Greg Mental Interview pt. 2 (Early days of Lockin Out)

Here's where it starts to get a little more nuggety, tracing the Lockin Out story. I was most stoked on the Stop and Think anecdotal then, and re-reading it, it's still really cool. For context, check out part 1 here. 

Part 2

Lockin Out was established as a means to release the Mental EP (And You Know This)...was there intention to turn it into a full-blown record label?

At the time, we weren't trying to associate with anyone. We kinda wanted to create our own lane. That's why we decided to release it on our own...on Lockin Out. Really, I just put "Lockin Out" on the back of the Mental record because it sounded cool. After releasing the Mental record, I realized "oh, this isn't that hard to do." So I did it for one friend's band, and then another friends band, so on and so on. Then it became what it is now...

Did you have a "blueprint" for how you wanted it to go?

I definitely worship the early Revelation stuff and tried to make it like that...and still do.

Maybe it's just revisionist history, but Lockin Out kind of represented an overall sea-change for what hardcore could be. It was very different from the current climate. How did that influence your decisions?

We did feel some of that. That's why we wanted to release our own record. We wanted to do something new. We loved NYHC and just old hardcore in general and it seemed like all the bands around at the time weren't playing hardcore. They were playing some other shit, but not like the shit we were into. Song structure? Lyrics? Nothing like we were into. Except maybe Stop and Think. That's why I love that band. They sounded like what a hardcore band should sound like to me.

Without Words

The age old, English professor question I guess. "What is hardcore?" Some see it as a medium for change or politics, for others it's like being in a junior indie rock band. 

I just look at it as a way to release aggression. I don't think it will change anything in the world nor do I think it should. It's cool and keeps kids out of trouble and maybe some of the messages can help kids with some personal issues, but as far as changing the world, nah. Fuck all that! (laughs).

So you run Lockin Out from your house...

Oh yeah. I got a big dirty closet full of all sorts of Lockin Out shit. It is very bare bones. It's a DIY hardcore label man! (laughs).

Yeah, I guess I'm asking if it's financially stable. Do you have to supplement Lockin Out much with your own money?

Lockin Out usually supports itself, but sometimes I have to throw some money into it. I usually make a little bit of money, break even or lose a little money off of my releases, so at the end of the day overall, I break even. When I'm hit with multiple releases at once, I usually need to give some money to the label from my pocket, but it's worth it. I feel like at the end of the day I'm doing my part to support what really helped me out when I was younger: hardcore.

Who's been instrumental in getting it off the ground?

I wouldn't have been able to do it without my boy AJ. He was like a mentor or manager to me, and still is. Joey C was a big influence to keep me motivated just by seeing the way he was about motivation and dedication to getting shit done. The dude has a work ethic, and so do I, but he really made me realize what hard work will yield. Same with AJ. That dude would get up at like 6 AM to run hills when he was boxing. That shit makes you feel like you can be doing more. Hard work is the key to success in anything. Anyone who does a label or a zine or anything really, they all know it can't be done without a lot of hard work. If you look at the shit we did and still doing, you know it doesn't just happen on its own.

Who helps out now?

Alex is my ace right now for packing orders and all that bullshit. AJ always has my back when I need help. Money, rides, favors...anything. Chucky Edge is the OG Lockin Out Records employee. If he's in town and I need help, he's always there for me. Honestly though, it's mostly just me.

Do you have any conscious intentions of making Lockin Out "bigger?"

It's slowly growing and evolving, but I like the pace I'm going now because I can handle it. If I bit off any more I wouldn't be able to chew it, you know? Plus, I like being involved in every step. I like going to the studio for recordings. I like to be there when the record is mastered. Realistically, I can only really keep going at the same pace I've always been going. I think if I wanted it to get bigger I'd have to starter cranking out stuff and the quality would go down. That's the most important thing to me. The quality of the releases that I've put out, and will continue to put out. I'd eventually like to get more T-shirts for bands and things like that on the site, but again I'm super picky about shit. If it's not the HOTTEST shirt the band ever made, then I don't wanna put it on my site.

