Glassjaw, Starland Ballroom, 03.26.2011

WSOU's MoJo JoJo and friend with Glassjaw

Another sold out show at Starland Ballroom, but this wasn’t just any show--it was a GLASSJAW

SHOW! When I heard that not only was Glassjaw recording new music but was also going to be headlining a tour, I went crazy. Glassjaw is a band that I listened to when I was younger, lost track of, and now have rediscovered.

Now that they're back, I was hesitant about how they would be live, but let me tell you, this band hasn’t missed a beat. They were amazing, playing just about every song I wanted to hear plus a great mix of new songs, including "You Think You’re (John F*cking Lennon)," "Tip your Bartender," "Ape Dos Mil," "The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports," "All Good Junkies Go To Heaven," "El Mark," and "Two Tabs Of Mescaline," just to name a few songs that were played in their close to two hour set.

It’s incredible to see Glassjaw out there killing it like they should be, with that much energy and a real passion for the music they make. You can tell they love every moment of playing music for their fans. They were super nice guys to meet and talk to after the show and were super excited to know that WSOU still plays Glassjaw. I hope Glassjaw continues to tour and make music, because they are so important to the music scene.

Thanks so much to Alex who works with Glassjaw for making this all possible.

- MoJo JoJo

Emmure + Evergreen Terrace, Starland Ballroom, 03.11.2011

WSOU's MoJo JoJo with Evergreen Terrace

This sold out show at Starland Ballroom was very exciting for me because I was finally able to see Evergreen Terrace. I'd always missed them when they came around on tour, and I’ve only heard good things about their live show. Being able to meet this band also made it that much better, and when I finally talked to them and realized they are just fans of music and overall great guys, I knew they were about to put on an amazing show. They had a great mix for their set list and they pretty much played every song I had wanted to hear from them, including songs such as "My Heart Beats In Breakdowns," "Wolfbiker," "The Smell of Summer," "Mario Speedwagon," and "Hopelessly Hopeless," just to name a few.

The crowed was also all about Evergreen Terrace, participating in just about every song. Full of energy on stage, Evergreen Terrace did not disappoint whatsoever. I will make sure for now on that I will go out of my way to see this band again when they are in the area.

MoJo JoJo with Emmure

Emmure, wow--for a band to command this much respect and attention on stage is an amazing sight. I think I’ve seen Emmure play every time they are in New Jersey and almost every time they've played in New York City, and they blow me away every single time. I think "how can a band just keep getting better and better?", but that’s just what Emmure does. The set started with "Children of Cybertron" off the recently released Speaker of the Dead album, soon followed up by one of my new favorite Emmure songs, "I Thought You Met Telly and Turned Me into Casper" and then "Solar Flare Homicide." Both songs had every person at in the venue going nuts. After that the set list kept getting better, with "Rusted Over Wet Dreams" and "Demons with Ryu," two more of my favorite songs, which really made me think "wow this can’t get any better," which of course it did. They ended the set with the signature Emmure song "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong," and I couldn’t have been any happier. Emmure is that band for me that no matter what, I’m going to go see them, because they consistently put on the amazing live show that seems to never give anyone in the crowd a break. They make it all worth going to see live music and keeping the scene alive.

Big thanks to Josh in Evergreen Terrace for helping me set up the picture and making sure I had everything I needed for the night.

Thanks to Emmure’s tour manager, Jon, and huge thanks to Frankie and Jesse in Emmure for making me feel right at home and inviting me to hang out on their bus before and after the show.

- MoJo JoJo

SXSW Day 3

And so the adventure continues...

Iron Maben, Stracq, Yo Gabby Gabby, The Violet Femme, and BENNY!!! have all been having a great time at SXSW. Here are some pics from the shows Stracq and Gabby checked out.

First up was Dawn of Ashes. They had a great live set, despite looking like they just came out of a slaughterhouse. They do give Slipknot, GWAR, and Mushroomhead a run for their money when it comes to costumes.

Next we watched Gaza. They were a real crowd amper, especially when the singer jumped into the crowd and started up his own pit. He then proceeded to mosh and sing simultaneously. Gabby was very impressed with his multi-tasking.

The best part of the day for Stracq and Gabby happened right after Gaza's set. Steve found his long lost metalhead twin, Guy from The Red Chord. He actually recognized and remembered Steve from their past interview. Steve grabbed a few words with him and then Gabby snapped this snazzy pic.

In the meantime, Gabby noticed Vince and Jack from The Acacia Strain chilling nearby and did one of the best, most hysterical interviews with them. We appreciate Vince's anger with everything and everyone, especially the soft spot he holds in his heart for hipsters.

