R.I.P. Carl The Mosher

The hardcore world loses another member. Carl The Mosher of Underdog and The Icemen fame has passed away this morning. It's a damn shame and our thoughts go out to his family and friends. R.I.P.

Red Hare LP for Christmas?! WOOHOO!

Hopefully your Christmas or Hanukkah has been good for all of you. Mine was pretty sweet when I got this record as a gift. I have never gotten anything hardcore related for Christmas, so this was a total surprise. I got the Red Hare - Nites Of Midnite LP.

 

 

 

Now, the other half of the D.C. Sniper team is a big Swiz fan, but I am not. Matter of fact, I'm not a fan at all. Couldn't tell you why? Just didn't do it for me. I might have to give it another chance after listening to Red Hare. I've now listened to it a couple of times and I really like it. The first song "Horace" has got me hooked and sets an awesome tone for the rest of the songs on here. The band sounds great and Shawn Brown's vocals compliment the music perfectly.

I love the artwork on the record cover and sleeve. Definitely creative. As you can see mine came on red which is pretty cool. I hear the current pressing is on blue with a blue cover. (I am currently fighting the urge to get that record too. But I'm a record collecting nerd!) Anyway, thanks to Dischord and Hellfire for putting out this album. It's a solid release that is not coming off of my record player anytime soon.

I wish I had gotten my hands on this LP months ago, but I was a slacker. Then again, the other half of the D.C. Sniper Team didn't get it either, but I think it's because he's too busy listening to Morrissey on Pandora. LAME!

D.C.S.

Caught In A Crowd - The Fight

This new piece of wax came into our hands and we couldn't wait to give it a listen. This is Caught In A Crowd from Massachusetts and this is their debut 7" called "The Fight". We missed seeing these guys a few months ago in D.C. and after listening to this record, we immediately regret that.

The record has five songs that sound like straight up hardcore. Something about this reminds us of the Carry On "Roll With The Punches 7". In any case, if you like late 90's/early 2000's hardcore, then this should be in your possession. Because this record kicks ass and makes me wanna stage dive. (Then again, neither one of us is doing any diving these days. Not unless they have a paramedic in the building in case we throw out our backs.)

REACT! put this fantastic record out and you should get your hands on it right away. Or you could just download it from iTunes. In any case, Massachusetts officially has another great band on it's roster. They're right up there with Boston Strangler and No Tolerance. Those three bands playing on the same bill would be a pretty awesome show if you ask us.

D.C.S.

"Hardcore was better when I was your age." Really? Hmmm

Imagine you're walking down the street and an older guy is walking ahead of you wearing this shirt. Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, we didn't think so either. Anybody that would actually wear this is obviously a life time member of the "douche bag club for men".

Who's the old fart that came up with this idiotic shirt? We know that we're some old guys (COUGH one of us is far older than other COUGH), but even we wouldn't go around saying something stupid like this. There's no better way to make yourself sound A) out of touch B) look like a total ass and C) make yourself seem too cool for the rest of the scene, by wearing this shirt.

The other half of the D.C. Sniper team has this to say:  It's sounds like something Grandpa Simpson would start a diatribe with. Like, "get off my lawn!" hardcore style. Every generation thinks it's generation was the best. Early 80's hardcore felt that way about late 80's hardcore. The 80's felt that way about the 90's and the 90's felt that way about the 2000's. It's no different than somebody who grew up with Zeppelin and telling some kid that is listening to Rage Against The Machine that it sucks. The reply would likely be "okay Grandpa, go back to your nap." Nothing you can do except laugh at the arrogance. 

Couldn't agree with you more partner. (After that contribution, I think he needs a warm glass of milk to get him ready for his nap.)
 
D.C.S.

Done Dying

Done Dying is a band that has been popping up on the radar for a few months now and what better time than now to check them out. It features Dan O'Mahony, Mike Hartsfield, Chris Lohman and Kevin Panter and they have put together an E.P. titled "Dressed For Distress".

Now, we've always been fan's of Dan's lyrics and this release does not disappoint. The man just knows how to put words to paper and deliver with power. The first song "Dressed For Distress" has a total "fuck you" vibe to it and we can't get enough of it. We here at D.C. Sniper can appreciate what he's talking about with this track. "Some motherfucker who is half my age and decides my fate. Some motherfucker who can bottom line my entire life." Not so sure we would necessarily get the message when we were teenagers, but as adults, it hits home.

The artwork for this E.P. is pretty cool, but after checking out their Facebook page, we saw this picture and thought it would've been even better. Just our two cents on that.

Anyway, if you like O.C. Hardcore, then this is right up your alley. Straight up hardcore the way the gods intended. So glad these boys got together to make this band happen. You can get this E.P. along with their 2nd E.P.  "Shelf Life" on iTunes or feed your need to collect records and get the wax from Reaper Records. At least one of us here will be ordering one up. 

D.C.S.

Exploited skull

For those of you who do not follow us on Instagram (and shame on you if you don't) we want to share this awesome sculpture that somebody made. Might be the coolest thing I've ever seen. 