I see some labels putting stuff on iTunes. Keeping it in circulation that way.

I might re-release some stuff on iTunes, but that's probably it.

Missed Part 1? Read it here. 

Art/Layout from Drug Dogs #1

Greg Mental Interview pt. 1 (Mental broke up, U2 did not)

I'm sure at some point I've probably said something stupid like "I'll never post my paper zine interviews online" and "blogs are killing zines" and "everyone younger than me is dumb" etc. etc. Time and experience tend to iron out the craggiest of crags and well...here we are. I still think that zines and blogs aren't interchangeable entities, but I've also loosened up on my stance that blogs have no merit (obviously). They do. They're accessible, and I do this for the working man. The monkeys with computers doing SEO and copywriting and whatnot. Those who spend more time in front of a computer than they do with their children and families. 

I'm going to bleed in some of my old Drug Dogs interviews little by little since they'll likely never be re-printed in their original form (never say never though) and you know what? I'm proud of them. I'd like people to see them. Know your history and whatnot. I've seen a few zines and podcasts go up with Greg in them recently, and maybe I'd just like to throw my hat in that ring.

Drug Dogs zine was my attempt at making a "good zine" (i.e. the kind of zine I'd want to read) and not just reprinted garbage from the internet. I'd made a crappy zine before (In Low Carb) that lasted 10 issues and NO ONE read it because it just wasn't very good, and Drug Dogs was going to change all that. It was all done by hand, illustrated and with photo contributions by a guy I met on B9 named James Campbell and the writing was heavily influenced by Hardware and Bullshit Monthly. It was also released during one of hardcore's "rebuilding" years (2009) when it seemed like all of the good bands from "my" era were disappearing and it was my first real experience dealing with "younger" people and bands now dictating the direction of where things would go. (Predictably: when I was first going to shows, I was constantly told how much better everything was in the 90's, how much "realer" and punker it all was and how me and my group of bafflewit chat-room yahoos were going to ruin it all, so...you know). Personal biases accounted for, I feel like 2007-2010 represented a particularly "dry" era in hardcore when there were very few exciting new bands, few good zines, and a whole lot of derivative shlock. I was a huge fan of Trapped Under Ice's 7"s and full-length, as well as Bad Seed's stuff because to me, moshy hardcore was JUST about to become over-saturated when those hit but that style was still kinda in a sweet spot. Also, not withstanding any cred I may get for saying, TUI just wrote great stand-alone songs...but this is all for another post. It was also where I saw the "fests" starting to become a core staple which was exciting then, but seems kind of silly now, and we see how far it's come already.  I guess I'll call it an "interesting" time to be diplomatic, and one the bebs will probably remember a lot more fondly than me. 

Anyway, this Mental interview was conducted over the course of several weeks. Lockin Out hadn't really done much in a while (as you'll see later on in the interview) and more than anything, I was still kind of mourning the loss of Mental (in a Trumbull Escapades blogpost that's no longer on the internet) Morgado summarized the "Lockin Out Era" as the time period between Mental's first show and the Planet Mental record release in 2005. If that's the case, then by 2008 we were well into post-after-party status and so now, in 2014, where are we? Revival time? Someone ask someone on that giant ass Lockin Out thread on B9. 

I was a nervous little mark talking to Greg. I had the opportunity to interview him on their tour with Justice, but I was a dumb high school senior and didn't have the wherewithal to make it actually happen (but I did get to see this tour in 3 different cities). He was great to interview, and didn't make fun of me when I asked dumb questions.

This is the web-version, so you aren't getting the FULL EXPERIENCE (i.e. the meticulous hand-layouts I did, and the illustrations which I see getting shared [without my credit] all over Tumblr) but oh well. Does anyone really read words anyway? Here's part 1, where we started things out talking about hisx life post-Mental and about working with U2. Enjoy.

The interview was conducted in 2008 and printed in 2009. Some of the content has likely changed in parts. All illustrated content by me. More to come. Enjoy. 

