Jason Meier,Synapsis Digital Magazine 6/13/99
On June 13^th, yet another installment of the Lazer's Live Local Music show (L

This was the first time I had the privilege of seeing young punk rockers, Effigy, and needless to say I know it will not be the last. The band's style is punk rock with a lot of pop undertones. They remind me quite a bit of bands like Blink 182, MXPX, The Desendents and Ten Foot Pole. The real scary thing about this band is that the average age in the band is eighteen years old. Which means if they continue to rock and can overcome some growing pains that can occur at that age, they have a serious chance at becoming a real force in the local scene.

The members of Effigy are Rusty - guitar and vocals; Dic - bass and back-up vocals; and Tony - drums. The band has been around for about a year-and-a-half, and in that time have shared the stage with bands such as AFI, Good Riddance, The Gadgits, Ultimate Fakebook, 8 Degrees, O'Phil, Ruskabank, Phat Albert and many others. The band has also recorded a very solid debut CD entitled We Gave It A Try. Produced by local music production guru Ed Rose, it is a strong first offering from the band.

Effigy's live performance puts their significant energy levels on display for the crowd that fuels their set. They also have considerably solid song-writing skills for such a young band. Set highlights for Effigy included the songs "Jiberish," "Hey K.W.S.," "Bored," and the clear favorite for the evening: "Chris F" - a tribute to the late, great commedian - Chris Farley.

The main thing for Effigy to try and improve on would be to branch out in the song-writting department a bit more. The current Effigy material is all quite good, but it all tends to follow the same pattern. And though they've got that pattern down pat, it will show true song-writing chops and definitely improve the set variety levels if Effigy can explore other patterns as well. They also need to write more songs, because toward the end of their 45-minute set, they were running out of songs to play.

This is definately a band to keep an eye on. Given their current level of talent and following, they look to have a bright future. Add another year or two of experience, and this is going to be one of the region's premier acts.

For more info on Effigy, visit their official website at http://www.syde-sho.com/effigy/.

The headliners of this L³M performance was a band that Synapsis readers have become very familiar with over the last year-and-a-half. The Ray-Guns formed in late 1996, and have played with a whole slew of great bands all over the midwest, including Skinnerbox NYC, The Toasters, MU330, The Aquabats, My Superhero, The Pilfers, The Gadgits, Nicotine, Mustrad Plug, the Skalers, Phat, Albert, Ruskabank, Ultimate Fakebook, Exit 159, Eight Degrees, O'Phil, and Danger Bob, to name a few.

The Ray-Guns were one of the very first bands that I reviewed for Synapsis, and while I do like the band, sadly it is the fact that not much has changed that bothers me most. In fact, if anything, things have begun to weaken. All that aside, the band still played a solid show with non-stop energy that had the impressive crowd dancing almost immediately. The best part of the set was the fact the band played a new song entitled "Kiss Of Death." Other set highlights included the songs "Veracosa;" Memorized Your Number;" "One Night Stand;" the Lazer favorite, "Better Off;" and the band's ode to the 80's, a cover of The Cars' classic "Just What I Needed." It is clear that The Ray-Guns greatest asset is their seemingly endless supply of energy and solid rhythm section.

Future plans for The Ray-Guns are to lay off the local shows for a while and do some song writing - then focus more on playing outside of the immediate area. In the mean time, California ska label, Tomatohead Records, has picked up The Ray-Guns, and will be releasing 1,000 more copies of the band's sold-out debut CD, Talentless Fools. So if you missed your chance to pick up a copy the first time around, here is your chance to pick it up. It comes highly recommended.

For more info on The Ray-Guns, visit their official website at www.rayguns.com.

This was a very fun show to attend. It gave me a great opportunity to catch up with The Ray-Guns, while also showcasing a great new talent in Effigy. I can't recommend enough that you get out to these L³M shows on Sunday evenings. They are early, free, feature inexpensive drink-specials and are on a night that typically leaves you bored. Well no longer. See you at the Granada next Sunday!

        Nick Spacek,Synapsis Digital Magazine
Finally, punk rock... I love punk, and We Gave It A Try is a wonderful addtion to the local punk scene. Put it next to your old Bubble Boys CD, Main Street Saints 7-inches, and Mortal Micronotz albums, kids. Yep, this is one album worth looking for.

