Thursday, February 11, 2016

A Conversation With Erik Meade-The Bassist For Death (1985)


















Erik Meade is a musician who has been a SF staple for decades.  We met as neighbors in the Hayes District of San Fransisco in the mid 80's.  Back then if you looked different, or wore a certain band t shirt you'd likely make conversation with others that also looked the part.  Erik sort of became my mentor turning me onto some cool obscure punk/hardcore, and introduced me to other like minded folks in the Bay area.  I moved back East  in 1989 so we lost touch for over twenty years.  I randomly ran into Erik while he was working at a record store  about 8 years ago.  It was crazy, and was weirdly emotional for me.  I felt like I needed to tell him that he had influenced my entire life in a positive way through his influencing me musically.  I ended up sending him everything I played on, and records I'd released over the years. 

At any rate Erik has a long history of playing in tons of bands.  One of those bands was the Florida death metal band Death.  Death along with Possessed pretty much invented the death metal genre.  I thought it would be cool to pick Erik's brain about his short time in the band. In my opinion he played on the best  demo by this Legendary metal act. 


Nate -You were one of the most open minded people I'd met in the 1980's San Francisco scene.  You and your ex girlfriend Janis turned me onto a lot of different music and art back then.  It was the punk/hardcore stuff that resonated with me.  I still to this day have a tape you made me in 1985 with a bunch of East coast hardcore bands on it (76% Uncertain, Bad Brains, SSD, Sacred Denial, Beastie Boys ep, etc).
You played bass in Death in 1985... I am trying to figure out the timeline because we were next door neighbors from late '85-1987.  You were taking me to early meetings at Gilman Street as it was just being constructed, you introduced me to Tim Yo (who disliked me because I was metal dude), and you had me singing in a band you were doing with Short Dogs Grow, and Rhythm Pigs folks. Was this all taking place during the days you were in Death, or after it?  How the hell did I miss this?

Erik -I would think it was during the period I was in Death, although it seems strange that I wouldn’t have mentioned it.  It was probably just after I left, and I might not have mentioned it because, at the time, it didn’t seem important. LOL.

 I'm sure I knew, but  probably acted unimpressed because I was one of those metal dudes who was transforming into a hardcore kid, and I was rebelling against my metal roots.  I'm WAY more impressed now...Haha.  Did your days playing in Death end your playing in metal bands all together?

Erik - Yeah, I just played in punk and rock bands after that, as a guitarist, not a bass player.

How did you end up meeting Chuck and joining Death?  What made him relocate from Florida to the Bay Area in '85?


Erik -Eric Brecht was playing metal with some guys in Oakland, and somehow, I had joined the group, I think as the singer. That project quickly fell apart, but a few weeks later Eric got a call from Chuck, who sent him some demo tapes. Eric was really excited about it, so when Chuck asked him if he knew any bass players, Eric asked me if I played bass. I didn’t really play bass much. I was a guitar player, but I said yes, and ran out and bought a bass. I then created a really ridiculous bass rig by putting my Roland  guitar amp thru a 400 watt Sunn Power amp into a 4/12 guitar cabinet.  It was an odd combo, but it worked. Chuck flew out a few weeks later and started staying at Eric’s place, and then with a girl named Amber who hung out in the scene. She drove him around everywhere while he was out here because he didn’t have car. I assume he moved here because the bay area had become the home of thrash metal.

How long did your time in the band last?  Why did it end?
  Did Chuck continue with Death in the Bay Area after you guys were out, or did he move back to Florida?

Erik -We were only in the band for about six months and a few shows. then we had an argument with Chuck and he left. He just stormed out of the rehearsal room and that was that. I think he went back to Florida for a few months and then came back to SF, but I’m not 100% sure.

Did Eric
Brecht quit DRI to Join Death?  I recall seeing DRI at the Rock On Broadway once in 1985, and Eric approached his brother Kurt after the gig and started telling him about how he was jamming with Death.  Kurt was totally supportive of everything Eric was telling him. It was a cool conversation that I dropped in on.

Erik - No, as I said, Eric had already left DRI when Chuck had called him.  As for Kurt, as soon as we started rehearsing we got a call from Kurt, who was in Chicago touring with DRI.  He said “You’ll never believe what some kid just gave me, It’s a tape of you guys rehearsing last week”.  It turned out that Chuck had taped our rehearsals, and then dubbed copies and sent them to particular die hard fans in various cities, who then made copies for their friends.  It was at that moment that I realized just how powerful and important the tape trading circuit was within the metal scene. That was why Chuck already had a fan base in SF before he even had an album out.

