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Hey ponks. Im revisiting something that I wrote that never got printed. This was written for PE 58, when we decided to go digital. I feel like the time is right for sharing this, so read on. My name is Jeremy and Im an alcoholic. Punks like to say shit like that, its a part of our culture. We have songs and records devoted to drinking, so do the civilians but its so ingrained in everything we do. Punk is about rebellion and one of the first things all kids do to rebel is to sneak that first drink. There is a kind of thrill when youre young and you discover the kick that booze gives you. That euphoric sense of superhuman awesome-ness; followed by projectile vomiting. I didnt like booze particularly when I was younger. My dad was an alcoholic, though I only saw him drunk twice in my life it was enough to keep me away from it for years. My dad also got me into punk. My life has been spent chasing rebellion and punk was the one form Ive felt most passionate about. Everything about it appealed to me. The music, the politics, the fancy dress and snappy hair-dos. Punk was the shit. Now when I went full bore, balls out punk I wasnt a drinker. I liked amphetamines and acid. Shit, I LOVED acid, but the punks around me all drank and eventually I caved and started drinking too. I found that I enjoyed being drunk. Everything was funnier and though Ive never had any inhibitions, drinking melted other peoples inhibitions and they became more fun to be around. I was nineteen when I (and other people) started to notice there might be a problem. I didnt drink every day, but I blacked out nearly every time I drank. I would be fine for most of the night, and then Id be completely WASTED on the turn of a dime. I didnt turn into a superasshole, or get all violent I just became like a sleepwalkerI think. Its been described to me dozens of times, but honestly I couldnt tell you. Ive seen photos of me while I was in the throes of a blackout, and I look quite dead. My eyes are hollow and its like my soul was erased, but being that I was in a blackout, well I just dont remember. My drinking career continued unabated until I was 21. The first time the consequences of my actions caught up with me. I was in a committed relationship with a young woman and we were all crazy about each other, but I was a selfish and crazy drunk, and I sowed my wild oats like a madman. You see she wasnt punk, and didnt go to punk shows and I decided that what she didnt know couldnt possibly hurt her. A load of shit to be sure but I didnt care, and when she did finally find out about my philandering she left. Who wouldnt? But I didnt see it that way, and I swore to the heavens above that Id change. Id quit drinking and make everything right. Well she didnt buy that shit. Her dad was an alcoholic and she wasnt about to go through what her mom went through. That fucked me up for a while. I crawled into a gin bottle for about 2 years and didnt come out. I ended up moving around a lot. First going from house to house, surfing sofas, wearing out my welcome everywhere I went until I got my own place and when that situation went to pot, I did what any red blooded American does when hes burned all his bridges. I got the hell outta dodge. (insert video: Homer Simpson shaking his fist saying goodbye stinktown!) With a friend, and a plan to move to Oakland; we made it as far as Lawrence, Kansas. Lawerence was a great town. Lots of nice people, shows all the time, and a town with a positive drinking attitude. My friend once got a 40 just by commenting that the coolers in our favorite LQ kept the 40s at the perfect temp. This is the town for a boozer! The problem was that I never, EVER dealt with the fact that I was severely depressed. I always looked happy, but I was a wreck. It came out a lot when I was drunk. Crying jags, mood swings and the fact that it often took no more than a few beers to get me wasted. My depression in Lawrence came to a crescendo when my house mates quit paying the light bills, opting instead to buy speed with the money we gave them, and it turned out that the rent wasnt getting to the landlord either. Now despite my tendency to be a completely useless drunkard, I managed to pay my rent and bills. Even if I blew off my shift from time to time, people liked me and didnt want to fire me, so I was LIVID when my housemates werent living up to their responsibilitiesfuckers. I quit staying at my house, and instead stayed drunk with my Okie friends. We indulged in incredible drinking bouts. Putting away cases of 40s and gallons of vodka, whiskey and bottles of Everclear. We werent drinking the good stuff very often either. Natty Ice was often the beer of choice and whatever nasty ass hard booze we could get on the cheap (or steal) was the drink of choice. Its really quite amazing any of us can still do anything at all. The day after Halloween of 97 I left town and went back to the Twin Cities. Since Id left, my mother had shacked up with a dude and they were living in the eastern suburbs. Not far from Minneapolis, but far enough away that I
wouldnt have to face any of the people that Id pissed off or embarrassed myself in front of (in my mind anyway) and I could try and get my shit together. I hear that a lot from punks Im gonna get my shit togetherIts often preceeded by a bender, anyway I moved back home, and I got a job, and an apartment, and I was slowly going out and seeing the people Id been missing since I left town. It was at this point in my life that I met the woman I would eventually marry. We met each other the day after wed each drunk vast amounts of liquor and we was lookin good! Well, good enough to find one another attractive anyway. (point of fact, we were both quite fetching) During this time Id managed to slow my crazy drinking to a mellow social drinking. I think this was the first time in years that Id actually been happy. I was completely in love, and things were going well. This was also the time Id entered what we refer to as my khaki phase. The only non-punk period of my life. I had a straight job, a dumb haircut, a wrist watch, the works! We were married in May of 2000, the same day Code 13 left for their epic Southeast Asia tour, in a church north of Stillwater and celebrated well into the night. That I managed to not get completely wasted on my own wedding day is still something that boggles my mind, especially looking back at all the other weddings that Id blacked out at. After a short honeymoon tour of London, Dublin and the lovely town of Dalkey, where we were escorted by the Guarda to the town line and asked not to return, we returned to St. Paul settled into our new life together. Wed been married for a while and were on a splendid bender when we found out that my wife was pregnant. The Mrs. quit drinking completelyI didnt, and I was going out after work from time to time, and getting wasted at home in front of her from time to time. It was at this period that she asked me to quit for the first time. She was worried that I might have a problem and she didnt want to raise our child with someone who was drunk all the time. Not that drinking was a bad thing, but someone whos drunk all the time isnt a good thing for babies. I quit for the duration of her pregnancy. As soon as my son was born everything changed for me again and it was like I was reborn. My whole life revolved around my new family and I was excited for life, but there was this nagging impulse to drink that I just couldnt shake. I started drinking a bit and by my sons third month on this planet I was in the grip of a nearly uncontrollable compulsion. On the day that I snapped, I drank everything in the houseEVERYTHING. Over the period of a day I consumed 12 Becks, one half pint Whiskey, one half bottle wine, and the remains of a bottle of Aquavit. A lot of booze for a fella my size. (510 140 lbs.) When I was confronted at three in the morning I was dinking around with a lightswitch by my side of the bed, trying not to wake my wife and son. I passed out and when I came to, there was a note pinned to the bed, and it said that if I didnt quit drinking, they would never come back. I was crushed. I couldnt imagine my life without them, and I would do anything to keep them in my life. I started researching AA meetings in St. Paul and found one up the street. I walked up to this big ass church on Summit Avenue in St. Paul and it was filled with people so I didnt feel too strange. I really felt anonymous until I saw someone that I knew coming up the aisle of this room. It was my sister. Shed just started going to AA. Shit! I didnt even know shed had an issue with the drink. We drank together a lot, and I always thought she was one of those people who could drink and keep their shit together. We drank together one night and she had to move the next day. She got her shit together to move but I was WAY too sick to help. She was as shocked to see me there as I was her. I told my story in the meeting and it was pretty good. It felt good to unload some of this shit with people who might understand where Im coming from but it also felt a little weird with the god aspect and there were some REALLY self righteous motherfuckers hanging out in that place. When I went home that night, I didnt feel so bad about not drinking, well physically I was wrecked and a bit shaky, but I knew I had a reason to stay sober and my family meant more to me than anything. I decided not to go back to AA but I stayed sober for four years. I started living again! I went to school and was working at home as the caretaker for our apartment complex, being the stay at home dad for my bouncing baby boy and getting back into punk rock. Eventually I started volunteering at PE and getting involved with other groups, getting a job in radio, something Ive always had a passion for I was living a really good life. Things were great when I took that first drink and since I didnt go off the deep end right away I figured that being sober for such a long time, I must have magically been granted a reprieve from my former alcoholism. It wasnt bad that first year. My wife and I went out from time to time and got loopy. I didnt get drunk enough to have a hangover for a long time and people noted that Drunk Jeremy could be pretty fun! SWEET!! I can drink again and people like me!! Well it was last summer (2008) when things started going pear shaped. After the honeymoon period of mellow boozing I started drinking every day. A six pack a day to start and then I started adding wine and when that wasnt doing it I started adding swigs of vodka to help out. When the Vodka bottle we keep in the kitchen was getting noticeably low I figured Id better keep a couple bottles
stashed around the house to replace what I was sneaking so no one would catch on. I started blacking out a lot again and waking in a panic. My wife started getting pissed that I was so pissed all the time, and I started trying to quit but I couldnt this time. I tried going to AA meetings but I felt like something was missing and I was miserable when I was sober. I went to a therapist for a while who specializes in chemical dependency and that wasnt working either. The drinking kept getting worse and I was getting more depressed. I was isolating myself from friends, I realized this when I ran into a friend who I used to see at shows and around town from time to time and he commented that he hadnt seen me in a year. I was drinking to get to sleep at night, and the worst part is I was promising to take my son to car shows and other fun things but getting too drunk the night before to take him, he eventually quit asking me for so much as a glass of water. One night just before PE 57 went to print, I went to a friends house for a couple beers, I was already drunk when I arrived and ended up staying too long. I was WAY too drunk to walk but I got into my car anyway and drove home. When I came to the next morning I smiled through my earth shaking hangover to greet my long suffering family when I was made aware that if I didnt do something they were leaving. Id heard this a few times before but for some reason I really felt like thistime it was for real. I knew that if I didnt do something now, I was going to lose everything. I called my office and told them that I was checking myself into rehab. They were very supportive and then I called Dan. Id been helping around the PE office for a while and I knew that there was a lot of stuff going on and I wasnt going to be around to help out. Something that surprised me was that no one seemed to notice that I was always hungover if not slightly drunk from the night before. I always tried to cover that fact up by chewing gum abd sucking on mints but I thought for sure I must smell at least faintly of booze. My loose ends were tied up so I called my mom, a nurse and told her what was going on. She recommended a hospital close to my house with a good reputation for clearing the drunkards mind, so since I was heading off to rehabno sense in going sober right? I took a big ol pull off the bottle of wine in the kitchen and hoofed it to the clink. I spent an hour in the waiting room before I was taken to the CD unit and given an evaluation and a breathalyzer. Well, they said, Im clearly an alcoholic, and I was clearly drunk, but they dont accept my insurance so Ill have to go somewhere elseas soon as I sober up. Well that will never do, I got on the phone and called a representative from my insurance company. I found out that the hospital where my mom works IS covered by my insurance and Im thinking that being locked up in a building in close proximity to some familial love is just the thing I need. I called my sister, also employed in the healthcare field, and asked her to pick me up and shuttle me to the other hospital. We chain smoked the whole time. My smokes were going to be confiscated so I figured getting as much nicotine in my system now would be a very helpful thing indeed. While I was waiting for a bed to open I got a call from a man Id never met before. Well, I didnt remember meeting him. Apparently I hit his car the evening before. He was acquainted with some punks and he decided not to get the authorities involved in this situation. He let me go. We made an arrangement for me to pay restitution to him to fix his car when I got out. I will be forever grateful to this man. I checked into the North 2 Chemical Dependency Unit. Im not going to bore you with all the details of my self imposed incarceration just now, thats for another time, but I foundthe tools I need to help me put my life back in order. The week I spent in inpatient rehab was easily one of the best weeks of my life. I was surrounded by people who have the same issues with substances that I do and I was able to focus on my recovery. I also re-discovered AA. The meetings in here werent like the ones outside, there was no preaching. Some of these people, like me were not Christians. The whole purpose of AA is to get people sober. But its not just about not drinking, its about changing your life and the way you live it. Alcoholics are selfish creatures and we need to change the way we live. Helping other people in our situation is key to sobriety, so is finding something greater than your self in this world. Im still not a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu etc. But I have what they call a higher power, For me its the realization that Im a part of something thats greater than myself. Being a dad, a husband and a member of this community is bigger than me. In order to be a functioning participant in these relationships and give back what I get from these people I need to stay sober. Now the only other thing on my mind was will my family be there when I get out? I didnt know this. My wife was pissed the day I checked myself in and it took days for her to say much more to me than HI before passing the phone to my son. That was the only hard part of being binned up. Not knowing what was going to happen with my family when I got out. I was released on a Friday and I was sitting outside the hospital sharing a smoke with a friend when my phone rang. It was my wife and she wanted to pick me up. What could I say? I asked where she wanted to meet and she picked me up. I could tell there was some serious tension. I tried my best to be all nonchalant, but shit weve been drinking together for years, she was un-cool with AA, and here I am just out of treatmentId prolly
COLUMNS
