Siege-Drop Dead
By admin on Jul. 27, 2006.
Siege
Drop Dead Reissue
Deep Six Records
This is a reissue of this highly influental band’s recorded output. Siege played brutal hardcore that, at the time, had only been seen in bands like Void and Negative Approach. The bands influenced by Siege could go on forever: Infest, Napalm Death, Ripcord, Septic Death, Crossed Out, and so on. The reissue combines their demo (perhaps the best ever? Maybe. Raw Power & Raw Deal may have something to say about that.), their contributions to the Cleanse The Bacteria compilation plus two unreleased songs that I have heard live versions of before but never studio tracks. Both songs are great and are a welcome addition to this. Seriously if you like hardcore, you like Siege. These guys set the bar higher. I am really glad this has been kept in print for newer generations to get into.
Signifying Nothing Episode Two
By admin on Feb. 24, 2006.
Signifying Nothing Episode Two
Playlist
Leeway-Unexpected
Bad Brains-The Regulator
Get Real-Welcome To My World
Cockney Rejects-Fighting In The Streets
Black Flag-Account For What?
Void-War Hero
Agnostic Front-Hiding Inside
Beyond-Instrumental
Fu Manchu-Laserbl’ast!
Burn-Godhead
Husker Du-Makes No Sense At All
Flipper-Sex Bomb
Sheer Terror-Ashes, Ashes
Crossed Out-Practiced Hatred
Lion Of Judah-Trapped
Devoid Of Faith-Tear It Up
Bikini Kill-Strawberry Julius
The Clitboys-Gay’s OK
Fu Manchu-Nothing Done
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Spazz
By admin on Sep. 7, 2005.
Who is Spazz and a little history of you?
Me (Chris) on bass and vocals. Almost 29, Pisces, married, formerly in Stikky, No Use For A Name, Duh, Bjorn Baby Bjorn, some other dumb bands, turns on=ice cream and lots of it.
Max (not me) on drums and vocals. 24 or 25 or something, goes to UC Berkeley, formerly in Plutocracy, now in Capitalist Casualties, does vocals in the studio but not live.
Dan (also not me) on guitar and vocals, 22, runt of the band, formerly in Sheep Squeeze, now in some unnamed band with guys from The Misanthropists and they’re all sludgy and slow.
Spazz formed in January 1993.
What kind of ice cream do you like?
Just about anything that doesn’t have walnuts in it. Chubby Hubby reigns supreme.
How did you like touring here on the east coast?
The east coast was the best part of our tour. It was amazing. I think we really liked every show from Florida up to Albany NY. One of our best shows, and the biggest surprise for us, was Greenville NC. Everyone there went completely apeshit during the set and all of the folks there were incredibly cool. Boston was pretty crazy too.
Was the crowd reaction really good everywhere? Here in New Jersey it was like me and a few of my friends dancing.
It was different everywhere. All of the shows were good but in varying degrees. There were plenty of shows where most people just stood there because I don’t think they knew what to do. In other places the crowd really got into it more and it got pretty nuts.
Was there anywhere it was especially bad?
Mule Creek Junction, Wyoming, which is literally the middle of nowhere, was the only truly bad part of our tour. It’s sixty miles from the nearest town and the only place our van crapped out. Max got his video camera stolen in Tulsa, Oklahoma by some little eighteen-year-old junkie fuckheads. He searched all of Tulsa the next day, ready to pound them a new orifice. Those were the only real lowlights of the tour.
Are there actually people in Wyoming?
Well someone was driving the tow truck.
What is in the future for Spazz?
We’re going to Japan March/April. Beyond that I’m not sure what we’re gonna do.
You mentioned you like ice cream, how about any favorite soft drinks?
Anything that says “cola,” except Lady Lee brand. Any cream soda rules too.
Do you like Coke or Pepsi more?
Pepsi hands down. When I was twelve, I took the Pepsi Challenge and I chose Pepsi for real.