How old were you guys at the time?

Erik -I would have been 22, Chuck was 18 and I don't know how old Eric was, but probably 19 or 20.

Did you help in any of the song writing at all, or did Chuck move to the Bay Area with all the songs that you were going to play already written?


Erik - We worked on creating some of the songs that were on the first Death LP although over the years I’ve become a bit hazy about which songs, but overall they were Chucks ideas. We may have had a hand in some of the arrangements though.  I bought the first LP when it came out just to see whether he gave us any credits, and was kind of amused to see that he’d gotten around the songwriting issue by simply not having any songwriting credits at all.  I assume that was because he would also have the original members from Florida and Mantis to contend with.  He may have claimed ownership on later pressings. but I don’t care.  It was clearly his ideas.

Did you play on any of the demos or rehearsals that have been released through out the years?


Erik -Yes. I'm on the Back From the Dead demo which was the tape that Kurt Brecht heard in Chicago. Scott Carlson gave me a board recording of one of our Ruthie's Inn shows that is a much higher quality recording then Back from the Dead (which was recorded on a boom box). I've thought about trying to have an engineer clean up the Ruthie's tape and boost up the guitar tones if possible. 



How many live gigs did you play with Death?  Where were they?  Most in Bay Area I assume?  

Erik - As far as I can remember we only played three or four gigs total.  All but one of them at Ruthie’s Inn in Berkley. The other one was at the Farm in SF with Mordred and the Rhythm Pigs.

I think I recall that you guys used to practice at Turk Street Studios in SF?

Erik- I honestly don’t remember where we rehearsed initially. It might have been Turk. But near the end we were rehearsing at a studio out by Potrero hill owned by Franco from MDC.
What was the reaction to the band by other local metal bands in the Bay Area at the time?  Did they accept Chucks move to the area?  Did they welcome the band?  I recall much competition back then within the metal scene.  Bands sort of competing to get signed, play bigger shows etc.  Was Death involved in this crap?

Erik -I wasn’t really that familiar with the East bay metal scene since I was part of the punk scene in SF, and was only occasionally crossing paths with metal bands. But the first time we played Ruthie’s I was really surprised by how excited the kids there were to see us. You see, I had never heard of Death before Eric Brecht asked me if I’d want to play bass in the band. I thought they were just a band with a few home made cassette tapes out, which in punk circles meant you were just locally known.  Death were from Florida so I figured nobody in the bay area had heard of them/us. I didn’t realize that within the metal scene tape trading homemade cassettes was a big deal, and true fans took it seriously. So at our first show there were actually people with our band logo painted on the back of their leather jackets who were all jacked up to see us.  I also remember that the opening act at our first show was an Oakland band called Black Death who sounded an awful lot like us, and were really excited to be on the bill. It was an nice surprise for me. I think we either played with Sacrilege BC, or at least they were at the shows because I became friends with those guys thru Death, and later on when Dave Edwardson (of Sacrilege and Violent Coercion) started Neurosis.  He and Scott Kelly asked me to be part of it.  I lasted about two rehearsals before I guess they decided I wasn’t on the same page with them musically, and stopped calling me about rehearsals. When I finally called Scott he said “Oh, we decided we just want to be a three piece”, so I said, "Ok, well then, I’m gonna come over and pick up my amp”, to which Scott said “Oh, that’s another thing... we accidentally blew up your amp the other night”. Only last year Scott commented to me on Facebook, “By the way, I still haven’t forgotten that I owe you an amp. But you will always be OG Neurosis”. I thought that was nice. but back to your question. No, I didn’t see any backstabbing or catty behavior ever, in fact one of the guitarists from Testament loaned Chuck a Marshall Stack for one of our Ruthie’s shows, because at that time all Chuck had was a Peavey Transistor amp.

What was it that Chuck and you guys were listening to at the time that helped influence the extreme sound Death was later known for?  This boggles my mind…


Erik- I have no idea what Chuck was listening to that made him come up with his sound.  Me and Eric were both into mostly punk, so honestly Chucks music didn’t seem that radically new to me since I’d been listening to really harsh fast music for quite some time, and well Eric Brecht was the kid who invented ‘blast beats when he was in DRI.  In fact, that was probably why Chuck called him in the first place. So I suppose it’s safe to say that Chuck had heard DRI.  A few of the albums that come to mind were the first Die Kreuzen records, Dehumanization by Crucifix, and Animosity by Corrosion of Conformity, which had just come out around the time I joined Death. That one was particularly relevant as me and Janis Tanaka were hanging out with COC when they toured thru SF that year because they were staying with our friend Ruth Schwartz for the couple days they were in town.

