Namosaur by Scott Oken (Factory Theater)

In my opinion, there are 3 kinds of Factory Theater plays.

#1. Soldiers/Heroes face off against a maniacal bad guy.

#2. A bunch of people have dance battles against other people.

#3. Other.

My favorite has always been the first. There are a few reasons why, and let me tell them to you.

Factory plays have a great and storied history of making meandering, ridiculous sagas that travel to the ends of the Earth and back again. In the end, we laugh, we fear for our safety, and we bring our own beer. The quality is always high, but you will find yourself with favorites. For instance, Matt Engle has emerged as a first rate director who understands the nuances of comedy. Corri Pasko and Sara Sevigny write crazy popular woman based comedies, but my favorite director is Manny Tamayo. Tamayo understands the cinematic scope of the insane stories and brings a film maker's eye to the Prop Theater.

Namosaur is the story of a group of soldiers and 2 ladies who have to go through the jungle for some reason and there are dinosaurs there and some crazy Korean Baptist preacher named Nguyen Nguyen. This dude has some dinosaur eggs on a necklace and he trapped one of the ladies and told her about them or something and she wrote it down in a notebook. It's not important. What IS important is that there are DINOSAURS in VIETNAM!!

How has no one thought of this yet? It seems like a classic idea.
Well, good on you, Scott Oken. You are a visionary.

Usually in the hero/soldier plays, The Factory needs to bring in some talent that you haven't seen before on that stage (because their ensemble is too famous for themselves anymore), and gives people who you have seen in smaller roles a chance to shine. Case in point in Namosaur; Tim Amos. One of my favorite red-haired, dolphin-tattooed gentlemen has been seen as various unlikeables including pornographers, casino owners and Irish detectives. In Namosaur he finally gets his chance to shine as a leader of a bunch of ingrate soldiers in the middle of the harsh woodlands of Vietnam. Amos' cigar chomping Lieutenant is abrasive and noisy, while still being cuddly and having short hair. Sort of like Meg Ryan.

Tim Amos tells these broads what's what.

The Factory uses the role of "the villain" to showcase some of their incredible comic talent. I have seen Steve Walker in Top Shelf, Dan Granata in League Of Awesome, but never have I ever seen a villain played with the robust testicles as Eric Roach in Namosaur.

Here's the beautiful thing about Eric Roach as a comedian and something the rest of you need to learn: He doesn't even care of you are there or not. He does not need your laughs because his confidence in his performance does not rise and fall with audience approval.

In my opinion that is the greatest thing a comic can do.

This is from a different play, but Roach sort of looks the same!

Roach plays Nguyen Nguyen, a German dinosaur scientist that moves to Vietnam to make dinosaurs, I think. I was laughing too hard to hear what he was saying.


Anyway, what I am trying to say is, if you have never seen a Factory show, this is the one for you to see. If you have, then you know what I'm talking about.

After the show is out, I can finally ask you:

DO YOU LIKE IT!!?


A+

-Anderson Lawfer, Eric Roach

Easy Six (Factory Theatre)

The Factory Theatre is BACK with another EXTREME story of snowboarders taking the ULTIMATE trip to the UTTERMOST top of K2 when the most INTENSE avalanche ever AMBUSCADES them in a dark cave!

These 5 heroes led by the EFFULGENT Mickey Bocks (Songbird: Manny Tamayo) have to BATTLE for survival at all costs! As munitions expert Kenny (a RESPLENDENT Anthony Tournis) struggles to BLAST their way out of the white ABYSS, David ( Scott Pasko in his most UNCONTEMPTIBLE role to date) has to face his inner demons stemming from the loss of his little BROTHER to BREAST cancer.

The oxygen is BARREN. Life has become a TORMENTED SUCCUBUS! Mickey faces a series of hallucinations where he and his INAMORATA (a MESMERIC Allison Cain) tackle their past through a series of HYPERBOLIC masked dance scenes.

As Mickey and David slowly lose their minds, Lee (the PHYSICAL MASTERMIND Paul Metreyeon) hides his SOUL CLAWING EDEMA from the group, making a note wherein it tells the rest of the men how to eat his DISEASED body.

