It's good to be back! I see that Adult Crash has been sharing his thoughts with you all about Beyond (yawn) at BNB and his disdain for hardcore clothes on your kiddies. (I gotta agree with him on that.) But, I'm back to shoot my mouth off on stuff that came to mind while I was away.
Case in point, while I was soaking up some rays on the beach with my lady friend, my iTunes "accidentally" started playing some D.Y.S. Now, this album is considered to be a hardcore classic. But I've always been of the opinion that it could be cut down to a 7". I mean, you could 86 "City to City", "The Girl's Got Limits", "Escape" and "Wolfpack". That's right. I said it. "Wolfpack" can go!
Humor me for a second before you dismiss me as somebody that has just gone off the deep end. Imagine how crucial of a 7" that Brotherhood could be with songs like "Open Up", "More Than Fashion", "Circle Storm", "Brotherhood", "Yellow", "Stand Proud" and "Insurance Risk"! Not only would the record have a fantastic record cover, but it would be loaded with seven amazing songs!
Instead, we're stuck with a 12" that features absolute garbage-songs like "City To City", "The Girl's Got Limits" and "Escape". I could see "Wolfpack" as a single or as something featured on a compilation. But I could easily wipe my ass with those other three pieces of shit. As far as I'm concerned, those three songs were just a prelude to the absolute shit show that they had become after putting out Brotherhood.
Adult Crash here again, Malvo is on vacation this week or as he put it "spring break bitches!" So I figure I would talk about something that has been bugging me for quite some time. Fellow core-men with children that dress their kids to look like themselves. Specifically, wearing straight edge shirts, Youth of Today zip-ups or whatever the hell else is out there. Call me crazy, but I think it's tacky. Me and my old lady have got a bit of a baby factory going on over here, but there has never been a day when I told her something like "hey baby, I just got this Negative Approach t-shirt for Nancy. Or, hey honey, is Jason a size 4Y? Because I wanna get him this Gorilla Biscuits hoody." If you're going to dress your kid up like you, why not go all the way with the "hardcore reality" and give him or her some sweet "straight edge" tattoo's? Maybe slap some Bridge 9 stickers all over their big wheel. Oh, I know, how about teaching them how to properly vandalize their school bathrooms with their mom and dad's favorite bands!
Seriously, your kid is into Gorilla Biscuits and Judge? Really?
Now, I'm not trying to pick on Revelation Records because they're only feeding the demand that's out there. And they're hardly the only ones making these sort of things for kids. I'm looking at all you guys and gals that want to make your "mini-me's" look exactly like you. Yeah, it's cute and yeah, it's your right to dress your kids any way you want. But at the end of the day, your 12 year old looks like a bit of a poser.
Sr. Adult Crash Correspondent here, and I'm taking the lead on this entry since the other half has no interest in Beyond. (He clearly has no taste.) I like Beyond, their demo was great and the LP was pretty good. With exception of the singer, all the members went onto bigger things. Though, not necessarily better things in my opinion. They played at the Black N' Blue bowl this past weekend and it looked like 45 people cared. I expected a better response than what I saw in this video. But to be fair, one song does not accurately represent the reaction that they got during the whole show. See the video for yourself.
Oh and if you haven't heard already, Revelation Records is putting out their discography in the near future. Here's to hoping it comes out looking good.
It's Friday and five o'clock can't get here fast enough. So to pass the time, we are talking about our favorite front men and why? I chose Jello because I love his on stage performance, banter and his lyrics speak to me. I don't agree with everything he has to say, but he knows how to paint a picture with his words. Quite frankly, I think he is the total package when it comes to being a front man.
But if I were to just choose one guy to watch and lose my shit to? It would be H.R. before he lost his marbles. That guy could make me lose my marbles with his performance. He was fucking awesome!
SR. Adult Crash Correspondent: Kevin Seconds has always been one of the best performers on stage, no matter how old he is. He always works the crowd masterfully.
Richie Birkenhead has always been a favorite of mine too. Not for the same reason though. I just always liked his intensity and confidence while singing.
The soap opera that is the Cro-Mags just got new life with an interview with Parris Mayhew. It is definitely a good read for any fan of the band. If you haven't seen the story on your social media, then here ya go. Enjoy.
