Re-Issue Re-Package Re-Evaluate The Songs: Unbroken 3x12"

Finally announced is the triple-gatefold vinyl of all of Unbroken's material.
"A little bird" (who may or may not be in the band) had this to say...

"500 pressed, only to be sold at the Glasshouse show...any extra $ from the sales of this will go to charity. These things cost an arm and a leg to make. Dave Mandel made this all happen, and it was Aram's (Champion/Betrayed) idea. It is Both Albums, all the singles and comps and an unreleased live song from 95. The song was only played at our last two shows in 95. Nobody outside those shows has heard it, as the video was never released from the show this was recorded. Is it the best recording of this song? No, but it is the only one that exists, so we decided it would be cool to have it on this special release. This song was the last one we ever wrote..."

dont sleep on this piece of history. im sure collector scum will be posting it on ebay that very night.

Dead America

On the topic of DEAD AMERICA (see post below) -- totally forgotten/overlooked anarcho-crust-grind-something band from early to mid-90's Costa Mesa.

Around '93, Jav, myself and a group of like-mindeds hung out at Taco Bell on 17th and Newport Blvd buying cheap burritos, skateboarding, vandalizing things, and doing whatever else one does when they're bored youth looking to "Up The Punx". We started seeing these dudes with dreads, upside down flags, piercings, a lot of black-and-white-band patches. In our 16 year old minds, these dudes were the real deal. As there weren't a lot of punks in the area at the time, we became friends. They gave us their demo and we were stoked. Looking back they were likely the first people I personally knew who were in a band with any sort of release. Over the years, we used to see each other around a lot, particularly at Dystopia-Phobia-Neurosis-Mindrot type shows.

As mentioned, a demo was released around '93 which was on the crust-punk side of things (I think?) At some point they had a member of Phobia. Around '96 (give or take), they released a CD called "Bleed The Human Heart" on Half-Life Records, which I remember being more grind-y? I haven't seen or heard it in years. I'll upload the demo someday. If anyone has that CD get in touch.


I ran into the singer around Costa Mesa for years after -- Mexican restaurants, house parties, Mother's probably. We always recognized each other and made it a point to say hello.

Random fact: One of the members was legally blind.

Maybe Jav can add more?

West Coast Power Violence Poll

Results of favorite "WEST COAST POWER VIOLENCE" band poll:

Capitalist Casualties - 0%
Crossed Out - 3%
Infest - 48%
Man Is The Bastard - 33%
No Comment - 3%
Spazz - 11%

Had a feeling INFEST would win, and rightfully so. They shred. I voted M.I.T.B.

Almost surprised SPAZZ got more votes than NO COMMENT or CROSSED OUT... maybe due to lack of availability of the latter 2 bands' records?

MAN IS THE BASTARD live at Showcase Theater. Photo by Jav. I suspect this is from the NEUROSIS, M.I.T.B., BLOODLET, DEAD AMERICA show on October 2, 1996 because (1) M.I.T.B. didn't play Showcase often, (2) Jav loves Bloodlet, and (3) I see Christian, the lead singer of Dead America singing along:

fugazi

the first time i saw Fugazi, i was a sophomore in high school. me, Jake Bolding and Bill Brandon were going to take Bill's dad's car to the Palladium to see them. his dad got mad about something and revoked the use of his car, so we were almost stuck. guess who came to the rescue? my mom. my mom agreed to drive us up there on the condition that we provide her with a ticket to the show. totally fair trade. she sat on the balcony and watched, and told stories of this "circular crowd motion" for years after.
the band played the Palladium either 2 or 3 consecutive nights on this tour. we got the second show, and apparently the night before someone had thrown a shoe at Ian and he was still raw about it.

the next time i saw them was during a two night stint at the Shrine in Hollywood. apparently the academy awards had been there? i dunno. we went two nights in a row, i think with Andy White and Ryan Wallace, maybe Steve Aoki. i remember being amazed that some kid was recording the show on one of those things the kid uses in Home Alone 2. i went both nights.

in 1999 i would see Fugazi 4 times. went to San Diego to see them at the Soma (the old location) with this girl Lindsey. next night drove to Ventura, maybe with Brandan? all i remember about the Ventura show was sitting on the balcony.
a couple of months later i saw them at the Glass House and at the Palace. i dont remember much about either show, except that Bluebird played the palace show. come to think of it.. i dont remember ANY of the bands who opened for Fugazi.

