Get Sauced... With The Binz! (and What's Wrong Tohei?)

The last time I saw the Rebel Spell play - I believe the second to last time they played Vancouver, in fact, just slightly more than a year ago -  was at the Last Run record release; for me, the standout among the various opening bands was the Binz. They had the energy of hardcore punk, but without the obviousness of punk's song structure. I'm all for a good, obvious song structure, actually - I like the idea of punk as a noisy form of folk music, with rousing, anthemic choruses and tunes you can practically whistle along with (and here I pause to whistle a few bars of "Sonic Reducer" to myself to make my point), but I can appreciate when a punk band - Gang of Four, Fugazi, the Ex, you name it - goes somewhere different, produces something more artful, a little less easily gobbled, a little more thoughtful and musically ambitious and challenging than that. I mean, if everyone sounded like the Dead Boys, it would get boring fast (and Billy Hopeless wouldn't be half as cool as he is). Combining artfulness with volume and speed and a fast and furious live show, mind you, is a nice trick.

So I really like the Binz, and I love the gimmick/ press release for their new EP, debuting live at Pat's Pub on October 2nd ( Friday night). I like a good hot sauce, too, so I might just try to make it to this after Green Room at the Rio.

Openers What's Wrong Tohei? also sound like they're a pretty fantastic band, too, by the by, in that more-artful-than-your-average-punk-band kinda way. Mmmaybe if I promise my girlfriend to not try to play her any more zombie movies ever, I can use that as a tradeoff to drag her along with me...?

Press release follows, verbatim:

The Binz release new EP as a bottle of hot sauce

Vancouver punk band proves that food is the music format of the future

VANCOUVER – It’s 2015 and the digital music revolution has shaken the music industry to its core, relegating CDs to the dustbin of obsolete technology.

So what is an independent punk band supposed to do if they want to release a physical album?

They get creative, of course!

That’s why Vancouver garage rockers The Binz have decided to release their latest six-song EP not as a CD, or a record, or a cassette, but instead as a bottle of hot sauce.

Yes, you read that correctly: A bottle of hot sauce!

With the help of the hot sauce making experts at Jung and Walker (who are famous for their Mango Fire and Colonel Mustard products), Get Sauced With… The Binz will feature a spicy treat along with a download code for six new tracks.

“No one listens to CDs anymore,” explains Binz ringleader Gary Robertz. “All anyone wants is the digital files so they can listen to them on their iTunes. We could have spray painted the download codes on a brick, but we felt a bottle of hot sauce might sell better.”

This will be the band’s third release, after 2013’s self-titled EP and their 2014 full-length album, How To Freak Out Responsibly About The Rise of the Robots. The songs on Get Sauced With… The Binz were recorded with Jordan Koop (The Courtneys, Needles//Pins, War Baby) at his studio on Gabriola Island, The Noise Floor (TheNoiseFloor.ca).

Get Sauced With… The Binz will be officially released Oct. 2, 2015, and the band is celebrating with a release party at Pat’s Pub (403 East Hastings St., Vancouver) with friends What’s Wrong Tohei? and Spring Breaks. There will hot saucy wings on special, giving music fans an opportunity to sample the tunes and the sauce before purchasing.

The Binz will also be playing shows across BC and Alberta in support of the album in the coming months. (End press release, maybe see y'all Saturday).