by RamonLP4

PLF killed on Friday night!

Let me just say that there is nothing better than walking into Rudyard’s and hearing Slayer’s “South of Heaven” blasting. Sweet!

Sure I missed Keno Sims (who had filled in the slot vacated by the Talk Sick Brats) but watching Krullur set up was kind of its own entertainment. The drum kit was this huge monstrous beast of cherry-red toms rigged with a crazy array of drum triggers. The microphone stands were chains – I shit you not! And, behind them, they unfurled a huge banner with the band’s name on it. The oddest things about Krullur was how bad the drums and bass sounded by themselves. The bass tone was thin and midrange-y and the drums sounded flat acoustically then almost metallic when blasted through the PA via the drum triggers. Yet, despite that, once the band started-up, it sounded pretty awesome. Perhaps the guitar just filled enough of the frequencies where the rest of the band just had to lay off the low end but whatever the case, it worked pretty damn well. Flailing solos, fists raised in the Dio devil sign, and a whole lot of beer flying – what more could you ask for? Krullur is a band who clearly has mastered its craft. Hell, they’ve been doing this for two decades!  They can drop a crazy-ass solo, crunch a heavy riff, and growl into the microphone with the best of them and at the same time aren’t ashamed to just have a good time with the crowd who they had whipped into a frenzy.  Sure a glass of beer may break on the floor or maybe you get a nasty bruise but that’s all right; this isn’t church after all, it’s metal!  Let the beer and riffs flow!

After Krullur, I was told that HRA had also canceled their appearance. No explanation was given and I half expected this to be a short night but then it became apparent that PLF was setting up on stage. Holy Shit!

I don’t know about you guys but I think PLF are one of Houston’s most ass-kicking grind bands. I hadn’t actually seen them in a while and what is really cool about their current set-up is that they are just a duo and, man, are they ever punishing. The set-up is awesome, Davel Callier places a bass amp and a guitar amp at either end of the stage and splits his signal between them – one handles the low end and the other the mid and high range. The result is that I didn’t miss the bass guitar at all – it was just this punishing barrage of sound that was indescribably brutal. And then Frank Faerman drums!!! Oh man that guy is a force of nature! Even before the microphones were positioned, his kit sounded massive and amazing. That guy has this ability to not just be able to beat the crap out of his kit but also play with finesse in his drumming – it’s a quality you can’t overlook. It only goes to prove that you don’t need a huge kit to sound amazing!

Personally, I’d love to see a show of PLF and Golden Axe. With Golden Axe’s more metal leanings and PLF’s grind style, I’d expect that the two would create a powerful singularity that would cause a black hole to appear taking the universe with it. That would be awesome!

Krullur - Yes we have chain mic stands!

Krullur - Yes, we have Drum Triggers too!

A Krullur fan shows his appreciation.

Krullur - becasue even a small venue like Rudyard's deserves a full stack!

All hail the Krullur fans

Nothing says love more than the gift of metal!

PLF's Dave Callier makes with the cookie monster metal voice.

PLF's Frank Faerman is like a shaolin master of the drums.

PLF circle pit

PLF - It's amazing how punishing two people can be.

Raise your beer high for PLF

Full Slideshow:

Photo by Rosa Guerrero

A PLF rehearsal is a pretty intense experience. Dave Callier’s guitar sounds like a car engine, Matt Brunette’s bass is like the rumble of thunder, and Frank Faerman’s drums are like unrelenting machine guns. The band members don’t hop or jump but studiously listen to how they fit into the barrage of rhythm and noise and communicate with their eyes and nods. The typical rock posturing is replaced by an intense concentration of a band that relies on the volume and violence of its music. This is pure unrepentant Grindcore – a furious combination of rat-tat-tat blast beats, a blur of notes, whiplash inducing stops, and guttural vocals. It’s music at its most violent and aggressive. Drop the PLF sonic assault at a Gulf Coast Hardcore show and you’ll find yourself surrounded by kids sweating and screaming along. For those that buy into the idea that Rock and Roll has lost its grit, PLF and the Gulf Coast Hardcore scene should renew your faith.