Chuck, Erik, & Eric Brecht at Ruthies '85








 Did you or those other guys realize at the time that you were basically involved with something that was much different then other metal that was happening at the time?

 Erik- Not me, No. In fact, to be quite honest I didn’t get it, and really didn’t like it. I thought I was gonna be joining a band more like Exodus or Slayer, and I thought that Chucks, or to be more precise Eric’s, beats were so fast that nobody could mosh or headbang to them.  I kept coming home and saying “I don’t like what we’re doing, it’s too chaotic”. and Janis would say “No, it’s great. Keep doing it”. Even after I left/quit/got kicked out of the band I didn’t get it. and consequently, gave away or taped over all of my cassettes of our rehearsals. I didn’t have any tapes of myself with Death for two decades, until one day I ran into Scott Carlson of Repulsion, who had been the original bass player for Death back in Florida.  First off he told me that tapes of our rehearsals and Ruthlie’s shows were still being traded by Death fans, but more importantly he said that Chuck had mailed him copies of the tapes back in 1985 and he still had them. So he burned me a tape of all the recordings I was on. To be honest, I still think it sounds like a couple of kids going crazy in a garage. But my Girlfriend Sonja loves it. Her current favorite band is GoatWhore. On a side note some time around 1998 I was walking past a club, and heard a band inside that was playing blast beats with a cookie monster voiced singer, and I thought, ‘Fuck, they sound exactly like what we were doing 18 years ago. who would have thought our sound would stick around so long. I was also kind of astounded when I was in a bookstore and started browsing thru the pages of that book Lords Of Chaos. I thought, ‘man, this is some crazy shit. how did this start’. Then was kind of shocked and surprised to find Death listed as one of the original inspirations for those bands.

Do you think Chuck was setting out to try to invent a genre that later turned into "Death Metal", or was it like many things in life that was just a series of mistakes that happened?  Bad recordings that were looked at as raw because engineers had no idea how to deal with the production...musicianship, etc?  I can't get my head around what bands like Death and Possessed were thinking, and how they did what they did back then?  Total innovators.


Erik- I think Chuck had it in his head that he was trying to create something new that had never been done before. At least he always talked that way. I remember asking him how he had come up with the name Death, and he said, “ I just wanted to have the heaviest band name ever, then it hit me...what’s heavier then death?  The answer was, nothing... nothings heavier then death. So that had to be the name”. I thought that was kind of funny because it reminded me of that line from Spinal Tap, ‘How much blacker can it be?  The answer is, None. None more black”.

Did you ever play in a band with Eric again?

Erik -I never played with him again. He was asked to be in Hirax pretty soon after that and moved to LA I think.

Had you been in Touch with Chuck after your time in the band...before his passing?

Erik -No, the last time I saw him or talked to him was at our last rehearsal at Franco’s place. We got into an argument about the lyrical content, which I thought was juvenile even though he had said he wanted to get more serious. Then he came in with another song about ripping peoples guts out (Regurgitated Guts maybe?), so I complained, and I guess Eric Brecht sided with me. Chuck said “I don’t need you guys. I’ll find someone who really wants to play my songs”. He then dragged his amp out onto the sidewalk and sat out there for the next hour waiting for his ride to arrive. I think if we had just walked outside and apologized we might have continued as a band, but we didn’t because of course at that time Death weren’t legendary, so we really didn’t care that much. Which is fine because I already knew I wasn’t the right bass player for his ideas. so it all worked out the way it was supposed to.

Was chuck someone that was easy to talk to, or was he difficult to get along with?  He seemed to be hard headed but also seemed to know exactly what he wanted.  Was he a control freak?

Erik -No, Chuck was a pretty easy going guy. A bit like Sean Penn's character Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, only not stoned. Chuck seem a little bit more square then that.  He knew what he wanted musically, but compared to some of the egomaniacs I've dealt with over the years he wasn't unpleasant at all.

Like a stoner surfer attitude?  He didn't really party?

Erik -I remember that he was really straight (no drugs) and kind of innocent when he first arrived in SF, but near the end of our run he changed.  
   
Oh come on, there must be some crazy stories from those days?  Something Death fans would find interesting?  Drinking?  Violence?  Drugging?  Hookers?

Erik -Lot's. but I don't think any of them involved Death. We went to keg parties and the like but it never got out of hand with regards to the three of us. 


What are your fondest memories of those 1985 Death days?

Erik - Chuck playing with Kittens at Eric Brechts place which was a storefront at Haight and Fillmore. I think its next door to that crepe place that’s there now.