Got this off of the official Exploited page on Facebook. Whoever made this needs to make another for my desk at work.Or at least for my nightstand.

D.C.S.

Modern Life Is War, Night Birds, Wet Witch, Nervous Impulse @ Rock 'N Roll Hotel Oct 11, 2013

This past weekend the D.C. Sniper team ventured out to the Rock 'N Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. to see the Night Birds. Neither one of us is all that familiar with Modern Life Is War, but we know of them and they were the headliner for the night. Opening for them was Nervous Impulse (D.C.) and Wet Witch (Who knows?).

Now, we don't know who put this show together, but Nervous Impulse kind of got shafted. I mean, we were two of maybe 11 or so people there. One could blame it on the shitty weather outside since it was pouring rain for three days straight or one could say that the show started a little too early. We think it was the latter.

 

Nervous Impulse

Anyway, they came out and played as if the place was full. We'll always give credit to bands that play regardless of the turn out for a show. I mean, it's gotta suck when there's only a few people around to watch you play. Quite frankly, their set could've been played in somebody's living room. If they were bummed by the turn out, they didn't really let it show. I seem to recall the singer greeting the crowd and the employees of RNR Hotel before their first song in a funny way. We dig this band and you can check out their s/t record that got repressed by Bridge 9 Records. It's worth it.

 

Nervous Impulse

Next up was Wet Witch and we don't know what to make of them? We have two different opinions on this band. I, just didn't get what they were going for and wasn't into it and he thinks they flat out suck balls. In any case, we're not quite sure why they were even on the bill in the first place? Just watch the video for yourself to see what they sound like.

 

Wet Witch

By the time they (Wet Witch) were done, the place had already started to fill up and thankfully the Night Birds were setting up. We don't hide the fact that we love this band. They, as usual, put on an energetic show and sounded fucking great. This band just doesn't disappoint. We and the rest of the place were singing along and pumping fists and finger pointing during their entire set. Or maybe it was just me? In any case, they kicked ass, as usual.

 

Night Birds

Oh and we finally got our hands on their latest LP - Born To Die In Suburbia and will be giving it many listens in the near future. They played a couple of songs that we weren't familiar with, so we assumed that it was the new stuff. The first video below has an intro that goes into "Born To Die In Suburbia" and it sounds pretty sweet.

 

Night Birds

 

Night Birds

Last, but certainly not least, was Modern Life Is War. Again, we don't know much about this band, but they put on a solid show and the people were eating it up. Apparently, they broke up some time ago and are now reunited with their original line up for this tour and a new record.

 

Modern Life Is War

They made an impression on me and I plan on checking them out. I think they have a few albums under their belts on top of their new one that is out/or coming out. We're obviously late to the party. Check the video.

 

Modern Life Is War

All in all, the show was fun, but we both could've done without Wet Witch.

D.C.S.

PS: Sorry for the less than stellar quality of the photo's and video's. Neither one of us is using Nikon's and zooming in 10,000x to get that perfect shot. We're too old and lazy for that stuff.

Coke Bust - Confined 12"

Now, we don't have this record yet, but a mutual friend of ours just got his and is letting us listen to it. Ordinarily we would wait to get our own copy and listen to it and do a review of sorts, but something caught our attention today that we just had to address. That something is STUPID PEOPLE.

Yes, we know that they're everywhere and that they continue to pollute our population by breeding with each other. But that doesn't mean that we aren't going to continue to call them out for their stupidity. 

Case in point, the new Coke Bust LP is only 9 minutes long. That's right, ONLY 9 MINUTES LONG. Go ahead and let that sink in for a minute, because apparently, there are some people out there that are bitching about it being too short for an LP. Check out this post that the band made about this outlandish crime against hardcore.

"Your new record is too short. Why is it only 9 minutes?" - We've seen this a few times. Here's why: We played our songs faster in the studio than we did at practice, less is more, we play short sets and put out short records and we trimmed the fat and only put on songs that we really liked. We believe in the "short, fast and loud" philosophy. Our 7"s are four minutes and our 12"s are nine. We think the artwork and packaging (including an enormous poster) warrant the larger format. If you disagree, that's fine. The record is streaming for free on Bandcamp :). Please direct all duration-related complaints to our award-winning customer service department over at Grave Mistake Incorporated!

Let me get this straight, you're bitching because Coke Bust put out a record that they are proud to put out to shlubs like you and not put out a record with a bunch of songs that they feel aren't their strongest. Holy shit, what a bunch of fucking assholes they are! Somebody put out an A.P.B. to promoters everywhere and tell them not to book these guys when they go on tour because they put out LP's that only are only 9 minutes long.

Listen up douche bags, you guys should be thanking Coke Bust AND Grave Mistake Records for putting out a great product. Not only is the record fucking bad ass so far, but the label gives you all kinds of little goodies to go with your purchase. We took this picture of what our friend got with his purchase and we can't wait to order our own copies.

