Trash Talk / Interview

"They wade through pestilence. We call them wasted youth. The kids are running restless without a single fucking thing to lose. Give them enough rope and they'll fucking hang themselves for lack of things to do". One of the more impressive bands I've heard and seen in the last couple of years is California's Trash Talk. They have a sound all of their own that is bleak, urgent and truly violent. After doing EP's on various labels, they recently recorded an album with the musical prodigy known as Steve Albini and will be on tour forever, or at least until doomsday. I had a brief talk with their singer Lee...

What's up Lee? What's good?
Not much really. I'm in Philly at Mook's house chillin' out till tour starts on the 28th. We are going out for 57 shows straight. That is the most we have ever done. It will be an epic journey of life. Philadelphia is one of my favorite cities ever so I try to make the most of any down time we get here. I'm gonna head out to the Blacklisted record release on Sunday. I'm pretty siked on that gig.

Trash Talk just finished recording for an album at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini, how was that? You recorded the whole thing in 2 days, how did that work out?
It was a good experience. They had a lot of people working there/working for you so it made a lot of things pretty easy. We prefer to record all of the music live. Steve also likes to work this way so it went pretty smooth. We recorded the music the first day and then did vocals/mixing on the second day.













What's recording with Steve Albini like? Did he offer a lot of advice or bring any of his own ideas to the table? What is he like as a person, from what you could tell? The one time I saw Shellac he was wearing these weird tight jeans and an XL Burzum shirt.
It was awesome. He kinda just set us up with the tones/sounds we were looking for then let us do our own thing with a little incite here and there. He seemed a little weird but who doesn't. The guy definitely had a lot of childhood stories to share which was pretty cool. This time around he was rockin' some wild Electrical Audio coverall jumpsuit.













How did you come up with the idea to record with him? Were there any specific aspects of his past work that prompted you to work with him, or was it more like a gut instinct?
It was Garrett's idea. We all dig a lot of his past work so he got at them and it just happened to work out. We wanted to record this LP analog and that is Albini's preferred method of recording. The dude refuses to touch the computers. That is what we wanted so we went for it. We made the drive straight from California to Chicago with a few jail stops on the way. That was pretty wild to say the least.

Does the album have a title already? If so, what is it?
Yes it does.. Trash Talk:
















Lyrically, Trash Talk's subject matter has always been rather bleak and pissed off. Has that changed at all? What kind of evolution would you say you have gone through from "Walking Disease" to "Plagues" to the new shit?
The plot thickens...

Surprisingly after doing an EP with Malfunction/Deathwish you have decided to release the upcoming LP yourselves, with some help here and there. Is that a case of you guys wanting total control over everything involved with the process of putting out a record? Or more of a challenge? What do you think the advantages are?
Self releasing our own records is something that we have been wanting to do for a while. It is sort of a challenge but so is everything else. Doing it this way ensures that our record will be exactly what we want it to be. There will be no one to blame except for ourselves if something gets fucked up. We are all really siked on how well everything has been going. Running a record label is always something I have wanted to do so this opportunity is golden.

Trash Talk tours pretty much non stop. What is it that makes you love touring so much? What drives you to do what you do?
My goal has been to see as much as I can and stay away from home as much as possible. I have been doing pretty good at this lately. There is nothing for me at home anymore. All of the familiar faces have blurred together except for a select few. Lately the van has been feeling a lot more comfortable than my bed.













What do you guys do to pass the time while you're in the van? Any games or other interesting occupations?
We smoke a lot of blunts and drink a lot of beer. We make fun of our drummer Ham a lot but it's all in good fun. Spencer likes to listen to the radio rather than just pick something on the iPod. I guess he gets more variety that way. Garrett likes to sleep. We just got this wild catholic prayer candle that looks super cool lit up in the dark. Lately we have been jammin' a lot of Beatles, David Bowie, Madball, OM, Floor, Infest. I have been been drinking mad energy drinks and trying to drive as far as I can before I pass out. That's always fun. Talking with Spencer about aliens/conspiracy theories is always a good time too. Having Chucky Edge with us for a little while was constant entertainment.

I can imagine dates, places, shows and faces just become one big blur after a while... What have been some of the most memorable moments/shows in recent Trash Talk history?
Our record release show in January was definitely one of our more memorable shows. It was a bunch of friends bands hanging out and raging. Tons of kids showed up. Kids flew out from a few different places. A lot of blood was spilled. Good times all around. The Allegiance (RIP)last show a few weeks back was rad. That band means a lot to me and a ton of other people in Northern California so it was cool to be able to take part in that show. It was a sold out 924 Gilman St. show. That is wild...













Rumor has it that Spencer and Garrett are Five Percenters... I don't know if that's true or not, please clarify...
I'm gonna let Garrett answer this one... "All praises be to Allah, Arm Leg Leg Arm Head".

After roaming the US for the next few months, you'll be in Europe in June... Do you have any expectations what so ever of Europe? You do know that weed is legal in Holland, right? For anyone out there wondering why the initial tour with BraceWar and True Colors got cancelled, could you briefly explain why that happened?
I don't want to have any expectations for Europe. I just wanna get over there and enjoy it. None of us have ever been over there so we just wanna see/do it all. Expecting things is how good times get ruined. If kids know us and are into it that will rule... If not I'm siked on the fact of playing overseas. Bracewar wasn't going to be able to make the tour due to work obligations and what not. We were going to be splitting all of the costs and what not so it just didn't work out. It's kind of a bummer but it happens. We will be heading to Europe in June and September this year and probably one more time in the winter. I can't wait. It's going to be a rager. Weed being legal = Heaven on earth.

