HOMEMADE HARDCORE #1

S/O to those driving analog cars in a digital world (ca. 2003)

Turkey Lurkey #3

Separating the cranberry sauce from the cranberry jelly. 

TOP 5 with Attila (Chiller Than Most Fanzine)

I figure it's time to give a little mic time to some of my friends and cohorts over the years. Attila is legitimately my only Hungarian friend, but he's been a Drug Dogs supporter since #1. Nowadays, he puts out an excellent fanzine called Chiller Than Most (peep my back cover for issue #2 and a forthcoming design for #3). I figured I'd give him the floor to outline his own personal Top 5. Read, enjoy and scroll to the end of the interview for links to purchase his zine or contact.

Ati's collection

FIVE THINGS THAT I MISS by Attila (Chiller Than Most Fanzine)

1. CREATIVITY WHEN IT COMES TO CASSETTE TAPES: I honestly think there is a rightful place for formats like vinyl records, cassette tapes and fanzines in this digital age. Aside from the respect for traditions I don't think I have to explain how much better it is putting on a record and looking at the cover art than listening to music on a laptop, or how much better it is to read a fanzine by the river/in the bath tub/on the toilet than browsing on a computer. 

That being said, most of the time I am also listening to music on my computer, I rarely turn on the tape deck. This is exactly why I don't like most of the recent demo tapes lack of creativity. It does not satisfy my collector nature anymore if the European and American editions have the same cover, the first press and the second press have the same cover with a different colour. There are so many gifted illustrators out there, tons of pictures from shows, let's use them! Let's not put out a demo tape without a lyric sheet! Don't call a lame piece of paper an insert. Why can't we get a one page photocopy fact sheet with every tape?

2. TICKETS: I have been collecting tickets and stubs alongside records, tapes and fanzines for a long time. I organize them in a separate folder, like I do with everything else and my favourite tickets I carried around in my wallet for years. During my last move a few of these old tickets came about, all of them a tiny slice of hardcore history. The thoughts in my head were racing around and took me to 2003, good memories of travels, shows and stories. I remember there was one guy in the Hungarian hardcore scene up until the mid 2000s whose duty was to design tickets. From the past 5 years I probably only have one or two tickets, they were substituted by lame stamps and online tickets receipts. The stamp fades away and you will throw away the receipt. Attention, people booking shows: please bring back real tickets at least for the small shows holding 50-100! It's not important if they are not printed quality, it will suffice if they are Xeroxed, just let there be something physical to keep as a memory. 

3. BANNERS: I can not play a note, therefore I never had a band. If I had one there is no way we wouldn't hanging on the back of the stage of every show. Other than making the presence of the stage better (think about the legendary Underdog banner, or Side by Side or Justice in the 2000s) a flag serves as an important symbol. It resembles unity, the togetherness of the scene. Aside from a few great exceptions banners have vanished. It would be nice if more bands put up banners.

4. EUROPEAN FANZINES: I am not against webzines at all but the printed material is the real thing. It is good to see more and more hardcore fanzines coming out in the USA and Canada, the fanzine subculture is thriving again. I personally miss European fanzines though. 10 years ago there were tons of amazing fanzines all over the European scene (Wake Up And Live, Crucial Times, Wise Up, The Ghent Decontrol, Send In The Clones etc.), there was a time when I could order 3-4 zines a month from Belgium and the Netherlands, nowadays I can not order 3-4 from the whole continent! 

5. LYRICS ON SLEEVE PRINTED T-SHIRTS: Since the introduction of the legendary 4 sided t-shirts in the 80s, less and less bands print lyrics on the sleeves. We could encounter the words "A Journey of a Thousand Miles" on The First Step's early shirts, but mostly it is only the label's logo that gets printed on the sleeves. I miss these 3/4 sided shirts resembling the iconic t-shirts and classic hardcore designs. Fortunately Mosher's Delight is trying to change this recently. ("Scream for tomorrow", "No thanks, I don't need your drugs", "There are none as blind, as those who will not see!", "Care enough to do something, know enough to do it right!", "Straight on view", "Wake Up And Live!", "Drugs & Booze the sure way to lose")

KUDOS FOR CREATIVE IDEAS: Moshers Delight Records 4-sided t-shirts ("Only showing what's worth knowing!" / "Find the strength within!") Sike and Bluesbreaker postcards, Unified Right fact sheets, Straight Truth fact sheets, Flowerheads newsletters, Antwerp Hardcore Collective card, Control Records stickers, Powered Records posters, New Instinct Records card, Moshers Delight Records liveset tapes with interviews, Moshers Delight Records fact sheets, Fineprint Records liveset cassette...

