One of the biggest perks of my gig at the Weekly Volcano is free new music. Cooler than the countless times Pappi Swarner has paid for me to get drunk, or the one female stalker I’ve earned in my five years at the paper, or even the time someone recognized my name when I was renting Margot at the Wedding at Stadium Video (awkward), the complimentary new releases I receive from labels and bands on a daily basis is definitely the best benefit of covering music for the Weekly Volcano.



Well, that and the drugs.



This week I was expecting a very exciting package. In preparation for the Old Haunts CD release this weekend in Olympia, the band’s third Kill Rock Stars full length, Poisonous Times, was supposed to be sent to me via standard mail.



Since the band is playing a house party in Oly Friday, April 11 with Portland’s New Bloods and the young Olympia band Gun Outfit, I figured I’d turn this week’s Rock Rhetoric into an album review and interview with Craig Extine, the leader of the Old Haunts. I haven’t reviewed a CD in some time, so I wanted to see if I still had it in me, while respecting the privacy of an Oly house party/record release.



(The Oly house party is a phenomenon I’ve dealt with a number of times with bands from Olympia, and I have yet to develop a perfect way of handling it. Is it proper for a paper to publicize a house party? Give out an address for anyone to jot down? The idea never sits right with me, and so I’ve tried to avoid it.)



So the CD review planned was hatched, and I figured everything was cool. I’d simply wait for Poisonous Times to show up, craft a few witty paragraphs about the way the Old Haunts have once again come to bat with a juiced-up arsenal of angsty but never demoralized garage punk, pounded out in a way that would make Dead Moon proud. I expected to write a couple of decent sentences about guitarist and singer Craig Extine’s howls, and how his hair-raising vocals have the sonic ferocity of a thousand sleep deprived mountain lions — or something reviewy like that. I expected to get a lot of mileage out of bassist Scott Seckington’s always interesting rhythm work and even more out of Tobi Vail’s (Bikini Kill) new seat behind the drums for the band — an addition that, at least in my humble opinion, has taken the Old Haunts into a whole new ballpark.

Probably.



But, as you may have guessed by now, Poisonous Times has yet to show up. If the band’s previous work, 2005’s Fallow Field, and’06’s Fuel on Fire, is any indication, the disc will be good — real good. It’ll probably sound a lot like everything I had planned to write, but maybe not. The only thing I know for certain is I was looking forward to it.



The good news for you is by the time this issue of the Weekly Volcano hits the street, Poisonous Times will be available at your local record store (if your local record store is worth a shit). The CD will be available for your consumption, and you’ll be able to make your own decision about the new Old Haunts album.



The bad news is I have no CD to review, but at least I still got a chance to speak with Extine.



“We’re really happy with how (Poisonous Times) turned out. The production came out awesome, and we’re proud of the songs. The most blatant difference someone might notice right away is that there’s a few quieter songs mixed in,” says Extine.



“Tobi Vail joined the band on drums a year ago. It’s a different group of people playing, so there’s a different sense of communication between the instruments going on. I think in addition to her being an amazing drummer, the three of us had an opportunity to change up the band a little and refine our style.”



“The New Bloods have an album coming out on Kill Rock Stars the same day as ours does. They’re our friends from Portland, and we’ve played with them a bunch. We’re playing at a release party with them in Portland the following weekend. Gun Outfit is a new band from Olympia that’s really awesome. They’re nice people too. The show should be a fun evening with good friends, good music and good times. It’s also a birthday party for Michelle Noel and Isaac Overcast.”



It’s also a house party, which means you’re not going to get any more details about it in the Weekly Volcano. Sorry. Hopefully you know someone, or know someone who knows someone, because with the New Bloods and Old Haunts on the same bill it almost has to be a memorable evening.



You go jump on their MySpace page and check out their national tour, which includes a couple of stops in Seattle.



If nothing else, go lay down a few bucks for Poisonous Times. You’ve spent money on worse.



I assume. I’ll let you know for sure when the package shows up.



Come clean via e-mail.