{"id":29127,"date":"2018-07-17T14:40:27","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T18:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=29127"},"modified":"2018-07-17T14:40:31","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T18:40:31","slug":"on-stage-fitness-tops-surprising-busy-tuesday-night-local-show-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=29127","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Fitness tops surprising busy Tuesday night local show schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Fitness<\/p><\/div>\n

July 17 is a Tuesday and Tuesdays is not usually the best day of the week for a selection of live music at area venues. Mid-week shows are a tough draw \u2013 especially Tuesday\u2019s following a summer weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, July 17 is an exception. The area music calendar features shows by Fitness, an electro-pop duo from L.A. on July 17. There will also be a couple of interesting mid-week shows on July 18 \u2013 especially British death metal band Dyscarnate and singer\/songwriter\/rocker Ahi.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fitness is the new musical project from Max Collins (Eve 6) and Kenny Carkeet (ex-AWOLNATION). Together they create a sound that is very distinctive — pairing alt rock melodies with aggressive synth pop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fitness just released its new album \u201cKarate\u201d on June 29 as well as a new single called \u201cIn the clear.\u201d Now, Fitness is on a national tour in support of its new music \u2013 a tour that touched down in Philadelphia on July 17 at MilkBoy Philadelphia (1100 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 215- 925-6455, <\/span>www.milkboyphilly.com<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on Day 1 of this tour,\u201d said Collins, during a hone interview last week from a tour stop in New Orleans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be out for about one month \u2013 mainly East Coast dates. This will be the first time for Fitness to play the East Coast.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKenny and I met in 2012 when our bands Eve 6 and AWOLNATION were on the same show with Public Enemy at a radio festival in Buffalo, New York. We hung out that night and strayed in contact.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about a year-and-a-half ago that Kenny made this track that was so devastating and so good. I implored him to let me write on it. It was something to exercise our weirdness. The track was called \u2018Get Dead.\u2019 The collaboration was easy and fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The pair got together in L.A. and began writing songs together, fusing elements of rock and electronic music, crafting a sound that is uniquely their own. In 2017, they released their debut EP\u00a0\u201cAggroculture.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur first show was at this art gallery,\u201d said Collins. \u201cIt was a KCRW show in Santa Monica in March 2017. We put out our second single in July 2017 and radio stations started to pick it up. We put out at third single and then our EP \u2018Aggroculture.\u2019 We made another single \u2013 \u2018Matter of Time\u2019 \u2013 and then started working on the album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded \u2018Karate\u2019 at our own studio here in L.A. We still work with other acts. Any time there is an off day at the studio, we\u2019ll write. By the time we released \u2018Aggroculture\u2019, we had five songs in the bucket for the album. Before long, we had 20 songs. But, \u2018Matter of Time\u2019 was doing so well, we had to move the album release back. We\u2019ve changed songs on the album a number of times.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In this day of internet information, it\u2019s easy for a band to disseminate information about the group \u2013 but not so with Fitness. Try doing a Google search for \u201cFitness,\u201d \u201cFitness Band,\u201d or \u201cFitness Music,\u201d and you\u2019ll come up with everything but a link to the California music duo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe like the challenge of setting up as many impediments to success as we can,\u201d said Collins. \u201cThe name Fitness appeals to me because it is not a band name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Fitness — <\/span>https:\/\/youtu.be\/atpWVZdZ7hg<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The show at MilkBoy Philly, which has Wild Moccasins as the opener, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

AHI<\/p><\/div>\n

It may seem strange for a music act to share its name with a type of tuna. It may seem that way with AHI but tuna had nothing to do with AHI\u2019s name.<\/span><\/p>\n

AHI is a singer\/songwriter from Toronto who credits himself as the <\/span>originator of his own musical genre\u2014 \u201c\u2018BLUEBLACKmusic.\u201d And, unlike the fish, AHI is pronounced \u201ceye.\u201d<\/p>\n

AHI just released his sophomore album \u201c<\/span>In Our Time\u201d on July 13 via Thirty Tigers and is now touring in support of the new LP. The tour brings him to the area on July 18 for a show atBoot and Saddle (1131 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, 215-639-4528, www.bootandsaddlephilly.com<\/a>).<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cI started taking music seriously seven or eight years ago,\u201d said AHI, during a phone interview last week from his home in Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started off doing poetry and hip hop. I loved writing, but I couldn\u2019t sing at all. Then, I learned how to sing and play guitar. Over the last eight years, I\u2019ve taken it to another level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

