VOLCANO MUSIC >>>

It's true. The kicker to this week's Volcano (which hit streets today) is the dual Q&A interviews with comedians Margaret Cho and Joan Rivers. Honestly, it's not every day you get a chance to chat it up with TWO comedy icons. And it makes for a pretty spectacular paper this week.

But, as always, music is still a huge part of this week's Volcano package (cue sophomoric snickering). When it comes to covering local music in the South Sound, no one does it better or with more authority than the Weekly Volcano - and this week is no different.

Here's a look at the musical goodness waiting for you in print & online ...

FEATURE: DEATH BY STARS

The string of words that make up the name Death By Stars sounds at once full of portent and utterly frivolous. This dichotomy seems to seep into and help define the band's music as well. Combining the biggest, most direct qualities of punk, electronica and psych-rock, the band has cooked up a cutting, immediately hooky sound. There's an invigorating quality to Death By Stars that seems to transcend their basic formula of spacey, psychedelia-informed vocals encased in programmed beats, exploding into life-sized dance-punk refrains. In a live setting, Death By Stars veers into performance art territory, with light shows and costumes. It's a delirious soup - all surface, really. But what a surface it is. ... -- Rev. Adam McKinney

DAMAGE REPORT: AMERICAN WRECKING CO. & MORE ...

American Wrecking Company has a brand new EP out called Force (x) Mass (=) Acceleration, and jeez does it rip! Masterful production from the fine folks at Pacific Studios makes this local CD really stand out. When I heard the first track, "Collapsed," the song was so fast and brutal I thought the CD was skipping. Nope! The band was just getting the shredding thrash going with new vocalist T.J. (Ex-De-KreP-iT), who really surprised me. I can actually understand what he's saying! And boy is he pissed! "New Birth" is a great breakup song - the polar opposite of sappy. "Start a War," "Vicious" and "Invaded" continue the assault, reminding me a bit of the debut Slipknot CD, without the crappy rap-rock elements and double the rage and fury. Pick up this CD and find out for yourself. ... -- Jason McKibbin

HIP-HOP: CLEMM RISHAD & MORE ...

Could the biggest MC from Tacoma be someone ya never heard about? I think it could, and his name is Clemm Rishad.

Rishad has been the Boy Wonder of Tacoma rap ever since his days at Foss High School, circa the early-to-mid 2000's. He's been respected by other MCs in the local scene for at least that long. While he never really did enough local shows to get noticed by the populace, he was so good that he did get noticed by Universal. The label signed Rishad to a deal and he's been ghostwriting verses for literally the top rappers on the national level for a couple years now.

In a sense, Rishad skipped the local scene and kind of went straight to the top.

Rishad just dropped a slick-looking video for the song "Back to the Paper." The video highlights Rishad's rise, showing him pushing CDs locally all the way to walking into the Universal Building signifying his deal. ... -- Josh Rizeberg

WE RECOMMEND: PETER WOLF CRIER

There's a marshal beat that overtakes Peter Wolf Crier, filling the insides and edges of the band's songs with a stuttering, clanging rhythm. These are break beats that fizzle and surge beneath the kind of tuneful indie rock that has come to be expected from the Jagjaguwar label. The juxtaposition presented with Peter Wolf Crier can be, at times, frustrating, and still otherwise compelling. ... -- Rev. Adam McKinney

PLUS: Better Living Through Music - CFA, Night of the Living Tribute Bands ...

PLUS: Concert Alert

PLUS: Live Local Music Calendar

PLUS: Crazy Stuff