New band with a demo...

Things have been pretty slow over here at D.C. Sniper Headquarters. Malvo has been on "vacation mode" for the better part of July. He's getting ready to go to the beach with his lady friend and I'm sure there is no one happier than the trash/recycling guy that picks up the collection of beer cans that he drags out to the curb every week. Come to think of it, I'm sure his recliner will be happy to get its form back from his fat ass sitting in it all the time playing video games. But I digress...

I was on the look out for some new tunes and thanks to a friend of a friend, I was given a heads up about a new band from PA called Nation Of Wolves. Not sure who they are since there's no info about that on the Band Camp page, but I can safely tell you this much...this demo is the swift kick to the nuts that I was looking for. I was floored when I first heard it and then I listened to it another 6 or 7 times and loved it more and more each time. They remind me of Floorpunch, Raw Deal and Negative Approach. Quite frankly, the singer sounds a little like John Brannon and Jeff Perlin put together. And that's not a bad thing.



According to their bio on Facebook, they are "4 dudes in their late 30's playing hardcore ala Cro Mags, Raw Deal, Floorpunch, No Warning, Negative Approach Bad Brains, Outburst, Breakdown." Looks like I wasn't far off on my description of them. And it's awesome to see some older guys keeping it real with their love of hardcore. I recognize Matt Smith of Rain On The Parade, Hands Tied fame, but I'm not so sure about the other guys. No upcoming show info, but it looks like they were at This Is Hardcore. I can only hope that somebody gets them to come down to D.C. sometime soon so I can check them out. In my opinion this demo is a sign of fantastic things to come. Do yourself a favor and pony up a couple of bucks and download this thing from Band Camp ASAP! - Adult Crash

D.C.S.

A soap opera within the scene? Let me get my popcorn!

You know it's a slow day at the office when I'm reading the comments section of anything I see on the internet. Usually, comment sections are filled with mind numbing things like misspelled words to posting "facts" based on a meme to verbally attacking someone for whatever reason. So where am I going with this? Well, I'm glad you asked.

In what is sure to be one of the more bizarre forms of trolling, there is a G.I. Facebook page that is totally bogus and they are posting some weird shit as if they're the band. Stuff like, Stabb being kicked out of G.I. and being replaced by someone else and how he's now a Republican candidate in West Virginia. From what I can see, it might be a former G.I. drummer that is the source of this page and it's material. If this is true, then this might be one of the more interesting soap operas within the hardcore scene. Check these screen shots that I got recently and see the weirdness for yourself. 

I've gotta admit that it is somewhat entertaining, but I can understand why John/the band are not thrilled with it. Stabb is trying to put the word out that it's a bogus page and to disregard what you see on there, but it may not reach the masses. Hell, I wouldn't of known about his post on Facebook had a friend not shared it.

I'm surprised that this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. I mean, people are trolling twitter, message boards, Instagram and Facebook all the time looking to get a rise out of people. This situation reminds me of the time that somebody started a thread on the Mullet Board (or was it the Livewire Board) saying that Jesse Standhard was going to be the new singer for Kid Dynamite. If memory serves me right, the Kid Dynamite
guys didn't have a sense of humor about it at all. I guess some people totally believed it and were asking the band members about it and they were annoyed. In our opinion, they made it bigger deal about it than it had to be.

Anyway, if you want to see what these imposters are up to, just look for the Government Issue page on Facebook with this big titty chick wearing a Government Issue shirt.

Speaking of imposters...

D.C.S.

New Night Birds song streaming

Adult Crash here and I'm enjoying a slow day at the office. I'm also enjoying this new song that the A.V. Club is streaming by the Night Birds.

The Night Birds are currently working on a new record to be released by Fat Wreck Chords later this year and we're stoked to hear it. This band just keeps on trucking with endless material. Malvo and I are in agreement that this band has done no wrong in our eyes. We both like everything they've ever done. Which is impressive since we almost never agree on something like that based on bands that have put out so much music. As far as I'm concerned, they could go on for another 10 years and probably still be relevant. These guys are that good. Anyway, enough of my praise. Check out the link below and enjoy.

NIGHT BIRDS - LEFT IN THE MIDDLE

12 Hits From Hell and being tone deaf

If you follow us on Instagram, you know that Malvo recently got a new record player with a USB connection. We've spent the last two weekends ripping records to his computer that we don't have on MP3.  (My wife is not happy about ditching her with the kids two weekends in a row. Oops) I'm still laughing at some of the records that he wanted to have digital copies of though. The Borderline 7" immediately comes to mind. HAHAHAHA I thought he was joking. He wasn't. What's next? The Intensity 7"? They were intensely terrible...