Fugazi was undeniably one of the very best bands ive EVER seen live, and i was just saying the other day that id give almost anything to be able to see them play one more time. the last time they toured, the closest they came to playing here was a high school gym in Yuba City, AZ. i kick myself for not making that 5 hour drive.

photographs lie

posting old photos since i finally got a scanner

all phots by me unless noted

all over this town photos

for those who fear tomorrow

just picked up this limited edition INTEGRITY shirt from Hellfish.
Front is a take off on the stupid Obama "hope" shit
back is an awesome quote from Charlie

you can pick one up, alont with a Hellfish / Holy Terror poster and an exclusive BLEEDING THROUGH shirt at

www.hellfishfamily.com

until the ink runs out

yeah, i was in 18 Visions. its been 8 years since i set foot on stage with them, and people still ask me about it all the time.

i dont mind talking about it. it was a good time in my life.

AJ, over at Path To Misery asked me to talk about Until The Ink runs out. i wrote something about it, which kinda turned into me talking about how i left the band. in it, he says i quit. thats not entirely true.

i hit up Keith about writing for this piece. i said "hey, this kid wants to write something about UTIRO. do you want to write something about it?"

his response- "what kid"

i wrote him back "its just this kid AJ who wants to write about one of his favorite records. you dont have to be a dick about it. nice response"

check out AJ's blog. hes into heavy music, but needs to post about more good bands. ha.

i also sent some cassettes of 18V playing live from 1998 to Justin at XSTUCK IN THE PASTX so keep an eye out for that.

Black Cat Music

January 2002. My friend D was really into this band Black Cat Music, and as I hung out with her every day, I became a fan as well.

I had just returned home from a winter Throwdown tour which I had ditched out on in NYC to hang out with friends and get drunk. Appropriate as many of Black Cat Music’s songs were written about intoxication and a certain girl who had since moved to NYC (and who I would later go on a what-I-assumed-was-a-date with. Still not sure on that one.).

Regardless, back in California Black Cat Music was playing at the Garage in L.A. and D wanted to go. I’d been there once before for a Snapcase show sometime in the late 90’s (‘97/’98?) Strife may have played as well? We drove up in the pouring rain, walked into the club, and realized we were the ONLY people there. Well, not the only, but the only paying fans. Another band played. We didn’t care. Black Cat Music took the stage and laid into it. They were killing it. Playing their hearts out to literally two people, plus whatever roadies / friends / girlfriends were hanging at the bar. D and I didn’t care so we stood right in the middle of what would have been the pit and enjoyed ourselves. It was raining so hard that water was coming through the roof and falling onto the band as they played. They finished their proposed set and were ready to leave the stage, but we weren’t satisfied. D hadn’t heard her favorite song and, drunk, was adamant about hearing it. For some reason the alcohol didn’t translate into her vocal chords so she asked me to yell it out. Sure, OK. “Wine In A Box” I yelled. The band, obviously surprised, looked at each other and nodded. They played “Wine In A Box” to the two most satisfied people in Los Angeles. Top 5 shows I’ve ever been to for a lot of reasons.

Later that year, I spent a few months in New York City where Black Cat Music was the semi-soundtrack to our lives. We saw the band play at Southpaw in Brooklyn and ended up having a good time with them later that night. I’m told the drummer recently passed away. Weird fact –- before Black Cat Music he played for Hatebreed. Rest In Peace Denny.

M.I.T.B.

I was lucky enough to see Man Is The Bastard a lot. The first Goleta Fest w/ Enewetak, Disembodied, Endeavour, Guyver One, etc; H.B. Library w/ Mens Recovery Project (and Clikitat Ikatowi?); Showcase w/ Neurosis, Dead America, and Bloodlet; Koos w/ Assuck, Swing Kids, and Still Life. I'll detail these stories later (hopefully with flyers).