Tell people about the music climate in the bay area at the time. I recall Janis was in bands (with Courtney Love), and you were always in multiple bands.

Erik -the San Francisco scene in the 1980s and mid 90s was a really amazing thing. It seemed as though everybody was either in a band or a bike messenger, or both. it was a pretty large scene of hundreds of people who were all trying to do something creative. Back then the idea of playing in a cover band or tribute band was unthinkable. if you were a musician you wanted to create something new and hopefully unique. Not like today where most musicians are fine playing in tribute bands, or, if they do deign to play original songs they go out of there way to sound like whatever everybody else is doing. Granted, the metal scene has fought the longest against that mentality. but back then, the concept of creating original, unique music was everywhere. Take hardcore for instance. RKL, DRI, NOFX , Rhythm Pigs, Victims Family, COC, MDC, Dwarves, may have all been super fast thrash bands, and usually friends, but they all put their own spin on the form.  Same with Bay Area Metal, Anvil Chorus,Exodus, Death Angel, Possessed.  Then throw in all the artsier bands like Tuxedomoon, Flipper, Melvins,Neurosis, Trial, Treason, a State Of Mind, Clown Alley, etc, etc, and you can kind of understand why I didn't think what Death were doing was particularly weird or groundbreaking. I mean it was but so were dozens and dozens of other bands at that time, just ground breaking, original, and unique in different ways.

                                                    A more modern Erik...

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

HUMAN GREED-Absolute(ly) Greedy(y) CD (1995)




















This is a compilation of all the bands recorded material.  My relationship came about with members of this band through an old Canadian friend named Simon Harvey.  Simon was raving about this Canadian grind outfit that had two singers that were mind blowing, and the perfect mesh of metal and hardcore.  Simon put out a split LP with Human Greed and Shitfit in 1993-94.  I fell in love with Human Greed prior to the album even coming out (as Simon leaked me a tape).  Over the years we (Monster X, and Devoid Of Faith) played many shows with these guys, and Monster X was even lucky enough to do a split 7" with them.  HG played in Albany with us I believe twice in the mid 90s, and we played in Canada with them.  We loved them as people and as a band.  They were hardworking animal rights and environmental people, and it came through in their music.  When these grindmasters broke up members went on to form Seized.  Freddy (the drummer) went on to play in State Of Fear (ex-Disrupt dudes).  I really miss these guys and think about Wag, Steph, Freddy, and Pat a lot.  They've been hard to track down over the years.  Hard to believe this junk is over 20 years old now.  Enjoy these 22 slices of grinding hardcore. 



















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RIP Jon Bunch AKA Johnny Scars Feb 1 2016























John sang in Reason To Believe and Sensefield.  Reason to believe blew my mind when I first heard them on a tape comp that also featured Our Gang, and Infest back in 1987.  Johns singing was that of someone who actually was very talented and had an amazing voice that somehow worked with a fast hardcore band.   A rarity as most of us who listen to the genre know.  I lost track of what he was doing over the years, but I'm saddened by his death at the young age of 45.  He was still doing music, and was a talented person.  I still get shivers down my spine when I hear his voice on any Reason To Believe recordings.  Rest In Power!


Monday, February 1, 2016

‎JUNTESS- Under The Red Moon (1991)



















More crushing Japanese hardcore that in my opinion was part of the early Burning Spirits movement of Japan.  My favorite thing about these guys is the guitarists guitar solos.  So cool, they literally never stop.  Might annoy some punx, but I think it will excite some metal heads that never heard anything like this.  Hardcore for fans of Bastard, and Death Side.  Pretty sure one of the members was in Crow.  Don't sleep on these 16 songs.  This is the bands only full length, and it was never released on vinyl.  Enjoy!

















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Wednesday, January 20, 2016

INSANIAC- Psychomania Demo tape (1987)


1.psychomania
2.quiet
3.circle of death
4.rabid fire
5.apocalypse warrior

More NJ thrash metal that is some how connected to No Refund.  These guys were from Bloomfield NJ I believe.  The song "Circle Of Death" is the winner on this tape.  It totally reminds me of early Exodus.  Most the other songs don't have that same feel, but are still above average neck snapping thrash.  The stuff is def influenced by the Bay Area thrash metal scene. This is the bands 2nd demo tape.. they released 6 of them.  Pretty sure someone released a Dbl LP with all the demo's on it? Enjoy...

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Sunday, January 10, 2016

DAS OATH-Rough Mix LP/CD (2003)


14 songs...

