CMW: Red Mass present Kilrush Drive @ Monarch Tavern, May 10

After a number of unsettling singles and EPs, Montreal's Red Mass have just knocked out a menacing new album, Kilrush Drive. 

With Kilrush Drive, Montreal's Red Mass, led by Roy Vucino and partner Hannah Lewis, has refined its post punk sound, incorporating pop hooks, surreal politics and unsettling noise tonalities over a bed of dark electro, punk and hip hop beats. Kilrush Drive was recorded by Mingo L'indien (Les Georges Leningrad, Ellemetue) and mixed by Sebastien Perry. There are 9 new tracks along with 2 songs the band chose to rework at Breakglass Studios with Dave Smith and Jace Lasek (Besnard Lakes). Producer/musician Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop & Herbie Hancock) also contributed to a song. Check out the Kilrush Drive trailer followed by the album's lead track "God's House." Kilrush Drive is out now on Bobby Hussy's Wisconsin-based No Coast Records available right here.

Red Mass are playing a CMW Showcase at Toronto's Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton) on Friday (May 10) at 12 midnight with Pink Acid Wash (10 pm), Brenda (11 pm) and World News (1 am). For more info, check the FB event posting over here.




Red Mass is a gathering of artists, musicians and agent provocateurs from around the globe, created by Roy Vucino as part of the 'Free Creative Enterprise' TA DA arts collective. Its goal is to create punk music and art, in various mediums while incorporating ideals of automatic creation, chaos magic and liberation through art. To do so, the Mass forgoes any allegiance to a specific scene, genre or sound.

This method of working outside of the classic band format allows the Mass to work with as many international collaborators as it likes regardless of their skills, experience, style or background. This has lead us to work with our idols, our families, our friends or just strangers who wanna create something subversive. The means are the end in order to create freely, nothing is sacred in the sweet blasphemy of art.

Roy Vucino aka Choyce is a founding member of seminal Montreal garage punk bands Les Sexareenos, PYPY and CPC Gangbangs. He has played guitar/noise on many of Mark Sultan’s (BBQ) albums and co-wrote the music for the Canadian headbanger cult movies/tv show FUBAR, wetting his feet in acting for the latter.

Over the last few years Vucino has concentrated on collaborating with a wide array of musicians (Mike Watt, King Khan, Evan Dando, members of the Hot Snakes, the Black Lips and Godspeedyoublackemperor, to name a few) under the moniker Red Mass. During this period the project has released countless singles, tapes and EPs but had held off on releasing its first full length album until now.

Red Mass on tour
May 10 - Toronto, ON @ CMW – Monarch Tavern w/ Brenda, Pink Acid Wash and World News 
May 11 - Ottawa, ON @ The Dominion Tavern
May 25 - Brooklyn, NY - Gold Sounds (Improvisational set w/ local noise musicians)
June 29 - Brooklyn, NY @ Gold Sounds (TA DA performance w/ projections & guest performance artists)

Mark Sultan releasing live LP for Record Store Day

It wasn't that long ago that Mark "BBQ" Sultan recorded two albums worth of unusual covers backed by his pals Choyce from Red Mass, Jared and Cole fom the Black Lips, Erin from the Spits and others which In The Red issued last October as the 14-track Whatever I Want LP and the 12-track Whenever I Want LP. And our man still had material left over for a couple of singles.

Now just a few months on, Sultan is announcing a vinyl release of his live album The War On Rock 'n' Roll to coincide with the Record Store Day cash-in on April 21. Although Sultan has made The War On Rock 'n' Roll available on his site as a free digital download since October, this new limited-run vinyl version boasts artwork by Gary Panter who created the amazing LA punk scene handbills for the Screamers and the Germs. Like many RSD-related releases it's a slight repackaging of something you may already own.  

"In The Red Records has decided to release this recording on vinyl to celebrate Record Store Day and I am thrilled," says Sultan. "While you listen to this recording, keep in mind that it is one take, live, and that the sides of the LP split the recording, obviously due to vinyl's time limitations upon pressing.

"At the time of this recording, yes, I was hellbent on converting my live sound to what you hear on this LP. It had been my first and only attempt at this sound, and while I am myself curious how I pulled it off in that one take, and while I really enjoy how it sounds, I never tried doing it again. Maybe I will for some of these upcoming shows."

Tour Dates

March 30th: Cornwall, ON - La Maison
April 5th: London, ON - Call The Office
April 6th: Toronto, ON - Parts And Labour
April 24th: Tallahassee, FL - Waterworks
April 25th: St. Augustine, FL - Cafe 11
April 27th: Miami, FL - Vagabond
April 28th: San Juan, PR - Abracadabra
May 2nd: Orlando, FL - Will's Pub
May 3rd: Long Beach, CA - Alex's Bar
May 4th: Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space
May 5th: San Francisco, CA - The Hemlock
May 7th: Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
May 10th: Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory
May 11th: New Haven, CT - Cafe 9
May 12th: Boston, MA - PA's Lounge
May 23rd: Detroit, MI - PJ's Lager House
May 24th: Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
May 25th: Milwaukee, WI - Cactus Club
May 26th: Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
May 28th: Omaha, NE - The Slowdown
May 29th: Oklahoma City, OK - Blue Note
May 31st: Dallas, TX - City Tavern
June 1st: Austin, TX - Scoot-Inn (Chaos in Tejas)
June 2nd: Houston, TX - Continental Club
June 4th: Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
June 5th: Nashville, TN - Zombie Shop
June 7th: Cincinnati, OH - Motr
June 8th: Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
June 9th: Cleveland, OH - Beachland
June 15th: Montreal, QC - Sala Rossa
July 6th: Moncton, NB - The Manhattan
July 7th: Halifax, NS - The Seahorse