Written and Photographed by: Max Bennett

The Sunday Scaries weren’t a factor at Johnny Brenda’s in Fishtown on July 14, as the second-story venue was loaded with attendees for a show with an eclectic bill.

Sixteen Jackies celebrated the release of their first full-length album “Bangs & Whimpers” that night and brought along synth-punkers Fast Car Slow Car and the more roots-rock-based Mavis the Dog.

Before the show even started, Jackies singer Jody DeMarco was mingling with fans, giving them a touch of the band’s signature glam vibe by adding Sixteen Jackies-branded eye glitter.

While playing live, Fast Car Slow Car employs not one but four keyboards. While one might think, “That’s too many keyboards for a five-piece,” I assure you it is not. The synth tones filled the venue with ethereal auras, but they weren’t to be outdone by the guitar, which came in screaming at times, pushing the boundaries of new wave and punk.

And speaking of punk and new wave, singer Breshon Masrtzall plays the role of frontman well for both genres. At one point, he jumped off the stage onto the floor and was belting lyrics like it was a 2009 DIY basement show in West Philadelphia. This is all after he was delivering lines with the low, intense gravitas that you find in some of the mid-80s new wave acts.

As they powered through their set, Masrtzall stopped to shout out he and his brother Keondre’s mother, who was in attendance. We love to see supportive parents and appreciative kids, don’t we, folks?

Mavis the Dog changed up the tempo a bit, as Fast Car Slow Car ended their set with a high level of energy. The quartet, compared to Fast Car, is much more stripped-down, featuring bass, guitar, keys, and drums. And the influences must be in the realm of classic singer-songwriters, as well as 50s and 60s combos. But as the set progressed, some songs harken to 90s alt-rock hits we Millennials grew up with on the radio.

What stood out was the keyboard and the emulations it was employing. At times, it was a swirling organ and others an eerie theremin, like in old sci-fi flicks you’d catch on “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

The set felt largely driven by the bass, as the guitar and vocals could have used a bit more in the mix. There were great vocals and exciting guitar parts coming from frontman Scott Olsen, but unfortunately, they were lost due to some volume issues.

Mavis picked up the speed to finish the set, and their closer included some blistering drum work.

Sixteen Jackies hit the stage right at 10 p.m. and came out strong with the lead track from Bangs & Whimpers titled “Trash Night.” And it’s no wonder they chose to open both the show and the album with it: the song is a staccato-driven pop rock powerhouse that sets the stage for what’s to come. It’s inclusions of woodblock hits by drummer Ian Staley really scratch that cowbell itch we’ve all been feeling since the iconic 2000 “Saturday Night Live” sketch.

Next came more new tracks. “You and Your Friends” strays from the frenzied pop that “Trash Night” offers up, coming in as a sort of surf punk track you might hear on a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtrack. However, the dreamy chorus cuts through the aggressive punk stylings that lead the song.

DeMarco is pure joy on stage and pure joy to watch. His vocal range is one to marvel at, hitting almost whistle-like tones at points. The frontman can also hold his own on guitar, trading riffs at times with Jeremiah Bull and Tim Davis, who took turns on bass and guitar throughout their set.

While playing the song “VHS #1 (a Body),” DeMarco donned an old-school hockey mask, a la Jason Voorhees from the “Friday the 13th” series. The look is perfect for a live rendition of the 2017 track, as it features a droning main riff that creates a sense of unease thanks to the use of a harmonic minor scale.

The band swung back around to its more uplifting sound with another new track, “Mercy.” “Mercy” is a classic rock song driven by cowboy chords and some fiery lead guitar solos.

They jumped back to 2018 to bust out “Little Duke” from the “Mascula” EP. With its persistent thumping bass line, “Little Duke” ramped up the energy in the room, getting the crowd even more on their feet. What’s funny, though, is that the song ends abruptly, giving the audience that feeling when a roller coaster car comes to a screeching halt after getting you amped up with its heart-pounding thrills.

DeMarco gave a shoutout to David Skovron of Drowning Fish Studio, who produced Bangs & Whimpers, and then the band went into “Creature Feature” from their 2018 EP, Hostile Architecture. “Creature” toward the end sounds like it’s going out with a dissonant, cacophonous end. The band went silent, then exploded into the final chorus, which features fuzzy guitar tones and tremolo leads.

DeMarco put down his guitar and modulated his voice with auto-tune, or something similar. And before you might think to yourself, “Auto tune? That couldn’t be good.” I’m here to tell you that it was, indeed, good. The use of the often-maligned voice-shifting technology fit perfectly in the track. If only this writer could remember what track it was.

When Jackies announced they were on their final song of the set, they were met with boos. The band played a bit of “In My Life” by The Beatles, prompting a crowd singalong before heading into the end of the show.

They then ended their show with “One of the Boys,” the final track on Bangs & Whimpers. The song’s closing features a vocal line perfect for live audiences to chant along with. The evening was the perfect way for the Philly glamband to celebrate their first full length. And it brought people out on a Sunday—no small feat.

