Arguing with each other

WE'RE BACK! Okay, that was a bit dramatic. But we've been pretty busy lately and have been neglecting our little blog here. I blame my boss for overworking me this last month. Crash...well, he's got the baby factory keeping him occupied. I don't know how he has time to breathe with all the frequent visits to Little League games, Disney on Ice and god knows what else he does for his kids. What guy suggests going to Disney on Ice?!

Anyway, from time to time we ponder some of life's greatest mysteries. Like, are there any good bands from New York that were not part of the "youth crew era"? Did Fugazi put out anything worthy after Repeater? Is the Clash any good? Which is the better D.R.I. record?  Dealing With It or Crossover? Allow me to answer these questions for you.

YES. YES. NO. Crossover

So here's our newest debate that we recently had on a night out. (A night out with Adult Crash with no kids is an experience. Like an 18 year old going away to college. Freedom overload!) We were talking about whether or not Revelation Records peaked at Rev 8? Old man Adult Crash says Yes and I said No.

I can understand where he's coming from with this statement. Most people don't care for BOLD - Speak Out because of the recording and/or because of Matt's vocals. However, I am not one of those people. The songs are good even though the recording is not so good. But as far as I'm concerned, Rev only had three dud's in their first 28 releases. Slipnot, Into Another and Burn are the ones I don't particularly care for of the lot. That's right, Into Another and Burn! Call me crazy, but I can't hang with those bands. Adult Crash disagrees with me on the Into Another choice. But before you put me on blast, keep in mind that he doesn't care for Supertouch, Inside Out and Judge (Bringing It Down).  Lunacy, I tell you!

This heated debate was met with strange looks by the bartender every time she came over to give me another beer. I thought I had a shot with this girl as the night went on. This is how I remember it and what I think she was thinking while she served me.

Bartender: Here you go, hun. (God, this guy is cute and all, but he and his old ass friend can't stop talking about which Gorilla Biscuits record was better?)

Me:  Man, you're crazy. The 7" is way better than the LP! By the way, I think the bartender digs me.

Adult Crash: You think? She is hot. You should get her name and ask her out.

Me: Hi, what's your name?

Bartender: It's Valerie

Me: Hi Valerie, you wanna go out sometime?

Bartender: (What excuse do I use on this guy?) Um, I have a boyfriend.

Me: Bummer

Adult Crash: (Big grin) Smooth one, Casanova.

Me: Why do you enjoy my pain so much?

Adult Crash: Because it's entertaining.

I question our friendship.

D.C.S.

Girlfriend In A Coma

Adult Crash here and I'm taking the lead on this entry. You see, I invited Malvo out to see a show with me over the weekend, but he didn't know who we were going to see. Not because I didn't tell him who it was, but because I didn't tell him anything about the band. The band in question is Girlfriend In A Coma and they are a Morrissey / Smiths cover band. Never seen them before, but I've heard good things about them and I wanted to see it for myself. They were pretty awesome. But let's hear what Malvo thinks about the night. I'm sure it will be a distorted view of the show, so I will be ready to counter with factual information. Take it away loud mouth.

 

I have kept quiet about what I saw this weekend since I wanted to save it for our little blog here. I'm sure Adult Crash is curious so here goes. What the hell is the matter with you Morrissey fans?! Ok, not all of you, but the ones that were at that show had to be the weirdest bunch of people I've ever seen at a show of any kind in my entire life. There were people LOSING THEIR MINDS over this band. I'm not totally convinced that I didn't really see Morrissey up on stage. Because there's no way that people are going to go crazy over a COVER BAND! No way. Right? Right? Wrong.

To the band's credit, they sounded good. The singer looked just like Morrissey and had all the mannerisms down, but it's NOT Morrissey! I swear that there was a girl up in the balcony that looked like she was going to break down into tears every time the singer looked her way. Maybe she has the hots for the guy, I don't know. But I wanted to call 911 and tell them that somebody had escaped from Arkham Asylum.

But it wasn't just her, there was a bunch of people that were going crazy. A girl jumped up on stage and started to hug and kiss the singer and then dance along to the music. It sort of reminded me of Courtney Cox getting on stage to dance along with Bruce Springsteen. Just without the corny dance moves.

