Thursday, November 26, 2009

how i learned how to lick basses and stop worrying


i was reminded by my friend Buske about this awesome part of my past:

@javjavjav Whenever I see dudes lick their basses I think of you. No homo.

he is, of course, referring to the video where i lick my bass. actually, maybe hes referring to the whole period of my life where i was licking the necks of both my bass and James Hart.

but, as with all cool things, there has to be an origin or inspiration. mine came from an unlikely source.

Refused.

yes. Refused. the influential, liberal, revolutionary hardcore punk band from Sweden. who woulda thought?
but in i believe it was 1996, Refused played the Showcase Theater in Corona. i think with Spawn, maybe Strain. who the fuck knows. anyway... it was before they were super mod. they were still a hardcore band. "rather be dead" was their best known song at the time. the bass player had an awesome bowl cut, and guess what? he licked his bass. a lot.
bass guitars do not taste good. especially after a few nights on the road, where all you taste is literally metal, sweat, and maybe a little blood. i dont recommend it.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

population: 1

in the book WE GOT THE NEUTRON BOMB, they talk about a movie called Population 1 that Tomata Du Plenty starred in, and about how it tore apart the Screamers.

here is the trailer to that movie

Thursday, November 12, 2009

GEHENNA video

Vintage GEHENNA (circa '96) @ Koo's. Yours truly can be spotted sporting a Mummies t-shirt:

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Ray Cappo explains Straight Edge

Over the years I've ignored most of the gossip I've heard about myself. I find gossip a waste of time for both the hearer as well as the speaker. I let it go, "Ray Cappo's dead, Ray Cappo's in Jail, Ray Cappo has a secret arcade in the temple basement, Ray Cappo's not a Krishna.... I know all these things first hand" But I must address my recent accusation... "Ray Cappo's a drunkard and gets wasted everynight on tour with Better than 1000 and preaches Straight edge on stage, and this is why Jeff Neuman quit the band, due to Ray Cappo's blatant hypocrisy".

Sit back cuz all this I'm going to address all this, and not to save my face, but to point out the fucking idiocy, psychosis, and the neurotic behavior that has comes about in our hardcore scene over something like SXE, which was initially intended (at least in my book) to better one self and have one keep their body and mind in control. These principles I love and support and rally behind both in my lyrics and for the most part, in my life.

Important personal backround: As a person I love natural foods, healthy living, working out, natural medicine martial arts, yoga, enlightening literature and good friends. I hate; lethargy, laziness, junkfood, duplicity, arrogance. For the most part I try to steer myself in the direction of the first batch although I'm definitely not perfect. I don't like intoxication and I never really have. I don't like how it makes my body feel, I don't like the fact that it destroys my liver and brain cells and I don't like the fact of potentially doing something ridiculous by my not having control over my body and senses.

But I've grown, the hard way into becoming very accepting of people that do drink, smoke or whatever. I guess because when YOT started I had fanatic blood in me. (which I think mellowed down by the time Break Down the Walls came out, only to be traded in for fanatic Krishna blood which sort of calmed down by the time of MANTRA was released) I condemned, criticized and belittled those who weren't like me. Any shit I get now from kids is some karma I'm going to have to eat so I don't even mind so much.

My real important lesson over the years was that there has to be a motive behind things. WHY? WHY are we SXE? What's our motivation behind the Act? Is it merely so we can get a "True till Death Tattoo"? Is it because we want to feel accepted in a crew and part of an elite rank? IS it because we have a hardcore hero that is? Or is it because we want to better ourselves in this lifetime? Now I hope you chose the last one. If you chose any of the others I think you should start being a little reflective, perhaps start thinking for yourself and develop your own opinions.

Whenever we do something for self-improvement we should be careful not to be arrogant though. This is the sticky web the fanatic gets caught in all the time. The Fanatic hates dialogue. There's one way. His way. The only way. We've all witnessed it with bible thumping Christians, Bhagavad Gita thumping Krishna's or banner waving SXEer's. Fanatics don't necessarily even know Why they are intowhat they're into a generally can't explain it very well to an educated person. They're generally arrogant. Arrogance is not a quality those who want to improve themselves cherish. We generally don't see arrogant people as evolved. So, the question is, "if you're getting into straight edge for bettering yourself, why develop arrogance alongside of it?

The real sad gist of it all is that not all people get into SXE for the right reasons and they further complicate their lives. For example, my mother. She's not SXE. But she's great. She's funny, sweet and would do anything for anybody at any time of the day. If I chose to call her up right now (I'm in Washington DC) and said "mom (she's in NYC) I don't feel good can you come down here" She would come. At the same time I know a few SXE kids who are the biggest meanest assholes I ever met. Which is a higher principle?

When Youth of Today would play in Boston and Slapshot would put meat products on our van did I have any respect for their version of SXE. No. As a matter of fact from then on I realized people have different motivations why they get into it and a lot of times it's less than noble. In the name of this noble movement we have some people doing some real fucked up things yet feeling safe, self righteous, above the rest behind their SXE banner. This is fucking disgusting- right up there with the inquisitions, Salem witch-hunts, Ku Klux Klan, and McCarthyism. Hiding behind a veil of perfection but fueled by arrogance. How 'bout SXE band that recently had a stripper over there house and were licking whip cream off her body. Is this type of depersonalization of women something to be self righteous about?

Let me also state that this is the exact same reason why I gave up waving a Krishna banner. Not because I don't believe in Krishna, God or the particular way of life...I don't preach it unsolicited because I felt the same thing was going on in that scene too. Arrogance in the name self betterment (I was guilty of it too-an apology) I've forced myself to become accepting of others because, fuck, maybe other people have some good idea's too. Fuck maybe I'm not the smartest most perfect guy I thought I was, and fuck I don't even know the person yet I'm jumping to all these conclusions about them.

My crime was when I was in Italy, in wine country, in a particular village in front of the entire band I had a glass of wine with my meal. Big fucking deal. Some how this turned into "Ray's been Drinking in Europe". (There's an equal amount of truth in that statement as in Bill Clinton's "I didn't have sex....") It's nothing I'm ashamed of. It's nothing I even thought twice about. It's nothing I feel to be ethically twisted or a philosophical U turn. Has it scarred my character? I think, and I'm sure any practicing psychiatrist would think that if you have a problem with it then you've got the problem, not me. Is this type of neurotic finger pointing the sign of people psychologically healthy and secure with their own convictions? Even if I got wasted out of my mind...why is that anyones business or problem but my own? Shouldn't one offer sympathy rather than cruelty? I urge peoplee to really look at why we became straightedge. Is it merely to prove we're better than other people? No. This is fucking wrong.