This was a rough mix which hadn't yet been mixed or sequenced for the record that came out in 2004 on Dimmak Records.  This session was a crazy experience.  Mark and I went to Holland, staying for two months to write and record the planned LP with Marcel and Jeroen.  We played shows around Europe on the weekends to help fund our stay.  We would write riffs in Jeroens living room and bedroom, then go to a squated building in the harbor of Rotterdam that had a bunch of practice spaces set up.  We'd spend many hours of the day at the squat practicing and writing these tunes.  It was pretty insane.  If I recall correctly the recording itself took 2 days, then another day to mix. I feel like this rough is pretty damn close to the actual mix we ended up with.  The process took longer than we had anticipated and I wasn't able to switch my flight back home to 'merica.  This meant I ended up leaving a day before we were 100% done with the mix.  This CD was ripped by Dennis (the Engineer) so that I'd have something to listen to on the air plane ride back home.  Dennis recorded a bunch of the Sinister records.  This is one of my favorite records that I've ever played on (DOF/Voorhees split, and JBA LP being the others I'd feel equally as proud of).

 

Sunday, December 20, 2015

BRUTAL OBSCENITY ‎– Dream Out Loud LP (1991)























I'd posted this Dutch bands first LP a few months back.  I was turned onto them by a long time follower of this blog JBM (Julian).  Again.. I discovered these guys way late in the game.  I avoided them for some dumb reason.  I guess because their records were always available at Worlds records in Albany.  I think took them for granted and thought Worlds and those LPs would always be there.  Also the cartoonish artwork always struck me as to silly to buy.  Stoked to have recently gotten this one.  Cool obscure European crossover. Enjoy!

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Just Another Show... comic that I did in 1995


Thursday, December 3, 2015

THE DEAD ONES-s/t LP (2003)




















I met these guys when the Oath toured Europe once, and we ended up playing a gig in Umea Sweden with these youngins.  I loved their old school hardcore/punk sound, and did a few records with them  (a 7" and then this LP).  Robert the guitarist went on to play in the Regulations and Vicious.  These dudes were all really nice folks.  I've tried to track them all down on different social media sites with zero luck over the years.  Would love to know what these talented dudes ended up doing post Dead Ones.  Enjoy these 16 smoking songs…

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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

JUDGE- Live in Cleveland (August 17-1989)

1.Intro/Take me away
2.In my way
3.Hear me
4.Hold me back
5.I've lost
6.Just like you
7.NY crew
8.The storm
9.Fed up
10.Where it went

Got this one via tape trading back in the day.  Pretty great set by these NYC HC Straight edge legends.  These were the days… I don't recall reunions, or other crap happening back then.  It seemed like it was all about the now.  I lived in Albany at the end of the 80's, and we saw all the Rev NYHC bands almost every weekend.  It was hard to avoid Sick Of It All, Youth Of Today, Warzone, or Token Entry, they really did make Albany a home away from home.  Its impossible to explain to people who weren't arount back then just how much energy some of these bands had, and how it gripped the audience and had them exploding as well.  Seeing these bands was a blast, but it was happening so often that it had some of us seeking out other genres of hardcore/punk.  I had a love hate thing with NYHC… today its about the love.  I will post the Underdog set from Albany in 1986 soon.  Enjoy!

Thursday, November 26, 2015

DEATHRAGE- Self Conditioned self limited (1989)



1.hard times are coming
2.killing for fame
3.U.S. of redskins
4.self-limited
5.call of death
6.black and white progress
7.masters of nothing
8.deathrage

I love this Italian thrash metal album.  I knew it was Italian the first time hearing it based on the cowbell.  Total Raw Power influence there…haha.  But seriously it def has a European feel to the song writing and production.  I can see them being confused for a German thrash band as well.  I do hear some crossover in their sound.  Obviously these Italians were influenced by the likes of DRI, COC, Raw Power and the Suicidals along with more metal acts like Dark Angel, Exodus, and Sadus.  This came out during a time when underground thrash was exploding.  It seemed like there was a thrash band in every suburban town worldwide.  I miss those days of tape trading, and discovering new bands from everywhere.  I love the ant-satanic stance they took lyrically.  They dwelved more into social/political lyrically which probably comes from the crossover or hardcore influence on the band.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2015

GLEE CLUB-Looking 7" (1989)