be a little cranky too. I think she was expecting me to be some sort of self righteous AA book thumper or something. When she saw that that wasnt the case she warmed immediately to me. Weve grown closer than weve been in a long time and my son will finally ask me for a glass of water. He also knows that when I say were going to do something itll happen. Sobriety works for me. Im a sober punk, not straight edge. I dont like rules that much and I really like to smoke. Maybe one day Ill give that up too but Im cool right now. I Not only is substance abuse prevelent in the punk community and its also accepted. Well never be a threat to anything but our livers if we dont start to take care of ourselves and one another. Not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic, I know a load of people who drink and they have no problem at all but if you have a problem please get help. Its the best thing Ive ever done, not just for me but for the people I love. Keep on truckin Jeremy Stinkbot P.S. This is dedicated to the sober punks, the ones who flew headlong into the shit and came out of it. Filthy and stinkin but getting better everyday. Most especially to these guys whos continued sobriety is an inspiration to me. Talon in S.F., Chris in Austin, Lisa in Oakland, Dervin in Pheonix, Tattoo Shane, Geoff, Joe, Ed and Mike Robertson in Minneapolis. And my sister Erin who just celebrated ten years of sobriety. Javas are on me. jacent church parking lot once their service let out. Success! This fest converted churchgoing youth, even. Day 2 of Bloodstains Across Eugene TANTRUM from Eugene, FACING EXTINCTION from Eugene, MOROSE from Yakima/ Portland, another set by BLACK MOULD,TOTAL WAR from Vancouver, Canada, and OPOSSUM HEAD from Eugene. This day started off much like the first but slightly more behind schedule. The early evening sun still hung above the horizon and things seemed to be happening at a smooth pace. Then, I saw the douche. It was difficult to tear my eyes away from the man crawling on the gravel drive, being escorted out by five or six Pyrate Punx. Quickly I gathered that the douchey dude had just punched Ian, a Pyrate Punk, in the face. It was at this point that my jubilant high evoked from the success of the previous night took a steep plummet. The douchey dude protested little until he made it to the sidewalk, screaming You cant kick me off this space. This is public property! You think youre punks...I was just skanking! Bunch of pacifists! He yelled this at the top of his lungs. I cringed. Knowing my neighbors were getting an earful, I felt like an asshole in my role of inadvertently being responsible for this guy. It was myself and Bob (of the Pyrate Punx) whom went door-to-door just days before to convince and promise our neighbors a laidback, easy-going music fest. Now, we had a douche on our hands that wouldnt fucking shut his trap and remove himself from the middle of the road. Finally, Christine of OPOSSUM HEADcalled out a bright idea and suggested everyone go inside so that this fool didnt have an audience to perform to. We all went inside. I watched the douche stumble his way across the street, into the neighbors fence, and turn the corner. You might be asking, Was this guy really a douche? I will respond with, Oh my, let me tell you the ways, friend. So, douche-dude was dancing too aggressively for the rest of the people in the barn to comfortably enjoy the music. I dont care what you think, people like this piss me off to no end. If you want to use the lame excuse of dancing to mask the fact that youre just being an aggro fuck trying to hurt people, then go wrestle some rabid hyenas to show how tough you are. Dont come into an all-ages space and think that your lame ass is carrying on any ideology of punks forever. Youre just trying to hurt other people because deep down inside you know how douchey and inconsequential you are to the world...ahem. That aside, I see no issue with skanking, slam-dancing, raging, pogoing, whatever floats your boat. Just dont pull that shit when kids are around and themajority of people are obviously not into it. So, back to douchebag with his doucheyness. I learned that when a Pyrate Punk approached him and asked him to stop, this Pyrate Punk also noticed that the guy wasnt wearing a paper band which indicates that he had paid to enter. How the hell did he get in?, we wondered. Then, I saw the back fence which somehow seemed to be missing a top portion. Evidently, doucheykins tried to hop the fence and broke it during the process. Then he charged into the barn, danced like an idiot, and when confronted by a Pyrate Punk, doucheypants punched the Pyrate Punk in the face. Thankfully, we had no other problems with douchebags for the remainder of the night. Unfortunately, after the douche left it seemed to take a couple of hours for people to relax back into the enjoyable fest vibe. Ill admit that I was one of them. I was on guard for the rest of the night. I think as the sun set, people began to enjoy themselves again. The bands were super bad-ass and rad to be around. Someone made an impressive beer castle, which I hadnt seen in a while. I believe it was during FACING EXTINCTIONS set that someone lifted up the carpet remnants off the barn floor and wrapped up moshing people inside them. Finally, this night seemed to bring the good fun and camaraderie that everyone had longed for. At about 1:20am, a neighbor from two blocks down came to the front fence. She was not happy about the continued music. I couldnt argue with her. We had promised neighbors within closer proximity that the music would end around 10pm. We were far from that mark. Unfortunately, we had to ask the last band to wrap it up. Fortunately, the Pyrate Punx escorted people out and shut everything down so quickly that when the police car cruised by 20 minutes later, all the lights were off and fest-goers gone. The following day while I was at work, the Pyrate Punx and their friends came and cleaned up the back yard and Radical Barn with swift execution. Empty cans, stomped-upon cig butts, and all loose trash were picked up and removed. All in all, Bloodstains Across Eugene was a very successful fest. Without the group of dedicated and respectful people that made it all happen, the fest would have never happened. I want to give a heartfelt and sincere THANK YOU to the Eugene Pyrate Punx, friends that helped out, the beer person, the bands, and the people that paid and supported the local and touring bands and their music. Its inspiring to know that a smaller community of punks can still bring music to the people on a large scale. ~the anti-christy
Theres no fucking way.These were the first words uttered by Pyrate Punk Bucky upon entering the out-of-commission barn August 16, 2011. I must admit I wasnt surprised by his reaction but no fucking way was not an option. In just three days time the first Bloodstains Across Eugene fest would be in full swing, raging in that very barn. Time had diminished like an ice cube in the unforgiving August sun-we would find a way. It was by no fault of the organizers, the Eugene Pyrate Punx. They had been planning, contacting, scheming, wheeling and dealing for the fruition of this event for many, many months. For anyone that has organized a fest, the following will sound so familiar that it may invoke you to grab the nearest technological device and hurl it out the window of a speeding car-a car that you are driving to get the hell out of dodge. The first venue closed only about a month before the fest date. To my knowledge, no one actually informed the Pyrate Punx of this closure, but the pile of mail on the floor, boxes on the tables, and a perpetual Closed sign gave everyone a good enough impression that the gig would not be gigging. Other venues deemed unsuccessful, too. As a last-ditch effort my roommate Heather and I were asked to host the fest at our house, a house built in 1910. Nestled in the non-assuming, stretched-out back yard stands a barn, a barn aptly coined the Radical Barn. A few years ago the Radical Barn earned its right as a decent show space. Only a few shows actually took place. One show ended early due to a noise complaint and invariably the cops appeared. By 2011, the barn looked less radical and more domesticated, as it housed remnants ofpast roommates and storage overflow. There was hardly room to walk from one corner to the other and the piles upon piles of things was a daunting sight to behold. Enter: Eugene Pyrate Punx. They brought trucks, dirty sweat, and determination. After a few Goodwill runs and a hefty dump run, optimism swiftly swept over all. Within two days time, the barn was cleared out, rugs covered the gravel floor, and the blue-lit stage was set. Day 1 of Bloodstains Across Eugene the following bands: BLACK MOULDfrom Ashland, SAVIORSELF from Eugene, RAW NERVES from Portland, HONDURAN from Portland, RTTU from Portland, NINTH MOON BLACKfrom Eugene, and RESISTAND EXISTfrom L.A. Music started around 6:15pm with SAVIORSELF and the Radical Barn was packed. Just outside of the barn was a Foosball table that entertained all ages throughout the night. Scattered about were merch tables and info pamphlets. To the side of the house was a beer garden cordoned off for those ofage imbibers. Behind the beer garden rested two tables filled with delicious foods that the organizers made for the bands. For me personally, this night was memorably epic. Itd been years since Id gone to a fest. The vibe in the air was lighthearted and joyful. The camaraderie of the organizers, bands, and patrons felt sealed with communal kinship. There were no noise complaints, no fights, no disrespecting, and no injury to people or things. Many people even noticed kids dancing in the ad-
Holy shit, Bitty, recognize him? My co-worker, Tracy, asked me as she held up a newspaper. A client and friend of mine, Scott Benson, was on the cover with his bail set at 50 million dollars. What the fuck! I said. I tried to figure out why the bail set on him was higher than the price that was set upon Bin Ladens head. What could he possibly have done? He is one of the nicest people I know. The last time Id cut Scotts hair, he said that he was in between jobs and that he felt bad about what had happened in New Orleans. He wanted to take his nephew with him and help out as much as he could. He contacted many different organizations and all they wanted was a money donation. He told the organizations that he wanted to actually go down and help out with getting food for people, laying sandbags, and helping them clean. Finally, he got in contact with a nun in Biloxi, Mississippi who referred him to the Salvation Army in Baton Rouge. He gave them his information and they told him to get a hold of them as soon as he arrived. A few days later, Scott and his nephew left on a twenty-three hour car trip to Baton Rouge. First they went to work in the Salvation Army Store, restocking items and assisting people that had vouchers for essential items. After about three hours they moved to the food bank, which was an old abandoned store that was turned into a grocery store. When the day was over they headed to the Salvation Army church to stay for the night. After a small dinner, they met other volunteers from all over the country. This is where Scott met a man named Chris Armstrong. As they were talking, a Salvation Army worker said that two people were shipping out the next day and two more people were needed to work the canteen truck. Scott and Armstrong took the duty. According to Armstrongs name badge, he was the regional director from Orlando and was in charge of the assignment. They drove to New Orleans to deliver food items for the next six days. On one of the days, a worker from Red Cross became upset with Scott for handing out food in their area because they wanted to be the ones to get credit for it. She told him that he wasnt supposed to be there; that the Red Cross had it covered and she was going to report him to her superiors. Go ahead, heres my name, Im down here trying to help like you, he said. I dont see a line on the street saying you go here, we go there, he added and the lady stormed off. Scotts goal was to make sure that whoever needed help received it. It wouldnt take long for Scott to learn the politics involved in the relief effort. Every day he would see high-ranking Salvation Army officials driving in new imported cars, staying at The Ritz on St. Charles Street, eating at fancy restaurants, and sleeping in warm beds. The majority of the other workers including Scott slept in church pews and ate MREs (Meals Ready to Eat, a military ration.) Over the course of a few days, Scott saw the good reputation Armstrong was building with the superiors from all of the different organizations involved in the relief effort.Armstrong informed Scotts superior that he was going to need Scott and his nephew to help him with a new project. They set up a table and got personal information from 2,500 firefighters, police and rescue workers in order for them to receive $5000 debit cards. While Scott was under the impression that he was going to be helping all of these relief workers, Armstrong had another plan in mind. After seven days of dealing with politics, the greed by the officials in charge, and the overall devastation, Scott decided that enough was enough. He told Armstrong that he was leaving the following day to go to Florida and see a friend of his. Armstrong hitched a ride with him. The next day, Scott changed his mind and decided just to come back home to Wisconsin and Armstrong asked if he could catch a ride with Scott to Chicago. Seeing how another person could share the driving, it seemed like a good idea. This entire time, Scott was still unaware of Armstrongs plan, which was to steal all the debit cards and have everyones personal information in order to activate all the cards and redeem them. His windfall would be $12,500,000 and he would
be able to leave Scott and his nephew looking like the ones to be blamed. About four hours into the trip home, Scotts phone rang. It was an irate New Orleans police officer saying, You motherfucker! How could you do this to us? Im gonna hunt you down! Scott had no idea what was going on and hung up. Scott then started getting hit with a barrage of phone calls from upset leaders. He even received a phone call from the head of homeland security and also from Timothy Scott, who is an agent of ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement), and they had gotten ahold of Scotts license plate number. Is that guy with you? Tim Scott asked. Little did Scott know, but Armstrong was actually on the wanted list for felony weapons charges in a couple different states. Yeah, Scott replied. Youre in some serious trouble. Where are you going? Im going home. Scott replied. For the rest of his ride home, Scott continued receiving periodic phone calls confirming his location. At this point, Scott was hoping that he would even make it home as it was becoming clear that Armstrong was not a man to be trusted. Scott wasnt sure if he and his nephew would even make it back alive. When Scott finally made it to Green Bay with Armstrong still in the car, they were met by several police, DEA, and FBI officers that were waiting outside his apartment building. They arrested Scott and Armstrong. Scott was taken to city jail, and later transferred to county jail for two days and released on a $25,000 dollar cash bond. Weeks later the New Orleans officials wanted to talk to Scott, so he turned himself in. He was instantly placed under arrest and put into Orleans Parish Prison into a holding cell for half a day. Later he would be transferred to a cell holding ten other inmates. The guards were relentless in harassing Scott. They would bang on the bars, throw verbal threats and withhold meal service. He couldnt believe the amount of rapes, beatings and just about any other violent act you can imagine were happening around him nonstop. Even after one day, Scott didnt think hed make it out alive. Luckily enough, he hadnt been victimized yet. Another two days passed and Scotts bond was pushed up to a staggering fifty million dollars for being accused of 2,500 counts of felony fraud, which would lead to an interesting introduction to another inmate. Which one of you motherfuckers is the fifty million dollar man? The man asking the question was DJ Unk, a successful DJ and rapper. The room parted like the Red Sea, leaving Scott sitting by himself. Its gotta be you! There was a brief stressful pause in the room. So tell me the real story, he said. After about twelve hours of talking, rolling up cigarettes, and discussing the legal system, DJ Unk placed Scott under his protection. Most of the other inmates were intimidated by Unk and wouldnt make a move against a friend of his. The few that tried to get to Scott were met by appointed bodyguards from Unk, and the threats were ended quickly. A bondsman from New Orleans started to talk to the judge about Scotts case shortly after his imprisonment. He was able to persuade the judge to review the case and reduce the bail to $50,000 dollars. Scott was then able to post bail and come back to Wisconsin. Despite numerous attempts to get his case looked at, it took almost two full years to get cleared of all charges. During this time, it was almost impossible for Scott to find employment. The local news posted constant updates on the case until he was cleared. After the charges were finally dropped, so was all news coverage of the story. Scott was finally able to find a job through his family. Despite being cleared of all wrong doing, to this day the incident still affects him emotionally and financially. The news can be awfully quick to post incorrect sensational stories just to get better ratings. The better the ratings, the better the sponsorship it is a vicious self-feeding circle of bullshit. The news also seems to no longer quote sources. One station uses unreliable and potentially incorrect information and the other stations copy the first story verbatim, never checking for validity. When they do realize a story is wrong or slightly distorted they are slow to update, if at all. Not exactly an unbiased media, or well-rounded on their coverage. But why should that be a surprise? Ratings were up. For two years the print and broadcast media did all they could to destroy Scotts name and paint him as totally guilty before he even had his day in court. As soon as he was cleared, 99 percent of the stations stopped covering the story altogether and only one station offered to let him voice his
