cannot I have a card don't meeting without everyone being
here. Oh good, shove you a quick damn councilor eating. Yeah,
yeah, that's that's a twenty dollars fine. That is a twenty dollars fine.
You compinnion right now, you can get your ass right out of here.
Oh man, we're already gone. Believe he really were just trying to
get some things together for you. Man, where's money? Well it's not
here. I'm not I'm not here. You know, it's you know,
where's tuck? Where the hell is stuck? This is a picture I'd like
to get my photographer cart with their pants style. Okay, how's inn to
that? At this point, I feel it goes without saying that I'm a
major fan of Romero's work through the years, I haven't been able to explain
exactly why or go into major detail other than I know he makes great films
and such. But what I have learned through my years of watching his films
is that it is his independence. He never compromised. That is what I
want from a director. I want someone that, no matter what, they
stick to what they feel as best. To me. That is what makes
his films, as well as those done by John Carpenter, Quentin Tarantino,
and Sergio Leone great, and those are some of my other favorite directors.
It is because their vision is always what is put on film, and anything
less is a compromise they are unwilling to make. Much like King William in
that is truly heroic and worthy of the crown. I hope you join me
next week when we continue our month long tribute to George A. Romero,
we will look at one of his genre bending films, the nineteen seventy eight
release Martin for WMNH and Matt Connerton Unleashed. This has been a classic film
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Business Solutions dot com. WMNH rip the novels So they carved the post.
No one now to pick it up or to clean it up, God burning
down on me. Just need a letter Ray dot that did every day very
nice. That is scraped the dirt from Able Blood. And these guys are
here with us in studio. We're going to talk to them in a moment.
Really looking forward to this. Welcome back everybody. We are into our
number two numerow doose of Matt Connerton Unleashed and we are live from the studios
of wmn H ninety five point three FM and Glorious Downtown Manchester, New Hampshire.
Also on Comcast ninety seven if you're in Manchester. And hello to Oliver
online listeners across the nation. I said Comcast ninety seven to night Comcast Channel
six. I can't get used to that. That's Friday, and hello to
all of our online listeners across the nation and around the globe. You can
go to my website Matt Connerton dot com for all your live streaming options,
social media links, contact info, show archives, etcetera, etcetera. Today
is Friday, September fifteen, two thousand, twenty three, and able Blood
is here. Welcome guys. How's it going, Matt? Very well,
very well, Adam. Let's we'll start with you. Tell us who you
are and what you do in the band. Oh, I'm Adam, I'm
the lead singer, and U lead guitar player, and uh swapping off bass
duties. Okay, yea very good, very good. And Jim Jim to
Luca, I'd play drums all right, and Malcolm sells I play with guitar
and back up and half the base, half the base and half the base.
Okay, so so on the record, so well, so how does
that work live? Then? Oh, it's pretty cool. We use a
splitter aby wise splitters and really yeah, it really drives it home, no
kidding. Yeah. People keep coming up and asking us too. They're like,
how are you doing this? You had no bass player, there's a
there's a I was like, no, we're bass players. We're all we're
both bass players. And they're like the low ends there. Yeah, they
just they they are like where is he? And uh yeah, but it
works. That's incredible. I've never heard of anyone doing that before. Yeah.
Do you know if anyone else who does it that way? I've never
Royal Blood RETTI tell Connectic Jetty. Really yeah, there'll be a few fans
out there that never would have even occurred to me. But that's that's brilliant.
That's really cool. I think the most famous band that did it was
I think local h yeah, two piece. That's that's true. Okay,
I forgot about that. Yeah, yeah, that's true. Wow, that's
cool though. All right. Yeah, well it seems to work huh yeah
definitely. So so in studio what do you what do you just? How
does it work in studio? In studio we had it, we had a
bass play. Yeah, we had a bass player there. Oh okay,
gotcha, but not like an official member because officially it's just the three of
you. Yeah, it's just the three of us here, okay, okay.
And we were kind of talking off air too about I opened with a
mental note it's just such an epic song and what is it about? Eleven
and a half minutes? Eleven and a half minutes, But it's so,
like we were talking off air, it goes by quickly. It doesn't feel
like it's that long, right, And the response in the chat room was
very positive. People were really digging it so so really well, I think,
like like you two guys too, we've I've listened to the album probably
four times today, really yeah, just and I always thought like too long.
But then I'm listening to it, it's like wow, that kind of
yeah, before it's over. Yeah, yeah, because it just it pulls
you in and you get so in tune to it that next thing, you
know, is, oh, the song over, Like, oh my god,
I can't believe it's been twelve minutes, but yeah, eleven and a
half minutes or whatever it is. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, And I
feel like all these songs have kind of an uh, I mean mental note,
probably because it's so long. It's particularly epic was the word I used.
