The Dead Enders
(self-released)
myspace.com/theofficialdeadenders
On the Dead Enders’ delayed debut, Holly Berry, CJ Gunn and company
blaze a trail to hell with shady friends in a cheap, beat-up car that
looks really cool. Or at least that’s what the songs are about. Gritty
and loud, the band includes most of the Subtones. It’s less punk but
every bit as likely to incite impromptu slamming and beer spilling.
Leather-clad singer Berry snarls like she can — and will —
kick your ass. On “Please Save Rock and Roll,” she looks to rock to
save her soul or break it, singing in a cigarettes-and-gravel voice
that sounds like Joan Jett’s tougher, older sister. Gunn’s high-octane
leads burn like moonshine. — D.X. Ferris
The Dead Enders perform with Pansy Division and the Hollywood
Blondes at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid
Heights Blvd., 216.321.5588, grogshop.gs). Tickets: $8 advance, $10 day of
show.
Operation Rockstar
(Chop Shop)
The cosmic cousin to George Clinton and his motherfunking
Mothership, Operation Rockstar is the latest project by local scene
veterans Karlin Warren, Ed Hayes and Andrew Twiggs. With aspirations of
replicating the hybrid style of OutKast or Gnarls Barkley, Operation
Rockstar take an old-school approach and update it with some
psychedelic flourishes. “Painkillahz” features something that sounds
like crashing ocean waves, as a woman sings soulfully about trying to
kill her pain. “Supah Niggah” sounds like it came straight from a
blaxploitation movie, and “Drop It Low” finds the guys rapping over a
plunking, sci-fi-like beat. — Jeff Niesel
Operation Rockstar performs with the Unit at 8 p.m. Thursday,
June 18, at the Sunset Lounge (1382 W. 9th St., 216.535.0001, sunsetloungecleveland.com).
This article appears in Jun 17-23, 2009.