I couldn't tell if the singer was a fan of Morrissey or if he just likes the music and thinks the dude is a douche. Because he said some shit that was just stupid. Case in point: "You know what the difference between me and Morrissey is? I'm here" That's not verbatim, but it was something like that. I felt like shouting, THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT HE MAKES MUSIC LOVED BY MANY PEOPLE AND YOU JUST DO KARAOKE! I heard him throw in a Green Bay Packers shout out in a song which was amusing. He also came out in a Packers jersey later in their set. Way to stay in character.

I wanted to take video of the show, but it would have been obvious to anybody that I wasn't filming the show at all. But that I was filming all the weirdos that were singing to each other and spazzing out as if they had just won the lottery. I was flabbergasted at how people's heads were exploding around me when the singer announced the name of the next song. Like every time! Shrieking and OH MY GOD faces all around. Do these same people sit in traffic and have orgasms when "How Soon Is Now" come's up on their ipod? Holy shit. 

I can now say that I've heard more than a few songs from the Smiths and Morrissey and I can safely say that I am not a fan. It didn't do it for me at all. Just not my thing. The people watching was far more entertaining than the show itself. Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

Jesus christ, he came out with both guns blazing. Why don't you tell them how you really feel? Sigh...I wish I could disagree with Malvo on the behavior of the attendees, because it was a little over the top. But what did he expect? It's not like they're going to be stage diving and slamming around in the pit. Overall, if you're a fan of Morrissey and want to enjoy his music in a live setting, you should check out this band. It's going to be a cheaper and more intimate experience, I can guarantee you that.

D.C.S.

2014 Year in review

Another year has come and gone and Adult Crash is one step closer to the grave. (Seriously, the guy is old as dirt.) 2014 introduced us to some great bands like Fuck You Pay Me, Public Suicide, The Flex, Protester,  and many more.

We also saw some awesome bands for the first time like Boston Strangler, Infest, Waste Management, Give, and a slew of others at the Damaged City Fest. Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, Chain of Strength, Samhain on Halloween and most recently, Soulside, Red Hare and Swiz.



Adult Crash here, let us not forget that Malvo likes Katy Perry and has also admitted to me in private that he likes "Dancing Queen" by Abba. And I'm the lame one for liking Morrissey? ("You Are The Quarry" is my favorite record by the way.) What else do we need to never forget about your boy Malvo... Oh yeah, he is small in the pants according to the young ladies that saw him taking a leak in between cars after Samhain. He wonders why I embarrass him with stuff like that, yet he's the one behaving like a man-child by urinating in public. Oh and how can I forget about walking with him to CVS so he could buy some Gold Bond for the chaffing he had going on between his legs at the Damaged City show. Who does that? Suck it up, punk!

In any case, we had another good year together and we hope to entertain you all for another. Happy New Year!

D.C.S.

If Adult Crash thinks we're ending this entry with that nonsense, he's got another thing coming. Let us not forget what his thoughts were on the debate about Stage Diving.

 
Soooo, yeah, old man Adult Crash thinks you stage divers are assholes. 

This is the text I received after that entry with that Meme.

"I said kinda assholes. Way to Fox News Me."

LOL.

D.C.S.

A weekend of shows in D.C.

The D.C. Sniper Team takes in a show. Actually, no we didn't. Adult Crash is too busy being Dad of the year and couldn't go to the show. He probably went to see the Nutcracker Ballet for all I know. He is so whipped. Anyway, I almost double booked myself for this past weekend since another friend of mine told me that Too $hort was coming to town. I mean who wouldn't want to see $horty The Pimp?! But I had already gotten my ticket for Soulside a while back, so no dice.

Now, the worst kept secret in D.C. this past week or so was that Swiz had been added to the bill. I was curious to see what they were like live. If you read our entry around this time last year, I said that I wasn't a big fan of Swiz but, I like Red Hare. As it turns out, I got to see both on Friday night at the Give record release at Comet Ping Pong in D.C. 

Red Hare sounded awesome live but the venue could've been better. No stage means that I was going to be looking past a bunch of heads and cell phones in the air. That kind of sucked, but what are you gonna do? If my memory is right, they played about 4 songs and in the middle of their set they gave their drummer a break to take a "leak" and replaced him with another guy and voila! Swiz was on stage!