For now, I'll discuss my first experience with the legendary M.I.T.B.. I think it was the Fall of '94? Josh (later the drummer for Gehenna) and I drove out to Santa Ana's Koos Cafe in my '67 Mustang to check out M.I.T.B. and Lack Of Interest. At the time I think we just knew them as the band that had a split with Born Against. Man, were we in for a treat. M.I.T.B., as I would later learn quite well, was absolutely crushing. I have no clue what songs they played, but I was impressed enough to become a lifelong fan.

As inferred, M.I.T.B. would quickly become one of my favorite bands, especially live. I hear a lot of talk of crushing live performances, "heavy this" and "heavy that". I can honestly say that Coalesce is probably the only other band that ever held a candle to M.I.T.B. on this level. I've heard stories of Infest shows, and it sounds like a similar experience. Maybe it's a true West Coast Power Violence thing. I don't know.

On the way home, my car broke down at that Chevron next to the 5 freeway entrance. It was pouring rain, so Josh and I took shelter at that donut shop next to the gas station. Some bum came up and tried to sell us an answering machine in a plastic bag. I think we may have actually purchased it out of charitable concern. Eventually, I crawled under my car in the pouring rain, fixed the problem, and we were on our way.

Oh yeah, I remember nothing about the Lack Of Interest set.

Pointless story? Sure. A nice memory for me? Absolutely.

Keith Barney Poll

The "Favorite Keith Barney Band" poll turned out about as I expected:

Adamantium - 37%
Death By Stereo - 7%
Eighteen Visions - 11%
Throwdown - 44%
Monument To Thieves - 0%

No surprise that the race was tight between Throwdown and Adamantium. I voted Throwdown as they long ago purchased my everlasting devotion in WaWa Peach Iced Tea and by naming a chapter of their DVD after me. Jerks.

Thought 18V might get a few more votes, but then again, it's an un-arguable fact that their best album ("Yesterday Is Time Killed") was made before Keith joined the band. No fault of Heavy K's, just the way life goes.

And while Death By Stereo has lost my attention at this point, the album Keith was on "If Looks Could Kill..." is a beast, even to this day.

Wonder what would happen if I made a poll pitting Eighteen Visions "Yesterday...", Bleeding Through "Dust to Ashes", Throwdown "You Don't Have to Be Blood...", Adamantium "From The Depths..." and Death By Stereo "If Looks..." against each other. Would the results be closer?

And, yes, I know I didn't list xRAINx or N3V3R 3NOUGH as options. I only included bands that released a vinyl record.

My Record Collection - Vol. 1

I own a lot of records (I'm sure most of the reader's of this blog have this in common with me). And similar to most of you, I have my favorites and most prized, which is not always based solely on monetary value, but usually based on affinity for the band, back-story of acquisition, or perhaps sentimental value.

One of these records is Blackspot's "Check Out The Helmet" 7" on purple vinyl.

"Check Out The Helmet" was one of the first 4 or 5 hardcore records I owned. I picked it up, along with the Function 7", Mean Season 7", NYHC "Way It Is" LP, and YOT's BDTW (Rev pressing), at Lido Skateboards in Newport Beach when they used to sell records in the back. They also played the 2nd hardcore show I ever attended. Needless to say, I've had an affinity and soft-spot for the band ever since.

Come the late 90's, I found myself living in Santa Cruz, CA and hanging out with Blackspot's drummer Sean, who was living there at the time, on a regular basis. We even tried to form a band at one point with Casey Watson of Yaphet Kotto (later Look Back and Laugh, Never Healed, etc.), but my lack of vocal abilities and lackadaisical attitude towards actually writing lyrics probably had a lot to do with the project going nowhere. I think that band eventually became The Anasazi, although I could be totally wrong about that? Anyway, hanging out with Sean on the semi-regular finally afforded me the chance to pick his brain with Blackspot fanboy questions that had been lingering in my brain for half a decade. The most pressing of these questions obviously related to the vinyl discography. As Sean remembered, when the Blackspot 7" was pressed on black, clear, and orange vinyl, the pressing plant decided to screw around and make a few random colors. When the band received the records, they pulled out these random colors for themselves. It amounted to something like 1 on green, 1 on pink, 1 on purple, etc. As an avid Blackspot fan and record collector, these elusive "one-offs" fast became the holy grail for me. But how to get one? The band members owned them all and seemed in no mood to give them up. I filed this information away in the back of my mind and moved on.

