Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Thursday, February 01, 2007

What is Hardcore?!

The Bridge9 Records Messageboard had a thread yesterday that was something like "Post a picture that represents what hardcore IS". it was suprisingly great considering that the messageboard is overrun by hoards of new-schoolers and people that have previously threatened to kill me if I ever go to Boston (Ironically, it was because I told them their crew was too violent - its a long story for another day).

Anyhow. I saved a few of the pictures that I thought were great:



Awesome picture of Felix Von Havoc of Havoc records, rocking out in his band Code13. He used to be in a bunch of other bands, too I think. Havoc has been a staple of the Minneapolis hardcore scene for as long as I can remember. His dog (whose name was attila)tried to maul me at the old Extreme Noise record store in Minneapolis when I was in high school (Its still easily the premier hardcore/punk record store in the NATION). Felix just said "he doesn't like you". now thats hardcore.



Old mid-1980's picture of Bad Brains. Bad Brains is a fucking LEGENDARY DC band, if you don't know them, then you don't know anything. They were the first true hardcore band I ever saw in concert, they played with 7 Seconds. the Pay to Cum 7" record sells in the thousands of dollars on ebay. They are easily one of the top 5 hardcore bands of all time. their influence is just as widespread as the misfits or the ramones.



The high-five-stage-dive. fucking PERFECT. I mentioned in a previous post that people who jump from the floor speakers are crazy...here's the proof. This is what its all about.



Ian Mackaye on the right singing with Minor Threat. On the right is a young Henry Rollins, now more famously known for his fashion advice on VH1. Minor Threat is another fucking LEGENDARY band, and the influence of the DC scene in the early-to-mid 1980's is still apparent even in new bands today. You could write whole books about this, and I think people actually have.



And Finally...Earth Crisis Face tattoo man. HOLY SHIT! he got "earth crisis" tattooed on his FACE! Earth Crisis is the name of a Hardcore band from Syracuse, New York. They were really important to hardcore in the mid-1990's and really helped to usher in the whole Vegan Straight hate edge trend that still pervades alot of the scene. Great band for sure, but get their name tattooed on your fucking FACE? I don't know.

Apparently someone on the B9 board met him, and posted some better picks...this guy lives in Europe somewhere and apparently he just really really really likes hardcore. I guess he's a pretty nice guy.

Still, HE GOT "EARTH CRISIS" TATTOOED ON HIS FUCKING FACE!!!

Thats Hardcore.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

600 hundred years of degenerate, godless, inhuman behavior!

I saw this posted this morning. The band is "Suffocation" and now I can't wait to watch this on the history channel.

Time to sharpen up my sword, and don the spiked cod-piece of death.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Everyone, Break your knees!

Scott Vogel is the singer for the band Terror. He's also been the singer in Buried Alive, Despair, and Slugfest. In addition to the multitude of bands he's screamed for, he's also known for shouting out the most absurd crowd-riling statements. They usually work. Terror shows are some of the most fun times you can have in denver, in my opinion.

The band is pretty stereotypical in terms of hardcore, but its GOOD hardcore. lots of hooks and breaks, thrashy parts and mid-tempo breakdowns that usually throw the crowd from a wicked circle-pit into a ridiculously violent two-step kung-fu street fight.

Terror is playing here in denver in a few weeks, and I'll probably go see them again.

The last time I saw Terror, I actually broke my knee stage-diving. It was the dumbest thing I've ever done, and quite possibly one of the most painful.

Terror was playing a small venue here in Denver called Rock Island. At rock island, the stage is only about waist height off the ground, so in order to stage dive effectively, you have to be able to jump up over the top of people and onto the crowd.

Now those of you who freqent mosh-worthy concerts know that in a typical most pit, the crowd splits. In the very front of the venue, smashed against the stage are the superfans. They know all the fucking song lyrics and shout them back at the singer as hard as they can. This also tends to be the refuge of girls, and smaller people who don't want to get smashed by the frenzied pit behind them.



Picture from Agnostic Front's Last CBGB's show. Note all the people on stage, and smashed up against the stage, and that there's one guy who just staged dived...


The Pit behind them is usually pretty spacious as this is where the knuckle-dragging 30 year old failures puff their chest up and slam around as hard as they can, injuries are common here, bad tattoos (dragons, superheros, and naked chicks) are even more common. Typically, fights break out here at least 4 times a show, if its a good show. Its the place I start out in, and then as I get more tired, I squeeze up front, or fade to the back bar area to get another beer.



This is a pit area from Hellfest, note the skinny-ass vegan kids, the 30 something yuppies having identity problems, the star wars nerds, crusties, and thugs.