Here's the other sad thing. Imagine if I did get drunk every night. What kind of a community have we developed that a person gets, condemned ostracized and expelled rather than encouraged loved and supported by friends? Wouldn't true friends say, "shit ray you've been getting drunk every night, are you going through a rough time or something? Could I help in any way? Do you need a friend to talk to?" This is friendship in my book. This is the type of community I want to be a part of. Wouldn't you want that as a friend instead of a fair whether Judas who betrays you in a moment. Finger pointing SXE kids should take a lesson from Alcoholics Anonymous. I recently went to an AA meeting with a friend who is a recovering alcoholic to observe their techniques in healing and empathy. The groups trust and lack of judgement fascinated me. Because they've developed a society of trust and confidentiality, people feel free to entirely reveal they're faults, which is a first step for improving them. The others in turn empathetically listen and encourage. I was so impressed by their character and aspire to be like that too. I want to become that type of friend that a person can really trust and count on.

So here's the deal. If we want to become SXE, Krishna, Vegan, Vegetarian, Hardcore, or what ever do it for the soul reason that WE want to become it. These are personal choices. Practically speaking no one else's business. Once we make them into political parties they tend to be self-defeating. We should be happy with ourselves and not make others feel intimidated because they're not like us. If we actually want to influence (a lot of these groups want to preach because they're into what they believe) follow the Advice of Socrates. Just become happy and balanced with your life. Socrates said being a living example is the best form of influence. It's better than debate or preaching. If you 're happy and balanced people will want to be like you. You need not even speak unless asked.

To me life and spirituality has become so personal. I don't talk about it unless people want to know. I'm saddened by the even the questions "are you straight edge or are you Krishna?" because I don't want to be sized up by people right off the bat. I want people to respect or disrespect me for what I am,and get to know me but not because I wear particular logo or subscribe to a particular philosophy.

In closing I especially feel sad for the bands who rant and rave about fallen SXE heroes on stage and how fucked up they are. I know all those fallen SXE edge heroes. I grew up with them and they were good people with good hearts who said good things and changed a lot of people's lives. (Even yours Toby) If they can't live up to those principles today it's sad but maybe they're better off in some other way that you or I can't see. Instead of scrutinizing their foibles, why not scrutinize your own? Encourage and support each other. Life is a long path filled with ups and downs. If you're down someday won't it be nice if someone picks you up. Most of all people be kind.- rc

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Shirts v.3 (New Age Records)

I've never seen or even heard of another one of these. Beverly Hills 90210 rip-off design. Very early shirt as that's the Big Bear zip-code. At what point did Hartsfield move? Not near my record collection, so can't check my Powerhouse, etc. 7"s to figure it out.

Shirts v.2 (Man Is The Bastard)

I missed out on this gem when M.I.T.B. was around. Found it on eBay semi-recently, though. Still looking for the one with a Hindu god (?) juggling MITB skulls. They were selling it at the Koo's show with Lack Of Interest (Nov. '94 ?), but I was an idiot and didn't pick one up.

Classic M.I.T.B. showcasing their love of Hello Kitty. Simple and awesome:

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Shirts v.1 (Econochrist)

I'm going to post some pictures of my shirt collection. Part archive, part bragging, part addition to the institutional knowledge of hardcore.

Everyone knows my love of all things early 90's and crusty. Resultingly, sometime in the late 90's my man A.P. gave me a sweet original Econochrist shirt. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of lending it to a friend. Word of advice; never do this. I never saw it again. I was mad for 10 years. Like, legitimately pissed every time I saw that person. Then I found the exact same shirt on eBay. Now I can be nice to said human again.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Coalesce / Cave In 10.8.09






got the chance to hang out with Sean Ingram at the free Coalesce and Cave In show at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood that was sponsored by Scion. I felt like i was interviewing him, so ill try to pass along some of what i learned.
1. Scion was sponsoring the event as a marketing tool. instead of putting money into tv ads and stuff, they flew the two bands across country to play in markets that they thought needed help, Atlanta and LA. the bands got to stay in 4 star hotels and all expenses paid for. the cool thing was that Scion didnt put up ANY posters. all they did was pass out shirts after the show. the knitting factory holds 500 people, and close to 2000 people RSVP'd for free entry.
2. Sean has 4 kids, Jes has 4 kids, Nathan has 2 and Jr. has 2.
3. Smallville is a real city in Kansas
4. Coalesce rules

Sean is one of the smartest most down to earth dudes ive ever met. i feel lucky to call him a friend. its awesome when your friends happen to be in some of your favorite bands.

Cave In was whatever. they played a couple old songs, and a bunch of new ones. honestly i dont like anything they did after Creative Eclipses.

After the show we went to House Of Pies and then walked by Danzig's house.
Good Night.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Born Against

From Adam Nathanson's zine, a little write up/ history of Born Against. Awesome.



Thursday, October 1, 2009

Indecision Newsletter

Before Indecision was a prolific record label, it was an awesome zine.
I think this may have come out before the final issue, and is just kind of a scene report. it's a cool snapshot of the time.



Monday, September 21, 2009

HURRICANRANA- Destroying The Opposition


When the singer of a band rolls in with a hammer taped to the microphone, you know its gonna be a good time.

Hurricanrana was a band that didn't really break out of Southern California, but the bands that it spawned sure did. Andres and Martin were once mild mannered, if not large and unsuspecting member of the audience of hardcore shows. Eventually they formed a band, and the Destroying The Opposition demo was the first thing to come from the band named after a professional wresting move.
Musically, its hard to compare it to anything. Hints of Vision Of Disorder, tribal drumming, weird chords, and most of all, punishing breakdowns would form the band's sound. Visually, it was interesting to see a hardcore band on stage in Southern California with NO WHITE PEOPLE IN IT. Blood, hammers, "fight sticks", prop bottles... violence of the showey kind would eventually lead to violence of the real kind, or life imitating art.

Martin and Dre and Nick would eventually start the infamous Donnybrook!, and Martin now plays guitar in Terror.
This is the first demo the band put out, but i really feel like the second one was better. I only have the "remixed" version of that, with a bunch of extra sounds and effects that Nick put in after his time in recording school, and i feel that it is missing the rawness and brutality of the original version. But at least there's no Mike Milford singing on it.



Hurricanrana Destroying The Opposition 2001

Saturday, September 19, 2009

SSITNHaC


When you gonna shave that hairy fuckin' chooch?

Friday, September 18, 2009

18 Visions Tour Journal


i found an old journal with some entries devoted to 18 Visions tour
heres a sample:

December 29th, 1999
We are leaving Chicago and things have been so great. It took us 38 hours to get here. I drove for 13 hours straight, from Albuquerque to Missouri. We got to Brandan's mom's house at about 5pm, and decided to go to a movie at the mall. We ran into Pete (Wentz) and Mani, who we thought was in Guatemala. We got into the movie and i slept straight through it. Went back to the house for showers and sleep. I had one of the worst sleeps of my entire life, which didnt help after 6 hours of sleep in the past 2 days.
Woke up and made our way downtown. Vegan Chicago style pizza was a treat. Just chilled in the city until the show, which was at the Fireside Bowl, an old bowling alley that Brandan and i have always dreamed of playing. The show was with XCLEARX and 3 bands that sounded like Hatebreed. Lots of friends. After the show we had vegan french toast and other good stuff.