Antwerp Hardcore Collective card / "Congratulations, you have just met the AHC (Antwerp Hardcore Collective)" - The Inter City Firm (ICF) is an English football casual firm mainly active in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, associated with West Ham United. The name came from the use of InterCity trains used to travel to away games. One of the most feared firms of the heights of football violence, the Inter City Firm was famous for leaving a calling card on their victims that read 'Congratulations, you have just met the ICF.'

Attila (Chiller Than Most fanzine) 
chillerthanmost.bigcartel.com
www.facebook.com/chillerthanmostzine

Pawn Shop Diaries #1 (Alone in a Crowd/Inside Out "split")

What was the last CD you bought brand new? I can't remember if mine The Stokes Is this It or Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf, but I use each interchangeable depending on who I'm talking to. Most of us came up on CD's, even if HC will always be a tape n' vinyl game. 

At the very earliest onset of our addiction to the HC disease, me and my retarded friends perpetuated stories we'd heard about all the "old" hardcore guys in our shitty little Kentucky suburb that would sell off huge swaths of their hardcore memorabilia collections in exchange for drugs, floating unprecedented numbers of punk and hardcore errata throughout the pawn + trailer court circuit of town.  Of course, once we'd become cognizant of it, everything  Rev, Shiz, Taaang and Touch & Go had long since been snatched up, leaving behind only the dregs for us to root through: spotty reissues, bootlegs, second tier youth crew tapes and a whole fuckload of hardcore CD's that no one else seemed to want, all housed in a non-descript used video game shack off Dixie Highway in E-town. Methinks they didn't know about EBay.

Sometime between the stages of "dewy-eyed core-ling" and "radio rock graduate" (2003) an acne riddled, straight edge version of me bought this CD off a dollar rack. The varsity lettering alone caught my attention but to this point I was barely familiar with the Cali version of Inside Out (eloquently cited as "rope haired, commie, spiritual minded, soon to be rap metal freaks from California" in Chunks #2). Of course, only now do I know the superior IO.  

It's like that scene in Empire Strikes Back

Lost & Found, the oft maligned euro bootlegger label, mashed these classic 7"s together and though I can't vouch for the horrid cover art, I will have to credit them for hipping me to 2 essential and vastly underrated NYHC records. Both of these releases can be found in their official capacities elsewhere, but both come highly recommended, as does the live Alone in a Crowd set.

It's mostly downhill from here though. Stay tuned for less essential fare from the dollar bins. 

Murdercore Dogs of Detroit (Logo Power #10)

From Sold Out #10

"It's all their fault!" - Ted Bundy. 

Ball of Destruction Fanzine (European Vacation II):

Ball of Destruction #1 (Belgium)
I went to Belgium once as a kid. I liked it. My family was literally booted out of a restaurant there. That's definitely a story for another post though. (Peace to Belgium and hardcore and Rise and Fall). 

I once jokingly postulated that Madball's Ball of Destruction era logo was hardcore's closest approximation to Metallica's Master of Puppets logo. Both bands start with "M" and have a history of logos that have evolved over their various incarnations as a band. I stand by the statement, with the more immediate point being that the mind(s) behind Ball of Destruction  chose some primo boilertplate from which to cut n' paste their own tome, a hefty full-sizer with the Toxic Avenger landing a cover spot. 

I've never heard the band Grim (described as Darkside NYC by way of Bulldoze in the zine) but when asked if he's worried about becoming "just another beatdown band" Grim's singer responded with "our breaks are quite harsh." They cover Soundgarden's "4th of July" which gives me a great segue to plug an old post: here.  

