It is time for Maximum Rocknroll #395, the April 2016 issue! It’s another loaded issue of DIY punk’s greatest monthly mag. We hope you’re ready; we’ve got interviews with some of the most exciting bands in the contemporary punk landscape. Chicago’s NEGATIVE SCANNER talk about DIY in their hometown, their songwriting process, their still-expanding musical vocabulary and touring the US in a “soccer mom van.” Philly’s SOUL GLO and Temecula’s the COLTRANES dish on their respective brands of weirdo hardcore punk, and Brazil’s the PESSIMISTSexplain their musical approach, their upcoming tour plans and their origins in a São Paulo head shop.
This issue also features a huge special on three of this year’s most promising punk fests, giving us an opportunity to sit down with some of the most organized, energized, creative and resourceful punks out there. “Anti” Christian of Oakland’s Manic Relapse explains how he pulled their insane lineup of domestic and international bands and talks about carving out an inviting space while managing the fest’s hard-partying reputation. Everything Is Not OK organizer Roz Adams paints a portrait of the punk artist as a young man and shows where the Oklahoma City fest falls in a continually inspirational landscape of artists and musicians. Lastly Chris Moore and Nick Tape, the folks behind Damaged City, map out DC’s legacy as both an American metropolis with a long history in hardcore punk and a place where creating punk and expanding the scope of a fest takes constant work and commitment.
On the global media front, we were able to speak with the filmmakers of the upcoming three-part documentary series Bogotá Punk. Last but not least: an uncompromising interview with Berlin/Munich’s HeartFirst Records conducted by the late Filip Fuchs. Of course, we know not even all this is enough for you: this also comes with hundreds of reviews, a photo spread by Martin Sorrondeguy, all your favorite columnists (Turbo & Gang are taking their Oi! column in an exciting new direction) and the long-awaited return of the classifieds section. It’s no joke.
You can also order this issue by mail by sending $4.99 in the US, $7 Canada, $9 Mexico, or $11 worldwide to: MRR • PO Box 460760 • San Francisco, CA 94146 • USA …or just SUBSCRIBE!
Still available: MRR #394 • March 2015 issue…
Punk noise from Korea’s SCUMRAID, San Francisco post-punk COLD BEAT, Glaswegian hardcore from CLOCKED OUT, the Landlords (Charlottesville, VA true hardcore weirdos of the mid-’80s), Minneapolis’s CONSTANT INSULT, Helsinki’s DARFÜR, UTAH JAZZ from Buffalo, UAE scene report, and a “This Is Austin, Not That Great” photo spread.
“New Blood” is our weekly feature spotlighting new bands from around the world! See below for info on how to submit. Now, check out some killer new shit…
Artwork by Theresa Moher
Band name:
BODY PRESSURE
Date & location formed:
August 2015 / Austin, TX
Reason for forming:
After Faiza left Hatred Surge and put Mindless on hold for the time being, she wanted to pursue doing another band but something different. Tired of being in bands with all white men, all men or feeling like her voice wasn’t being heard, Melissa and Faiza started talking about forming a band. Eventually, they approached Bryan Taylor who had already played with Faiza in several bands, with their ideas. Tommy and Melissa worked together at a burrito shop in North Texas years
before. and it turns out Tommy’s band and Faiza & Bryan’s old band had played together in California at some point, so when we locked ourselves in the practice space- it just clicked.
What are your lyrics about?
Being a woman, Being a person of color, Being a person of color who is a woman. My father being beaten because he is an Arab immigrant. My mother being whipped in school for speaking her native language. My family, my people being treated like trash their entire lives because of our culture, our skin color and who we are. All the bigotry, hatred, self-doubt, self-hatred and bullshit we drudge through every single goddamn day. This world and the shit and human that fill it with toxic waste.
How would you describe your sound?
Hardcore with a purpose.
Body Pressure (photo by Dave Creaney)
What’s in the future for this band?
We released our demo and played our first show in October of 2015 with G.L.O.S.S (which was so sick!) and have been poppin’ around playing shows and fests like This is Austin, Not that Great and Everything is Not OK. We hope to release a 12” this summer and tour the US.
Date & location formed:
March 2015 in Buenos Aires, Capital Federal.
Reason for forming:
We all had hardcore punk bands before and decided to make a band together to play something different in our scene. Our first gig was in september 2015 for the release of our first demo on tape, since then we played only 8 gigs in our city and another near cities in Argentina and we’ve been very active.
