Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |
We leave next week for a brief tour. I haven't left Portland for a tour in about 5 years, so if you make it out to one of the shows, please feel free to say hi.

July 7 - Bend, OR @ Truck Stop Indoor Skate Park
July 8 - Boise, ID @ Ophidia's Dance Studio
July 9 - Salt Lake City, UT @ New Song Underground (Grudge City Activities 1 year anniversary show!)
July 10 - Reno, NV @ The HQ
July 11 - Berkeley, CA @ Gilman St
July 12 - Sacramento, CA @ The Javalounge
July 13 - Vancouver, WA @ Moxie's



Friday, June 26, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |
I'm looking to sell a few things, so I figured I would use this as a means of getting a few more people to see what I'm getting rid of. Paypal only for the transaction. Please send any offers to sitner.justin[at]gmail.com

Endeavor - Constructive Semantics (white of 100)

Morning Again - Martyr (brown of 200)

Shook Ones - Demo 2004

Internal Affairs - Casualty of the Core (white of 300)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
If you guys want us to post a specific record (provided that it is no longer in print), scan a layout, post a picture, whatever, let us know. We need some suggestions people. Leave comments please!

Chip and Justin
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
So heres some shirts Ive picked up recently. Ive honestly gotten loads of stuff so Im going to do this in installments. Im planning on selling a few things in the next few weeks also so if anyone is interested, ill post what Im selling. Otherwise, its going on Ebay.

Aftershock "Letters"

Brother's Keeper "Victory Ripoff, Chicago Fest 1998"

Chokehold "Conquer The World Records"
Clear "Lucky 13" Windbreaker
DeadEyesUnder "Pentagram"
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

Battery was one of the few bands in the 90s that was playing fast hardcore while everyone was slowing it down. Granted they didn't sound like a youth crew band (not really until their final release), they really had their own sound. They started off as a project between Ken Olden and Brian McTernan and eventually morphed into so much more. This is a scan of the original release of "Only the Diehard Remain" on Tidal Records before it was "re-released" on Lost and Found Records. The recording wasnt the greatest but the music still rules. The release that followed this, "Until The End", was my favorite but this is still awesome. If you missed our earlier posting, check out Battery's discography (minus the Rev release) here: Battery "Final Fury 1990-1997"
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

This comp came out in 1994 and features a good variety of bands from Cleveland at the time. They even included a song from Mushroomhead which (while I dont care for the band) is cool to showcase different style of music. The comp includes tracks from Integrity, Ringworm, Outface, Confront, and more.

Dark Empire Strikes Back - Compilation

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2PGSADAI

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Posted by xjustinx |

Sometime this fall, the final issue of At Both Ends zine will see its release. Accompanying the final issue will be a 2x7" featuring:
Bane
Grade
Unrestrained
Between Earth & Sky

It's sad to see one of the best zines of the last 10 years come to an end, but it's very nice to see it go out with a bang like this. I'll post more info as it filters in over time. Until then, for more information, please contact info@atbothendsmagazine.com, rather than the bands directly.
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Alright since Ive been back in Tallahassee, my internet has been horrible. They wont be sending anyone out to fix it until Tuesday so because of this, I havent been able to upload anything. Ive got a stack of CDs that Ive ripped and ready to upload but this has put a bit of damper on that plan. I just wanted to give a heads up as to what was up...Ive got the Until the End "comeback" show this weekend in Tampa followed by a trip up to Syracuse next week so hopefully Ill find some good stuff at Soundgarden. Thanks for the support and keep checking back.

Chip

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
One thing I always loved about Immigrant Sun Records was the packaging. Sean Mallinson always did an incredible job and made the layouts so special, as if you felt like this was a limited release and you were lucky enough to pick one up. Morning Again released two records on Immigrant Sun, this being their first. The cover was a nice glossy full color print and instead of the usual one sheet insert, the label made a booklet held together with twine. Inside mine, there was also a flyer for upcoming releases which I scanned as well. I don't own the second release "To Die A Bitter Death" but Justin has it so Ill get him to scan it. I think the label has since folded, which is a shame, but if you can track down any of their releases I would strongly suggest doing so.
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

I finally got a copy of this after searching for some time. Aj, who runs Path To Misery blog, was nice enough to do a trade with me so here it is in all its glory. I did a 256 VBR rip of it so it sounds great and did a nice high quality scan of the cover. This is the original release before the vocals were re-recorded and re-released as Chamberlain.

