Ancient Heads (Indulgent Writing about Hardcore #1)

Ancient Heads - For My Brothers

Though an unapologetic yank thru n’ thru, I did a brief tour of childhood duty in the rainy climes of the United Kingdom (‘92-97) while my Dad worked for the Dow Chemical company. It’s a great place, birthed Black Sabbath and the Stones, but for summer fun? Not really my glass of Shloer.

That’s why the concept of summer jams always sikes me. See, back in those days, when the sun seemed to retreat behind grey whitewash for 14 waking hours of the day, when ‘Blue Peter’ and ‘The Big Breakfast’ tried (and failed) to wet my whistle and most brit cuisine turned my yankee stomach into a quivering hunk o’ gelatinous goop (no offense, but seriously...what the fuck is up with Bisto gravy?), it was my Dad’s collection of tapes and records that buoyed the sunshine up in my soul, a meaty connection ‘tween dumbing power chords and sunny midwestern shores. Ramones “Too Tough to Die,” Blue Oyster Cult “Some Enchanted Evening,” Alice Cooper “Billion Dollar Babies,” may incite the disaffected journos to talk of “punk” and “prog” and “shock” and other meaningless buzz-words, but for me? That shit sounds like the breezy swing of summer fun.

So, when Ancient Heads, a band who really doesn’t sound like any of the aforementioned, releases a tape of three summer jams, I’m immediately transported back to that wide eyed time when shit seemed so important, and some song seemed to punctuate every facet of my life. Per Matt Laforge, this triple serving of AH delights is the band’s most ‘Floorpunch-esque offering to date’ and I can’t help but agree.

Short, punchy and nary a second spent hemming and/or hawing around the point, For My Brothers makes for essential [summer] core without resorting to goofy Tumblr tomfoolery like cartoon drawings of wigger cats in sunglasses or moshing burritos or whatever wannabe LOC bands from Florida are schlepping.  “For my Brothers” is a perfect opener, gang chant in effect, while “Fight Back”’s clarion declaration that “WHAT DOESN’T KILL ME ONLY MAKES ME STRONGER” mean that this here’s a cassette you can/should listen to while driving your broken down Camry with windows rolled down, stopping only occasionally to pelt the odd simpleton with a water balloon and maybe skank around your car at a red light.

Summer, if you’ve learned nothing from  Spicoli, Ringwold and the other cretins of Reagan-American cinema, is a time of pregnant possibility. A time of forging love and friendships, of taking trips and of whittling away long pointless hours in pursuit of cheap grub and/or a place to chill...and though some of us have had to trade swimming pools and cut-offs for desk jobs and stock options, it’s these little rippers, solid bursts of unrequited, unabashed truth n’ mosh, which draw me back into this “thing.” The core is relevant to all seasons, but I’d like to think it’s somehow more alive in the sweltering days from Mid June-Late Sept. If for nothing else, this lil’ one-two-three is an honest reminder of everything I love about the core: short, fast, loud and CATCHY. Maybe summer for you means listening to Sublime and having to visit your girlfriend’s parents or some shit, and that’s fine...but throw this one on a few times, let the tunes grab you by your lapels and fuck you up with some serious truth.

***This issue of indulgent writing about hardcore was originally printed in Mosher's Delight fanzine and written by Dylan Chadwick***

True - DEMO: Demo Dogz #7

I've got a ton of tapes I wanted to give some attention to. I'm just going to start whittling down the stack. Not enough reviews are getting posted online, just download links. Bleh.

If the kids, are united...

TRUE - The 4 Song Demo

I got this through the mail from my friends over at Mosher's Delight HQ in Washington DC. It's the second release on the zine-turned-label and it's made up of guys in Ancient Heads and Demolition.

Unabashedly straight edge, definite Insted vibe, heavy on the youth crew tip. The best track on here is definitely "Life Won't Pass Me By." Good long intro, and a wonky kinda break down that seriously reminds me of something great that The Offspring would have used circa Ignition. (Yes, that's most certainly a compliment).  

I also really like this demo because it says THE REAL UNITED EDGE really big on the spine, but it's not the name of the demo. It just looks cool up there.

Anyway, interested parties should consult their bandcamp (http://therealunitededge.bandcamp.com/) where they can download the album, or the Mosher's Delight Bigcartel to purchase a copy.

Hashtag Hardcore Fanzine + Wasted Paper Fanzine (Weekly Seizure - 9.29.13)

Thanks for your patience folks. Things are a little bit skee-wompus here at the Drug Dogs camp, but per usual, I'm not going to let the stress of spinning a few plates keep me from what I love: zines about hardcore. Here's a little bit of what's been accompanying me on my (many) bathroom trips this week.

1) #Hardcore / Hungry is How I Feel Fanzine

Ultimately, I'm split over this zine. I'm not entirely sure how to divvy it up and who gets credit for what, but as far as I can tell, it's a collaborative effort between two zines (#Hardcore and Hungry is How I Feel zine). For the most part, it's excellent. I loved the first ish of #Hardcore because it had a euro zine feel, reminiscent of 00's zine fare like Hustler and stuff. Also, I'm not as up on Euro core so from an educational standpoint it's great.

