Gates Of Berlin, Variac, Ocha La Rocha
Vinyl
February 25th 2006
by Iain

I was on my way to Compound on Saturday night for the 99X Sinners Ball when I popped into Vinyl for a quick pint of Stella. The next thing I know, it's 2:30am and I'm at the bar upstairs at The Loft watching the Miss Hot Asian Atlanta contest. Weird.

Somewhere in the middle however I managed to catch 3 of Atlanta's better bands: Gates Of Berlin , Variac and Ocha La Rocha

I hadn't seen Ocha La Rocha before and I don't know why. Probably because I can't spell their name correctly. They were really good. They're one of those bands that doesn't have to do much on stage - they just look good. All those wanky A&R guys that tell you you've got to jump around, only do so if the band doesn't look like they're a band. Their set showed they had an arsenal of good songs. I got a copy of a CD " Ocha Lives " and while nursing my hangover this morning, remembered that the band I saw last night was on to something. See for yourself - check out the song " Occam's Razor " on their myspace page.

Variac's a good band too. They must be, they were one of our featured bands one day when we remembered to update that feature. Apparently Ocha's singer auditioned for Variac before they found JT. Their new songs are even more memorable than their first releases, and JT's getting better with every show. "Wasted Ones" is a great song. I still think Tommy should wear a shirt on stage.... but now I sound like Simon Cowell. (and I don't like that Gideon bloke's smile either)

Gates of Berlin closed out the night - I don't know if there's any link between them and any of the other bands, but who cares? I still think "Dont Mean Nothin" sounds like a Scissor Sisters song, but I think that's a big compliment. Gates Of Berlin write great pop songs. I think if they released Mercurius in England and did a small tour there, they'd gain that coveted NME buzz and get national attention over here.

Gates of Berlin play the 10 High on March 24th
Variac play The EARL on March 12th
Ocha La Rocha play The EARL on April 5th

www.gatesofberlin.com
www.myspace.com/variac
www.myspace.com/ochalarocha