1.Elephant head
2.Ignorance
3.Not to late
4.Role model
5.These Things
6.Looking

When I first moved back to Albany NY from S.F.  in around 1989 I met Brian who was the drummer of Glee Club skating at the Empire state plaza.  He proceeded to introduce me to a lot of great friends that I still have today.
This record has a lot of meaning to me because its the first record I was ever involved in putting out, and everyone involved were dear friends.  There were three or four of us that lived in the Albany area that loved watching Glee Club live and we wanted to help them get something out.  I had just moved back from California and couldn't stop using the term Hella cool for everything, so it became the name of our label.  Glee Club were like 15 and 16 year old kids who loved having a good time and playing hardcore shows.  I personally drove these guys down to Inner Ear studios to record because they worshipped that D.C. scene.  The record didn't turn out as raw as the band sounded live, but the songs are all catchy and hold a special place in my heart.  These straightedge kids were influenced by the Descendants, 7 Seconds, the Clash and Minor Threat.  These guys sounded emo before any of us knew of the word.

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Friday, November 20, 2015

BRUTAL TRUTH- Birth Of Ignorance demo (1990)



1.Birth of ignorance
2.Stench of profit
3.Anti-homophobe
4.Consumer  Mentality

Oh man I found some tapes in the basement tonight. I havent listened to this one since the mid 90's… Its so great, it really had me excited relisening to it again after all these years.  This demo is when the band was just a three piece (guitarist and drummer did the grunts, and growls).  B.T. along with Terrorizer and Napalm Death are what got me motivated to play in Monster X and write grind riffs in the early 90's.  Obviously nothing we did could ever compare to any of these legends, but they def are the reason we did what we did.
 I bought this demo at Erl records in Albany shortly after it came out.  Dave and Jack went on and on about how cool these guys were, and how I needed this demo.  I bought it and was floored by the four songs.  A few years later I ended up meeting members of the band at Erl as Jack and Dave set up a show for them at Bogies.  One of the band members got busted prior to the show shoplifting breakfast sausages at the price chopper in Albany.  A fond memory I have of seeing them live is when they played Saratoga Winners with some Capital District mosh metal band called Cutthroat.  Cuthhroat played… like 150 kids were going nuts to them.  They get done, and everyone leaves the gig except for me, and like three other friends.  We went to the very front of this huge stage (came up to my chin), and Brutal Truth played to us like they were playing to a million folks.  It was life changing, and impacted  me tremendously.  Total heroes. There are only four songs on this tape but they are crucial for grind/crust fiends.

Share BT Birth Of Ignorance 1990 demo.zip - 26 MB

Thursday, November 19, 2015

RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIFE s/t LP (2000)

1.Thirty eight milligrams
2.Hold your breath
3.My dead friends and those who may as well be dead
4.Trust is a good concept in theory
5.The straw that broke the camels back
6.Slow veins
7.Still beating heart
8.Natural selection
9.Gone
10.'88 kid
11.Scathed 2000

I met members of this band while I was on an extended stay with my buddy Mark McCoy in California.  We were doing a promotional gig for work, and we ended up staying in a house that our friend Justin Pearson lived in with a bunch of other cats in San Diego.  It was a crazy time, and I have tons of really cool memories about it all.  At any rate I first met a member of RFYFL at Pokez (a Mexican food joint that every one seemed to eat at).  I think he might have worked there?  Whomever it was gave me a unmixed tape or CD of this LP.  I immediatly cranked it in the truck we were driving around the U.S. in.  I fell in love with the recording right away and Mark really nudged me to put it out.  The bands music didn't have anything to do with the "San Diego sound" that had become very popular.  It was straight up, in your face, pissed of 80's styled hardcore thrash.  It reminded me of elements of Poison Idea and Negative Approach (with some more modern epic crust parts).  The sort of stuff I grew up on.  The recording and sound were so genuine that you could feel the hate/ confusion in the songs.  It wasn't manufactured or fake… it felt like these guys not only hated their audience, but hated one another.  After talking to Justin about it, and him telling me that nobody in town was willing to put it out, I tracked down Jeff who played drums for the band, and co-owned a record shop in the area.  A totally sweet guy who I'm still in touch with today.  The rest is history.  They mixed the record, got me artwork and I pressed it up and sold 1000 Lp's.  Not the most popular band ever, but thats not what hardcore is supposed to be about, right?  Still one of my favorite Gloom releases.  If you see it in a used bin grab it up.  Enjoy the tunes!

