bodisartha

Nirvana-like has become shorthand for any band both noisy and melodic. The word fits Kansas City's Bodisartha (born in the wilds of Springfield, that name can't be an accident), especially with singer Josh Thomas' ragged screams and shattershot guitar chords. Shoot, there are songs on the group's debut, Find Yourself Getting Lost — "Is It a Gay" or "Like a Virus" come to mind — that are better than those last few fossils turned up for Nirvana's recent rarities box. The band finds its own unexplored mountain ranges of loud and catchy bits. It won't be long till Frances Bean is — um — dating, so maybe a band inspired by her dad's songs (important note: not imitating them) is something we can pay attention to again.


http://pitch.com/Issues/2006-03-02/music/live5.html - The Pitch

A review by The Giant Snail

"Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves."
~Henry David Thoreau

I am a knowledge addict. Every time I hear a name, it rings a bell, and it won't stop ringing until I know where I'd heard it (or imagined I'd heard it). Wringing my brains, googling, wiki'ing, and urban dictionarying for a good fifteen minutes convinced me that I've probably never heard the name Bodisartha. It fits in my brain right between Boanerges and Boethius.

And that's a good place for them, too. They are Boanerges, sons of thunder, flashes of light and silence followed by roaring guitar lines and vocals. But there's also something of the resigned philosopher in them- lines like "REVOLUTION PLEASE" show that the band is so frustrated and suffocated by the society we live in, that they are ready, willing, and able... to ask someone else for a revolution.

That said, the tame lion doth still roar in good health. They're quick to point out their similarity to Nirvana, and I'll grant them that- although (for now, at least) it's the early Nirvana, suffering from some of the same production quirks: tin can acoustics, too-sweet choruses, the infamous double vocal track. They do break out of the mold with varying success- Leave That Over There comes out like a droning shoegazer abortion, and when their throats aren't bleeding, tracks like Disagree smack of late nineties rockers like Miranda Sex Garden.

The weakest point is their lyrical reluctance. They seem to pull their punches, self-conscious of their own shortcomings- after all, "if you wouldn't mind i can fix you / but of course by me i just mean you"
But their rebellion should be much more manifest if they espouse the spirit of Henry David Thoreau. The catch phrase is "Fuck You, Robot," and not gently.

But I'm really pretty proud of them- their release is available at no charge through their website http://www.bodisartha.com , in a gesture of acceptance of the new paradigm which many, many, crappier bands *cough*Metallica*cough* are reluctant to lend a finger, although most of us have already taken the arm. It definitely merits a listen, especially if your ears lost their virginity to the post-punk movement.

Apologies if I sound too Pitchforky- I'm just trying to be honest.

~The Giant Snail - The Giant Snail

Review by The Audio Nut

Bodisartha
Find Yourself Getting Lost - 2006

Grade: A

http://www.bodisartha.com

This trio brings some solid rock to the table on this full-length release. Mixing various rock influences and styles that remind me a lot of Nirvana, Bodisartha, has some great songs. They display sheer talent and grace.

Be sure to check out the band's website for some information about getting the CD or you can just go ahead and buy it from amazon.com Go ahead, get this disc. I am certain you will love it. - Entertainmentnutz.com

Frequency of the Month
Bodisartha - June 2006
Marlena Hayes - Journalist

Bodisartha are a mysterious trio, indeed. New to Kansas City, the Springfield, Mo. natives are gaining momentum and attention thanks to their melodic, heavy rock sound, nice guy personalities, and of course, their unusual name.

Bodisartha, pronounced “BO-dee-SAR-tha,” came onto the scene in 2003 after vocalist/guitarist Josh Thomas and drummer/vocalist Justin Piatt parted ways with their former band, GrassCannon, and convinced friend and fellow musician Bret Steil to jump in on bass. The trio began playing shows late last year.

The first and most obvious question to fans is usually about what Bodisartha actually means. Thomas gladly fields the question with a vague answer that encourages fans to look up the terms.

“Bodisartha is a mixture of two Hindi words - Bodhisattva and Siddhartha,” Thomas said. “That\'s all I will say about it.”

The band has a variety of influences, but they say the most noticeable are Nirvana, The Pixies, Deftones, The Beatles, Queens of the Stoneage, and Velvet Underground.

Due to embark on a six-show mini-tour in June, Bodisartha is in what they call “PR whore mode” to promote their latest album, Find Yourself Getting Lost.

The album is available for full download on bodisartha.com. The trio admits that offering their album for free on the website has been a gamble because it makes the album harder to sell. However, they say that ideally it will expose more people to their sound and get them to come to the live shows. They welcome donations for the downloads and encourage people to order the album.

“To us, it has always been about having as many people as possible exposed to our music,” Thomas said. “Major labels and bigger Indie labels can do that, but we would be very picky about who we went with. If you get on a label that blows money like crazy, you can end up having to sell a million albums and tour for a year just to break even. We would rather keep the costs low, record ourselves with help from our friends, and drive our own vehicles.”

The band said that they are looking for a public relations representative, a booking agent with connections and perhaps a manager.

The members of Bodisartha have mixed emotions about the Kansas City metro area music scene, but say they fully support local artists. Attendance at shows is their main priority, and Bodisartha said that while there are many great bands around town, there is little exposure and few venues that have not “sold out.”

“The music scene here is really good,” Thomas said. “The problem is that most people do not know about it, so some really good shows are really poorly attended. It is a shame that people would rather sit down in front of a TV all night than come out to a show.”

All writing on Heavy Frequency copyright Heavy Frequency Magazine, 2002-2005. - heavyfrequency.com