New Year Predictions #1

As I type this now from the Queens Public Library Astoria Branch, on New Years Day 2015, I chuckle and think to myself just how different would this world be had Cold Front won a grammy in 1998. 

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). 

Those Who Were: DRUG DOGS DUMB iTUNES DUMP #1

Here's a section in which I hit "shuffle" and do mini-reviews on the first 5 songs that come up. It's stupid, and many of these songs will be stupid, but sometimes it's just hard to come up with things to write about. 

1.

Excessive Force - "Those Who Were" (In Your Blood; Life Sentence Records) 
The web (and dorko  90's nostalgists) have spilled enough ink over this song's opening couplet ("you said you'd always be true/but you're a weak motherfucker and you never had it in you") but I'd still like to call attention to the profound poetry of one of Salty City's finest exports. Having just finished an agonizing tour of duty behind the Zion curtain, I tend to give Salt Lake City a hard time about their hardcore (historically: lotta sizzle, very little steak IMO) and Excessive Force (or Xcessive Force, which is a way better moniker) is no exception. I'm hesitant to call this record "good" though I do enjoy listening to it a fair amount at the gym, when I'm pipe-bombing a McDonalds or other such ventures. "Those Who Were" features a drum sound that fluctuates between "Ball-peen hammer on a lead pipe" and "soggy noodle on wet cardboard" but those vocals sound legitimately unhinged and when you're 16  and SUPER into straight edge, it probably sounded like god speaking directly to you. I'm also a geek for all the weird guitar stuff they tried to pull off (check "In Your Blood," the track) and some of the off-kilter batshit riffing that made it into this song. Tempo changes galore, gang vox and yadda yadda. Definitely worth checking out for historical purposes, but if you're only tentatively interested in 90's monster-core, you're probably going to struggle making it through this entire album. Wise choice to put this as the leadoff track though. 

2.
Next Step Up - "Sweet Leaf" (Fall from Grace, Gain Ground)
A Cover that falls into the "so bad I can't stop listening to it" category. Don't mistake me, the riffs are spot on, but the vocals really don't do justice to the almighty Sab. I get it. Covers are supposed to inject something new into the song, so this is cool as a novelty, it just kind of feels like a throwaway on the end of the album. Fav Next Step Up track is their contribution ("L.A. Story") to the East Coast Assault comp. vol 1. Because you asked. Also, this doesn't have any solos on it. Just lettin you know. 

3. 

Power Trip - "Hammer of Doubt (April Fools Version)" (Omegas Joy Boy Mixtape Vol. 3) 
There are, to my knowledge, three versions of this song and like any good Dad, I love them all equally and for different reasons (but will also admit that I like the one on the Triple B comp just a TEENY bit more than all the others). What's more to be said about Power Trip? Remember back in the Armaggedon Blues era when they couldn't GET rid of all their 7"s? Times have changed. I did a Drug Dogs interview with Riley that will probably end up on the internet someday. We talked about baseball and Monster Magnet. 

What's special about this particular version of the song is that it's crappy cassette quality and features new falsetto/screech vocals (seemingly done by Udo Dirkschneider) and an added melodic chanting bit at the end (gregorian chant style). Awesome. Pure awesome. Everything this band does is awesome. For once, the internet was right about something! (No youtube vid for this one. Sorry bunky.) Also, I'd like to point out that this mixtape has added band names like Candy Randy and the Gay Boys, Woo Ric Woo Flair Woo and Heavy Metal Eric into my iTunes library. Thanx guys. 

 4.
Fit for Abuse - "Prefabricated" (Mindless Violence, Crust)
Criminally underrated beantown 'core, fast and punky a'la Negative Approach and The FU's, created in a time of JNCOs, Open E notes and vegan apologetics. Absolutely essential. No question. This one's a minute long and features a phat and phunky beat. Get this 7". Get everything they did or pose forever. 

5. 
Our Gang - "Out of Hand" (Uprising Demo)
Late 80's NYHC that was always on my periphery (due to a smattering of awesome logos and demo covers) but I never really checked out until mid-college when I discovered Blogged and Quartered. The songs from the Uprising demos appeared other places, but sound-quality wise, these are the best. "Out of Hand" features an awesome riff and a "skank it up!" mosh call. Perfect ingredients for a rippin lil' tune. 

N is for No Warning

I'm never gonna work another day in my life. 

When I interviewed Chris Morgado for the STILL pending Drug Dogs #3, we talked a lot about this band (the zine’s still in development hell btw). The thing that many people will remember about No Warning is how they went from writing arguably one of the most classic LPs of 2000s core (like Morgado said on the Trumbull blog, no matter how bad everyone wanted to write them off as generic tough guy mosh-foolery, Ill Blood uses absolutely NO recycled riffs anywhere, all killer) to schlepping out a sorta ok LP that pandered to mainstream audiences. Yeah, lots of idiots like to pretend to dig it in an attempt to show how open minded they are or something ridiculous, but they know in their heart of hearts that Suffer Survive just isn't great. End of story. I can, however, still get behind how shamelessly it was touted as being their ticket to fame and fortune.

This band in their prime, NYHC via Toronto, was baller, and in no small part because of the rumors attached to them. Having a demo tape of Ill Blood songs re-recorded with white power lyrics, a certain affinity for Biohazard comparisons and a definite rep for being dicks on message boards got people talking and/or hating...which meant I was paying attention.

I don’t think this art was ever used anywhere, but I’m told that during Suffer Survive era, it was on their website as “fan art” which is laughable in itself. I like that there’s an original version of it (featuring a naughty symbol and a giant minotaur schlong respectively) and then a “censored” version. Cool stuff.

I’ll never tire of the 7” and Ill Blood, but a tour with Machine Head in promotion for Suffer Survive still gives me douche chills as I look back on it.

[Edit: it's now 2018 and I've come around on Suffer Survive. I dig it now]

F is for Freddy Madball

GROWING CONCERN

F is for Freddy Madball. We all know the stories about the familial connection to Roger Miret, and most have probably seen an image or two of him as a pre-pub singing for ‘em, but here’s one I hadn’t seen til recently. Madball was recently “banned” from Salt Lake City because the city “doesn’t permit hardcore bands to play,” (there’s a whole Facebook thing about it, go find it on their page) and that’s stupid...but let’s talk about this image:

Freddy Cricien as a Beb wearing what looks to be a homemade AF tee cropped into a midriff.

Stigma’s shirt says “Samaritan Halfway Society.” Maybe ironic. I don't know. NYHC had a certain love affair with angel dust.

If you peep Stigma’s right hand, it kind of looks like he has 6 fingers. Kinda. Aliens.

World Peace Can't Be...Pun

Tommy Carroll 2012

Thoughts on Harley going to jail:

1) How long must we await the famed Harley's War album on Southern Lord?

2) JJ's mags are kewl, but those who don't acknowledge Best Wishes are (to quote the aforementioned) "pussies."

3) Is there any famed NYHC guy that uses commas on social media? Do y'all need editors? *I'd do it.*

4) Haven't heard from Rick Ta Life for a while...are we sure it wasn't him? (ever?)