By the way, in case you didn't notice, Vince is really tall.

After the epic interview, we watched The Red Chord and The Acacia Strain tear the tent down (yes, they performed inside a tent). Both bands had awesome sets and Steve had fun moshing up a storm.

Later on, Steve and Gabby checked out Miss May I and Dance Gavin Dance. Steve left to be a robot for 30 minutes at Men Without Hats while Gabby continued headbanging at Whitechapel.

The Violet Femme and Benny also checked out some cool sets from the Campus Buzz-esque bands they saw.

More pics and updates comin' at ya right here. Keep it locked to www.facebook.com/wsou and www.twitter.com/wsou.

SXSW Day 2: WSOU showcase

So as you can tell from the photo above, the WSOU crew celebrated its 25 years of metal anniversary right here in Austin, TX at Venue 222. We had a great time hanging out with the bands, rocking out to some great music, and, of course, partying!!!

We had the whole venue decorated with our banners. It was a great sight to be witnessed.

The opening band, Beta Wolf:

Next up, Death on Two Wheels:

In between band sets, Steve Stracq amped up the crowd with some free T-shirts and his hysterical personality.

Meek is Murder:

Meek is Murder had some cool lights strung around their drum set, along with some strobe lights. Our photography did not do their lights justice.

The 4th band was Ultrageist, straight from Long Island, NY.

I caught up with them backstage after their performance. They were really funny and we had a great interview.

Everyone was really excited to see T.R.A.M. in their debut performance as a band. T.R.A.M. is an acronym for the last names of all the band members put together. Their lineup consists of members from Mars Volta, Suicidal Tendencies, and Animals as Leaders. They were pretty much a jazz fusion jam band, but the crowd and the WSOU crew really dug them.

Yo Gabby Gabby especially enjoyed hearing Adrien rocking the sax.

The last band to perform was The Faceless. They brought their heaviest and loudest set to put the finishing touches on a great WSOU anniversary show.

Towards their last few songs, a pit finally broke out. We have no doubts that it was probably led by our moshing king, Steve Stracq.

If you were at our show, we hope you enjoyed it. If you couldn't make it out to Texas, hope you enjoyed our pics and felt like you were there with us! Stay tuned for more SXSW coverage here, www.facebook.com/wsou and www.twitter.com/wsou.

Photos courtesy of Gabby Canella

SXSW Day 1 continued...

Continuing the shennanigans where we left off....

Tuesday night was a blast. Iron Maben, Stracq, The Violent Femme, Yo Gabby Gabby, and BENNY!!! checked out Bad Brainz and had a blast. We even witnessed some WSOU history as Iron Maben took the mosh pit by storm (we're so proud of him).

After Bad Brainz, Stracq and Yo Gabby Gabby headed off to check out the Sumerian Records showcase. We caught The Faceless' set and had our faces melted. The Violet Femme and BENNY!!! checked out Grouplove and had a great time.

Later on...

Stracq and Yo Gabby Gabby had their dreams come true by seeing Phil Anselmo live in person, playing with Arson Anthem. We were mindblown just by listening to his random, yet hysterical thoughts leave his mouth. Their set was great, but we still can't get over Phil.

Tuesday night was a blast and Wednesday will be even better! Stay tuned for more coverage from yours truly at The Loudest Rock!

SXSW Day 1

Wednesday, 3/16

Here's a quick little update on the adventures of Iron Maben, Steve Stracq, The Violet Femme, Yo Gabby Gabby, & BENNY!!!

-picked up our badge passes that let us get into all the shows, plus some free swag

-watched Steve give BENNY!!! a haircut

-hung out at The Paste party and had free Qdoba

-The Violet Femme interviewed The Seedy Seeds, a Campus Buzz band
-checked out Venue 222, where WSOU will be hosting its very own show tomorrow night

-got a taste of local TX metal at Hoeks Death Metal pizza (pizza + metal = awesome)

-explored The Weird Museum (just like the title suggests)
-had some free tacos

Tonight we'll be checking out Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Brains, and Tech N9ne. Stay tuned for more SXSW updates here and www.facebook.com/WSOU and www.twitter.com/WSOU

WSOU Takes Austin

If you've been listening in these past few days, you probably heard our SXSW news.

Stracq, Yo Gabby Gabby, The Violet Femme and BENNYYYY will be repping the station at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, TX.

From March 16th-20th:

Live coverage provided on air, every evening at 6pm.

Photos posted here, on the blog.

Instant updates on Twitter:

- Steve: @stevestracqWSOU

- The Violet Femme: @UseTheVolume

Stay tuned. Join the party.

WSOU at SXSW in Austin, Texas!