December 30th, 1999
At our show in Albany. The last couple days are a total blur. We left chicago and made it just into Ohio when our van took at shit at around 6am. We were 11 hours from Philly and didn't think we'd make it. After a trip to a mechanic, we made it back on the road and barely made the show in Philly. The show was fucking awesome! Hung with Carl (Severson), Big Daddy, and Torn Apart. They were so amazing!!! Nora was kinda whatever, but still fun. Overall, the show was really really good.
Stayed at (Chris) Ross' house in Jersey. It was a nice sleep but it smelled like smoke. Snapcase came to sleep too. Uh, Cool. Ate and stuff in NJ and made it here to Albany.

(note: That show in Philly was at the Stalag, and Try. Fail. Try also played. I also bought an Ink & Dagger record from Robby Redcheeks. I remember that he had one with real blood on it that he was selling for 75 dollars!!! I also remember Keith being so shocked that there were no white people on the streets.)
Torn Apart setlist

December 31st, 1999 I-90 westbound
I just realized that its the last day of the year. Fuck the y2k bullshit.
Anyway, we are on our way to Syracuse from Albany. Small show, but still awesome. The August Prophecy played, and they were amazing in every way. It really made me want to start another band.
I've had such a good time on this tour. Meeting new people is the best. It makes driving crazy distances all worth it.
We haven't been fighting, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because all of the shows have been good and we are just excited to be here. Biggie has really kept the spirits up too. The next four days should be awesome.

January 4th, 2000 Winston Salem, NC
We are in North Carolina and it sucks. I'm not really having a good time at all. Ever since we left Buffalo I have been in a shitty mood. Everything was going so well. The New Year's Day show was really fun... so many rad bands and good kids, except Snapcase being fucking assholes.
From there we went to Erie and it was one of the best shows of my life. We played good and had so much fun. Girls were throwing bras at Keith. We stayed with Leah (Urbano). It was just a rad time.
From there we went to Buffalo. It was cold and rainy, as most of our time in that area was. We played some bar with Dillinger Escape Plan and Idle Hands. I got to hang out with Sweeper and Janelle, and saw Scott (Vogel). The show was just OK but being around friends made it worthwhile.
In Syracuse we picked up a passenger, Angela, who looks a lot like Kathleen. She wants to move to OC and she seems pretty nice.
I guess it all started going downhill when i drove through the night in really bad weather into the shithole part of America. I've been arguing with everyone. I don't like where I am, my body is sore, I just want to be back home with my friends. Things were so awesome until today. I just already have this idea in my head that the next 5 days will suck so bad.

January 5th, 2000 Tennessee
We're driving through Tennessee right now and it looks kinda nice, but I'm sure as soon as the car stops it won't be cool. We played NC last night and I had zero fun. Yesterday was so shitty.
The August Prophecy randomly showed up and played. We all went to this fat kid named Dave's house out in the boonies. His grandma had died in the house and it stank of death. There was mildew and trash everywhere and Doug took a shit in the shower, so i slept in the August Prophecy bus. They have a short bus with a TV and playstation and tons of room. I hate the south a lot so far. We are on our way to Nashville and then to Memphis. Suck.

January 7th, 2000 Texas
We're on our way to Houston right now after driving all night from Memphis. Memphis wasnt as good as Nashville. In Nashville some girl asked me and Ken to Sign her boobs and then we got to touch them.
The south itself sucks, but the shows have been ok. We played a few times with this band called Spitfire from VA and they are pretty cool.

January 10th
Just made it home. We didn't die. Good times.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Stuck In The Past

so it looks like they might have to drop the X's from the name, cause Xstuck in the pastX has asked me to contribute to the blog.

now i only have 5 blogs

www.xstuckinthepastx.blogspot.com

Saturday, September 5, 2009

18 Visions

found some old 18V stuff in an envelope.

Josh Trustkill sent us a batch of stickers. we were just as baffled as anyone else as to why it said "hollywood" on it, but whos gonna say no to free stickers? i think that he thought it added to the "mystique" of the band


Review from Scratch Magazine. awesome.

Friday, September 4, 2009

lost mstk layout

i found the original layout that Ben Goetting made for the "fuck everything up" record. unfortunately, this layout was scrapped even before the lyrics were inserted. We took some of the rest of the layout and messed with it until Ben, Cheesegrater and myself were happy with the end result. While the final cd booklet isnt as exciting as id planned, or as some of this, its still a great snapshot in time. keep in mind that this was 2002.

rough draft of the cover of the cd


i believe this quote was from "please kill me" and pretty much summed up the reason why we started the mistake.





what became the back cover was originally the center spread. it was taken with a disposable panoramic camera at Showcase Theater.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Throwdown at Stone's house



Aaron Stone lived on Santa Ana Avenue in Costa Mesa, CA. His family had decided to move away, and they let Aaron have a show there on the last night of living there.
Sadly, due to either work or being ostracized from that scene at the time (i'll go with the latter), I didn't go to the show.
I found this picture of Throwdown in Accession Fanzine, made by Matt Mently, who went on to play for Throwdown a few years later. It's an awesome picture. From left to right, ill lay the scene.
First, Brandan is playing guitar, and striking a nice pose. Next to him, you can see the blond ponytail of one of the Bowne brothers. To his right, wearing a visor, is Dave "brundy" Brundage. Adam Vanberklaer is possibly smiling next to him, and our very own Cheesegrater is sporting shorts and most likely flip flops.
Couple other randos, then you see Aaron Stone himself. Heavy K looks like he's flying quite high, but im quite sure that it is an illusion of perspective, because Dom next to him is only 5'6" and kinda bent over. The Mighty Bishop is in the background, next to the GET SICK sign.
This was also the night that Sean Gorman threw Dom's girlfriend off of the room, and im pretty sure someone went through a wall.
Good Times.

newport takeover


found this in Tumult Fanzine, made by Kathleen. wow.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Sunday, August 16, 2009

hang up your boots



in 2000/ 2001 i lived at this house called Rosscore, named after its primary resident, Mark J. Ross. Mark was/is and awesome dude. he had a website called www.markjross.com where he would just put pictures he took of his friends in chronological order. if you missed a day in the pictures, you felt like you missed out.
i dont remember much about living at this house. a few random flashes, like taping Eric Johnson's entire door from floor to ceiling with packing tape. getting home from being on the road for 7 weeks with Poison The Well, sick as fuck and throwing up/shitting at the same time in the shower. being called a sellout by Keith Barney. stepping over Mark's new wife's puke in the doorway. having Erick J. Pressman live on my couch for an entire summer while 1000 Knives mailed us what we dubbed "green vinyl", which we smoked and then would get in the car and listen to ISIS for like an hour.
i especially remember discovering this band called Right Brigade. holy fuck. just pure fucking hardcore, with an emphasis on the HARD. i was hooked. i dont know where i picked up the split with A Poor Excuse, but i know five things about this record for sure.
1. ive only listened to A Poor Excuse's side once
2. its on yellow vinyl
3. they cover SLAPSHOT
4. its fucking awesome
5. i know absolutely fuck all about Right Brigade. nothing except maybe members went on to be in American Nightmare? and they had some sort of debacle with Revelation Records.

i searched around the interwebs for a download of this, but then i found a cd in my 8 stacks of loose cds titled "VINYL", and it was filled with random crap that i burned while my cd burner was still working. in the middle of this cd was this split 7".
i have tried to start a band that rips this record off 100%, and have never sucessfully done it. bummer.

http://rapidshare.com/files/268140414/Split_7_.zip

Friday, August 14, 2009

just past Gay St.

here is the final six songs the mistake ever recorded.

