HXCWAX

Interview with an insane Bad Religion record collector

2011-01-14T03:33:00.000-08:00

Alright, thousands delays later and the interview got posted.

After a few interviews that was hardcore related one way or another, I've come to terms with a new approach which my last interview gave a taste of. I am aiming to have more focus on collecting records (preferably hardcore), not gonna exclude a potential good interview if the guy or girl collects something similar to hardcore. Isn't that hardcore-mentality right there? - everybody's all right.

This interview is with a mildly addicted record collector from Richmond, Virginia. 25 year old Robert Cheeseman is probably a man you don't wanna battle with on Ebay over the first pressing of the Bad Religion self titled 7"! .....Just sayin'.... I talked to Robert about collecting wax, being obsessed with completing collections and the hunt we all thrive under; shooting white whales.

Robert, introduce yourself - who are you and why do you collect records?

Hey Rune! My name is Robert and I'm from Richmond, Virginia. I grew up in Northern Virginia (Washington DC suburbs) and finally made the move down to Richmond late last year after spending the last two years of my life out on the west coast in Los Angeles.

The reason I collect records is a pretty multifaceted answer so I'll try to keep it as simple as possible! I've been collecting stuff since I was a kid and most of the members of my family have some sort of collecting hobby. When I was younger I was all about Star Wars related stuff; books, action figures etc. Then sometime in early High School I bought my first record (Bad Religion - Atomic Garden 7") and I was so stoked on it that I just became this fiend for Bad Religion records... Originally I had no intention of ever collecting other bands or to move strictly to purchasing vinyl, but here I am some 10-11 years later and I've got a pretty healthy collection going that's always expanding!

What do you do for a living?
I am a freelance recording engineer. I own my own studio and record bands... Nothing too crazy yet as I just started to get things up and running within the last year but that's what I do.

Tell about your passion for Bad Religion and your collection

Bad Religion were without a doubt the band that got me into punk rock. When I was in 3rd grade (around '94) a friend's older brother was getting way into punk rock, probably with the whole explosion i 94 with Dookie being released and everything. I remember being at his house hanging out and then his brother played Bad Religion - Suffer CD - I was instantly hooked. I was 9 at the time so I wasn't necessarily allowed to be listening to some record with a kid on fire on the cover, so I just borrowed the CD from him for like a year probably and listened to it non-stop. It was the first CD I ever got and to this day it's still my favorite record.

As for my actual collection, I guess it was in middle school (late 90s) I started buying Bad Religion singles/bootlegs CDs off of Ebay because they weren't something you could find online and certainly not in any local record store in Virginia, so I had a pretty extensive (probably around 35-45 CDs) collection before I even started collecting vinyls. Then I found that Atomic Garden 7" at a local record store in Woodbridge called Hi-Fidelity and from that moment I got into collecting records. That was probably around 2000 or 2001 so it's been at least 10 years of collecting. I've never really tried too hard to collect things, a lot of it was pretty easy to come by early on - just me buying stuff off of Ebay before it got really popular. Now it's more of a few "white whales" as they're called that's eluding my grip... and test presses! I've got a few but would love to own more.

What are the thrills in record collecting for you?

I'm a pretty big fan of just going to stores and sifting through piles and rows of records in hopes of finding one or two gems in a massive unorganized mess. Plus it's just aesthetically pleasing to be able to hold a big record with big artwork, and to have this great sounding item that isn't just some crap looking CD.

Do you believe you'll ever finish your collection? In other words, isn't that 1st press if their first 7" getting a bit annoying?

Realistically I'd like to hope that one day I could complete my Bad Religion collection. My most complete collection is my Latterman collection, of which I'm only missing a test press of their split with Nakatomi Plaza, so I'm pretty proud of that. I'm 99.9% sure I have one of the most complete Bad Religion discographies ever assembled though, so that's an accomplishment that I'm also pretty proud of. I don't know if I'll ever find a copy of that Bad Religion EP in its first pressing. I still have yet to actually see a physical copy and I'm sure so many of them got lost or forgotten about over the years by kids who were punks in L.A. in the early 80s but moved on in their later years. I've even heard that people like Brett Gurewitz doesn't even own a copy of it anymore. If I'll get the opportunity to ever get a hold one a copy I will absolutely go for it.