side of the story. So will the media destroy a persons life for their own personal gain? Absolutely. Killer band watch: OILTANKER; they killed it at Midwest Hellfest. I remember them being a good band, but when they took the stage on the second day of the fest, the place exploded! Their drummer high-sticks and still has totally even chops. There is not a weak link among them. To top it off, theyre super nice guys. If you can see this band, buy yourself a roll of toilet paper first. If you miss them you will need it for the all the tears youll shed for missing out on a band that really brings it, and if you see them you will need it when you shit your pants in amazement. Next up: IN DEFENCE Ben Crew and the guys are amazing. They remind me of the East Coast hardcore I grew up listening to. Now the best thing about them, besides there solid sound, is their sense of humor that keeps you hooked and their live shows that will blow you away. Ben is clever and entertaining at the same time. He has non-stop charisma that just fills up the room and pulls you in. The musicians in that band are second to none. So here is a Jedi mind-trick for you: These are the punks youre looking for. On a lighter note: Midwest Hellfest was a ton of fun thanks to everyone that showed up. As you know from the last issue, INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL got turned away as soon as they got to the States. Its amazing that homeland security is saving us from great music. I want to announce first off: World Funeral Records are the first people to ever come to our aid to bail us out of a totally fucked situation. IOS said they would also do a record to help us out. Ela, the gal I share my life with and the bass player in WARTORN and DRESDEN, paid for all their plane tickets. Matt from World Funeral Records put his money where his mouth is and gave us a bunch of records to sell and made us some of Elas money back. Then Ela smooth talked the person at the airport and got her money back, all 3000 bucks worth. So I paid back World Funeral and graciously thanked them. No bullshit, this is the first time I was helped out in the punk scene where the person really did help us, as opposed to when HELLSHOCK flipped their van and I saw people collecting money for them. Later, when I talked to someone in the band I found out that they never saw a dime. I was also in a car wreck when I was young which left me out of work for four months and I had to go through rehab just to lift my arms. At the same time, the city of Manitowoc was going to sue me if I did not pay them for punk kids trashing a place where I put on a free show. Did anyone help me out? Fuck no! When I could walk I did a benefit show for myself so I would not be fucked and that turned into a riot, but thats another story. Once again, no help and last but not least I lost out on ten grand the night I survived an attempted homicide. Did anyone do any benefits? Umm, no! I lost everything that night and almost my life. So with that being said, Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! Fuck yeah! to World Funeral records- they helped when the chips where down. Hats off to them for being great people and helping out. Thanks a ton, Matt and Brandon! Now for some other thanks: Thanks to Profane Existence for sponsoring the Hellfest, it was a huge help. We did lose two grand in the end but the show was amazing, the crowd went nuts, and I had a blast. Yes, we will do it again next year but it will be a food drive to raise food for needy people. On that note, the fest was the start of the DRESDEN tour, which was one of the best tours I have been on. We played three fests: Midwest Hell Fest, Forward Ohio Fest, and Threat Fest. If we would have been on the road one more day we would have played with DOOM. Instead, we enjoyed the show and ran the Profane Existence distro. Thanks to everyone who helped us out. All of the shows where off the hook. Up next, DRESDEN is recording another 7-inch called Extinguish the Cross that will be released on Profane Existence Records. Hush did some amazing art and Tom did a great job at recording it. Also I am no longer in PYROKLAST. Their previous bass player Anthony is back and is a way better bass player anyway .I would like to thank PYROKLAST for the fun times I had with them. WARTORN is back in full swing, we will be writing an LP and touring next year. Hopefully with RESIST. Im trying to get that together, we shall see. Last but not least, in August, Ela and I are going to
Iceland for a week just for vacation (because I havent had one in eight years). I will get to see glaciers, whales, geysers, geothermal electric plants, swim in the blue water, and visit Viking museums. Sounds like fun. See you on the road
Ten years on and not a damn thing has changed. They say that if one doesnt remember the past, were doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, that will most likely be true in the case of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Of course, most of us remember where we were and how it affected us. I was starting 11th grade at the time, having arrived at school just after the planes hit. We were glued to the TV set all day, watching the attacks and the aftermath and hearing the commentaries from the countless pundits and experts on American and Canadian news channels. It was obviously a fucked up time for everybody watching. No matter what our politics were, there was no way we couldnt be affected by the images of people jumping from the towers in one final desperate decision. Having said all of this, what was my first thought when I saw these images? So this is what its like in other parts of the world. This is what its like when our policies bite us back. Of course, I use the words our and us in the greater sense of the word, being part of the first world that profits from American imperialism and being a Canadian and all, but I digress In the days after the 9/11 attacks, I saw the transition from shock and horror into blind, violent nationalism. I recall the calls to war, both overseas and closer to home. I remember the assaults against Islamic centers, against Muslim and Sikh people and against anyone who looked vaguely Middle Eastern. I remember the calls for us to support our troops, and to invade their countries, kill them or convert them to Christianity, to paraphrase one of the most evil figures on the mainstream right in America. Where are we ten years later? Were embroiled in illegal military actions in the Middle East. Were torturing prisoners. Were detaining dark-skinned Middle Eastern people indefinitely. Our oil companies are bidding on other nations energy supplies. Were killing women and children. Were sending our own poor people to fight rich mens wars, all in the name of the War on Terror. Ah, yes the War on Terroreven more unwinnable than the war on Communism or the war on drugs. Trillions of dollars have been pumped into this thing, and the only end result is that were creating more enemies for ourselves. Big Brother-styled laws have been created to crack down on even the most benign forms of dissent, all in order to keep us safe from the enemy. With safety like this, its clear that the terrorists have truly won. And yet were forgetting the past. Were forgetting (if many of us ever even knew in the first place) our role in oppressing the third world. The warmongers have forgotten that if driven into a corner, an oppressed people will fight as hard as they can with whatever they have to drive the oppressors away. The patriotically correct brigade would rather shame and threaten people into wearing some stupid fucking yellow ribbon than reflect on their beloved nations bloody past. How long until our collective memories return with a vengeance? How long until our current actions in the Middle East come back and hit us even harder? Oh, wait I forgot. 9/11 was actually an inside job, and was orchestrated by the Bush administration in the few months after he took office. And there are countless scientists on the internet who are risking their lives and careers to show us all the truth of the matter, which brings us to Truthers and misplaced theories As with almost every major news event for the past millennia, there have been a lot of conspiracy theories about the 9/11 events. Some of them are believable, some are
laughable. All of them, however, come to the conclusion that the only people responsible for the attacks on America on 9/11 were the US government, or a collusion between the US government and Israel/the Illuminati/ Masons/etc. Now, as much as I distrust and fear the government, I must come clean and say that I find all of this 9/11 Truther stuff to bewell, bullshit. To buy into the Alex Jones paranoia is to avoid discussing the real truth of the matter. The truth of the matter is that when a nations foreign policy involves invading, terrorizing, raping and pillaging sovereign nations for security or economic purposes, there will eventually be a reaction. The Middle East (along with Central and South America, to be fair) has long been a target of American-allied interests for decades. The US has assassinated democratically elected leaders, propped up corrupt regimes (who eventually became enemies, but thats another can of worms altogether), and funded all sorts of unsavory activities. Thats the nature of imperialism, which is what America has been practicing for its entire history. To deny this is to blind oneself willingly and swallow an easy answer. Alex Jones and the paranoia brigade became darlings of the progressive anti-war movement for a brief while after the bombs started falling on Afghanistan. I know a lot of people who fell into the Truther line of thinking during this period, because they read it on the Internet or they saw YouTube videos featuring uncredited and unknown scientists giving their take on the demolition of Building 7. I almost bought into it when I was younger until I started reading some books with facts and footnotes, and actual frames of reference. I read about Western policies in the Middle East. I read about dodgy deals with evil men who were our friends one day and then our hated enemies mere years later. With this in mind, I started looking at Alex Jones and Infowars in a new light. It also didnt help their cause that almost every hardline Truther I met from sea to shining sea was batshit crazy and practically foamed at the mouth trying to work the truth into every conversation or political rally. No More WTO! By the way, 9/11 was an inside job! Sheesh. To the Truthers, its more acceptable that the Bush administration put this ultracomplicated plan into motion without anybody ever finding out. Something of that magnitude would take years of planning, billions of dollars, and thousands of coconspirators none of whom could ever leak anything about their role. The fact is that their beloved nation has been instrumental in terrorizing other parts of the world for generations. If you look at it that way, then yes, the United States is responsible for the attacks of 9/11. I wouldnt call it a conspiracy though just the chickens coming home to roost. So I close by asking again, what have we learned from 9/11? Is it too late to change course, or has the damage been done already? Will we see more attacks against us in our lifetimes? Will we start changing the way we interact with other cultures and other lands? Ten years later, and not one fucking thing has changed. ENDNOTES: Contact me at damien.inbred@gmail. com or doomedsocietyradio@gmail.com (use the second one for podcast-related inquiries only, though) If you want, email me for my mailing address and we can be penpals. Hooray. Cheers to CONTAGIUM, ISKRA, SIX BREW BANTHA, and NO EULOGY for coming through town and ripping the shit out of this one-horse town. Touring bands, you really should make an effort to come through Calgary, Canada on your travels. The kids here are (mostly) super rad, and we have great turnouts at our shows. Along the same lines, my attempt at a punk fest here fizzled this year for a number of reasons, so I decided Im starting to plan NOW for next year a two-day punk fest in July 2012 called Bomb the Stampede, after a song by the legendary Calgary band The MOTHERFUCKERS). If you have a band interested in taking part, get in touch. Im going to start hassling bands very soon. Also, cheers to the ladies who put on this years SlutWalk in Calgary! Spawned after a Toronto cop told a university class that if women dont want to be raped or sexually assaulted, they should avoid dressing like sluts, the SlutWalk movement has reached all areas of Canada and parts of the USA. Combatting rape culture one city at a time! Cheers!
OIL TANKER
IN DEFENCE
I had already kicked him out of the cafe several times and had also almost gotten in a fight with him at Palmers by the night that he blew into the place like a drunken hurricane. I remember that ELECTRIC WIZARDs Black Masses was playing on the stereo and thinking that it seemed to be a culling song that was dragging the zombies out of the woodwork. He was as loud and obnoxious as the day is long and up in the grille of every girl within earshot, trying to get any one of them to help him fill out an order ticket since he was obviously too hammered to do so on his own. Being that I use that as a gauge as to who should be in the cafe and who shouldnt, I asked him to leave as politely as I could. He complied, but came back in a minute later wanting me to call him a cab, which I never do for anyone-especially those whom I have just kicked out. I was just shy of getting down on my knees and begging him to split and not come back but I couldnt stop the whole exchange from devolving into a shouting match no matter how hard I tried. I came around from behind the bar and got toe to toe with him and could smell the beer on his breath as he spat those words into my face...Im gonnaaa fuck you up! I have never been the fighting type, but I am still trying to figure out just what the fuck came over me as I handed the baseball bat to one of my co-workers and shoved him as hard as I could (the dude, not my co-worker). He crashed into one of the front doors and I grabbed the back of his jacket and threw him outside onto the sidewalk. He turned around and when I saw his fists coming up I took a step forward and decked him as hard as I could. I then shoved him into the fence outside the cafe and when he fell, I kicked him in the ass a time or two and took a step back. I saw him sit up on the pavement and when he screamed at me for supposedly picking fights with drunk people I had no recourse but to politely reply Youre the one who started it, motherfucker! Of course, this all happened while I had customers at the counter so I left his sorry ass there and tried to go back to doing what Im paid to do...being a barista and not a fucking hired goon. And fuck me if this clown didnt try to come back into the cafe after all this had gone down. Luckily a couple of regulars were able to keep him out and when the rush died down and I went back outside to see what was happening, I was told that the cops had picked up the guy and hustled him to the drunk tank. As luck would have it, I had just clocked a co-worker of the girl I was trying to hook up with at the time, who I would add has a history of sociopathic boyfriends. So now here I was,-3:30 am with no lady friend, sore knuckles, and only four and a half hours left of my shift. Fucking ace. I second-guessed myself for weeks following that whole debacle, if for nothing else than the fact that it fucked up whatever chances I had with the aforementioned love interest although the whole thing would have probably fallen on its side with or without me having to go Monday Night Raw on one of her co-workers. I have spent a lot of time since that night wondering if the whole exchange was the result of the latent evil side that I alluded to on my last column coming to the forefront, ready to demolish someone for so much as looking at me the wrong way. But what Ive been thinking about more than all of that is accountability, and not in the traditional way that accountability gets discussed in a forum like Profane Existence. Specifically, the way we present ourselves as individuals and how we treat those around us has been on my mind a lot lately; especially in working as part of a collective without any bosses or other leaders. As I said last time, being in this sort of environment has changed me a lot, but the biggest thing I have taken away from it thus far is an increased sense of responsibility and a heightened awareness of how I want to be perceived by others in terms of being a man of my word and someone who follows through on things instead of making a bunch of bullshit promises that he cant keep.