And I think one of you had said that. That was the second
that's someone had said that to us. Yeah. Yeah, but all the
songs, I feel like, have kind of a big sound. What we're
going for. We want to be loud, we want to be like like
our description usually is, we try to be a wall of sound. Yeah,
yeah, that's what we want. It's funny I was talking to yesterday.
We had on a guest Mike Laughlin, who's I don't know if you
guys know, I'm very very talented singer songwriter. He does kind of mostly
displayed by himself acoustic. But we were talking about that how how important it
is especially with a live show to have that wall of sound. I love
being swallowed up in it. Yes, yes, exactly, exactly And this
just came out today right arrival of the waves of the new albums today.
Yep, where do you guys record this? Woman? Recorded in Jaffrey at
Loudsun Studio. Okay, we did the recording and mixing there with Ben Rogers.
Guys. Excellent. This is the second time we had recorded an album
with him, and then we had it mastered here in Manchester at black Heart
Sound. Okay, that's Souter, Yes, that's the name. I hear
a lot of these. Tremendous job. Absolutely, yeah. Every everything I've
heard is positive, both in terms of hearing people talking about him and when
I've literally heard on the show. It seems like we've had a bunch of
artists on who who've Oh yeah, he's a reputation. I gotta get him
on the show. Yeah yeah, definitely. A couple bands, Yeah,
pretty good, Oh, incredible, very talented guitar player. What what bands
is he in? Do you know? Offhand? Magnetarna, Crown Visions,
he does one with his girlfriend and it's it's oh, no kidding, it's
I'm familiar with Magnatar. Yeah, yeah, I gotta yeah, I definitely
have to get him on that. I didn't realize. I didn't realize that
was him in that band. So this, uh so, what what went
into the decision to do I mean, it's yeah, it's it's a it's
an album nine tracks. What went into the decision to do a full album?
Because obviously we live in an era. I mean, we're all old
enough to remember when it was, you know, either make an album or
maybe an EP. But most bands make albums right back in the day,
and now we live in a time when you can kind of do it.
There's many different ways to do it. You can make an album, you
can make an EP. You can just release a bunch of singles. Maybe
you release a single once a month and eventually it makes an album. What
went into the decision to do a full album? I have a reputation of
pooping songs out. Yeah, so we have a bunch. Yeah, And
I knew when you were looking at me that that's what you were thinking too.
Well. I was thinking, can we say poop on the radio?
Ye? Yes you can, yes, yes, poop poop is so yeah,
we had them and and we're pretty tight. We practice, you know,
regularly, so going into the studio, we crack these all out in
less than two full days. We're able to get everything recorded. Yeah,
so yeah, we went and prepared, so we were like, let's just
do it. Let's gets to be honest, I'm sure we would would have
been able to decide which songs to put on the albument what's not, so
it worked out very well. Is there also an advantage to doing it?
I mean, obviously, when you're doing it quickly like that, the pressure
is on. But at the same time, I would imagine you you are
able to capture some degree of spontaneity when you're not doing it over and over
again. Yeah, you know, yeah, totally well mental note particularly that's
that song is it's a different song every time we play. We did that
one take, no kidd one take on I think everything was one take.
Yeah, pretty much about but we took a month off at gigging and just
practiced over and over and over, so, you know, because we're kind
of cheap and we didn't want to waste money in the studio. Yeah,
that's another that's another good reason to get it done quick. I Adam put
it good. We were well prepared to do it. So, yeah,
we went in with a with a with an agenda, and we completed it.
Yeah, and mental notes, you said, mental notes kind of different
every time you play it. Yeah, it's a jam like you jam it,
so it's it's We were nervous to record it only because we wanted to
capture the feeling that we normally have with it, but it's always different.
So we were just like, all right, let's just go in and do
it. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't.
And we were just like as soon as we were done. Normally,
I don't know how long we usually play that song for. It's a different
length every time. And we stopped and we asked Ben when we recorded it,
We're like, how long was that one? And he's like eleven and
a half minutes. We're all jaws all dropped. We're like, yeah,
it was. It was. We thought we were playing for like six or
seven. I thought it was gonna be like seven seventy eight minutes. Yeah,
Oh that's funny. Oh that's cool. And so so you didn't even
have any time in mind. You just kind of just want jam. When
it was done, and when it was done, it was done. Yeah.
That's cool. Yeah, because that's the only really long one. The
rest of the tracks are all, you know, three four minutes for every
length song. Yeah. Yeah, I mean our first EP had a had
a nine and nine and a half minute song Fire on the Hillside. Oh
really Yeah, So it was kind of I thought it was kind of cool
to come back with this album and do another finale if you if you would,
yeah, yeah. Has the sound Did the sound change at all between
albums? I think progress at Yeah, we got a lot more psychedelic.