That poster is big. Like, really big. (Insert "that's what she said" line here.) Plus some promo stuff for a zine called "Mosher's Delight", which we're not familiar with, but we will be getting our hands on a copy of it sometime soon. Record label sticker, download code for the record, promo's for a couple of other things. And most importantly, a great looking record cover, insert and color vinyl to boot. If you're going to bitch about spending $12 for all this, then you're a MORON. Please walk the plank and take your bitching with you.

D.C.S. 

New / old music

From time to time you'll be talking to a friend about the greatness of (insert band name here) and realize that your friend has not even heard them before. Conversation usually goes something like this:

Dude #1 - "Man, Walk Together Rock Together is my favorite 7 Seconds record."
Dude #2 - "Yeah, I've never listened to that record."
Dude #1 - "Get out of my car!" (Mind you, the car is still moving.) 
  
That is no different here at D.C. Sniper Headquarters. The newest band that I have not bothered to listen to over the years is Angry Samoans. I was told to check out their album "Back From Samoa" because it is "politically incorrect by today's standards, but funny and really tight musically." Well, that description had me intrigued. A quick Google search supplied me with the track listing for this album and I was floored. Songs like "Gas Chamber", "They Saved Hitler's Cock" and "Homo-sexual" stood out like a sore thumb. If these songs are considered to be funny, then I am in store for some crude ass humor.

Musically tight? Check. Politically incorrect? CHECK! Holy shit, I feel like I just got into my Delorean and traveled to the year 1985. I'm not going to lie and say that the lyrics aren't funny to me, because they are. On more than one song, I was laughing out loud at the sheer absurdity and all around silliness of their lyrics. "If Hitler's cock could start to talk, It would say to kill today." That's just goofy, but it made me laugh. Songs like "Homo-sexual" and "Ballad Of Jerry Curlan" would be considered homophobic nowadays, to say the least, but I was singing along. "You Stupid Jerk" sounds like childish trash talk you would hear at the playground, but put to music. But my favorite song so far is "Lights Out".

This record is catchy as hell and I am now looking to get my hands on a good digital copy of it for my commutes to work. Come to think of it, who's more lame? Me, for not listening to this record all these years? Or him, for raving about this album, only to tell me that he doesn't have it in any format and that I can just listen to it on YouTube? Me thinks it's the latter.

D.C.S.

Second chance listen: New York Hardcore - Where The Wild Things Are

Before I go any further with this, let me just say that I like this record a lot. But...I only like the songs on the first side of this record along with the two songs by Sheer Terror on the second side. I see and hear people rave about this record as being so great, but I remember getting this record when it first came out and hating everything after Sheer Terror. (Except for the Gorilla Biscuits cover). In lieu of this, I have decided to give those songs another chance. Maybe I've been wrong about the greatness of this record. 

Let's start with Maximum Penalty. Not a big fan of the vocals, but I can hang with it for the most part. Musically, "Immaculate Conception" sounds ok. The guitar solo's are a bit much and the breakdown doesn't make me wanna mosh. "Hate" doesn't really do much for me at all. Quite frankly, it blows. This band sounds like so many of the New York bands that I hated in the 90's and even today.

Next up is Uppercut and "Down For The Count" actually doesn't sound bad. Definitely like the vocals on here. This is a lot better than I remember. The song kind of suffers at the end with the breakdown, but oh well. "Am I Clear" is their next tune and I am not digging it at all. Too long and just boring.

Norman Bates And The Showerheads is next on the docket and I like the name a lot. Points for creativity. Stupid name, but I like it. Kinda like Gorilla Biscuits. Their first of two is "Hellminded" and it's not bad. Nice tempo, vocals are good, musically tight. "Desperate" is another catchy tune that I can totally see myself listening to in the future.

Um, excuse me while I go turn off the tv. I think I just heard Jaime Lee Curtis scream in Halloween. Hmmm nope, tv is off. It's in the song! Interesting. I highly doubt it's the singer and I highly doubt that they got Tom Araya to do a guest vocal session for them. Now I wanna know what the song is about. I've now listened to this song three times in a row and I am loving it. Totally wrong about these two songs.

Final verdict, this album is not as overrated as I once thought. In my world, I would've never had Maximum Penalty or Uppercut on this record. That's four songs that could've gone to two far worthier bands. Maybe Agnostic Front? Warzone? Murphy's Law? Sick Of It All? Oh and Gorilla Biscuits being on this comp has always been weird to me. Just didn't seem to fit in and worse yet, they only got one song on it and it's a cover song! I like this album a little more than I did some 20 plus years ago. This is more than what the other half of the D.C. Sniper Team has to say about this record. Check out his take.

I liked the Buzzcocks cover by GB, but to be honest, the late 80's early 90's brand of NYHC didn't really float my boat (other than GB, Token Entry, Underdog, YOT). Never really liked the hard guy bands, and it seemed like a lot of it started with many of those bands. Or at least, that's when I started to take notice of it. I find nothing inspiring about those bands. They were always so negative. Not my thing as far as liking a genre of hardcore.

PS: I think my partner is crazy, because those songs by Outburst, Raw Deal, Life's Blood, Breakdown and Sheer Terror are nothing short of AMAZING. But, he's entitled to his opinion.

D.C.S.