-To really cut to the chase, I am tired of drunks. Im tired of having to take shit off of people just for having the misfortune of being in the wrong place in the wrong time and Ive also had enough of watching people-friends of mine, even-turn into someone else after a few too many. This is not a crusade for sobriety (Im drinking a whiskey on the rocks as I type this), but I have gotten weary of having to feel like Im dealing with zombies and Im also tired of people who drink themselves stupid without any consideration as to how their drunken, annoying, and childish behavior affects their friends or anyone else unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. Where this really cuts to the bone, though, is how the well-documented drunkenness of the punk rock scene (with Minneapolis being about as good of an example as you can get) has taken its toll on my relationships with people that used to be my friends. In fact, I would go so far as to say that this behavior, coupled with the aforementioned lack of individual accountability with a hefty dose of what I call a false sense of entitlement has made me a hell of a lot more selective as to who I spend my precious hours off the clock with. As I said before, the city of Minneapolis has held a lot of attainable charm and it has been really easy for a guy like me to find my way here. At the same time, though, I can say without much hesitation that I have never been-much less lived in-a city that condones and encourages drunken, nasty behavior at any hour of the day or night. Here in the TC, we have 3-for-1 drink specials, the dreaded Wanderers Punch, and the equally insipid Pedal Pubs loaded with wasted suburbanites who scream and yell and clog up the bike lanes, to name only a few. Closer to home, I couldnt tell you how many times Ive been on the receiving end of someones drunken horseshit simply because it got out that I had interests outside of going to shows, getting drunk, and getting laid. In a way, its been good for me-I have toughened up a lot since Ive lived in Minneapolis, to the point where I look at the column I wrote for PE when I first got here and it seems like its full of childish wanderlust and naivety that simply got burned away over time. But on the other hand, I worry about becoming excessively mean-spirited and I sure have gotten tired of turning my back on people that Ive considered friends for years simply because they didnt treat me with any respect. I dont expect anyone to kiss my ass or anything and I definitely didnt move to Minneapolis to reinvent the wheel. I have simply had enough of the whole we built this city bullshit from old fools who do nothing but talk a bunch of shit, go to strip joints and run up massive bar tabs at Jasmine 26. I still love Minneapolis and cant see myself living anywhere else right now but the last three years have done a number on this boy here. Deep down inside, I know that my intentions are good and that I am ultimately a compassionate and caring person. I am always there for my friends and family and am kind to animals and all that shit...I mean, I wrote a column in this very magazine about my cats, for fucks sake. At the risk of sounding overly sensitive (another word Ive had used on me from a lot from people up here), Ive gotten tired of my kindness and generosity being used as a stick to beat me with. If there is any final point to all of this-especially after writing about cracking some chump in front of my work and then somehow turning it into a column- is that dealing with peoples lame attitudes has almost gotten the best of me and I think its about time that people wake the fuck up and start realizing the effects their behavior has on others. Simply put, dont be an asshole. If drinking too much turns you into someone else, then fucking stop it. If you cant be accountable for your own lame behavior and lack of manners, itll only be a matter of time before someone breaks you off a piece. And if youre going to give myself or anyone else a hard time for not being in the scene as long as you, dont be surprised when we dont answer your phone calls or show up with your stupid band is playing. Adios, fuckheads-thats my name. *Respectfully dedicated to the real ones in my life: Katie Jo Texass and Crazy Sara, Will M, Mariko, Beard, Neal, Dr. Phil, Gary, Kellea, Ashley The Diva, Bri and Ken Ciderpunk..if for nothing else than not making me feel like I have to be punk as fuck all the time. Much love. New email: ashen666@hotmail.com
Summertime rules! I love the summernot so much a fan of the winter. I love being outside even if it means just sitting on the patio and watching my dog piss in the yard and rummage through the gardendamn dog Stay out of the garden! My garden is being kind of tricky this year. The spinach bolted almost as soon as it came up and the lettuce went apeshit overtaking some of the smaller tomato plants even. Some of my tomato plants havent done shit while others have grown the size of bushes almost 4 feet tall with dozens of tomatoes hanging from them-yet I have only picked three ripe ones and its August already. Maybe its not a good year for tomatoes. The last time I tried to grow cucumbers they didnt do well. They didnt get very big, they bloomed really late and frost got them before they were able to be used for anything. This year they have gone nuts and the plants grew huge with cucumbers everywhere! A storebought cucumber cannot compare to a fresh one from your own organic garden. They are so crisp and fresh! The green beans have also gone crazy; they actually reached out and a tendril attached itself to a low hanging branch and started to climb up it. I am going to have green beans growing in the cotton wood tree! Gardening is punk! There is nothing like growing your own organic food. The more we can eat from the garden the less I have to spend at corporate-owned chain grocery stores or even overpriced farmers markets. And its fucking easy! Put the seeds in the ground, add water, and wait. Thats about it. Sure, you can get really into it and go all green thumb and shit but its not rocket science. Even when Dana and I lived in a downtown apartment, we had a few buckets of cherry tomatoes that we bought at the neighborhood hardware store on our balcony. Fresh cherry bombs as a snack or in a salad were awesome! Hell, I have even seen where people have grown lettuce in flower planters on their railings. Urban gardening is not hard; it just takes a little invention. I saw an article in Mother Earth News where this dude in an apartment in LA was growing lettuce and other crops in recycled plastic 2-liter soda bottles hanging from string on his balcony. If you dont have a balcony, you can even grow a few basic things in pots in the windowsills or on a small table that gets lots of sun. Leafy greens might be the easiest in this situation, again lettuce or maybe even spinach. I also find gardening as a good way to reuse some old items. My potatoes grow in old tires stacked three high. I have the ends of my daughters old crib in the garden as lattice for the snow peas and green beans to vine on. For stakes, I have other parts of her crib sunk in the ground and the plants loosely fastened to them with twine. Its late in the season to be writing a piece on gardening, but its something to think about and perhaps even research as fall approaches and winter sets in. Maybe Ill return in the spring with a more informative and detailed article on organic gardening and share some tips like sister gardens, what organic fertilizers to use, and how to use straw to keep the weeds at bay. Summer also brings us touring bands. Last night I caught AGAINST EMPIRE at the Blast O Mat in Denver. Ive seen them a few times and have even played with them on their other visits to Denver. They are a kick ass band and they killed it last th night. My dad came over to visit over the 4 of July weekend. We started with a movie night in the backyard with the kids and friends but the order of business was Rock N Roll. The next day my Dad, my brother and I were going to drive to the cowboy town of Greeley, about 60 miles north, to see CHEAP TRICK and BLUE OYSTER CULT. The morning we were getting ready I had on my AMEBIX Do you really want your freedom? shirt but had second thoughts considering I was going into the redneck Mecca of Greeley for the Greeley Stampede none the less. I opted for some other punk rock shirt that would be maybe less likely to cause me to get my ass kicked. In my younger days I would have been like Fuck it, but being older I dont really look to get into altercations. I recall one 4th of July when I was in my late teens when I was at a parade with my friend and we were getting all kinds of bad looks. We were punk rockers, but that wasnt it. It dawned on me that it was the 4th of July and she was wearing her SUBHUMANS Day the Country Died t-shirt. No wonder the festive patriots of Redstone, Colorado were looking at us like we were shit and they wanted to kill us. It was only then that she pointed out I was wearing my EXPLOITED Fuck the USA shirt. Not the best shirt for the days festivities, but on the other hand maybe it was! Also, dont take your kids to the yuppie park in your Millions of Dead Children shirt. The SUV driving, Crocs wearing crowd dont like that. My bad. Anyway, here we were in the land of slaughterhouses and Stetsons. Being that CHEAP TRICK and BOC were the nights entertainment, the crowd of Wrangler-wearing,
Skoal-chewing necks was peppered with black clad biker and rocker types. It wasnt as scary as I thought it might have been. I can blend in with some biker trash with the best of them. My brothers dreadlocks were getting some looks, but it was my Dad who decided to push the envelope. The old hippie thought it was the perfect day to sport his 911 Was An Inside Job shirt. Yup, we were getting the stares from the necks as well as some of the bikers with their Harley Davidson An American Legend bullshit. Shit, keep your gaze down and dont make eye contact with anyone We had the GA tickets right in front of the stage and I found us a good spot to lean up against the fence and get dug in for the nights rock show. DudeThe show was in the rodeo grounds and we were the dirt. Yup, just plain dirt and it smelled like horse shit. As my Dad and brother approached, I flagged them over and maybe my movements caught the attention of the hick next to me. He looked over and then stared right at my Dads shirt. Dammit! This dude was the stereotype, too he had he NASCAR hat, Oakley Blades, handle bar mustache, tight Wranglers and was built like a brick shithouse. He looked at my Dad, then at my brother and IOh shit, I thought, Its go time! But then the unexpected happened, he looked us over and said Nice shirt. Im a Marine and an explosives expert. I think the buildings were dropped. WTF???!!!! Did he really just say that? He then went on to say that his brother was a cop and thought the same thing, that 9/11 was an inside job. He took out his phone and asked if he could take a picture to send to his brother. Shortly afterward, his wife came back and he pointed the shirt out to her. She exclaimed how she thought the same and had watched a movie that proved it. She said she talks to her friends and Sometimes they dont believe me and I say Ill betcha. Really thats her educated argument? Un-hunh, Ill betcha. Wow. Whatever works. With the worry of an imminent ass beating pushed to the side, were able to focus on the evenings rock concert free from the fear of this dude beating us up. Whew! And the show kicked ass. Rudy Sarzo from OZZY, DIO, WHITESNAKE, and QUIET RIOT fame was on bass with BOC and he fucking ruled! BOC was the band I was there to see and although they were brilliant, the three of us all agreed that CHEAP TRICK stole the show! My favorite part was at some point during CHEAP TRICK where my Dad put both hands in the air and gave a double metal horns! My brother and I looked at each other and proceeded to bust a gut! The old hippie was getting into it! One thing to take note of here is that even segments of the Wal-Mart crowd are suspicious and dont quite buy the official story of 9/11 that was force-fed to us. Before we go down the rabbit hole here, let just agree that this is a story for another time. And with that I am out of here to pick green beansI want you, to want me.
the whole epic journey for some. But I see this as a need to bring in whats always been a massive influence on our upbringing and education in the punk community. Its not sacrificing the aura we perceive from these older foundations, but a reinforcement to what were building now, and that for me brings a sense of strength to whats important to us. This is not an attempt to downplay or dismiss our own efforts and qualities-just an observation into what was before, can still be now...and is. Its these foundations that have brought us to where we are, and later on that future community will see our efforts as a vital ingredient that I speak of. Its only natural for some of us to be cynical and question the motives behind a bands actions. But put yourself in their shoesspending a good majority of your upbringing in such an extreme environment and growing up into such a force that it makes history. After a while, its all you really know and eventually you become a part of that force and it defines your being. Just because the music may have stopped, does not mean the fire inside has. Maybe for some it diminished to an ember, but never really died. I think after some time, theres a realization that the force and energy which was created as a young adult never went away. Understanding the impact on later generations would be enough to reflect, ponder and really take a look at what influence it had on the community, both past and present. Its a revitalizing feeling and something of that nature can have enough force to rekindle that fire. This is the general idea Im getting from talking to some of the old-timers that have graced us with their current efforts. This is not an attempt to say whats right or wrong. I only want to share my thoughts on the subject matter and want some to look at it with some perspective without jumping the gun on criticizing their motives. Sure, make your own educated guesses and go from there. Experience the moment and if it seems questionable to you, look at their side and understand them as individuals and not a commercial entity thats looking to bank on anarchy, although there has been an unfortunate side to this that has ruined the aura for many. This sad attempt at exploiting our efforts for the sake of monetary gain has failed in the past and will continue to fail in the future. There is too much spirit and commitment amongst us to ever have the superficial and shallows types thrive in our community. Stay aware, stay punk-Leffer
Theres a lot happening these days. The subject matter Im about to touch on has been a bit controversial to some, and others just dont mind it at all. So with that, lets chat about band reunions. Yes, love or hate, its been a barrage and personally I couldnt be any happier. This, of course, depends on the reformation and personal experiences with it. As some of you know, Im biased in regards to one particular reunion, but thats only due to working closely with them. But, Im not here to talk about my personal input, although I would like to get my opinion out there. Where to begin.....hmmm. Well, we all know that the last few years has brought a deluge of classic reformations. Some so important and unbelievable that we had to do a double take and others that made us go really? with palm in face. This is all based on individual opinion and thought. How did this begin? I honesty couldnt tell you, but I can say that not all was based on monetary gain, which, of course, was the highlight of this conversation piece. Consider that the folks involved with some bands that are reforming are older now and have obligations and responsibilities (jobs, families, etc.) that were not foreseeable during their younger years. So ensuring a good reunion, tour and enough loot to feed and shelter one another is not asking much. Most of these folks dont look at these reformations as a career choice, but as a realization and wake up call to where their hearts truly lie. After having some time to speak with some of these folks and do some one on one interviews, its quite clear that their absence in what they grew up with is very much still there. Im not speaking for all, but with what Ive experienced, the ones that I hold true to their cause are the ones whove missed it the most and recognize the world is still in bad shape. I myself couldnt go long without playing music in protest of our surrounding world. Its a way to create a line between the world we know as a mass, and the world we want to have in lieu of the norm we currently live with. This is what Ive gathered in regards to the reunions and how the feeling is mutual amongst many that are involved. I understand the sentiment from both sides of the spectrum and how touching that sacred cow may ruin
I havent been feeling very inspired lately. Been spending much time alone and reminiscing about growing up in Minneapolis. Ive been away from home for quite some time now, and my how perspectives change. I didnt really realize when I was living there just how good I had it; essentially in a punk mecca. I had the privilege of at the age of 13 seeing bands like MISERY and STATE OF FEAR. I got to volunteer at one of the best record stores on the planet for 5 years where my music knowledge expanded immensely. I sometimes had to choose between shows and activities because there was so much going on in one night. A cluster of things I took for granted were outside my back door. Anarchist bookstores, Extreme Noise Records, punk houses and basement shows, radical organizing, bike trails, vegan cafes, and just a general open-minded artistic vibe all around. How lucky was I have been surrounded by such a vast array of interests and things that helped mold who I am today? Very fucking lucky. But what about all those kids who didnt grow up in such a place? Those who didnt have one of the best punk rock record stores in the world at their back door? How the fuck did they get into punk and stay into it, especially with no support or constant shows and happenings? Since trying out this small town thing and really experiencing firsthand tremendous scrutiny for being punk, my respect for those that grew up in places like this is SO immense. So much love and regard for those that dont have a strong community to back them up, that get constant shit, and in most cases only have themselves. Yall are tough as nails! Ive to admit its super hard to stay positive and motivated when you put your heart and soul into booking a show and maybe a handful of kids come out. Ive grown thirsty for punk here. I ache for it. Hell, I felt like an addict when I went to the Birmingham Pride Parade recently and spotted a kid in the crowd with a charged mohawk and studded jacket. I literally ran up to this kid like I was fiending for a fix-all wide eyed and said something along the lines of PUNNNXXXXXX to him. He looked at me like I was insane, but since then hes been to every show Ive booked here and weve become good friends. He grew up in the middle of fucking NOWHERE Alabama. Ive passed on many books/zines/mixtapes to him and it feels satisfying to have opened his eyes to a community outside of the corporate bubblegum punk he was used to. He had no idea that things like Profane Existence, crust, and D-beat even existed. Whereas if this were Minneapolis, I doubt that would be the case! Its weird not seeing lots of tattooed, purple haired freaks roaming about. It sucks not going to shows much or having an option to go get some delicious vegan food some-
where. Its sometimes scary having random people aggressively question me based on my looks. I was spoiled fucking rotten up North! Its definitely been a culture shock. All this really makes me not ever want to take things for granted and enjoy the good timesmore so, as they are farther between. Its been a struggle just existing in the conservative Bible Belt, let alone trying to find people to relate to. Its been an altogethervery lonely process, but Im fucking trying to create the world I want to live in and find like-minded individuals in the process! Its making me stronger and definitely more open-minded. Not going to give up, striving hard to make a positive change around here, even if itamountsto nothing in the end. I just need to remember like COCKSPARRER said, So remember, out there somewhere youve got a friend, and youll never walk alone again!!!!!!!!!! Up the punx! Mad respect and cheers to all those struggling to make a difference!