Sixteen Jackies

Instagram丨 Facebook丨 Bandcamp丨Spotify丨 Soundcloud

Mavis the Dog

Instagram丨Bandcamp丨TikTok丨 Spotify

Fast Car Slow Car

Instagram丨 Bandcamp丨 Spotify

photo by Zack Garlitos

photo by Nancy Mitchell

“It’s about balance between the spirit realm–the realm of interconnectedness and magic, and the human realm–the realm of everyday stuff like doing the dishes, the on-the-ground realm. The moon is floating in space, it’s above everything and sees everything; and the tiger is wild, hunting, on the earth.”

Ever heard of Philadelphia’s latest indie rock / hip-hop duo, the Moon and the Tiger? Surprising and unsettling duo, that’s for sure. Hip-hop artist Sterling Duns and ex-Jollie Holland guitarist Brian Miller are not only kind enough to talk with us about their exciting project, they are also extremely talented.

“We met shortly after a West Philly house show, a staple of living in West Philly for sure,” recalls Duns. “I was playing in another band at the time, Futur Mama, at the house of a mutual friend, and Brian had come by to see the house show. He emailed me a few days later to open up a conversation about collaborating and sent some beats along and I actually, unintentionally, ignored the email. He was so kind to send a follow up, and I was so embarrassed that I had dusted off the first email, and now looking back terrified because it could have meant this band had never formed. The beats were awesome. Brian and I met one time and he had all these awesome vocal parts already set, we got deep on topics that are both meaningful to us. It was a powerful meeting of the minds for sure.”

Miller adds: “At the show, when I heard Sterling’s voice, I was like, “Whoa, who is this!?” Sterling has an awesome voice, and his intelligence and kindness really come through in his lyrics, but it was more than that. I can’t really put my finger on it- it’s almost like a chemical or intuitive thing- but I was immediately drawn to his rapping. Like, music-crush level drawn to it. That’s only happened a few times in my life. It was like when I heard Jolie Holland’s voice for the first time: it was like, how can I work with this person right now? Because not only do I like his voice, but I like what it draws out of me. Also Futur Mama was indie-rock-ish and the contrast between Sterling’s voice and their music was really intriguing to me. You don’t usually hear these deep, political, personal lyrics rapping over an indie rock setting.  And I thought it would be cool to try something like that.”

A clash of two very different yet very similar artists, that gave birth to the Moon and the Tiger. Creating spacey, original, troublesome tunes, this skilled duo blends elements of street music and indie folk.

“In a lot of ways we do come from different backgrounds and have really different life experiences,” adds Miller. “I think as a kind of temperamental commonality we’re both truth tellers. We both have the same calling to speak what is true for us. There’s not a lot of artifice in our music. In the group I do alone (The Lightning Bug Situation) there’s a lot of intimacy–like in the LBS song “Call,” it’s almost like pillow talk with a lover. And if you listen to one of Sterling’s songs he did on his own, say, “Walk It Off,” you hear an honesty too. A directness. It’s not about posturing or posing so much.”

Today, a long couple of years later, the Moon and the Tiger is releasing their very first EP. I had the privilege of talking to Duns and Miller right before the D Day, and let me tell you: relief, excitement and feelings of self-accomplishment were all mixed together in the duo’s minds. Duns says: “We feel great about it. It is something we have worked on for about two years, which is wild because it seems just like yesterday we first met. We really put our heart and soul into this project, and we really hope people vibe with what we are saying and what we are trying to build.”

With a quite unusual musical duo, one can wonder how such different artists can successfully work together. I was blown away by this unexpected combination, and couldn’t help but ask this burning question. How can two musicians, coming from opposite musical backgrounds, work together and create something so coherent and cohesive?

“We would often write our verses and choruses separately,” explains Duns, “and then get together to record them and give each other some advice about how to sharpen our sounds, more accurately convey an idea, etc,. It was beautiful because we were both really open to hearing the constructive insight from the other.”

Miller adds: “What happened a lot for me was I would come up with a rudimentary beat and maybe a bass line or chord progression or something, then he would rap over it, then I would be so blown away that I would have to re-do everything because his verse was so awesome. It was like, ‘ooooh the bar has to be this high?’ And then I’d have to make the chorus be as good as his verse. Like in “Freedom”, I heard his verse and I was like ‘well I can match that power if I have, like, 50 voices going at the same time during the chorus.’ So that’s what I did.”

First single off of their EP, “Freedom”, captivated me. Was it the wonderful instrumentals, Miller and Duns chemistry, or the relatable well-written lyrics (“Do you feel trapped by your hands? It’s never too late to look in the mirror and start again”)? Probably a mix of all of the above. Miller says about the song:

“It’s a political song in the sense that we get so isolated from each other by this system we live in: gay/straight, black/white, rich/poor. Separate from each other. You see it in Philadelphia all the time, where one neighborhood is white and another is black, and never the two shall meet. There are all these stories our society tells us that stop us from loving each other and seeing each other as the humans we actually are. And it’s also a personal song in that I so often get scared to love people, so I put myself behind this wall in order to protect myself because it’s a very vulnerable place to love someone, to let your spirit be seen and to see someone else’s spirit. But then in that cage my world becomes very tight and lonely and isolated. So the song is about that scary freedom of breaking out of that cage, so that we can love.”