For some reason we just could never make the mistake die. theres been years in between releases, shows... band members come and gone. nobody cares. well, Agi cares, and Cheesegrater cares.

Mark and i decided it was time to record some new stuff, to annoy people, since we had some old shit lying around that never got recorded. we actually at one time had an entire full length written "adios motherfuckers", for Indecision Records. Mandel even made ads for it and we simply forgot the songs because we didnt practice for almost a year. idiots.

well, Dan (as previously posted in Throwdown VS Reno), owed me some studio time (we traded haircuts for recording). Mark and i recruited Evan Sinclair to play drums for the recording. His brother Blake had been in the Mistake for about 5 minutes (or one show, whichever came first). we never practiced with him. well, maybe once, as we had with Alex the day before HE recorded with us. itow never laid down his bass tracks, i played bass, guitar, and song on this recording.

this was actually recorded with the intent to go straight to iTunes, as Cheesegrater was putting the mistake catalog up. somehow these songs didnt make it though, and just kinda sat around. Dan's hard drive even crashed, and we thought the songs were lost forever. luckily, Mark had a cd of them.


it was all recorded in ONE DAY. i dont even know when. it was named for the fact that Dan's street is just after a street named GAY. i have a picture to prove it.

Mark and Evan wrote this version of "adios motherfuckers" before i even got there, i just learned it and jammed it out on the spot. wrote the lyrics too. we had a couple different versions of it before, but this is the one laid to tape (or whatever you say for protools). the lyrics to AMF were a stab at certain members of certain old bands who decided to reinvent themselves and return to the hardcore scene.


"tie a red ribbon" was recorded on the infamous "live at showcase" like fucking 8 years before. it was inspired by the movie AND THE BAND PLAYED ON


FUCK LIFE was something that we always said... its just a catchy phrase. and putting it to the bastardized music of Throwdown's UNITE? fucking genius if i dont say so myself. i even say "cock" instead of "rock".

yeah, we cover Jawbreaker covering Psycadellic Furs. so what. its so ridiculous that you can even hear me laughing as im singing it. and at the end i say "oh my god that was fucking terrible" and i meant it.

whatever. here it is.

1. tie a red ribbon
2. i miss my friends but my aim is improving
3. fuck life
4. at least im STILL not you (or travis smith)
5. adios motherfuckers
6. into you like a train



http://rapidshare.com/files/233892889/Just_Past_Gay_Street.zip

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Fugazi 10 Year Anniversary show



a while back, i saw an ad somewhere that this dude was selling soundboard recordings of like... over 100 Fugazi shows. as previously posted, im a HUGE Fugazi fan, and i had to have at least one. i thought about getting cds of shows that id been to, but decided to get one that was important and that i hadnt been to.

i settled on this one, September 3rd, 1997. it was recorded in their home town of Washington, DC. when the cd came, i was surprised to find that it wasnt just a crappy cdr with a photocopied cover, but had an actual cover and the cds were printed on. its 2 cds.

insert (not copied, sorry) says:
"please note: no attempt has been made to correct for volume shifts, drop outs or any other sonic anomalies found in the original live master tapes"
a couple of photos were stolen from Glen E. Friedman, and its interesting to note that Ian's long time partner, Amy Pickering, sings backups on the song Suggestion.

overall, its a great cross section of their music up to that point, songs from every album up to Red Medicine.
enjoy, i always do.


DISC ONE

http://rapidshare.com/files/265483404/live_1.zip

DISC TWO
http://rapidshare.com/files/265276053/live2.zip

Monday, July 27, 2009

Full Circle Thrash

Full Circle Thrash Tour 2000. I caught the November 25th show in Pomona, CA at the Millenia Co-Op across the street from the Glasshouse.

Lineup was Esperanza, Lifes Halt, What Happens Next?, Total Fury, and The Oath.

The whole show was fast and fun -- reminded me of a PCH Club show. The pictures for the limited version of the What Happens Next? "Ahora..." 7" are from this show.

Luckily, this was before The Oath watched too many German submarine movies and decided to become crappy concept art-punk (if I want art-punk I'll listen to Wire or Pere Ubu)

Esperanza featured Rich (Dirty Dirt and The Dirts) on vox and Steve Aoki (This Machine Kills, Dim Mak, DJ) on guitar. They had a song on one of the Max Ward 625 comps, but the real deal was their demo. It shreds in a Minor Threat kinda way. This is a reminder to myself to upload it.

I bought a medium "tour" shirt but have gained weight. So, I recently grabbed a size large off eBay. Here it is:

Sunday, July 12, 2009

BRINGING IT BACK

so theres a show coming up, august 16th 2009, and you can read about it HERE. i wont post the details on the blog.
also peep THIS for some lolz

then watch this video:


it may look familiar as the setting of the back cover of "humanity is the devil" which always looked a little odd to me, Integrity playing outdoors? wtf? but this video puts it into perspective, and shows Integrity at their peak if you ask me. the classic SYSTEMS OVERLOAD era line-up.
also interesting about the video is that it was filmed by Jason Popson, who sang for In Cold Blood. he also did a lot of vocals on the HIGHLY under-rated INTEGRITY 2000 record... oh and he was in some band called Mushroomhead. he was also in this short film with Ryan Dunn (from Jackass)


also found a really cool thing about Integrity HERE on the Bid Hardcore blog. the replies to the post are awesome.

writing this, i got side tracked trying to find a video for the Damien Done song "ass-crack is the new cleavage" which Dwid directed, and also an awesome Vice TV interview ive seen before, where Dwid rambles pretty incoherently about Anton Lavey... but i couldnt find either one.

i found a "full discography" HERE, which isnt complete but still pretty good

i was actually kinda bummed when i read the Burning Fight book, and in the Integrity chapter Dwid talks about how the whole Holy Terror Church Of Final Judgement was MADE UP. i was actually contemplating JOINING that church when that shit came out. fucking joke's on me.

anyway, dust off the jersey, come sing along on August 16th.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Dead Kennedys

On some tour, as we exited the vans in Portland, Jav said to me: "So this is Oregon, huh? Tolerant Oregon." I laughed, and probably responded with something about the KFC on Burnside or "I threeeeew the rock!" I don't think anyone else had a clue what we were talking about. Their loss. Posers.