Which Bad Religion records are you currently looking for?
For now, other than test pressings, I know that I am missing the following:

Bad Religion - S/t 7" Black vinyl (First press /500) Epitaph Rec.
Bad Religion - Generator Demos 7" Light blue labels

Bad Religion - 80-85 Black vinyl Epitaph**
Bad Religion - The Grey Race LP Black vinyl Dragnet Rec.**
Bad Religion - Recipe For Hate LP Black vinyl (Brazilian press on Paradox)

The two with ** next to them are unconfirmed as to whether they exist or not. I've never actually seen a copy of either in person or online, but have heard numerous accounts that they exist. Both 80-85 in CD form (as in, a 12" LP that has the boots cover) and then The Grey Race on black vinyl... supposedly this was seen on Ebay in 2000 or 2001 in Germany and sold for a ton because both the US and Euro pressings are all on light-ish grey vinyl, but this was apparently distinctly black... maybe it was a test press, I don't know. I've seen the Brazilian pressing of Recipe For Hate a few times, I've just missed it every time.

Bad Religion 7"'s 1/2

Tell about some of the most expensive records you've bought and how much you dropped.

The most expensive record I've bought was my 2nd press of Bad Religion's self titled 7" EP out of 1500. I paid $218 for it around 2003 which was normal for then and almost every copy since then goes for somewhere between $300-400, so I got a good deal on it. Other than that, the most money I've spent has probably been on test pressings and also a few other rare Bad Religion singles. Most notably my 21st Century Digital Boy 12" single with just the plain promo sleeve and my first copy of the Tested 2LP. Those were both somewhere around $100 a piece I believe.

How many collections do you have going at the moment?

I've got quite a few collections going currently, but most of them are in the final laps of being complete so I'm not buying records for them too often. I'm basically down to the really rare/hard to find pieces of each collection. Off the top of my head I've got collections for: Avail, Bouncing Souls, Latterman, Energy, Permanent, Propagandhi, Worn Thin, Faded Grey, Smoke Or Fire, Police & Thieves, Strike Anywhere and The Frontline. Obviously a lot of Virginia/D.C. influences as those were the bands I grew up loving in my local area.

Bad Religion 7"'s 2/2

If you were to start a new band collection, which band would it most likely be?

I've always wanted to get more into some hardcore record collections, but they are so expensive just to even start! I'd love to have a Battery collection as well as bands like The First Step or Turning Point, and it would be awesome to have a Count Me Out collection as well. I'd also like to get some solid collections going for other Fat Wreck bands and all the early Epitaph bands I grew up on.

What are your thoughts about all the online tools for collectors, such as message boards (Vinylcollective, Deadformat, How's Your Edge, etc.) and the fact that more and more labels do pre-orders. I'm guessing all these are big helpers in a collector's search for rare records, or get the records before they become rare. How many of the hard oneshave you gotten using these tools? Any good stories?
Message boards and sites like Deadformat and How's Your Edge are great tools for people who collect records without a doubt. I've been able to score some great records off of boards, both vinyl related boards and other punk/hardcore boards, from all over the world, so yeah, they're definitely a great help! I actually bought my first copy of Bad Religion - Tested 2LP from some dude on a European hardcore board for like $20. It was such a steal and I was so stoked.

People have different standards as to the condition of a record before they buy it for their collection. I myself, won't buy a record, no matter how much I'm missing it, if it's scratched to the extent that it would affect play when spinning it.
Yeah, I definitely prefer to get my records in as great a condition as possible. I don't think I own any scratched records thankfully, so I guess I have steered clear of buying any in that condition.

Have you ever gone record hunting in Europe?
I haven't really had the opportunity to. My mum lives in the UK, so I've been to a few stores there, mainly All Ages Records in London and found a few cool things. I haven't been anywhere else with ample time to look for records. I lived in Germany until I was 5 and traveled all over Europe as a kid, but that was well before my record buying days. The only other place I've visited as an adult was Paris for like 3 days, but I couldn't seem to find any record stores... bummer!