This morning I received a text from SR. Adult Crash Correspondent asking me if I've ever checked out Screeching Weasel. I've heard of them, but never bothered to check them out. They are just one of those bands that slipped through the cracks for me. He describes them as a "fun 90's punk band. Ramones-ish." He says that "Anthem for a New Tomorrow" is a good place to start. Let's see what he's talking about here.
The first song on here is called "I'm Gonna Strangle You Tonight". Lyrics are okay, the song title made me laugh, but it's pretty catchy. I'm up to what appears to be an instrumental called "Talk To Me Summer" and I'm digging these songs so far. Not exactly what I expected to hear, but pretty good. I decide to look up some more tunes by them and come across a song that caught my attention right away. The song is called "I Wanna Be A Homosexual" and It's from an album called "Kill The Musicians". I immediately look up the lyrics and play the song and I'm dying laughing. I immediately text the other half of the team and it went something like this.
Me: Oh my god, I'm listening to a good dong (you read that right, auto-correct failed me again) called "I Wanna Be A Homosexual". NO WAY these lyrics could fly today.
Him: Ha. Nope. And I always knew you loved a good dong.
Me: Curse you!
Him: Curse your fat fingered typing, dong lover.
Anyway, these lyrics are on par with the song "Homosexual" by Angry Samoans. VERY politically incorrect. But the song is damn good. Give them a chance if you want to hear something new/old. I know I will.
It's a slow day at the office and I'm bored. SR Adult Crash Correspondent and I are debating on whether or not Green Day is a good band. I, for one, don't care about them. I think they're overrated and I usually change the channel if they come on the radio. He, on the hand, thinks they're really good and is rocking out to them on Pandora as we speak. Ugh I'd rather listen to New Jersey's own Intensity!
Anyway, I've been browsing Instagram during our silly texts and came across a band by the name of Growing Stronger. React! Records is promoting a 2014 demo and I decided to check them out. Man o man this is good! This is our kind of hardcore! Short, sweet and to the point. We've been coming across too many bands that just sound like they're from New York and have that bad metal sound. Sorry guys, but even I can't get behind a lot of these bands.
Can't really tell you shit about Growing Stronger except that you can get their 6 song demo on Bandcamp now. For all I know, these guys are a bunch of eskimo's that love the Growing Stronger comp and wanted to start up a band that could've been featured on that record. Based on these 6 songs, I would've put them on there.
Another year and another Damaged City Fest has come and gone. SR. Adult Crash Correspondent couldn't make it because of "family obligations" (he clearly doesn't have his priorities straight). But yours truly was there, front and center, diving and dancing. Ok, I was there, but I was doing no diving or dancing. This old timer watched the show from the safety of the back room.
I could only make it to Saturday's show because of family obligations (mine are more legit). The Flex (UK) might've been the biggest surprise for me that day. I've heard of them, but had yet to hear any of their music. And they sounded pretty fucking good! All I know is that the whole place went ape shit during their set. Bodies flying everywhere and the mosh was in full effect. Their set looked like something I would've watched a thousand times as a kid. So glad that I was no where near the front because there were stage dives a plenty. I actually ventured up front to get a short video of their set and I immediately retreated to the back of the place again. Crazy kids..
Another band that was pretty cool was Waste Management. Again, heard of them, but never heard them. I'm sure it's been said before, but the singer sounds exactly like Springa. Dead ringer. The band was badass. They have a power violence-ish type of sound and I love it. Don't know what they have out, but I'm looking. You can add another killer band from Massachusetts to the ever growing list.
Culo was at the fest again this year and they still don't do it for me. They didn't last year and they still don't this year. Having said that, I will say that the singers stage dives made me laugh. He looked like a torpedo diving into the crowd and I was convinced that he was gonna get back up on stage with a busted nose or something. Much like last year, they got a good response. Good for them. I may not dig their sound, but it seems like a lot of others do.
Give is a band that I've been wanting to check out for some time. I see people raving about them, but I've somehow managed to miss every show they've played in the D.C. area. Well, this year I got to see what all the hubbub was about and they were pretty good. Not what I expected at all. Kinda reminded me of Soulside and other old D.C. bands from the Revolution Summer days. In any case, they have a cool sound that I get into.
