On March 2nd, 2019 Flux Amuck Celebrate the release of their new album Alternate with friends, Jump the Tiger, Glow In The Dark, and Y-Incision. Catch the highlights of this sexually charged, weird and wacky, Sci-Fi experience here.
Well wouldn’t you know it, it was snowing, again, again-again. After weeks of being pelted with flurries, our bizzare winter space time loop continued to bury us further and further into an icy hell befitting of Mammoths. Such is the new lay of the land here in Nebraska. As I drove 25 miles per hour in the flakey downpour down I-80, I realized that I was going to be late to the show. Not that late, but late enough to miss that moment that your friends always boast about when recounting tales of grime and grit. It was THE moment that the good on-time Slimy Folk will tell their children, and their children’s children about. A moment that will define this generation! “The singer whipped his nuts out and tea-bagged some dude’s camera!” -Jeremy Johnson.
Y-incision was first up on the docket and much like a recent video posted to their facebook page, they took sexy cuddling to a new level with vomit! In a flurry of sex, gore, and everything obscene, Y-incision metaphorically slapped my tits and rode my ass all the way to my heart. Michaelous Rage, sporting a business casual, combat boots, plaid boxers, fishnet pantyhose face mask look, and not to mention his bloodstained dress shirt, spat bile, barking with all the rage of the sexually repressed. His vocals were a perfect fit for Y-incision’s intense porno-grind inspired sound, and his lyrics were much deeper than the sound suggests.
His sexy minions included Bony Tartholes, a monster guitar player sporting a sexy, custom glow in the dark Gibson SG, etched with the writings of a free spirit, Psyclopserpent, a super sexy, super chic bass player sporting tight low cut leather pants, and even lower and tighter bass precision, and the beastly, blast beating, beast of a drummer, Chimmy Changa, which makes me hunger not only for the steamy goodness that is his namesake, but for even more tasty, beastly beats. Lucky for us his holiness The Chimmy of the Changa graces us with more holy beats in his other band, RimJob.
This illustrious band of deviants bring a tight professional sound, yet raw grindcore tomes that excite and inspire both the primitive sexual deviants in all of us, and the intellectual philisophs we strive to be. As far as stage presence, this band goes above and beyond the cut with their crazy antics. From masturbating the
mic stand to pantsing the guitar player, there was not a moment on their set where I wasn’t entertained! After guiding me through my second sexual awakening, I can officially say I am thoroughly impressed. If you get the chance hit up one of their shows for a wild time. You will not be disappointed!
You can find their brand new Split your Dick Split EP with Rimjob at the link below,
And Don’t miss Y-Incisions Video Shoot Concert, April 23rd, at the Lookout Lounge.
Follow their socials at
Up Next were Glow in the Dark, a little two piece starring Lawrence Deal and Aaron Gum, the latter of which actually has a stick of gum on his business card. No joke! Their 1980s synth pop sound combined with fun and imaginative MTV style imagery, provided a unique experience and a surprisingly nice contrast to the brutal grindcore we previously experienced.
Deal’s vocals soar above the stage with 80s style prowess, and Gum does more than just DJ for the band, he provides the awesome background videos projected onto the the stage. He also directed Flux Amucks recent Music Video for Sci-Fi Western. The guy is a technological wizard! Props to these guys for showing up to a metal show and not looking or feeling the slightest bit out of place. If you like synth pop and all things 80s check them out!
You can find Glow in the Dark here.
Next we have Jump the Tiger, a 4 piece all things rock group, sporting a variety of sounds. While this kind of music is not my particular cup of tea, I have to admit these guys got some mad talent.
Guitarist John Claus provides some Eddie Van Halen level of shredding, and classic rock riffage that would make dad rock posers jealous. Dudes got mad chops! David Backhous provides soulful grooves with his basslines, and proves his musicianship with expert phrasing, and dynamic choices. The guy hits hard and heavy when needed, but can also be smooth and sultry. Sonji Giraud brings the soul with her power-soul infused rock vocal approach, and Scott Micheels proves his merit, providing a straightforward yet cymbal heavy approach to his hard rock drum style.
The styles encompassed here seem to be inspired by an Eddy Van Halen style classic rock, mid 2000’s Alt rock (think early Arctic Monkeys), R&B, Soul, with hints of Metal. The unfortunate side effect of having so much talent with such a diverse array of sounds, is that there is a lack of cohesion. There is so much jumping around in styles yet nothing seems to fall into place. That being said, watch this band! When they, and I believe they will, find a cohesive sound that blends all of their genres together, there is no doubt in my mind that they will rise to the top of the scene and create some truly beautiful art.
