SHOW REVIEWS AND OTHER RANTING
"Just look at the name, Libertine. It means to liberate yourself from culture and society. To make yourself strong, educate yourself, don't believe everything you hear in the media. It's a duty to be aware of what goes on around you as a human being." - Belvy
"Basically, we write anthems for the end of the century-alienated-disaffected-modern-world-underdog. Or cat," say the carefully coiffed ones.
Liberty for All
Belvy K's liberal-minded, post-punk quintet Libertine has been added to the bill at WKRL-FM (100.9)'s K-Rock-A-Thon, Sunday, July 12, at Vernon Downs Raceway. "We're the only unsigned band ever to play the K-Rock-A-Thon," Belvy boasted. The quintet opens the 11-band bill at the ungodly hour of 11:45 a.m.
Libertine recently showcased at Toronto's North by Northeast Music and Media Conference and footage from the band's set at the Shanghai club aired on Canada's Much Music TV network.
Starting July 29 at Buffalo's LaSalle Park, Libertine hits the road with the Warped Tour, the two-stage extravaganza headlined by acts such as Rancid and Bad Religion. The Syracuse-based rockers will Warp out throughout July, including appearances at major venues in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Our nation's capital may never be the same after Belvy and his punk posse do the town.
--Russ Tarby
A & R PICK
CMJ
LIBERTINE
Rise Above (Kado)
Libertine's vocalist Belvy K. earned his street cred by pulling stints in UK Subs, 7 Seconds and D Generation. Now as leader of this Syracuse, New York, outfit, Belvy and his comrades are poised to drive their spirit of '77-style punk into the heads and hearts of safety-pinned guttersnipes across the country. Rise Above, the quintent's debut EP, recaptures the energy and rhythms of punk rock's glory days without sounding overly, or more importantly, foolishly, reverential. The band delivers some top-notch songs of dissatisfaction and alienation here, and damn it all if they don't inspire the listener to pogo around like a bunny in electroshock therapy. - Kelso Jacks
FOR FANS OF: Clash, Johnny Thunders, Rancid
RECOMMENDED TRACKS: "Treason", "Slowdown", "Summer of '89"
INTERVIEWS REVIEWS PIX MERCH LINKS
GOLDFINGER with LIBERTINE
Opening band LIBERTINE obviously was out to prove that Syracuse's punk ranks right up there with the national scene. Front man Belvy K, left nothing in reserve as he and his four-piece band whipped through seven raucous songs. They had fans up front crowd-surfing off the bat, and Belvy added to the humans-held-aloft factor with a stage dive or three. "Hey, security guards. These kids aren't hurting anybody. They're having fun," he said, standing up for the slam-banging up front. "I don't see anybody bleeding."
ATTACK OF THE 50 ft MAN
LIBERTINE at the Mind Bomb in St. Catharines, ON.
It's early in the morning. You've been walking around all night trying to find the beauty in life, balance the weight of the world on your shoulders, understand your role in the human machine, and figure out why you're suddenly single. You feel miserable. Yet, you find comfort in the fact that as soon as you get home, you can turn on the hi-fi, and listen to some records. Social Distortion, maybe the Clash. Mike Ness will understand. Joe Strummer will make you feel better. Or maybe Belvy K. may have a word or two to say. Front man for the five piece punk band LIBERTINE, Belvy strives for the highest, and only asks for commitment and dedication from the rest of the band. "You have to believe in yourself to please yourself," says Belvy, "and when you're on to something, you get a reaction. It's the highest compliment when some kid thanks us for the music being there when they needed it." After being in existence for only 8 months, the band is certainly getting some serious attention. Part of the reason could be attributed directly to Belvy's experience in sucj bands as 7 seconds, the UK Subs, D Generation and the Catatonics, but more importantly, Libertine writes good songs, and puts on a good show. "The best punk is killer rock and roll. Songs with substance," says Belvy. "The (New York) Dolls and Johnny Thunders had the visual. Brit Punk an Oi! had the musical." And Libertine has successfully fused both the visual and the musical into what defines them as a band, With songs that attemtp to make people aware of the evils of complacency and abuse, Libertine injects a dose of reality into an otherwise comatose society. "We want to reach the broadest audience, and not be underground," adds Belvy. At the rate Libertine is travelling, their success is guaranteed.
NORTH BY NORTHEAST REVIEW JUNE 1998
LIBERTINE at Club Shanghai, Toronto ON
Punk Rock was the order of the day at Club Shanghai on Friday. New York's Libertine was the big story of the night, as they brought their Ramones inspired swagger to an almost full house. Sneering and cool it's obvious why this band has been garnering such attention, they have all the necessary attitude with the songs to back it up.
K-Rockathon Festival Vernon Downs, NY
The 28,000 young people at Vernon Downs at the third annual K-Rockathon Sunday filled the racetrack infield with the varied looks of the times as surely as the 10 bands on stage filled the air with the don't-label-us sounds of this generation. Syracuse rockers LIBERTINE, a late addition to the fest, started off the long journey with a five-song set hard enough to chip your teeth on. With front man Belvy and guitarist Bobcat leading the way, Libertine took just a minute to get the crowd body surfing to "If Wishes were Horses." Belvy proudly announced that Libertine will be playing the Warped Tour, starting with a stop in Buffalo in two weeks, and the band's first disc is coming out July 25. The crowd thought this was cool as it bounced to "Dead on Arrival."