"Too Drunk To Fuck" has always been my favorite Dead Kennedys song. No wonder my edge didn't last:


Anyway, I dare you to find a better line in punk than "Take out your fucking retainer, put it in your purse". Well, perhaps when Michelle says "No. Not at all, because I hate painters" while cooking eggs with Darby in Decline of Western Civilization:


Dead Kennedys "Live at The River Theater / 12.15.84" from Shiny Grey Monotone blog (which has great downloads for all you 80's/90's heavy-stuff AmRep / Northwest fans):

Part 1
Part 2

Track list:
1. Intro
2. Take This Job and Shove It
3. Hellnation
4. Dear Abby
5. When Ya Get Drafted
6. Buzzbomb
7. This Could Be Anywhere
8. MTV, Get Off the Air
9. Drug Me
10. Winnebago Warrior
11. I Spy
12. Jock-O-Rama
13. I Kill Children
14. Goons of Hazard
15. Kill The Poor
16. Police Truck
17. I Fought The Law (and I won)

Classic HC Downloads


Blogged and Quartered has been posting outstanding collections of classic HC, heavy on 80's NYC and the Midwest. He does a great job of collecting various sources, cleaning up the sound, adding extensive discography and liner notes, and posting it all for my/your pleasure. Stuff like:

Straight Ahead, Absolution, Antidote, C.O.C., G.I.S.M., Life's Blood, Born Against, Krakdown, Outburst... with a mix of Rites of Spring, Joy Division, The Hated, etc. thrown in.

Highly recommended.

On that note, you should watch this incredible video again:


How great is Antidote?! I guarantee your band won't sound this good 25 years later:

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Grandma's Boy vs. Throwdown vs. Reno

sometimes, rarely, Keith Barney is right. in this case, its his words "dont lose sight" that ring in my ears.

i've lost sight.

we started this blog to tell stories. cool/ funny/ random stories about punk and hardcore and music and not just what rare bootlegs we've found to download.

my friend Dan spent some time playing guitar in Scars Of Tomorrow before he became an awesome recording dude and masterminding in Teenagers From Outerspace. he sent me his take on some sketchy shit that went down in Reno. its unedited, enjoy the story.

heres dan, to the right of Milford


The Throwdown/Reno Debacle

Let's set the scene here (so to speak)... It's 2004. Orange County Hardcore bands are bigger than ever. Dave Peters and Keith Barney had traded positions within Throwdown, with Keith moving to guitar and Dave making his formal vocal debut for Throwdown on 2003's Haymaker. By 2004 Haymaker was a pretty resounding success for the band and for Trustkill Records (whom they had joined the ranks of after leaving the mentioned-in-a-previous-post-and-now-Sherdog-employed Dave Mandel's Indecision Records). Dave's transition to vocalist was a relatively smooth one, and the backlash seemed relatively small. I don't think Jav and I will ever agree with who we thought had the “better voice”, but these matters are important when it comes to stupid debates that will go nowhere.
Throwdown was not the only band going through changes at the time. 2004 was kind of a weird time for the Orange County and LA scenes. Nearly every band was going through member changes and name changes on a monthly basis. By this time Hurricanrana was gone and in it's place there was Donnybrook! (More on them later.) Eighteen Visions had put out “Vanity” and the generally pop-influenced “Obsession” was just a few months away. Bleeding Through's “This Is Love, This Is Murderous” had become a massive record, and they had become a huge band in metal. With all these bands sharing members, it was no surprise that there was change in the air, and it's almost as though you could feel the end of that generation looming.
For me, these bands (Throwdown, Taken, Bleeding Through, 18v, Hurricanrana, etc.) were my introduction to what hardcore was. Seeing Throwdown or Bleeding Through at Showcase or Chain Reaction was as normal as high school parties were to all the other kids I went to school with. I finally got to see all my friends I had been waiting all week to meet up with, but didn't get to because they all went to different schools in different cities. I remember going to Showcase alone on my 19th birthday, because I knew I would get to see the friends that I would want to spend my birthday with anyways. That was just how it was then. Shows served as an excuse for me to spend time with the people that I didn't ever get to see otherwise.
So as these bands began to get more exposure and move on to bigger labels with better distro. Bigger venues (I refused to go to that Throwdown/Bleeding Through show at the Glasshouse just based on the sheer size of that fucking venue), bigger tours (Ozzfest?), and inevitably bigger problems, my interests started to change. By this time I had known people like Javier, and Grant from Bionic Cypress, and they would tell me that I would get over what I thought hardcore was, and develop new definitions and tastes. Grant would show me incredible music like Bohren and Der Club of Gore and The Blackheart Procession. Jav would tell me some ridiculous goal he had set for himself, like finishing an entire bottle of gin by 2am while instant messaging all of his friends. These things began to redefine what hardcore was to me. Shows became less important, and the acquaintances and friendships I had made moved beyond the bands. The final nail in what was my “hardcore youth” so to speak occurred in March of 2004 when I accompanied my friends on a trip up to Reno to see Throwdown, Donnybrook!, Bound In Blood, and Fate Thirteen at the final show at the Arkaik.
I wasn't really the roadtrip type. I didn't really like long drives, and I found it relatively hard to believe that any hardcore show was worth more than a two hour drive. Living on the border of LA and Orange County had spoiled me. Being able to get to any LA, OC, or IE venue in a half hour or so basically rendered me lazy when it came to going to hardcore shows. Most of the bands I wanted to see were coming through here and playing a couple of shows anyways, so why the hell would I want to drive hours and hours to go see a band I could see at home? Well for whatever god-awful reason, I decided to take this trip to Reno with my friends JD Kramer and Kevin Fifield. We went up to Reno with the Bound In Blood dudes, Gabe, Fick, Leib, and Graham. Previously, I had filled in for Bound In Blood on guitar, and at this time Kevin had taken over guitar duties for me. This would lead to a long and boringly-storied history of Kevin and I literally sharing everything. Bands, girls, burritos, jobs... But that shit would be even more of a waste of your time to read than this has been so far.
So anyways, we head up to Reno on what is one of the most ridiculous and pointless drives ever. Reno is a shithole, and I don't care if I ever go back. The best thing that has ever happened in Reno was the fact that I bowled there once. And I don't even think I cracked 100. So fuck that place. The SECOND best thing that ever happened in Reno was what happened after the Throwdown show.
We got to Arkaik early and loaded in. Knowing that this was the last show there, we expected a decent crowd, and given Throwdown's larger sature due to Haymaker's success, we had no doubts that it was going to be a good night. Local bands started the night and the place was already packed. I believe Armed For Battle and Cherish played first and second. The Southern California bands began to play and things began to kick up a bit. I believe Fate Thirteen went on, then Donnybrook!, then Bound In Blood, then Throwdown. At one point I was out in front talking to the door-girl (being sketchy) and I distinctly remember talking about how hot it was inside. The girl went on to tell me that they were way over capacity, and she was hoping the cops didn't get called because they would shut down the show. Before I knew it though, Throwdown was playing Don't Lose Sight and all of us California kids were losing our minds. By this time JD had already sold out, but it didn't matter, we all sang together and had a blast. The crowd was non-violent and there didn't seem to be any bad blood in the air.