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GASTUNK-The Fans 7" (1986)

1.Devil
2.Sex
3.Fastest dream
songs one and two are in one track…

I was turned onto these guys by my good buddy Louis who turned me onto almost all things 1980's Japanese.  I hated a lot of it at the time, but this one hit home due to its heavy metal brilliance.  Most all my hc/punk peers disliked this one claiming it was to metal.  Yup.. metal it is.  Catchy and anthematic.  Side B is def weird, really no idea what they were thinking but I like it just the same. Most people will hate it (unless you like Loudness mixed with free jazz).  Gastunk featured ex members from Lip Cream, The Comes, Execute, etc.The only problem I have with this record is that side B's "fastest dream" is so long that it kinda fucks up the sound of the song by the very end the quality gets worse … its over 7 mins. long.  I found this one in the water logged back room of Worlds Records in Albany NY.  Took it up to the counter with its $2.99  price sticker on the sleeve hoping that Buzz (the dude behind the counter) wasn't going to charge me some inflated price like they sometimes did.  He put down his acoustic guitar and charged me $2.99.  I left a very happy camper.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

BIG GULP-Hard to swallow 7" (1987)

1.Hard to Swallow
2.Son of a landlord
3.tongue tied
4.fascist youth
5.Rock Hudson
6.Bossman sucks
7.Anorexia

I saw these guys a lot back in the day, probably way to much actually.  Live they always reminded me of a poor mans Murphy's Law or A.O.D.  because their shows were always so "wacky" and fun.  Sorta reminded me of what was going on in NJ at the time with all the Buy Our Records bands.  I recall driving my friends from Glee Club up to CT from Albany to play a show, and these guys were the headliners.  They also used to play the Anthrax a lot.  Years later one of the bands I played in drove up to CT to play and surprise... We played with the mighty Big Gulp.  I've been looking for the bands demo for years.  This 7" is a total dollar bin rager.  To really appreciate bands like these guys and bands like Affirmative Action one had to live on the east coast in the 1980's, and sit through the endless wave of NYC hardcore bands that played to large crowds of mostly straight edge jock kids.  I loved a lot of that stuff, but bands like Big Gulp were refreshing in that very dogmatic scene.  Don't get me wrong seeing Underdog, Sick Of It All, Warzone, YOT, and Judge every weekend was great, but like I said bands like this broke all that stuff up for me, and made me remember just how cliche and hyped that NYC scene was at the time.

Share big gulp-hard to swallow ep.zip - 25 MB

Sunday, November 15, 2015

FRATRICIDE/ MISSION OF CHRIST Split 7" (1987)




Loved this crossover beauty.  Both bands were from Canada.  Fratricide have a very AF Cause For Alarm sound to them, mostly vocally.   M.O.C. have more of an Accused style they are ripping.  I love both sides.  I was turned onto this release by Simon Harvey who was my Canadian hc connection at the time. It took me a few years to track this puppy down to add to my collection (thanks once again Wedge).  Enjoy this shit…

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Sample:

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

MEATWAGON- Drink, Fight, Fuck 7" (1989)


1.drink, fight, and fuck
2.murderer
3.evil twin
4.econo buy more beer
5.I am god syndrome
6.calling all cars

These guys formed in around 1987 out of San Diego California. The band was overlooked in my opinion mainly because they were a " D. Moody" Mystic Records band.  Everyone I know hated this label based on its bad reputation, and to this day Many are still writing off most the bands on label as a waste of wax.  Moody is still alive and well into his 80's.  Myself I loved much of the labels output, specifically RKL, Dr. Know, and Ill Repute.
Brief history for those not familiar with the label:
Dude bought a studio in LA in the 1980, and converted it from a 2 track studio into an 8 track studio.  He would approach punk/hardcore bands about recording there, and putting out a record on his label.  He charged the bands to record at the studio and then worked that payment against future royalties of the record he put out.  Many of the bands claimed to be ripped off because of this way of doing business.  Between 1982-1989 the label released over 200 punk/hardcore records.  Pretty crazy...
At any rate I love this thrashy beast.  Enjoy the tunes!

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Sunday, November 8, 2015

SANHEDRIN- Answer The Call 7" (1993)

1. Answer the call
2. When the antlers collide

Elk Metal!!!  This is one of the many projects/bands that Jim Konya did before his untimely demise in October of this year.  Far to young...Dude was a total in it for life raging metalhead who played drums in Nunslaughter, Apartment 213, The Spawn Of Satan, Hangnail, Schnauzer, Satanic Threat, Sloth, Blood Of Christ and many, many more.  This is one of the many records he gave me over the years. Dude would just hand you a pile of records if he knew you and thought you would appreciate the stuff.  This is an obvious parody band that he did on a 4 track in '93.  A cool project that only recorded these two songs.  Mix viking metal with Carcass and some low fi grind and you have Sanhedrin.  RIP Jim Konya, you'll forever be missed by metalheads and punks everywhere.