They ripped into 4 songs that were fucking awesome! How did I not see the greatness of these songs years ago? After they ripped my face off with those songs, they got their drummer off and brought back their Red Hare drummer and finished their set. I have to say that I really like Red Hare live. Hadn't been able to see them until this weekend and I'm so glad I did. I'm hoping to see some new tunes from them in the future. If you haven't gotten their debut LP, Nites of Midnight, then get off your ass and get it! Or if you're lucky, you'll get it for Christmas like yours truly did last year. BOOM!

Next up was Give and they came out with guns-a-blazing! I saw them at Damaged City and was intrigued, but haven't listened to anything by them since then. I don't know what they have out or what they played that night, but it sounded great. They had all the energy in the world and rocked that place. I had to enjoy it from the back by the sound-man because it was just getting to be a bit too hot in that place. All in all, they were killer and I'm officially a fan.

Saturday night was the big night. Soulside, Swiz and Moss Icon at the Black Cat. I had a hell of a time trying to find parking and caught the last 10 minutes of Moss Icon and I couldn't have been more bored. Holy crap...It was some of the most boring, slow jams I've ever heard. (And I don't mean the slow jams you and your girl listen to when you're trying to make sexy-time.) So glad I didn't find a parking spot so quick and so close because I would've been ripping my hair out.

Swiz comes out and the place is buzzing. They sounded just as awesome as they did the night before and I really dug it. I don't know what they played since I'm not familiar with their music, but it was good. My only complaint was the lack of appreciation when they covered "Familiar" by G.I. Their Void cover right after that was far more appreciated, but I liked them both. I thought they put on a good show and after this weekend, I have a bigger appreciation for Swiz. Good stuff.



Soulside comes out and I'm getting excited. Again, I haven't been waiting for this as long as other long time fans have, but I have grown to really like this band over the last couple of months. They did not disappoint. I thought they sounded just as good live as they do on their records. They belted out like 18 songs which might've been a bit much, but I didn't care. I really enjoyed their set and their encore included my favorite song "Name In Mind".


All in all it was a great weekend and what an awesome way to close out 2014! I got to see a couple of kick ass shows and Adult Crash was probably at the mall buying gifts for his tribe. This is how I picture it.

D.C.S.

Giving Unit Pride a second chance

Well it's Christmas time and Adult Crash is busy doing the family thing. Typical stuff...putting up Christmas lights, tree and trip to see Santa. All things that this Scrooge is not doing. I wonder if I'm in store for a horror story of screaming kids on Santa's lap? Not his kids, but the other ones that will be there.

Anyway, I saw an advertisement from Mankind Records promoting some Unit Pride shirts that were made. This is a band that I know little about, but I remember liking one song by them. I guess I didn't like it enough to listen to the rest of their music and so my MP3's have been collecting digital dust for the better part of a decade. I decided to give them another listen and see if I made the right choice in ignoring them all these years.

I don't even know what I have here, but it seems to be an E.P. called "Can't Kill A Dream" based on the artwork I have for it. This is some pretty good straight up posi-hardcore. "Wide Awake" is the song I liked way back when and it still holds up for me now. But there is a monkey wrench in here. What is the deal with the song "Can't Kill A Dream"? It doesn't sound ANYTHING like the rest of the songs on here. Quite frankly, it sounds like a chorus of Care Bears were singing "friendship means the world to me, FRIENDSHIP!" And then you have Barney from Napalm Death singing "You Can't....Kill....A Fucking Dream!" The song sounds great and I wish there was a 7" of more songs that sound like it. Sounds a little rough, but it sounds HARD. So what's the deal with it?  Is it another singer? Demo song? I mean it's night and day. Anyway, I am digging all of these songs a lot and I don't know why I passed on them all these years? It's right up my alley.

I texted Adult Crash about them and this is how it went...

Me: Hey, what do you think of Unit Pride?

Him: "I like the Nerve Agents better."

Me: What do you think of this song? (Can't Kill A Dream)

Him: "Meh. Morrissey is better."

Me: (Rolling my eyes)

D.C.S.