Anyway, one of the records that we ripped was the Misfits - 12 Hits From Hell LP that came out some years ago. I remember when he got it from Smash! and you would've thought that he had just gotten laid for the first time. (He freaks out on just about anything from the Misfits and Samhain.) But he's never had a digital copy of that album, so he ripped his copy and that seems to be all that he's been listening to for the last two weeks. That, and the Violent Reaction LP. (If there is a way to wear out MP3's on your phone, he will find a way, because it seems that the Violent Reaction album is on repeat with nothing else in between. Jesus...)

I, for one, wasn't that big a fan of 12 Hits From Hell. It was okay, but I wasn't crazy about Bobby Steele's guitar sound. I couldn't get past that. I can see why Danzig wasn't a big fan of that recording. Give me Earth A.D. or Walk Among Us or Collection II and I am going to be singing along like I was in the studio doing backups. Speaking of doing backups, Malvo does that all the time when he's driving. On more than one occasion, I've had to tell him something like - hey man, they sing it so you don't have to. That guy is one of the most tone deaf mofo's I've ever heard. Seriously, I'd rather hear my kids screaming. He's that bad.

On a related note, I can't believe that 12 Hits From Hell is selling for so much on eBay? I saw that cd's were selling for $68? Really?  The LP is going for around $150 and it's not even the rare green cover. This thing could be his Project X or Floorpunch on gold! Come to think of it, I should try to trade him something average for it so I can sell it and have a night out with the wife. Gotta smooth things over with her somehow.

D.C.S.

Punk credit cards?

 

Malvo here, it's been a while since our last entry and all I can say is I'm sorry for slacking off. Anyway, I just came across this photo this morning and I thought it was a joke. But so far, I don't see anything that indicates that this is a gag. It looks legit and all I can do is laugh. 

It's absurd, but what's even more absurd is the outrage over it. I mean who fucking cares? It's the Sex Pistols! I hate to use the term "sold out" but let's face facts here people, they 'sold out" YEARS AGO. Is this really so bad? How is this any different than buying one of their shirts at Hipster Heaven aka Urban Outfitters? 

At this point, is anyone really surprised about punk bands appearing on things like this anymore? I mean you can get (insert band name here) coffee mugs, boxer shorts, action figures, wallets, bra's etc etc. And this sort of merch has been around for years! It is hardly a nail into the coffin that we call hardcore punk.

Reading the comments section is entertaining and depressing at the same time. Here are some of my favorites. 

"Not a real punk band anyway. Let em"

"Punk is truly dead"

"Yeah nothing says punk rock like fucking credit cards, SMFH"

These guys are being a bit too dramatic. Just remember, Frankie Say Relax! It's not the end of the world guys. It's just another item with a punk bands name on it, in a sea of other items. And why can't any of you cry babies be more creative with your bitching? I glossed over the comments section of a couple different pages on Facebook and for the most part, the comments all sounded like the ones above. Get over it!

Quite frankly, I'd get one of these cards if I could get a better interest rate. God knows I'm getting bent over the barrel pretty good by my current creditors. I can only hope that there is a slogan for this card like - Never Mind The Cash Back.  

D.C.S.

Steve Hansgen of Minor Threat - Interview on Noisey

If you haven't seen or heard about this interview with Steve Hansgen of Minor Threat, then you are doing yourself a great disservice. We love the godfather's of harDCore and can't get enough of them. This interview is definitely interesting because it gives a perspective about the band that is not really talked about. Yeah, there was friction within the band about random things, but we never got specifics about them. We love to read stories about our favorite bands and Tony Rettman delivers with this interview. Props to him for putting this together.

 
Steve Hansgen of Minor Threat 

D.C.S.

If you have kids...

If you've been reading our blog for any amount of time, you know that Adult Crash has a stable of kids at home. What he doesn't have is any records, shirts, posters, cd's or anything in general related to hardcore lying around his house. Partly because his old lady aka The Warden, would never allow him to decorate any part of their crib with a poster like this.