After Throwdown's set we loaded up all of the gear and got ready to take off. Something weird was going on out front, and I didn't really pay much attention to it. A few minutes later I made my way to the front and there was a decent sized crowd out there yelling into the main entrance door. Just inside the entrance door I could see Dave Peters yelling back at the kids outside. Some of the kids had crowbars and they were hitting them against the wall telling Dave to come out. Dave was basically responding with common sense answers and asking them why he would want to come out if he knew he was just going to get hit with a crowbar (a reasonable response). The kids were yelling something about Throwdown stealing money from the other bands, and Dave was trying to respond with proper answers, but to no avail. By this time some unnamed members of one of the Southern California bands had found out about what was going on and stepped in front of the entrance, blocking the kids from getting at Dave. The kids weren't trying to hurt them though because their supposed “beef” was with Throwdown. The bodyguards from the other Southern California band instructed all of the kids to get the fuck back and/or leave. If anyone wanted to stay and talk, then they could, but no one was going to touch Dave. Some of the Reno kids challenged these guys and asked why 4 dudes who were clearly out-numbered would talk to kids they didn't know, in a town they weren't from, that way. The bodyguards told the Reno kids that if they tried anything, bad things were going to happen. Then they proceeded to flash a gun at the Reno kids to show how serious they were. The Reno kids did not take this well and became even more heated. Words were exchanged and we feared the worst was going to happen. Enter Dave Peters. Dave, obviously a generally level-headed dude, began to talk to what seemed to be the head Reno Kid with the bodyguards keeping the crowd in check. The kid accused Dave and the rest of Throwdown of stealing money from the Reno bands and threatened to get it back by beating the shit out of him with crowbars. Dave explained what had really happened to them: The promoter told Dave that the venue was NOT sold out (see my comment about what the door-girl said a few paragraphs up) and that the door did not make enough money to pay ANY of the bands from California except for Throwdown, but he would have to short Throwdown some of the money. Dave knew the promoter was full of shit, so he called him out on it. The story from there is a little foggy, but it seemed as though the promoter then went to each Reno band and told them that he could not afford to pay them because Throwdown demanded ALL of the money. So basically this promoter was RIPPING OFF the Reno bands AND the California bands. Dave explained that the Reno kids should be going after the sketchy promoter, and not them. And that all he asked of the promoter was for money to pay the bands who had driven all the way out to Reno from California. The promoter would not even give the California bands gas money, although the venue was clearly sold out, and the promoter made a killing. After Dave explained the situation the kid relaxed a little bit and the crowd began to disperse. Dave reached out to shake the kid's hand and the kid just walked away. If I remember correctly, this was the end of the threat, but we knew someone had called the cops once the gun was shown, so we had to get out of there. At one point I remember walking with one of the members of the band that stepped up to guard Dave, and him telling me that the member with the gun had ditched it in a trash can. Eventually the cops found the gun and arrested the band-member and took him to jail.
Fast-forward to an hour or so later. We are at a motel room near the venue. Throwdown had invited all the bands back to their motel room where I remember Biggie sitting on a bed getting money together to pay each California band out of Throwdown's own pockets to make sure they got gas money to get home. They also offered their motel room to anyone who wanted to stay, because they were going to leave once the other band's member was released from jail to go straight home. After this we end up at a Denny's getting some food and waiting for the phone call when this guy would get released. One of the bodyguard band's members gave me a plate of pancakes. I was pretty happy about this. Then the phone call came and everyone went their separate ways.
When JD, Kevin, and I made our way back to the motel, the rest of the Bound In Blood dudes contemplated whether they should stay the night, or leave. Seeing as two separate cars were taken, the decision was made that one car would leave that night, and the other would stay until the next day. JD, Kev, and I decided to stay with Graham and Fick (I believe), while the rest of the band went home that night. The next morning we got our shit together and went to Fick's truck to head home. Somehow between that night and the morning the truck decided to die, and none of us had any clue what to do or how we were going to get home. It was a Sunday morning, and they could not get the car fixed until Monday or Tuesday, depending on when they could get the part in. The idea of spending even one more day in Reno sounded like pure fucking torture, so JD, Kev, and I decided to tough-it-the-fuck-out and Greyhound it home.
After looking at the prices we figured out that it would be sixty dollars each to take a 16 hour bus-ride back to Anaheim. The reason it was going to take so long was due to lay-overs and changes between buses, but it was necessary, because we all had work on Monday morning. When the trip started it wasn't that bad. The fact that there were three of us sucked, because it meant one person would have to sit with a stranger at all times. That was bullshit after a while. At one point I remember stopping around 2am at some fuckhole bus stop in the middle of nowhere and eating the WORST grilled cheese ever. How you fuck up a grilled cheese, I don't know. All of the bathrooms were fucking travesties as well. About midway through the trip we got on our final bus. This was going to suck immensely because the only bus going that direction was headed straight to Tijuana. Of course. So all of the scum bag fucking shitheads that you would imagine going to TJ were surrounding us. Babies crying. Kids throwing up. And of course this was when it was my turn to sit alone on the bus with some fucked up stranger. And the sketchiest dude ever sat next to me in a HUGE snow jacket that was poofing onto my side of the seat non-stop. I was fucking bummed.
So around 4am we arrive in an LA bus stop right by Skid Row (not the band). We decide to call my grandmother then and have her pick us up from here because we can't deal with another minute on that fucking bus. So she comes to pick us up in LA instead of Anaheim. On the way to the station she got lost and started calling me crying and freaking out because she was “surrounded by hookers and homeless people”. Eventually, she found us and took us home. FUCKING FINALLY HOME. I laid down in bed and never felt better/worse. I slept for two hours and then got up and went to work at Mervyn's. After spending two hours there I told them I was sick and fucked off and went back home to shower and sleep.
Looking back on this trip that now happened five years ago I realize that this was what really changed my mind about what hardcore was to me. Before this it was about having a “good time”, hanging out with friends, and just enjoying the people that surrounded me when I got to see them at shows. After the trip I realized that I had grown out of that. The trip was fucking terrible. And I didn't want to see what I saw in Reno ever again. I'm not cut out for that shit. I realized that when it came to hardcore, I no longer needed to be around the venues anymore. I could enjoy the people that I knew, and explore what I thought was great about it, in a much different way. I didn't need to rely on the scene to keep me entertained anymore, because it wasn't entertaining. Seeing people in the bands that I looked up to threatened with crowbars was not very much fun. Watching the Throwdown dude's pay the bands out of their pocket because sketchy fuck promoters were screwing bands was not very much fun. And when laying back down in my own bed after spending 2 days with a bunch of my best friends is the BEST part of my trip, it was time for me to change my mindset on this scene that had been such a big part of my life.
Call it jaded. Call it what you want. But when it came down to it, I decided that I didn't want things like what happened in Reno to re-define what hardcore was for me. I still wanted to hang on to that previous (more naïve) version of what this music and scene meant to me. So here I am. And for the first time in a long time, tonight (June 6th, 2009) five years after that Throwdown show in Reno, at the Disembodied show at Chain Reaction, I thanked myself for never forgetting what it was like to be a young fool involved with this ridiculous kind of music. I felt young again. And I have the king of jaded fucks, Javier Van Huss, to thank for it. I may have believed over the past 5 years that hardcore had become a bit of a shadow of what it once was. But tonight was a huge reminder of what this meant to me before the Throwdown/Reno debacle. And I'm glad dudes like Jav allowed me to once again change my view on what hardcore is.