Very great to see mention of Bad Trip and Mind Over Matter in the discussion of Don Fury recordings. 

The cream here was the Ramblings on Victory #2, 4 +7, a segment in which the author shot on Billingsgate's Reach Out album sleeve,  how Worlds Collide got their name (sidenote: for a great podcast in which Worlds Collide member Matt Burger plays music, talks about Worlds Collide and also some ridiculous shit about hardcore gangs, here) and Salty City's pride and joy: Insight. Nugget below about using Supertouch's gear and not saying thank u. 

Other highlights:
Who doesn't love a good old Cro-Mags interview? We know the euros love their mags (in their mags...yuk). This one was from '89 done in Seattle WA on a show with teutonic thrashers Destruction. 

The Only Living Witness interview was reprinted from Look Again Fanzine #3  and also featured Slayer in there. ("Why do people think metal is a four-letter word? They didn't learn english!" -Jonah Jenkins).

On late-period Turning Point: "Bold shirts, make way for turtlenecks and Jane's Addiction merch." 

Overall, snappy photography, great cut n' paste layout and unique, heartfelt content. All anyone could ever want in a zine in this day n' age. Glad I send abroad for this one. 

(you cannot) BUY THIS FANZINE HERE (because it is sold out). 

Greg Mental Interview Pt. V (This is the end)

The end of the interview. Where I asked about art and stuff, and got the best pull-quote. 

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Every Lockin Out release has a discernible "aesthetic" to it. I know you've done some of that artwork. Is that just another hobby?

I'd love to be doing art for a living. I went to a tech high school and took design as my "shop" class. I also graduated from Art Insitute of Boston. Design and art are things I love, but unfortunately, they're just hobbies right now.

Doodling? Computer stuff? What's your favorite?

I do everything before finishing a project. I'll doodle, paint, fuck around on the computer. Whatever it takes to come up with an idea I like. Then I just bang it out. I'm really hoping to do more shirts for bands and the label this year if I can find some free time. 

Would you ever do art outside of hardcore? Would you do art for bands that aren't Lockin Out bands?

I did a design for Detroit Birds. I dunno if I've really done much other art for bands not on the label. I don't think so.

Oh, so my idiot friend wants me to ask you about the Bum Rush EP.

It's coming out soon.

On LOC?

No comment. 

Well, you've got to be pretty stoked on hardcore to still be working so close with hardcore bands.

Oh, of course. I'm still stoked on hardcore but at this point, I'm not driving super far to see a show or anything like that. It's just because of my real-life obligations and schedule though and the lack of bands that I'm really interested in, rather than not being stoked on hardcore itself.

What Non-LOC bands are you still interested in?

War Hungry is always dope. I like Waste Management, Step Forward, Dead Black. That's all I can really come up with off the dome. 

The "jaded hardcore dude" is such a common trope you know? It hardly seems applicable to you though.

Hell no man. I still get in the pit if I'm feeling it. I'm a hardcore kid you know? That's just what it is. If I'm at a club grinding on a fine 'ho I've still got the same grin on my face that I'll have at a show getting ignorant. I love hardcore. I love underground shit. It's always been attractive to me. I'm a fuck-up and love hardcore because it's a bunch of fuck-ups.

HALLOWEEN HAVOC

Misfits? We don't need no stinkin' Misfits!

Greg Mental Interview Pt. 4 (The fav LOC records)

Winding down at this point. Please note that this was all taking place in a pre Free Spirit world, and Raw Life was just about to be released. 

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

What's the deciding factor in whether or not you'll work with a band?

(Laughs) seriously, I'd like to keep working with bands that have a similar sound, but at the end of the day it's not about them sounding like established LOC bands, it's about releasing hardcore records that I'd wanna put on my iPod or turntable.

Do you have a favorite Lockin Out release? I know these questions are tough but there's got to be some you're especially happy with.

One is definitely Stop and Think's Both Demos. They were an inspirational band for me at the time, doing something I thought was really cool when everything else was getting boring. Through that, AJ and Joey C became two of my best friends, and I think back on that shit like nothing else. Also, I legitimately love those demos. People either get it or they don't. 