Around 2000, Jav called me up with some insane news. He had been shopping at Vinyl Solution and came upon a Blackspot 7" on purple vinyl, which he promptly purchased. I told him that I flat-out did not believe him, knowing very well that Sean wouldn't sell his purple copy. He swore he had one and was would give it to me, as Jav and I have that type of friendship where if I have something I know he'd like more than me, it's his. And vice versa.

Next time I saw Sean I told him of my score, and of course he didn't believe me. "No way, dude" he probably said. He was convinced they removed all the weird colors from the boxes. Obviously, they overlooked this one, which is understandable as it's a light non-opaque purple, which could have been easily confused for a clear pressing. Either way, I now owned one and was stoked.

Of course I had to give Jav something he'd value in return. It so happened that during the Throwdown '99 Summer Tour, we had played a few shows with NYC's legendary 25 Ta Life. One show was in New Jersey and was notable (to us at least) for 25 playing "Strength Through Unity" multiple times during the set along with Warzone's "As One" a couple times as well. This show was also the first time Schieppetti sang for Throwdown, as Keith wasn't feeling well (eventually leading to Sheep doing vocal duties at other shows, then starting Bleeding Through...). The other show was at some total s**thole in Connecticut, possibly with Sworn Enemy? This show is notable for Rick Ta Life breaking out a box of t-shirts from the trunk of his car. Keith and I furiously dug through size XXL after size XXXXL looking for something remotely our size. Keith scored a sweet kelly-green joint, and I grabbed an awesome baby-blue with white ink one. Oh yeah, Throwdown got paid in change that night. Straight-up, a handful of quarters, CHANGE! I'm not joking.

Anyway, I knew Jav was a bigger 25 Ta Life fan than me, so it was that baby-blue 25 shirt that he received in return for the Blackspot 7". A great trade from both sides, if you ask me. I wonder if he still owns it?

adamantium's last show set list

random flyers

dave mandel

I was watching the Throwdown DVD yesterday. there are soooo many good dudes in that video, but one of the funniest and most awesome is also one that i probably know the least out of anyone in that movie. Dave Mandel.

my first introduction to Mandel was from his zine, Indecision. It was a fucking great zine, huge with tons of amazing pictures and interviews with the biggest bands of the day. towards the end of his run publishing Indecision, he started doing mini-zines called CAN'T FORGIVE. they were more personal and i totally related to them, being an angsty-type teenager. i could tell that he was in the "hardcore elite" of the day, being friends with all of the big bands like Strife and stuff.

the first time i ever saw a picture of him was in Christine Doan's zine, STREAMLINE, where there is a pic of this unassuming dude with bleached hair and a letterman's jacket talking on a payphone. then, of course, there was the whole "Mandel can suck it" record...

i remember this concert called BOARD IN SOUTH BAY at Cal State Dominguez Hills, and Sick Of It All was playing. this smaller dude in a Youth Of Today tank top was pushing around the bro-type dudes who were ruining our fun, and someone leaned in and said "thats Dave Mandel"

i dont remember when i finally met Mandel. maybe it was when Throwdown got signed to Indecision. i remember him bringing Taylor Steele (the singer of 4 Walls Falling, not the film maker) over to softcore one night. we somehow became friends, and i remember my kid almost falling in his pool once.

the picture above was taken at Lazerstar, in Oxnard. i think Throwdown, possibly 18 Visions was playing, and there was a photobooth. we went a little picture crazy that night, and this picture is from a series where i made 4 different people jump in with me. i am very proud of this picture. the expression on his face is amazing.

i sent Dave an interview for All Over This Town about 3 months ago, and last i heard from Itow is that he is "working on it" and ill get it soon. should be interesting.

Poll Results -- Victory Records

Poll results are finished. We asked you, the reader, to vote for your least favorite of these Victory Records bands:

Bloodlet - 9 (21%)
Deadguy - 9 (21%)
Earth Crisis - 7 (16%)
Snapcase - 3 (7%)
Strife - 14 (33%)

Going in, I assumed Strife would win. Perhaps the wholesale sell-out of the band put a bad taste in a lot of mouths (didn't 1 guy stay edge?) Maybe people just don’t like the band; I know I never did.

Leave a comment telling us who you voted for and why.