Last of all, what have you been listening to as of late? What bands have kept you excited about hardcore?
Sabertooth Zombie, Trapped Under Ice, Violation, War Hungry, Antidote, Outburst, Justice.... There is tons more but my mind is blank right now....

That's it, thanks for your time Lee...
Thanks for the interview Bjorn. We will be hanging out in Euroland very soon....

Devil Inside: 36 Karat / A Retrospective Review

Self proclaimed Ghetto Metal from Kreuzberg, Berlin. Lyrics in German and Turkish. A record called "36 Karat"... Brilliant. This album is awesome in so many ways, I don't even know where to begin. Oh wait, I do...

I remember first hearing about this band sometime in early 2002, I don't know who told me about them but I do remember Rob from Born From Pain wearing one of their shirts (black logo printed on a black shirt - good style) and when we discussed the shirt (I've always loved shirt talk) I could tell he was excited about the band. A couple of months after that my old band played the same fest as them somewhere in Germany. Obviously I had to see what was going on. They went on somewhere in the middle of a 12 band marathon and just walked on stage like they were headlining and/or owned the place. I loved that. An obnoxious attitude and a lot of talking and swearing in German, which was fine by me because once they started playing it was like the whole place was getting levelled. Heavy as hell, a massive sound, sick groove and Merauder vibes all over the place. I turned into a fan there and then and picked up this CD soon after. Listened to it a lot, even though all my friends seemed to hate it. I still do. Somewhere in 2003, around the summer, Rise And Fall played one of it's earlier shows with Devil Inside in Tielt, Belgium. The show wasn't all that spectacular but I was beyond excited to finally see Devil Inside again and they did not disappoint... They had a new demo with them that they were selling and appearantly they were in the middle of changing their name to Jaylan. An alternative version of that demo (re-recorded vocals and a different mix I believe) later came out as a Jaylan CDEP called "Stress" on Superhero Records, a small label from Berlin. I strongly recommend you to hunt down that record, that is after you've picked up the subject at hand here: Devil Inside's "36 Karat" CD on Alveran Records...

















The original version of this CD came out as a midprice type of thing, as it only contained 6 songs. The fact that those 6 songs blow away mostly anything on the Alveran label didn't even seem to matter. Seeing that there was quite a bit of hype around the band at the time, the CD did well and was soon re-released as a full CD, with 2 bonus tracks (more about those 2 tracks later on). The line up on this record was the following: Devrim - lead vocals, Volkan - bass, David - drums, Tamer - guitar, Marcus - guitar and vocals. Tamer is the only one out of all these dudes that I've ever talked to, he was also the one that wrote all the music on this record so I guess it is safe to say I have talked to a genius in my lifetime. Super nice dude. Other than that I know drummer David works for M.A.D. Tourbooking and used to drum in the semi-legendary German hardcore outfit Charley's War. Another interesting thing to note is that both Marcus and Tamer were part of the original line up of World Collapse. Obviously most (if not all) of these dudes were also in Jaylan after the name change, although Jaylan went through a few line up changes too, from what I've heard. According to the band, the name change from Devil Inside to Jaylan happened because Intel was giving them a hard time. Intel Inside, see? Pretty crazy. On to what really matters though...

How can a record sung in languages I don't even speak and hardly understand be so fuckin' awesome and catchy? How incredibly heavy and well produced does this record sound? Why didn't this band become bigger than Hatebreed? Questions like those run through my mind every time I listen to "36 Karat". Opening track "Sohne Der Macht" is one of those songs that was destined to be the opening song. It kicks in with unrelenting force. A vulgar display of power if there ever was one. It thrives on brutal riffs, it's full of groove and stylistically it's somewhere inbetween Merauder and Machine Head. Though my German is pretty poor, I seem to gather that this song deals with the importance of friendship and family ties. I love this part: "Auge um auge, mann gegen mann, doch unser gesetz funktioniert anders, weil die familie unser stamm ist und wir die krieger sind!". Babelfish tells me that means "Eye around eye, man against man, but our law functions differently, because the family is our trunk and we are the krieger". Babelfish isn't perfect but I guess you get the gist of it. Right after "Sohne Der Macht" it is time for the epic "Nur Noch Tage", with it's Slayer-esque intro and Biohazard-ish groove breakdown with rap-styled vocals. Probably the most epic and metal song on "36 Karat".











"Ich War, Ich Bin, Ich Werde Sein" is probably my favourite song here. It is simply irresistable with it's fast paced Cro-Mags "Alpha-Omega" style riffing and awesome melodic vocals. At times you'd swear this song has Harley singing in German. When things break down about halfway through the song and you get to the "Meine Blicke Sind Hier! Meine Blicke Sind Da!" part, you'll be singing along no matter what age, creed or religion. So good. The next song, "Kampfer" ("Fighter" in English), is full on Merauder worship and I seriously doubt the mental health of anyone who has issues with that when it's done this well. To make things even more interesting/confusing, this song features guest vocals by Al Barr of The Dropkick Murphys. Pretty bizarre but then again I'm guessing this can be explained by drummer David's work for M.A.D. It's funny 'cause it took me forever to figure out which part Al was singing since I assumed he'd be singing in English. He wasn't. Dudes made him sing in German which was makes this guest appearance even better/weirder.