Another one is Righteous Jams Rage of Discipline. One of the best hardcore records ever made, no doubt. 

Number 3 is Mental's Planet Mental. It's kinda cheesy to pick my own band's record, but whatever. It's my favorite shit that Mental ever put out. I'm glad I got to do it myself and that band and time period was just a great period in my life. 

Runner up would be Rampage Limit of Destruction. I love their sound. A lot of people sleep on them, but I think they are one of the greatest LOC bands I've ever worked with.

I'm definitely stoked they've come together to bless us with a full length. The cover artwork is great too.

Yeah, I think it was either the drummer Ben or the singer Josh who did it. Both are ill at drawing.

Any Lockin Out releases you'd rather forget?

The Terror LP was kind of a dumb move on my part just because of the hoops I had to jump through for Trustkill. I'd love to do something with Terror again but it would have to be 100% me. It had nothing to do with the band, I love those dudes. It had everything to do with their label. I wouldn't say I regret it, I just wish I would've stodd up for myself more in the situation. A similar kind of deal happened with the second Righteous Jams LP. Again, I don't regret them because I learned how that type of situation will pan out and now I'll be sure never to agree unless it's a little more in my favor. As records, I'm perfectly happy with them. It was just the label bullshit I had to deal with that I'd rather forget...label royalties and such. It just wasn't a wise move on my part.

Does it ever bug you when people reference a LOC "sound" or "style" or anything like that?

I think it's cool that my label has become a verb. It means that I did something that wasn't a trend or a fad. A LOT of people called it that when it was just getting off the ground (laughs). They can now line up to suck me off. 

I'm tempted to say that Lockin Out would lose its identity if it started releasing material from lots of different "styles" or bands, but then again...I dunno. Look at Rev. I mean, they hardly do "youth crew" stuff anymore, but they're pretty much synonymous with that just because of their early catalog.

Yeah, I think it would dilute it though. I'd not something I'm trying to do right now. I like the niche I've made for my label and will continue to release bands that I like and really that's just it. If they are a little bit different, I won't be too concerned. I think most of my releases are consistent. At least that's what I'm aiming form. I think the next 3 Lockin Out releases will prove that.

Can you drop any hints? Let's just say I'm out of the internet pipeline...

The New Lows EP is one of my favorite hardcore records I've heard in a long time. This band The Rival Mob has a great demo out and will be doing an EP this summer. Think think both those bands, and RZL DZL have an "older" sound to them, more consistent with like..."older" LOC releases. 

European Vacation I: Hashtag Hardcore #3 + "Mind Over Matter"

#Hardcore #3 + Mind Over Matter Fanzine (Netherlands)
My life's "European vacation" was a 5 year tour of duty of living in the UK (Cardiff Wales) while my Dad worked for a chemical company. I saw much of Europe, but was also elementary school age so I spent most of my time drawing and complaining, sidestepping the grand cultural awakening my parents somehow convinced themselves I'd get. Nowadays, I'm just pilfering their fanzines. 

By my estimation, #Hardcore is in the uppermost echelon of the current fanzine hierarchy. For straight up interesting reading, phenomenal layouts and for a guy genuinely trying to document the state of hardcore past n' present in a coherent printed publication (that means multi-trips to the shitter), all done cut n' paste and replete with show, record and fanzine reviews (even notable shout outs to the Drug Dogs Newsletters, positive reviews which in no way have any bearing on how I perceive this zine...), Daan is your man. 

Structurally, it's a "zine within a zine" setup, with the inner zine being Mind Over Matter (officially, I think it's from Belgium). It replicates those "pull out" zines of times past. M.O.M runs a little more straight forward than its parents publications with the best bit definitely being an interview with Jordan Posner of No Warning. ("At one point we had Dijan, Henderson and Porter all in the studio. We were saying to each other 'OK, Madball, Breakdown, and Floorpunch are all helping with our record.' We were tripping.") As a product of early 00's hardcore (and also a critic of the underwhelming Ill Blood doc they made a few years back) I got a lot out of this interview. I only got to see No Warning well beyond their prime, in the thick of their Suffer Survive years, with Fear Factory at a club called Jillian's in Louisville. 

