Happy Friday, kids!  We have a bit of a hodge-podge for you today, so bear with me if you can.  First of all, I would like to share a bit of bad news with you from Citizendick’s western campus.  As of last Friday, yours truly Diamond Jim has joined the ranks of the unemployed.  That’s right, these tough economic times have taken their toll on me as they have on many of us at this point.  On the bright side, I will now have more time to contribute to the cause of rock here at Citizendick; on the downside however, I may soon be homeless.  With that said; if you or anyone you know is looking for a dynamic marketing guru feel free to hit me up at james@citizendick.org.  

Now that I have gotten that shameless plug out of the way, lets talk some music.  The first band I want to share with you guys today is a three-man Canadian band called METZ.  I came across these guys while working with the folks at We Are Busy Bodies on the DD/MM/YYYY review from last week and they absolutely blew my mind.  They do not currently have a proper full-length album to speak of, but they have recently released the first of three two-song 7”’s.  The music is a heavy (and I do mean HEAVY) dose of fuzzed-out guitars, pounding rhythmic percussion, and screaming vocals.  Imagine Death from Above 1979 if they weren’t pretentious hipster DJ’s and listened to more Motorhead.  If I were to categorize it, I would call it free-form punk metal.  Both songs from the 7” are available to stream on their MySpace page, and if you have the means to play vinyl you can purchase a physical copy directly from We Are Busy Bodies: 

http://www.myspace.com/metztheband

http://www.wearebusybodies.com

Next up is a band that I discovered in Paste Magazine of all places.  They are called Ponderosa (no relation to the shitty steakhouse buffet, I promise), and this southern-rock quintet from Georgia is a straight-up blast from the past.  The first time I heard them I seriously thought they were sent straight from the 70’s in a rock n’ roll time machine to remind me of simpler times and better music.  Currently the band is working on their first full-length album at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios, working with Grammy award winning producer Joe Chicarelli (who has worked with Zappa, Elton John, The White Stripes, and others).  No definitive word on a release date as of yet, but the album will be called Moonlight Revival and it will include several of the same songs from their earlier EP of the same name.  To tide us over until then, the original 10-song EP is currently available as a free download from their official site (link below).  Be aware that a few of the tracks from the download are labeled incorrectly, but it hardly matters.  These songs are all amazing, and this is the kind of record that you put on, pour a glass of whiskey, and enjoy without even paying attention to what track you are on anyway…

http://www.ponderosamusic.net/downloads/ 

Finally, I want to remind all of you to check out our mini tour diary featuring Blitzen Trapper coming up tomorrow.  As I type this I am mere hours away from taking in their Chicago set at the Empty Bottle (big thanks to Sub Pop for the guest list add), which happens to be one of my all-time favorite local dives.  By the time you read this I will have already been rocked by the mighty Trapper, and Brian and Kevin will be well on their way to Detroit to catch their set at Magic Stick (I know, WTF right?).  So be prepared to wake up on Saturday and nurse your hangovers with a healthy dose of pictures and commentary from our multi-city Blitzen Trapper excursion!