We kept the heavy, but the heavy fields heavier. That's good. Yeah,
yeah, very cool. We've got able Blood here with us in studio.
If you have any questions or anything at all for the band, the
studio line is open six zero three two five zero six zero seven six zero
three two five zero six zero seven. I can also text me at six
one seven nine one seven four four seven six. I'm on social media at
Matt Connerton. You can email me Matt at Matt Connerton dot com, and
of course you can interact endo Pine in the Facebook live chat. But the
best thing to do so that we can hear and enjoy your dulcet tones is
give us to call at six zero three two five O six zero seven.
Jenny in the chat room says well done, referring to the song we just
heard, or actually, oh, I think she might be referring to Eric's
film review, but she was, but she was saying earlier. She really
uh oh, that's right, it was well mental note was on. She
was. She was commenting on how much she really likes that. Yeah,
she really likes her sound a lot. Thanks appreciate it. And uh oh.
And Ronda Ferverro from California is in the Facebook live chat and said wall
of sound a phrase coined by Phil Spector. Indeed, I didn't know that.
I didn't know that's where the term came from. Yeah, very cool.
Uh, speaking of where things come from, where does the name come
from? Able Blood? H So we're Jimmy and I grew up in the
Brookline Hollis area and there's a cemetery on the Nashua and Holliess Line Pineal Cemetery
and it's famous for having being probably the most haunted cemetery in New Hampshire.
Okay, and haunted by the spirit of able Blood. Okay. Yeah,
there was actually a finger on his gravestone, and when kids would go there
at night, the finger would be pointing up during the day and at night.
A lot of people would say that the finger would be pointing down towards
the ground. If you go online and look it up, there's a whole
Oh yeah, Fits Weatherby did a story on him. Yeah yeah, do
you ever go there? Yeah, yeah, you've you've a well. Thirty
years ago, Jimmy and I were in a band together and we used to
jam on the property that bordered the cemetery, no kidding. Yeah, do
you ever see anything or hear anything or cool? Yeah? Yeah, And
you know, the headstone's been vandalized and yeah, I think they've actually taken
the headstone out. Oh yeah, I think it's that. It's at the
Holest police Department. I believe that's how the story goes. Oh wow,
interesting, it's an interesting story looking up sometimes. Yeah. Yeah, we
should all get arrested so we can take a picture with the headstone. There
we go. That would be very very rock and roll. That be so
metal. I originally thought before he joined the band that it was a biblical
rafflers too. That's what I vengeance from the Earth. Yeah, this is
just as cool. Yeah Blood was actually a person. Yeah yeah, that
is pretty cool. And what a badass name to have, able Blood.
If if able Blood were alive today, he wouldn't no doubt he'd be proud
be playing and be playing in a metal band. You would have to Yeah,
I don't know. I see him as like a polka kid. Yeah,
ye, perfect play. Yeah, bring it together and and the album
is called Arrival of the Waves. Oh and by the way, I should
hold up for for people watching online. I'll hold it up so the to
the camera there you can see it. Very cool artwork. Yeah, you
were telling me about how the how the artwork came about. Actually, Malcolm
would be much better to explain. Yeah, yeah, how did you uh
how did you come about this? Uh this out this outwork? Artwork?
I do a lot. I started playing with AI art generation Yeah, and
I would uh, I'd create images and then kind of tweak them in Photoshop.
And yeah, I got really into a Polish artist, bec Synski,
and it's really it's disturbing stuff, but it's it's it's really neat art.
So yeah, I try to do stuff in his style. So that's Yeah,
that's like I always wanted to draw our paint and I never really could,
so yeah, the AI kind of Yeah. So when you're when you're
coming up with these, do you go into the generator? And then I
know a little bit about it, So do you do you type in a
prompt like imagine, I don't know what you would type in for prompts to
get these images, to be honest with the cover is Arrival of the Waves.
I typed in Arrival of the Waves. Put in a couple of operators
that got me the style and colors that I wanted. That's kind smoothed it.
And yeah, that's cool because it's, you know, in a way,
it's not what I would expect with that prompt, if that makes sense.