*NEW LINK*

Split Lip - Fate's Got A Driver
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Jake/Andrew Jacobs here yet again with the intro to my interview with legendary hardcore singer and frontman Dan O'Mahony. I first saw Dan in action 19 years ago in early 1990 when he was fronting Carry Nation. While introducing the song "Through You", Dan mentioned having been in and out of a series of obsessive and co-dependent relationships with girls and being as how I'd gotten out of one myself just a few months prior and unfortunately knew only too well exactly what he was talking about, I became a lifelong fan then and there. As I previously mentioned, Dan's band 411 remains my current favorite Orange County, California band of all time and seeing my second favorite, No For An Answer, for the very first time this past March is definitely one of the highlights of my life. As hardcore heroes go, Dan O'Mahony tops my list. Enjoy the interview.

Your bands No For An Answer and Carry Nation recently reunited to play the very successful first Hardcore Reunion benefit show at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA on 3/22/09 along with A Chorus Of Disapproval, Headfirst, Blackspot, and Ice. What was it like playing in those bands again after such a long time away fro
m them?

Not exactly what I expected, but definately a positive experience. It was probably the only way the 4 You Laugh era NFAA guys were ever gonna spend any time together again, so that was great. I don't know if any of us remembered how physically demanding this stuff could be. There was some negative nostalgia in some of the member politics of getting everything off the ground, but that was easily remedied, and in the end we got to put in a few weeks work in support of a good cause (Genaro Hernandez' fight against cancer). No lining our pockets, no merch, no plans to do it again. Christ some of those songs are fast!


A few days after that show, I did a telephone interview with a col
lege student who was doing her master's thesis on the Straight Edge movement. During the interview, I felt compelled to defend your decision to perform NFAA's straight edge songs at that show even though you're no longer straight edge and haven't been for many years. What are your thoughts on that?

Firstly, that's very kind of you. Secondly, if you check the set list, the closest thing to a straight edge song that we played was Without A Reason, a song who's message I support even more strongly now given my history in recent decades. We didn't play Don't Look Away or Rusty Pipes, and Just Say No is an anti-group identity song, Grave Mistake is specifically about heroin, which has ravaged my family and I still consider a real scourge. That said I am not in denial about the nature of NFAA's history and appeal, which brings me to my third point on the matter... preaching was kept to a minimum at this show because it was intended more as nostalgic entertainment and support of an ill man than anything else I've ever done. My changes in lifestyle were mentioned comfortably and playfully by me from the stage very early on so as to avoid any sense of denial or hidden motives. Were the evening intended as a more serious vehicle for my personal politics, later bands would have been more appropriate, but true self-expression and attempts to inspire my peers would be best accomplished through something current.


Discuss the dichotomy of going from being a very outspoken Straight Ed
ge frontman in the '80s to owning and then managing a bar in the 2000's.

It does sound like two different lives, doesn't it? NFAA was described more than once in the press as "the thinking man's straight edge band" and I always treasured that as I felt we made clear in our message with multiple songs on our LP that that division from others based on one facet of a person's lifestyle was not at the forefront of our thinking even in the '80s. Over time I found myself more and more often inspired more strongly from people involved in the counterculture who bore no connection to SE whatsoever. I also found more and more of the faux militancy, psuedo gangsterism, and intense observation of fashion associated with SE repulsive. A true case of something good going bad before my eyes. Did this annoyance make it easier to give in to temptations regarding the bottle later? probably, but there's a bigger picture, generations deep in my family on one count, immediate to myself and my misguided attempts to escape a massive sense of loss with the passage of my single parent mother. I intend this not to excuse, ("not running for office" ) but to explain.

Running bars is the O'Mahony family business, something I've been exposed to since my infancy, with a 6 or 7 year affiliation to a subdividion of a much larger counterculture no longer in the forefront of my mind, and me now well into my foutrh decade of life, I rarely even reflect on the contradiction. Truthfully, I do battle with the notion that my creativity and my own moral code might be better served in another line of work or that I am perhaps wasting whatever artistic gifts I may possess by not doing something musical or literary at the moment, but my suspicion is that situation will change soon.


Throughout your hardcore career, you've made it a point to speak out
against, among many other things, homophobia and sexism. Unfortunately the hardcore scene was and continues to be rife with both of those. How difficult has it been for you being so outspoken about both of those things?

Back in the day it was interesting because on the heels of NFAA and Carry Nation's popularity people were slow to confront or debate me on a lot of those shall we say 411 type statements, religion was something people would defend to me rather than owning up to their own lack of sexual progressiveness.