Was the edge break what killed Mental?

No, that's not why the band broke up. Dookie and I broke edge but the other dudes in the band didn't really give a shit. We were all straight edge when we met and started the band, but none of us were really judgmental like that. We were just straight edge. It wasn't what really defined us as people or as a band. We kept it moving once Dooks and I started being wastoids. The band broke up because Dookie didn't wanna do it anymore. I'm not sure the reason, but it wasn't a problem with any one of us. It was just what he wanted to do with his life at the time. I can't speak for him, but that's the gist of it. When I talked to him about it, I was like "fuck it, let's call it a day." We had a good run and didn't wanna wear it out. I think a lot of bands stay around way too long and don't ever realize it. We had also agreed, way back, that we would never do the band with different members. WE defined the band and all had our own things we contributed, so without Dookie there really was no Mental. We just played our last show at the end of our tour with Blacklisted and Iron Age, which was a ton of fun. There was never any moment where we were playing shows that we didn't want to. When we got to Atlanta it was just like "this will be our last show." We played it and never really thought twice about it.

How have your opinions of straight edge "evolved" since Mental?

I just keep it moving man. It's not anything I consciously think about, but I'm sure a lot has changed. I've grown up a lot, I've learned a lot about "real life" you know? I'm 25 now, not 19. I've been around the world a few times, met some inspirational people and been through a lot of shit. Sure that's changed me some, but I've still got the same heart. I still feel like a fucked up 16 year old kid. I think people who know me well will say I am still the same person.

At the time, I heard so much stuff about what happened after that. I heard some rumor that you were in a band that sounded like Black Sabbath (laughs). There was definitely a lull in Lockin Out activity, right when Mental broke up.

I went away for about a year to work on the crew for Robbie Williams and then U2. It was just a good opportunity. I took a job at a small tech company in Massachusetts and they basically taught me all this shit in a month or so, then sent me off on the road. They hired me based on my experience from touring with Mental and shit, not so much my technical experience. I still work with those dudes, I don't plan on doing a tour any time soon, but I have to go to a lot of shows to set things up. I'm finishing this interview from the production office in Miami for the Jay-Z/Mary J. Blige "Heart of the City" tour.

Working on the U2 crew? Damn. Did you like...meet Bono?

I saw the dudes and met them, but I wasn't hanging out with them or anything like that. Bands on giant tours like that have a whole crew of people working to set up their concert all day and the artists usually roll into the venue an hour or so before they hit the stage. The crew is very tight with each other, but the artists are definitely on another level.

I mean, obviously it's a job not like you were trying to work with U2. Did you have many thoughts on them before hand? Perceptions that were changed after working with them?

They killed it on that tour. I don't fuck with them personally, but I respect the hell out of how gigantic they are. Those dudes are PAID.

Yeah, I mean likely THE most globally recognized band ever. Did anyone give you any flack for it? Some punk flag-wavers or anything ridiculous? 

Nah, no one has ever given me shit, but I doubt many people know or care (laughs). I don't really know what working for U2 has to do with my label. I literally could have been working for anyone in the world. It was just a job. A way to make money. I didn't set out to be on tour with U2 per-se, I just had an opportunity and jumped on it. 

It had to be a shock though, going from touring with Mental and then seeing how these, you know...iPod rock business men are peddling their wares.

It was really touring on that level. Indeed, it was a dramatic contrast to touring around in the Mental van, but I got that job from being able to function at that level of shitty touring.

Final U2 question. I'm not a huge fan, but my Dad likes 'em. I listened to Achtung Baby a lot as a kid. My Dad saw them on the ZOO-TV tour and told me they had the most elaborate stage set-up he'd ever seen. Exploding TV's and paper machete statues and stuff like that...anything cool like that?

Yeah man, they had a crazy set up. Lots of political shit going on, but to tell you the truth I don't think I watched the whole show even one time. Like I said, U2 isn't really my shit. They had a lot of typical political footage like your Dad probably saw. The cool thing about their setup was just that they had these huge Marshall cabinets stacked up, like 100 of them. Maybe more. THAT was the shit that impressed me.

