Weener - The Ween Cover Band
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Weener - The Ween Cover Band

Seattle, Washington, United States | SELF

Seattle, Washington, United States | SELF
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"For Milking album review"

Listening to For Milking is like hearing a classic album from 1992 -- as if a major label signed the band in the post-Nevermind rush, looking to capitalize on the new "alternative" genre, and then somehow forgot to release the resulting record. Everything about Dope Smoothie's debut supports that idea -- right down to the fact that they relocated to Seattle just before recording it (in 2002, for the record). It seems like such a snapshot of the era that it makes me nostalgic for the early '90s, even though I was too young to take much of an interest in music at the time.
First and foremost, that's because the music is genuinely weird; it defies easy categorization, throwing together a bunch of wildly diverse elements with little or no concern for whether they actually work well together. Disregard for (and ignorance of) convention helps the music to sound genuinely new; whereas "alternative" now refers to the cookie-cutter music you'll hear on your local Modern Rock station, Dope Smoothie is anti-tradition, ignoring most of what came before. Thus, you have a lead singer, Josh Bate, who never sounds quite the same on any two songs -- he growls a la Jim Morrison on "I Awoke", he yowls like Perry Farrell on "The Stove Part 2", he moans on "Swing" like an angrier Layne Staley, and he even pulls off a Cobain-like howl on "Raymond Daniel". As a result, Dope Smoothie sound like they have a rotating army of frontmen, when in fact Bate is just really good at exploring (and sometimes discovering) his voice's limits.

He's helped by music that doesn't slide smoothly into identifiable parameters. "I Awoke" sounds like blues as interpreted by a heroin junkie; "Hijo" starts out as a painful, atonal cry, then evolves into a thumping, Latin-infused rock song; "Hellfire" makes The Rapture sound like a bunch of Gang Of Four-aping poseurs. Throughout For Milking, bassist Zach Clements sounds like a hyperactive child, his jazz-tinged basslines moving from forefront to background and back without any concern for what the rest of the music is doing -- imagine Flea as he was before Red Hot Chili Peppers became a mainstay of Top 40 radio.

In a just world, For Milking really would be a legendary lost album from '91. Musicians and critics would point to it as a defining, near-iconic artifact from the grunge era, and set it alongside albums like Ritual de lo Habitual, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, or The Real Thing as classics of the era. Obviously, since this is 2004, none of that is likely to happen. On the upside, this (hopefully) means that Bate isn't living on borrowed time, with a needle in his arm and a shotgun in his mouth, and will be able to record a follow-up to For Milking in the not-too-distant future. If it's anything like this one, it'll be worth waiting for.



-- Matthew Pollesel

http://www.splendidezine.com/review.html?reviewid=108910762787534 - Splendid Magazine


"For Milking album review"

With a name like Dope Smoothie, I didn’t know what to expect. I definitely didn’t have high hopes, because the ratio of good to bad is about one out of every ten CDs we get.

Anyway, I throw Dope Smoothie’s For Milking in for the 40-minute drive to work. The first song is not bad. Kind of an upbeat, poppy alt-rock thing going on. I’m swerving in and out of traffic when I realize I’m really getting into the album. One minute, they are doing punky Sonic Youth-esque stuff, then an almost bouncy Sublime-ish ska-type of thing, followed by some really cool jazzy rock fusion-type of stuff, and top it all off with some Southern Reverend Horton Heat-style of blues rock. These guys really are unbelievable.

Dope Smoothie is a trio made up of Josh Bate (guitar/vocals), Zack Clements (bass), and John McCallum (drums). Combine hyperactive, slaphappy bass with stylish beats and hypnotically, catchy lyrics, and you have For Milking by Dope Smoothie. Needless to say, it was a great drive to work, and I ended up being 15 minutes late, because I sat in the parking lot and listened to the rest of the album. But it was worth it.

PS: Stay away from the fifth song: "Sea Of Green". It will burrow into your soul, and set up camp. I’ve been walking around singing it for four days now. Please, make it stop.


http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=2183 - Tastes Like Chicken Magazine


"Go Strike album review"

This album is genius. I love it! "I'm a drunk / I'm a stoner / I wanna hump / I've got a boner." Lyrics don't get any deeper than that. These guys are great musicians and know how to create a unique sound that finds its way to our ears through all the muck.