Following the second 411 tour, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area of the early 90's where my thinking was the norm and activism designed to forward true human equality was everywhere in the underground music scene. The real difficulty came when I returned to OC in the late '90s no longer someone people would mind thier vocabulary or behavior around. The culture shock and revulsion were pretty overwhelming. Even now 10+ years later it is a test to remain somewhat patient with people and try and place things in their unfortunate cultural context.


Even though you were much more active in the '90s hardcore scene, with 411 being arguably your most popular band, most people still consider you an '80s hardcore dude. Besides NFAA's popularity back then, why do you think that is?

I think the reasons are many. I did do a fanzine, start a label, put on some shows, write for MRR, and start NFAA and Carry Nation all in the 1980s, but there's also the fact that that whole 85-87 nucleus involves a small but notorious list of names and personalities who are identified with the ground floor of that massive post Minor Threat / SSD/ DYS era straight edge. There's also the fact that many of my '90s efforts were determined to test the limits of the genre musically and politically with varying degrees of success. Writing books put me in an at the time underappreciated minority as well. I look at it this way, many more deserving activists and artists pass silently without the recognition they deserve, who the fuck would I be to try to dictate legacy?


In the late '90s, there was an '80s style hardcore revival of sorts (no doubt sparked in the mid '90s by, among others, Ignite - no pun intended) which included your band Speak and Ray Cappo's band Better Than A Thousand, among others. Though the success of said revival is very much up for debate, why do you think it happened?

It certainly depends on how you define success, I consider the Knee Deep In Guilt LP by far my best vocal performance. It's the only record of mine I listen to with any frequency. In terms of response, yes, it was mixed in the states but very warm abroad. Give anything a few years out of the limelight, I think cynicism sets in w/the general public, give it a few more years and the same folks become... legendary. You can't get in this for others, I guess.


Are there currently any plans to reissue your Workshed Records' catalog on CD and or iTunes? Why or why not?

No plans to do either. Not all of the master tapes are in my possession, nor the artwork. Also I have no idea how to contact at least half of the musicians. Also I'd like them to know that re-releasing that material is something every Workshed artist should feel free to do with or without my blessing.


Two books of your writing were published in the '90s. Discuss those.
They are both compilations of entries from my private notebooks strung together after the fact by a running chronological narrative that drops in and out throughout the pages and helps provide flow. I feel they represent some of my most honest, most naked so to speak, work. They explore alot of experiences and mindsets not easily presented in song. Autobiographical, personal, but hopefully relatable.


Are you planning on having any more books published and if so, wh
en?

No plans right now, though a nearly finished manuscript entitled Bender exists somewhere and covers '97 through maybe 2000. Never say never.


Compare writing for printed zines in the '80s and '90s with writing for the Double Cross webzine now.

The Double Cross material is an interview essentially the same as this one. They send the questions, I answer them. Thus far they've been running the answers without the questions and I guess that gives the pieces a bit of an essay feel, but it's a segmented interview. Enjoyable, nostalgic, and a very quick proccess compared to print. In decades past I was in fact a columnist, and as such operated with very little guidance or constraint in terms of subject matter. It was a very rewarding opportunity, but bore little similarity to things like this.


As a writer, who or what have been some of your primary influences and why?

In terms of the craft as opposed to the subject matter, my favorite writer hands down is Hunter S. Thompson. Here was a man with an incomparable sense of timing, rhythm and pace, not to mention a sledge hammer sense of humour.

In terms of inspiring one to write with a certain degree of emotional vulnerability and frankness, John Fante has had a big impact despite the fact that he always used a pseudonym on the page.

There's a sports and history writer named David Halberstam who passed away not too long ago who had a remarkable gift for keeping things simple and thus immediate. He wrote a book a few years back about Ted Williams dying days and a final visit from his old team mates that really put you in the room. I read a ton of history these days and don't suspect it influences my own prose much, so I'm a little light on current reccommendations.


What are some of your favorite songs by all of your bands and why?

NFAA
- Without A Reason is a fun piece of music, it sounds like recklessness, Domino Principle represents my first real venture into something even remotely groundbreaking lyrically.

Carry Nation - Grave Mistake is a bold, and in my opinion triumphant piece of musicianship on Gavin's part.

411 - I can't isolate one song lyrically, I have real pride in that entire body of work lyrically (if not always vocally) This Isn't Me and The Naked Face stand out for me musically.

Speak has it's moments but is later and lesser known, I actually think the Speak LP is my best record in terms of vocals meshing with instrumentation. It's definately my most energetic performance, I still listen to it pretty regularly. Virus, In From The Cold, and Knee Deep In Guilt are favorites for me. Strong statements, good tunes. I'm gonna leave out the studio projects as I already feel like this is an excercise in tooting one's own horn!


