Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor
SHUT UP AND MURDER THE MIC The Long and Short of It are too ugly for pretention "A simple question about their live shows easlily segues into a rant about the testicular swatting skills of Barrabee, who's confined to a wheelchair. It's like talking to a bunch of grown-ups who haven't lost touch with their inner pre-Ritalin, ADHD children. Within the context of their music, this all makes sense. Just as they have a difficult time focusing on anything subjective, their music often comes across as a pastiche of aggressive rock forms including punk, prog, metal and '70s hard rock. Somehow it works, and it's due in no small part to their piss-and-vinegar live shows, during which, more often than not, they smoke the headliner." 'We wanna be a fierce, in-your-face band,' "explains singer Ben Johnson, who onstage is known for Iggy Pop-like theatrics and has a voice that sounds like a cross between the Dead Kennedy's Jello Biafra and Bad Brains' HR." "The genesis began in the boys' self-described 'college years' in Santa Cruz, where Johnson and his brother Tim bonded with Barrabee over their mutual love of all things guy: sci-fi, sports and aggro-rock. After returning home, they each played in other bands, but it wasn't until Barrabee drunkenly recruited guitarist Matt Strachota (who also plays in San Diego's dirty-country outfit, Bartenders Bible ) that they found a common ideal." '[We wanted to be] what we'd want to see if we were at a show and didn't know anything about the band,' "Johnson says." 'More specifically-[The Long and Short of It is] tailored to our tastes.' "Even more specifically, he adds, 'you know, fire, dragons and the like. Real things.' "And so after three years, two tours and countless local shows, The Long are finally releasing their debut album, Flight of the Mallard. Judging by its mathmematical riffs, Johnson's surprisingly poignant lyrics, their work ethic and their 'consciously image unconscious' looks, you can tell that this is a band in it for the right reasons. No talk, just rock. Hence their name." Seth Combs (San Diego CityBeat)