It will be hard to come by a fine first pressing of Bad Religion's S/t EP /500 without paying around $400-500 for it - are you prepared to spend that kind of money on one 7"?
Absolutely. No questions asked about it, if it's in good condition it's a done deal!

Bad Religion 12"s

The Pick 1's! - I'm assuming we're talking strictly Bad Religion, but just in case I'll cover both.
Pick 1 record from the 80s era - Bad Religion - Suffer / Dag Nasty - Can I Say
Pick 1 record from the 90s era - Bad Religion - The Gray Race / Avail - Over The James
Pick 1 record from the 2000s era - Bad Religion - The Process Of Belief / Bouncing Souls - How I Spent My Summer Vacation
Pick 1 current band - Police & Thieves
Pick 1 reunion show you'd kill to attend (happening or not happening) - Dag Nasty

Any last comments?
Thanks for the cool interview, keep up the solid work and keep on hunting for those white whales... Perhaps I'll get that Bad Religion 7" some day, haha!

Robert's studio can be found here: myspace.com/nocontrolstudios

Some of Robert's BR shirts.

Kelly Alvarez - Interview with a record collector.

2010-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

"I don't think people that only buy CDs go around telling people "I buy CDs!!" - it's just not very interesting."

This interview is not about a band, a release or a label. This interview is with a female who loves records more than anything, and for me, that was more than enough to get started.

Kelly Alvarez lives in San Diego, Cal. and works in a record shop. Besides being around records on a daily basis, she is also the singer/guitarist in the band Jungle Fever - to ask for more is just greedy! This interview is about collecting records in its purest form.

Kelly's record collection

Kelly let's get right to it. There's a big step from just being into music and to start collecting records. What influenced your progression from regular interest to collecting?

I was forced into collecting because I worked at a record store... I was young, and had nothing to spend my money on BUT records! I don’t really know if I’d be as serious a collector as I am now if I didn’t work at a record store (mainly because I can get them for so cheap). It's also a fun hobby... I don't think people that only buy CDs go around telling people "I buy CDs!!" - it's just not very interesting. But when people find out I not only buy records, but I collect them, they really do find it fascinating for some reason.

Which records are among your favorites and why?

This is a hard question to answer, because when it comes to records, it’s not just about a favorite band or specific album... records are special because, unlike CDs, you have a lot of area to work with. Since the covers are bigger, bands can go all out with their artwork. There could be interesting things stuffed inside the covers: lyric inserts, rare posters, zines, stickers or whatever the original owner stuffed inside and forgot to take out before he/she sold it.

Some of my favorite records are my favorites because of the cover art/photography (i.e. Roxy Music’s “Country Life” or Sparks “Kimono My House”, etc.) and some are my favorites because of something unusual and exciting, like my Crystals LP that was signed by Phil Spector in the 1960’s or my European version of Blondie's "Greatest Hits" but it's spelled all in one word across the top "BLONDIESHITS" - so it looks like "Blondie Shits" haha!!

But "collector" talk aside, some of my favorite albums at the top of my head are probably: X “Under the Big Black Sun”, The Replacements “Tim”, Nick Lowe “Labour of Lust”, Real Kids "self titled", Phyllis Dillon "One Life to Live", Nikki and the Corvettes "self titled", Shocking Blue "At Home", all the "Girls in the Garage" and "Rodney on the ROQ" compilations...

Some of my favorite 45s are probably Howard Werth's "Obsolete" on Dangerhouse Records, such a great song. Mark Perry's "Whole World's Down On Me", Noosha Fox's "S-s-s-single Bed", The Bermudas' "Chu Sen Ling", I could go on and on.... :-)

Why are you collecting records? you can answer with aesthetic perspectives, hi-fi perspectives etc. etc. Do you care for rare pressings and/or several different colors of the same record, or just 1 random copy of each record?