Were you surprised at the image it generated? I'm constantly surprised at some
of the things that generates. I'll do like experiments where I will I'll pick
an album and I'll take every every song title, yeah, and just do
an art prompt on that, oh no kidding, And it gets some pretty
cool stuff. And I've actually started writing, you know, poetry and lyrics
based on the photos I get back, Oh no kidding, artwork. It
generates because it doesn't always it's not like a one to one, you know,
matchup as far as you know what you put in and what you get
out, So it always spits out something kind of neat that that you know,
sometimes sparks something in me. Yeah, so next album, yeah,
and then and then so all the images in the artwork, they were all
done that way. Yes, all right, I have to ask you so
and unfortunately, well, I'll hold it up for the camera again for people
watching on video, people listening won't know. But I I am very curious
what prompt generated that. I think if that prompt was keeping Pace with the
Elephants, which is the name of the Oh, yes, okay, I
see it now. I didn't even see it at first looking at it.
That's why I looks like an elephant with palettes on it. Yeah, yeah,
but no, but it's cool. It's a cool all of it.
I didn't know what I was looking at. That's why I was so curious
about it. But it looked interesting. But that makes sense now I see
it, and I loved on the cover of the Little I don't know if
you want to call it a being, but whatever that little being is,
I think that's awesome. I love I've always loved that. Yeah, I'll
hold it up again for the camera. It's and people can obviously, you
know, go online, go on band camp and you'll you'll find it.
But I think that yeah, and I think that's why I said for that
prompt, I wouldn't have expected necessarily this image because like I would expect that
being to be a surfer, but that's not a surfer. It's it's just
interesting. It's fascinating. Yeah, but it'll use a lot to the imagine.
Yeah, which is cool. Yeah, yeah, oh we should mention
two adam you it's funny and and this has happened to me before. It
it's inevitable. But when you guys got here, I think the first thing
you said to me was we had met before. Yeah, yeah, and
it was like thirteen years ago. On the other show that I do,
I interviewed you. You were in the band Buck fifty five, Yes,
and that and that's still online. People can still go on. Yeah,
it's on a reverb nation. Whatever happened to that band anyway? Well,
we lived far apart. Yeah, so yeah, it was it was harder
and harder to get to practice. Yeah, you know we're still friends.
I actually saw him two weeks ago. Oh good, yeah, yeah,
we still see each other all the time. So yeah, very cool,
excellent, excellent, Well let's psalm. Let's do this. Let's play another
track from the new album just out today, Arrival of the Waves from able
Blood and what would you guys? I'll let you guys pick what would you
like? Yeah, let's do reflection reflectually all right? Anything you want us
to know about the song before we before we play the songs A trip that's
our probably our most psychedelic songs the album, okay, and probably the quick
We wrote this literally in minutes. Yeah really yeah, the whole thing came
together, Yeah, within within twenty minutes. Yeah, we had all the
parts written out. Oh no kidding? Ready to go? Yeah, okay,
all right, very cool. Let's check this out. This is Reflections,
brand new from able Blood. Then that's a cool instrumental. That is
Reflections. The band is able Blood. We've got the guys in studio with
us, and we've been talking and we're gonna talk some more. I do
want to remind you all of course, at today is Friday, which means
tonight we have retro spectrum Radio with Paul C from eight to eleven PM,
and I will be back for that show. Of course, I have the
honor and privilege of being one of Paul's co hosts on that show. So
Friday is my long day here at w m n H and I do love
it so but we've got the guys from able Blood here in studio with us,
and if you would like to join us, if you have any questions
or feedback or anything at all for the band six ZHO three two five ozho
six zero seven, the studio line is open six three two five zero six
O seven. And speaking of AI, we have a new Force of the
Spark in the chat room with us. And new force says hello hashtag Matt.
We say from us. We say hey able Blood from US. We
say awesome hashtag gen coffee from US, and we are from Greensboro, North
Carolina. Well Stag Matt Connerton. We should be watching retro Spectrum Radio with
Paul C at eight pm for us. So we have a lot of friends
from Greensboro, North Carolina join us in the Facebook live chat. And they
all talked like that and apparently met where Saturn Death Cult was from. They
were from rally Rally. They're from near work, West Virginia, Virginia.
Okay, they were from Richmond, Virginia. Not a Saturn death cult.
Oh, these guys are great great. Played a show with them in Boston
a couple month, month and a half ago, kidding, unbelievable show.
Nobody showed up. It was a storm of the century, the rainstorm we
had. They drove all the way up that day and it was a Sunday
afternoon show, and because it was raining so high, I think nobody wanted
to come out with one person, the coolest guy in the world, Jay
our buddy Jason from rod Iron Hex Game. But other than that, no
one else showed up. We got to see them. We had a personal
show, which was amazing. Yeah. Yeah, they were so good live.
Oh that's well. Do you guys play out a lot? You playing
a lot of shows? Quite a bit? Yeah, it's been quite a
bit. We can play on Saturday night. We're gonna be up in Maine
at Charlie's Hill. Yeah, playing with your friends Crooked Cash. Yes,
I said hi, by the way, Yes, yes, yep. We
had those guys on a number of months ago, and they're coming back soon.
