I’m a coach as well, just of U10 soccer players. They
can get pretty rowdy I guess, but they listen pretty good. They learn, they get
better. They play fair. Isn’t that all that matters in the end?
Coach (Ethan) Campa is a different kind of coach
altogether. I’m not sure he has a patient approach, or even one that
appreciates the learning process. It’s “Get it right or get out!” with that
guy. He also plays drums, so he’s constantly hitting something, which isn’t
something you can do with U10 soccer players. They frown upon that. But Coach
Campa is still a leader, somebody who has to wrangle his “team” for a singular
vision. And that singular vision is blistering noise-rock-core-punk, four
descriptions of music that I smooshed together with bubble gum and hyphens.
They’re kind of lazy, but so what. I do understand that I would be kicked out
of Coach Campa’s program with that attitude, but here we are.
Coach Campa’s team consists of other members of his
band, and we get bass, guitar, ukulele (!), and trumpet along with Campa’s
battering of the kit. If You’ve Got the
Hammer is a heavy ride through a barrage of mathematically precise
instrumentation, speakers blown out by heavy distortion, octopus drumming
threatening to bring the whole scaffolding down upon everyone’s heads. But enough
wild instrumentation peeks through the rhythmic onslaught to anchor the
freeform freakout of Campa’s virtuosity. Hey, it’s Campa’s band – Campa can do
whatever he wants. And his ship is the tightest-run ship you can imagine. Just
like my soccer team!
https://coachcampa.bandcamp.com/
https://alreadydeadtapes.bandcamp.com/
--Ryan