Its not a sacrifice; its a deep enrichment to life. Its a perfect example of being motivated to creatively adapt to the adversity of the economic crisis with alternative, diy, peoples solutions that are far more robust, rewarding, and resilient than the capitalist market economy. Neighbors are actually starting to get to know each other for the first time since fly screens, TVs, video games, and the internet started sucking people away from the yard, porch and stoop scenes. This is a dream come true and its made me think about an experiment I came up with several years ago. It was an alternative economic model designed to transform apathy into action within the punk scene. I dont have the time to develop it anymore, but I thought it would be worthwhile to document in this column. Maybe some people out there who read this can adapt and implement this idea to some extent and see how it works for them. Note: The Alternative Gathering Collective (A.G.C.) was an anarcho-punk collective that faded in and out of existence four times over the span of about 20 years in the th L.A. area. I was a part of the 4 incarnation, here was the concept some of us developed in early 2005: WORK FOR THE MAN AND GET RIPPED OFF, OR WORK WITH US BUILDING COMMUNITY, EARN WORK HOUR CREDIT COINS AND GET INTO SHOWS AND BUY FROM OUR MERCH TABLES WITH A 50% DISCOUNT Since our primary objective is to strengthen the roots of our movement by building sustainable infrastructure, we have designed a system to secure not only money and resources but also human energy and labor. Unlike most collective projects and organizations, involvement in A.G.C. is not solicited solely by convincing people with words that they should join or hoping that people read our literature and want to sign up. While weve seen and we know in our hearts that when apathetic or inexperienced people have a taste of the joy found in building a culture together, theyll never fall back into the state of oblivion that characterizes punks dominant culture; we also know that this process takes a long time This new currency idea is a strategic intervention in the force of apathy and obsessive material consumerism of the punk scene. We realize the classical approach by self-righteous, elitist punks and activists of guilt-tripping apathetic punk consumers into self-sacrifice has been totally ineffective. Weve designed an alternative economy that can put a wind turbine on the storm of punk economic activity. Rather than preach to the scene about how it must change to fit our world view and agenda, we can tap into the force of the scene and capture energy and resources to divert to our projects. In the process we can transform peoples lives by experience and action, not by indoctrination or peer-pressure coercion. Heres a rough outline of how it can work: A.G.C. throws a series of benefit shows. Rather than give that money to causes outside of our community, we invest that money into the wholesale records, raw materials, equipment, and tools needed to make our own merch items (silk screens, food dehydrators, sewing machines, etc.) We fill a calendar with A.G.C. events (garden work parties, clean up crews for shows at venues we support, workshops, etc.)At these A.G.C. community building events, we compensate all those who work and contribute to the process with our own alternative currency we call creds that are essentially color coded punk pins that function as coins that represent units of time from 15 minutes to an hour. People who have earned our money
can then redeem their creds at our merch table where AGC money automatically makes everything that we sell 50% off the U.S. dollar price. If we set our work credit hour compensation rate to equal $10 U.S. dollars per hour, and all A.G.C. table items are half-off with A.G.C. creds, our volunteers earn $20 of purchasing power per hour by helping us build the culture. Now you have a choice in the way you go about purchasing the records, fashion items, and other diy items that were all so addicted to. So you can either work FOR The Man (and most likely make minimum wage) or you can work WITH us and earn twice as much in the same amount time, have no boss, and be building your own community. We continue to throw shows and table all throughout the scene, hitting all the backyard and venue shows. We distribute our expanding inventory through A.G.C. chapter tabling kits. Most of our sales will be in U.S. dollars since its unlikely that well ever have more paid A.G.C. workers than random punk consumers purchasing from our tables. Income from cash sales can be used to fund projects and be reinvested into expanding the distro. Well be able to compensate ourselves with A.G.C. money for all the hard work we always do for the scene, e.g. graphic and web design, handing out flyers, cleaning up at shows, doing security, etc. We perfect the model and test it in other cities, first by creating an online catalog ordering system where we can sell our merch internationally and get create ways for people throughout the world to earn the currency by working on local projects and on collaborative global projects. Not only can we fill a monthly calendar with paid A.G.C. events and activities, we can have a list online of projects and tasks that need to be done independently. People volunteer or be commissioned to complete tasks and projects that will earn them creds. Not only can there be constant culture building activity going on that we define through a collective consensus process, anyone is free to make a proposal for a project that theyll want x-amount of creds for. You could write a proposal stating that for so many creds youll map out all the fruit trees in your area, or youll sell us tools that your dad no longer uses, or youll build a website or a stage, or whatever
Jack works full time for minimum wage. He loves cable tv, punk shows, records, and beer. Occasionally he picks up his old bass and jams some riffs hoping to someday start a band. Hes happy to just be able to afford his individualist life. His wages afford him all the comfort he needs on a daily basis. Whatever ambitions he had to be creative, productive, and proactive died long ago, or are perhaps just dormant. Jill is a high school student with no income. Shes always broke however, she is full of ambition, creativity, and positive energy that she constantly tries to cultivate and apply, only shes constrained by her lack of funds and mobility. Many of the projects she wants to initiate or join are out of her reach. One thing Jill has that Jack does not is time; what Jack has that Jill doesnt is a car and steady income. Jill has recently done a lot of gardening work with AGC and has earned lots of creds. While Jack would never lift a finger or go out of his way to support this activity, hell go to great lengths to get that rare green vinyl hand numbered test pressing 7 of Band X. Unfortunately for him, the eBay auction is closing soon and he spent most of his pay-
check already. Jill had seen the same record in the A.G.C. distro table. So while Jack is lamenting about not being able to afford the release, Jill reminds him that if he would only volunteer with A.G.C. hed be able to earn creds which are worth TWICE as much as the U.S. dollar when redeemed for A.G.C. merch items. She tries not to laugh at his pain. Then she remembers her own pain, she wants sot badly to go to the next A.G.C. camping trip but all the carpool sign up sheets are full. She doesnt know anyone with a car except for Jack. She begins to think, hmm, I could pay Jack with creds to give me a ride...better yet, I could pay him and invite him to come and camp. Hell be so happy to get his record, he might be willing to break out of his daily mold and enjoy life with people and nature for a change!Jack was so happy to be able to get his record, he actually dared to venture into the wild with Jill and the crew. He had a great time, even though he didnt learn much from the workshops because he was jamming out to his new record on his iPod the whole time. Okay I wrote all that a long time ago, but re-reading it now, it still kinda makes sense. We actually got pretty far along. We printed the coin pins, paid punks for community project work, we sold them distro items, we had a retail store, gallery, and an online store for diy punk arts and crafts from around the world. We had set up most of the infrastructure for the currency to work through, but just as the currency was being born in early 2005, A.G.C. morphed into the Gaian Mind Institute. Unfortunately the alternative economy idea was shelved at that time because simply running the community center space took up most of our time, energy, and money. With so much new responsibility, administering an experimental economy wasnt practical. The hope was that wed get our nonprofit status, get funding, and then be able to focus on building the alternative currency in the future. We got our non-profit status, started getting grants and donations, but then the city basically shut us down in mid 2006, the currency hasnt been used since. The model seems complicated but its based on a simple idea: the punk economy has a tradition of doing fundraisers, if it fundraised for itself and invested in itself it could get very creative with how it distributes its wealth. By pooling monetary resources from the commons, whats purchased with the money is not an investment coming out of a private individual or business owners pocket so it doesnt need to be sold for a profit, nor does it need to cover its own cost and break even. It can be played with. No one needs to get paid back for fronting or pitching in for the cost of goods sold. Its almost like a voluntary tax. If the punk scene added a tax to record sales, show tickets, patches, shirts, etc. and collected that money to pay for a diy venue, the p.a., printing flyers, having a backline, buying seeds, acquiring and maintain a van, a truck, home-brewing equipment, etc. wed be a little autonomous utopia. But because the second you start funding a government to administer your tax dollars, you get all of the bureaucratic b.s. and regulation that anarcho-punks are trying to smash. It would be much better if it was neither an obligatory or a voluntary tax but rather a donation or a cover charge. If you pay to get in to a benefit concert you get entertainment for your money. You got your value, your claim to the moneys value is gone. Benefits make it so that rather than being pocketed by the bands, the promoter, and venue the funds can be given away, OR be reinvested directly into the community. Im not saying to stop doing
fundraisers for outside causes, Im saying first things first. Build a solid foundation for the scene, then branch out to support other issues, campaigns, causes, etc. So many punk run projects fail because they dont budget for their own needs. Im not an economist, Im sure there are aspects of the model that would have to be tweaked to guard against abuse and limits would have to be placed so one person doesnt end of hording all the best stuff. Im sure the 50% discount would have to fluctuate according to various patterns, cycles, and anomalies in the market. Maybe the 50% discount would fluctuate based on supply and demand, or apply to certain items that are cheaper to produce. Another way to get free products into the system would be to ask bands to donate some of their records and merch. If bands care to support community development but theyre too busy posing to lend a hand, they can always kick down some of their swag The goal would be to spark real community exchange and interaction. Its like training wheels or a cocoon. Its just a creative reaction to a very odd and unprecedented trend in modern human economic behavior: consumerism. We want stuff, we work hard to buy stuff. We also want entertainment, we work hard to buy entertainment. Our tribal ancestors worked much less than we do, had much less stuff, yet had all their needs met and lived in an abundance of community and natural resources while providing their own entertainment. I want to see consumerism go extinct; I want to revive the old ways. Since we lost all of the natural and social infrastructure to live in anarchic tribal villages, we have to build it back if we want it back. Building it back will take hard work. Hard work has to be motivated. While were still consumers working hard to buy stuff, why dont we work hard for ourselves and buy stuff from ourselves. Lets grow our own food, make our own toiletries, medicines, clothes, run our own venues, record labels, etc. and support our own diy underground economy. Were already doing a lot of this stuff, were just not capturing the surplus and returning it into our own system. Were letting our economic power bleed back into the global industrial economy in the form of the rapidly devaluing U.S. dollar. Think of all the store-bought beer that the punk scene buys. If there was an economic incentive for punks to home brew, overnight millions of wasted dollars would be conserved and circulated within the punk economy. Its all gonna happen when the shit hits the fan anyway, we may as well get good at exchanging value amongst ourselves now.