Useless Facts

I keep a list of every show I've ever been to. I think a lot of people do. I recommend starting one, as it's helpful when you're 31 and trying to remember something that happened 15 years ago. As I was browsing it trying to jog my memory for stories for this blog, I noticed that I'd been to 2 shows in the same day on a number of occasions. Here's some that caught my eye:

July 22, 1996 -- Disembodied, Endeavour, Enewetak, Collapse @ Stone's Church
July 22, 1996 -- Texas Is The Reason, Gameface @ HB Library

By the time we got to the Library, the show was long sold out. I think we bribed the door-guy with food instead of doing the usual sneak-in by climbing the balcony.

July 25, 1997 -- Ten Yard Fight, Battery @ San Diego Showcase (matinee)
July 25, 1997 -- Rocket From The Crypt @ San Diego Showcase (night show)

I think this was TYF's first West Coast show? Maybe not. Either way, the next day was the West Coast debut of Better Than A Thousand at the Showcase in Corona. We didn't realize how many people were into TYF and thought we'd be the only ones singing/moshing/diving, but Showcase went crazy when they played. We were psyched.

February 2, 2000 -- Farside @ Chain Reaction
February 2, 2000 -- Gehenna @ Showcase

Two of my all time favorite bands. I think Farside only played 2 or 3 shows after this, although the East Coast tour with Fastbreak may have occurred in there sometime?

June 28, 2000 -- Throwdown, Eighteen Visions @ Fireside Bowl (Chicago)
June 28, 2000 -- Jets To Brazil, The Explosion @ Fireside Bowl (Chicago)

The Fireside was almost unbearably filled with cigarette smoke when Jets To Brazil played. This was not the show where the beef with No Warning started. That was on December 29, 2001 when Throwdown, Bleeding Through, and No Warning played together at The Fireside.

November 18, 2001 -- The Mistake @ Chain Reaction
November 18, 2001 -- Limp Wrist @ Koo's

I'm not sure I believe this happened, but it's on the list so I'll list it until I determine otherwise.

January 25, 2002 -- The Grand Elegance @ Orbit Studios
January 25, 2002 -- Innaway @ House Show

The Grand Elegance show was more of a practice with a few people there. It is, however, noteworthy because I drank beers with Rolan Bolan, Marc Bolan's son. I didn't have the cojones to ask about T. Rex.

February 22, 2002 -- The Starvations, The Grand Elegance, Thee Make Out Party @ The San Juan Train Depot
February 22, 2002 -- Innaway @ The Tiki Bar

The Grand Elegance killed it that night. The crowd kept requesting songs off the CDep, but the band just flat-out couldn't remember how to play them, even after several attempts.

June 14, 2007 -- The Hymns @ Detroit
June 14, 2007 -- Japanese Motors @ Avalon

I've probably done some combo of Detroit / Avalon / eVocal shows on the same night a few times. The list needs updating.

April 27, 2008 -- Mean Season, Love Thyne, The Mistake, Crushed On You @ Showcase
April 27, 2008 -- M.I.A. (w/ Jello Biafra singing) @ Detroit

I only made it for a couple Jello Biafra-fronted songs, so this only half counts.

There's probably more, but like I said, the list needs some updating.

Unrelated note: I once saw Blood For Blood, Blood Has Been Shed, and Most Precious Blood play the same show.

The Orphans @ Mr. T's Bowl

I hadn’t even heard of The Orphans when my friend D asked if I wanted to go see them play around December ‘01. D knew of the band because she worked retail with the singer, Jenny. All she could tell me was they were a “punk” band of some sort – no description of style, sound, scene, whatever. Didn’t really matter, I was game.

The show was at Mr. T’s Bowl in Highland Park. In hindsight, it was probably one of their early shows, as the 1st 7” hadn’t been released yet.

We arrived at Mr. T’s which I remember being some combination of restaurant, bowling alley, and bar, although my memory isn’t real clear on this. The scene showed good potential for an interesting show -– punks, hippies, Hessian types, art schoolers, some greasers. Soon after arrival we met up with a few of D’s all female co-workers who were funny, witty, and purposefully obnoxious in a good way. Another good sign, I thought. As we drank a few beers, I saw Phil from Gods Iron Tooth, who I hadn’t seen in awhile so I went over to say hello. Turned out he was the roadie for this at-the-time unknown-to-me band The Orphans. Yet another promising indicator.