"Augenblick" is the song that makes me doubt whether or not "Ich War, Ich Bin, Ich Werde Sein" is my favourite track or not. I'm tempted to take the easy way out for now and say they're equally good. This song makes me wish I could speak Turkish. It's a song so simple in structure, yet so effective. It doesn't have a mosh part or anything like that and is definitely the most laid back song on this record. The vocals in Turkish have a mesmerizing, enchanting quality to them and their melody is bound to stick in your head for days. After this somewhat more introspective, emotional song it is time for more full on chugging and grooving with "Arktis", the last "real" song before the bonus tracks kick in. This is where things get crazy. The first bonus track features Jamey Hatebreed, screaming (rapping?) over a dark, eerie beat. "All the way from Connecticut to Berlin, Hatebreed and Devil Inside, here we go". Unlike Al Barr, Jamey sticks to English. One can only wonder... The song's chorus, "Every move I make brings me one step closer to hell", sure is catchy but I am not sure if I will ever completely understand what they were trying to do with this song. The second bonus track is another hip hop track with lyrics in German and English. I figure they had another guest do the lyrics in English, but I don't know who that would be. Either way, the bonus tracks are an interesting addition but obviously it's all about the 6 original tracks on this record.













Lay-out wise I think this record looks pretty ill as well. I could've done without the pictures of the van and the drumpedal, but I'm digging the individual member shots mixed with medieval woodcuts and the more artistic post modern/linear approach. As for the cover, it's awesome. You may not know what to make of it at first, but when you've heard the record it makes sense.

That about wraps it up. If I've convinced anyone to check this record out, I can tell you that right now it is on sale in the Alveran Webstore (www.alveranshop.com/index.php)... 1.99 Euro for a somewhat overlooked/cult Ghetto Metal classic, that seems like a solid deal to me. Other than that I recently checked the Jaylan Myspace page (www.myspace.com/jaylanberlin) and noticed they'd changed their name back to Devil Inside and the line up is the exact same one as on "36 Karat". I'm excited to see whatever will come of that. You can also head to that Myspace page to check out a few songs off this record. You heard it here. Enjoy.

P.S. Thanks to Rob for the additional info and corrections.

Money Can't Buy Courage, Riches Mean Nothing To Us

Now that Justice is done, one could say that a certain era has come to an end as well. The era of the Complete Control bands as you could call it. An era during which a lot of things revolved around three bands: Dead Stop, Restless Youth & Justice. All great bands in their own way, that I saw play countless shows and shared a number of memorable times with. There's no need to get all sad and depressed though, as a lot of the dudes that were in those bands are still at it now, doing new bands and letting those creative juices flow. I thought I'd highlight a few of them here...

THE REACTIONARIES - Lintfabriek


Let's start with The Reactionaries, who have been going for a while and have played a few shows so far. Two actually. Their live debut was at the last ever Lintfabriek show on December 31st '07, check out the video above. I was into it. The Reactionaries have a line up that makes me scratch the back of my head and wonder if I should ever set foot on stage again. That's how cool that band is. Not a hardcore band per sé, they're influenced by a lot of "proto punk" (is that even a real term?) bands... The Wipers, The Damned, The Saints and probably a lot more that I don't even know about. Their sound is fresh and soulful, clearly the work of a bunch of dudes with too much talent. You can listen to a few of their songs online, bear in mind those songs are over a year old now though. The band is currently writing songs for an EP to come out on Deranged Records later this year.
www.wearethereactionaries.com - www.myspace.com/wearethereactionaries















Another band that's been going for a while, but only got named and got the word out a few weeks ago is Hoogh Water (that's ancient Dutch for "High Water"), featuring Ries The Octopus on drums plus Joseph and Chris of Restless Youth fame. They sound pretty trippy and 70's, with songs clocking in way past the 5 minute mark so I'm lcurious to see what they're like live. Their first show is set for April 29th with The Reactionaries & Annihilation Time. By the looks of their website and cool ass logo, this band seems to be headed for big things. You can listen to two songs on their website and look at some studio footage as well. Just follow the smoke to the riff filled land.
www.hooghwater.com - www.myspace.com/hooghwater

Further more, the one and only Spoiler seems to the centre of a lot of activity in Montreal. Dude's started 13 bands, built a stage and a venue, started a blog and rumor has it he has a job too. No wonder he couldn't make it to the last Justice show. He simply does not have the time for trips abroad. I highly recommend you check out his blog as well his bands Adult Crash and The Omegas.
www.myspace.com/adultcrashmtl - www.myspace.com/omegasmtl

RHYTHM TO THE MADNESS - Lintfabriek


I've talked about Rhythm To The Madness on here before and I promise the interview I did with Klaas regarding this band will be up soon. If you haven't yet, pick up their "Soul Doubt" EP on Powered Records. That is, if you appreciate the better things in life such as riffs, the Cro-Mags, promotional pictures, sayings in Latin, Hans Degryse and solos. If you haven't seen them live, you should. Or comfort yourself by watching the video of their cameo performance during Blacklisted's set at the last Lintfabriek gig.
www.myspace.com/rhythmtothemadness

That's it for tonight. As always I'm brewin' on some new interviews and reviews so keep checking back. On the Ipod front, I'll be putting some music on the damn thing this week. Then I just need to buy headphones and I'll be all set.

