Sam Trapkin (Trapped Under Ice)'s "TOP 5 PIT RIFFS"

Who better to dissect "pits" then a man who's seen them all? Trapped Under Ice is my favorite band to come along in the past couple years, and Sam is quickly becoming one of my favorite people. -Doug

Before I begin, I’d like to take a second to talk about something more important than pitting, riffing, or pit riffing. And that is the psychology behind how we put these lists together in the first place. What drives someone to make the choices they make? Often in the face of scrutinizing peers, we struggle to construct a list that might make us sound a little more…well-informed. Like we really know what we’re talking about. Or, maybe worse, we reach for obscure references to avoid the beaten path. To avoid the obvious choices.

This list was not created to impress. We’re talking about pit riffs. This is about getting in the fucking pit. This is not the result of some personal struggle to make people think I know what I’m talking about. Because if you want to jibber jabber about this record, that record, this year, that singer, this city, you obviously don’t fucking pit.

Paul Conroy's "Top 5 Atari 2600 Games"

There are many people out there who don't currently play video games, but few who haven't at one point. While Paul Conroy (talent manager for athletes and musicians) has been obsessed with (and owned every version of) the Madden Football series dating back to it's beginnings on the Sega Genesis, he hasn't picked up any other video game in over 20 years. However, the impact the great games of the Atari 2600 made on him at an early age will forever be ingrained in his brain. We can all only hope that while he is staging hostile takeovers and negotiating huge contracts for athletes and musicians he views himself as Pitfall Harry jumping on the competitions heads and forging new ground for success.

We tip our hats to you PC, we always knew you had an 8-bit darkside!

Buske's Top 5 Crowbar Records

Buske's been in bands (Another Victim, Santa Sangre, The Promise, Terror, Maximum Penalty, Nasty Posse) for as long as I've known him, which has been well into 10 years now. He's passionate about music, and Crowbar is at the top of his list.  When I asked him to compile this list, I think he ran a gamut of emotions...Excitement. Anger. Responsibility. Anxiety. Anger. Confusion. Inspiration. Relief. And then anger again.   

He's one of my best friends, he's one of the biggest assholes I know, but he knows his shit.  Take it away, Jonnie Bitch...

I've never had to sit down and actually think about and develop rhetoric to explain why I love Crowbar so much. It's never been a topic of discussion beyond "who is your favorite band?" and when met with "why are they your favorite band?", the answer has always simply been, "because they're the heaviest band on the planet". If you know me, you know I like my music heavy so it only made sense that Crowbar would wear that crown. Having been asked to do this piece, it forced me to sit and really dissect WHY I love these songs so much. As fruity as it may sound, Crowbar is more than just music, lyrics and riffs to me. They harness a certain atmosphere, a distinct emotion. They transcend entertainment in musical form and that is something I have never gotten from any other band. They are poster children for musicians that need to understand that "less is more" when it comes to writing music and songs. It was almost torturous to have to sit and find words to verbalize the emotions/feelings evoked through a Crowbar song, but what follows is my attempt.

Chooch's Top 5 Bender Quotes

1."Do I preach to you while you're lying stoned in the gutter? No."
2."I'm gonna go build my own theme park! With blackjack and hookers! In fact, forget the park!"
3."Everybody's a jerk. You, me, this jerk."
4."Life can be hilariously cruel."
5."This calls for a party, baby. I'm ordering 100 kegs, 100 hookers and 100 Elvis impersonators that aren't above a little hooking should the occasion arise."
(posted by Chooch)