What are your lyrics about?
In the demo lyrics are about a spanish anarchist called Lucio Urtubia, a bad trip on drugs, how society is fucked up in our country, etc.
How would you describe your sound?
Pop music but really noisy and loud, vocals with lots of reverb and fuzzy guitars, some synths and influence from 90’s sound, kind of post punk with some shoegaze.
What’s in the future for this band?
We’re about to release a 7″ with 2 new songs, very different from our demo, punk with audio samples and synths, planning to record an LP later this year and touring and hanging around as much as we can.
Date & location formed:
Summer 2015 in Oakland, California.
Violence (photo by Carlos Garcia)
Reason for forming:
We wanted to play punk with just girls, no boys, no bullshit.
What are your lyrics about?
Dominance, anarchy, female power…basically bubblegum punk and BDSM. Our singer is a domme and she is writing about her daily life and songs about our girl gang.
How would you describe your sound?
Catchy bass heavy primitive pogo with no guitar.
What’s in the future for this band?
To keep having a blast & causing chaos. We’ll be playing Manic Relapse Fest in April, and we have a lot of California shows coming up but we really want to tour and see our friends worldwide. Most importantly, we hope to influence other women to start their own bands. Krystal, our drummer, didn’t know how to play drums six months before we recorded our demo, Lexy was briefly in one other band years ago and this is Amanda’s first time writing riffs. Amelia was in Cervix, but we all still feel like we’re really new to this. Basically, anyone can do this, and we hope you will, too. Punk is not a boys club!
Do you have or know of an awesome new band*? It’s easy to submit to be in MRR’s New Blood feature — just email us the following info, and keep keeping’ it real…
1) Band name:
2) Date & location formed:
3) Reason for forming:
4) What are your lyrics about?
5) How would you describe your sound?
6) What’s in the future for this band?
7) Links and contact info:
Along with the answers please send a band photo at least 600px on the longest side (with photo credits), and a logo if you have one, to:
*By “new band” we mean a band that formed within the past year or year and a half.
Rotten Ron – Noise Noise Glorious Noise
DXM – Solution
MUTANT CROSS – Power Control
MUTANT ITCH – Gruesome Bite
DD OWEN – I Hate This City
CHAOS TRIBE – Hate
Ref- Suck It Nancy!
FINAL CONFLICT – Political Glory
D.O.A. – Fucked Up Ronnie
REAGAN YOUTH – Reagan Youth
D.R.I. – Reaganomics
DIRECT CONTROL – Ronnie’s Dead
SHATTERED FAITH – Reagan Country
Halberto VO5 – Say No To Nancy
POSERS – Nothing
DOGTEETH – No Brains
RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS – Time To Let Her Go
THE UGLY – Screw The System
HARDSKIN – The Bovver Boys Don’t Bother Anymore
Rotten Ron is No Longer Fucked Up
CROWN COURT – We Made You
ELECTROCUTIONER – Belligerants
CRAZY SPIRIT – Whisper/Come a Little Closer/People Follow
SODA BOYS – Doghouse
STRANGERS – Fuck Up
Halberto’s Bits and Pieces
PARASYTES – Paranoid Visions
ASSASSINATE – Urgency
GENERACION SUICIDA – Yo No Quiero Nada
Outro song:
GG ALLIN AND ANTISEEN – Violence Now!
Maximum Rocknroll Radio is a weekly radio show and podcast featuring DIY punk, garage rock, hardcore, and more from around the world. Our rotating cast of DJs picks the best of the best from MRR magazine’s astounding, ever-growing vinyl archive. You can find MRR Radio archives, specials, and more at radio.maximumrocknroll.com. Thanks for listening!
“New Blood” is our weekly feature spotlighting new bands from around the world! See below for info on how to submit. Now, check out some killer new shit…
Band name:
ODIO
Date & location formed:
Oakland, CA end of 2015.
Odio (photo by Martin Crudo)
Reason for forming:
Most of us have been friends for close to ten years. This is the first time we have all lived on the same coast. And with the addition of our little angel hair drummer from the land of lasagna we formed this band to reach out to the youth, the future of punk.
What are your lyrics about?
All of our songs are about the fight to legitimize and acknowledge “mythical animals” and solidify their place in our society. If more people believed in unicorns, there would be more unicorns. Its a simple matter really, its a shame we still need to address these issues in 2016.
How would you describe your sound?
The darkest deepest depths 80’s Japanese hardcore.
What’s in the future for this band?