There are 2 basic ways that you can get on stage for a stage-dive. you can run up behind the front-row squeeze people, grab their shoulders and pull yourself up and over them, kicking their heads as you land face first onto the stage, or you can try and go around, to the sides of the stage and risk getting stuck behind the stage monitors or floor speakers (some people prefer the latter, climb the floor speakers and dive directly into the crowd, avoiding the stage altogether - these people are fucking crazy).


So At this Terror show, I went up through the front line and onto the stage. I waited for the breakdown in the song called "spit my rage" because its pretty tuff, and these days I usually have only 1 or 2 good dives per show. I then Dove head-first off the left side of the stage. It was actually pretty successful, I landed on a group of fairly accepting people, who proceeded to push me head-over-heels backwards into the pit area. I was on my back in the crowd and my head was falling down, and some guy (or maybe a hot chick?) pushed my butt up so that my legs came over my head and down first, like a backwards summersalt.

I actually landed on my feet....and that was my downfall. because instead of landing with bent knees, I stiff-legged the landing. My left knee took the brunt of the damage (actual diagnosis: torn meniscus, impact fracture to the Tibia). I fell to the ground (not a good place to be in a mosh pit), and some kid helped me up saying "are you ok man?". I said, pathetically, sweatily, and 1/2 drunkedly "no...". He pulled me all the way back to the bar - in the rear of the club - and sat me on a stool and left. My fucking knee was searing in pain. I broke my left ankle once, but it didn't hear nearly as bad as this. it was like someone poured molten tellerium on the back of my knee.

I left the club, or rather, I hobbled and commenced one of the most stupidly brutal urban hikes of my entire existence.

Like a dumbass, I left my cell phone at work, and had no way to call anyone I knew. I also was too embarassed to ask anyone nearby... and also I thought, "what person would like a sweaty wierd limping guy use their phone?"

So I walked. I walked about 10 feet, then rested against the wall of a building or sat on a newspaper box for a few minutes, then walk again. I walked all the way back to my office. it took me a little more than an hour. by the time I reached the office, my knee had started to tighten up, and while sitting there waiting for my wife to come and get me, I wondered how I would be able to get back up and in to the car. Needless to say, getting back down into her car was almost twice as painful.

So what the fuck? what's the moral of this story? Well, if you live a spiteful, hardcore lifestyle that includes suggesting a creationist may somehow be directly responsible for the death of their parents, then maybe sometimes you're gonna snap a few knees.

Also, pictures are from C-Rap.com, they sell good records on ebay.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Isis 2xLP~!

SO I've previously blogged about how ridiculously priced some records can go for. I also mentioned that I managed to Pick up a copy of Isis's new LP "In absence of truth" on violet colored vinyl the other day. (Listen to some Isis Here)

Today, the preorder copy of this album (the same version that I picked up) sold on ebay for $80.00.

1. Buy the preorder album online.
2. Receive album.
3. Put Album on Ebay
4. Sell album for 4 times the cost you bought it for
5. Profit.

Just to highlight how goddamn stupid some people are, there are still a few copies of the white vinyl version of this album available for sale on the robotic empire website...right now there is a copy for sale on ebay that is $15 more than robotic empire is selling it for.

amazing.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Naked Raygun - Back !

I saw on a few boards lately that Naked Raygun, with the original lineup played a few shows last year.

They recently just updated a new website, and it sounds like they are back for good. I'm pretty sure they only had 2 really good albums, Jettison, and especially All Rise. somewhat melodic punk from Chicago.

I hope their new shit is better than that stupid saxophone based crap on Raygun....Naked Raygun.

Monday, January 08, 2007

First and Last Bands on your Ipod?

This question was asked of me today:

10,000 Maniacs

and

XKill EveryoneX



what does that say about me?

Thursday, January 04, 2007

NYHC - Talk About Unity

There's been alot of hardcore in the press lately, American hardcore is a doctumentary out just recently, there's been books of the same name, etc...

All of them seem to be written about what was happening in the California hardcore scene in the 1980's and the 1990's, and NONE of them ever cover the East Coast scenes, New York In particular. New York Hardcore...there's a Documentary coming out that appears to cover bands that really took and made hardcore into the scene that it was in the 1990's and was the foundation of what it is today. In high school and college, I mainly listened to New York hardcore, its sound was way more raw, gritty, and just had more energy than alot of the bands from anywhere else.




All the great bands are in this trailer, Youth of Today, Sick of it all, Bold, Gorilla Biscuits, Token Entry, Warzone, Agnostic Front, Reagan Youth, Kraut, Bad Brains, etc... I'd really like to see this!!