Furthermore, since I don't really know a TON about euro hardcore (save for the surface stuff, Rise & Fall and that back in the day americans used to rip them off via mailorder a lot, hopefully the internet and paypal has democratized all that?) I actually use these inky things to learn a thing or two about the scenes. At this point, I really want the errata of Europe. Who are their Rick Ta Life's?  For that, I got a riotous jolly off the discussion of a band called 36 Karat, described as "Belgian Ghetto Metal." Oh, and some True Blue stuff for those lookin' to get a little halloweeny off the chilly Icemen vibes.

This is GHETTO METAL

Back to the "exo" zine though. I love that I can legitimately disagree with Daan so vehemently about bands (Dude definitely backs Warhound, I definitely do not), but still think  he's got one of the premiere fanzines in the "biz." Yeah, I think it's weird that hentai and tentacle porn got referenced seriously in the Cornered interview (but then again, #2 went into pretty detailed specifics about Thai prostitutes and STD's in the Kickback interview) but love that I'm not just reading "JR plays bass, Dickweed sings, Dumpwood stole a drumkit and me? I just sing about life maaaan." All that runs through conversations with some cool core (Stick Together, DiE and Redemption Denied if you can fuck with a band that uses a graffiti logo...some can't).

BRAINWAVE

I'd be most remiss to not mention the Integrity piece here though because it's the thing of absolute beauty. Three full pages of collected ephemera, (fanzine interviews and record spotlights) meticulously curated and ordered to create a beautiful fan-made pastiche of a band in their prime (much like this fan-made documentary about Sabu.) 

For original content, phenomenal layouts and all-around comprehensiveness, you'll be hard up to find anything better than this one right here. Here's to many more! 

Drowning in envy

(You can no longer) BUY THIS FANZINE HERE (because it is sold out. Sorry Bunky). 

New Boston Strangler is...

FIRE!

Some goon from a bad paper zine: why'd you decide to become a straight edge band?

Strangler: We didn't. We decided to be a hardcore band. 

"Slow Burn" joins "Plastic Bomb,"  and "Feel the/Living in Darkness" for my 3+ Minute punk RAWK club, aka GUITARcore for those about to...you know...

I'm sure there's a few more, but do they have pianos/trash can lids in them? In a post Strangler "Slow Burn" world, I now comfortably envision the strangler covering them all in a fetid medley. Bon Scott hears Discharge and sits upright in his tomb. The Who gets referenced again in relation to hardcore. We like solos. 

(You can no longer) BUY THIS RECORD (because it's sold out) HERE.

Pro Wrestling Fanzine Report #1 (AKA WrassleRags #1)

Most of the literate core-folk reading this blog know the importance and history of the printed paper zine. These handmade, hand-laid tomes dug beneath the proverbial surface, dissecting events and obsessively laying out these "left-of-the-dial" discoveries for other, like-minded fans to bond over along with traded tapes and programs. What many likely don't know is that this hybrid form of art and journalism has been used to keep numerous cultural communities in communication with each other from the days of Shatner Star Trek fandom clear down to fans of Man-U and even pro wrestling.

Perhaps no other sport* boasts a fan base more ripe for socio-cultural discussion than that of pro wrestling, a once-heavily protected industry that still boasts an "inside-secret" on par with Santa Claus and god (where were you when you first found out it was all pre-determined? I'd just seen Wrestling with Shadows on VHS). 

Many wrestling fans, writers and promoters kept up with each other, and their beloved subculture, via printed newsletters (or "dirt sheets") which meticulously recorded match and event listings in their local municipalities, as well as their own "shoot" (i.e. "real life") opinions on wrestlers, news items and the industry at large. A few of these sheets have become bonafide pro wrestling staples, still cited and subscribed by the vast majority of the wrestling fan base today.

