While checking out some pictures and video's on Instagram, I noticed a funny response to a picture that Revelation Records posted. Revelation was promoting a new Ignite shirt for their album, "Call On My Brothers" and some guy responds with this...
Wow! I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Jordan or whoever runs the Instagram for Revelation saw this response. I can safely tell you that it got deleted the next day. This guy has some balls for posting that, but one could argue that it was also pretty stupid to do. I don't see Jordan giving this guy a good job recommendation anytime soon. But, I'm sure he doesn't care.
Apparently, social media is all the rage these days. Who knew?! So follow us on these two sites if you want to get updates on new entries, or if you just want to see some videos and pictures that we don't post here. Enjoy.
D.C.S.
D.C.SniperXhardcore on Twitter
dcsniperxhardcorezine on Instagram
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to check out his cousin's band that would be coming through town. I said sure, why not? I didn't bother to look into the details of the show because I assumed that I wouldn't know any of the other bands. I was almost right. His cousin's band was Every Time I Die and I knew of them because of my friend. He was a proud cousin that enjoyed promoting their music to everyone and anyone that would give it a listen. I could hang with their music because it was heavy, but it's not what the D.C. Sniper team ordinarily listens to on a regular basis.
Now, the show was at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland. I found the website for the venue so I can get an address and I see the promo for the show. I take a look at the bands on the line up and sure enough, I don't recognize most of the bands. Until I see a band that jumps off the screen because it was a hardcore band in a sea of what I assumed were metal bands, for lack of a better description. That band was Terror. I am not going to pretend that I am a huge fan of Terror, but I do like them a lot. Their first album Lowest Of The Low was great, One With The Underdog was a solid follow up and Always The Hard Way was good from what I remember. But, I haven't heard anything else from them since that third record. Couldn't tell you why? Needless to say, I was excited to see them play since I've somehow missed them every time they came through town. We arrived at the venue in time to see them setting up. Perfect timing! If all the other bands that played last night had sucked, at least I was going to enjoy seeing Terror.
They come out playing 7 or 8 songs in a row. I was tired just watching them go off to their music. They sounded good. Real good. Scott Vogel's vocals were on point and he urged the crowd to come onto the stage for stage dives despite the barrier with the bouncers. This old timer actually considered going up, but decided against it. Not enough of a crowd to risk busting my ass. But plenty of other kids eventually got the nerve to go up and dive off and then it looked like a hardcore show. Only weird thing was seeing a barrier with bouncers actually helping you get onto the stage.
An awesome band that you should know once said "dance and dive and have some fun" and that's exactly what happened after the flood gates opened. I just so happen to be standing next to a couple that may or may not have known who Terror was or been prepared for what could've happened next, but they headed for the hills when all hell broke loose. I loved every minute of their set and I plan on getting reacquainted with their library very soon. I would gladly see them again, preferably with a line up that consists of more hardcore bands than what I saw afterwards...
Terror - Photo by D.C.S.
Next up, Veil Of Maya. Well, where do I start? They sounded like a death metal band (which is a genre that I love) but it was too technical for me. The guitar player was really talented, but the guitar solo's were too much. The guitar player also looked like a scrawny version of Colin Kaepernick. If you have to ask who that is, then I can't help you.
Anyway, they had some background sounds that went along with their music and it just didn't do it for me. Just seemed to be too much going on at one time and my A.D.D. was zoning out. Good energy from those guys and they were definitely going all out, but I was happy to see their set end because I think I started going deaf at that point.
The next band up was Chelsea Grin and the first thing I notice is that there are three guitar players. Why three? I could just tell by all the skinny jeans on the stage that I was going to hate this band. Aaaaand I was right. I thought there was too much going on with Veil Of Maya, but these guys were worse. Maybe the kids nowadays are into guitar solo's being played over each other, but I don't. Maybe I'm just stuck in the past with greats like Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman (RIP) taking turns with their solo's in a song. Now that's how it's done.