Justice: Live And Learn / Review

In a few days from now Justice will be playing their last show ever and I have absolutely no doubt that they will be able to leave us on a high note after close to five years of activity. Justice always was and I guess always will be a band that was much talked about and caused some controversy. From the bold, in your face "love hardcore or leave it" attitude and raw, stripped down hardcore of their early days to the far more post hardcore styled and emotionally diverse approach of their more recent material, there was always a ton of people that dug what Justice was doing and at least as many that were eager to tear down anything they did. I always thought that was a good thing. If you can provoke reactions that extreme and be the subject of so many heated debates then you must be doing something right. You are making some kind of impact and that's what counts. I'm sure Justice feels the same way, as they never wanted to be the band that everyone was kinda lukewarm about.

With all that said, I know that this final 5 song 12" will have its lovers and haters. When put next to every other Justice release, "Live And Learn" definitely has the most in common with their previous album "Escapades", yet it's still quite different as well. It definitely took me some time to get used to what Justice came up with this time around. Just as was the case with "Escapades" I needed to spin the record a bunch of times in a row in order to really grasp what was going on. One thing I noticed quickly though was that it is obvious that "Live And Learn" is Justice's last record ever, because they really went all out with this one. If there ever was a filter for their wild ideas, they threw it out the door when they started writing these songs. So that might explain the jungle sounds in "A Quiet Pain", the occasional tambourine or how the record ends with the sound of rain. Most of all though, you can tell that at this point in their lives, Justice is confident enough to do whatever the hell they want to and that's exactly how this record sounds.

"Lived And Learned" is the first song on this EP and it immediately hits hard with its chugging, groovy main riff and catchy chorus. As weird as it may sound, the way Filip sings on this song reminds me of a song off Sub Zero's "Happiness Without Peace" album. Lyrically this song does a good job at describing the search for who we really are and what we really want from life, the uncertainty and soul searching most of us go through... Especially in our mid 20's, ha. "When I look at my fellow men, they all got a master plan". That's right. Next up is "A Quiet Pain", which also was the MP3 for this EP so I guess most of you have heard it. It's an unexpectedly hard song that seems to be boiling over with anger and frustration. Actually, the first part is fairly upbeat and has some awesome DC-ish additional vocals, the song then breaks down and builds up to that second part. It might be a little obvious to point out the "Path Of Perfection" vibe this song has, but I'll do it anyway cause I don't want anyone out there to think I didn't pick up on that.













"Meaningless" might be my favourite song on this record. Ever since I heard a first demo version of this song (with Stief singing!) many moons ago I've had it's melody stuck in my head. Musically and lyrically it seems to softly ebb and flow inbetween a soothing, sad sort of acceptance and a haunting desperation (the chorus consisting only of the word "alone" can kinda chill your bones). Great fuckin' song, wish I wrote it. On to "What Have We Become?", which features some of Stief's trademark Bad Brains inspired stop and go type bridges but most of all I gotta say that the Quicksand vibe is super heavy on this one. The song's lead riff has Walter S. written all over it, while Supertouch is never far either. This song could've easily been on "Escapades", which is not a bad thing at all in my book (see my Top 15 Records of 2007 for reference).

It's easy to get fooled into thinking you've reached the end of "Down And Under" before the weird (dare I say jazzy?) ending kicks in. Not only is it the last song on here, I think it also is my least favourite one. It sounds a little strained and a little too Ted Nugent at times for me. Still definitely a decent song though so don't take my word for it and listen for yourself.

Honestly, I am glad I have taken the time to really sink my teeth into this record and feel lucky to have been in the possession of the finished recordings a few weeks before the actual release. It's a grower and definitely a record Justice can be proud of. I feel like musically their inspiration has gone further than the usual bands from the post hardcore realm and that is exactly what enabled them to make a better post hardcore album, if that makes sense? It does in my head so you figure it out. Filip's vocals have always been one of the main reasons for people to like or dislike Justice and I'm sure that won't change now, but to these ears his vocals here sound more confident than on "Escapades". They still have that same melody and "singy" kind of character, but they're a little rougher, more like they sound live and I'm digging that.

To those of you that are still in doubt, come see Justice one last time this saturday. If not, at least keep an eye out for whatever these dudes will come up with next. Rhythm To The Madness, Powered Records and beyond. On a sidenote, I will be obtaining an Ipod this weekend (what's up Shawn!) which is pretty crazy. This record is bound to go into heavy rotation on that thing.

www.poweredrecords.com
www.myspace.com/justicehc

Jason Mazzola / Interview

I first met Jason in the winter of '02/'03 when I drove his old band Count Me Out on part of their first (and last) European tour. I loved Count Me Out as a band and as people, had an awesome time on that tour and quickly bonded with Jason as we seemed to share a love for a bunch of the finer things in life, such as "Illmatic", second hand shirts, Fred Perry gear and Clarks Wallabees. We kept in touch throughout the years and got to hang whenever I was in the States. A few years ago both him and Colin returned to the stage with their new band Cloak/Dagger and as soon as I heard their demo I was hooked. Their album "We Are" was one of my favourite records to come out in '07. Cloak/Dagger toured Europe for the first (and hopefully not last) time in December last year and I joined them for about a week on that tour... Kinda like a reunion tour. It was fun. A little after that I sent Jason a bunch of question, here's what he had to say.

Jason, what's up? How's life been since you got back from Cloak/Dagger's Euro tour?
Right now I'm just trying to work as much as possible to pay off all the debt I got in on tour and pay my bills without actually being held down by a full time job. It's always hard to come back home and get bills taken care of after tours.