THE GRADE: A

- Bethany Shady

http://www.tlchicken.com/view_story.php?ARTid=3019 - Tastes Like Chicken


"For Milking album review"

Imagine Modest Mouse as a time bomb of music, energetic, and at times frantic. Dope Smoothie is a guided missile. A little less energy, a little more direction pave the way for a healthy dose of rock laced with effects and distortion, with a heaping helping of funk sprinkled liberally throughout. Big-bore bass lines and thick drums lay a sturdy foundation for Dope Smoothie’s sometimes furious sometimes haunting guitar. Definitely worth a listen.

http://www.dopesmoothie.com/WBKEreview/WBKEreview.htm - WBKE radio


"Midpoint Music Festival live show review"

Leaving the Underground set in mid stream and crossing the street to see Dope Smoothie at Neon’s induced further cultural and culinary vertigo. Going from Brian Lovely’s Flying Underground to Dope Smoothie was like wolfing down a plate of Haggis after fine French four-course meal. Dope Smoothie, a remarkably entertaining three-piece from Seattle, generated a unique sound that was equal parts rockabilly, acid jazz, rock, funk, punk and fusion. During the second half of the set, the trio played loud grinding originals while working in a nifty Pixie cover.


Dope Smoothie’s work also featured plenty of distortion with occasional blood curdling vocals in the finest heavy metal, thrash and punk tradition. Dope Smoothie was clearly the off beat wild card success of the evening appearing capable of performing anything at any moment.


http://www.artspike.com/publish/public_html/article.php?sid=2391 - Artspike magazine


"Go Strike album review"

Dope Smoothie is a Seattle three-piece that plays a style of lo-fi rock that is very much in the vein of The Pixies and Sonic Youth. Although the sound is very early '90s, I dig it because it's different than every other rock band out there that is doing the '80s vibe. On a side note, thank god this isn't a beauty contest, or the guys in Dope Smoothie would be S.O.L.
-ADF

http://www.skratchmagazine.com/cdReviews.php

- Skratch Magazine


"Go Strike album review"

Dope Smoothie's approach to crafting records that hint at their varied influences reaches a new plateau with this sophomore release, Go Strike. While the band only makes public mention of The Pixies and Ween as inspirations, their music proves their appreciation for other groups that are not as quirky. "River Styx," "All Day" and "Soft Gel" are gentle rockers that musically recall Radiohead's earlier, more straightforward albums. Vocally, however, singer/guitarist Josh Bate displays a more wavering style during these two tracks, as well as throughout many of the other songs on the album. An example of this is with "Sea Cow" and "Cans," in which the music and vocals are hauntingly reminiscent of Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Areoplane Over the Sea. Elsewhere on the record you can expect to endure a sonic tribute to the Shangri-la of the Grunge era, Seattle, which is also Dope Smoothie's home-base. Songs like "Feeb" and the appropriately-titled "Seattle Size" are fine tributes to Mudhoney, undoubtedly the zenith of the early pioneers of Grunge.

Dope Smoothie’s reliance on older influences is not necessarily a summation of its sound. There are numerous instances in Go Strike when it is evident that Dope Smoothie is not one of those nostalgic acts that will forever remain "behind the times" or "stuck in the past." The best example of the group's disproving of these unfair depictions can be heard on the album's title track as well as "Get Absolution." These two songs feature vocals that might currently be considered "screamo," but what's really going on is what sounds like Bate going through delirium tremens while drowning in spastic guitar, trembling bass notes and rigid drumming. These are just two illustrations of how Go Strike indicates that Dope Smoothie's perspective on making music is both ambitious and forward-looking.

-Nessim Halioua
9/19/05


http://www.leftoffthedial.com/Dope_Go.htm


- Left Off The Dial


"Go Strike Album Review"

Dope Smoothie. Mmm.

Go Strike is the second album by the Seattle based rockers, and as good an introduction as any. These guys keep it simple, and God bless ‘em, because thanks to the songwriting talent they’re packing, they make it work the same way that their inspirations did. Listening to Dope Smoothie most immediately reminds one of the Pixies or Nirvana, certainly not shabby inspirations to have, although definitely not the most original. What these boys do right is keep intact what the formula originally was – great pop songs played like shit. It’s fantastic!

These are catchy songs with a big rock kick and some really stupid – yet somehow appropriate in context - lyrics (including references to “spicy vagina” and what sounds like “I wanna hump/I’ve got a boner” – the low point of the album, don’t worry). The whole thing comes together thanks to the fact that nothing seems out of place and there’s never a pressing urge to make it sound modern. Go Strike is straight out of the late 80’s/early 90’s. It’s like Dope Smoothie were cryogenically frozen in ’91 and were just released.

