29 June 2014

BALLAST


A total "time and place" band for me, I feel like I crossed paths with BALLAST a few times a year in the early '00s. We knew Dave from the Bay Area, but this Montreal project was a huge leap over the music he was making here and this demo only scratches the surface of what they would do with their two (excellent) full length platters. Perhaps it's not hard to lump them in with the dark melodic and political hardcore prevalent at the time, but BALLAST always had a feisty energy that set them apart. Drinking in John's living room until dawn, the show at Arts in Action in '04, trading stories and laughs...it's good stuff. Dave currently plays in DEKODER and just self released a book about an Asian trip that included a very heavy stint in North Korea, the others are...? Losing touch is part of the whole thing.




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