How did the tour go in general? What were some of the best shows and some the most exciting places you visited? How different was the experience of touring Europe in late '07 with Cloak/Dagger from the European tour Count Me Out did 5 years earlier?
I thought for our first trip over seas that we did well. I think we were playing to people that had never heard us for the most part and the response was over all good. Some shows we would play to people that had no interest in us but that is part of touring. Money wise it was a hard tour for us, it seemed that we were just working towards paying off everyone but ourselves for the trip over there. The van, the equipment, the merch, work permits for the UK, the ferry to the UK all added up fast. It's not that we expected to make money from the tour but we didn't think we would lose money. We were able to pay off everyone but not all of the plane tickets so thanks to everyone that bought a shirt or cd, that's where the money went. The difference between this tour and the CMO tour is that the Dagger is not an edge band so it made for a lot more crazy nights. We had also been to some of the cities and countries before so we knew what to expect but it was still exciting to see them again and see some familiar faces also. I would say that best shows were Milan, Budapest and I think it was Nurnberg where we had our best German show. With the CMO we got a chance to see some of the tourist spots which I would have liked to see more of on this trip instead of just seeing clubs.













You did a full US tour prior to the European one, I remember you telling me it was quite rough and exhausting. How hard is it for a smaller band like you guys, with members all in their late 20's and early 30's, to be on the road for so long? How do you manage?
Yeah the US tour was a rough one for us. It was thrown together kind of last minute but we wanted to get out and tour as soon as we could in support of the new cd. In the end we made it to California and back but didn't get to play a lot of cities that we wanted to on the way and when we were over there. The main point of touring is to hopefully come back to places you played before and have people remember you. We played some good shows here and there but it was a lot of money to get to the other side of the country and I don't know if it was worth it. When we got home we had rent and repairs to make to the van and merch debt and kids talking us to death about being on Jade Tree being rock stars and how much money we make so that was annoying. It was tough to get money together between the tours but it all worked out somehow.

While Cloak/Dagger is not a hardcore band per se, you still are very attached to that scene seeing where you guys and a big chunk of the crowd that comes out to see you, come from. How do you feel about that?
Over here a lot of the shows we play there are only a handful of people there that are familiar with our old bands and who are into what we are doing now. It's cool when core kids come out who appreciate what we are doing now and have an open mind to a different style of "hardcore" but it's also cool when someone that has no interest in hardcore gets into our band too. Either way I'm just happy when people show up to our shows.












Who were the driving forces behind the formation of Cloak/Dagger? What was the initial idea or the inspiration do a band like this one? And where the hell did you get that band name?
Drummer Colin just said we're going to do a band called Cloak/Dagger and we want you to sing for us, no real meaning behind the name. It was a band that was started in between practices for Renee Heartfelt and that no one really took serious at first. Guitarist Collin wrote all of the songs so he's the main force behind the band and still is. I handle all the lyrics, booking, merch and other nonsense. Our goal was to play some shows on the weekend and put out a demo when we first started and we didn't really plan anything after that but once we started playing out things took off.

"We Are", your debut album, has been out for a while now on Jade Tree / Reflections. How has the record been doing, I mean do you feel like it has reached the people that need to hear it? What was some of the most interesting/surprising feedback you got on it?
It's been out for six months now and we have gotten a lot of good feedback on the record. We got good reviews in AP, Decibel and Pitchfork didn't trash it and they hate everything so that surprised me. I think that we need to get it pressed on vinyl so that it can get to people that have no interest in buying mp3's or cd's. True punkers don't buy cd's. That is something that is in the works now and if all goes well it can be out in the next couple months. I read a lot of reviews where they described the lyrics and music and they got exactly what we were going for which was refreshing. We've also had a lot of different comparisons like B-52's, Avail, Minor Threat, Fugazi, Pixies in reviews which I don't think we sound like but it is cool to see.

Rumour has it that during the "We Are" sessions you also recorded a bunch of other songs (and a cover possibly?)... Is that true? If so when will those tracks see the light of day? Is there a new release in the works featuring those songs?
We did record three songs that aren't on the lp and a cover by Modern Lovers. Alex from Grave Mistake is releasing the cover as a b-side on a two song 7" for us that should be out in March. It's going to be a two song single and Kamikazes is going to be the A side which was released on the lp. I think the other songs were ok but didn't hold up to the lp songs. We have already written five new songs since the lp and I think we're just going to keep writing. I'm sure those old songs will be released one day but we have no plans to release them any time soon.













Obviously you are a couple of years older than when you were in Count Me Out now. Do you feel like you are still pretty much the same person or not really? How has your mindset and your general outlook on life changed during those years, if it has changed at all?
I wouldn't say I'm the same person as I was five years ago. I still love playing shows and hanging out with the same people I did five years ago but my outlook on music has changed since that time. It took me a while to get out of the mindset of recording with so and so to make the best record possible or trying to tour with this band or that band and getting on the right shows whatever that means. With the help of Collin I realized sometimes all that is nonsense. Also I'm a bit older and a bit wiser but really still the same person. Now I just worry about the future a little more since I'm not getting any younger.

How would you describe yourself as a person in 5 keywords?
Shy, strange, happy, optimistic, content.