SYRACUSE NEW TIMES REVIEW OF "RISE ABOVE" NOVEMBER 11 1998
Claps of Thunder Two post-punk Syracuse bands unleash a hailstorm of power chords By Allen Czelusniak
Syracuse's early-1980s punk rock scene--which nurtured bands like Belvy K's Catatonics and Milton's Disciples--has spawned two of the city's most notable recording acts of the 1990s: straightedge heroes Earth Crisis and straight-ahead rockers Libertine.
Libertine Rumor has it that back when Libertine lead singer Belvy K played youth hockey in Syracuse, the youngster once hopped over the glass looking to drop the gloves with the crowd. Confronted with this rumor, he refused to confirm it, opting instead to inquire, "Hey, do you know my brother?" Followed by, "Who told you that?" After listening to the aggressive drive of Libertine's Rise Above (Kado), a six-song, thoroughly rocking disc, it's easy to believe that the little tough guy looked to mix it up with his opponents. The gravel-voiced chorus of "I Don't Belong Here," the gruff, staccato lyrics of "Treason" and barked refrain of "Slowdown" all reinforce the image of a rough, angry spirit releasing its angst through the medium of rock'n'roll.
A little too mean for most Top 40 radio formats, Libertine's rocking repertoire sounds more at home in a dingy basement bar or ragged roadhouse. Revving up early American rock and tweaking it with a punk attitude, the band plays no-bullshit rock'n'roll in an era dominated by urban assault r'n'b bands, hippie-jam wanderers and watered-down alternative poseurs.
If you really claim to enjoy the half-dead animal known as rock'n'roll or if you've ever spun a Social Distortion or Rancid record, Libertine definitely deserves a listen. The band recently took top honors in WAQX-FM 95X's "Kickstart Your Career" contest, winning the opportunity to open for Motley Crue at the Landmark Theatre on Nov. 6. Libertine also performed on several dates of both the 1997 and 1998 Warped Tour, and also opened the multi-band bill at last summer's K-Rockathon at Vernon Downs.
Sure, Libertine might sound a bit formulaic to jaded rockers and downright out-of-style to anyone who likes techno or ambient music. Fair observations, but neither changes the fact that this band rocks when most bands don't, can't or--even worse--have forgotten how. Belvy, guitarists Jamie Coville and Bobcat, bassist Pete Spielman and drummer Stephen Maicor combine to form one of the few bands from the Syracuse scene that, if they actually wrote an edgy enough tune, could land on the radio.
That airplay-worthy song won't come from Rise Above. The CD rocks but lacks the magic single. One thing's for certain: That single will not be "Summer of '89," a preachy, anti-smack takeoff on Bryan Adams' 1985 hit "Summer of '69," which taints an otherwise solid CD. Genuine-article rockers such as Iggy Pop, Social Distortion, the Rolling Stones, L7 and Nirvana managed to avoid covering Bryan Adams, and so should Libertine.
Other than that, Rise Above ranks as one of the year's best Syracuse rock releases. The band recorded it at a variety of local studios, including Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications and Kamikaze in Cortland. You can pick it up at Borders, Media Play, Oliver's, Sound Garden and any other store decent enough to stock local music.
September 18, 1998 Syracuse Newspaper
Libertine Makes a Name rocking the Warped Tour this summer
By Mark Bialczak
Good things keep happening for Syracuse rockers Libertine.
And some of the fortune is related to the bands’ half-dozen performances on this summer’s Warped Tour. Libertine played on the tour’s second stage in Buffalo, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City and Washington D.C.
“And we probably could have gone on to Florida, but our van wouldn’t have made the trip,” says singer Belvy K. “It’s dying.”
Such is the life of a band working hard to make a national name for itself. On the Warped Tour, Libertine had various time slots on the second stage. “We didn’t get the slots that were really early or really late. Those were the bad slots,” Belvy says. “And we didn’t’ have to go up against Rancid (on the main stage) even once. We usually had to go against the Deftones, and their music is different enough from ours that a lot of kids stayed with us.”
Belvy says band members from up-an-coming group, The Amazing Royal Crowns, treated Libertine’s crew the nicest, even allowing the Syracuse band to sell T-shirts, discs and the like in the Amazing Crowns’ merchandise tent.
“And a lot of the bands had heard about us already. I could see they were checking us out,” Belvy says.
The Warped Tour performance also caught the attention of a writer for the College Music Journal. The magazine thereafter made Libertine its “A&R Pick” in its next issue.
“The Warped thing shot us us to such a new level,” Belvy says. “It probably saved us five years in development. Everybody there was like, ‘Who’s your tour manager, Who’s your label rep?” When they found out we were on our own, they were floored.”
Libertine did, however, just release its debut disc, a six-song EP on the independent Kado label. And it also has a two-song “7-inch” out on vinyl, with the songs “Left for Dead” and “Treason”, out on the Alive Records label from California.
Nevertheless, Belvy bristles at any mention of the words “overnight sensation.”
Sure, things have happened quickly for him and his bandmates- Jamie Coville and Bobcat Catalano on guitars, bassist Pete Spielman and drummer Corey Koniz.
“But none of us have personal lives anymore. It’s a lot of sacrifice, a lot of dedication and an amazing amount of hard work,” Belvy says.
Koniz, the newest member of the band, has been a great addition. “He hits the drums so hard.” Belvy says of the teen-aged drummer who replaced Steffan Macior in June. “And he loves doing it. He reminds me of me when I was that young.”
In fact, when Belvy was that age, he was plying drums for a nationally successful punk-rock band, too, the outfit 7 Seconds.
Libertine opens for punkers the Misfits on Sept. 26 at the Showplace Theatre in Buffalo.
The band also travels to Boston for a show at Emerson College and to New York City for an Oct. 23 show with the Candysnatchers at the Continental Divide.