What would you do if there were no grocery stores? What if you couldnt just run down to the market and buy some food? How would you eat? Could you survive? These questions and others like them have motivated me to learn to grow my own food over the last couple of years. Ive had some moderate success, but growing food enough food to sustain yourself is every bit as hard as it may seem. Ive learned a
What is your ultimate dream gig? We meant to ask you this Christy; we would really like to have the Bloodstains Across Eugene Fest at your place. The yard and barn would be the perfect space! We will even clean it out for you! What do ya say?? Pretty please? Contact: www.reverbnation.com/saviorselfeugene or at StaggeringDepths@rocketmail.com
ing to avoid tired punk cliches. Sometimes we do that through absurd hyperbole (Vivisect The Bastards is about vivisecting scientists and their bosses to get to the root of their greed and cruelty) and in other songs we do it by zeroing in on us instead of them. For example, Their System//Our System and Storms of War talk about what we as punks and we as the disenfranchised should and can do differently, rather than just griping about how fucked up the world is and whos fucking it up....but we do that too... What drives you to write music? NOBODYS DRIVING!!!.....er well, were just three punks who are very creative people and that leaves us all with an itch that is best satisfied by jamming often and playing shows. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? We have pretty varied tastes in music, but one thing we definitely share is a deep-seated love for anarchopunk and early Proto-Crust. Still have no idea what or who we sound like-at a show recently, this guy said we sounded like TOOL and BLACK SABBATH...mixed feelings on that but when writing songs we just keep trying riffs and beats until we figure out something we all really like. We dont try to follow any formula and we dont try to copy the sound of any other bands. At the end of the day, we each play our instruments the way WE like and were just really lucky that when we do that, some unique and decent-sounding songs are produced. Not gonna lie though, the band was originally started with ANTISECT worship in mind... What have you put out? We are hopelessly prudish and dont put out....however we have released two demo tapes so far. The first was called Vivisect the Bastards and it had four songs and a pretty cool poster on the back of the insert. Its out of print, though, for various reasons. The 2nd, and currently available, tape is called AnarkoNot-Peace Punk. It has seven songs plus one cover, includes lyrics, and is 100% DIY. Write/email us to buy or trade. Future plans? At the time of this writing we are on tour, but when we return home wed like to make a record or two. Weve discussed a split with some of the people/bands weve met, so keep an eye out! Contact: Hear us at: vivisect.bandcamp.com Tour dates on: downpunx.blogspot.com Email: chuckblasty@gmail.com Write/Send Stuff to: THE JERK STORE 1411 Summer St. Houston, TX 77007
GATGAS BONEBLACK
Members / Instruments: M. Peni -vocals A. Churchburner guitar/vocals M.D.C. - guitar Olwyn - bass BLR - drums What are the main ideas behind the band? We are a vegan anarchist band. Our songs are not necessarily explicitly about such issues, but in practice our lives revolve around these ideals. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? Although our songs arent explicitly political, we feel that actions are more important than words. We consider ourselves an anarchist crust band, but our sound is comprised of d-beat, doom, and black metal. We are not concerned with fitting into a specific category of music. Future plans? We will likely release an EP or something next winter, possibly another tour next spring. Members / Instruments: Jack D-Ass Gibbons-vox Brian Gibbons- guitar Corey Shipp- guitar Bob Bromley-bass Gary Ingram-drums What are the main ideas behind the band? The main idea behind the band at the start was just to get together and jam and have fun. Then once we decided to play some shows and people came to watch our practices we decided to try and open up some ears in this small, shitty town-something a little different than they were used to with a little political twist to the lyrics. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? I dont know; we just try to have fun and make the crowd enjoy and participate. Future plans? Just to play more shows and to record new stuff Contact: gatgas@hotmail.ca, Facebook: GATGAS page
Members/instruments: Austin-guitars / backup vocals / coming soon: piano Brendan -vocals/Lyrics Adam - bass / backup vocals Brett -drums What are your songs about? We tend to veer away from the strictly political cookiecutter punx songs & write about things that affect us in our daily lives, be it within our scene, our home lives, or our own fucked minds. Of course, there will always be crossover between the social & political but expressing ones self through personal songwriting & poetry has always felt far truer than sloganeering. I deal heavily in the double-edged sword that is sentience: Life, death, punk rock & self-destruction What drives you to write music? The feeling of playing a raging song that flows together well-transference of emotions to musical notes, all the struggles, ups and downs, good and bad etc. if I didnt have this band as a cathartic output live & on paper Id probably institutionalize myself. Playing in KRANG is an escape mechanism that I am proud of and my way of growing as a person and moving forward. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? We are influenced by so many different types of music. Each member plays their own individual role in the band. We all take the band very seriously, but also have a personality that most people would find easy to get along with. What have you put out? Our Demo Tape Onward, Desolation as well as our 7 The Bog of Eternal Stenchcore. Both of these recordings feature Hannah Benoche on vocal duties prior to her relocation to Minneapolis. Future plans? Our intent is to record a handful of very focused & thematic tracks in June & then release Sounds of Death in late Summer/Autumn; most likely as a 12 EP and Portland artist Halsey Swain is doing our cover Sarah Walker from Minneapolis/Chicago is doing the layout and back and most likely another rad poster. I feel our newer material will truly capture what weve been working towards for the last 2 1/2 years as a band and be our defining release for the sound we are trying to create. There is also talk of a split 7 shortly after this release... Contact: crustardpunx@gmail.com is our band e-mail. On Fuckbook were Krang Crustards. AUSTIN: selfgovernyourself@hotmail.com
SIN VIDA
Location: West Bay/SF Bay Area Members/Instruments: Jen - vocals Dave - vocals & guitar Jay - vocals & bass Jerry - drums What are your songs about? Death, war, injustice, drugs, uncertainty, and butterflies. What drives you to write music? The need to express incensement about the ways of the world. That and our cars. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? We just do what we do and try to have fun with it. Our sound stems from our different backgrounds in music, which includes hardcore punk, metal, and grind. What have you put out? We have vinyl available for the folks who like to listen to the cracks, hisses and pops that only a record can provide!Our self-released 12 split with LIFE WITHOUT (pre-SIN VIDA) is fresh off the presses. You can also download our music online for free. Future plans? We have a few new songs in the works and plan to release a demo cassette this fall. We want to keep playing local shows around the S.F. Bay, and also have plans to go to L.A. in the fall. Contact: Email:sinvidasf@gmail.com Blog:http://sinvidasf.blogspot.com Also on Facebook and other spaces.
WRATHCOBRA
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Members/instruments: Caleb Cornell (C-Bone) -vocals, Greg Colaizzi - bass guitar Kenny Kobra Houser -guitar Bill Earl Gilliland - guitar Jordan Villella - drums What are your songs about? From the Holy Mountain the bloods running down, the starving shall drink and piss on the crown - A God With No Name The planet is rotting, ash rains from above, the masses stay on their knees and still pray for his love. They feast on each other, but give unto their lord. A Nation of Ghouls forevermore. - Nation of Ghouls What drives you to write music? It is difficult to answer without mentioning the birth of WRATHCOBRA. The band was formed in the West End no-mans land of Pittsburgh in the summer of 2006. Founding members Bill Gilliland, Stephen Lauck, and original drummer Jon Chermonitz met for the first time in Jons West End one-bedroom apartment. Jon set the tempo for the group while unpacking his drums, I play two beats; fast and faster!. After the completion of a handle of Rebel Yell whiskey, we composed what would eventually become the ripper, Sanctuary Burning. Fast-forward to 2011, WRATHCOBRA has performed across the US and Europe with various lineups of past and present WRATHCOBRA members. Our tastes in whiskey may have improved (slightly), but remains as a constant inspiration for WRATHCOBRAs new material. Throughout the years of hardship and real-life Pittsburgh shit that has always slowed the momentum of this band; WRATHCOBRA has persevered and continues to transform what began as a weekly drinking club, into a D-Beat Heavy Metal powerhouse hell-bent on playing any city or country that will have us. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? The music in no way represents a fresh sound on the scene. We are all simply huge fans of the greats that have come before us. We draw from many influences in our song-writing; incorporating aspects of the English shit like AMEBIX, DISCHARGE, and CRASS as well as IRON MAIDEN, MOTORHEAD, BLACK SABBATH, DIAMOND HEAD; some American shit like CRUCIFIX, POISON IDEA, HIRAX; and some more recent Canadian shit such as INEPSY and BORN DEAD ICONS; and especially all of the Pittsburgh shit happening now! Check it out, there are things happening here! Our vast and endless list of influences poke into the songs here and there, but we have developed a WC formula of writing that allows us to restrain ourselves from writing music that is too far out. We play politically-minded, punishing most of the time alcoholfueled, metallic d-beat punk, similar to probably hundreds of bands right nowI suppose what sets us apart is that we come from Pittsburgh. What have you put out? WRATHCOBRA - Self-titled LP 2008 (Cobra Cabana 001) WRATHCOBRA - Fang and Tail LP 2010 (Cobra Cabana 002) Future plans? In our immediate future, we intend to nurse our wounds from our July Euro tour. However, we intend to soon return to writing, keep off the road for a bit, and bang out a new album in 2012 to be released on Alerta Antifascista Records out of Hannover, Germany. We will also be working on developing our in-house label: Cobra Cabana Records. As far as our live shows, we have little scheduled as of now but we will assuredly be playing some long weekends weve been flushing out in various parts of the States, and a trip up to play Varning Festival in Canada. We are on some serious upward momentum and were having a blast, and it would be nice to keep it that way. Contact: Cobra Cabana Records 201 N. Fairmount St. Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Were on the internet. Facebook. Myspace. Google. Etc. WRATHCOBRA@GMAIL.COM
STATE OF MINEFIELDS
Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Members/Instruments: Jess-vocals Tash-bass Tizdale-drums Brianne-guitar/sometimes accordion
SAVIORSELF
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Band Members: Brandon - guitar Ian- bass Bob - drums Becky - vocals How did you come up with your band name? It was better than PARAMEDIC MUMMY or SOMBER ARROWS. What are the main ideas behind the band? A DIY ethic off getting off your ass and playing music in a small town. Be yourself. Dont succumb to any social or political standards. Most of all, have some fucking fun before you die.We are four friends that randomly migrated from California to live in Eugene, OR and have played in other bands here, too. It came together naturally. What do you feel sets your band apart from others? The music comes together from a love of different influences-from sludge to crust to D-beat to jazz. We all come together easily and dont fight over petty bullshit. For example, Brandon blew his amp a few weeks ago, and 2 minutes later blew Ians. We just went outside, drank some beers, and laughed about it. You need to be on the same page as friends if you want to be on the same page creatively. Future plans? Shows, records, tours, and playing at Stonehenge to resurrect the Macho Man. If your band could have a superhuman power, what would it be and why? The ability to answer this question cause it was too hard for us. Our friend Matt wouldnt shut the fuck up to let us think of a witty answer. So: the ability to shut Matt the fuck up. What has been your most memorable show and why? Our first show that we played at a bar in town with MURDERESS from Portland, BOROXA from Seattle, and FACING EXTINCTION from Eugene. We all agree it was the best first show any of us have ever played. No nerves, all shits and giggles. It sealed the deal and felt like we had been playing together for years. Have you ever played any benefit shows? If so, what cause did you support? We are playing a benefit show tomorrow for our friends in TRANSIENT who got in a wreck in Georgia while on tour. All contributions are going to them for medical bills and damage costs. There is a PayPal account set up for their benefit online, check it out. What bands have you most enjoyed playing shows with? FACING EXTINCTION (the hometown grind kings), MOROSE (Yakima, WA- check out AmpuTape Records), NAPALM RAID (Nova Scotia, Canada), and OPPOSUM HEAD (our tour buddies... Ian really likes playing with himself).
What are the main ideas behind the band? I guess just our general disgust with the human race, how we are allegedly living in a democratic society (whatever that means...) as we are slowly and ignorantly being stripped of our freedoms. Describe your sound? Weve been colorfully described as creepy, pissed off, suicide-inducing, crusty, sludgy, grindy, doomy, but we like to call ourselves grimecore. Releases? We just recorded at The Avenue studio in Saskatoon with some good dudes, Mike Lefebvre (DFA, etc), Jordan Smith and Mark Klopoushak. Were releasing a split 7 with Vancouvers COOKED AND EATEN on Bloody Scythe Records by the fall of 2011. What sets you apart? We dont try to fit in a certain niche, and dont follow any certain style. Whatever happens happens...theres no thought behind our direction, it just works for us. Scene: It seems like its picking up-Saskatoon used to have a fucking nuts scene. It kinda died down for a bit there, but now it seems to have been resurrected in the last year, thanks to some sick shows at The Roundhouse (RIP). Theres a spark of interest from the youngins again...finally...been waiting for that for awhile! We plan on putting a real effort into bringing some killer bands through this shithole and shaking it up a bit. SHAKE UP THE SHIT! Future plans? A second 7 split, playing lots of out of town shows, space/moon tour 2012...were in the process of writing some new shit. Yeeeahhh baby!
