GoDIYRecords "New York," "Plains," "East Coast," "East Coast II,""PA, NJ & MD," "Ohio & PA," West Coast," "West II"

(GoDIYRecords) OK, just to get this out of the way, this is clearly some kind of hustle where the label charges bands to be on cheapo compilation CDs. That said, considering no one really knows what the hell the "music industry" is about in the digital apocalypse era I'm not going to put anyone down for throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. I'm sure the label promised to get reviews, so they ain't gonna get called liars on my watch. Which is hard labor on my part, because many of the bands are uneasy on the ears, though each disc (grouped by states or regions) has at least one or two interesting acts. One of the disappointing aspects of this listening endeavor is that it's hard to find any regional trends on these, because the bands that go in for this kinda deal are inclined to be mediocre MOR acts with commercial aspirations, so they are bands that just aren't distinctive enough to be trend barometers. There are some exceptions. The "Plains" edition makes me think that region trends towards bad band naming instincts. The brutal-est band is called Suit? Could the pop band Debut have come up with anything less descriptive? And shouldn't He Who Dredz be reggae, not boogie rock? (Best act on that disc is probably Mayda, with its kinda Gwen Stefani vibe). On "PA, NJ, & MD" I dig Fools and Horses, who have some whimsy and bounce working for them. Not surprisingly the rustbelt rock of the "Ohio and PA" disc yields some of the better acts (The Dream Intended with their glorious excess, the honkytonk bar rockers North of Mason Dixon, and the, I assume, reformed Metallica cover band Dangerus Inc). On "New York" the tweak-core jitter music of Feeble is pretty awesome. On "East Coast" the quirky Seepeoples are tops, and on "East Coast II" the standout (by default) is Naree because the Seinfeld bass popping is amusing. On "California I"and "California II"the best bands are the need-a-lozenge rockers Lonely Kings and the novelty ska (is there any other kind?) jokers of the Fabulous Rudies. Not to be confused with the Cli discs "West Coast" and West II" actually have some impressive rockers on them, including Whiskey Avengers, Monster Island and The Lowclass. But the best of the bunch (for name and ridiculous song" is Pimpbot! My suggestion for the best bands here is to consider going even DIY-er next time, and for the rest of the bands to take note of just how many bands are out here (on these CDs alone). Is being in a band the best use of your time? But if your muse is telling you so, then of course it is!