The album opens deceptively (but strongly), with the nervous mid-tempo “River Styx” which leads into the sunny grunge rocker “All Day”. The vocals are only somewhat intelligible, somewhat hoarse, and match the sloppy style of the album marvelously. Dope Smoothie launch into all-out punk rock for “Feeb” and “Seattle Size” before the album’s highlight and centerpiece, “Get Absolutions”. Sort of the album’s ‘epic’ at four minutes, it’s a steady, tense build-up to an abrasive peak and the band at their most serious. The weird-out pop of “Soft Gel”, also known as the “spicy vagina” song, is another musical highlight of Go Strike.

“Tasa’s House”, the hidden track of Go Strike, is the only time when their stated Ween influence has a major effect on the music. It’s less of a song than a bizarre collage of sounds and voice effects, yet without any recognizable song to back it up, strange for a band with such songwriting talents paying tribute to another band with great songwriters. It’s the only real weak point on the album, and it’s the secret song.

That Go Strike is one of the catchiest rockers I’ve heard all year should be especially important to you, the reader, since their website http://www.dopesmoothie.com is currently selling said album for FIVE DOLLARS. If you like the Pixies, and you know you do, Dope Smoothie are one of the best bands carrying their legacy on their shoulders right now and Go Strike is one of the strongest records I’ve heard all year. I give it the “Music Underwater Likes This Album More Than The Arcade Fire” award.

A-
Kyle Dilla


http://www.musicunderwater.com/dope_smoothie_go_strike.html - Music Underwater


"Go Strike album review"

Hailed by a press release calling them "some young descendants" of the Seattle rock n' roll scene, Dope Smoothie's "sophisticated melodies" and "engaging lyrics" (*throws press release in trash can*) speak much better for themselves.

I pop the CD in and get... Smashing Pumpkins? No, wait... ok they're doing the Youth.... Melvins? Nirvana, old stuff too! Wow, that reminds me of Bleach. NO, no, something else... ok, next track. And it continues. And on and on aaannnnddddd I can't put my finger on it.

By the fifth track I'm ripped into some crazy metallic guitars and I'm bobbing my head and singing... but I don't know the words. It's like I've found the missing band from my teenage years. The nostalgic feel of those burnt out high school afternoons, smoking my buddy's mom's pot and staring at the ceiling listening to music and thinking 'I wish Cleveland was Seattle so I could see these guys'... that feeling comes right back to me.

Now, you would think (if you were as smart as I am) that a band that sounds like the nostalgia of your youth would be a bad thing - borrowing too many sounds and too many styles from the bands you love. But... but Dope Smoothie pays back that 'borrowed' sound tenfold with rich and easy guitars and honest fucking sounds made on sure footing with a solid mission. If I was still playing music... I'd be playing music like this.


http://www.popculturechaos.com/fonix.html

- Pop Culture Chaos Magazine


Discography

For Milking - debut LP
Go Strike - sophomore LP

Both albums featured extensively on CMJ charting college radio stations across North America.

Tracks from "For Milking" featured on MTV's The Real World Austin.

For radio questions, contact Jon DeLange at:

Tinderbox Music
612-375-1113
jon@tinderboxmusic.com
www.tinderboxmusic.com

For more information or to request photos and interview opportunities regarding Dope Smoothie, contact Jeffrey Smith at:

Crash Avenue
502-640-2251
jeffrey@crash-avenue.com
www.crash-avenue.com

Photos

Bio

Seattle's Dope Smoothie has become a catalyst for the sophisticated melodies and engaging lyrics of singer/guitarist Josh Bate. Nimble bassist Zachery Clements and the driving style of drummer John McCallum has turned Dope Smoothie into a torrential musical force with live shows becoming energetic displays of raw grit and humor. Through the course of recording their latest full-length, ‘Go Strike,’ the band acquired the skills of keyboardist Dan Katzer. Dan’s poignant and sometimes quirky inflections have channeled the band’s sound to a music bursting with color and shock. Dope Smoothie has achieved success over the airwaves with their debut album ‘for milking’ and the follow-up LP ‘Go Strike,’ receiving airplay on nearly 400 radio stations across the U.S. The band has performed at some of Seattle's most respected venues and festivals, and has successfully toured up and down the west coast and across the nation.