Yeah. Really really good, Jenny said in the chat room. I
really love this music. Yeah, absolutely, Jenny, Thank you, Jenny,
absolutely really good stuff. When you guys, you mentioned a song like
mental Note, it kind of changes every time you play it. What about
what about the other songs? Do any of the other songs change or is
it really just Mental Note because it's such a jam. I think my solos
kind of change here and there. I don't like, I don't memorize any
of them, So the solos might change a little bit, but the meat
and bones of the songs stay pretty close to the same every time. Yeah,
I might have a little bit different tone. If I've thrown my my
pedal board bag around a little bit, some of the knobs might be turned,
and so she might sound a little different tonally. But we've made a
mistake. When we do a Mental Note live, like it's all the pedals
and we just crank them all the show and just you know, another wall
of sound. And I made the mistake of, you know, not touching
my board after a show mental Note. The next night I go to sound
check, crank every knob on my delay pedal, and then next time I
go to play everything will be going when I turn it back on the next
day. What it is matters is we kept the song in the exact same
way that we created it. We created it with no boundary. We I
think that jam Adam just started playing the beginning part. I came in on
drums, Malcolm came in on guitar, and it just ended up jamming it
for a huge length of time. We because we've been playing together for a
while, we kind of know what each other do. And the song came
to an end, We're like, oh my god, we got to record
that. I also think Malcolm and I had just gone to Godspeed You,
Black Emperor not long before, very noise rocky who would sound Yeah, yeah,
so we had just seen them. They were very noise rocky sound,
you know. So, so every day we really inspired after we did it
the same way. We just jammed it and ended it when we felt that
it was time to end the song. Yeah, And it held that way
all the way through going in the studio and recording the album. We did
it the same the same way. We've recorded everything live except for the vocals,
so we were able to just literally jam these tunes. Oh wow,
Yeah, have you guys been together a long time. How long has this
band been around? Jimmy and I have been jamming while pre pandemic. We
were actually in a band about thirty years ago together, a band called No
Thanks. We're like a y metal band. Yeah, yeah, early nineties,
and then took a long, long, long break. But we started
doing this again probably in twenty twenty nineteen. We took a eight at the
beginning of the pandemic for a little while, yeah, just until we could
figure out what was going on. And then after that we got together and
Jimmy and I have been like the constant. We've had members come and go.
Yeah, and then Malcolm has been with us for who's never hearing,
Who's never gonna go. We're not gonna allow We're gonna break his leg.
He's gonna be the first one that we don't allow to be get that.
So it's kind of settled into this is what we are now. Yeah,
very cool. You big spinal Tap guy? Oh? I love that movie
Anything those guys touch? Yeah yeah eleven Yeah. The other show that I'm
on on Fridays hosted by Police. We always kind of break his balls because
he's never seen spinal Tap. See that's one of those, and he would
love it, and we're always telling him, dude, you'd love it.
I'm I have a reputation of never seen having seen a film, and I've
seen it. Yeah, I've actually seen six movies. I would love to
watch Spinal Tap the first time again. Yeah. Yeah, that's something though,
you may have to suspend that friendship that I know, connection is made.
I know it's like, you know, not grounding an amp or something
like that. Something bad's gonna happen. Yeah, he's he's also never seen
Purple Rain and that one. I've never seen Purple You've never seen Wow?
I love the album. Yeah, but I've never watched the movie. Oh
you gotta see it. A prince is acting as for not No, I'm
kidding. Actually he's not that great, but much better musician than an actor.
No, but the film, it is an incredible film. You should
see it. Even like Morris Day at the time, seeing those guys perform
live, oh yeah crap. Yeah yeah, that band was full of talent.
I wish I had seen them live, Like, yeah, me too,
me too. Yeah, I would have loved that. Well, I
guess technically they're still I think I think they still tour more stay. I
think, yeah, I think they just call it Morris Day or something.
They don't have to call it Morris Day in the time anymore, but I
think it's essentially the same band, have a different name that they go by
now. Rona Ferverro in the chat room, our friend from California. She
says, the guitar work and that last song, Reflections had a really cool
Robin Trauer vibe. Oh, gridge of size is one of my favorite tunes,
and that's the sound I was going for with the Oh I'm gonna freaking
cry. Well done, Ronda, well done. Yeah, yeah, you
guys were kind of talking off air too while the song was planned that it's
been a good day in terms of the response of the album. Good feedback,
Yeah, absolutely, any anything in terms of feedback that's really kind of
surprised you, Like, oh, I wasn't expecting someone to well, people
other than people were friends with were related to liking it surprises me. Yeah.
