THE VIRGINIA GENTLEMEN NEWS
BABYSUE AKA LMNOP THE VIRGINIA GENTLEMEN - THE VIRGINIA GENTLEMEN (12" VINYL LP, IDLE EDSEL RECORDINGS, UNDERGROUND ROCK)
Loud rip-roaring underground rock with attitude and conviction. The cover of this vinyl LP immediately caught our attention. It features a photo of the four guys in the band with really crazed looks in their eyes. But it was the music on the album that really sealed the deal for us. In a world chock full of safe and tame music, this self-titled album comes across like a breath of fresh air. The overdriven guitars are way up front in the mix...and the band plays with the kind of 'fuck it' attitude we normally associate with groups from the 1990s (when people weren't nearly as closed-minded as they are now). Although they've been playing live since 2015, this is the debut full-length release from The Virginia Gentlemen. The band is comprised of Brian Idle Diederich (vocals), Robert Conquer Conger (guitar), Christian Davenport Johnston (bass), and Lawrence Mud May (drums). This self-titled release features twelve no-frills rockers. The songs feature throbbing rhythms, intense buzzsaw guitars, and vocals that are reminiscent of the criminally overlooked 1990s band St. Johnny. There's a refreshing urgency happening here that is absent in so many twenty-first century bands. Hearing these guys play together is like hearing a motor running at peak capacity. There's no holding back as these guys give everything they've got...and then some. Lead vocalist Diederich has been playing in various bands since 1976 (!), but you'd never know it from his completely over-the-top vocals. Listening to this, we can't help but think these guys are a totally blistering live experience. Revved up rockers include "Something They Crave," "Too Much of Everything," "Mary Poppins Day Off," "Find My Way," and "Go All Night." These four men play their balls off on this one. Loud, intense, heavy, and humorous. YES.
MAXIMUM ROCK N ROLL ISSUE #418 MARCH 2018 THE VIRGINIA GENTLEMEN – “GO ALL NIGHT” EP
I’ve been transported back to Black Lung Records territory by these Gents, ridin’ a legacy centered on CANDY SNATCHERS and latter-day affiliates. Traditionally straight rockisms make the rounds here: layered guitar twist’n’burn, barroom rhythm skids, tough-spit vox, the whole firecracker. I applaud the focus on sonics over theatrics, as this really buries BORN LOOSE and other recent offerings from this sect. About as unhip as a 7” could be in 2018, but no visible stink lines are risin’ offa this ‘un. I’m not not gonna skip down to my meth market and trade my teeth for a copy or anything, but it ain’t that sucky! (MC)
Maximum Rocknroll 418 (2018 Mar) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
PRESS RELEASES
PRESS RELEASE FROM IDLE EDSEL RECORDS THE VIRGINIA GENTLEMEN BREAK OUT THEIR EPONYMOUS DEBUT 12 NEW SONGS OF SOUTHERN PUNK ROCK VIA NYC
The Virginia Gentlemen have seen fit to finally release their debut album after toiling in NYC since 2015. Idle Edsel label owner Brian Diederich leads his sodden crew, half of whom toiled in the legendary 90's Norfolk band The Candy Snatchers. Brian sings for this band, and Candy Snatchers' vocalist, Larry May aka Lawrence Mud May, kindly ambles over to the drums for this lineup. The band is rounded out by guitarist/harmonizer Rob Conger (who also toils with Brian in The Jack Bennies) and bass player Christian Davenport Johnson. All 4 members grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and moved to NYC separately over the years where this band was formed in 2015.
The Virginia Gentlemen by The Virginia Gentleman was recorded in NYC at Mollusk Studios by John Meredith. The pop song here is “Trouble”, a gorgeous melding of Diederich's scholarly drunken rants and Conger's high-pitched harmonies and Greg Ginn-style guitar blasts. You'll laugh when “Vinnie Vincent” takes away Brian's girl. You'll cry during the funeral dirge of fallen friend “Patrick Salt Ryan” which closes the album. This track, as well as “Go All Night,” “Lollygagger” and “Right Now”, were all featured before as a 7-inch EP. Those four tracks were all delegated to the second side. Side One opens with “Something They Crave” a howl to the lost days of yore as another decade turns. “Put the GG on my wall/wars used to have a reason/the kids would feel the season.” The side closes with another ode to annihilation, “Marry Poppins Day Off.” “On a weekend barley trashed at all/I got a tell ya girl/We got nothing left/We gotta Rock this party.” And Rock they do.
Idle Edsel exists to feature the lifelong recordings of celebrated vocalist, guitarist, author, professor, philosopher, and Harvard graduate Brian Diederich. Playing punk rock since 1976 in The Lynndales, he has 29 bands and a book to his name (Christ: The Dark Years, 1992, republished by Dominion House, 2008). Aside from the Candy Snatchers, he has also been in The Four Musketeers (founded 1980), The Cookies (1983), The Uncalled Four (1984), Under Construction (1991), The Strap Ons (1997), Manana Couch (2011), The Jacked Bennies (2012), The Little Bombs (2016) and The Hasslehoffs (2017). Also in the catalog: The Tchotchkes, The Idlettes, Stray Ponys, The Dutch Destroyers, The Pimps, Lucy Fur, The Sternbachs and the labels namesake Idle Edsel. An impressive body of work!
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