Basement Sound Records NEWS for January 21, 2011

I've Added a New Radio Show

On Friday (Jan. 21) from 6-8 pm central, I will be hosting a new show on Core of Destruction radio called Church of Annie!

The show will have great metal and other kinds of music as well. Please come by the chat room on Friday and wish me luck. (I'll be nervous, I'm sure.)

The best thing about the new show will be weekly call-ins from The Reverend Pauly 13, the new Editor-In-Chief of The Church of Annie blog! Not only will The Reverend tell us what to check out on the blog, but he will have all kinds of random weekly wickedness. I can't wait!

Set your reminders for this Friday!

Black Anima from Sweden

I started playing songs from Black Anima on my show almost a year ago. Since then, the guys from this Swedish band have kept in touch and continued to send cds.

Their latest cd is called Satanist? Satanist!

Here is the video I made about the cd:

Strongwater - Black River

The Norwegian band, Strongwater, has a new cd out called Black River that is a must for all metal fans.

Here's a little video I did about it:

Why I'm "Annie Christ."

Having "Annie Christ" as my moniker has elicited more than a few questions from friends and friends of friends. Their concern (which I totally understand) is that I will be labelled as some evil baby eating Satanist. What I see as a tongue-in-cheek, funny name, they see as a dangerous skeleton to keep in the closet. In any case, I thought I should address this before things got out of hand - or before I have to answer these questions to keep a job or defend the music I love.

First, metal music does not make people evil. If that was the case, we would all be required to listen to Justin Bieber or (god forbid) The Jonas Brothers. In fact, evil people like all kinds of music. Most of them are exposed to the same corporate prescription of crap administered by the same local radio station you're listening to.  And there was no metal music for Hitler or Pol Pot to listen to. (In fact, this was one of Hitler's favorite songs.)  Metal is harsh for a reason - it is often the true mirror to society. Metal (like good rap) tells what is going on out there - and often rails against those committing wrongs all over the world. Yes, there's metal that is Satanist - there's also pop music and rap that is as well. Here's a clip of Anton Lavey playing "A Big Top Melody" on organ to prove what real satanists are listening to.

Second, when I came up with Annie Christ, I wasn't thinking of honoring the son of Satan. I was just thinking of a cute name that would get attention. And I thought it was funny.  I think that the same people who can't see the humor in my name are the same people who are too politically correct - people who can't take a joke.  

There's so much crap going on in the world today, so much suffering. People are having a really hard time out there.  Does it really matter what name I use to introduce and play some metal songs? Could you imagine how much good could be done if all those people who spend time and energy on meaningless issues would instead choose to help people who need it? 

In fact, if you are one of those people reading this now - someone who wants to criticize or punish me for my stage name - I only ask that you consider doing something good today. Instead of manifesting your anger over nothing, try helping someone instead.

Here are a few people who desperately need help and who would appreciate any thing you could do for them:

The Phil Kennemore Fund

The Curtis Beeson Fund

Here is a list of music charities that you can give money to as well.

I hope this post has answered any questions anyone might have about my decision to name myself Annie Christ. The decision was an honest one - not meant to hurt anyone. And I'm sorry if the name bothers you, but I'm KEEPING it.

Kisses,

Annie Christ

Ballistic Whiplash show 1/1/11 (Exit/In)

I learned something tonight from a great Nasvhille (Murfeesboro) Metal band - Ballistic Whiplash. I tend to overanalyze bands sometimes, especially when it comes to genres (and sub-genres). My interest in what makes a band decide to label themselves one sub-genre or sub-sub-genre can, at times, overshadow what I should be paying attention to - the music.  Ballistic Whiplash reminded me of that tonight; and it was a lesson I will not soon forget.

You can check out Ballistic Whiplash on their Myspace Page, but they haven't logged in since October.
There's some info on Encyclopaedia Metallum but it's limited. Basically, if you want to really know about this band, you're going to have to see them live in the Nashville area.  They are true underground warriors who just want to play their songs - which is really what this band is about. It's apparent when you see their fans singing every word to every song and it's apparent when you experience the ballistic whoopass they very graciously hand out to those lucky enough to experience them live.