PS: If you're interested in those reprinted shirts you can just click on the link below. Enjoy. 
mankindrecords.storenvy.com

Let's talk about Millions Of Dead Cops

Well, Adult Crash is currently driving up to the in-laws with his old lady and his mini-crew, so I'm holding down the fort while he's gone. I'm not going to get into any political discussion on here because I would rather keep it fun. Having said that, the situation over in Ferguson, MO reminded me of a conversation that I had with Adult Crash before he left. Do you like M.D.C.? I remember asking him if he liked them because I had never really given them a real chance. As it turns out, he never really gave them a chance either. Apparently, we're the only two jackasses in the scene to be clueless about them. So I'm going to give them a listen and see what I've been missing out on.

First things first, I love the artwork. It's something that definitely grabs your attention. I remember being a young punk and seeing that for the first time at a record store and having to do a double take. I thought it was cool but at the same time, I had some mixed feelings about it. I was still new to this thing that we call hardcore/punk and didn't know about the friction between punks and cops/society in general. Obviously, I learned all about it over the years.

The song titles on this record are about what you would expect from a band in the 80's. The only thing missing is an anti-Reagan song. I'm sure they took care of that in later records.

Anyway, I'm digging Dave Dictor's vocals. A lot. He has a certain urgency with his delivery that sounds great. Musically, they sound pretty killer. Actually, they sound a lot better than I expected. Songs like "Corporate Deathburger", "Kill The Light" and "Church & State" are immediate favorites after the first listen. But overall, this whole record is pretty awesome.

Lyrically, I'm impressed with their stance on Homophobia with their song "America's So Straight". I can't think of many forward thinking songs in hardcore from back then. I mean sticking up for gays was just not as popular as making jokes based on stereotypes. I'm getting too serious here....Moving on.

"John Wayne Was A Nazi" is amusing and "Greedy & Pathetic" just rocks. Pretty solid record here. I think I just got something new to listen to over the holiday weekend.

D.C.S.

Samhain in D.C. Halloween 2014

Well look who came into town this past Halloween. Samhain! Adult Crash and I have been talking about going to this show since it was announced. But I have to admit that I didn't think there was any chance that he would actually go. I mean, he's got a whole crew of kids at that baby factory that he calls home. No chance his old lady will let him out to see Samhain and leave her to take the kids out trick or treating on her own. But she let him go. I'm pretty sure he promised to take her out to the ballet or something else like that.

Samhain was playing at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. and it's a place that neither of us have ever been to. We were skeptical about the venue since it's not exactly known for hosting punk shows. But it turned out to be a pretty cool joint. Unfortunately, we arrived late because Adult Crash had to at least help the kids get dressed up before coming out to play with me. No biggie. We arrive in time to see Samhain getting set up. Perfect!

We were shocked (note sarcasm) that there were signs everywhere saying that pictures and videos were prohibited. I tried to sneak a couple of pictures anyway for our little blog here, but I was only able to get one good one. Damn light show was fucking going crazy. We definitely saw a couple of people get escorted out for taking pictures / video. Lame...

Anyway, they sounded GREAT! We were definitely loving every minute of this show. They belted out songs from every album. The only bad thing is that the place was so packed that it was hot as fuck in there. I felt like I was watching them perform in Hell. (Pretty sure that would be Danzig's wet dream.) In any case, they got a good response from the crowd and people were singing along all over the place. Overall, kick ass performance. After they were done they treated us with an encore song. I was hoping for a couple more, but no such luck.

People Watching

I know it was Halloween night, but why in the wide world of sports would anybody wear a costume while in the pit? Again, it was hot as fuck in that place. I practically had Bat Wings and I was standing in the back by the bar. Thankfully, the $8 beers ($8 for 12 ounces? Is this FedEx Field?!) I was ordering helped cool me off. And lighten my wallet...

We saw something else that was interesting. A group of about 3 or 4 guys shouting at the band in between songs. They were basically telling the band (as if they could hear them from that far) that they sucked. That Danzig was a douchebag and that he was a sellout. If you really feel that way about the band, why did you pay $40 plus to go to the show? It reminded me of those dumb ass straight edge kids that turned their backs on Youth Of Today at their reunion show in Florida. Let me get this straight...You PAID $40 to talk shit? What sense does that make? Whatever...