Now that Mental's broken up, can you see yourself ever being in a band again?

I'm still hoping to start a new band, I just don't have time to get it going. For now I'd rather just not say anything about that.

Check out Part 2 here. 

Out for Blood #1 (zine seizure)

Out for Blood is the next step behind the sordid mind(s) putting out Excitement Level Zero and the band Cretins, and announces itself on the cover as a zine that'll "shit-talk."

A great aesthetic and layout, not too different from ELZ really. Unfortunately, I found the John Evicci interview to be kind of softball, which was a bummer because (like the rest of the world) I love Out Cold. No matter because the Jon Westbrook interview picked it back up, tracing Knife Fight's history with a few things nerdy and nuggety here and there, and because the dude is always willing to talk about cool shit from their era and he's not afraid to pontificate on California's weirdness and KF's outcast status.

Honestly though, the zine's real identity lies in its (as suggested on the cover) outspoken reviews. The author has a serious thing against "dangly earring punks" and makes fun of Tumblr almost as much as I do. I'm also a big fan of the term "chain posers" because...who doesn't agree that this is kind of getting out of hand here? Also, I like that he disses The Flex and Obstruct, just because I (still) think it's funny when popular hype bands get shit on, regardless of my own feelings on them. Contrived or genuinely angry, it was an entertaining read, and as anyone who's ever tried to write about music knows, it's way more fun to talk about that which sucks than that which gets your approval. 

I got mine here. By the looks of it, you can too. 

Inky Fanzine Nugget #5: Internet hardcore pioneers

Boy do I love when hardcore gets "represented," especially when it's on the internet via an indescribably terrifying werewolf demon/ghostbusters prop. To be fair though, this ad originally appeared in Breakout Fanzine #2, which came out in the summer of 1996. How were they to know that a paltry 18 years later, there'd be entire Tumblr pages dedicated to girls wearing Expire beanies and dudes trading mustache waxes and floral print mosh aprons on eBay and shit? Exactly. People didn't have kreskin's crystals or B9 to help them know what was cool, or even what the untamed frontier of the internet would yield (n00dz?). We hold reverence for those who've come before us. Paper fappin and Distro CD's and all. 

Here's the link. (Note: it doesn't work). 

X is for xfilesx

Still underrated as far as I'm concerned. Excruciation is chock fulla riffs.

The Flexual Predator (Logo Power #9)

All Seeing Eye

In honor of the fabled Flex/Violent Reaction tour which recently hit Yankee shores, I'm inclined to unearth this guy for the second installment of Flex-based logo discussions.

The show was great, somewhat sparsely attended, but that's what I'd really expect for a hardcore house show in suburban Salt Lake City that wasn't featuring any bands on the Reaper roster *sigh*. Obstruct opened, and I'd received their No Life 7" as part of a trade I'd completed. Rippers for certain and should be sought out by all.

Here's a crappy iPhone/Picstitch shot I got, courtesy of a small room, bad lighting, and my own criminal inability to take pictures that aren't awful. Still, it should showcase SOMETHING from that night.

Top: Violent RXN/Bottom: Walk in the red light w/ the Flex

Violent Reactions set rang perfect, the inclusion of the Cro-Mags "Don't Tread on Me," an obvious hit. City Streets is a damn good LP that you should seek out.

Before the Flex had set up, I'd spent some time in the garage shilling some old T-shirts and making conversation with the singer, mostly about wrestling in the UK. Turns out he was a big Ring of Honor fan, which endeared me to the band even more, and I bought a shirt. (As the picture indicates) they played in front of some red lights, creating an ultra sinister atmosphere, and when they covered "Kickback" by Breakdown, I absolutely saw someone get moshed into (and subsequently through) a wall. Suburban discipline.