The two bands I really wanted to see on Saturday were the big hitters closing out the night. Boston Strangler and Infest. This was my first time seeing Boston Strangler live and they did not disappoint. Holy fucking shit were they awesome. I was loving every minute of their set and if there was a complaint to be made, it was that I wanted them to play a couple more songs. The crowd showed them the love they deserved and I can't wait for them to come back to town. Great band!
Been wanting to see Infest ever since they got back together and I can finally die happy. I've seen videos of their shows over the last year or so and they sound great. At Damaged City, it was no different. They belted out about 20 minutes worth of hits and the crowd ate it up. I was happy to see them get a good response. I can safely say that they are on a short list of bands doing reunion shows that sound good. Like, really fucking good. Much like Boston Strangler, I wish they could have played longer. But then again, I didn't want to be there all night long.
People watching:
One thing that struck me as odd at the show was all the disposable cameras I saw. It wasn't like I saw one or two. I probably saw like 20! First of all, those things are still being made? And since they're obviously still out there, who would want to use such an ancient piece of shit to take photos? You're better off taking a mental photograph, it would look better! I wonder if all those kids were using beepers too?
I also couldn't help but notice the two photographers on stage that could have easily been mistaken for extra members of each band that played that day. Now, I'm sure their fancy cameras were used to take some nice photos of the bands and the crowd, but did they have to set up shop at the front of the stage next to the band? Check out the video's I posted above and you'll see these two guys on the right side of the stage taking pictures. Any closer to the band and they might as well have been putting the mic out to the crowd for sing alongs!
All in all it was a great show in our nation's Capitol. Props to Nicktape, Chris Moore and whoever else helped them put on this fest. They run a tight ship and know how to keep things moving. If only more shows were this organized. Looking forward to next year.
The D.C. Sniper team loves the Dead Kennedys. They're easily one of the best bands in hardcore punk history. Top ten. Hands down. Their influence both musically and lyrically can still be felt in today's scene. After the demise of the DK's, Jello continued to make music with other bands like Lard, DOA and the Melvins. These days, he's in a band called Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. And we had no idea...
I stumbled onto a song by them on YouTube and immediately sent a text to the other half of the team to give it a listen. The song was "Mid-East Peace Process" and it is fucking bad ass! That song alone should have anybody that is a Dead Kennedys fan giving his current band a chance. The song is from their second album called "White People and The Damage Done" and this album is fan-fucking-tastic.
It covers topics from Hollywood to Wall Street to road rage. It's one hit after another in my book. The cover, artwork on the insert, album title and lyrics are really creative and cool in my opinion. All things that made me love hardcore punk, and more specifically, the Dead Kennedys when I was a young lad. Now I just need to get my hands on their first album, "The Audacity Of Hype".
I have been listening to "White People And The Damage Done" non-stop for the last month or so. The same can't be said for the other half of the team. Or as he now wishes to be called, Senior Adult Crash Correspondent. I gave this slacker a free download code for this album WEEKS AGO. And as of this morning, he has yet to download the album. Conversation went something like this:
Me: You listen to that Jello album yet? Or have you been skipping the gym and getting fat?
Him: I've been playing softball 3x a week. Still haven't been to the gym. I'll try to listen to it this weekend, jagaloon.
Now who is the real jagaloon here? I already have the album on my iTunes and he has been sitting on a download code for the better part of two months! Total slacker if you ask me. By the way, who wants to clue us in on what a "jagaloon" is? We have no idea. But ever since that first This Is Hardcore video with Bad Luck 13, we've been calling each other jagaloons. Clearly, we're out of the loop. And immature...
A little over a month ago, we posted an entry about a video that was made for the upcoming This Is Hardcore Fest in Philly. The classic WWF wrestling theme of the video made us laugh and worked well with the announcement that Bad Luck 13 was going to be getting back together for the show. (If you haven't seen the video, just scroll down a couple of entries.)
Then, Joe Hardcore and the gang put together another video...
Let me first say that we appreciate the creativity that he and everybody else involved put into making these videos. It's a breath of fresh air to see a show promoted in such a way. But this second video didn't do it for me. I understand what he was going for and can totally sympathize with him in regards to all these morons that are giving him a hard time about re-entry. But this went on and on like a bad Family Guy bit. Maybe I'm losing my sense of humor in my old age? You be the judge.