After the show ended we mosey on out to the car and I realized that I needed to take a leak. All those expensive ass beers came pounding on the door to be let out. I proceed to drain it in between a couple of cars. Unfortunately, 3 girls were walking up the street across from me and saw me doing my thing. Adult Crash thought it was a good time to embarass me by asking them "how big is it?" One of them put up her index finger and thumb to imply that it was only an inch. I immediately defend myself by saying...You can't even see it from over there! Bad move...They, along with what seemed like the entire neighborhood, erupted in laughter. I hate you Crash...

D.C.S.

Random thoughts

"Old man Adult Crash" here and I want to talk about a couple of things. First off, it was National Edge Day this past weekend and I spent some quality time with my wife and kids at the local pumpkin patch being clean and sober, while Malvo spent his time at some local bars partying like it's 1999. Last I checked, he and his liver are not on speaking terms...

Anyway, a bunch of bands were playing an Edge Day event up in Massachussets and it looked like a good show. Caught In A Crowd, Clear and World War 4 are popular bands we listen to. Not too familiar with the other bands, but I know of them. The flyer you see above is what I would expect for an Edge Day show. But I have to ask...Are Nike's still a big thing in hardcore fashion these days? The varsity jacket is a bit dated too, but I guess if the Air Jordan's are considered "cool" then the jacket must still be cool too. Kinda corny if you ask me. But it's good to see the kids keeping hardcore alive.

The other day, Malvo asked me what hardcore song touched me lyrically in my youth? In typical Malvo fashion, he made sure to add that Morrissey lyrics don't count. Such a narrow mind... Anyway, for me, it was "No More" by Youth of Today. I didn't become vegetarian from that song, but it reinforced things for me and made me take vegetarianism more seriously.

Malvo says that it was "kickback" by Breakdown. He is your stereotypical, angry hardcore kid. "Sorry, been kicked around for too long. Being fucked over just made me strong." That is his favorite lyric in all of hardcore, amongst so many other angry and depressing lyrics. I'm the total opposite of that. I like the posi-stuff, but it's another example of how different we are.

Speaking of how different we are, I like Morrissey. He doesn't. I told him to check out "You are the quarry" and he, to his credit, gave it a chance and didn't care too much for it. Now, he rags on me for liking Morrissey all the time, meanwhile, he likes Katy Perry! That's right, mister "I love negative hardcore" has a soft spot for Katy Perry! Keep that in mind the next time he creates a meme or just wants to talk shit about yours truly.

D.C.S.

Let's take a look at what came in the mail...

Slimer writes:

"Hey, do you guys rock it to Parquet Courts? They're a band from Brooklyn and they definitely have a punk element. They got a song I fuck with called Stoned and Starved."



First of all, is this a joke? Homeboy's name is "Slimer"... Anyway, we've never heard of this band, but we're going to give this guy the benefit of the doubt and take this seriously.

Hmm I fail to hear the "punk element" in this song. It's a catchy rock song, but it's hardly punk to me. Maybe they have other songs that are punk, but this one ain't it. I've listened to a few more songs and they all sound like something I might hear on 120 Minutes, back in the day. MAYBE...

Adult Crash: It's aight. I'd probably reach for 50 different bands before this one, though. It has a retro vibe to it. I could picture it being late 70's NYC stuff. No offense Slimer, but 99% of this blog is about hardcore punk related stuff. This doesn't fall into that category.

D.C.S.

Public Suicide (DC) review

It's Friday and it's a slow day in the office. I should probably be working on my TPS reports, but that can wait till Monday. In the meantime, I'm killing time on social media. And lo and behold I come across another new band from right here in D.C.

That band is Public Suicide and I have to say that I'm impressed. The name of the band grabbed my attention right away along with the artwork. Musically, the band has a power violence sound and the singer kind of sounds like Jon Westbrook of Knife Fight. Even a little grind core-ish vocally. All are redeeming qualities if you ask me.

They have a 5-song demo along with this 6-song S/T / soon to be 7" coming from Caught Up Records. They have some downloads available on Bandcamp for you to enjoy. But don't get them confused with another band from Cali with the same name. That band is not bad either from what I've heard so far. But that is for another day...

D.C.S.