This ain't a show review though, so I'll move on to the real "meat" of the matter (i.e. cartoons in hardcore). Skinheads appropriating HC iconography shouldn't raise any eyebrows, but I like the fact that this bloke's got an eyeball drawn on the back of his hand (symbolism there? IDK man), he's planting a Union Jack into a misproportioned globe and he's carrying what's either a boxcutter or a strange looking banana. Excellente. Flexual education. Flexual deviant. Flexual reproduction. God bless a band that opens themselves up to such seamless wordplay.

The Avon Ladies Bear (Logo Power #8)

It's certainly been a minute since I've posted one of these, so without any more "ado" let's get to discussing a band who, for my money, should've gotten a lot more hype than they did. Actually...we're just going to discuss that little bear up there.

I'm sure other artists have meddled with the idea of Jerry Garcia's psychedelic peace-bears, trying to toss their whole rose-colored ideology on its head. Maybe they've placed a joint or crack pipe into their furry, out-stretched paws or carved a swazi into their foreheads. (60's shit = Manson shit, funny story. The only time my Mom ever asked me to turn my music off was once when I was in high school. I was listening to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." She burst through the door, told me she didn't like it because it reminded her of all the worst parts of 60's culture and shut the door again.)

I'm not saying the A-Ladies were the first in their class to mess with the 'Dead bear. I am saying that I fell in love with them when I first saw their 7" cover of their Guns and Gold 7", which featured these cute little guys carrying machine guns and just looking badass. This is actually from an ad in Bloody Ways fanzine, posted for my own joy in seeing the machine gun that's been replaced by the ever-more-comical stick o' dynamite. This bear absolutely doesn't care about you or your commie political movement or your effort to rid the internet of (buzzword)-phobia. He's been around the block for far longer than you have. He knows rock n' roll. He was probably at altamont, gleefully cackling when a parkful of unknowing saps played witness to a hellish gangland murder as Mick n' Keith warbled on about banging prepubescents and such. When Sid n' Johnny cursed on Bill Grundy's TV show, he was feeding them their lines and when the last quivering vestige of anything remotely resembling a real-deal guitar GAWD got shot in the face at an Ohio rock club (Dimebag, RIP) this guy wasn't crying.

The guns are gone, only to be replaced by cartoonish explosives, rudimentary in design, but still indicative of one immediate truth: this is a suicide mission. Rock n' roll has been munching on its tail since Dylan went electric and there's no more sand in this etch-a-sketch.

(Editor's note: The Avon Ladies are [by my estimation] broken up. Thank jah for an internet that keeps every stinking thing around. There's a demo tape, a 7" a split with Tempe SS and some other bits and pieces floating around.)

In Effect Fanzine (Logo Power #5)

RE-BOOT? LOL

Another one taken from In Effect Fazine. It was a forward-thinking article about "HARDCORE ON THE NET."

The Flex - Flexual Healing Vol 2: (NOT EXACTLY A) Demo Dogz #8

I've got a great new formula...for BLACK AND REDDDDDD

The Flex - Flexual Healing Vol. 2 

In the Doghouse: Live at Mongrel Fest

I'd been wanting one of these tapes for a while, and finally managed to acquire one through a euro trade. I loaded praise on their first demo in Drug Dogs Newsletter #A and at this point they've also got a  7" out too. Since this is a live tape, I won't go too deep into the bands sound, but if you dig burly, mean, one-two-feck-you kinda old Boston stuff, then you've probably already discovered this band. 

The sound quality of this recording ain't terrible either. I'm not sure if that sample at the beginning was added in later, or if they opened their set with it, but either way it's cool. I wasn't really familiar with Mongrel Fest until I'd read Big Karl's review of it in Intro Changes #2. 

REXUAL REELING

Highlights:

-Mongrel Fest seems like a cool fest, and whoever got to see this set was privileged because this band rules. (I think I've seen the video floating around).

-There's a great "Unity" speech (that doesn't get too namby pamby) right before an excellent cover of Breakdown's "Kickback."