Some stoner-metal type act played first, I think. Maybe a surf-garage band played, too? Don’t really remember. Any memory of these bands was soon to be completely eclipsed.

The Orphans take the stage and immediately begin tearing the place apart. If you saw ‘em, you know what the live show was like. Iggy Pop meets Darby Crash meets The Avengers vibe. Jenny going apeshit, rolling around on the floor, hiking up her dress, licking the mike, being overly obnoxious. Wade, drunk, barely playing the bass – more of just a smashing on the strings with his fist and getting bloody. Dan and Brandon holding the whole thing together.

Again, if you saw The Orphans, you know Wade had a proclivity for a few things: (1) getting bloody; (2) smashing beer bottles on his head; (3) breathing fire. A lot of bands breathe fire. It’s nothing new, but a fun gimmick at times. So Wade fills his mouth with alcohol, covers the bass stock, lights the stock on fire. But, here's the catch. Instead of spitting the alcohol up into the air like every other band I've seen who does this, Wade aims at the audience and spits fire directly in the face of one of the guys from the opening act. Wow. I’m pretty sure his hair caught fire. He may have fallen down. At some point he recovers himself enough to run to the back of the place, presumably to the bathroom to wash off his face. At this point, I’m impressed.

A few songs later, who reappears in the crowd? Fire victim. He immediately rushes the stage, tackles Wade, and starts punching him (or trying to punch him, I couldn’t really tell what was happening). Out of nowhere, Phil appears from the side of the stage and starts destroying Fire Victim. First he gets burned, then beat up. Not this guy’s night, that’s for sure.

I think the show ended at this point. Didn't really matter. I left thoroughly impressed, and with a new favorite band. I would go on to see The Orphans a ton, but nothing was quite like that first night. Well, maybe the time at the Prospector when my same friend D became the victim of Wade’s fire antics and had her hair catch fire. She was too drunk to notice, so I think Jenny put it out while continuing to sing. Classic.

The Orphans "Last Show" flyer:

chris girard's house show

sometimes there are hardcore shows that are the stuff of legend.

one hazy weekend afternoon in south county, a legendary show happened. anyone in attendance will attest to this. in a mild mannered suburban home, the spectacle of THE MISTAKE and MATOE was unleashed.

ive asked a few people to try to put to words what happened at this show, and i receved this from Austin Cherness, or "Austin without the liprings" or "south county Austin"

chris gerard lived with his mom in a nice house in laguna niguel. he decided to have a show with the mistake and matoe. i think the mistake and matoe kind of always had to play together. this was one of the first shows where matoe werent pirates, and it was pretty much a let down. this was in his garage and it was pretty much all south county kids, with the exception of the mistake and a few friends. this was the begining of the short lived "riot mosh", and man was that fun.

what made riot mosh different from regular moshing? well, riot mosh was more wwf instead of karate. also it was just trying to do the most over the top stuff you could, like elbow drops and baseball slides and body slams and stuff. it was always aimed at friends though, because nobody else really understood it. due to riot mosh, i will forever have a busted shoulder. i messed it up in a wall of death gone wrong, and as it was healing, aria decided it was a good idea and body slam me right on to it.

anyway, the mistake played and it was mayhem in the little garage. i wish i still had pictures, if only to post mikey v's flock of seagulls hair from the show. and i think he had construction gloves on. the mistake usually finished sets with the "where's my foot" song, and its a great pile on part. well, it usually is, but this time was different. a lot of times, there would be 1 or 2 shoes thrown on stage...well, i dont know WHY or HOW this happened, but there was a giant bucket of shoes in the garage just waiting to be thrown. so all of a sudden, the pile on doesnt happen, and it turns into a fucking battlefield of shoes. like literally, at least 20 pairs of shoes being thrown full force at each other in a tiny packed garage. i think jav still has injurys from this.

anyway, it was a great show. probably better than when matoe played at this kids house and we had a bounce house mosh sesh and then people were moshing with sledge hammers and axes.

after the show we went to in n out and greg cuchissi carved slayer in his arm to show how metal he was. i asked him to see and i poured a pack of salt on it. the end.