The group seems to have little HOPE. What can save them from this DISCONSOLATENESS?

A single PALADIN emerges in the form of Gary Thain (a luxurious Esteban Cruz) who carries his HEAVING friends to safety by GENTLY CARESSING the ice, which had never met a BLACK GAY GUY before either.


When they return to the lodge, life has kept moving, leaving the boys with new OUTRAGEOUS challenges to face. Returning from an event like that is hard.

They begin to drink away their DESPAIR. Life has become UNREASONABLE and CALLOUS.

Mickey finally sees a silver lining in the heart of Pepper (an ANGEL FACED Cat Dughi). Pepper has recently divorced the WICKED Ginger Pete (a NEFARIOUS turn by the legendary Timothy C. Amos) who has gone on an animated DRUG FUELED KILLING SPREE with his delirious henchmen Phillip and Bart ( the ENRAGED and VEHEMENT Blake Dalzin and Scott Minches)!

Mickey and the boys make COMPATRIOTS with a HOBO-WITH-A-HEART-OF-GOLD Foster Brooks (a MIRTHFUL John Moran) and a BLOODTHIRSTY Jerry Lewis (Ray Brazaski at his MEATY best).

Together with a group of Irish SLATTERNS (the incredible Robyn Coffin, Laura Korn, and Elizabeth Styles), they DEFEAT the Ginger Pete and make the small community safe for DRUNKEN GAMBLERS and JEZEBELS again!

Also there is some talk of a missing bottle opener or some shit.

This is not a play to be MISSED! This EXCEPTIONAL musical has VIGOROUS power and will make you feel VIBRANT and POTENT sexually.

A story of survival that shouldn't be IGNORED!!!


A

-Anderson Lawfer, Eric Roach

Blood, Steel, Rock and Sugar!!!! (MUSIC REVIEW BY SCOTT OKEN)

Goddamn, I love Hard Rock…I love to flip tables. As y’all(No, I’m not from Texas…) might have realized, I mostly listen to the older stuff, but in the interest in keeping semi-up with the semi-times…(Christ, was that a sentence?!?!??), I have 4 jammin’ LPs from the last few years for you to go and check out…all guitars… all rock…don’t hurt yourselves, for I did!!!

Blood Ceremony –S/T (2008)-No Wiki entry, but check out their MySpace page. Check out under “influences”, the first two names are Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull. Upon 2 songs into this lp, that will become quite clear. When you press play, you will hear Black Sabbath riffs…an insane chick singing…and flute. Brilliant. These guys rock so hard I need to take medication to calm down. Your ears will need a Blood Ceremony to stop the BLEEDING!!!!! Every cut…every cut on the album is a complete jam. The 2 minute 1+note keyboard intro into “Master of Confusion" will usher you in properly. “I’m Coming With You” is an instant metal classic!!! What album called Blood Ceremony would be complete without a song titled “Into the Coven”, and yes, it’s a jam. This is what my friend Beav calls a 100%er. Every cut is a classic!!!! OUR :10/10

The Devil’s Blood-The Time of No Time Evermore (2009)-Nothing really on these guys except that they are Dutch, and formed in 2006. This lp is pretty straightforward Old-School Metal. Take some Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Black Sabbath, some somewhat refined, Euro-sounding vocals, and you have The Devils’ Blood. There are some excellent tracks here, including the lead cut into the second cut “The Time of No Time” and “Evermore”. One of my favourites (yes, I spell the British way..what of it?!?!?) is “Feeding the Fire with Tears and Blood”. This song is reminiscent of something of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath…and it jams you to the point of extinction. This is a good “getting ready to go out” album. You put it on after your shower, while you are getting dressed and it comforts you. OUR :10/10