-Between songs, you can hear two moshers talk about how tired they are at this point in the day. Having never been to a hardcore show in the UK, I find it comforting that showgoers there talk about the same inane stuff.

-The "Get in the pit and touch each other" mosh call. 

-Youth of Today's "Take a Stand" gets the cover treatment at the end, and it sounds straight ferocious.

-You can download this tape/set in one entire MP3 at their bandcamp, here. 

Gratitude Fanzine #1 + Ride the Fury #3 (Weekly Seizure - 11.24.13)

I got to live out a middle school obsession and see Monster Magnet this week. If you happen to be a fan of the Magnet, get in touch. I'm thinking about starting a usenet forum. This week I got a few zines, namely Edgegazer and Gratitude, and the ever growing stack on my desk of things to review just keeps getting less and less tamed.

1) Ride the Fury - Pro Wrestling Zine #3

I caught this one on the last go-around and liked it enough to order again. Many of you already know I'm a wrasslin' fan across the board, and I'm glad that there's some ink being dedicated to the similarities between the cultures. I'm also prone to buy things which have "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan on them.

USA! USA!

The zine also came with a homemade Ring of Honor DVD which I haven't watched yet, but is from a good era of that promotion. I'm stoked on this zine but have a few gripes. There's some really great purely wrestling zines right now (Atomic Elbow here in the states, and Calling Spots in the UK). The layout is a little too "indesign" ish, to the point where the interview with Jam of Code Orange Kids is almost unreadable due to weird spacing errors. However, it saves itself with a few gems. One being an interview with Tom Sheehan in which he tells a story about Indecision touring with Milhouse and Silent Majority and how they gave a shirt to Perry Saturn at a rest stop. I'm also a big fan of the question "If your parents said you could bring back one wrestler who passed away to come back to life to eat Thankgiving with you, who would it be?" Bummed no one said "Ravishing" Rick Rude though. That's my answer, no question.

Nope, that ain't NYC Mayhem-era Tommy Carrol. RIP Brother

Overall, it's sick, the DVD is a nice flourish and I loved issue 2. The fuzzy layouts may seem like a persnickety gripe, but my eyes suck and it was kind of a stumbling block here. Much respect to the back cover image though, a full on HBK tribute mural.

Barbershop Window

DVD's, zines, demos and anything else related to Ride the Fury records (including the above reviewed zine) at their bigcartel. 

2. Gratitude #1

I don't feel even remotely hyperbolic by calling this the best zine of 2013. As a means of disclosure, I actually contributed the Rampage centerfold, but my bias isn't any issue. Gratitude takes after the zenith-era of brilliantly written core culture zines Lockin Out #1 Fanzine and Trumbull Escapades. These zines were insular, obsessive and academic in ways few other zines were, and at times even genius. I won't sell this one that hard. You're either into the aforementioned zines and therefore 'get it' or you don't. I am going to leave this, my favorite quote in the entire zine because it absolutely articulates my position on Metallica better than anything I've ever managed to pen...and i wrote an entire 60-page senior capstone project on them in college. (Not a joke:

What's cool about Metallica is: everything. I revel in seeing them bum people out by doing things they sincerely think are great. Sometimes I don't even know if what they're doing IS great, there's just too much history there for me to make heads or tails of it. The world's finest authors couldn't make up a character like Lars Ulrich if it was their life opus - the closest we have is Pete Campbell from Mad Men. God bless them both. --Leah Geragosian (@diahleah)

Top notch content and contributors, excellent art, footnotes (!) and the best Free Spirit interview I've ever read. There's a few of them here at the Mosher's Delight bigcartel. Get on the right wagon, bunko. 

Me and the dog will show you who's hard

E is for Ebro

It ain't hard to tell

 E is for Ebro...as in Ebro Virumbales. Ebro Charles Bronson, Los Crudos, MK-Ultra, Ruination and Punch in the Face. In light of the new(ish) live PITF 12” just recently released, here’s this, which comes from the insert. Ripping hardcore punk that never got enough hype for how good it was, and despite the fact that Town of Hardcore always seemed to have their back and to be in on it (creating one of the best zine covers of the 00’s). 