What do you think of metal bands like Vision of Disorder or Snapcase claiming to be hardcore bands?
It’s not half as bad as Motley Crue’s recent attempt to claim that they’re an “alternative” band.
What is the future for Slap A Ham?
A hell of a lot. My release schedule is packed solid through at least late summer 98! Upcoming stuff includes Bleaurgh-A Music War 73 band, 85 song 7” compilation, No Less-Boxed In 7”, Fuck On The Beach-Fastcore On The Beach 7”, Godstomper-7”, Phobia-LP, Gasp-LP, and tons more including, eventually, a Crossed Out discography LP/CD. Lots more on the way, too.
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Arms Reach
By admin on Aug. 3, 2005.
I did this one with Luke through the mail sometime in early 1999. Arms Reach were one of the best bands of the 90’s, I wish there was a proper discography so more people could be turned on to these guys.
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Who is in the band?
The Arms Reach unit consists of Christy (22)-guitar, Amy (21)-guitar, Squelchy (22)-drums, Ben “bass of death” (22)-bass, and me, Luke Crew (23) on vocals.
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I think it’s really cool that you guys did a split demo, how did that come about?
Well both us and Found My Direction started around the same time (March 97) and were both from the same area/scene here in Australia (Newcastle). We’d been pretty good friends with those guys for awhile so it just seemed like a really cool idea to do a split demo together. It was a great way to help each other out and get both bands off the ground; it worked really well.
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I heard you guys cover Floorpunch, that is awesome!
Yeah we played Keep It Clear when we first started but it’s been awhile since we’ve played that. Floorpunch are rad, come to Australia please! Since then we’ve played covers by Infest, Agnostic Front, Ringworm, Youth of Today, Siege, Gorilla Biscuits, Citizens Arrest, Final Exit, and Price of Silence. We go through covers like Sabu goes through tables!
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What is going with Talk is Cheap Fanzine?
Talk is Cheap is dead! We were planning on doing a last ever issue but that idea kind of just died in the arse. As you probably know, Craig Edge is the biggest shit talker in the known universe and if I did another zine with him, it would have just gotten me in trouble! I get myself into enough shit doing my own zine called XSpiritX and Craig does his own thing in Edge of Quarrel Fanzine.
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I think the lyrics to Right To Breathe are totally right on. Is cigarette smoking as huge down by you as it is here? Personally, I think cigarette’s are for scumbags.
A lot of my friends go out to nightclubs, pubs, and shitty places like that which are filled with fucking cigarette smoke, but I don’t go out at all unless I’m going to a hardcore show because I can’t stand surrounding myself with the shit. Usually the bigger, over eighteen, shows attract a room full of fucking posers who just stand there holding lit cigarettes whilst a handful of poor fuckers try and dance without choking to death!
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Top five records you listen to?
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Infest-Slave 12”
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Minor Threat-Filler 7”
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Youth of Today-Can’t Close My Eyes 12”
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Negative Approach-7”
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Agnostic Front-Victim in Pain LP
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Turning Point-7”
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Negative FX-LP
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Black Flag-Damaged LP
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DYS-Brotherhood LP
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Project X-7”
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Born Against-7”
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Chain of Strength-True Till Death 7”
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Crossed Out-7”
Fuck, is that five yet?!
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What is Rest In Pieces about?
Christy wrote that song about her fifteen-year-old cousin who killed himself with his father’s gun. It’s basically about how easy it is to obtain firearms and do yourself or other people damage. Like how over there in America some kid just grabs a gun, walks into a school and blows away fifteen people. Fuck guns! People who think guns are tough or cool can suck my dick. It’s totally unrealistic but I’d love to see every gun in the world destroyed.
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Craig wanted me to ask you about wrestling so do you get ECW in Australia?