Feel free to shamelessly plug any of your current musical and/or non-musical endeavors you feel like plugging here.

Nothing to plug really, a few ideas swimming around, none of which involve trying to rewind my own clock. I would like to take this time to thank you for the voice and the support. I still love to ramble!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Today, Jake brings us an interview with photographer Dave Sine. Throughout the 90s, Dave consistently put out zines and is currently a regular contributor on Double Cross webzine. To see some his photography work, check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/tidbitsphotos/ as well as http://tidbitsphotos.blogspot.com/


When and how did you get interested in photography?
I got into photography mainly out of necessity. I simply needed and wanted photos for my fanzine. I had a friend provide me with some photos for my first issue but I just wasn't totally satisfied with the results. So, I went to a local department store and purchased a point and shoot camera. One good enough to take decent shots, yet small enough to not have to worry about it getting broken at shows. Plus it fit in my pocket for easy travel.

When you first started, who or what did you mostly take pictures of?


When I first purchased a camera, my main goal was to make photos for my fanzine. So for many years I mostly shot bands rockin' out at shows. The more I had my camera around the more I started to shoot various things that caught my interest. When I reached the limit of what I could achieve with the little point and shoot, I finally got around to upgrading to a manual SLR, and really started to expand what I shot. Since then I've got a growing collection of cameras with which to choose from to capture the world around me.


What was the very first hardcore show that you photographed?

The first show I brought a camera to was No For An Answer, Hard Stance, Headfirst and a few others in a little hall in the San Diego, CA area.

You did a few different zines in the late '80s and early '90s. Discuss those.


In my early years in the punk/hardcore scene, I had always thought that fanzines were done by people on a higher lever than I. That was until a friend handed me a copy of a zine he put together which really brought it all down to my level. It helped me realize that you didn't need fancy printing and all the other stuff to make a zine. All you need was some scissors, glue, and a copy machine. So that got me going in the zine making world. I looked through my records and other fanzines and starting writing to bands about doing interviews and together with my friend started putting together a zine. Since I was pulling in a different direction musically than my friend, we decided to make it a split issue. And that was the first issue of On Line Fanzine. Why I called it On Line, I have no idea. I guess I thought it sounded cool or something. I d id a second issue on my own. My friend Josh Stanton helped put together the third issue. We started working on a fourth, but Josh got busy doing band stuff. I still wanted to do a zine, but felt the need for a fresh start. So, I killed On Line and started Tidbit. I picked that name because it seemed like such a silly sounding word. I was able to put together six issues and a photo issue of Tidbit. Also, during this time I helped with various one off zine projects like Disgust, The Beast, and Slag. My zine making days came to an end in '97 when I moved to the east coast.


Who were some of your favorite interviewees for your zines and why?

Hmmmm, that's a hard question to answer. Everybody that I got to sit around with and ask questions were really cool and interesting people, so my main goal was to try and ask interesting questions in hope that it would make for a good conversation that others would read. And I tried not to limit my interviews to just bands. I tried to include people who did labels and zines, because they are just as important to a scene as a band is. Plus, sometimes those people are more interesting and just have more to say. As for deciding which in terviews were my favorite, memories of when and where the interview took place come to mind. Amenity was a fun interview. I did that interview in a parking lot after they played a show in a very v ery small practice space in San Diego. My friend Dan drove me down to the show. The show itself was amazing. Sense Field was fun too. Rodney gave me a ride to their practice. Aft er their p ractice we climbed in to their van, drove around and had a fun conversation. The interviews I did with Freebass, Ice, Conversion Records, and Blackspot were all done at a Denny's or a Spires restaurant. Those were fun. Actually, come to think of it, they were all fun.


You accompanied a number of bands on tour in the '90s. Do you have any funny or interesting road stories that you'd like to share?


I was lucky enough to travel with three really good bands: Hunger Farm, Farside and Outspoken. Touring is great fun and a great way to see the country and meet all sorts of people. I have tons and tons of fond memories from those travels. But I'm not sure if any stories I have are all that entertaining though.

Many photos of yours were prominently featured in the Radio Silence hardcore book that came out last year. How did you become a contributor to that book?


It was a pretty simple process. Anthony and Nathan knew of me through the hardcore scene world. Did an internet search, found my old website, and sent off an email asking if I was interested. We met up, discussed it. It sounded like a really cool project, so I lent them my negatives and they did their thing. And I thank them for allowing me to be part of such a cool project.