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Saturday, November 7, 2015

DEATHSQUAD-Demo Sessions



This was recorded in 2002 or 2003.  Five songs in all were recorded by Will at Dead Air Studios in Western MA. For a demo tape we sold.  Four of these demo songs we later put out on a 7".  The fifth song "Attack And Retreat" we later re-recorded for the Youth Attack Records 7" that McCoy put out.  I've included the demo version of that song with this file.  Its the last song on here.  I think initially it was recorded for the Mein Comp 7" but McCoy decided against using it.  I think the song was to long to be on a 7" compilation with 9 other bands.  This was a fun band to do with my good friends Mark Telfian, Barker, and Eric.  More info and thoughts about the band if you look and read an older post I did upping the Youth Attack ep. We had an entire LPs worth of material written and practiced.  Just never recorded the stuff.  Total bummer, and a huge regret for me.   Enjoy the tunes

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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

NO REFUND-Cross Core Demo tape (1989)


What happens when you get a bunch of heshers from the 'burbs of New Jersey, who most likely live and die by Anthrax, Exodus, and Slayer…Then you turn them onto S.O.D. and Adrenalin OD?  I'd say you get something like this.  Silly injokes played by dudes that can actually play their instruments, but just wanna piss people off and have some fun.  I'm not sure if they released much else, but there are 22 songs on this tape.  Funny to think these guys came out of Glen Ridge NJ (around 7 miles from my house).  Enjoy this obscure rarity.

Share No Refund-1989 demo tape.zip - 68 MB

Sample:

Monday, October 5, 2015

GAUZE - 限界は何処だ CD (1991)




The mighty Gauze… I'm posting this because I'd recently heard a rumor that these gods finally broke up.  They've been a band since 1981.  When I was on tour in Japan back in 2002 I met the drummer and the guitarist.  To watch the Japanese kids interact with members of this band was really oddly enjoyable.  The amount of respect that these guys get from their local fan base is insane.  Watching a teen boy bow repeatedly to the drummer will forever be etched in my mind.  This CD has two tracks
 on it. The first track is the entire album, and the second track is a live gig in Scotland from 1989.  

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

The REPOS/FOURTEEN OR FIGHT Split 7"

Fourteen Or Fight Side:
1.Revenge of the latchkey kids
2.Agressive collector
3.combo amp a go go
4.godless America
The Repos Side:
5.no control
6.one last time
7.fugitive family 2
8.haha hardcore
9.alright!?!
10.fast decline
11.hollow trees

I put this one out many years ago on my label.  Pretty sure it was both bands first vinyl appearance.  I remember hearing the Repos demo in my bedroom in Albany NY… I was floored.  Totally reminded me of Septic Death meets Infest in some really warped way. So When I talked to Aaron from the Repos and he told me they were supposed to do a split with Fourteen Or Fight and it couldn't happen for whatever reason I jumped at the chance to help them out by releasing it.  Fourteen Or Fight was my old room mate Jon Arends hc band after Charles Bronson.  The band also featured Frank on vox who years earlier fronted the legendary MK Ultra.  The copy I have up on here is the limited to 30 copies or something… how can you go wrong with an 11 song 7".  Enjoy and Share

http://www.mediafire.com/download/l4n25442jp4ts45/the_Repos_Fourteen_Or_Fight_split_ep.zip

Monday, September 21, 2015

KURO-15 Song Fanclub CD


I hung out with some Japanese hc friends this weekend, and that got me thinking about this band. For those who don't know...Kuro are one of the more legendary Japanese punk bands from the early wave of 80's punk/hardcore.  Members were rumored to be low level muscle for the Japanese mob (yakuza), so it even made the band more interesting and dangerous to lots of us listeners.  Vocalist Morikawa and guitarist Hide are supposedly dead according to other members of the band, so thankfully there will never be a crappy reunion.
 I was first introduced to the band in 1989 by my friend Louis who was at the forefront of international tape trading (mainly Japanese and Scandinavian bands). In those days I can count on one hand Americans that I knew that were into that stuff.   I must admit that when I first heard the Kuro and Gism I thought it was awful.  It wasn't until many rides to the Anthrax club with Louis in his red pick up truck that I finally got it.  Those long rides and endless rumored stories about the bands finally broke me down and I finally got it.  Even back in 1989 people were paying ridiculous prices for these collectable records.  Obviously a lot has changed.  Now Japanese hardcore isn't as obscure as it once was, its actually become super popular and sorta trendy worldwide.  This is a boot that compiles the bands hard to decipher discography.  Enjoy the Tunes, download and share with the world.

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