Follow Jump the Tiger on the following social media
Jump the Tiger’s Ep, Nightlife
And look for their first full length album this spring 2019
And now for the main event.
FLUX AMUCK!
As I walked to up the stage, I felt a peculiar sensation overcome me. It started with my fingers and toes, and moved upward along my extremities. In squidly fashion my appendages began wiggling at a speed and flexibility not possible to our kind. My vision darkened… then suddenly I was blinded by the light of billions and billions of stars. As visions unseen by human eyes danced in front of me, the soft voice of David Hasslehoff whispered softly the secrets of the cosmos into where my ear canals had once been. My eyes then blackened as I lifted off the ground into the infinite. Like a tadpole my new tendrils propelled me into freshly spinning, newborn worlds. Up ahead an object appeared to me as if to make me it’s prophet. As I slowed down, the scope of the divine object dawned on me. It was massive, the size of 10,000 Earths. The mammoth box appeared to me wearing strange dials and a colossal, radiating, chrome antenna attached to its side, truly the Musical instrument of the Gods! It spoke to me in strange oscillating tones unnatural to the human ear. My brain erupted into pleasures known only by the mystical peacekeepers or Gorgon IXXVIX. The world spinning faster and faster, was now irrelevant to my new state of being. In my attempt to understand my newly evolving predicament, I reached out with my mind to this Godly creature, “What are you?”. It responded immediately,
“Theremin.”
I was instantly transformed back to my previous state of being. Who was I? Where was I? What had happened to me? It all started to come back to me. I was Brian, I was at the Flux Amuck show, and I had seen the instrument of the gods. What followed was a spiritually, sporadic, sci-fi, space romp through sights and sounds unseen.
The Flux experience consists of erratic bassy grooves provided by founder Toby Wandel, driving the rhythm through unique time signatures, while guitarist Mark Rohrbaugh meedlies his way through quirky modal shreds, at speeds that would make Rings of Saturn Jealous! Geoffrey Marshall smashes the kit, providing heavy rhythms, and acting as our guide through the many worlds explored by the Flux. This brings cohesion to the chaos, which is not an easy feat here. Vocalist Sam Taulborg expertly manages to navigate the minefield of rhythms and harmonies, carving out a sonic niche for the vocal line. From his truly unique cleans, to his expert level screams, Taulborg’s Vocals bring in a more modern influence to the sound. That dude needs to give himself more credit. He’s got some chops!
Polishing up this crazy eclectic mix of sounds and souls, is the theremin master himself Jesse Otterson. Otterson brings the other-worldly, with unique instruments such as synthesizers, electric cello, electric banjo, electric kalimba (what is that even?), and the intergalactic wizardry of the Theremin, (that instrument providing the quirky sounds in most 1950’s sci-fi monster movies.)
With so much going on, Flux Amuck provides a gripping and provocative show capturing a variety of moods, eclectically jumping between them. Old school sci-fi and horror clips projected both onto the projector screen and the performers, spark the imagination adding even more weight lofty tones. This helps hold audience interest even during the slower, more somber sections of their music. Performances by band members are entertaining without sacrificing musicianship. Not a note was missed at least as far as I could tell, and each instrument rang out in their individual frequencies never imposing upon each other’s turf. This all resulted in a crisp clear sound that remained consistent throughout.
While there were many great moments in the show, a few highlights stand out to me. During their performance of the song Debris, Flux Amuck brought in guest vocalist Kate Prokop, of Wandel’s other band Through the Stone, to provide chilling dual harmonies with Taulborg, sending goose-pimples throughout my body. One of my favorite things during the show was watching Otterson manage his multitude of instruments on stage, sometimes even playing multiple instruments at once. It was especially fun watching him play the theremin with his cello bow and headstock! During my absolute favorite moment of the show, the band was accompanied by clips from Kubric’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, prompting some spectacular shots provided our master camera guy Brandon Longwell. It was a truly mystical experience that I will remember for years to come.
At the end of the show we met up with the entire band in the super comfy green room, for an awesome interview. Find out how Flux Amuck manages their plethora of sounds in the link to the interview below, amd a review of their brand new album Alternate by our amazingly talented resident co-founder Jeremy Johnson also linked below. Special thanks to Everyone at this show for providing an amazing experience, and thanks to the lovelies who were kind enough to speak to us, after the show. You are all amazing individuals who deserve your time in the spotlight. We loves you!
Interview link
Album Review link
You can Purchase Alternate at
Amazon and itunes
And stream it on Spotify
Check out the music video for their song, Sci Fi Western, shot by Glow in the Dark's Aaron Gum.