VIVISECT
Location: Houston, TX Members/instruments: Ian - Untunable bass, vocals, latent drunken British accent Joe Ray - Guitar, really long dreads, talent Chuck - Drums, lyrics, unintelligible backing vocals What are your songs about? We write songs of a political/social nature while try-
hey none of us are perfect. Cover artwork was done by Andrei Bouzikov and features a zombie killer who has decapitated both bands whos heads are hanging in an S.O.D. Budokan VHS fashion which brings back good memories. He has done art for MUNICIPAL WASTE, AUTOPSY, SKELETONWITCH and tons more, his website has some really cool shit I recommend checking it out, maybe even get em to do your next record? TANK CRIMES / P.O. Box 3495 / Oakland, CA / 94609 // www.tankcrimes.com
Excellent work here with some serious punk heart and soul. (Leffer) halo of flies records c/o Cory Von Bohlen / 3444 N. Bremen St. / Milwaukee, WI / 5321// www.halooffliesrecords.com
its always cool to see people working together to get records out there that might not see the light of day otherwise. Being that I have not heard a lot of stuff out of France this makes me want to look into it and see what other things linger beneath the surface. Very simple layout with the bands name an X and a border around the edge. over all the music makes up for the artwork for sure so dont be fooled Selfish Satan Recordings // selfishsatanrecordings.com
ANNIHILATION TIME - II LP
Originally released in 2004 on Six Weeks records and this reissue brought to you by TANKCRIMES has all the benefits a re-issue should have, full color gatefold jacket, fold out insert, colored vinyl and even a bonus 7 of the same aqua blue color. The bonus tracks are Reality and Feel it Annihilate! making this a must have for you fans of AT out there! This is classic material by now, dont know how long something has to be around for it to be classic but anyone who has had this record since it came out will tell you that it is. If you have not heard these dudes yet they have a very DEAD BOYS, NEW YORK DOLLS approach to punk rock. The we are gong to do what we want to and there is nothing you or anyone can say or do about it...gotta love that. Songs about killing yuppies, getting high and being a rowdy ass mother fucker. There are parts that bring to mind TURBO NEGRO as well like a more raw party animals. Cover art has all their heads spewing upward out of a toilet, smashed tvs and punk as fuck corpse rocking a B.O.C. shirt! An ultimate re-issue for an ultimate record. pick up this gem grab a beer or a joint, or both? and rage hard! TANK CRIMES / P.O. Box 3495 / Oakland, CA / 94609// www.tankcrimes.com
COUNTERBLAST Nothingness CD
While this is equally as crushing as their previous releases, this collection of songs is considerably more advanced on so many levels.7 songs ranging from 2:50 minutes to 10:03, there is a quite wide variety of emotions and sounds going on here. The shortest track Spirit Displaced is a simple composition of acoustic guitar , organs and mournful vocals. The second track The Truth Will Remain exemplifies the standard of the rest of the album being half sad yet beautiful guitars and keyboards similar to that of MORNE and then belts into a barrage of driving crushing and aggressive guitar work then melds into a bit of psychedelic yet still crushing chords that transform the song into a pounding trancelike dirge that calls to mind warriors trudging back home after a long battle. Each song exhibits moments of peace and beauty as well as driving battle hymns that make you want to grab your axe and run into war growling and spitting YOU WILL DIE towards your enemy, and gets bleaker towards the end. Tribal-punk drumming rhythms and driving guitar and bass riffs combined with the ancient folk influenced interludes will appeal to any and every primitive-punk out there. This CD is not lighthearted in any way shape or form. A mixture of crust, doom, folk... this will grab yer guts and never let go. Presented in a bleakly simplistic digipack with a well done booklet of lyrics, this one is definitely a keeper.(Cavewizard) ALERTA ANTIFASCISTA / c/o Timo Nehmtow / Engelbosteler Damm 35 / 30167 Hannover / Germany// www.no-pasaran.org/
CUFFS Privilege 7
Theres a brilliant magic in being able to write a indie-pop without coming across as either the most boring music ever or cutesy to the point of disgust. Massachusettss own CUFFS have somehow figured it out. Ill admit that my own love of 90s indie-rock is less geared at the bands playing mellow, poppy variations of the genre and more often focused on the depressed as hell, morose sound; but having said that, CUFFS got me. Dont get me wrong, this doesnt sound sugary sweet and cottoncandy-y as fuck. It is infectious without being annoying and there is a subtle depression in the singers voice that grabs at me. After several listens, Im still debating which side of this two song 7 I like morebut I think the title track has it. What I do know is that I really fucking like this record it took those several listens for me to understand just how much I like it and Im looking forward to seeing what these folks come up with next! Extra cool bonus points go out to the hand-numbered limited pressing and the minimal but interesting artwork. This is a record that will sit nicely next to your hidden JUNE OF 44 records. (Sammy Totep) Ride the Snake Records // www.cuffsband.tumblr.com
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away. This is raging, pissed off, slightly metallic hardcore punk! And in a genre that is over saturated with mediocre records, this one stands out due in part to the above average song writing, obvious musical talent, and general fist pumping awesomeness. Its fast and aggressive with ripping metallic guitar riffage, and searing pissed off and anguished vocals laced with tons of reverb. Musically these Chicago boys remind me of RELIGIOUS WAR, SSR, or even The Solution LP by RESIST at times. The lyrics are mainly pretty well written, yet very angry political rants, but my favorite song has to be the title track Alcohol which features the verseproblems and problems, I need another drink. Dont need a doctor to tell me how to think. I dont give a fuck if my liver fails, it will be more agony if it prevails. Since Im a bit of a tortured drunk myself. My only advice would be- on the next record, go over to a friends house who has a newer version of photoshop to do your artwork, and It might be a good idea to include the band name somewhere on the front cover so that when people see it in a distro box they might not pass it up. But it does come on pink vinyl which is awesome. All in all this is a killer punk record. (righteous) Occult Whispers www.occultwhispersrecords.bigcartel.com/
FATUM Skverna LP
Words can barely describe how amazing this record is. Dan forwarded me the email he got from Gas Mask Records who wanted to trade releases , and said, This guy always puts out quality stuff. This review is long overdue...having been released at the end of 2010, we did not get the trade settled until January 2011 and these gems arrived in April due to the long wait of getting stuff from that part of the world. So I read the review, and with a comparison to bands like HELLHAMMER, DARKTHRONE , BOLT THROWER, VENOM and AMEBIX, I could not pass this up. However, despite a lot of these elements present in FATUMs Skverna LP, I would be more inclined to compare them to DEVIATED INSTINCT, HIBERNATION and the ANTISECT Out From The Void 7! This album is raw, old school metallic crust, straight up. Not over produced or under produced, just a perfect amount of scruffiness in the recording, and a brutal, dark sound with orc-like vocals. And I really mean orc-like. Heavy and growly with a thick Russian accent ( did I mention they are from Russia?) I LOVED this the very instant I put this record on. In fact, I accidentally put to this on 33 1/3 first listen and thought it was amazing....it was sludgy , doomy and crusty and the vocals were EVEN MORE orc-like....then it was pointed out that it sounded good, but probably on the wrong speed! Two records in one! It sounds DEADLY on both speeds! On top of the killer original songs, their cover of HELLHAMMERs Messiah is quite a masterpiece, and the BATHORY cover is quite lovely as well. The artwork is quite remarkable as well. The outer sleeve is a mixture of hand drawn images of nature and apocalyptic themes mixed with a collage of post war images, ancient iconic art and Celtic knot work. Also included is a nice card stock insert with more killer art and the song lyrics in English and Russian! ...AND since I love this band so much, I tracked down a cassette version on Ebay released by Madfly records - limited to 150 copies ($4) and there is contact information for them on their myspace page as well as an email address for Totalpunk Records who made a run of 500 CDs ( I wrote them but have not heard back from them). Get this record while you can. Its sure to be an obscure classic. One of those best kept secret type albums. Gas Mask Records / CESKY HERALEC 71 / 592 01 Heralec / CZECH REPUBLIC // www.maskcontrol.com
song deals with multinationals taking control of the water supply, keeping us at their mercy. Track two questions the purity of our food and how its being tampered with. Now, heres where it gets scary. The third track aggressively confronts the jock mentality of violent jock dancers and their ultimate demise. The last two songs continue the raging fury. Just pick this disc up to read the rest. The mix and recording are great on this disc thats released on Brandons (guitarist) own label. Bringing it all together is the artwork with real black and white war photos that are a reminder that the apocalypse has already started in some parts of the world. This CD EP is limited to 200, but it looks like theres going to be a 7 out soon in larger quantities. I cant wait to hear more from these folks! $5ppd U.S. / $6ppd outside U.S. (Jake) Armed to the Teeth c/o Brandon / 817 Dane St. / Madison, WI 53713// www.myspace.com/hatekrusher
the Aussie connection. Come to think of it I think that most of the worth wild Grind is coming from over there these days. All the lyrics are written in a stream making it read like some sort of angry rant you would find carved on a prison wall next to an inmate who had slit his wrists out of spite for the world. This one will be getting a lot of spins on my 7 party nights and will end up on a lot of mix tapes as it is a scorcher! (Nate Fetus) 625 Productions / PO Box 591 / Middlebury, VT / 05753//
INTRO5PECT Realpolitik! LP
Re-released on ACTIVE MINDS UK label Loony Tunes in 2009 with bonus live tracks, this is the second LP by this synthpunk outfit from southern California. The first noticeable thing about the release is that it features Stza from LEFTOVER CRACK, who performs vocals on three of the seven tracks of the album, one of them being an 8-bit thrash cover of the aforementioned groups song Nazi White Trash. While Im not a fan of LC, I did find this release to be surprisingly fun to listen to and not completely overwhelmed by Stzas appearance so as not to just sound like a LC side project. The obvious comparison would be ATARI TEENAGE RIOT or LOST SOUNDS on 78rpm, although this is much more of a blazingly fast pop-punk record than anything else. The lyrics do kind of read as a jumbled collection of surface political jargon and clich, and overall (Rob Hanna) Loony Tunes / 69 Wykeham Street / Scarborough / N. Yorks / Y012 7SA / England // www.loonytunesrecords.co.uk
ECOCIDE S/T LP
What a stunning record this is. A five song doom laden masterpiece, incorporating elements of crust, doom and experimental metal such as NEUROSIS , ECOSIDE harks to mind several bands but can be compared to none. Four of the songs are more straight up heavy and driven HEAVY dirges with male female vocals that sound like a mixture of WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM and DAMAD. The Female vox is a call that could wake the dead from hell and all the way back while the male counterpart growls in the background, complimenting as opposed to competing with the hellhound shrieks that could wake the dead halfway around the world! There is one song that is completely different from the rest of the album yet still has the same feel and is equally compelling a collage of samples and piano that is as creepy and haunting as the other tracks are heavy and skull crushing. Also noteworthy is the sleeve artwork composed by Jason Barnett who was the featured artist in PROFANE EXISTENCE # 60/61. (Cavewizard) Burnt Bridges / c/o Chad Byron / 5700 Leslie Ave #11 / Nashville, Tn 37209 // www.burntbridgesrecords.com/
IN RUINS Lifeless CD
Turns out that one of the fastest ways to my heart is quoting Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Who knew? Anyway, on with the show. This CD tour edition with a hand numbered tour poster that lists the dates underneath the same artwork from the back of the CD. On the reverse side is the lyric sheet. They could stand on their own without the music. The pessimism and despair are so seductive that you just wish it were a whole book instead of just a 9 song album of doomy melodic crust. The upside is that the music sets the perfect atmosphere to sit back and accept the fact that everything is not going to be okay and we can only blame ourselves. After playing this a few times, I could hear bits of HIS HERO IS GONE, FROM ASHES RISE, TRAGEDY and NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR. Its always good hear a band that actually takes the time to write separate lines for each guitar and the bass instead of just playing over each other and occasionally hitting an octave to switch things up. The songs are beautifully melodic but completely unsettling at the same time aided by an extremely talented drummer that nails the time changes and adds dimension as well as emotion to each epic piece. The writing is absolutely incredible. (Jake) Anti Corporate Music/ PO Box 190339 / Nashville TN 37219 // www.myspace.com/anticorporatemusicinc
HATEKRUSHER Annihilation//Salvation CD
Here we have another fine release from Disconsin featuring members of PYROKLAST, WARTORN and TIERRA DE NADIE. Convinced yet? No? Okay. The CD starts off with a very rockin d-beat n roll jam that slides right into that signature crust sound that Wisconsin does so well. Annihilation//Salvation isnt not just another d-beat n roll album, though. The thing that really sets this apart for me is the lyrics. While following the path of doom that we all love so much, HATEKRUSHER push things a bit further to a scary and near psychotic (I say that with love) level. Are they conspiracy theorists or just paying attention? The first
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forth, through the mundane, with a punishingly brutal record that inflicts emotional pain while kicking the shit out of your ears. This shit sounds evil let me backtrack, the original vocalist thought that the songs they were playing called demons forth to torture him, this shit is evil! The LP is split between three songs on one side, recorded in a studio, and one long song on side two, which is actually a few songs played back to back, but recorded live in their practice studio. This was done with the intention of showing people how they sound live, without any overdubs or studio edits. Honestly, the sound quality between the two is really similar, which I was worried about when I read that. The cover artwork is superb, but the insert leaves a bit to be desired. Im glad that these guys got back together and decided to put some material out, as Ive heard a lot about them but never had a chance to listen to any of their output. They remind me of EYEHATEGOD and NEUROSIS fighting over bottles of booze and pills; its hazy and psychedelic but has dirge and covered in grime. Highly recommended! (Sammy Totep) To Live a Lie Records / c/o Will Butler / 2825 Van Dyke Ave / Raleigh, NC / 27607// www.tolivealie.com