Chicago is one of hardcore’s best towns. In the footage from Jim Grimes birthday show, Dave Weinberg (Suicide File) calls it HC’s Las Vegas, where old bands go to die. Maybe he’s onto something...I just have a penchant for scrappy stuff that comes from the Midwest.

C is for Cause for Alarm

Pumas in the Pit

Cause for Alarm rules. TYF rules. 97A rules. Rad? If I remember correctly they were a BMX themed band who had a release out on Broken Glass records. I don't get down with BMX. Don't hate it, just don't really "get" it. What-the-hell-ever though. Looks like a gig for the ages....and $5?! Put that in yer Tumblr goofburger pipe and take a deep hit.

Da WINNAH! #1

After days and days of an empty inbox I was pretty convinced that none of you were on board with this...til the tiny faintly glowing ember of hope and trust I have in "this thing of ours" was stoked by none other than my boy Daan # (That's pronounced "DAAN HASHTAG" newbz) the creative genius behind one of the best zines I've read in 2013, #Hardcore! I already dumped tons of praise on it in issue 2 of the newsletter (which you can still pick up here). 

DROP TROU

Anyway, the correct answer to the question (what record is the character above from?) is Amorality, the newest 7" offering from Canadian Scumbags Hassler. Since you're not goobers, you should recognize the trademark style of one Spoiler, but if you didn't...where have you been for the past 6 years? You don't see our pee-pee rat friend on the front of the EP (pictured below), but you'll find him on the back next to the track listing, mean-muggin' and dropping trou in a garbage can. Available on Beach Impediment Records (but sold out on their bigcartel). Look around.

HESH N' FRESH: WE ALL IN DA SAME GAME

Daan # gets a super duper pooper, exclusive Drug Dogs prize back for winning this round! Thanks for playing! There'll be another one soon!

SALTY STOMP?

A salty zine for salty, salty dudes. Put your butthurt caps on.

We'll be callin 'em like we see 'em #1

 Not dead. Just slow and retarded.

TBH Fanzine - A Story about Fake Jordans

I’ve got a lot of down time between putting out zines. It takes me a long time because I’ve got lots of other things to do. Still, I’d really like to update this thing with more regularity so, I’ve decided to do just that but still keep things fanzine related.

Over the years I’ve developed a hefty collection of hardcore fanzines that serve as an endless wealth of quotable entertainment. Many of these fanzines aren’t in print any more, and it’s a damn shame...but we're balls deep in the internet age and there's no getting around it. No, I’m not going to scan my old zines and put them online...that’s time intensive and I don’t feel like doing it. What I’d rather do instead is take some of the little “zine nuggets” that I’ve found over the years of poring through these things (most of the time while pooping) and expand on them a little bit. Add some personal commentary. That kind of self-indulgent internet-generation nonsense. So here goes. Fanzine nugget #1.

This one comes from a fanzine out of Chicago called TBH. I never found out officially, but I’m almost certain that “TBH” stands for “The Big Hurt” which rules because a) it’s an allusion to Chicago White Sox powerhouse Frank Thomas and b) Becky Miller (of Double Rabies, I Question Not Me and Lifers fanzine fame) and I have plans to actually make a band with this name. I just need to move to New York City first. Becky also has her own baseball blog that you can check out here. It's witty, hilarious and feverishly obsessive just like her zines.

TBH inspired Drug Dogs in a lot of ways. For one, it had plenty of illustrations done by the editor…something I’ve always been a fan of and something I take with me in my own zine making pursuits (that’s also why they take a little while to put out). Secondly, the back of TBH #3 sports giant, stenciled hardcore lyrics, (in this case Warzone ones) and that’s something I’ve sort of “borrowed” as well, only gone beyond the realm of hardcore. (Like using Bob Dylan and Monster Magnet lyrics)

This particular nugget comes from an Expired Youth interview conducted in TBH #3. They were an awesome straight edge band from Chicago that came the closest to “Screaming…” era Uniform Choice as any other band I’d seen. I saw ‘em a few times. Once in Louisville and they covered Judge’s “Like You” and once at a crappy community center in E-town. Here’s a video of it. If you’re hip to my dudes you’ll notice a huskier Keith Lucius, and a substantially skinnier me (sporting a dorky choker necklace) moshing. I think it's from 2006.

