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.

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?