Botch

It is very rare for a band to have such an impact on rock music that they end up inventing a new sub-genre. Creativity and ingenuity are hard qualities to come by in an art that has been so historically defined by plagiarism. Tacoma, Washington's Botch single-handedly created and perfected the "mathcore" genre. The band seemed perfectly in synch with each other on their 2 LPs and countless EPs, but their 2002 breakup revealed that each member had the capability to develop their own unique sound, without drawing any direct comparison to Botch.

Botch formed in 1993, when guitarist Dave Knudson and drummer Tim Latona were still in high school. Early on, they spent most of their time attempting to play Helmet covers in their newly-discovered drop-D tuning. These two chose the name by simply opening a dictionary. Bassist Brian Cook and vocalist Dave Verellen soon joined the band, and they played their first show in Verellen's garage on Halloween of 1993. They released a demo tape in 1994 (of which all of the members are embarrassed), and eventually did a mini-tour of Canada, with Verellen's father as tour manager/chaperone.

The band finally got a break when they went on tour with Ink and Dagger and nineironspitfire in 1997. That same year, they played a show in Buffalo, NY with Snapcase for over 1,000 people, which was by far the biggest live exposure that they had recieved. Around this time, they were approached by Hydra Head CEO and ISIS vocalist, Aaron Turner, to contribute a cover of Black Sabbath's "The Wizard" for a 7" series. The band ended up sending him an entire album's worth of songs, and Turner decided to sign them to Hydra Head. They re-recorded these songs with Matt Bayles (ISIS, Mastodon) in Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard's studio in 1998. The resulting product was American Nervoso. While very rough around the edges, this album re-invented hardcore, neglecting the typical "chugga-chugga" riffs for mercurial guitar shredding, and completely abandoning the tough-guy mentality.

After the release of their first full-length, Botch toured relentlessly and released several split EPs with nineironspitfire, the Murder City Devils, Cave In, and Knut. However, it was not until 2000 that they truly perfected the "mathcore" sound, with the release of We Are The Romans. This album still stands as the pinnacle of the genre, and has been emulated by literally hundreds of bands today. Latona's odd time signatures are matched perfectly by Knudson's unprecedented guitar riffs, while Verellen's vicious bark continually increases the ferocity of their songs. This album was beloved in the underground hardcore/metal scene, but went mostly unnoticed in the big picture.

By 2002, all of the band members had been playing with side projects that were becoming more and more serious. They released their final EP, An Anthology of Dead Ends, and decided to disband shortly thereafter. They chronicled their final performance at the Showbox in Seattle on a DVD titled 061502, which perfectly captures the utter chaos of their live show. Since then, Verellen has gone on to play drums in Roy, and is currently singing in the metalcore band, Narrows. Brian Cook is currently the singer in Roy, and plays bass in both These Arms Are Snakes and Russian Circles. Knudson has made the most drastic shift of the group, as he is now the showstopping, finger-tapping lead guitarist in Minus the Bear. The band recently released a statement on their MySpace page, saying: "There is no reunion in the works. As proud as we are of the band and as much as we're still friends, there is no plan to do a reunion. Zero, zilch, nada. However, we do appreciate everyone's continuing interest in the band. Thanks."

Check out the video for "St. Matthew Returns to the Womb" from We Are The Romans here:

The White Octave

Most rock musicians struggle their entire lives to form a band with any kind of relevance, and unfortunately, there is a very low rate of success. You may not know his name, but Steven Pedersen has played an integral role in not one, but four landmark bands. When you have this much music under so many different names, it is easy for some of it to fall through the cracks. While Slowdown Virginia, Cursive and Criteria are his more famous vehicles, The White Octave is the one that tends to go unnoticed.

A forefather of the Omaha music scene, Pedersen began his career with Tim Kasher and Matt Oberst in The March Hares. After they broke up in 1993, they joined with Matt Maginn and Casey Caniglia to form the now-legendary Slowdown Virginia. Every Omaha band from Bright Eyes to The Faint has gone on record as saying that Slowdown Virginia (affectionately called "Slowdown") were the reason that they started playing music. After 2 years of touring, they disbanded, and Pedersen, Kasher and Maginn formed Cursive with drummer Clint Schnase, formerly of Smashmouth (not to be confused with Smash Mouth).

Early on, Cursive drew their sound from the early 90's D.C. scene, only with more heartfelt lyrics than Fugazi or Shudder to Think. Pedersen and Kasher shared vocal duties, with Kasher's melodies and Pedersen's screaming complementing each other. After releasing only one full-length and several EP's, the band broke up in 1998. That same year, they posthumously released their second LP, The Storms of Early Summer: Semantics of Song, on Saddle Creek Records. Cursive's breakup was entirely due to the fact that Pedersen had gotten into Duke University's law school, and had to move to Chapel Hill, NC. It is here that Pedersen formed The White Octave, where he would be the primary songwriter for the first time.

The White Octave allowed Pedersen to expand his sound beyond that of Cursive, utilizing fuzzed-out bass and disrhythmic drums to create a truly bizzare niche. Pedersen's voice has been compared to At the Drive-In's Cedric Bixler more than a few times, and for good reason. He absolutely thrashes his vocal chords on every song, and he is rarely in tune. The band released their first full length, the criminally underrated Style No. 6312, on Deep Elm Records in 2000. From the battered acoustic guitar of opening track "Appeals For Insertion" to the chaotic close of the title track, the album is a flawless work of makeshift post-hardcore.

The band released several tracks on Deep Elm Samplers, as well as a split EP with Sorry About Dresden. In 2001, they released their second LP, Menergy, on Initial Records. The production value on this album was much lower than Style No. 6312, but Pedersen's voice and driving guitar were still intact, accounting for another great record. Around this time, Pedersen had become a lawyer, and he needed to get back to his family in Omaha. The White Octave broke up, and Pedersen went on to form Criteria, who have since released 2 stellar albums that are more in the vein of second wave-Cursive. Of all the bands that Steven Pedersen has been a part of, The White Octave's songs are by far the most sincere and original. This very well may be the reason why it is the most overlooked portion of his work.

Check out their MySpace page here.

Recommended tracks: "Appeals for Insertion" and "Crossing the Rubicon."