About to release a 7″ on Nightrider Records, tour and crush hardcore forever.
Links and contact info:
Band name: MIGRAINE
Date & location formed:
Fall 2015 / Austin, TX.
Reason for forming:
Bex had recently moved back to Austin after spending some time living in Olympia & Portland. They totally fell in love with the DIY queer hardcore/punk music scene in the PNW and realized it was definitely something that was missing- or maybe just lacking- in Austin. When Bex moved back, Schuyler texted them randomly one day and asked if they wanted to start a band and Bex was like “actually… yeah. I wanna yell really loud.” Raine had been wanting to play really fast and heavy bass, something different from her other band, Mean Girls. We wanted to start a band that was totally DIY. We didn’t wanna play at bars because we were real sick of a lot of the punk shows being at bars here (though lately Bex has been booking more shows at Monkeywrench Books and This Is Austin Not That Great has been booking shows at Tamale House, so that’s cool.) Really our goal was for our music to be as accessible as possible, especially to queer & trans folks and underage kids. We found our drummer, Alex, immediately, and Raine started playing in Migraine a couple months after. Schuyler, Raine and Alex had never played this kind of music before, and Bex had never sang before, so it was a very new and exciting thing for all of us. Everything kind of fell into place after that.
What are your lyrics about?
Learning how to defend yourself, living with depression & a depersonalization disorder, overcoming all of the guilt & shame that comes with being raped, making yourself totally vulnerable and asking for help and also reminding yourself that asking for help is an okay thing to do, letting go of people you love who have emotionally abused & manipulated you, being objectified, struggling with dysphoria, calling out people who only speak out against violence against women and queer and trans people when it benefits them, finding a strong sense of autonomy after feeling like you haven’t been in control of your own body or emotions for a really long time.
How would you describe your sound?
Very raw, very angry, very heavy, very honest. A little noisy at times. Also fun to dance to in my very honest opinion.
Migraine (photo by Dave Creaney)
What’s in the future for this band?
We just recorded our demo which will be out on tape soon if it hasn’t already been released by the time this weekly New Blood is published. We’ll have some pretty sick t-shirts in a couple months. We’re touring the midwest this summer with our demo and a ~summer tour tape~. We want to try and do a west coast tour later this year or early next year. We’re going to have a lot of fun.
Date & location formed:
Been together for almost a year now…
Reason for forming:
We were kinda bored with what was going around us….
What are your lyrics about?
The lyrics cover a multitude of things such as alienation, paranoia state mind control, and struggling within your own self…
How would you describe your sound?
An aggressive and more contemporary version of Christain death.
What’s in the future for this band?
We have released a 7″ Flexi which comes with a fanzine showcasing some great artists from around Australia. We plan on releasing two more…
Date & location formed:
December 2015, Portland (although we had the idea in October).
Reason for forming:
Tekiah needed to be in a band.
What are your lyrics about?
Feminism, wrestling, and punk—one of our songs is all quotes from Stone Cold Steve Austin.
How would you describe your sound?
Classic 80s American Hardcore, Minor Threat.
What’s in the future for this band?
Write more songs, dub more tapes, play more shows, piledrive the patriarchy, raise money for the abortion fund (Network for Reproductive Options) via our bowling team, go to California
in August; Sabotage Records will put out our
demo tape in Europe, so be on the lookout.
Do you have or know of an awesome new band*? It’s easy to submit to be in MRR’s New Blood feature — just email us the following info, and keep keeping’ it real…
1) Band name:
2) Date & location formed:
3) Reason for forming:
4) What are your lyrics about?
5) How would you describe your sound?
6) What’s in the future for this band?
7) Links and contact info:
Along with the answers please send a band photo at least 600px on the longest side (with photo credits), and a logo if you have one, to:
*By “new band” we mean a band that formed within the past year or year and a half.
