It's probably a cliche, but these are difficult times we live in between work, money problems brought on by work, family problem brought on by work, a frantic pace with no time for individuality or creativity brought on by work, and the ever-present wars/famine/disease (which I haven't found a way to blame on my day job, but give me time). For those of you who take solace in music, can I give my wholehearted recommendation to Active Live Infection as an excellent way to relieve the stress and anguish of an unappreciative, go-nowhere day job? Or is it just me that needs this kind of thing? As I stated in the interview, what drew me to these guys was that they seem to be the most unlikely group of people (two PhD biochemists, a PhD/MBA computer geek, and a young, virtuoso guitarist) ever to form a death metal band together. Honestly, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into when I drove out to the woods in the middle of small town Indiana to interview them -- vivisected corpses? ... animal sacrifice? ... mad scientists? ... genetic experiments gone haywire? -- I just knew there had to be story in there somewhere, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, they weren't terribly different from any of the other band's I've met over the years -- eager, energetic, ready to play, and extremely witty. Just with better day jobs. The music speaks for itself: Ozzy's thundering bass, Roadkill Will's lightning fast guitar licks, the thunder and lightning blast of Chris D.'s drum kit, and the guttural growl of Wild Bill's vocals (which truly need no microphone to cut over the other instruments). This is serious stuff, folks, but a fun, tension-relieving release at the same time. Links referenced in the show: Active Live Infection can be found here: MySpace | Garage Band | iLike. Wild Bill and Ozzy first met while attending Clarkson University and by day are peptide chemists at Midwest Biotech, where among other things, they work on analyzing nasty viruses for the Center for Disease Control ... that's rock and roll, folks. The remainder of the band hooked up via a posting on Bandmix.com. The current lineup played its first, memorable gig at the Long Branch Saloon in Morristown, Indiana. "Death is Near" is dedicated to Jason Voorhees. An image of the album cover they eluded to, which is based on a cad drawing of the Swine Flu virus, can be found here. The boys did, in fact, get to do the gig they mentioned with Blood and Soil, at Ro's Bar in Greenfield. Musicians: The next "Musician's Meet Up" will be held on Monday, July 27th, 7:00PM, at Shallo's across from Greenwood Park Mall. Details can be found here. Podcasters: Don't miss the Indianapolis Podcaster Guild meetup at 7:00 PM at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe in downtown Indy. There are only a few short days left to enter the Artbeat Online Songwriter Contest. Deadline is July 31.