Anyway, I tried to get a picture of Chelsea Grin rocking out to their breakdowns because it looked like synchronized swimming to me, but I was too slow to pull out my camera. It was like they were practicing one day and they said "hey, on this part, why don't we all spread our legs out as far apart as possible and rock out at the same time?" At the very least, they gave their hamstrings a good workout.
Despite my negative opinions on these two bands, I will say that they had plenty of people there that enjoyed their sets. These people clearly need to be institutionalized because that was a painful hour or so of music. But I digress.
Now it was time for Every Time I Die. I've heard some of their songs at my friend's place, and they sound just as good live as they do on their recordings. That's a big plus in my book because there's nothing worse than a band playing live that doesn't sound as good as their own albums. They had lots of energy and the place was going off for them. It didn't take long for me to be standing there bobbing my head to their music. The singer, Keith has an impressive vocal range. The man can go from a screaming growl one minute to legitimately singing the next. His brother, Jordan, who is the lead guitar player was all over the stage. His stage presence is very similar to another great guitar player by the name of Scott Ian. The man was just rocking out over every inch of that stage. The bass player and 2nd guitar player were no slouches either. (I apologize for not knowing their names.) As a matter of fact, during their last song the second guitar player went into the crowd to play. He casually walked off stage and the fans were eating it up. Would've been cooler if he had dove into the crowd, but that's just the hardcore kid in me. The whole band played well off of each other and the result was a great performance. I'm not sure how to describe their sound, but it was definitely some hard rocking music. Good music + great energy + tight sound + crowd interaction = the perfect formula for a band's success and these guys have it.
I could see my buddy beaming with pride while watching their set. Either that, or he just had a drunken grin on his face. Who knows?
Funny story that happened at the end of the night. My buddy wanted to say hello to his cousins before leaving, so we go around to the back parking lot to find them. Keith is posing for pictures with fans while my buddy is talking to him and this one little blonde chick walks up asking for a picture and says "hey, I know your cousin." The fact that she threw out my friend's name as one of her friends while standing not more than two feet away from him was priceless. It led to an awkward moment where Keith took a step back and my friend was laughing his ass off because he didn't even recognize her at first. Who knew that my friend was such a celebrity? Keith probably thought it was a gag. In any case he was a pretty down to earth guy and took the time to talk to his fans and sign whatever they wanted. They've got a new fan in me.
My one complaint about their set was the lights on the stage. I thought I was going to have a seizure the way those bright lights were flashing. My video below isn't great and the lights definitely ruined a part of it, but it was the best I could give you all. Enjoy.
Let me first say that the D.C. Sniper team is in complete agreement that the early material by Reagan Youth is nothing short of great. If you have never heard anything by them, get your hands on Vol. 1 because it's a killer record. Songs like Reagan Youth, New Aryans and Degenerated are a couple of favorites, but that whole record is awesome.
But then they put out Vol. 2 and it was poor follow up to the greatness of their earlier material. I remember buying "A Collection Of Pop Classics" because it had both Vol. 1 and 2, and thinking to myself, "what the hell is this shit"? That album quickly became an abomination like "Staring Into The Sun" by Uniform Choice.
The first song was ok, but the rest of it just sucked to me. It was like a different band had recorded music under the name of Reagan Youth. It's probably been about 15 years since I've listened to this album, so let's see if my opinion has changed on this.
"It's A Beautiful Day" is a kick ass song! I'm really digging it. It could pass for some of their earlier material. "Jesus Was A Communist" and "Urban Savages" have a 70's rock sound to them and they are pretty sweet. "What Will The Neighbors Think" is a slow ballad kind of song and it's fucking great! 4 songs in and I'm loving this album. I am already kicking myself for not enjoying these songs all these years.