Rippers
A-FRAMES – Modula
TRADITIONAL FOOLS – Milkman
NEGATIVE SCANNER – Ivy League Asshole
BABY SHAKES – She’s A Star
WIMPS – Vampire
CATHOLIC SPIT – Sick Sick Sex
RIPPERS – I Wanna Know Sometime About
PAMPERS – Right Tonight
THE MODERNS – The Year Of Today
NERVOUS TALK – Different Person
Ragers
TORSO – Reflections On A Damaged Life
MODERN PROBLEMS – Foolish Times
DISSEKERAD – Morkret Tilltar
THE EXPLOITED – Don’t Forget The Chaos
CAVE STATE – Scarce/Tyrant
LIFESPITE – Dead In A Ditch
CONDITION – Blood Without End
TRAU – Doblers/Masses
F – In Control
YOUTH BRIGADE – Bouncer
THE NUKES – Give Up
PMS 84 – Creep
DAMAGED HEAD – Pissed Off
AGENT ATTITUDE – Deranged Realities
WARHEAD – To Publish The Truth Now
Outro song:
NEUROSIS – Pain Of Mind
Maximum Rocknroll Radio is a weekly radio show and podcast featuring DIY punk, garage rock, hardcore, and more from around the world. Our rotating cast of DJs picks the best of the best from MRR magazine’s astounding, ever-growing vinyl archive. You can find MRR Radio archives, specials, and more at radio.maximumrocknroll.com. Thanks for listening!
“New Blood” is our weekly feature spotlighting new bands from around the world! See below for info on how to submit. Now, check out some killer new shit…
Band name:
RADIATION RISKS
Date & location formed:
December 2015, Buffalo NY.
Reason for forming:
Nicky mentioned the idea to John one night when we were very drunk, and bad ideas grow out of drunkenness like mushrooms out of shit. Biffy (whom you may know from Al Quint’s column as “The Ubiquitous Biff Bifaro”) is never one to turn down a bad idea, so he was obviously on board. Plus, he had already been in every other band ever, so he was totally out of options. Steve, our sax-man, may have thought we said “funk” not “punk.” And we rounded out the lineup by telling Mike D that this was actually a cooking position at very high end restaurant. It all worked out fine though.
What are your lyrics about?
We sing about shades of colors, directions, lipstick, purses, spiders, sleeping, real estate, Oreos, doing drugs, getting around, other people’s prayers, and new age funny stuff. You know, the usual.
How would you describe your sound?
It’s dummy punk for bizzaro idiots. It’s total ham-handed Geza X worship made by a bunch of mutant long hairs. You like Dangerhouse? You might like this nonsense.
What’s in the future for this band?
We came from the future, so chances are we’ll return to 2016 at some point down the line.
Date & location formed:
March 2015, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Reason for forming:
We hated our lives. The lead singer had a chronic masturbation problem so we put a bass guitar in his grubby hands.
What are your lyrics about?
City psychos, scum bags, outstretched minds, perverts, teenage chemists, mufflers with holes,
boards with nails in them and gatorade.
How would you describe your sound?
Rock n roll flash with a bad rash.
What’s in the future for this band?
Spreading like the plague (more jam than peanut butter).
Ultra Gash (photo by A Willett (click to view their website)
Links and contact info:
Instagram:
@dirtygiggles
@von_hagler
@_bobbywilliams_ trenchrash.bandcamp.com
Band name:
ANNIHILITIA
Date & location formed:
Early 2015, Singapore.
Reason for forming:
Ariff(vocalist/guitarist) was the one who rounded everyone up. We all had an interest in trying something a little different musically.. so it worked out quite well.
What are your lyrics about?
Reflections on the past and present, suggestions (based on patterns) about the future.
How would you describe your sound?
Groove punk.
What’s in the future for this band?
We just released a small round of demo CDs. Working on new material before we see where that takes us.
Do you have or know of an awesome new band*? It’s easy to submit to be in MRR’s New Blood feature — just email us the following info, and keep keeping’ it real…
1) Band name:
2) Date & location formed:
3) Reason for forming:
4) What are your lyrics about?
5) How would you describe your sound?
6) What’s in the future for this band?
7) Links and contact info:
Along with the answers please send a band photo at least 600px on the longest side (with photo credits), and a logo if you have one, to:
*By “new band” we mean a band that formed within the past year or year and a half.
You can SUBSCRIBE to Maximum Rocknroll for as little as $26.00 and have over 120 pages of punk sent to you every month! Hundreds of record reviews, exclusive features and interviews, all your favorite columnists and much, much more. Get it all right here.
Out now! MRR #395 • Apr 2016
Fest Mania special edition: Oakland’s Manic Relapse, Washington’s Damaged City, and Oklahoma City’s Everything Is Not OK. Also: NEGATIVE SCANNER from Chicago, Brazil’s the PESSIMISTS, SOUL GLO from Philadelphia, Temecula hardcore from the COLTRANES, Bogotá Punk documentary series, HeartFirst Records interview, and a photo spread by Martin Sorrondeguy.
Recent Comments