I’d rather have a fight, than be alone tonight.
It’s “the year of the bandcamp release,” my buddy Ky from All Media Reviews recently proclaimed in one of his pieces. There is absolutely no disputing that. It’s relatively simple for any artist to upload their own music, spread the word about the page’s existence, and get a few downloads… heck, even purchases! The wise music aficionado knows that by purchasing music from bandcamp, they are directly supporting the DIY musician who created it; this music aficionado also understands that they can unleash their inner audiophile and decide if they want the music in 320 kbps MP3, FLAC, pure VBR (V0) MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, or ALAC when downloading from bandcamp. Unlike listing music on major digital music stores- these artists do not have to pay to get listed, and then lose a percentage of every sale. Bandcamp’s pricing is the best I’ve personally come across, as an artist representative. I set up The City Never Sleeps’ bandcamp, and am currently utilizing the service for Session 606’s debut EP, Rebirth. Additionally I listed the Anthony Masington compilation, A Fictional Work of Non-Fiction (which is a 100% free download), and after getting crushed by iTunes & Amazon MP3 with the debut full-length release- the A Scream For The Memory EPs.
The drawback though, is- Bandcamp’s payment system is handled by Paypal.
If you’re not aware, Paypal is notorious for phishing attacks and identity theft. Back in 2005 I was victim of a Paypal Identity Theft scheme. I, stupidly, checked my email while drunk. A large amount of money was previously sent to me in order to ship out the very first Cobalt and Calcium t-shirts that I picked up from Circulation Printing. Anyway, I’d received an email that asked me to click a link and then login to Paypal. I did, without thinking twice about it. The next day I realized my ATM account was completely drained, and random department store credit cards throughout the country were opened in my name. Lesson here is:
- don’t check you email while inebriated
- never login to Paypal by clicking links in emails. Go directly to the source.
I filed complaints and managed to recover all that was taken from me.
Unfortunately, Josh Benash (singer/songwriter/guitarist/keyboardist of the on-hiatus Kiss Kiss and of the active Vuvuzela) experienced a similar attack yesterday.
Hey guys. Some sack of shit Phished into my Bandcamp account and stole all my pre-order money. It’s going to be ok, but for now the $ is in limbo, so I am going to hold off releasing the 2nd free track tonight.
I wish there was a way to physically locate this fucking waste of human life and force them to eat a bag of my fecal matter while kicking them in their fucking genitals.
-Josh Benash
Horrible! I’ve been looking forward to this album since I first heard it was happening, I hope new preorders are unaffected by this phishing incident. Either way, the painfully relatable and slightly wacky “My Little Noose” is a free download. I embedded it at the top of the post.
As I previously stated, Josh Benash is the mastermind behind Kiss Kiss. Despite being signed to Eyeball Records (also once home to bands such as: The Killing Tree, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, The Casualties, H2O, Midtown, Murder By Death, My Chemical Romance, Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer), the band remains criminally unknown. I’ve written about them a bunch since I first heard them in 2005, a few posts are on this here tumblr too. Without realizing it at the time, I chronicled their path to declaring hiatus. Long story short, Kiss Kiss toured a hell of a lot nationally- to very small audiences and could not afford it anymore. I guess the U.S. wasn’t ready for their unique brand of beautifully organized chaos. There’s really no way to describe the sound of Kiss Kiss other than listening to the EP and 2 albums yourself. All 3 releases are on Spotify. Click the album art below to listen.
As disheartened as I am about this pause for Kiss Kiss, I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. Take Josh Benash’s solo album, The Dismal; The Beautiful, for instance. We may not have this gorgeous piece (which will be released in full on Josh’s bandcamp page Tuesday, February 7th) if things had gone differently for Kiss Kiss.
I’ve been listening to it all day.
Like with the previous Kiss Kiss releases, I never want The Dismal; The Beautiful to end. I’m quite content with hitting “repeat,” and continue to discover new parts that went over my head with the previous listen. This album feels like stripped down Kiss Kiss, with the heart and soul still there. The record begins with sort of a Radiohead feel and finishes off reminding me how much I love Pink Floyd’s earlier material. Halfway through, I can’t stop crying to “The Worst.” The album title is perfect. The Dismal; The Beautiful is awe-inspiring, witty, trippy, delightfully wacky, intelligent, unique, musically ept… The Dismal; The Beautiful is Josh Benash.
The album was mastered by D. James Goodwin, who engineered/co-produced/mastered the two Kiss Kiss full-lengths. Mr. Goodwin has previously worked with Devo, The Bravery, Norah Jones. He’s got his own project, Snowflake.
Vuvuzela’s crowdfunded debut album looks like it will be released later this year. According to their facebook page, they are 80% done with the recording. I’m really looking forward to that too, they have a fucking HARP! Kiss Kiss bassist, James O’Keeffe, dropped the bass guitar and plays the upright bass in this project!
As for the rest of Kiss Kiss, you can catch them rockin’ in:
- The World/Inferno Friendship Society (Rebecca Schlappich, violin)
- The Venetia Fair (Mike Abiuso, bass)
- Hidden Hospitals (Jared Karns, drums)
- The Mayor (Mike Abiuso, vocals)
Make sure to grab a copy of Josh Benash’s The Dismal; The Beautiful on Tuesday!