"Get The Ruler Out", "Brave New World" and "Miss America" all get a big thumbs up from me. "Heavy Metal Shuffle" sounds exactly like it's called and I am into it. "Queen Babylon", "Acid Rain" and "One Holy Bible" are ok. Not clunkers, but ok. Maybe they will grow on me. The last song "Back To The Garden" is an instrumental and I've had it on repeat for this entry. Song is good. Solid jam song that almost sounds like something that Black Sabbath would do.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm loving this album! Holy shit, how could I have been so wrong? I wish I could go back in time and smack myself upside the head for not giving this album another chance. Live and learn.
I just came across this interview of Lyle Preslar that took place a little over a year ago. Pretty cool stories about his time with Minor Threat, playing a show with Samhain, playing with the Meatmen, working at Caroline Records and more. Check it out.
This story just blew up on the internet in the last couple of days and I figured I'd shoot my mouth off on it too. Ian Mackaye has managed to get people's panties in a bunch all over the world because Urban Outfitters in now selling official Minor Threat t-shirts and worse yet, they are being sold for $28 buckaroos.
My initial impression of this was, damn, why let them sell your shirts, Ian? I mean, why not let one of these merch companies sell it exclusively, like Merchnow? But then I decided to do something that most people that see this headline didn't bother to do and that was to READ THE ARTICLE. Some of the comments that I've read regarding this are breathtakingly stupid.
Matt says: "But if the
only place to buy a (legitimate, non-bootleg) shirt is a place that
sells it for $28, then those people who are big enough fans who really
want shirts will grind their teeth and pay it. What's absurd is that
you* are making your t-shirts available through the store that sells
them for $28, rather than some more reasonable source, and then acting
like it's your audience who is unreasonable for paying it."
Hey moron, he didn't make an exclusive deal with Urban Outfitters, he made a deal with Tsurt and you can buy the shirt for $15 bucks here http://bompa.com/minor-threat Urban Outfitters just happens to be able to sell it too and will be ripping off all the hipsters that shop there.
Bill says: "if ian mackaye thinks the people selling his shirts are
"absurd," and the prices are "ridiculous," and the people buying them
(presumably fans) are "motherfuckers" then what does that make the guy
who actually licensed the images/brand and makes a cut of the earnings?
a sanctimonious hypocritical douchebag, of course. can't have it both ways ian. if you're making money off expensive
merch, own up to it. don't dismiss it as if you didn't have both hands
directly in it.
Bill, your rant is idiotic and worse yet, you don't capitalize any words in your pathetic diatribe. All you have to do is push the "shift" button at the same time as the first letter of the word that you're starting a sentence with. Difficult to do, I know. Especially when you're talking out of your ass.
Shane says: "Ian, we understand that you "legitimized" your product here and bootleg
groups are killing your wallet but come on dude... You are totally
marketing to the wrong people. Thats all we need now is a bunch of
hipsters and scene kids walking around with your shirt that have never
owned a minor threat album in their lives. Weak. I used to work at Urban
and I can tell you that this is a mistake lol."
Listen up, Shane. Ian isn't aggravated with bootleg groups killing his wallet, he's aggravated with people using his band to make a buck. Repeat after me "I. Am. So. Stupid." But I will agree with you that a bunch of hipsters, who have never heard a Minor Threat album, wearing a Minor Threat shirt is totally weak.
Skye says: "so
he recognizes how shitty of a company UO is but doesn't care because he
wants to make money off his shirts... i think that's even worse then
just being ignorant of it. fuck ian mackaye anyway, ugh"
Skye, Skye, Skye...You're just a flaming idiot.
The other half of the D.C. Sniper team says: If anyone is going to profit from the sale of Minor Threat shirts, it may as well be Dischord Records. This wouldn't be necessary if the DIY community that Ian champions didn't exploit his bands by bootlegging their merch. Pretty sure the money made from bootlegged merch isn't going anywhere but in the pockets of those who produced it. I have no problem with this. It's over 20 years past the decree of the $5 show. If you think $28 for a t-shirt is too high, don't buy one. Out of all the musicians in the world who deserve shit for gouging, Ian Mackaye is NOT one of them. His contributions to the scene as a whole get him one of many free passes he is deservedly entitled to.
