FREE LIVE MUSIC IN PHILADELPHIA THIS SUNDAY

UNEARTHED BIRDS OF MAYA TRACK: "Which Side Are You On?"

Sometime between midnight and last call, the conversation inevitably follows one of two paths. The first possible path includes the embellished recounting of previous drunken evenings. It'll likely be a tale of sloppy heroics performed in the wee hours and the telling will be punctuated with backslapping and slurred speech.

This is a nearly inexhaustible topic, an exercise as fertile with possibility as it is tiresome. Remember that drive home when the passenger-side door kept opening? -Yes. How about when I took a leak with all those Mummers? -Of course I remember that. Did I tell you about the time I smoked weed with Harley? -Oh yeah, let me hear it again. How about when we stumbled into a party full of BULLDOZE fans? -We'll never forget that.

The other, slightly more interesting path, is decidedly barren and the discussion quickly comes to an abrupt halt. Say, let's have another round and talk about Vol. II by BIRDS OF MAYA. -I'll bet that it kicks ass, but I've never heard it. Never heard it? -Nope, nobody's heard it. It's remained unheard since it was recorded all those years ago. Bummer, let's get out of here.

Starting tonight, this conversation suddenly has the ammunition to go a little longer. It may kill as much time as it takes to consume as many as two rounds of beers and a little glass of bourbon. The occasion? After sitting on a dusty shelf in a Kensington basement since its completion in 2006, Vol. II has been rediscovered and the guys are generous enough to share a track titled "Which Side Are You On?". Devoted fans will recognize a particularly wild passage from recent live performances, while careful listeners will note that the bedrock of BIRDS OF MAYA's meat & potatoes hard rock sound was apparent even at this early date. For, as many know, the BIRDS arrived fully formed. They haven't been developing a style, they've been bashing away like three possessed lunatics for the better part of a decade. In the years since making Vol. II, the only difference is that their instruments show the signs of endless beatings and occasional repairs.

****BIRDS OF MAYA will perform live with WATERY LOVE upstairs at KFN in Philadelphia on Sunday, November 11. Doors at 8, no cover, cheap beer, 21+****