No, we don’t get it on the regular stations, only on pay TV which I can’t afford. A friend of mine tapes it for me though so it’s cool. My favorites are Sabu, Rey Mysterio JR., and “The Franchise” Shane Douglas; he’s a champ and so is his manageress Francine. We still get the WWF over here but that is so fucking lame and tame these days not like the glory days of The Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man Randy Savage, Junkyard Dog, and Leaping Lanny Poffo!
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What bands/zines are really cool down in Australia?
Heaps of em! If you like the brutal and unpolished style of hardcore punk there’s Fallout, A.V.O., No Grace, Bleeding Face, T.B.K., Conation, Heads Kicked Off, Nihilist, Mugshot, etc. For old style bands there’s Found My Direction, Toe To Toe, XClaim!, Frontside, Next Step, etc and for newer style/NY style bands there’s Grim Reality, Straight To A Tomb, Mindsnare, Ultimatum, etc. We have a fairly diversified scene down here where all these bands play together regardless of music/political differences. Most shows attract a pretty mixed crowd too, hardcore kids/punks/straight edge etc, which is awesome! There’s heaps of cool zines around too numerous to mention, but the best Aussie zines would be First Failure, Sniff N Patrol, Edge of Quarrel, Refuse To Accept, and Satan Sauce. Aussie hardcore fucking rules!
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Ok, closing comments?
Thanks heaps for the interview and interest in Arms Reach and Australian hardcore Bill. G’Day to all you radical NJ/PA kids and bands… 97a, Floorpunch, Rain On The Parade, Hands Tied, oh and long live the mighty Turning Point and Release (show me what you fucking got!!!)
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Mind Eraser
By admin on Jul. 25, 2005.
Mind Eraser are my favorite hardcore band right now. I was very impressed by their demo and then totally blown away by the Cave LP. I did this interview last week with Chris Corry.
Was releasing the demo online a conscious choice the band made? In the age of $5 demo tapes and CDR demos that can hold 80 minutes of music but only have three songs on them, it was quite refreshing to see the Mind Eraser stuff online for everyone with a net connection to be able to check out.
Nah it wasn’t really any kind of statement. The band started as just me and Justin talking about doing a band that was a synthesis of our favorite brutal shit like Crossed Out, Citizens Arrest, Siege, and whatever, so we went to the practice space I had at the time and just banged out a bunch of songs. I had some of the riffs written at the time, but some of them we just wrote there as we recorded. Anyway when that was done I just mixed it and put it online for our friends to hear. There wasn’t a master plan behind it and we didn’t even have like a lineup to play shows yet. I just figured it didn’t cost anything to produce so why force people to pay for it; it’s just a four track recording. The people that wanted an actual tape with a printed cover and uncompressed audio bought it at shows or through the mail.
Is it true the cover to Cave is from the same book Void used for a lot of their imagery?
We have that book at Painkiller. It’s got a lot of good imagery in it. We’ve used it for all the Mind Eraser art (demo, LP, shirts). It’s a little tapped out at this point… Born In Hell used it too, we’ve used it for some flyers and stuff.
Why did you guys choose to cover Taste of Fear’s Pro Life=No Mind?
It’s a sick song. We’re not really a political band and we were going to write new lyrics for it because we figured no one would know anyway, but we never did so it just ended up being a straight cover. Justin is friends with Daryl and has played on a couple projects with him including the last Taste of Fear session. Some of their stuff is fucking punishing. We covered Think I Care’s Burn on the demo too. A lot of people thought it was meant disrespectfully because they sort of changed their sound at that time, but it was just because we thought it was a cool song and we could play it off the cuff.
