Drown Out The Daylights
Crustacean Records claws into the DVD market
Crustacean Records
Putting out a two-hour-plus film showcasing 10 bands seems like a rather grandiose move for a small Midwestern record label. Madison-based Crustacean Records’ new DVD, Drown Out The Daylights, collects footage and interviews from two shows at the High Noon Saloon last year. The bills spanned from recent additions like Screamin’ Cyn Cyn And The Pons to veterans Mad Trucker Gone Mad, whose bass player, Chris Langkamp, started the label nearly 15 years ago. Daylights also comes with a disc of extras highlighting Crustacean’s history. It’s a big undertaking, but then again, it’s worth sharing the diversity of Crustacean and its bands, and its goals are reasonable: Label co-owner Jake Shut says he hopes it will “further solidify our humble pedestal in the national punk and indie scene.” Before this week’s DVD-release parties at the Majestic Theatre and High Noon, Decider went through the DVD and attempted to tackle some of the questions it will raise and (possibly) answer for newcomers to Crustacean and Madison music in general.
What is the best way for a Madison hard-rock band to dress onstage?
Drown Out The Daylights begins with a set from Screamin’ Cyn Cyn And The Pons. It’s one thing to get up there and sing about freaky stuff, especially “Cat Waco,” in which a lonely man and his army of 75 felines fight off city sanitation officials. But the band attracts loyalty by going the extra step and embodying that insanity. Frontman Shane O’Neill showcases a characteristic look here, his face streaked with glittery makeup and his belly hanging out over heels and shiny gold Lycra pants.
Anything on the other end of the spectrum?
The bands shown here don’t get less flashy or more grizzled than Things Fall Apart, which grinds up twisty song structures with the raw violence and earnestness of a hardcore band. It’s a stark opposite to the Pons’ vibe, but it connects on a visceral level, and gets people pumping fists over the stage monitors.
How drunk are these Drunk Drivers?
By all accounts, their drunker days are behind them. One DVD extra digs up footage from Moonahhpuluza III, an infamous 1997 festival in Shawano, Wisconsin, at which the band played. Drunk Drivers frontman Nathan Brelsford ended up hurling a keg, a ladder, and of course himself from the stage. Shut, who booked that show and shares much of Crustacean’s day-to-day work with Langkamp, says he “was actually pissed at those guys for a couple months… but looking back on it, it was fucking awesome.” Thing is, of the longer-running Crustacean bands showcased here, Drunk Drivers have done the best job of developing a bit of charm and sympathy to go with their smart-assed hedonism.
What about just being crude and silly as shit without reservation?
Minneapolis duo Awesome Snakes thwack away at a bass and a drum kit, yelling about snakes and awesome things. It’s pure idiocy in rock ’n’ roll form, and in that department it actually outdoes the psychobilly of Mad Trucker Gone Mad and the sarcasm of The Skintones.
Are there fiddles, mandolins, or whistles involved?
They didn’t forget! A set from John Kruth And The Destructones fills in the stuff that’s always lacking at punk and metal shows. “People don’t seem to want to get along in this world,” Kruth says, introducing his peace-mongering ballad “Beyond The Mountains.” “Just call me a namby-pamby.” It was rather daring and out of character for Crustacean to release Kruth’s Eva Destruction, with its playfully shifting hybrid of folk, Middle-Eastern music, and other sly international touches. In the middle of one song from the album, “Mrs. Chagall,” Kruth whips out a penny whistle and trades solos with the band’s lead mandolin and violin players.
What’s the best Crustacean band that’s not in the main feature?
American Death. The DVD extras include a video for one of the band’s agreeably shaggy country-punk songs, “Leave Me Be,” and a tribute to singer-guitarist John Zysk-Buerger, who died in 2005.
What is the best way for a Madison hard-rock band to dress onstage?
Drown Out The Daylights begins with a set from Screamin’ Cyn Cyn And The Pons. It’s one thing to get up there and sing about freaky stuff, especially “Cat Waco,” in which a lonely man and his army of 75 felines fight off city sanitation officials. But the band attracts loyalty by going the extra step and embodying that insanity. Frontman Shane O’Neill showcases a characteristic look here, his face streaked with glittery makeup and his belly hanging out over heels and shiny gold Lycra pants.
Anything on the other end of the spectrum?
The bands shown here don’t get less flashy or more grizzled than Things Fall Apart, which grinds up twisty song structures with the raw violence and earnestness of a hardcore band. It’s a stark opposite to the Pons’ vibe, but it connects on a visceral level, and gets people pumping fists over the stage monitors.
How drunk are these Drunk Drivers?
By all accounts, their drunker days are behind them. One DVD extra digs up footage from Moonahhpuluza III, an infamous 1997 festival in Shawano, Wisconsin, at which the band played. Drunk Drivers frontman Nathan Brelsford ended up hurling a keg, a ladder, and of course himself from the stage. Shut, who booked that show and shares much of Crustacean’s day-to-day work with Langkamp, says he “was actually pissed at those guys for a couple months… but looking back on it, it was fucking awesome.” Thing is, of the longer-running Crustacean bands showcased here, Drunk Drivers have done the best job of developing a bit of charm and sympathy to go with their smart-assed hedonism.
What about just being crude and silly as shit without reservation?
Minneapolis duo Awesome Snakes thwack away at a bass and a drum kit, yelling about snakes and awesome things. It’s pure idiocy in rock ’n’ roll form, and in that department it actually outdoes the psychobilly of Mad Trucker Gone Mad and the sarcasm of The Skintones.
Are there fiddles, mandolins, or whistles involved?
They didn’t forget! A set from John Kruth And The Destructones fills in the stuff that’s always lacking at punk and metal shows. “People don’t seem to want to get along in this world,” Kruth says, introducing his peace-mongering ballad “Beyond The Mountains.” “Just call me a namby-pamby.” It was rather daring and out of character for Crustacean to release Kruth’s Eva Destruction, with its playfully shifting hybrid of folk, Middle-Eastern music, and other sly international touches. In the middle of one song from the album, “Mrs. Chagall,” Kruth whips out a penny whistle and trades solos with the band’s lead mandolin and violin players.
What’s the best Crustacean band that’s not in the main feature?
American Death. The DVD extras include a video for one of the band’s agreeably shaggy country-punk songs, “Leave Me Be,” and a tribute to singer-guitarist John Zysk-Buerger, who died in 2005.