Steel Panther-Feel the Steel (2009)- Basically these guys are a parody band built from some not so successful Hair Metal bands back in the day…but Goddamn are they rockin’ hilarious! You CANNOT play these guys at the office while fixing that Excel spreadsheet. These guys are NSFW (Not Suitable For Work…see..I’m from the future!) Probably the most hilarious lyrics ever. There is nothing Dylanesque going on here. Virtually every song makes mention or is about shooting one’s load…if you know what I mean….cum…spooge. The lead cut “Death to all but Metal” starts with the lyrics “Fuck the GooGoo dolls…they can suck my balls” So you know what you are in for. Oh, and wait until the politically incorrect “Asian Hooker” hits your ears. Here’s the thing…they rock! The songs are classic 80s jams, but with tongue firmly in cheek….or mouth. Other classics include the ballad “Community Property” (A MUST LISTEN) and “Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’. Please go find this now. OUR :15/10

Rock Sugar-Reimaginator (2010)-Brand spankin’ new. These guys are real, I guess, but what they play is not conventional songs. They essentially play live mash-ups of Metal songs, mixed with pop tunes. Here is one of their videos that gives a brief captioned intro to their act. They take “Enter Sandman” and mash it with “Don’t Stop Believin’”. This is kinda cool for a few songs, but it does get old quickly. The best ones on this lp are “We Will Kickstart Your Rhapsody” “Crazy Girl” and “Voices in the Jungle”. Like I said, pretty fun and interesting for a few songs at a time, but I cannot see one listening to the whole lp at once. OUR: 6.5/10

Well then…now that I have made your lives easier to rock…I suggest you do so!!!!!!!

You’re a Stone God, so have some Hot Leg!!! (MUSIC REVIEW BY SCOTT OKEN)

I’ve been accused of musically being stuck in the past. That is true for the most part. I have been known to state that there is no good music after 1979. I actually adjusted that to 1989…I mean, I can’t leave out the Hair Metal years, can I? (Oh so British…ending sentences with a 2 word question, isn’t it?)

The 90s for me had some hit and miss Grunge and it’s related offshoots. The 00s have been utterly non-eventful for me…until around 2003. That’s when Permission To Land, by The Darkness came out. Yeah, it was throwback…but it was TABLE FLIPPING JAMS throwback! Then came One Way Ticket…To Hell and Back in 2005. Produced by former Queen guru Roy Thomas Baker! All Jams! Then shortly thereafter they broke up. Shit!!!!

Not to worry. They basically split up into 2 pretty good bands. Lead singer Justin Hawkins broke off to form Hot Leg, leaving his brother Dan Hawkins to grab another singer named Richie Edwards and form Stone Gods with the remaining members of The Darkness.

You can read up on both bands more specifically here and here.

I am here to review the 2 albums. Let us start with Hot Leg’s Red Light Fever. If you like the Darkness, you will like Hot Leg. This basically continues on from where The Darkness left off. Justin’s uber-falsetto vocals are as Relentless as Judd Nelson here. The opening track “Chickens” could have been on the last Darkness Album. Pretty much every song gives you that combo of Pop sensibility with that hard rock/borderline metal guitar driven jams. One of the more poppy tunes is the silly “Gay in the 80s” . Silly ass lyrics, but oh-so singable! Another loveable single is “I’ve met Jesus”, a song guaranteed to stick in your head, almost to the point of being annoying, but in a good way! One other thing I love about this lp, is the liberal use of guitar solos! Always a good thing! Another good jam is “Trojan Guitar” (yeah….Trojan™). That songs comes complete with silly voices! Basically if there are more than 3 really good songs on any given album, I deem it a “Get off your ass and buy it” lp (yes, I still use the term “LP” even though we download everything). OUR(OKen’s Ultimate Rating) 9/10.

Now on to the Stone God’s album entitled Silver Spoons and Broken Bones. Obviously without the distinct voice of Justin Hawkins, you are going to get something different here, and you do. This album can fool you. At first you might think that this is basically strict, by-the-numbers Heavy Metal, rooted in the 80s classic period, well, not so much the Hair Metal period, although there is some of that. The first cut “Burn the Witch” is a classic metal prototype song. You know…swords…flames…witches…etc. It’s a pretty good jam. A good Pop-Metal song on the lp is “You Brought a Knife to a Gun Fight”. It kind of comes from the AC/DC school of jams. Then there is “Where You Coming From” which could be a hit on any chart. There are some good ballads on here too. “Lazy Bones” is great, as is “Magdalene Street”. The former seems like it is possessed by the spirit of Johnny Rzeznik. The more I listened to this album the more I really, really started to love it. I conclude that you should get this album as well. OUR: 9/10.

