Hello, my fellow out-of-tuners, Underground Hum is back with me, Ari Ernesto Purnama, the long lost uncle of the underworld of interesting music. Your cuddly nanny, Paul Agusta is out on a business trip, so I’ll be your host for the next few weeks.  That’s right, fellas and gals! It’s time for you to unlock your mailbox, because Reverb is here to deliver fresh news from the international and national indie music scene! Go get your coffee, kick back, relax and enjoy this one from the indie news front!

REVERB

International

I bet all you heavy music fans out there will drop your jaws when you hear that a new embodiment of heavy doom-laden metal gods has formed.

What could it be when you have Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, Melvin’s Dale Crover, former Sleep and current Om bassist Al Cisneros and Saint Vitus/Obsessed/Spirit Caravan/Hidden Hand guitar hero Scott “Wino” Weinrich, in one room handcrafting gigantic riffs and rhythms? The result is the supergroup Shrinebuilder.

This is something like stoner-metal Mount Rushmore where these guys’ reputation as master constructors of heavy sludgy metal is at stake, although the album is suspected to really nail it.   

The band is scheduled to begin recording this weekend in Los Angeles with producer Toshi Kasai. Kelly’s Neurot Recordings is set to release the album this summer. And almost as badass, Kelly has promised to liveblog the recording sessions on his perfectly named We Burn Through the Night blog.

To put things in perspective, a recent entry begins: “I was raised in the corner of the room.

Backed up against the wall. Isolated. Tormented. Dominated. Intimidated.” If Kelly writes his studio blog like this, we can’t hit subscribe fast enough. Expect Shrinebuilder in your play list soon enough.

Former Husker Du¸ and Sugar front man and general all-around punk rock legend Bob Mould and Our Band Could Be Your Life author Michael Azerrad will be teaming up to write Mould’s autobiography.

No word on what Azerrad’s role in the project will be -- Mould is the book’s author, it being an autobiography and all. As far as indie-rock books go, this is something of a perfect combination.

Our Band Could Be Your Life, which included a really great chapter on Husker Du, is basically the best book ever written about the US rock underground of the 1980s. Azerrad also wrote Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana and produced the Kurt Cobain documentary About a Son, and he’s been a thoroughly dependable rock writer for more than 20 years now, so he knows what he’s doing.

And as for Mould, the guy has had one of the weirdest, most interesting lives stories of any major rock figure. First, there’s Husker Du, the band he led through its tumultuous, historic nine-year run as early hardcore stalwarts.

Then there’s Sugar, the trio Mould fronted through the early 1990s, never making anything like Husker’s impact but still landing a few ridiculously hokey power-pop jams on alt-rock radio during the height of the grunge era -- no mean feat.

Mould’s also released eight solo albums since 1989, the most recent of which is last year’s District Line. Any book that includes anecdotes about both Greg Ginn and Lex Luger is well worth your money. You gotta hunt down this book quickly when it’s out!

National

Here’s an awesome gig that you don’t want to miss when you happen to be in Yogyakarta next weekend, Lingkar Labirin #4. This time around they’ve got two international bands headlining: Full Chin from Japan and Dying in Motion from Switzerland. Be there or be behind!

Lingkar Labirin #4

January 25, 2008

12 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Bands:

Full Chin (Japan): www.myspace.com/fullchin

Dying in Motion (Switzerland): www.myspace.com/dyinginmtotion

Josephine & Tyrant (Malaysia) (TBA)

Suddenly Sunday

AfterDie

Rocking Milo

Tripping Junkie

Radio at Midnight

Venue: Otosport Café  (Depok Sport Centre, Senturan, Yogyakarta)

Ticket: Rp.7000

For all of you indie bands or artists out there, let us know if you have a gig coming up so we can include it in future editions of Reverb. Be sure to include the name of the event you’re playing, what other acts are billed, time, place, date and entry fee if any.

That’s pretty much it for this week’s Underground Hum, buddies! Don’t forget to send us questions, suggestions, praises and curses if you will to undergroundhum@yahoo.com.

Ciao for now, Ari Ernesto Purnama signing off, see you next Sunday!

Popular

Indonesian hotel chain confirms exit from Cuba

Corruption scandals, rupiah fall revive reshuffle talks

Waiting is not an option