I sat with Frank and Dave at a Bar-B-Q at Frank’s house recently (Matt was busy feeding the masses at Pizza Hut) and the first order of business was figuring out how they came up with the band’s name. After a short round of “you wanna answer that one” between the two, Dave smiled like a guilty student and confessed to his crime, “For the first few practices, the band was Frank and Jeff. They’d practice at Frank’s parent’s house and I’d give them a ride. They asked me for band names and I said Pretty Little Flower; it was the wimpiest and worst name I could think of.”

Frank laughs and adds, “Then he joined up a month later and he’s cursed himself ever since.”

The band released records and toured under the old moniker but now they simply go under the acronym PLF. Beyond that one change and a few bass players over the years, PLF remains the same uncompromising sonic beast they set out to create. As Frank explains it, a PLF song has to have “tight stops, blast beats, and a circle pit part for people to dance. Most of all, it has to be full force. We’ve been doing [PLF] for 10 years. We’re true to grind and we’ll be doing this until our bones won’t let us.”

“I usually start with rhythm parts – not even chords.” explains Dave, “I’ll come to practice with the beats and parts then me and Frank will work it out. I actually record and put away guitar riffs so I’ll bring them in depending on the beat and speed of the part. Early on, most songs were socio-political protest songs – not so much now. Really [lyrics come from] anything that inspires me from seizing life to corny existentialism. It’s painting a picture like things exploding, heavy machinery…just thoughts and impressions to give texture to intensity. What we want to do is grab people with noise and speed and blow their heads off. I like to play to people who’ve never heard us and totally terrorize them.”

“There are people out there who’ve never heard of Grindcore or Punk.” says Frank, “It’s great to play to them and see them totally stoked to be at their first Grindcore show. This music attracts a lot of people so you’ll get Punks, Metal Heads, Crusties…you name it. The shows are cheap as shit, anyone can come, and it’s easy to meet people. There aren’t any bad vibes. Hell, you can go to church and listen to Avril Levigne – we don’t give a shit.”

“You have to understand,” says Dave, “the original Grindcore bands were a mesh of fast extreme Political Punk, Thrash, and Death Metal. So it’s a melding of cultures that were into anger, protest, and sonic violence. It works into [the idea of] releasing aggression through music. It lets you deal with daily life’s bullshit and the struggles that come along and releasing that negative energy. It’s the perfect therapy.”

“I know if I don’t get my PLF rehearsal two or more times a week,” says Frank, “I have to smoke a bit more. I need that furious pummeling energy ….”

“But it’s life affirming.” adds Dave, “It’s intense in a happy way – the music and being part of the scene.” That scene is a huge part of PLF and, when I ask how, Dave elaborates; “99% of the shows we play are small DIY shows. We support touring bands and help them out with gigs which helps sustain the international punk/hardcore/grind community. Most of the time we don’t even take money when there is a touring band and we’ll even cook for them.”

“I’ve probably put on 30 shows in the last six months,” says Frank, “and each time more and more kids show up. That’s the thing – like 80 kids will show up on a Wednesday night. After their tour, a lot of the bands will call me up and say how that was the best night of the tour. Then they’ll tell other bands how they have to play Houston. That’s the way it is – everyone helps each other.”

All in all Dave is pretty satisfied with the success they’ve achieved and their place within the Gulf Coast Hardcore community; “We’re where we want to be – writing, recording, touring, and playing fun intense shows. I can’t relate to people who judge success by money and getting rich. We’ve released records all over the world and we’re at the point where we don’t have to ask labels to release our stuff. They come to us. I know people who’ve signed with large labels and it sounds like a lot of red tape and limitations. If we diluted our music, it wouldn’t be fun and if it’s not fun – fuck it.”

I ask them for one lesson they’ve picked up over the last decade that they can share and Dave replies, “If I can give you one lesson it would be to just to write prolifically. If you’re persistent enough, someone is bound to like you. So just put down the beer, put down the joint, and write songs.”

Frank adds with a smirk, “You can always smoke it after.”

The new PLF album “Crushing Fury of Bastardization” (LP/CD) is out now on Power It Up Records. The new PLF split EP with Mesrine out now on To Live a Lie Records. Also coming in late 2024 – an EP with Needful Things and a split LP with In Disgust.