Count Me Out was quite a popular band at the time and was also known to be a straight edge band, while everyone but you is no longer straight edge now. Is that weird? How do you look back on Count Me Out and what you accomplished and recorded with that band now?
I loved the CMO and still do. I have nothing but fond memories of that time period of my life. We had a great time playing shows and hanging out together and I still hang out with Garth and Colin almost every day now and those are going to be my friends for life. I'm sure that there are some people that think it's strange that everyone drinks but me now but I don't really ever think of that or think it takes away from anything that we did as a band. I don't think of anyone differently I just think of them as my friends I don't think about if they are edge or not these days. I'm proud of most everything we recorded as a band but I think we could have done another record after Permanent that perfected what we were going for but it would have been unfair to record something that we weren't 100% behind and when we broke up Garth had Strike Anywhere going full force and Colin, Pete and Charlie were ready to move on to Renee.









Most of the people I talk to seem to prefer "110" to "Permanent", mostly because of the recording/production on the latter. What is your opinion? When you compare both records, how would you say they differ from each other musically and lyrically? What are some of your favourite tracks on both?
Now that some time has passed I can see the difference in the two records. "110" was more of a revival record and a straight up edge record that you could put next to some of the bands we played with at that time like In My Eyes and Time Flies but a little more mean sounding. "Permanent" was us trying to push the boundaries on hardcore but still sticking to the formula. It's a hard call to say which one I like better I haven't heard either of them in a long time. "110" was a record where we knew what song order we wanted it in, we knew where we wanted feedback, back ups and we were full on ready to record that when it was time to. "Permanent" we tried to do something a little different and just wrote song after song and didn't think about how the finished lp would sound. I stumbled on the vocals for that record for the first couple songs we tried so I had Brian roll the whole record start to finish and keep it all as one take since time was short. I was very proud of how that came out, it doesn't sound processed or not real to me. After that lp came out we started to get bigger since more then just edge kids could now get into us since the songs weren't so straight forward and the lyrics were kept vague. I'm going to have to say I'm going with "110" for the good memories of our first US tour behind that lp and how amped we were to tour. Off of "110" I would say the best tracks are "What We Built" and "Always Have", for "Permanent" I think that "Against The World" might be the best song we wrote as a band. I heard people have debated between the two records and I love that people like either record enough to talk about it years later.













The last ever Count Me Out show, with the shirts and ties and "Count Me Out Is Fucking Dead" spraypainted on the bass drum seems to have become a fond memory in the minds of those who were there. What are your thoughts on that last show? How was it? How did you experience it?
I think that the last show was everything we wanted it to be. At the time every band who broke up was making a big deal of their last shows and making it a real event with a lot of promotion behind it. We did ours unannounced and it was a sold out show. Word did spread that it was going to be our last show but it was also a surprise to everyone that was there and Striking Distance played a few songs before we played. Dressing up in the shirts and ties and spray painting the bass drum was all done last minute but it all turned out perfect. It was a real emotional show and at the end of the set there were kids who were crying because to them it was the end of an era and to me that was very flattering. It was cool to have traveled all over the world and then to come back and play to the people that would have been there to see us anyway and who didn't know it was our last show. From the first note it was just dive after dive and it was non stop through the set. When I've seen photos from that show it always reminds me of how packed that show was and how perfect everything went.

Was Count Me Out your first band? Or did you venture into the world of doing hardcore bands before that?
CMO was my first serious band. I tried to get bands going before but nothing ever got serious enough to record or have a good amount of songs written.













Count Me Out also did it's fair share of touring... What were some of the tours that stand out the most so many years later? I seem to remember the idea for "110" as an album title being born on a tour you did with Time Flies... True? Please explain.
That's true. We were thrown on a tour with Time Flies and Death By Stereo but it was really just us jumping on 2 or 3 shows that would take us to California and back. Before we left I had a talk with Tru from Malfunction and he was saying look this is your first tour you need to give it a 110% every night even if there is no one there. You need to make every show count and he got that from the Get In The Van book when Greg Ginn tells Henry he didn't care if 5 or 50 people showed up they were there to play as hard as they could. We did give it all we had for 3 shows and then broke down in Texas and we had to cancel pretty much the rest of our tour but it only made us want to make it to the west coast even more. After that record came out we made it to the west coast I think 4 times total. I think that first tour to the west coast off of 110 was a great time and everything was very exciting and new to us. Also the last tour we did of the US where we had to throw together a line up which was Pete back on drums since Colin was in American Nightmare, Curtis Williams from Time Flies on guitar and Charlie was kind of a strange tour. We didn't have 2 guitars or Garth with us since he was doing Strike Anywhere and that just didn't feel right. The second half of that tour we had Colin back on drums with us and it was a lot better, that was with Suicide File and The Hope Conspiracy and that was the first and last "good" tour we were ever on.

Tell me about Richmond! I know you love it and I know you also tried to leave it once but were drawn back to it soon after... What makes Richmond so cool? What are some of your favourite things about it? Fav eating spots? Shops?
Richmond is the best city in the world. Everyone is poor but happy and rent is cheap, everyone knows each other by name or at least by face and everyone hangs out especially in the summer time. Here there is an Vietnamese place called Mekong, a Mexican spot called El Corporal and Edo's Squid is an awesome spot for my Italian roots. In Carytown there is Need which is a cool smaller store next to Plan 9 which is an awesome record store and my room mate Rudy owns a store called Henry that is a smaller sneaker boutique that I work at sometimes.













