ROCK QUOTES “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.” As Reznor's album 'The Slip' was released for free on NIN.com. (05-06-08) "That's My Pig..." As a Giant Inflatable Pig got away during a Roger Waters concert at the Coachella Music festival. (04-30-08) "Everyone has made Axl out to be this crazy person...But having been in a band with these guys for five and a half years, I'm not so sure that it was all Axl's fault." Scott Weiland has some insight into the demise of Guns n' Roses. (04-20-08) For most this Dirt Jake Replicas CD is a fresh disc, right off the press from a band treading the waters of the Pacific Northwest. I am not new to Dirt Jake Replicas. I have listened to their garage recordings and have been a visitor to their website on occasion. I have a history with the male gendered singer, Dakota, and I even cross promote DJR here on Rock Alaska Records. Here is my review of this self-titled disc. My Dirt Jake Replicas CD came in the mail easily enough. After an email from Joshua telling me to expect the disc, the plain brown packaging finally arrives, scribbled with a felt pen. I rip it open, I read through the liner notes. Ahh yes, recorded at Hype Schwartz studios. Hype Schwartz studios, brought to us by Brin Addison, the South African born Seattle resident with a state of the art studio in his basement…yes of course. Brin has been a subject of many conversations in my circles since Billy K turned me onto the Caverage CD released a handful of years back. Brin has recorded such names as the Smashing Pumpkins and The Dave Mathews Band. Before even listening to the recording, I know that the recording itself will be very professionally done, as Brin's reputation precedes him. Dirt Jake Replicas' songs are long, 8-10 minutes in length and overflowing with darkness and emotion. The band Tool has been the most widely used metaphor for this band. I can see that, yes the similarities are there, but I found the differences much more interesting. Rythmically, the drummer Julius plays beats a lot like Danny Carey's mellower stuff. Many technical pauses and tom work. Josh and Adam's work on the strings are very Tool like as well, yet the DJR guitar sound lacks the teeth grinding distortion that Tool is known for, and many songs have keyboard parts. The guitar is mostly played clean, and often times is not separately distinguishable from Adam's basslines. The most apparent aspect that strays DJR from the Tool mold is the vocals. Dirt Jake Replicas have a male and female singer. Dakota and Ashley weave in and out of sustained notes and compliment each other in a very unique way. I wouldn't consider either of them as the "backup" vocalist. Dakota punches out growls as well as whisper-like vocals, but Ashley is a different story. In other articles I have read, Ashley has been compared to Amy Lee of Evanescence, but I would have to disagree. I think her voice is more akin to Bjork, and has a tendency to sustain a strange companionship with her male counterpart. The combination is eerie and feels off set somehow, but in a good way. It's a tough thing to get your head around...."Bjork sings along with a mellower Tool?"...but after a few listens you realize the spectacle before you. It's fantastically original, and really makes you think about what's going on within the band itself. The tone of the album is dark, and the music has a "made for musicians" aspect to it. It is quite an accomplishment for one weeks work in a professional studio. My hat is off to DJR and Brin for punching this CD out and filling my ears with the underground sounds of Portland. If I could change one thing about this album it would be to make it more diverse. The tracks seem to all have a similar rythmic pattern and the same tone. I have a tough time distinguishing one song from the next. Yet as I drive around with the disc in my car's CD player I find more and more things about it that I like. I know it will be playing in my car for a while. Dirt Jake Replicas can be found on the web at www.dirtjakereplicas.com. Alex Romero Co-Founder of Rock Alaska Records RAR NEWS Brown Haven was featured on the statewide AK radio program on February 17th 2008. Visit out Radio section of this site or just CLICK HERE to download our available MP3 here on Rock Alaska Records. (02/17/07) Brown Haven have released four tracks on our MP3 page. Download them and give a listen to the whole mp3 and share them with friends. Click HERE to download four available MP3's here on Rock Alaska Records. (10/30/07) Dirt Jake Replicas' self-titled CD has been released. Recorded at Seattle's Hype Schwartz studio, this endeavor is the talk of the town. Click HERE to download four available MP3's here on Rock Alaska Records. Click HERE to get the RAR CD Review. (10/05/07)

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