PLF will be on tour from October 1st through October 27th in Europe. Currently, their next scheduled Houston performance will be at Noisefest 2024 which runs December 5th and 6th.

Links:
PLF on Myspace (Link)

Gulf Coast Hardcore on Myspace (Link)
Power It Up Records (Link)
To Live A Lie Records (Link)

Well, here it is Monday and Hurricane Ike has pretty much thrown Houston and the surrounding areas into utter lameness and my favorite island is decimated by the sounds of the radio reports. My best hopes and wishes to those who suffered any losses in the storm. I’m exiled in Sugarland and we have no electricity and that means no fridge, no internet, and everything else you can think of. Houston is under curfew meaning Ike has effectively killed the scene this week. No booze, no music, and, hell, even my band’s rehearsal is down for the count. I’m gonna guess that by now, as we wait for power to come back on line and food & gas supplies to get back up to speed, everyone in the city of Montrose is pretty much freaking bored out of the their skulls.

A week ago boredom was hardly the case as I went down to the White Swan for a relaxing evening for metal/grindcore. Normally, I’d do a longer review but things being what they are (and my laptops battery is waning) I’ll keep this one brief and let the pictures do most of my talking. Let me make a few points though about the Gulf Coast Hardcore scene. First, one friend of mine asked during the last Hootenanny “Where are the kids?” Well the Riff Tiff’s show answered half of that question and this one answered the second half – they are skanking around a circle pit to some of the most brutal and uncompromising music around. Another writer asked me a question along the lines of where Rock lost its grit. I told him go to the White Swan on the 10th and you’ll find plenty of grit. Somehow he dismissed it as being too much of a subgenre to count towards his question but that’s typical of the media reaction to grindcore and metal. The fans are considered mindless and the music nothing more than a macho affectation. The irony being that the bands and their music are some of the smartest and sharpest shit out there and the fans are (surprise surprise) actually painfully good natured and courteous. That’s not to say you won’t get an elbow in your side during a set but unlike the five or so fuckheads at “We Are the Hollow Men” who were out to hurt people this was pretty much a well mannered circle pit. My favorite moment was during Dissent’s set when one kid, in early Woody Allen mode, shouted “Hey! Hey! Quit it! Just pushing! None of that!” after getting konked. That drew some laughs but, for all the poseur jokes, the person complaining was taken in stride. And, by the way, it’s not a sausage fest either but there was a fair showing of women at the show. All in all, it’s a pretty accepting scene of the classic Rock and Roll freaks, geeks, and losers who do what they love despite being virtually ignored by other scenes, media, and networks outside their own. It’s DIY at it’s sweatiest, smartest, and savviest. If anyone is carrying the punk rock flame, it’s these cats.

But enough rambling – the bands in Cliff’s Notes. Gorenado opened up and, being their first show, it was pretty good. Solid rhythm section and guitar but it still came off as “this is our first show and it’s still jellin’.” Nevertheless, a good way to start the evening. Now when PLF (Pretty Little Flower) started – night and day. Everything became louder, faster, and uglier and the audience rushed to the stage with their fists pounding to the blast beats and the cookie monster vocals. Picture a machine gun shredding you to pieces for 25 minutes and that about captures the charm of PLF. Dissent took things a bit slower and a bit more metal but to no less effect. What they may not have had in speed they, made up with brutal low end crushing of guitars that drove everyone into a frenzy of screaming, circle pits, and sweat. If you want metal that makes you ears bleed – this is your band.

OK apologies for the brief nature of this review but I have 5 minutes of battery left. Good luck all you FPH readers.

Tom of Dissent pondering the philosophical
implications of (PLF) Matt’s bass-line.

G is for grindcore, it’s good enough for me!
Faster!
G is for grindcore, it’s good enough for me!

Sometimes you get bruised…

Listen closely and you can hear the denizens of
metal/grincore converse in their native tongue.
“UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”
“AAAAAAAAARGGGGG!”

Link:
More pictures on my Flickr (Link)

PLF myspace (Link)
Dissent on Mysapce (Link)