What was it like growing up in Richmond as a teenager? How did you get exposed to hardcore/punk? What was your average day as 16 year old like?
I actually grew up outside of DC and that's where I first started going to shows and came down to Richmond for art school. I think my first show I saw in DC was Fugazi for free and my first real hardcore show was Lifetime with Ressurection. I wasn't sure if I liked the core too much then but then I heard and saw 4 Walls Falling and after that I was hooked. At 16 I think I would just go to school, come home and go skating all day long and hang out at gas stations eating chips, it ruled!

When did you start going to shows? What were some of the first shows you saw? What bands made the most impact on you? Was there any specific band that made you decide you wanted to be do a band too?
I started going to hardcore shows in '93 but I always loved music before that I just never thought about going to shows and being a part of it before getting into hardcore. Some of the first shows I went to were Lifetime, Avail, Earth Crisis, Outspoken, Worlds Collide, Snapcase, Sick Of It All. I think the band that made the most impact on me and made me want to start a band was Time Flies. That was the first band that was made up of friends that actually played shows with bigger bands and wrote good music.

Please comment or share your ideas on the following:
Morrissey. The myth. The legend.
Mozzer, I haven't kept up with him too much lately although I found a tour shirt at a thrift store for five dollars this week that's like 2 euro!

Italy. Your ancestors. Your Italian - how is it these days?
Haha, as you know I speak fluent Italian and can do everything from ask for ferry tickets, order food and communicate for directions with no problem at all. Milan was by far the best show of the Dagger tour!


















Nas naming his new record "Nigger"?
I think it's a bit too much. He doesn't need to do anything to draw attention to himself he can sell records without trying to stir up any controversy. Him and Kelis wore Nigger shirts on the grammys to promote the record and it just looked like it was done in poor taste. Let's just hope he delivers like "Stillmatic" on this one.

The Burn reunion in the late 90's in Richmond...
That was a good show but not as crazy as it should have been. Barfight opened up for the show and the response was alright but nothing too crazy. Tru grabbed a chair off of stage and threw it at the crowd and then someone threw that same chair back and it broke Mike's guitar. The best Burn reunion show I saw was in NYC at Coney Island that was awesome. CMO played with Burn in Jersey and in Philly and they were both decent shows. The Richmond show was good but really all I remember is Tru throwing that chair and hurting someone.

Four Walls Falling playing a reunion show at United Blood Fest in March?
If it happens I will be there, they had a reunion a while back and it was good but I could definitely see it again. I see Taylor from time to time and he's still cool as always and is into the Dagger.














Nike. The company. The shoes.
Nike. I can see why people hate on Nike, the marketing, the sweat shops but I love them. I love the limited release of some of the shoes and because of them I'm able to buy shoes and sell them for more money on Ebay so I can make rent. Some of the limited SB's they come out with just look like baby shoes but Jordans are classic. I'm way into the retro Jordan stuff and finding it at thrift stores is even better. I'm into dunks but they are not my main Nike, Blazers are good and Jordans of course and you can't go wrong with a pair of Air Max 90's. People look at Nike and think of big corporations but I think any of the bigger shoe companies even skate shoe companies are just as bad. Just do it!

Chain Of Strength.
The Chainer. Legends. I was talking with someone the other day and I realized that the seven inches they had were just perfect, the recording, the emotion it all just fell into place and people have tried to but can't recreate that sound. It's very hollow and real. I think it was just a time and a place thing where everything was meant to be. The live show videos were always awesome to watch although I have seen bad videos of them live, everyone has off nights I guess!

The new Wu-Tang album... Yay or nay?
Haven't checked it out yet but they played Richmond and Method Man wasn't even there. I was lucky enough to see them in their sort of peak at a festival.













Hot Snakes and the endless comparison Cloak/Dagger gets to them?
I don't really mind the Snakes comparison as much as the comparisons we get to The Bronx. I think if people hear loud guitars and screaming they say "oh yeah like The Bronx".

Urban Outfitters?
I worked there for almost two years and I had a great time working there but it is bullshit. On the other hand the sales are crucial and I have bought my fair share of Nikes for $10, Vans for $5 and limited clothes to sell on Ebay. One month they did a 75% off sale and I made $1200 on Ebay off of that!

That's it. Thank you for your time. Any final comments?
Thanks again for being a good friend through the years and keeping in touch. Thanks again to everyone that came to see our band play when we toured that way and please come see us if we make it back again!

The Mongoloids: Time Trials / Review

If you've never heard or seen The Mongoloids, you could easily be mistaken into thinking you are dealing with a snotty punkrock band due to their bandname. In reality though, these Jersey Shore hardcore enthusiasts are pretty far removed from that side of the hardcore/punk spectrum. The Mongoloids deal in unrelenting, mid to fast paced NYHC influenced songs with a lot of groove, a LOT of solos and a lot of balls.

On every US tour that I've done with Rise And Fall throughout the last couple of years we've ended up playing at least one show with The Mongoloids and every single time this band had improved spectacularly compared to the previous tour. So after a couple of EP's they're here with the real deal, an album that will hopefully convince a lot sceptics of what The Mongoloids are capable of. While the band members are all still fairly young, I'd guess their average age would have to be 20 or so, I think they have reached some kind of maturity (as lame as that word sounds) throughout those years and have learned to write songs that hit hard and work well. Plus, as a live band, The Mongoloids are a spectacle to behold these days, I saw them play insane sets at both Sound & Fury and This Is Hardcore.