I used to care about rare pressings, colored vinyl, having the record and cover be in “mint condition” and now I don’t really care about that kind of stuff. Records, especially rare records, are few and far between. I’d rather own a rare record that’s scratched to shit, rather than not own it at all. In fact, I think the scratchy sounds add some authenticity and make the song(s) sound more romantic. But don't get me wrong, I can totally see why people get crazy over different colors of vinyl, test pressings and so on. It's really no different than collecting, let's say, guitars. I mean, you really only need ONE guitar when you play and maybe one back-up guitar if a string breaks, right? So why are there people who own TEN guitars? Same goes for records! People buy 5 copies of the same record that they will NEVER listen to only because it's on different color vinyl.

Ms. Kelly Alvarez

What records are on your all time top want-list and why? (state specific pressing if relevant)

There’s a rare oldies record I’ve been looking for forever. It’s a Puerto Rican singer from the 60’s named “Julio Angel” and the album is called “Julio Angel & Tammy: 2 a Go Go” on the Hit Parade label (HPLP004). I don’t really buy records on eBay anymore, so having said that, other bands I’m looking for that I haven’t been able to find on vinyl in stores are The Flatmates, another band called Twa Toots and I really want Beat Happening’s 45 of “I Let Him Get to Me”. I'm ALWAYS looking for 60’s girl groups and obscure girl punk. I'd love to get The Deadbeats "Kill the Hippies" and Black Randy "I Slept in an Arcade" 7-inches because those 2 records would complete my Dangerhouse collection - it's my favorite punk label. I'd also love to have Knugen Faller's 1st EP and almost everything on the Ny Vag label (especially The Vicious s/t 12") - it's really hard to find records like that, at least in San Diego.

You mentioned that you work in a record shop, please elaborate on how that has had an influence on your collection.

I get really good deals on new and used records, and that’s why I continue to work there on the weekends, while I have a “normal” job during the week. Working there has made me appreciate vinyl a lot more. 10 years ago people would pull up in front of the store with a truck load of records, now they just trickle in from time to time. Nowadays, it's people selling their grandparent's records. I've come to the conclusion that grandparents have really shitty taste in music! The internet has destroyed used record stores. People want "top dollar" for their used records (and I don't blame them) - but these are the same people that talk shit because we don't have a rare punk 45 section in our store. Ask yourself this: Do YOU want to sell YOUR rare punk 45s to a record store? Well, neither does anyone else!

You're in a band called Jungle Fever, tell about that.

I sing and play guitar... it’s a female-fronted 3-piece pop punk band with my friends Cara (bass/vocals) and Mikey (an amazing drummer). I’m really influenced by other girl punk/pop bands from the 80’s and 90’s, like the 5.6.7.8’s, Shonen Knife, Go Sailor, the Go-Go’s, Nikki and the Corvettes, etc. and I just try to emulate that sound. Our debut 45 comes out around October on Windian Records and we’re beyond excited about someone putting out a record of ours.

Jungle Fever on myspace

Debut 7" out soon on Windian Records (facebook page)

**Side note: your blog is mostly about hardcore bands, so I have to mention that I'm aware that there's already a band called Jungle Fever from Australia!! Oh well!!

A selection from Kelly's record collection

How would you feel about paying... let's say paying $500 for a record, or $1000?

The most I've spent on a record is $60 for my YES LA picture disc compilation LP and $40 on my original Bags "Survive" 45 - both on Dangerhouse Records. It's just not in my budget to spend $500 or $1,000 on a record. $1,000 is 5 months worth of my car payment. Right now I have to keep my priorities in check (unfortunately). If you're spending $500 - $1,000 on one single record, I want to know what you do for a living!!!

Pick 1 band/record from the 80s era

Can I choose 70's and 80's? God... this is hard!! I guess I'd have to say The Ramones because they are the band that has influenced me the most. Also X's "Wild Gift" and "Under the Big Black Sun" LPs.

Pick 1 band/record from the 90s era

I mostly listened to oldies when I was a teenager, but I really love the first 2 Weezer albums. I haven't really followed their career since those 2 albums.

Pick 1 band/record from the 2000s era

Hmmm this is when it gets harder for me, since I don't really listen to THAT many modern day bands. I really love The Spits and Nobunny. I keep trying to write a song that sounds like The Spits, but no matter how fast or tough or loud a song I'm able to write, because I'm a girl, it just sounds like a cute little baby is singing along :-( I also really love The Muslims (now known as The Soft Pack). They're from San Diego/LA.