Thanks Jav.

-Dan

Saturday, July 4, 2009

walter sings the hits live


i never saw Gorilla Biscuits. the first LP i ever bought with my own money was a used copy of START TODAY that i still own to this day.

a couple years ago, i was living in the City Heights part of San Diego. not far from our house was this city hipster bar called The Beauty Bar. and when i say "not far" i mean a 15 minute stumble home.

the Gorilla Biscuits were playing somewhere else in town, and i received word that Walter Schreifels was playing acoustic at the Beauty Bar after the show. i decided that for some reason id rather go there than the GB show. so i made my way to the bar and proceeded to start drinking Tom Collins (as i did nightly when i lived in SD, at some bar or another, but thats another story). eventually i plopped myself in an opportune spot, and it ended up that i was sitting at a table in the front of the stage. nobody was sitting in front of me as Walter flew through some of my favorite songs. Quicksand, GB, Rival Schools, even The Smiths and Sick Of It All. it was an amazing night. i barely spoke to anyone, just sat there with a huge smile on my face, feeling the drinks and music flow through me. a truly magical night.

i stumbled across a 2 part recording of Walter from 2006. i downloaded it, and decided that part 2 was the more important part, and that id love to share the songs and story with the world. it was recorded somewhere in Holland, and the song choices and banter make up for the somewhat low volume of the file. so turn it up, mix some gin in a highball glass with some collins mix, or if youre in a pinch some Squirt, and enjoy the show.



Walter Sings The Hits Live

Friday, June 26, 2009

Trojan Box Sets


i love reggae. not like the kind that Leah Putnam's dad plays. not like the kind in the credits to COPS.

im talking real roots, soulful, old reggae.

a few years ago i scored the Trojan Records BEST OF SKINHEAD REGGAE box set. many people are confused by the notion of "skinhead reggae", but i assure you, its better than most of the crap that you are listening to.

i found this blog that has a link to (what i gather is) every Trojan Records box set. in the past two days ive downloaded 16 hours worth of reggae.

sure, its not punk or hardcore, but its fucking good.


TROJAN BOX SETS
http://rage39a.blogspot.com/2008/06/trojan-box-sets.html

also watch this truly mouthwatering video

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Chain Of Strength live bootleg


live recordings of hardcore shows are an undertaking thats sketchy at best. especially older ones.

here is a live recording of Chain Of Strength from 1989. i dont know where it was recorded. the sound quality isnt the best, but whatever. they cover "betray" by Minor Threat. crazy.

be warned, it sounds like a bootleg.

http://www.zshare.net/download/517560440dbb8bd0/

Friday, June 12, 2009

videos

josh highland let me use his Flip camera to film some shit over the weekend that Disembodied was here.
ive started to make some movies.
check them out

AllOverThisTown

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

WARSHIP JAMZ!

i dont know when it was. maybe a year ago? two? i decided to write some new Mistake material.

for some reason, i couldnt find anyone else in the band so i decided to do it all myself. our previous session had just been myself, Mark and this kid Evan Sinclair (who's brother had played bass for one show for us) and was recorded by Daniel Bieranowski at his house, which was a couple streets down from this street called Gay so we named the recording "just passed Gay Street". 4 of those songs are on The Mistake MySpace page, and two have been swept under the rug. i may release them here eventually, i may release them on a Cd. who knows, who cares.

anyway, this is one song i wrote and recorded all by myself, with this kid DFH playing drums. its unmastered and unmixed but i figured someone would be into it, so here it is.

i didnt name it, but the album was supposed to be called WARSHIP JAMZ. get it? like worship jams? ha.

no name #1
http://rapidshare.com/files/238000873/01_no_name__1.mp3

Monday, May 25, 2009

Jawbreaker Live

found this on some other blog. pretty good quality

http://www.divshare.com/download/4190399-d8d

track listing:

1. Do You Still Hate Me?
2. Donatello
3. Boxcar
4. Chesterfield King
5. The Boat Dreams From the Hill
6. West Bay Invitational
7. Want
8. Outpatient
9. Jinx Removing
10. Kiss the Bottle

Carry The Casket



Carry The Casket was a great hardcore band from Orange County. Not really formed in the ashes of anything other than cigarettes and smoldering dreams, they became a formidable opponent to not only their own livers, but people's ears and eyes.

the band's myspace says that they formed in 2003 and recorded a demo in 2004. the demo was packaged in a DVD case, much like the Graf Orlock "corpserate greed" demo, and featured a photo of a graveyard in front of the whitehouse, which is a strong indication of their lyrics.
the demo is credited to
JOLLY- BASS GREG- GUITAR NICK DIBS-DRUMS JERRY- OBNOXIOUS TWAT
and was recorded in a mobile home in costa mesa

in 2005, two split 7"s were released. one with The Mistake and one with Motherspeed.
the Mistake split had no less than 5 different covers, released by Prime Directive Records. the lyric sheet is one of my favorites ever, literally just a photocopy of the lyrics emailed to Cheesegrater. genius.
the lineup on those splits was the same. they were recorded at Shiva Industries by (i think) one of the dudes in Mindrot.
the thanks list on the Mistake list includes this
"FUCK ANYONE WHO WAS BUMMED WE DIDNT THANK THEM DIRECTLY. YOU ARE A FUCKING PUSSY. FUCK ANYONE WHO HAS EVER ARRESTED GREG. FUCK THAT SOUND GUY IN SANTA CRUZ. FUCK THE VAULT 350"

the thanks list on the Motherspeed split says
"CARRY THE CASKET WOULD NOT LIKE TO THANK ANYONE"

in 2006 CTC got a new drummer and started recording a full length, titled "feed me drugs until i choke". The vocals for only a few songs were ever recorded and lyrics not even written for all of them. i dont even know if all of the instruments were recorded, but the thing could have easily been finished. members blamed each other for laziness, apathy, and various states of sobriety for the debacle the album became. i witnessed first hand the anger and anguish that was caused.

i dont know when Carry The Casket played their last show, and i dont think they had an "official" last show. the last time i remember seeing them was at the Mistake's first last show at the Roc bar in costa mesa, and they fucking slayed. that was a great time, playing with bands like Pressvre, Come And Get It, Graf Orlock... bands playing in warehouses and bars and not giving a fuck.

i know that Carry The Casket played out of state a few times, but i dunno that i'd call them "tours". i remember being regaled with stories of meeting members of Gehenna on the road and taking various psycotropic drugs.

ive collected here the 2004 demo, and the songs from both splits. i highly doubt the LP will EVER see the light of day, and thats kind of a shame.

