T
ool & D
ie page 10
T
ool
& D
ie
P
arty
III R
eview
April 25
th
at the Lost Horizon was
the Tool & Die Party III. Unfortu-
nately, attendance was on the low
side and we didn't have our o cial
photographer which sucks, but the
beer was cold and the tunes were
solid so we had fun anyway! We
had three bands that night, The
Legendary Jones Gang, Self Made
Self and Check Engine. Below, our
friend Mr. Hunterson described the
performances by the Jones Gang and
Check Engine. I made a few notes in
regards to Self Made Self, so please
read on.....
- Hop -
Though the crowd was on the
small side, the Tool & Die Party III
was a blast.
Surprisingly, the night opened up
with The Legendary Jones Gang
performing their dirty, gritty, high
energy Rock & Roll.
A band of their caliber usually plays
later, but due to scheduling con-
icts they were rst. And as per
their usual, The Legendary Jones
gang did not disappoint.
The crowd, which included mem-
bers of local Ramones tribute band
Road To Ruin, enthusiastically
danced and sang along.
At one point, frontman Je Jones
asked the crowd, "Want to know
what makes me sick?" When the
audience replied yes, Jones and his
Gang of musicians launched into
the song "Makes Me Sick", a scath-
ing and accusatory song blast-
ing the military, former President
George W. Bush, and other govern-
ment o cials for their mishandling
of world politics and risking the
lives of American soldiers.
Jones told the crowd that the new
song could be found on their new-
est CD entitled "Thank Drugs We're
Not On God." Jones and his Gang
also played some other songs avail-
able on the CD.
The song called "My Technique"
really stood out as well. This balls-
out rocker of a tune would be right
at home on a Social Distortion re-
cord, and Mike Ness himself would
have been proud to say he wrote it, but
it was all Je Jones.
The Legendary Jones Gang nished
their set and the crowd thanked them
appropriately with a large round of ap-
plause and much cheering.
The break between bands gave me
enough time to grab a cold beer, a
smoke, and some tickets for the eve-
ning's ra es of several di erent types
of booze.
Second up to bat was Self Made Self from
Corning, NY. Self Made Self is a 4-piece
rock group with a modern rock sound.
They're led by vocalist Adam Young, with
JC on guitar, Anderson bringing the bass
with backup vocals and big bad Loc keep-
in' the pace on drums. I'd seen these guys
only twice before and gured they'd be a
good t to help us rock out a T&D Party. It
was a privilege to have them come play
for us, unfortunately as I've just been
noti ed that they have since disbanded,
that was the last time I'll see them play. I
do wish each of them the best of luck in
whatever their future holds.
- Hop -
The nal act of the night was a three-
piece group from Ithaca, NY called
Check Engine.
Despite their
name, there
was no need
to check
the engine,
because their
particular
style of Rock &
Roll was run-
ning like a top
fuel dragster!
This band laid
it down with
some solid
rhythms and
an upbeat
sound. The
tunes were
well crafted
and singer/
guitarist Tim
Newton's
vocals were
reminiscent
of Eddie
Vedder at times. On the song "12
Years", the in uence of TOOL comes
through loud and clear.
The thunderous grooves provided
by the rhythm section of Drummer
Scott Shoemaker and Bassist Dave
Trapani provide an excellent base
for Newton to ri over and his lyrics
are intelligent and engaging.
Newton introduced the song "De-
mise" by saying it was a waltz, but
this slamming composition would
never be mistaken for a waltz by
any means!
This is a band I would de nitely
check out again. Do yourself a
favor and catch them if you can.
They are currently working on a
CD and will be back out for more
shows soon.
The night ended with Hop & Cyn
pulling tickets for the ra e, which I
did not win.
But that's pretty much the story of
my life...
In the end, the party was a good
time and I ended up with a great
buzz.
Keep your eyes open for the next
Tool & Die Party and make sure to
mark your calendar, because you
don't want to miss it.
BY
T
HOM
S. H
UNTERSON