It's also loaded with content, so for sheer volume, you can't do much worse. 

Highlight include: an excellent cut-n-paste layout, some opinionated columns, tons of reviews of records, shows and zines (wtf is up with people doing zines that don't include reviews? GET OUTTA HERE WITH THAT WEAK STUFF!), a word find, an awesome interview with Spoiler, an interesting interview with Kirby Michael and an interview with Kickback where he talks about banging prostitutes and practicing black magic in Thailand. It's also nice to see Darkside NYC getting a little bit of attention too…"so what's the problem douche-waffle?! That's all really great stuff." You're right. It is, and I feel like that alone would've made for an excellent zine.

Frankly, the food content was a little too much for me. I'm not a vegan, but I date one, and I know how passionate people get over their grub…and how annoying it is to listen to them talk about it.  I just don't really have much desire to read about it in a hardcore zine. I admit it's a creative angle, and it was done tastefully in the Spoiler interview, but the main reason I picked this up was for the Mike Dijan interview and honestly? It was the biggest letdown of the whole zine. Very little put it into discussing his musical projects past and present, and a whole lot discussing food, yoga and other non-core fare. Whatever, maybe it sounds bratty but I stand by it.

Good JUSTICE talk

I'm also a little bit torn on the True Colors bit. I mean, I'm a fixie rider so I should've been way into this, but I would've rather read about True Colors generally. All that being said, I see the appeal. Taking a "road less travelled" approach with content is commendable, and perhaps I'm not looking at it through the correct lens. As an American, I wasn't as familiar with True Colors before I saw them with Mindset in 2009 and I became a huge fan. I would've liked to read more on those experiences, but at this point it becomes a "beggars can't be choosers" thing.

 The truth is that, even with my gripes, this is still an excellent zine that's loaded with great content…I just feel like I need to acknowledge a flaw.

If you're in the states, I got mine through Grave Mistake so I'd suggest you take that route too, lest you get slammed on shipping from Europe. 

Pepto-Bismol

2) Wasted Paper #2

Got this one through a friend who's also in the ontario band Straight Truth.

I'm a huge fan of the sloppy layout because it's hand-made and it rules. The interviews are short, but conversational so they serve a real supplemental purpose (something that zines HAVE to do in the internet era). Also shout out to the awesome artwork on the back, depicting punx past and present. Highlights: stories of Hoagie ruining outfits with a bottle of pepto bismol and referring to it as "father's secret elixir." 

How HI can a punk get?

Also, big fan of any zine who "reviews" Kramer's business ideas.  The Ancient Heads interview was a firing line style number, a little reminiscent of Mosher's delight and the Omega's interview is full of requisite insanity. Worth hunting down for a quick, yet delightful, read.

3) Ancient Heads - Both Demos 7" [Climbin' Aboard / Ground Floor]

Between both demos and the radio set, I've already gushed over this band enough. This 7" sees both demos packaged together. Worth it for the insert (A Mad Magazine collage) alone! Buy/Stream here if you're a latecomer. 

What, me worry?

Ancient Heads Demo Vol. II (Demo Dogz #6)

like...yoinks Scoob! 

Woah. I slept on their first demo, but came across the second installment to find that it's a ripper. These dudes are from Toronto, they're straight edge and I heard physical versions of their cassettes were being sold at Not Dead Yet fest in Toronto, and that piqued my interest enough to try and procure one (details on how you can do so at the end of this post). 

The name "Ancient Heads" is awesome. I mean, there's so many interpretations. I'm imagining deep space explorers crash landing on some old planet of humanoid raccoons. They happen upon the hidden temple, cloaked deep within the reaches of a steaming jungle to find rows and rows of ancient heads...that are EXACT replicas of their own! The explorers freak out and...yeah, it pretty much writes itself. The other would be like "Heads" (meaning "experts" or "fanatics" of the "ancient" variety). Like an ancient sneaker head...or something else even more ridiculous that my brain is struggling to come up with. 

The Andrew Peden cover art is insane. I Love the stippling and the image of a youth-crew kid running away from a Scooby Doo-esque mummy.  Also I'm a fan of the Youth of Today graffiti on the pyramid wall. Imagine Ray and Porcell being chased by mummies. It's Boomerang-channel gold!

Tunewise, this has some definite youth crew elements, but doesn't completely pander to that aesthetic, so if that ain't your bread n' butta, don't shut off. In the riffs and urgency I hear traces of Floorpunch, but it's a little bit burlier, and the punchiness can probably be attributed to a recording/production by Jonah Falco, but it's fresh and vital in ways that a lot of the youth crew type bands aren't really nailing.  Also that mosh part in "Waste of Life" that cannot (should not?) go unmentioned as one of the more well-placed bits of a core song. 

Verdict: Definitely check this out. Bandcamp here and if you couldn't trek to NDY last month, you can still score a physical cassette here.