Filled with loud guitars and drums, We Gave It A Try is a great effort from these Topeka high-schoolers. This is a very diverse album, at least in song subjects if not sound. “Going Postal” is incredibly un-PC, as it’s basically a song about taking a gun to school and blowing away all the people who’ve messed with you. In the wake of the Littleton shootings, it's even more taboo. Funny though, if you’re into sick and twisted humor (as I am). “Chris F.” is a tribute to the late, great Chris Farley. Amazingly, it’s a pretty touching song.

The album’s primary fault lies in the fact that while the album is fun and enjoyable, all the songs tend to run together. There’s not a whole lot of tempo changes - for the most part, the songs just start out loud and barrel through to the end. There are a few exceptions, like the nifty bass intro to “Ripoff”, which sounds really great, for instance.

The other knock I have against this album is “Hey K.W.S.” The song title, sans acronym, is “Hey Kids We Suck.” I’m just not that big of a fan of the whole self-deprecation thing. Just doesn’t work for me really. It stands to reason that if you went to the trouble of getting a CD out and have any following at all (which they do), then some people must think you’re pretty decent. Sarcasm is one thing... but I can blatently say that these kids don't suck.

Other than those two issues, We Gave It A Try is a very solid premier effort that promises great things in the future from this three-piece.

        Jason Meier,Synapsis Digital Magazine 1/29/00

The first band to play on this particular evening is a brand new ska/punk band entitled Moot Point. This would mark the first real gig the band had ever played and it showed. Simply put, this band is not ready to play out yet. The members of this band are very young and I can respect what they are wanting to do. But they simply need a lot more practice before doing so. The band started off their set with a medley of covers from other Topeka bands - songs like Effigy's "Chris F" and Brothers From Different Mothers' "Little C" - and it went downhill from there. The band had absolutely no energy or movement on stage and simply looked very bored and unhappy to be playing. The songs themselves were okay, but there was nothing that really stood-out about them either. I didn't go away from their set remembering any of the original tunes, and that's not a good sign of things to come. I have to question why they were even playing this show. There are several other up-and-coming Topeka bands that were not on the bill and would have done a lot better job than Moot Point did. I can respect the fact that Syde-Sho Productions wants to give a young band their shot, but this might have been a little too soon for Moot Point.

The next band of the evening was Effigy, whose punk-pop stylings gave the show a much needed kick in the pants. I have had the pleasure off seeing Effigy several different times and each time was good. On this night, however, the band was exceptional. They had the crowd going from the get-go and probably had the best crowd reaction of the night. The band started off their set with a great cover of the classic Police song, "King of Pain," and proceeded to play a very solid 45-minute set. The band played several newer tunes including "Passing Time," "Sunday," "All Been Done," and one of my favorites, "Stay." They also played older crowd favorites like "Jibberish", "Going Postal," "Bored," "Hey Kids We Suck" and probably the band's most well-known song, "Chris F."

What I like about Effigy is that the band's songs are catchy and you go away from the show with some of them stuck in your head - but they also have that great youthful, sloppy, almost garage-punk feel to them. There is a lot of room for growth and you can tell that it is beginning to happen when you hear the newer songs in comparison to the older ones. I also like the energy level of the band and you can tell they are having a good time, which in return makes the show more enjoyable for the crowd. Effigy got the first mosh pit of the evening started and had people joining them on stage half way through their set.

The third band of the evening was the other new band on the bill, and this too was one of the bands first gigs. The name of the band is The Original, and while I liked what they were trying to do, they still have a ways to go. The Original is a hip-hop group that is going for a very laid-back vibe, and somewhat reminded me of a sound like the Roots. Something one would kick back and relax with a smoke to. I paticulary liked the band's second song, "The Butt of Everyone's Joke," because it did a good job of showcasing the band's DJ and MC skills over a nice, laid-back funk groove. But after this song, their set started to go downhill fast.