To say the singer, Travis Edwards is intense would be an understatement and a misunderstanding of the fundamental laws of electromagnetism.  The concentration and focus in his eyes, the ferocity and strain in his voice, and even his physicality was an interesting combination that reminded me of Eminem on a really good day. (If you've ever seen him Live and at the top of his game, you know of what I speak.)  Buzz Gibson, on guitar, is the barbarous gorilla directing the action on stage -  and very entertaining to watch. I'm not sure of the names of the other members - but let me just say the entire band was amazing. (The bass player is scary good.) At first, they don't look like they go together, but once you hear them on stage, it all makes sense. And of course, they would laugh to read this, because none of this crap would matter to them. Reminder: it's about the music.

I had a great time tonight and I suggest you check them out if you are able. There are videos posted on YouTube of Ballistic Whiplash, but like most great metal bands, their best ass kicking can only be administered face-to-face.

Why I've Been in Hiding

I'm not sure where to begin except to say that I'm sorry I've been out of the loop lately. Actually, I've been in a kind of hiding. Without going into boring detail, some things happened that made me extremely fearful for my safety, so I have tried to be very careful for these past few months.


I'm actually glad things happened the way they did because now I appreciate my life so much more. I'm embarrassed to tell you guys that I was homeless for a bit. And I've skipped more than a few meals because I couldn't afford food. But that time has taught me so much and I am so lucky to know who my friends are! And I'm so grateful to be able to continue on with what I love - playing underground metal bands on my shows!


During the hard times these last few months, there are so many people who stuck by me and I'd like to mention them now.

When the Lizard Messiah heard about what was going on, he offered to send me money. I was just blown away that someone would do that for me. Lizard has been my friend since the early days of the Annie show on Blog Talk Radio and he's a straight up good person. Lizard has his own online radio station called Core of Destruction. Please go check it out - they play amazing metal 24/7 and they have really great DJs. Ryan Mckern, Bobby Paranoize, Grave, The beautiful Fairy of Doom, and GoatSerpant are all there too and I consider them all my friends.

Fowler Doxey is my boss over at Brutal Existence Radio. He was there for me when I was so lost and always gave me encouragement and a kind word. I managed to do my show over there - but I had to miss more than a few weeks and Fowler was very understanding about all of it. My friends at Brutal Existence Radio have been so supportive: Soggy Bob, Metal Mark, Gwen, Elizabeth, Tony, Kaji, Kev, Ginster and many, many more who have stopped by to say hello.

The guys over at Basement Sound Radio had to put up with the most trouble with my move. Because I no longer had a computer, I was unable to tape my show with those guys. Alan Sutherland and Chris Murphy have been more than understanding and I owe them so much. They have supported me through thick and thin even when I was unable to do the show and I will never forget how they were nice to me even when they didn't have to be. Please check out their site - they have so much going on with their record company and radio shows!


There are some other people I would like to thank - people who checked on me and made sure I was still breathing:

Reverend Paul
Christer Cunat
Suinelah/Tobias Halenius
Kaji
John Dubose
Odd Jan Eidam
Bryan Schuessler
And many, many more!


I love you guys and I am just so honored to call you my friends. The truth is that without my METAL family, I wouldn't have made it through this. I don't know what I would have done if you guys hadn't been there to give me encouragement.


Anyway, I wrote this to explain my absence and to thank some pretty amazing people. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I can promise you that I will NOT give up. I will continue to do these shows and I will continue to promote the underground!


There will be more than one Annie Show coming up in the near future and I will keep you all up to date!


Thanks for all your support and friendship.
I love you very, very much.

Annie Christ

p.s. - If you would like your band featured on one of my shows, send me your songs!!!!

(I haven't done my Blog Talk Radio show lately because I have been busy with school - I teach at 4 on Mondays. But I hope to get that back going soon too - I want to use it more as a talk show than a music show because the songs don't sound so great on their system.)