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The Wyrm Turns: With 'Bait,' grinding alt-rockers Wyrm deliver a hard-driving collection. Hook, Line and Sinker Wyrm on 'Bait' turns out gut-rending rock short on Limp Bizkit jams and long on dementia By Matt Koumaras SWEATY GUITAR GRINDS bleeding alternative music by nature but mercifully devoid of any Limp Bizkit/Jock Jams viral strands pervade Wyrm's 'Bait.' These songs are built high on the head-banging highway. I tell no tales when I say "Liar Liar" rocks with driving guitar work courtesy of Jakob and Karl. The song's nonsensical nursery-rhyme lyrics ("Cinderella dressed in yellow went up stairs to kiss a guy") equate to pure dementia. Master of the song bait, "It" bursts with an energized bass groove from Mike. The trippy fadeaway effects on Jakob's vocals freaked me out like an old In Search Of episode about the missing Baldwin brother. "Vic-Odin," while unfortunately not an investigative report on the seedy underbelly of the dental industry and the Gambino crime family, is a moody pop sedation. "Think" features some pounding drum work from Marty that does more damage than a glimpse of the Gorton's fisherman prowling outside your window. Jakob's melodramatic vocals remind me of Eddie Vedder, which isn't my cup of phlegm, but if I were a young lady weaned on Live 105, I'd probably be silkscreening my #1 Wyrm Fan T-shirt today. Contact the band at [email protected]. Noise Protest The Santa Cruz City Council meets Tuesday, and a bunch of show promoters and band members are planning to voice their protest to the new 10pm noise ordinance. The alcohol ban at the Catalyst doesn't mean much to me--and the idea of fortysomethings kicking it to soda makes me glow--but this is about local music. Don't let a bunch of killjoys with battleaxes to grind ruin what few venues we have. Even if the curfew happens, it doesn't say anything about how early the music can start. How about 8am, Santa Cruz Police Department? Bring coffee and extension cords. You Blink, You Lose All systems were go for a symposium of cataclysmic melody guaranteed to seduce imminent bodily damage for circle-dancing Bad Religion disciples March 1 at the Catalyst. Greg Graffin's trachea musings were ready to emit charismatic sagacity and illuminate the intrinsic dichotomy involving the Chomsky-fused hegemony that force-feeds society's indentured classes to the fangs of corporate America. The $25 T-shirt and hat table was carefully positioned to insure proper marketability. Woah ... wait a minute. For a few seconds, I was trapped inside the cold and complicated infrastructure of Bad Religion liner notes--and, in Fast Times' Jeff Spicoli lingo, "It was bogus. The show was postponed so Bad Religion could open up shows for Blink-182, dude." How can hell be any worse? Upcoming Thursday, 40 Acre, Dolores, Pocket for Corduroy and Grab Ass play the Catalyst; Friday, Wyrm and Loadstar are at Skinny McDoogle's; also Friday, Verstain, Grewsome and the Exploding Crustaceans play Callahan's; Saturday, Spike and Princess, Tracy and the Plastics, Sharp Dressed Man (ex-Applicators) and Estrella play the Stevenson Rec Room at 7pm; also Saturday, the What-Nots, 40 Acre and The Fall of Olive play Callahan's. [ Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]