However, in an era when most, if not all, wrestling news is disseminated via the internet (not 6 months ago, I saw my local 7-Eleven stop carrying WWE Print Magazine on its shelf) there's something to be said of anyone still continuing to produce wrestling content on paper, and charging people money for it (god bless 'em. Really). Here's my take on a few current gems in the wrestling fanzine world, as well as one very cool blast from the past.

"Ya know what makes me sick besides....EVERYTHING?"

1. The Atomic Elbow #10 (2014)
Essentially, the reigning HW champ of U.S. wrestling paperzines. (IC award goes to the UK's Calling Spots fanzine). This one's printed on glorious green with Road Warrior Hawk proudly displaying an airbrushed Weasal Slappers tee. This ish featured more contributions than normal, this author's favorites being Villainous: a Tribute to William Regal and Scott T. Holland's Nitro in Chicago piece (an excellent, if not a slightly depressing, bizarro counterpoint to the Raw in Chicago piece which literally dissects each and every taping of Monday Nitro in the Windy City):

"With RAW, the book remains unfinished, as WWE keeps chugging along, returning several times a year for major events. But the final chapter has been written on WCW, so there will be nothing to add to this story. It's a sad conclusion, but at least I don't have to watch any more garbage for the sake of this essay." -Scott T. Holland

Always a grand mix of insightful wrestling commentary, art (the Jim Cornette illustration in the back and selections from Box Brown's Andre the Giant comic) and nostalgia-mining, The Atomic Elbow IS America's wrestling fanzine. They're almost up to 12 issues and don't show signs of slowing down. Get on it now before they're gone forever because (per his blog) I don't think they're putting out another compilation book.

The Villains

Buy Atomic elbow back-issues and even a GD tee-shirt, here. 
Scott T. Holland's Twitter is definitely worth following too. (@StarofSavage)
Stay up on the Atomic Elbow (and other great fanzines) via their Twitter: @secondperiod 

Twin Cities

2. The Soda Killers #2 (2014)
The Soda Killers isn't a wrestling zine necessarily (but it does begin the zine by quoting Lance Storm and does feature Verne Gagne prominently in the centerfold, along with other famous Minnesotans), but features plenty of wrestling content and comes from the land of the AWA so I'm into it. I got this in a trade with a friend I made on Twitter and think these zines are just great. Quality way over quantity with tons of music reviews (mostly hip-hop here, which is cool for a paperzine) and awesome live reviews from seeing Poison, Anthrax, Death Angel, Anthrax, The Dwarves, Swans, tons more) Make this half-sizer feel really substantial. Dude sent me a ton of cool ones which will find their way into the rotation. Worth price of admission for the incisive commentary on old thrash metal egos.

"Question: if it's warm enough for cargo shorts, can it also be cold enough for a leather jacket? I ask because this particular combo seems to be the sartorial preference of many in attendance this evening. Also, what purpose does a sleeveless jean jacket serve anyway?" -The Soda Killers #2 [individual author unknown].

For your own, I highly suggest emailing: bnb@hotdogdayz.com
or doing it the way I did, and making friends with OMNOB on Twitter. (@OMG_NOB) 

How about: Berne Ganja? The fictional AWA champ who just couldn't ever pass those pee-pee tests? (joke credit: my buddy Kyle)

3. Hardcore Wrestling - Premiere Issue (1985)

Here's my granddaddy catch though, a find via Ebay for a paltry $8 (that's like 1/6 of the last TNA PPV too). I think by this point, most know Bob Mould's involvement in the pro wrestling business (for those who don't: well post-Husker Du and on a hiatus from Sugar, Mould was a writer during one of WCW's darkest eras. You can read about that in his new book, wherein he reveals himself himself to be one of the only members of Earth's populace to not completely despise Kevin Nash.)

True to the cover's word, this fanzine was produced by Mould and Dave Hintz (Toxic Reasons) rounding up some of his buddies from the equally colorful world of 80's punk and hardcore including some of this author's favorites (a wrestling book review by Josh Barker of Rest in Pieces) and some lesser knowns (was Stretch Marks ever on an Agnostic Front flyer, or am I thinking of a band called Balls?) all round out the 1985 version of what Ride the Fury fanzine could be, but isn't quite. 