2000's suburban KY metalcore for ya

In fact, at one point, a dude who I grew up with who’d played in a metalcore bands (with a pink guitar...pictured above), somehow got recruited to play a few shows with them because they were in dire straits. I can’t remember all of the details, but it was certainly a bizarre turn of events.

Anyway, this interview took place in TBH #3 which came out in either 2006 or 2007.

From The Big Hurt Fanzine #3

I heard some crazy shit went down across the street. What happened?

I was chilling out front having a Power Slurpee one day and a Mexican dude went into the Turkish Food & Liquor store across the street. They have card games in there every Saturday. This guy was playing with them and lost. He ran out, and the guys caught him and shook him down right in front of the place. After they ripped the money out of his pockets, the Mexican dude flipped out and swung off the air conditioning in the door, ripping it off. Then the dude threw it through the door. Four guys came out of the building and took him around back. It was pretty righteous.

Sketchiest place you’ve ever bought Jordans from?

Easily Pulaski and Madison. That was the worst. It wasn’t the worst it was just…I really felt out of place just because I went there with four black dudes from work. I went and parked my car in front of a swap meet in this parking lot and right away I got circled by dudes. The guys I was with had to tell these dudes I was with them, ‘cuz they thought I was a cop. Honestly, they thought I was a cop. We went through this other swap meet, where you were just surrounded by shit. Bootleg everything. Polar Bear Jackets with camel lining, shit like that. We go down these stairs and there’s more shops down there, but then there’s this room with nothing in it but a white wall and a white door. I thought I was gonna get killed or something. We go there and its this dude I work with, Marion’s cousin. He gets all these Jordans that fall off the back of a truck. They let people in two at a time. I’m standing there, waiting and they ask me what I’m there for. I tell them I just want to check out the shoes. I’m standing there waiting, and then I get to go in. It’s like Jordan wonderland. You’ve got the black and midnight blue Jordan 1’s, mocha Jordan 3’s, Playoff 5’s, Playoff 4’s, Olympic 6’s which are the most rare Jordans. I’m pretty positive that all of them were bootleg shoes, but who’s gonna grab your foot and scope out your shoe to see if they are bootleg? If I’m rocking rare Olympic Jordan 6’s, who is going to be the one to tell me they’re fake?

What happened the other day?

That was just a crazy day. I saw two sets of twins. Isn’t there some logic behind that, like isn’t that bad luck or something? I found a third Jordan store at 71^st and Cottage Grove. I ate at Toots and they have Macaroni and Cheese Nuggets. I mean when you’re in college and all you eat is macaroni and cheese and now they have nuggets…who thinks of that shit? A genius. Probably the worst thing but best thing for you. Then I saw one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen living in Chicago. My job entails me driving around the city looking for worksites to buy from, but really I just drive around cool parts of the city I haven’t been to before. While down in one of my favorite, most exquisite parts of the city, which is 71^st and Cottage Grove, lanes were merging and this car ran into an innocent car. The dude got out of his car, his car was smoking. This Wendell Smith wannabe started crying. He laid down in the middle of the street pretending his neck was broke when he was just yelling at the car next to him. Before he got out of the car, he said “I’m the type of **** that will tear your world apart!” I was speechless. Who says that? That’s like something straight out of an Onyx record.

CHI TOWN RUMBLE

You can find Expired Youth on Myspace, Last FM or if you just wanna get down to the nitty gritty D/L a record or two.

I don’t know if this zine is still being made, but it’s a quality one and the email address used inside is: jeffklepper@gmail.com