Anyway, I, unlike him, have stuff littered in my office related to hardcore and music in general. What I also have in my office is a wide screen t.v. and my Xbox One. Recently, my sister's mother in-law dropped off my niece with me to watch until she could pick her up later on. My niece is 8 and thinks of me as the coolest guy on earth. Probably because I let her do just about anything she wants. Normally, I am not called upon for babysitting duties, but she was in a pinch and needed help, so I obliged. God knows that Adult Crash would never let me babysit his kids. I have to watch what I say all the time. It's like North Korea in their household.

Now, my idea of babysitting involves me playing on my Xbox while she colors or watches, or both. This time around, I was in the middle of an intense Deathmatch and my niece is doing her thing, but after a while she got really quiet. As it turns out she was eye balling my records that are set up behind me. No big deal, right? Wrong...

I could hear her talking to herself and it went a little like this.

Niece: Whoa, that looks creepy. Like an alien or a monster.
(I thought she was talking about the game)
Me: What are you doing?
Niece: Looking at this....wow that ladies face looks scary.
Me: Yo, I asked you something. What are you doing?
Niece: That is really gross, there's blood everywhere.

At this point, I just died in the game and I almost wish I had died in real life. Because I turned around and she is eyeballing my Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters LP and The Exploited - Jesus Is Dead e.p. She was examining these two records like a fucking archeologist examining fossils.

Now, the Dead Kennedys record isn't soooo bad, but that Exploited record might as well be porn. My jaw dropped and I immediately get her away from those awesome records and re-direct her attention to my t.v. The last thing I need to hear from my sister is how I am corrupting her "precious cargo".

I tried to change the subject but she wasn't ready to let go of what she just saw.

Niece: Dead Kennedys...that's not nice.
Me: Uh yeah. So, you wanna go out and get some ice cream?
Niece: Okay...did those ladies put Jesus on the cross?

FUCK ME!

Me: Ummm no, they're there to help him.
Niece: Why do they have skeletons for faces? And why is there so much blood?
Me: OK, WE'RE GETTING ICE CREAM! LET'S GO!

Thankfully, she stopped talking about it once we got some ice cream. So far, my sister hasn't called to read me the Riot Act. Hopefully she never does. I talked to Adult Crash about this and he couldn't stop laughing at me. He laughs at me in a time of need. Some friend.

D.C.S.

Violent Reaction

Adult Crash here and taking the lead on this entry. Over the weekend I received a call from Malvo who was acting like a raving lunatic about some record that he just got in the mail. He sounded like one of my kids on a sugar high. The record that had him bouncing off the walls was the new Violent Reaction LP that Revelation Records put out. I was bombarded with "dude, you gotta hear this record!" over and over again. Now, before I let him give his two cents about this LP, I will give my own.

First off, I like the front and back cover photos to the album. (I happen to be a fan of black and white photos.) The insert is okay, it has the essentials lyrics, thank you's and a live shot. Oh and he was lucky enough to get it on orange vinyl. That record collecting nerd is giddy about that. Anyway, I give the packaging a thumbs up.

Onto the music...Wow. These guys have the 80's sound down pat and the vocals remind me of Negative Approach. This thing starts off with a killer intro that goes full force into the second song and the fury doesn't stop. I'm impressed. I don't know much about these guys but this record is kick ass. I think my favorite song on here is Bored To Death, but every song on here just rips shit up!  In his rabid craze, Malvo informed me that they had just come through D.C. recently and that we could've gone to see them. Ah well, next time. I may have to steal Malvo's download code before he puts it on his computer...

Malvo here, let me burst his bubble right now. I already downloaded that code. Get your own you bum!

Anyway, Adult Crash exaggerates. I was not behaving like some loon because of a record. I may have been really stoked on this thing because it felt like I had been grabbed by the throat and thrown around my living room. Like Crash said, this thing is good. Fucking better than good! My favorite song is "War" and I probably listened to it like 30 times in a row. But songs like "Leave Me Out" and "Bored To Death" make me wanna X up and go straight edge. Seriously, this album reminds me of my youth. I remember hearing the first two Minor Threat ep's and being so blown away that I almost went straight edge. (Thank god I didn't, because I would've done it for all the wrong reasons.) I sort of had the same feeling after reading the lyrics to this record. All you straight edge kids are gonna love this band/album. Take my word for it.

Unfortunately, my girlfriend doesn't share my enthusiasm about this fantastic piece of wax. I was blasting this in my car and she just looked at me and shook her head and said "No." Apparently, she would rather listen to "Happy" by Pharrell. I may have to re-evaluate our relationship...

THIS MEANS WAR!

D.C.S.

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.