Immediately, I'm struck by the old typewriter layouts, the cartoon illustrations, the *literal* dirt sheet content and the high-contrast photos...but with the suspension of nostalgia and disbelief, I can also see that Hardcore Wrestling #1 is a fascinating relic from a pre-internet time that highlights 3 essential, undying, facts:

1. Wrestling fans have always, and will continue, to suggest to the world that they all suffer from low-grade forms of autism.
2. The WWE (WWF in 1985) has always been empowered by its detractors
3. Hardcore/punk will always provide an ample cross-section of professional wrestling fans, no matter the "era." I wonder if WWE marketing team acknowledges this?

Were it left entirely up to me, I'd probably just scan this whole thing in, page by page and just be like "see how incredible this is?" but as a "serious journalist" I'm inclined to only feed you pieces of the info and somehow encourage you to try and find this thing on your own. Here's a few of my favorite bits throughout the zine:

• The bold proclamation at the beginning of the zine that this is the first United States coreman-wrestling zine, taking up the torch that Canada's Piledriver fanzine first lit. 
• Weird, paranoid, and oddly prophetic musings on the WWF, made all the more interesting based on the fact that 100% of the editorial staff make up "outside territories" that the WWF would mine for talent (AWA in MPLS, NWA Territories down south, Canadian territories, etc.). Also, at this point, WWF had only successfully pulled off one Wrestlemania (to great success) and had managed to raise the eyebrows of everyone in the industry who were now watching their every subsequent move.
• Bill Stretch (of the aforementioned Stretch Marks) ruminating on the then-recent 20/20 piece "Pro Wrestling: Exposed!" episode which had just aired, citing all particpants (Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon and David Schultz) as "fake. 
• Richard Sheir giving the history of professional wrestling, from the 1950's down and an elaboration on Gorgeous George. The piece ends with the line: Richard Sheir may very well be the only person to attend both Woodstock and the Sex Pistols at Winterland.
• Actual dirt sheets and scene reports given for various promotions and territories around the country by writers and for fans who legitimately had no other access to this information.
• Tyler Davis from Lynchburg Virginia talks some major shit on Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and of course Mr. T's involvement in the next Wrestlemania event. 
• Ruminations from Barry Stepe (Caustic Defiance) as to wether it's ok to foster anti-Russian sentiment via pro wrestling storylines and why open-hand slaps should be eliminated outright.

That's certainly not all here, but if I wrote out too much more you'd likely not seek it out for yourself. For slightly more online info, consult the only listing I ever found for this zine here. 

If you've got a zine, or no where I can track down more pro wrestling-centric fanzines, please get in touch here or at drugdogszine@gmail.com

Greg Mental interview pt. 3 ("goofy" band w/ "goofy" image)

If I'm gonna get any flack here (besides the inherent flack of re-packaging old paper-zine content to html plastic), it's likely for running a little too dorky here, potentially assigning too much importance to LOC. Whatever. Hardcore was absolutely the center of my universe then and it reflects in the stupid things I asked. It's all I talked about with my friends and a lot of my friends HATED Lockin Out.  What's hardcore if not for nerding out over it anyway? Plus, this portion of the interview yielded the impetus for the lil character below. Well, that and Onslaught's Power from Hell. (Keen observer will note: my LOC and diet soda splatter replace Power From Hell's pentagram and phantasmic plumes).
(I think he's actually a bad guy from Ninja Turtles in spirit.) My favorite bit of content here was talking about blood splatter tees and the WNYU tapes. 

Power from Diet Soda + Protein Powder

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3:

Tell me about Boston. It seems like it's a big component of Lockin Out's identity.

Boston rules man. There was a tight crew of dudes around me and we had some incredible times. There were a few apartments just packed with crucial dudes who loved nothing but diet soda, protein powder, dead lifting, moshing and listening to Breakdown. A lot of them are still around, and have the same ideas and I guess I'm one of them. At the time, we were super young and didn't have much responsibility so everyone hung out a lot more. I'm not around quite as much because of my job and a lot of the dudes have moved on to becoming adults. It's just how it goes. I'm still tight with a lot of the people I used to roll with, we just don't get to chill much as a crew anymore... 