"Time Trials" opens with a solid intro that goes straight into the title track, a pretty straight forward song that is perfect as an opening track. "I can only say these time trials won't define me" - that's a good line. What is clear from the get go is the fact that the vocals will decide on how you feel about this band and this album. It's a love it or hate it type of deal, as Greg has a deep, gravely voice that strongly reminds of Sheer Terror's Paul Bearer. And just like Paul Bearer he frequently goes for some "real" (melodic) singing as well, which in my opinion works well and gives this band that extra edge over a lot of bands that operate in a similar style. Unlike Sheer Terror's savage Celtic Frost styled riffs, The Mongoloids have a groovier, less primitive sound that is definitely very NYHC influenced... Not in the way that makes it easy to pinpoint exactly where they got their ideas though, but I feel like they must have listened to a lot of early Biohazard, some Life Of Agony (the groove and hints of melody) and Killing Time.













The song "Troubled Waters" is probably my favourite, I don't know how one can not have "I wanna be, I wanna be, I waaaaaanna beeeee... Free from the, free from the paaaiiiiiiin" stuck in one's head after listening to it. I know I've been caught singing that shit at the most random times and places. After listening a whole bunch of times I actually realized the strongest part of the album is the last 4 songs on Side A. The aforementioned "Troubled Waters", followed by the short but hard as fuck "Fading Away", in turn followed by "Alive And Well" (I don't know what band that dude Cleary is in that does does guest vocals, but his part sounds awesome)... These 3 are followed by another standout track called "The Mongo Stomp". It stands out mainly due to the plain ignorant middle part of the song that features guest vocals by Joe None (Shattered Realm, Second To None)... Makes perfect sense when you hear it. The album's solid all the way through though, I didn't find any songs to be stinkers, and it's too short to get boring anyway.

The solid songwriting, the variety in the vocals and the abundance of guest vocals definitely help to keep you interested throughout the whole record. I guess I can see why people would sometimes associate this band with mindless fun or consider them a party type of band... Sure, their shirt designs can get pretty wild and colorful and weird but with "Time Trials" being as good as it is I hope people will associate them with good hardcore first rather than any of that other stuff. I was also glad to discover their lyrics make a lot of sense, I didn't know what to expect from them really but they're cool. Love the cover artwork as well, some of my favourite Spoiler art along with Justice's 7" and s/t album and that Victim LP.

The vinyl version was released by everyone's favourite bearded hardcore elf Dave Sausage on Six Feet Under Records, while the CD was a joint venture by Collapse and Riptide.

www.myspace.com/mongoloidsnj
www.sixfeetunderrecords.com
www.collapserecords.com
www.myspace.com/riptiderex

I Don't Want To Go Down To The Basement

Some odds, ends and random thoughts. First of all, an update on the Burn - Live In Boston '92 front... I have found the entire set that YouTube clip was taken from, needless to say I was as stoked as a 4 year old with a giant lollipop. I didn't have to look far either, it was in my man Larry's indredible video archive. I can also gladly say that the rest of their set that day was equally awesome. They follow "New Morality" with "Godhead" and then "Tales Of Shatou". And that's just the start of the set. I know. Mind boggling. As if the fact that those three songs exist isn't crazy enough, Burn just busted them out in that order. They did play a lot "new" material at that show, including songs that were never released (ever), but that didn't seem to hinder the crowd's response much. From the inbetween song banter I gathered Eye For An Eye and Supertouch probably also played that gig. Although the Eye For An Eye shoutout could've also been due to the fact they were playing Boston. Chaka was also wearing one of their shirts underneath the flannel and the red crewneck sweater. Style icon.

On to more current events... Justice has finished the recordings for their final 12" EP "Live And Learn" and posted up a new song off it last week. Peep their MySpace page or the Powered Records site for an MP3 of "A Quiet Pain". Awesome song. Expect a review of the whole record up here in the next few weeks. Don't forget about their final show, March 8th in Temse, Belgium with True Colors (their new 7" is dope as well), Blacklisted, Dirty Money, Seed Of Pain and Hoods Up.

Blacklisted's new album will be coming out at the end of March, I'm sure most of you have already checked out "I Am Weighing Me Down", the new track that they've put online. I absolutely love that song, it has a solid flow, raging riffs and the structure of a pop song. Check the Deathwish site or Blacklisted's MySpace if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Please also check Blacklisted's blog for an inside look at why this band does what they do and what "I Am Weighing Me Down" is about.

Also on the Deathwish front, Cold World has finally finished recording their epic debut full length "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First". From what I've heard this record will surprise friend and foe. Check out this YouTube film that documents their experiences recording with Billy Grazidei of Biohazard fame.



Belgium's Vogue also has a brand new one sided 2 song 7" out called "No Vogue". This band is wild. Fans of unrelenting, raw early 80's inspired hardcore need to hear Vogue. More info on www.voguevoguevogue.tk or the Holy Shit Records website.

Say what you want but I know Terror is currently recording a new album too and I can't wait to hear what they come up with. "Always The Hard Way" was a definite winner so I expect great things.

The months April and May hold a lot of promise as well: Down and Portishead tours respectively.

To wrap this up, I have been brewin' on some ideas for this blog in order to keep things interesting for both you and me. I am still excited about this project and would like to thank everyone for the awesome feedback. I still expect the interviews with Klaas Voets (Rhythm To The Madness) and Jason Mazzola (Cloak/Dagger) to be up here soon so keep checking back. If you'd like to read a recent interview with me, check out the It's For Life blog in the links section.

Be safe.