In addition to Radio Silence, you also regularly contribute photos of yours to the Double Cross webzine. How would you personally compare doing a printed hardcopy zine like you used to do to doing a webzine like Double Cross?


Well, my contribution to Double Cross is very small. I just scan a print or neg and send it their way when I've got the time. Tim and Gordo do all the real work. The biggest difference I see between web and print zines, is that with printed zines, you usually waited until you had everything together in one package before showing it to the world. With a web based zine, you can do it in parts and put it up on the web as you
go. And you get instant feedback from people too. No more waiting to get a letter in the mail or walking around a show with a stack of zines. Whether one version is better than the other is down to personal preference though.


How does photography in the digital age compare to photography in the '80s and '90s?


Well, with digital, you have instant feedback from the camera and a much quicker turnaround when it comes to getting the photos published. I mean, there are kids who take photos at a show and as soon as they get home, have them up on the web somewhere. It's kind of amazing. Instant memories. But also, it seems to me that it's now a very flooded market for photography. So many more people think of themselves as photographers not fully realizing all the help they get from technology. While digital photography can have an artistic feel to it, the actual art of photography is dieing off. At least in my mind it is. More likely though is that it's just changing in a very profound way that I don't particularly like. I prefer working with film. I enjoy the more hands on approach of film photography. Even if that means less of a chance to try and make a little bit of money from my photography. I love spending time in the darkroom and all the other manual labor involved in film photography. It brings me a lot more joy than being in front of a computer screen.

What bands/artists do you listen to the most nowadays and why?

I still listen to a lot of the same stuff I've been listening to for years. But I'm also always looking for new things to listen to, though a lot of the time, that doesn't mean it's music that's been recently made. There is so much music out in the world and I really enjoy searching out new gems.

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

When Strife went on hiatus (broke up) in 1998, the band reformed shortly after as Anger Means or Angermeans and wrote a few songs that were demoed. This song is one of the two I have heard, and was later re-recorded for the Angermeans record that Strife released in late 2000. Personally, I prefer this version to the one on the full length as its much more raw and in your face. While Im not a fan of the last record (no offense guys) this song is great and to me is the last great song they wrote. It was originally released on the Incompatible 2 CD comp and CD-ROM zine which has been long out of print. I have all 3 of them so Ill try and get them posted soon but until then, enjoy this song. You can still order Strife's previous releases from Victory Records.

Anger Means (Strife) "Life Stained Red"

http://www.mediafire.com/?wy3zmodmzej

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
Throughout the 90s (and today), 108 were the one band that were accepted in most circles regardless of the crowds personal feelings towards religion. Was it because Rob Fish sang in Ressurection? Was it because Vic was in Beyond, Inside Out, and Shelter? I think it was because no matter how many people were there, they went out and gave it 100% every time causing themselves bodily harm in the process. Over the course of their initial career period (the 90s) the band released 2 records on Equal Vision before signing with Lost and Found to release "Threefold Misery" arguably their strongest and best release. These tracks were later remixed, remastered, and re-released on "Creation, Sustenance, Destruction" which was a discography of sorts (though missing demo tracks, the "One Path For Me Through Destiny" live set and some cover songs from the Lost and Found release) so they are not here as a download. Enjoy the layout as it was originally released back in 1996.
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |
I picked this up on my trip to Japan last week. The first release from State Craft, one of the best bands to ever come out of Japan in the 90s. Members went on to Loyal to the Grave.

Loyal To The Grave - Never Forget...

http://www.mediafire.com/?wnnymmz2wfz

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

My friend David "Count" Agranoff is currently writing a book on the history of Earth Crisis. Needless to say, Im real excited as ExC is one of my all time favorite bands and photos of my tshirt collection will be used in the book. Im going to be interviewing David soon to get some inside info on the book so be on the lookout for that. Until then, you can get all the upcoming info on David's blog.

Forged In The Flames
Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

Worlds Collide featured members of numerous prominent DC bands including Battery, Damnation AD, Better Than A Thousand, and more. This record was released on Lost and Found Records and has been out of print for quite some time. Great release which also features a live set

EDIT:
It was brought to my attenton that this CD compiles the demo, the 7" and the Get Ross live LP

Worlds Collide - Pain Is Temporary...

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L43LT6YE

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Posted by xCHIPxSEM |

This was sent to us by one of our friends from the Catalyst Board. A promotional sticker for Clear's "Deeper Than Blood". The above ad was scanned by Justin