There was definitely an undercurrent of people who seemed miffed that Lockin Out bands weren't "serious" the way that hardcore was at the time. I can understand people not liking that "style" of hardcore, but looking at it logically, it would seem that you guys took it very seriously. Seriously enough to tour and release records.

Yeah, I can really only speak for Mental here, but we definitely played anywhere we could every weekend. Once we got our shit tight, it was always tight. We always changed up our cover songs, we always practiced. The band was never a joke to us. That's not even a question. We busted our asses. Plus, bands like Righteous Jams are just dope bands. Why wouldn't they do well on tour? I just think the "image" of hardcore was WAY too serious at the time.

That's what made Lockin Out so refreshing for me. It wasn't presented as "tough" or "sincere" like a lot of hardcore at that time. It was lighter and kind of refreshing.

It's like this: how many bands have guns or knives or knuckles on their shirts? No disrespect to the ones who actually use them, but what percentage of those bands ACTUALLY would? I didn't want Mental to have that fake image, so if we were the "goofy" band with a "goofy" image that's fine with me. I'm a light-hearted dude so that fits me more than having some blood splatter or knives on our tees. I really just liked the image of old school hardcore bands. Those bands had the same attitude that I have now. You listen to old tapes, bands were always crackin' wise and having a good time. To me, that's what it was all about. Having fun and letting off some steam.

WNYU tapes come to mind. It sounds like bands are hanging out with each other. I've heard you're like a connoisseur of those WNYU tapes...

When I got into hardcore I used to go to this record store in Hyannis and the dude working there got me heavily into NYHC. I got most of my WNYU tapes from an older head from Connecticut. I started collecting all the rare shit once I started traveling more with Mental and making connections with people who had good collections of stuff to dub for me. I love those WNYU tapes man. Supertouch doin' it live on St. Patty's day! Shit is dope.

Funky fresh

I think the "Live on WERS" tapes are the closest I'll ever get to having my own cache of  WNYU tapes. Can you tell me anything about Mental's session?

It was recorded live and in one take! That's why I couldn't really swear and stuff. That was a lot of fun and we had so many people in that studio. WERS is awesome. 

I've always loved the Sweet Vision comp. It's just one of those great "moment in time" comps. Do you think there will ever be another LOC comp?

I'd LOVE to do another comp, but...Sweet Vision was all recorded at the same studio. If I did it again, I'd follow the same blueprint. I think it makes for a very cool record that way, but It's just nearly impossible to get all those bands to get all their shit together and into a studio. Like super hard.

Plus, Lockin Out's "family" is a lot more spread out now. It must've been so cool when Lockin Out started expanding beyond strictly "Boston" area bands. Were these relationships all built off Mental tours?

Just friends of mine from out of town you know? When Mental would tour, I'd see tons of different bands and meet different people. If I dug it and they were down I'd fuck with them like that. That's what I love about touring. You get the chance to meet a lot of people that you'll be friends with for a long time that you wouldn't normally meet. Iron Age, Justice, Cold World...those guys all blew up which is a great thing. I love helping my friends out. It makes me really happy to be able to do that.

MINI SUMMER SLAM

Since you're not touring now, how are you finding new bands to work with?

I'm not really scouting hard for bands. It's not a priority. Like I said, the label is just a hobby. I'm not out there pounding the pavement trying to find the next new thing.

Do bands send you their stuff much? Wanting to put stuff out on LOC?

Bands get in touch with me all the time, but I usually don't even listen to the demos.

Maybe it was that Nike shirt designs, but what's your take on the "jock hardcore" accusations?There's always that weird thing about sports and punk and all that shit. What's your take?

The first band I sang in back in high school had a song called "white hat trash fuck off!" I didn't write it, but believe me, I fucking hated jocks in high school.

So you didn't play sports in high school?

No I didn't. I played tennis for a year, but fucked up my ankle skateboarding. I'm still dope at tennis but only play when it's nice out with my roommates or whatever chick is hanging out. I haven't had any good competition since high school, but I think I'm a better athlete now than I was then.

Be true to yer school