After about ten minutes, the band's inexperience really started to show. They started to take way too long between songs - the worst being when the guitarist had to tune and it took almost five minutes to do so. Some of the best advice I could give to any band - and especially this band - would be to buy an in-line tuner. The crowd didn't pay their hard-earned money to hear you tune your instruments out loud through your amp. And it would also make tuning much less time-consuming. Nothing can kill a band's momentum and a crowds interest like extensive breaks between songs. This was the case with The Original's set, as they quickly lost the momentum they had achieved in the opening moments of their set, and I quickly found myself wishing it to end, as the band struggled through the rest of their set. This is unfortunate, because the band was really making the effort, but when you kill your momentum as bad as they did, it's pretty much impossible to recover.

The next band was defiantly a step up. The last time I had seen the Trip Hop Children was at one of their very first gigs about four months prior. Since that time, the band has undergone a couple of line-up changes and has added a couple of members for a grand total of nine. The Trip Hop Children are a rapcore group that has been together for a short time, but has come a long way. They've made clear improvements each time I've seen them, and this show was no exception.

What makes this band a little bit different from the other regional rapcore acts is that they have probably the best DJ in the area, and that they they have two drummers (one drumset player and one playing toms and percussion). Their sound is a mix of Slipknot and Korn with a little bit of Deftones tossed in for good measure.

What I dig about the Trip Hop Children is that their sound is a nice change from the other rapcore bands in the area. My main concern, however, is in their percussion department. Former Phat Albert drummer, Erik Kessingger, can be found on the set, with man known only as Dr. Wiggles providing color (in more ways than one) with his duties as percussionist. Now it must be pointed out that Dr. Wiggles did have his arm in a cast and had broken it a couple of weeks prior to the show - so he was somewhat limited in what he was able to play. However, I must also report that he wasn't really meeting his job description. The roll of a percussionist is to add color and effect to what is going on and to compliment the drumset. This was not taking place at all, as Dr. Wiggles spent most of the time mimicking the beat from the drumset, rather than enhancing it. Their are definite moments in the band's songs where he could be doing some very cool things, but didn't do much at all. This is truly unfortunate as it would add a lot to the band's sound. I also think that the interplay between the groups two MCs could be a little better. At times it was little muffled and it was a little hard to understand what they were saying.

The band did a great job at getting the crowd moving and they have improved significantly since the first time I saw them. If they improve this much everytime I see them, then good things are on the horizon for the band.

Future plans for the Trip Hop Children are to put the finishing touches on their debut full-length CD and to break in their brand new second guitarist (they played this gig with just one). They also plan to play out as much as possible in the next few months.

The last band of the evening was the Subterranean Misfits. This band is also a rapcore band, but they are a little bit more metal and a little less rap than the previous band. I have seen this band a couple of times previous and was interested to see what they where going to be like tonight. And true to form, as with the previous two shows, the band would feature a new drummer, as they seem to be unable to keep drummers for any length of time.

The band was tight and sounded like they had been practicing a lot, but I simply could not get into what they where doing. The best part of the set was when bass player, Nick Wentland, played a nice five minute bass solo in the middle of the bands set. This was cool and a nice change of pace from the rest of the show. The main thing that I could not figure out was the band's new keyboard player. I hadn't seen him before and to be real honest I wouldn't of known he was even there. He played two notes during their whole set and they were tuning notes for the guitar player. Frankly, he looked pretty funny standing up there doing absolutely nothing - so hopefully that will change in the future. The band did a good job at getting the crowd moving as they had probably the most energy of any band playing this show. It defiantly rubbed off on the crowd as they moshed pretty fierce for most of the band's set.

Future plans for the Subterranean Misfits are to start looking for a new bass player because Nick Wentland has returned to Iowa to join a new band (his old band) that recently signed with Road Runner Records. After the band finds a new bass player they will start to play out as much as possible again.

This was a fun show to go to. It was a chance to see what was up in the Topeka scene and to see some new and different bands. While the show had a pretty rough start, it became rather good once it got going.

I should mention that the security crew for this show were definately some tough men, as one of them ate an elbow and had his lip busted open. He went to the emergency room and received a bunch of stitches, only to come back for more. Definately a trooper. The crowd was solid for the show as they drew between 300 and 400 kids. Shows like this have always done well in Topeka, and it is good to see that Syde-Sho is filling the all-ages void and taking advantage of the strong market. The next show of this type is set for sometime in late May and it too will be at the National Guard Armory. Hopefully, the line-up will be a little more solid the next time. Regardless, Synapsis will be there to cover it and bring you all the details.