 "Photo: Courtesy of Inevitable Backlash")
Harken back to ye olde punk with The Inevitable Backlash's analog aesthetic tonight at Paradise Lost.
Chico's Kids With Head Lice will share the floor for a night of all-ages face-splitting punk rock.
The show kicks off The Inevitable Backlash's tour in promotion of their latest album "My Two Brookes."
The Inevitable Backlash are handling their tour entirely themselves, only relying on fans and friends for floors to sleep on, said singer-guitarist John Renton. The band has their minivan packed with only the essentials: gear and merchandise. Well, the three band members are in there, too.
The whole scene looks like a family road trip, he said.
"Everything we do is super independent," Renton said.
The do-it-yourself philosophy permeates through all the band's efforts, including an entirely analog studio. It has no computers and no digital equipment. Renton takes his inspiration from classic punk bands such as Black Flag and Minor Threat.
"My favorite recordings are the ones that are dirtier, weirder, a little more raw," Renton said.
The Inevitable Backlash hooked up with a producer trained by analog recording master Steve Albini. Renton said he is a believer in Albini's philosophy: Everything that can be done digitally can be done in analog.
While digital recording captures exactly what was played, Renton prefers the surprises that come with analog.
It takes a long time to do things with analog tape that could be done in seconds on a computer, but the result is the same, Renton said. To make a simple edit, you need razor blades, solution and cutting board.
"It's almost like a body operation," Renton said.
The band will be experimenting with a pay-what-you-think-it's-worth merchandise table, Renton said. The subjective price scheme worked for Radiohead, but the only way to get results is to test it.
In a slumping economy, business owners are looking for new revenue streams. Manny Gonzalez, owner of Paradise Lost, moved the video store from a tiny downtown location to a warehouse so he could host shows.
"We tell bands it's a do-it-yourself setup," he said.
Like The Inevitable Backlash, Gonzalez relies on the kindness of friends, as they help him prepare the store for live events.
The city has a roll of red tape Gonzalez needs to cut through before Paradise Lost is officially recognized as a venue, Gonzalez said. Coupled with the high costs of municipal bureaucracy, the future of live shows at Paradise Lost is uncertain.
As a point of light in a dark economy, new artists can record their music at almost no cost. Mark Reilly, who is graduating with multiple music degrees, watches the cheapening of music through technology.
"It's been made easy for a lot of people," he said. "You'll get your track down, but it will most likely sound like shit."
There are few free audio recording software options, but a band will need to invest in a small, four-track mixing board, Reilly said. A band recording this way might have their song on MySpace in just a couple hours, but it won't be professional quality.
The easy entry point has caused a bit of trouble for The Inevitable Backlash, Renton said.
"You have at least hundreds of thousands of bands on the Internet, and they are all fighting for the attention of the tastemakers," he said.
The Inevitable Backlash chose to spend the extra money on analog studio recording to capture the sound quality they wanted. The do-it-yourself method works, but bands have to prepare for extra expense, Renton said.
"If you want to be a musician, you have to have a second income," he said.
Randy Davenport can be reached at rdavenport@theorion.com
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