World travel added to AHI\u2019s base for songwriting topics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI traveled to Ethiopia and that was an amazing experience,\u201d said AHI. \u201cI was soul searching at the time. I did a similar thing in Trinidad. That was my first travel experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy father is from Trinidad. I think my songwriting ability comes from calypso \u2013 the way calypso music tells stories. I also traveled a lot in Canada. Backpacking around Ontario is what inspired me to do songwriting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many musicians from all over North America, AHI went to Nashville to record his latest album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded the album after the Christmas holiday,\u201d said AHI. \u201cI made the album at Bomb Shelter Studio in Nashville. It\u2019s a great analog studio. I had Andrija Tokic as the producer. We went from tape to ProTools to tape and got a very warm, very authentic sound. We had a lot of great Nashville musicians on the album. It was a really great process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I write, the narrative is really important to me. When knew I was going to do an album, a lot of songs came to me. Then, when I was ready to go into the studio, more songs kept coming. We recorded 15 songs and cut it to 11 for the album.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m touring with a four-piece band and we\u2019re playing a lot of songs from the new album. It\u2019s actually a fair mixture of songs from all my recordings. This band does a great job with all the songs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for AHI \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/-1gXJOhU2Sk<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at Boot and Saddle, which has Birdie Busch as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Dyscarnate<\/p><\/div>\n

Dyscarnate, which will be performing at The Voltage Lounge (421 North Seventh Street, Philadelphia, 215-964-9602, <\/span>www.voltagelounge.com<\/a>), is a powerful death metal trio featuring Matt Unsworth on drums, Tom Whitty on guitars and vocals and Al Llewellyn on bass and vocals. The band is currently touring in support of its new album \u201cWith All Their Might,\u201d which was released late last year on Unique Leader Records.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe album came out in September and we\u2019ve been touring ever since,\u201d said Unsworth, during a phone interview Monday night from a tour stop in New York City. \u201cAnd, we still have quite a bit of touring to do yet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe came over on the 24th of June to L.A. and did the first show of the tour. We\u2019ve worked our way across the country and we\u2019re playing the East now. Then, we\u2019ll tour through the South, play shows in Florida and Texas and finish up back in L.A.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Dyscarane was formed in 2004 in Horsham, England \u2013 a small town south of London.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI still live in Horsham,\u201d said Unsworth. \u201cAl lives in Swinden and Tom lives in the Netherlands near Amsterdam. We\u2019ve had a lot of line-up changes over the years, but it\u2019s always been Tom and me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start, we three guitars and five or six people in the band. We whittled it down to a three-piece in 2010. Up until then, there had always been at least two guitars. Now, we can do all we need to do with just the three of us. We\u2019ve had this line-up for three years. We\u2019re great friends and we have a great time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Llewellyn was the most recent member to join and he was in the band prior to the recording of \u201cWith All Their Might.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAl joined in 2015 and we recorded the album in 2016,\u201d said Umsworth. \u201cIt helped having some new blood for the writing process. It\u2019s rare that anything gets writing without all three of us being there. We write together in person \u2013 not via email. We\u2019ll get together at Tom\u2019s place in the Netherlands or maybe in London.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded all the instruments in Swinden. All the vocals we did at a nice little farmhouse in Wales. One of Al\u2019s mates had just opened a guesthouse and we were the first to use it. We set up a little home studio using Keybase and spent a couple weeks there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith All Their Might\u2019 shows a quantum leap for the band from the music they made in the past \u2013 especially their previous album \u201cAnd So It Came to Pass.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe music on our new album isn\u2019t as fast and as frantic as our older stuff,\u201d said Umsworth. \u201cIt\u2019s a little slower \u2013 and less blast-y. Our early songs were more extreme and more brutal death metal. We still love death metal, but now our songs are more complex musically.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked hard on composing songs and not just putting riffs together. A lot of the new songs still start with a riff but not as an intro \u2013 more in the middle. We put together strong riffs and good vocal lines. We wee very finicky about what we put in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This will be Dyscarnate\u2019s first time to play Philly and area fans wanting to hear the new songs played live will not be disappointed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn our live set on this tour, we do two songs from \u201cAnd So It Came to Pass\u2019 and the rest are from \u2018With All Their Might\u2019,\u201d said Umsworth. \u201cWe want to focus on playing our new music.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Video link for Dyscarnate \u2013 <\/span>https:\/\/youtu.be\/sgBxumzrLnA<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The show at The Voltage Lounge, which also features Faceless, Lorna Shore, Nomvdic, Dead Eyes Always Dreaming, The Hearkening, and Tallah, will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff,\u00a0Entertainment Editor, The Times July 17 is a Tuesday and Tuesdays is not usually the best day of the week for a selection of live music at area venues. Mid-week shows are a tough draw \u2013 especially Tuesday\u2019s following a summer weekend. This year, July 17 is an exception. The area music calendar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7529],"tags":[10438,6518,316],"class_list":["post-29127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-ahi","tag-featured","tag-fitness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29128,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29127\/revisions\/29128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}