We couldn’t be more glad that Miller and Duns broke out of their cage and decided to venture together. Truly passionate about what they do, this local duo still has a lot in store for you: “More creating, hopefully some videos, live shows!”

“As a Philly native,” Duns says, “I am so committed to helping to amplify the voices of musicians in this city. You don’t have to leave Philly to have prominence, to make a difference. The Philly music scene is so dope, so community based, so much about the connection for connection sake. It is important to be rooted and to help support the local scene, for sure. (…) We want to see how people connect to this project and we want to continue to speak honestly and clearly about the things that are important to us.”

Rather than writing lines and lines, rambling on about how you should check out and keep an eye out for The Moon and the Tiger, I’ll conclude this story with Duns, very well chosen words:

“The Moon and the Tiger is collaboration and creativity in the truest sense of the words. We are literally taking two different genres, two different approaches, two different lived experiences, bringing them together and creating something that never existed. We both still have other projects that we have worked on, and we both have had projects that we have stepped away from. The Moon and the Tiger is another stop in our musical journey, and we are hoping that it goes very far.”

Floaty Feeling, Blue

Reviewed by: Fareeha Naim

Floaty Feeling, Blue is the perfect title and description for the new EP from Philly-based psych-pop band, Weekender. Overlapping textures produced by the addition of heavy synthesizers creates light, bouncing, airy music that seems to float all around you.

With just six tracks, Weekender achieves dreamy effects that’s reminiscent of cruising down a beachside road on summer days with the sunroof open (oddly descriptive, yet relatable). Psychedelic tones and drifting vocals add to the calm atmosphere that surrounds you with every track. The songs all follow a common theme, focusing on the way humans interact with each other and our environment—a theme Weekender exemplifies through their lyrics as well as their compositions. The final song, “When We Woke,” features a thirty second period of silence in the middle, further adding to the dreamscape setting and worldly focus. Every interaction we have will not mesh perfectly, just as the track does not because of the break. The additions of the synths was definitely a good choice—the layered tracks are catchy, sway-inducing, and oddly calming despite some hard beats.

Weekender has pumped out six smooth, solid tracks that take indie pop to the next level. Definitely worthy of jamming out in the car to.

Rating: Bad-Ass

Hank Williams III – stylized as Hank3 – is the only act I have ever seen who plays without an opener. Instead, he has the entire lineup unto himself, playing blistering, exhausting four hour sets that are divided between hardscrabble honky tonky country, blistering LA hardcore punk, and sludgy doom metal. His fans are understandably rabid, and the line into the Trocadero Theatre for his show on Wednesday night was among the longest and rowdiest that I’ve ever seen at a show in Philly.

It is clear that Hank takes the notion of lineage seriously. On one level, he is the grandson of the legendary Hank Williams, probably the most influential country singer of all time, and the first of his sets is certainly roots-oriented, traditional barroom country, albeit played with a vicious intensity and high volume that suggests the influence of his more abrasive leanings. On another level, he is also clearly invested in connecting the dots through half a century of American music – his country is hardcore, his hardcore is country, his metal is both. He even dedicates a few songs to a conscious fusion of country and hardcore punk, which he nicknames “hellbilly music.” Even at his most extreme, playing long, hyperdistorted droning riff metal jams that seem to wind into infinity, you can still detect his southern twang, the way his voice curls around the lyrics.

Although the sets are fairly clearly delineated, with shifts in personnel, lighting, and even costume (Hank switches hats no less than three times throughout the evening), there is a sense that all of these styles of music exist along the same continuum, so that when, for instance, the drummer executes some rapid kick drum blastbeats during a song late in the country section of the show, it doesn’t feel remotely out of place. The upright slap bass in the hardcore section also makes sense, and it draws a link between the 2/4 up-down rhythm of traditional country, and the double time energy of punk. The audience behavior was quite similar too, with hardcore-style moshing and aggressive dancing and screaming through all three sets, demonstrating that things really have not changed that much since the time of Hank’s grandfather.

As I am not a diehard fan, the relentless energy and sheer length of the show meant that it eventually began to feel monotonous, and the crowd – which was probably mostly there primarily for the country – began to thin noticeably by the time that the third set was underway. Still, it was hard not to be impressed by the sheer intensity and incredible skill and endurance of the band, playing this marathon set of deceptively complex and technically demanding music seamlessly across a number of styles. At the heart of all this was Hank Williams III, a brave and supremely talented musician who refuses to be cowed by the massive legacy of his family, staying true to his roots while taking his music into new realms.