for fourteen years. This is a decent record, theres plenty of wanking, heavy bass lines, and reverb on the vocals to keep anyone who likes this style happy. The intro into the first track is pretty epic, borrowing the opening element to the opening of Black Sabbaths s/t LP. Also the last track on the A side caught my attention: Bringing me Down pretty much sums up my feelings, especially as I get older. You cant go wrong getting this record, the music is excellent as is the artwork and packaging. There is just something kickass about gatefolds especially when the art is this good. Scotty at Tankcrimes always puts out high quality shit. You could also probably snap one of these babies up on VICTIMS US tour this month. The LP is also a coop release in Europe with La Familia so get it. (JasonS) TANK CRIMES / P.O. Box 3495 / Oakland, CA / 94609 // www.tankcrimes.com
VIVISEKTIO 1984 LP
I absolutely fell in love with this record the second it hit my turntable. This is a collection of songs that were largely written in the early to mid-80s, however the band (called VENDETTA at the time) were never able to materialize an actual release before splitting up. Reunited in early 2008 with a new singer and the drummer of short-lived but well-loved 90s band TOTUUS, this is fast, punchy, hard-hitting, classic Finnish hardcore punk with a great modern production. This is very much along the lines of DESTRUCKTIONS, BASTARDS, and KAAOS, but manages to throw in some American hardcore influences as well to shake things up a bit. Cover art is a cool dystopian illustration of what looks like some sort of post-apocalyptic prison camps for punks, and there is a really nice thick lyric insert (although its all in Finnish and I cant read any of it). Someday Id love to get a copy of those lyrics because Im assuming the content of their songs is equally as badass as the music. Get it now. (Rob Hanna) Roku Records / c/o Ville Vuorjoki / Kemintie 1488 / 97130 HIRVAS / FINLAND // moguli@rokurecords.com Hohnie Records c/o Andreas Hhn / an der Kuhtrnke 7 / 31535 Neustadt / Germany// www.hoenierecords.de
think I enjoy hearing music more from other countries than from the states. This is jammed packed with 11 bands hailing from the Czech Republic. Looking at the grooves of the physical record, you can see that it is filled with a ton of songs. Included are 11 current bands of different varieties. Crust, death metal, hardcore, punk, grindcore, and fastcore are all represented here. Each band provides anywhere from 2 to 5 songs each giving the listener ample amount of music to make a judgment and find personal favorites. The high quality and diverseness of the bands and music gives the whole package an enjoyable listening experience I havent heard that often since 80s when I was listening to a lot of compilations. Hate to sound clichd and say that this is all killer with no filler. I have listened to this multiple times and I have yet to pick out my absolute favorites. But I will definitely keep an eye out for releases from the bands featured due to this release. (Donofthedead) Selfish Satan Recordings // selfishsatanrecordings.com
U.S. / $7ppd world. (Jake) ASADACHI / 2964 Winter Garden Unit D / Lexinton, KY 40517 // zine4musicaldestruction@hotmail.com
DEMOS
ABDUKTION Demo 2011 cassette
Discharge/Anti-Cimex styled punk, this demo looks like its been handed down, passed around and traded through endless soap charged, beer guzzling til you puke, raging punx. The packaging is your basic folded tape insert with chicken scratched barely legible handwriting, and a pixelated image of a drunk puking mohawked peace punk, complete with a d-beat head band. Songs inEnglishandSpanish, the ones I can make out scream about religious lies and a disgust for humanity. I seriously look forward to seeing and hearing more from these Houston madheads. Good shit, keeping it grimey, pissed off, and raw. I know its been done a million times before, but goddamnit I dont think I could ever get enough d-beat. I love this shit, and ABDUKTION kill it. (mandapocalypse) Fermented Chaos Records c/o THE DEATH STAR / 1719 Weber St. / Houston,TX 77007//
THE UNITED SONS OF TOIL When the Revolution Comes, Everything Will Be Beautiful CD/LP
Buy this CD. Please. Heavy and driving with heavy and sludgydriving elements, all the while avoiding dumbed-down riff emphasis, THE UNITED SONS OF TOIL sound like the perfect blend of Am Rep and Touch and Go circa 1994. Buy this CD. Please, for yourself, not for my sake. The bass in this record makes me preemptively envious against every record Ill ever play on; its dense and thick while maintaining clarity and purpose something many heavy bass players seem to lose in the wake of heavy as fuck. When the Revolution Comes is an album about revolution, and the things people are willing to do in its name. The music speaks to this in a discordant, pained and solemn way, matching its melancholic lyrical tone with the defiant anger of an individual, not an unnamed mass. Apparently, this is their third album and I cant fucking wait to find and absorb the back catalog. I also cant believe that theyve put out three records, are from Wisconsin, and that Ive never heard them before now. Similar to many (Unwound, Helms Alee, and Neurosis come to mind, in a strange mix), but unlike them all. Buy this CD. Seriously. (Sammy Totep) Phratry Records / PO Box 14267 / Cincinnati, OH / 45250 // www.phratryrecords.com
ASADACHI demo CD
While poking around on the web, I found that a loose Japanese translation for ASADACHI is morning wood. Ahem. Im not here to judge, in fact, I love hardcore with a sense of humor. On that note, thats exactly what this is. Hardcore. If you put this on with out paying close attention it will be over before you know it, so you might as well start of by putting it on repeat to save yourself the frustration. Shit, do it even if you are paying attention, because the 5 songs that are squeezed into roughly 9:30 minutes is just enough to get your blood moving. There seems to be a bit borrowed from Japanese hardcore here, moving at a frantic pace with chaotic intensity. Even the artwork utilizes Japanese imagery combined with what looks like black ink and wood cut design. Clean and simple, unlike the lyrics which are deep and poetic that challenge the listener to question and then act. There were only 100 printed, so this might be hard to get your hands on. Well worth the hunt. $4ppd
VICTIMS A Dissident LP
A Dissident is VICTIMS sixth LP and its also the first one Ive heard since their split with FROM ASHES RISE back in 2003. Im really a fan of Swedish hardcore and this release backs my feeling up completely. This record is a bit more mid-tempo but it has just as much energy as some of the more fast paced disbeat. It also helps that VICTIMS have been doing this
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pleasing singalong choruses. The lyrics are a mix of the personal and political, not too dissimilar to the creative wordplay favoured by Dick Lucas, which is exactly how it should be. Packed into the backroom of a pub with this lot on the stage gets the dancefloor hot n sweaty very quickly. OLDPUNKSNEVERDIE.COM
Due to the Boskops two guitar players and a vocalist with a roaring strong voice, their first LP stands as a good stylistic example of what later become known as Thrashpunk - less instrumental proficiency but raw highspeed energy and sonic brutality. This is an officical re-press which comes with a 24-pages booklet and a huge poster. Classic!
BROKEN BONES Fuck You And All You Stand For LP $8.00
And Broken Bones in 2010thankfullyaint a helluva lot different than the classic mid-80s lineup that recorded classics like Dem Bones, Bonecrusher and F.O.A.D. The current lineup of Oddy, Bones, drummer Dave and vocalist Quiv has been going at it since a late 90s reformation, and Fuck You and All You Stand For is now their third release in this incarnation. Bones originally left DISCHARGE to pursue a more metal direction, and he continues that mission here with a well-focused fury. On song after song, he throws down crusty thrash riffage over classic, moshfriendly D-beat rhythms that barrel along with thunderous intent. As metallic as the music tends toward, Quivs snarling, angry bark maintains the perfect crossover tension. This is some seriously incendiary shit that pretty much schools every Dis band thats tried to emulate the style since the originals laid down the template.
V/A EMRACE THE KILL, HELLMOUTH, IN DEFENCE & OPPOSITION RISING four-way split 7 $3.00
Crash Records, Rodent Popsicle, and Profane Existence presents a four-way split 7 with EMBRACE THE KILL (from Portland, OR, bridging the gap between punk & black metal), HELLMOUTH (from Detroit, MI, in your face, god-hating metallic crust), IN DEFENCE (from Minneapolis, MN, sarcastic punk/thrash metal crossover) and OPPOSITION RISING (from Boston, MA, ex-members of Mouth Sewn Shut playing angry anthems for rebellious youth). Putting the youth back into rebellion seven inches at a time!
10 VINYL RECORDS
12 VINYL RECORDS
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BLACK NOISE CANNON Unsaved: The Reality of the Silent War CD $9.00
Continuing where CHRISTDRIVER left off, Eric Greenwalt and friends deliver up an onslaught of mournful, down-tuned, dirge-like crust. Listed influences are Godflesh, Swans, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, NEUROSIS, Jesu, ISIS, Christdriver, Pelican, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Earth, Pitch Shifter, Gira, Jarboe, The Deer Hunter, The Conversation. These three tracks are a non stop steamroller of sound and clock in a total running time of just under 60 minutes. If there is such a thing as apocalyptic crust, it probably sounds something like this!
AXION//PROTESTA Discographia CD $9
Possibly the most brutal and underrated band in the Latin American anarcho punk scene. An expression of anger, commitment and activism in a CD that brings together their entire discography. Contains all songs of their demo, the Afilando Nuestras Vidas CD and the split with Desesperanza. Comes with lyrics, art and articles about the band and Latin American anarchopunk scene. Audio quality is considerable better than mp3s found on the web.
APPALACHIAN TERROR UNIT Its Far From Fucking Over (Discography Pt 1) CD $6.00
The first installment of APPALACHIAN TERROR UNITs discography is now availablle. The CD includes all the songs from their 2007 Armageddon Wont be Brought By the Gods EP, their 2008 Greenwashing LP and one unreleased cover song by FINAL WARNING. The package includes 24 page booklet, with all lyrics, writing, and original artwork from Marald, Hush and others, plus a bonus ATU vinyl sticker. APPALACHIAN TERROR UNIT hail from Huntington, WV and play a powerful blend of classic anarcho-punk, crust and a hint of metal, with aggressive female vocals, and urgent political lyrics. This discography compiles all the songs that launched ATUs meteoric rise in popularity and is being released while they are taking a break from touring while Sarah is pregnant. They are using the time off to write new material, for which they have recentlky recorded for a split EP with OI POLLOI, and have more recording plans for the near future. Of course Profane Existence plans to be involved in the next ATU releases, so long as our financial outlook continues to improve.</p>
AMEBIX Redux CD $5
Profane Existence is proud to team up with crust punk/metal legends AMEBIX for the release of three classic AMEBIX tracks as redone by the current lineup: Rob (aka The Baron), Stig, and Roy. This is AMEBIX played louder, tighter and more intense than youve ever heard them before. All tracks recorded and produced by Roy Mayorga, mastered by Rodney Mills. Total running time is approximately 17 minutes.
BULLET RIDDEN Songs Written Before Jumping Out Of An Eight Story Window CD $9
Ex-members of Bomb-blast-men, VARUKERS, Black Eye Riot and Gurkha and current members of Warprayer, Violent Arrest and The Rejected team up to make the darkest sounding hardcore for the coming storm. Despair, anger and hatred are sewn into a body bag of metal riffing and punk aggro. The end is fucking nigh and Bullet Ridden are here to celebrate that fact. - Underground Movement
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real deal nowadays in our over saturated market of underground punk rock. And well all be referring to yu tolk tu mach as a classic in years to come. Think Eddie & The Hot Rods/PVC/ (early) Slade along with with a strong touch of vintage dirty 70s glam. GREAT!
FREAKS established by Takaho, the vocalist of the band. The album was remastered at a studio in Osaka by Chew of CORRUPTED. This album was finally completed as the very RAW GRINDCORE sound. The album contains 20 tracks, including a cover song of REPULSON whom Takaho respects. It is the 5th album.
ANOV I Delikatesy $9
It took 5 years, but new album of this cult Czech punk band is here! Sanov 1 has their roots in second half of 1980s in communistic Czechoslovakia. With their aggressive punk, offensive lyrics (also against secret police, Soviet Union etc.) and the unmistakable voice of leader Radek Santrucek they soon became a legend. And they are still here and with same energy!
SVINE! s/t CD $9
Just released long-awaited new album-Bohemian hc/punx!. 10 new songs you sharp and aggressive hardcore punk shows the band in the best form. BITCH! started keeping both musically and lyrically, and now we have one of the best punk records of the year! In addition, all packaged in a paper in format digipacku with silver print. Band from Strakonice district and the surrounding area plays since 2001 and hunted so far had 2 albums and a split single with Antiseptic, and listen to the compilation of South Bohemia. In the series acts as a second guitarist Puffy, mj. Disinfection and Gride. You can get a good base for coin seconds from the band, which over the years has proved that it can play music and take the right end of a rope.
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SIONS OF WAR, NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR, RADIO. Comes is a beautiful glossy Digipack and includes a 56 page Booklet that includes El Libertarios texts and informations and artwork of the bands.
When the V3S split up some of original members found new band Do Rady! Their music is great punk in 77 and oi/punk style. On their 20 years anniversary was organized festival where played best Czech punk band and as special guest British 999. Do Rady! Gig at this festival was recorded and now is available for you on DVD, you can see here this legendary band live with some bonuses as video clips, interview etc. Special bonus is audio CD and poster! This must be in every serious collection of old punk groups
/ Cryptonaut, Kapreles, Jenz, Olivier de Sagazan, Chris MArs, Jan Schleevogt, Navette, Dan Verkys, Justin Aerni, Oliver Schott, Tachas Tachas, Oliver Wtterm Sybille Lengauer, Michael Hutter, Juan Cabana, Fero, Patrick Byers, Bastart-Worx, Neils Parthey, Tom Bresemann and Frederico Bebber. Yes, theyre expensive to order, but it would cost you much more to order a single copy from Germany. Top quality is worth it.
BOOKS
CASSETTE TAPES
ZINES
Artscum from Europe, USA, Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Outerspace: Aegis Strife (ESP) Anathema Photography (US) ,Axel Torvenius (SWE), Beb Deum (FRA) Dan Verkys (AUS), Darth Hell (US), Hell in Hell (BRA), jenz (GER), Jeremy Russel (CAN), Joachim Luetke (AUT), Johannes Witek (GER), Karezoid/Michal Karcz (POL), Kris Kuksi (US), MxNihil (GER), Navette (GER), Ralph Manfreda (AUT), Robert Bauder (US), R.S. Connett (US), Sam Van Olffen (FRA), Scott Wilson (US), Seth Siro Anton (GR), Shann Larsson (HK), Stitchpuller (US), Sybille Lengauer (GER), Urs Bke (GER), Yan Arexis (FRA), Vienna crawling - gonzo interview with Joachim Luetke (AUT) and Ralph Manfreda/Cryptonaut (AUT) The art of suffocation - (gas)masks report. Reviews: Artbooks & mags
DVD VIDEO
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