I had a plant manager at my company out of the Blue asked me
for a copy the other day, and he sent me an album review this
morning. Really, and he used epic and hypnotic for mental note. Oh
and I was like just blown away that this guy actually took the time,
you know, out of his day, and he was like, after the
third time I've listened to it in twenty four hours, I'm like, are
you kidding me? So it was funny that we actually got somebody to listen
to this album more than once in that short of a time. Yeah,
Oh that's really cool. And with mental note, anytime, you know,
you have a love and a half second song, you wonder how that's going
to be received some people, And so far it almost seems like it's the
favorite on the album. So far, so good. Yeah, from the
feedback that I've gotten anyway, Yeah, you know, they're like, all
these songs are cool, but mental note is is you know, it's like,
all right, so an eleven and a half song was well received,
that's good. Yeah yeah, yeah, you just never know. I mean
that's part of the adventure of it in a sense, right, Yeah,
but uh yeah, that's that's really cool. Do you do you play any
of the older songs live? Still? We do a lot lately. We've
been doing two songs off the album. We remember promoting the new album,
you know, for quite a few months now, like mostly new stuff,
but they're going to end up making most of the songs will end up making
their way back into the rotation. I'm looking at I'm looking back at it.
These songs are really viable songs, and they're really good. I think
I could have gone back and nit picked them a little bit more on the
recordings. But they're good songs, and they we do rotate them in.
We do rotate them in. Yeah, And the EP was very well received.
It was well received. Yeah. Yeah, And on this new album,
the bonus track at the end is the title track off our first EP,
Keeping Pace with the Elephants. Oh that's why it's called slight return yet
because we do it differently on this album, because this one we do a
stripped down acoustic version and I play on a Cohne rather than a drum set.
Yeah, it came out and it still sounds really heavy, really great
about Ben like the drum sound he got out of that cane unreal. Yeah,
and it tied is Malcolm into the first album because he wasn't around for
the first album, so it kind of brings him back to it. So
because of that, we play Keeping Pace with the Elephants live a lot right
now, because it is a song that's on the album, and if if
people haven't heard the first album, they hear that song and then they go
back and they you know, investigate that we have another album and they listen
to them, Oh there's keeping Pace with the Elephants again, and then they
hear the full band version that's you know, full on distortion everything, and
it's you know, we thought it would kind of be a neat little thing
to do. Yeah. Yeah, Plus Adam and I and Malcolm, we'll
do open mics on nights, doing stripped down versions of our songs, kind
of kind of how that was born too. Yeah, absolutely, yeah,
Yeah, we'll pick an open mic every once in a while, and yeah
we'll just show it as a band. Yeah. Oh wow, yeah,
just do it. Oh very cool. It's cool to have that kind of
flexibility to do that. Yeah. I wrote everything that we've recorded on an
acoustic guitar. Oh yeah, pretty pretty, so they translate quite well.
Yeah yeah. Yeah, ever have anything that doesn't translate that you write it
on the acoustic and then you go, I don't know if this works plugged
in. We haven't come across anything yet. He's brought stuff to us that
I've been like, you know, I don't know if that will work with
distortion. This will be a Mela song. Yeah, we kicked the pedals
and it's like, that sounds good. I want to hear it distorted,
like really, I like, yeah, kept them past work that way.
It was an acoustic song and Jimmy's like, I want the fuzz pedal on
on that, and we did it, and we were like, whoa,
all right, let's do it. It was the last song I thought we
were gonna put fuzz on. I think it was Keith Richards said in an
interview once though. If it doesn't work with just an acoustic guitar, right,
it's you know, yeah, right right, Well we should uh yeah,
we got time, why don't we? Uh you want to give that
one to listen? Kept them past? Yeah, because I think you had
said you're that was the original single, right that you were kind of using
yet. Yeah, yeah, let's let's give this one a spin. All
right, this is kept Uh, I'm sorry. I kept them past from
able Blood and the brand new album out today, Arrival of the Waves.
Check this out. I would see him for a while. It's like a
night that never ends. Appreciate the final things for the doll Disappa space in
a blue bed for a game, A little water, A little line?
Would you put down on the guys? Tiny? Missed up, puny till
one put the water on the cake, Keep him now forever, pass kept
them passed by Able Blood from the brand new album Arrival of the Waves.
We've got these guys in studio with us, and uh, if you want
to get in with a call, if you got anything for the band six
zo three two five zero six zero seven six zero three two five zero six
zero seven you guys, Uh, you go for those long uh that you
know that the decay with the feedback, a lot of sustain Yeah, I
like that. I like that a lot. Yeah. I think that's part
of what gives it that epic quality. It doesn't seem like a lot of
bands really do that anymore. I mean, there's probably more than I realized,
but I don't know. I feel like it's been a while since I've
kind of heard that ending to a song. You know, I'm too lazy
to figure anything else out. Hit that last note and let it ring.