What is going on in the Boston area right now? It seems you guys have a lot of people doing a lot of bands together (Stop + Think, Mental, Mind Eraser, Breathing Fire, Righteous Jams, etc) with a group of people who mix in and out sort of like what Portland has with Tragedy, Deathreat, HHIG, Midnight, etc
Hmmm… Well Mental and Righteous Jams have been around since 02 and 03 respectively. Even though we share members and are all friends we don’t play a lot of the same shows, a lot of the dudes in those bands only have limited interest in bands that sound like Mind Eraser… Stop and Think has not been a band for 3 years now, although we did play last weekend. I guess I tend to collaborate with the same people often, like when Righteous Jams started it was me, Justin, Cooch, and Joe. Now every one of those people but Joe is in Mind Eraser. I have not been in RJ’s for about a year and a half though Brendan our drummer is in Breathing Fire. We got him in Mind Eraser after our first few shows because the dude who played drums before didn’t really care. He also sang in xfilesx a couple years ago. Me, him, and Justin also started another band where he sings called Soul Swallower. We went on tour with Mind Eraser this summer and Say Goodbye as well. It is just really easy to collaborate with the same people because you are already used to their strengths and weaknesses and they are used to yours. Justin and I are extremely efficient together at this point actually pretty much everyone in Mind Eraser is that way for me.
I don’t really see it as being like the Portland scene or whatever though. For one thing, our more straight edge style bands and our more…uh, extreme type stuff are sort of separate from each other especially in the people that like them. Also there’s not really much of a scene here for either one, Boston is really weird right now. I dunno it doesn’t seem like the same thing to me. We played with Hellshock a few weeks ago, they have Celtic Frost tattoos so obviously they’re sick.
What is going on with Soul Swallower?
We should have a 7″ out by the end of the summer on Collapse Records. Josh is in Texas for another month so I don’t think we’re playing. Brendan and I were talking about new song ideas the other day but we’re not rushing yet, no one knows who we are and hardly anyone’s heard the record, just whoever I gave CDRS to. It’s really dirty and degraded sounding, the mix is rough, the playing is hardly precise, the vocals are really sick; Brendan has outdone himself I think. Some of the noises I got from the guitar amps are totally unholy, just weird feedback and interference, it sounds filthy. I really like the artwork I came up with too; I think the whole package has a really different feel from the Mind Eraser record; a lot more unhinged in certain ways.
What is next for Mind Eraser?
Two songs are coming out on the Generations compilation on Revelation. Almost every other band on there is like… Mental, Iron Boots, Lights Out. It’s cool, it should throw some people for a loop.
We’ve demoed 10 or 12 songs on 4 track over the last year, we’ll keep tightening those up. I’m not sure what they’re for right now, earlier in the year we were talking about having a split LP and a split 7″ with Breathing Fire and Soul Swallower respectively. Now I think we might just do a second album. The new stuff is a little different. Still a lot of Infest/Citizens Arrest/Crossed Out vibes, but also stuff like Napalm Death/Terrorizer/old Ringworm/Eyehategod/Extreme Noise Terror/Master/Repulsion… just trying to up the ante. It’s still hardcore though, we’ll always be a hardcore band. At least i hope.
By the way Breathing Fire’s not dead. That seems a common misconception. Right now music doesn’t deserve them I think. People should just take another year digesting that demo, and by that time, they should have a new recording to embarrass everyone with. The first time me and Justin heard Breathing Fire we almost broke up Mind Eraser, it’s pretty much like “what’s the point” but I realized that I had gotten pretty cocky after we recorded our LP and I needed something to reduce me back to zero; put me in my place. I’ve heard some rough versions of new Fire shit. Relapse should drop their whole roster and just sign em. Makes bullshit like Mastodon sound like the Crippled Youth 7″.
Oh… we might go out to the west coast in the fall, might tour this spring, I dunno.
Any other projects coming up?
Always. Keep your ear to the ground.
You are also an avid tape trader…any good scores lately?
Fuck I sort of retired. Well I’m really lazy, and really disorganized, and Cooch has less of a life than me, so he sort of trades tapes with everyone on earth, and then I just get copies of the shit I want. That dude totally usurped my position but its fine because I have more free time too sleep.
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