Jerry and Greg went on to form Neon Claws with me. Jerry always told me that Dan was in some band that allowed "pussy and coke to be thrown at him". Gettman formed a band that featured just him and a drummer, playing 22 minute songs with no parts repeating. sounded painful yet awesome. Justin Jolly was in a few bands like Cold War, Perish, and is just doing whatever he does.

www.myspace.com/carrythecasket


from their myspace


ctc at Vinyl Solution, photo by me
the mistake played this show, and afterward we all went to Johnny's bar and i spent over 250 dollars on alcohol, earning the nickname "rich uncle jav" and almost being sent home from work the next day for smelling like gin.

Carry The Casket
http://rapidshare.com/files/236848467/CarryTheCasket.zip

Sunday, May 24, 2009

God's Iron Tooth "the getting fucked ep"

Gods Iron Tooth was one of the first sludge/doom/"stoner" bands to infiltrate the OC hardcore scene, if not THE first. I cant remember when this cd was handed to me, but i'd venture to guess 1998? everyone was still wearing big pants and trying to be evil. Phil (vocals) and Jeremy (guitar) and Travis (drums) handed me the demo, saying something about EYEHATEGOD and IRON MONKEY (hence the name) and at the time i didnt really get it. Phil had been in a sxe band called Exempt, and was one of the biggest, most tattooed dudes around at the time. Jeremy was in Xessive forceX and had been through Navy Seal training. these were not dudes you wanted to mess with. i just remember Travis smiling a lot, and not really liking their bass player Ryan cause he was friends with Tyson.

i tried to contact Phil via myspace, because neither Cheesegrater or I have any contact info for him right now, but that was fruitless, so i had to do some work on google.

Encyclopaedia Mettalum says that the Getting Fucked EP was released in 2000, and had 5 songs. "the last vista session" 2001, had 3 songs. i remember not really as into anything past this demo. there are some funny pictures here

GIT has a myspace page, as well, with some cool photos

Phil went on to be in Dirty Girls and City Scum. Prime Directive put out the Dirty Girls 7", i suggest you purchase it IMMEDIATELY

for now, blaze a fatty to the ORIGINAL GETTING FUCKED EP

http://rapidshare.com/files/235627568/The_Getting_Fucked_Ep.zip

edit:
i received this reply from phil via www.notpopular.com

Sorry Jav, I dont use my myspace account anymore. The "Getting Fucked" ep was recorded in 1998 with Paul Miner at For the Record. It was 2 songs and we did it with Jeremy playing the bass tracks. I think at one point we asked you if you wanted to play bass? In 2000 we finally got a bass player and recorded "The Last Vista Session" ep. Rusty Cavender from Treadwell and Le Shock recorded that record at his house. It was the very last recording he did at that home studio, so we payed homage to it by calling the record "the last vista sessions". His house was on Vista ave. in Long Beach. Rusty also recorded our full length that never saw the light of day.

We kicked Ryan out of the band before we recorded the full length and got our good friend Kelly. That was a pretty awesome line up that played probably 3 shows before breaking up.

over the edge

reading the Isaac Golub interview on XSTUCKINTHEPASTX, and the comments about it. all 27 of them.

i just gotta say a couple things.

1. XCHORUSX was a good band.
2. Straight Edge is like marriage. for some, it can last a lifetime. for some, you try it, it doesnt work, and you move on.

im just gonna leave it as that. short and sweet.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Black Flag


Everyone likes Black Flag. If you don't, you're wrong.

I really dislike reunions, but find myself attending anyway. I'm almost always right as I walk away totally disappointed. Over the years I've seen some version of Black Flag a few times. I saw 'em at Amoeba (Hollywood) in December '02 when Rollins Band covered Black Flag songs as a benefit for the West Memphis Three. Keith Morris, Dukowski, and Rollins took turns on the songs. I don't remember much else except there were some forgettable famous people there (I really forget who).

Attended the "Benefit for Cats" thing that Gregg Ginn put together in '03. It was Ginn, Robo, Dez, and a pre-recorded bass track. I was thoroughly disappointed in the entire event. Mike V and the Rats opened up playing "My War" start to finish -- it was forgettable.

The most enjoyable for me was the Class of '77 reunion show at the El Rey in December '01. A bunch of bands got together to promote the release of "We Got The Neutron Bomb", the oral history of L.A. punk. The Screamers (just K.K. and Paul Roessler), Circle Jerks, Weirdos, Red Cross, Adolescents, The Crowd, The Controllers, The Skulls, Bad Religion, The Dogs, The Runaways, Geza X, Lee Ving, TSOL, and Agent Orange all performed with some bastardized lineup or another.

The two highlights of the night were:

Watt and Hurley playing Minutemen songs. At the end of their set Watt yelled at the audience: "Start your own band" and "FUCK NEW WAVE". Incredible.

Keith Morris doing "Nervous Breakdown" songs backed by a lineup of Weirdos / Circle Jerks / Redd Cross members.

Sweet pic (probably '83 lineup?):

Still wondering how long the world will have to wait for an official release of Decline. Would love to see the extra Black Flag, Bags, and Germs footage. Here's Flag with their best singer, Ron "Chavo" Reyes:

Sunday, May 17, 2009

The Mummies


Anyone who knows me is undoubtedly aware of my love for all things garage. Billy Childish, Teengenerate, The Registrators, the entire Rip Off Records catalog... On that note, my man 'Ben Alvie' over on the Livewire Board recently hooked up this insane collection of The Mummies. Enjoy:

The Mummies 7" Bundle:

Larry Winther and his Mummies – Live @ Pony Express Pizza Parlour 4/13/89
Mummies and Greg Lowery – Food, Sickles, and Girls
Mummies / Wolfmen
Mummies – You Must Fight To Live On The Planet of the Apes
Mummies – Get Late
Mummies – Peel Sessions
Mummies – Sessions
Mummies – Shitsville
Mummies – Stronger than Dirt
Mummies – Tales from the Crypt
Mummies – That Girl
Mummies – Uncontrollable Urge