Yeah, yeah, it works, it works. It's bring me back to
spinal tap. You can just hit that, go out and have a fight,
right right, it's just sustained. Yes, don't don't touch that.
Use that time to put your pedals back to where they belong. Right now,
what do you guys have coming up? As far as you got any
shows this weekend? You must be playing somewhere this Weetmber. Yeah, this
Saturday night. We're up in Charlie's Hill and up in Lebanon, Maine.
Okay, the end of the month with September twenty ninth. We're actually here
in town on Elm Street. We're at Top Shelf Tattoo Excellent. Yeah,
we're gonna be playing with dust Profit. Oh yeah. I used to be
in a band with Auto from Yeah, yeah, yeah, and Trading Tombstone
is gonna be on that bill. And there's a band coming up from Philadelphia
called shadow Witch. We're really looking forward playing this show. Yeah yeah,
yeah. Which playing shows has been great because we've talked about this. I
love shows we get on where it's like four bands and nobody sounds, you
know, and you just, yeah, let's make some buddies and listen to
a whole bunch of different kinds of music. It is really great playing with
like out a lot. Like we've gotten to know so many bands around the
area, and yeah, like love all of them, you know what I
mean, as people love their music. Yeah, you know it seems like
you guys too, can kind of fit in with different like you know,
I get you fit in with metal bands, but you also probably fit I
think in the beginning we had a trouble getting gigs because people didn't know where
to put us. Yeah, because we had heavy riffs. Yeah, well
we couldn't. We could play with hardcore bands, but we didn't quite fit
in with that. And then we will play with some metal bands and we
didn't quite fit in that. So they're just trying to figure us out.
But we're starting to get quite a bit of games. Yeah. We're also
playing October twenty second at Pub on the Park in Cranston, Rhode Island,
Okay. And then November twenty six we're backup in you have to change that
sixteenth, November sixteenth, another show, another show with dust profit Yes,
Oh, very cool, outstanding, outstanding. Oh. Jenny shared the link
in the chat room two to band camp and I assume this is on all
the streaming services, right, Yeah. I was all released at midnight.
The only one it wasn't on this morning was Pandora. Okay, yeah,
it'll be there, it'll be there. Yeah, it's definitely on Spotify,
it's on Amazon Music, Apple Musical Music, Outstanding, outstanding. And you've
got physical copies of physical CDs. Appreciate. I appreciate you you guys bringing
those in. Was that was that a difficult decision whether or not to make
physical discs or no, we just didn't know if we wanted to do vinyl
or CD. I think we wanted to do vinyl, but it's expensive.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think I exclusively We'll say, don't rule
it out because it's a possibility that it's coming. Yeah. So yeah,
yeah, I'd like to see that artwork in a big guy. That's the
that's the beauty of the most beautiful part about how the vinyl is being able
to put the big, huge artwork on it. Oh yeah, yeah.
Well I can remember buying stuff simply because of the artwork. Oh yeah,
and being like, Okay, I'm going to roll the dice on this because
if they like this art. That's how you found music back in the day
when you didn't have internet, you didn't have any other way to to.
You know, when you were in the mood for something new, you went
to the local record store and you stopped looking at artwork. Yeah, it
was either doing that or Headbanger's Ball. It was the only two ways I
knew it was getting twenty minutes. Yep, I missed them both. I've
got somewhere in a storage unit. There's I've got a bunch of vh old
VHS tapes of Headbanger Small. I'm sure they don't play anymore, even if
I had anything to play them on. They're probably all super damaged and all
that. But now where should people? I want to make sure two people
know where to go online to keep up with everything you guys are doing as
far as shows and whatnot. We keep our Facebook able, blood Facebook up
to date most Yeah. I'd like to say I'm good with the Instagram,
but I'm not. Yeah, I don't keep it up very well. Yeah,
but I do post on there fairly frequently. Jimmy does the ePK.
He keeps that up to date. And uh, you can go there and
you can see past shows, upcoming shows, videos. The bio links to
all our socials. Okay, excellent, excellent, I think to get the
The most current stuff is probably our Facebook page. Yeah, okay, okay,
and we should make sure people know too. Able is a B E
L just so no one's misspelling it. Looking for you guys, Yes,
although if you google it the other way you probably still come up. I
would, I would hope, yes, But you come up with able blood
and Sava yeah, oh okay, come up when you do it. Yeah.
Yeah. And then obviously this this album is fresh, it came out
today. But are you already thinking about the next one, because you said
you were about halfway done writing. Yeah, the next one. Yeah.