See? I can like the new stuff once in a while!!!! Now go out, buy these albums, and bust all wooden furniture!!!

You Think You Know the Byrds? (MUSIC REVIEW BY SCOTT OKEN)

Everyone knows the Byrds. The folksy, mop-toppish, Bob Dylan song covering quintet that roamed the 60s, playing electric 12-string jams with impeccable, multi-layered vocals. You know all the hits. “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star”, “Turn, Turn, Turn” and the like. Back in the day, they were one of the loudest bands as well. Imagine some blaring compressed 12-string Rickenbacker guitar chiming your skull into oblivion!!!!!!!!

What I want to concentrate on is the period after this well known era. They became a completely different band with a complete turnaround in members save band leader Roger McGuinn. You can read up on that here.

My purpose here is to give y’all some reviews of their later albums and to nudge y’all to get up, go to the car/El/bus/rickshaw, and go to your nearest place that sells musical discs (or you could just utilize this “computer” thing, that the kids all like and download stuff)

The album that starts the transition is…

The Notorious Byrd Brothers-This was a total transition album from the well-known electric folk-rock to a more psychedelic sound and some premonitions of the country rock sound they would embrace in albums to come. Notable songs: “Artificial Energy”, “Natural Harmony”, “Draft Morning” also on the special edition “Triad” a song about a three-way…hippies. Smoke a bowl and put this on. You will not be disappointed. OKen’s Ultimate Rating (OUR) 10/10

Sweetheart of the Rodeo-They got Graham Parsons for this one, and he immediately made his presence felt. If you don’t like guitar-driven country mixed with folk and more country, this may not be the lp for you. If that doesn’t bother you, this is just a treat! Roger McGuinn started surrounding himself with stellar musicians here including the fantastic Clarence White, one of THE most underrated guitarists of all time! Notable songs: “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”, “One Hundred Years From Now” and “You Got a Reputation”. This one is an acquired taste, but it grows on you. OUR: 6.5/10

Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde- This one always got blasted in the reviews, but in reality, it’s a damn fine album! The country thing is still there, but not on every track, and the break out the rock and roll quite a bit here. Notable songs: “Bad Night at the Whiskey” “Child of the Universe” “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” (a song written about a Southern DJ that treated them like shit in an interview), and ‘King Apathy III”

This album is an undiscovered little gem! OUR: 9/10

The Ballad of Easy Rider-Solid, if unspectacular. Notable songs: “Jesus is Just Alright” (yes that one), and “The Ballad of Easy Rider” OUR: 6/10

Untitled-Half live, half studio. The live half is great! They play a lot of the old classics, but give it some oomph! (I wrote “oomph”). Come to think of it, the studio half kicks it as well. More country rock here, but it works like a friggin’ charm! Notable songs “Lover of the Bayou” (Table flipping psychedelic jam!!) “Mr. Tambourine man”(kick ass version) “Eight Miles High” (for 16 minutes…enjoy acid) and one of my favorites of all time “Chestnut Mare” OUR: 26/10

Byrdmaniax-Kind of a weird one, but shit, we’ve come this far…Notable songs: “Tunnel of Love” “Pale Blue” OUR: 5/10

Farther Along-This was the last one before some guys died and they broke up. This is a really, really good album! They kind of do it all here and it’s quite enjoyable! Notable songs: “Tiffany Queen”, “Farther Along” “Bugler” and “Lazy Waters”. McGuinn lets everyone else sing more on here as well. OUR: 9.5/10


So, in conclusion, I think it’s worth it to delve deeper into this classic band’s catalogue. Go out and get The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and Untitled at least. You will live a better life…