Yeah, it's gonna be heavier too. Yeah. Really, and the song
Arrival of the Waves will probably end up on that album. Yeah. So
oh so there's an actual song called Arrival of the Waves. Yeah, that's
how we got the name. Yeah. Oh yeah, so we like to
I like to do little homages to, you know, bands that I like,
And this might be our homage to led Zeppelin. Ok okay, you
know like they had houses all the Holy was on what physical graffiti? Yeah,
maybe we'll do something like that where we'll just put a rival on the
of the Waves. Yeah, on the next album. Or will you steal
a bunch of blues music and we could do that. Ah. Yes,
that's been a subject on Retrospectrum Radio with Policy. The other show that I'm
on later on Fridays is Led Zeppelin and their uh plagiarism, some of which
is really blatant. Yeah. I can't believe that they won that case against
what was it Targas or Targas or whatever. Oh no, sorry, I
don't want to get into this now. Hijack the interview. I know,
I know, I know what you're talking about. No, it's it's what
was the name of the band anyway? Yeah, yeah, they did when
the Zeppelin won that one, didn't they Yeah, because it's really just one
part of it that's the same. But man, some of them well yeah
yeah, the main riff, but some of those uh yeah, some of
those songs that they took from blues artists. Like it's not even just the
riffs, it's it's like the lyrics too. It's like, oh my god,
just shameless. I mean, I love Zeppelin, no offense. I
mean, you've got the shirt, but uh but yeah, they even stole
a song from Joan Baias. Did you know that? I don't remember what
song it is. But yeah, there's a song. I only know this
because Paul See those of Retrospectrum Radio brought us my attention. This is a
Joan Baia's song that they lift and it's and when you hear it, it's
like it's obvious, Like it's not even ambiguous, it's really obvious. It's
like, oh my god. Yeah. Yeah, Well, guys, this
has been wonderful. I really I really appreciate y'all coming in. We'll we'll
close the show out with one more track. But I just want the listeners
to know too. If you miss any part of today's show, it'll be
up in just a little bit at w m H radio dot org and at
my website Matt Connerton dot com. And it is Friday, so please come
back tonight for Retrospectrum Radio eight to eleven PM. And oh and don't forget,
of course, Saturday mornings, We've got you're on WMNH. I always
forget to plug this, but trying to get better about it. A classic
episode of the Morning Show with Peter White airs seven to nine am, followed
by the best of Matt Connerton Unleashed from eight to eleven AM on Saturday and
then and then of course we'll be back Monday, but I'll be back tonight
for Retrospectrum Radio, and guys, thank you again and thanks it's been great
absolutely And what song would you like to close with? Needs to define anything?
Anything? Uh? Why this one? Anything we should know about?
Our most wall of sound? Wally sound? Oh? Is it? Yeah?
Oh? Very long? Yeah? All right, all right. We
love how it starts off mellow and then just smacks you in the mouth.
Really yeah, I kind of want you to tell the story. But behind
seven Dead? Oh oh, I'm curious. Oh seventh dead story? Oh,
well, that's I was watching a publisher's clearing house commercial one day and
I couldn't come up with any lyrics. Yeah, and so I wrote the
song about a publisher's clearing how giveaway? Yea, yeah, that was it.
I mean it was Yeah. I'm kind of a strange topic for a
band that's heavy. But why seven dead? How did you get seven from?
Well? You know, I always imagine like really old people winning the
publishers clearing house, and you were winning seven thousand dollars a day from people
dead? Seven of them are dead every week. I don't know, Okay,
yeah. You ever read a song about like consumer cellular or anything that
might be the next subject I talk about maybe maybe a catheter commercial on I'm
working at a concept album about boost Mobile. Yeah, excellent, excellent.
All right, that's a little younger generation though, that's not really then we're
gone. You're gonna get old though, they will. Adam keeps people thinking
though. On our first album, the first track of the album is called
The Day that Moby Died yea, and people thought he was targeting the rapper
mobile. Yeah, yeah, yeah, which we were. We had a
review. Somebody reviewed our album and tagged him in it. That's fantastic,
not that, not that we wouldn't want to get an argument with Moby,
right, I mean right, you know, good publicity. Melanie said in
the chat room. I love doing the publishers clearing house. I will do
it for years. Uh. Convinced we are just a week away from being
millionaires. You can all you could already be a winner? Is that publishers?
Okay, all right, we gotta go. So we're gonna listen to
this. This is needs to Live from the band Able Blood. Check this
out. Thanks guys, Hi little Man selling Terrace on the hours on what
to Wait. You can take on a now stand the hind of your make
up to a small holes child, dot you down a little water, do
as for ever pass on your one showers, just f about she doesn't catch
your sholl Rember dollars. Who's all you make it sure? This hour on
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