Pick 1 current band

Since I'm fascinated with really catchy, bubblegum "one hit wonder" type songs from the 70's, I guess I'd have to say Nobunny. His songs are really fun and his live shows are INSANITY.

What reunion show, if it were to happen, would you kill to attend (and not a random person, someone you cared about has to die)

I don't want anyone to die!! I'd love to get in a DeLorean and go back in time to see The Ramones, the original line up, in New York, in the 70's.

Your all time biggest want again?

JULIO ANGEL AND TAMMY: 2 A GO GO LP!!!!! It's too rare and I will never find it (insert crying noises here)

That's it. Be sure to pick the Jungle Fever 7"! Thanks to Kelly for spending time on this.

Next interview will probably be awhile due to communication problems.

Yours truely,

Rune.

Interview with Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid

2010-08-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

After some time away from the blog due to exams and such, I'm back with a new interview. This time Comeback Kid vocalist Andrew Neufeld chose to dedicate his time to answer a handful of questions I'd cooked up - mind that the interview questions were made before Victory launched pre-orders for Symptoms + Cures.

I asked Andrew some questions about the new record, his views on hardcore and what brought him to where he is music-wise. Here's his 2 cents...

So Andrew, how are things going with your new record - recording, artwork and such?

Everything is going good. We are now just coming to the end of some down-time (touring-wise). The new album is done. It's called Symptoms + Cures and it's coming out on August 31. We finally finished the artwork and getting packaging together. It's been a lot of work recording and post-recording but we have it ready and we're excited to get back on the road and play around the world.

How's the process been so far - had any problems or set-backs?

We had to push mixing back about a month or so because we couldn't get finished in time. We had a tour with Set Your Goals in the USA and couldn't get everything done in time, so we decided to come back and mix the album after the tour. I think it was a smart move because it allowed us more time to be prepared.

Can you unveil any details about the new record?

Symptoms + Cures is our 4th full-length. We recorded it in Toronto, Canada with Eric Ratz ad Kenny Luong. Our friends in Cancer Bats recommended them to us. We just kind of wanted a switch in studios, since our last two albums were with The Blasting Room in Colorado. It was cool for CBK to work with some fresh ears.

If the vulnerability of comparison allows us: How do you see the new record compared to your previous releases?

Musically, I feel like it's a bit of a throwback to our earlier material, but it's much more heavy and urgent vocals. More singalongs, and more of a punk twist to it. We wanted to have the album sound tight but raw, and have it screaming through the speakers as opposed to the clean sound you hear nowadays.

Please elaborate on what you want to do with the record musically?

This is our take on the hardcore/punk we want to play. We wanted to do some new things and expand with our genre. We wanted to write an album that would mostly translate live. There are some fun beer-spilling-over-the-red-cups-singalong songs, and then there are some more in your face hardcore songs.

Symptoms + Cures is being released through Victory Records just like your two previous records. A lot of bands have had their beef with Victory Records, but maybe that list of bands does not include you?

Every band/label that have been together for a few years have issues. It's a relationship like any other (business/personal), we have ups and downs. What I will say is that Victory has been so supportive of us as of late and really getting behind this record. They are really good to deal with and I'm in contact with them most days. We hope that they are as excited about our new album as we are.

You guys have been touring a lot. I remember me and a friend went to Hamburg, Germany to see you with Defeater. We ended up lost there because apparently the venue used to be on another location. So we did not attend anything (as our plan B, Have Heart - playing in Hamburg the same day, ended an hour before we got there)... Are you guys gonna make up for this any time soon?

Yes, we will be in Germany for Area 4/Highfield Festival. It's crazy that we're playing alongside Blink 182/Queens Of The Stone Age/Etc. so it will be an experience. We are coming back for a full European tour with Parkway Drive, Bleeding Through, Your Demise, etc. (red. see tour-dates here)

How did you get into hardcore? What was the scene like when you were new, and which bands made an impression on you?

I got into hardcore through the local scene in Winnipeg. I grew up listening more to skate punk in the 90's. Propagandhi was probably my first punk band, and then I would listen to NOFX, Lagwagon, etc. In the small city Winnipeg where we grew up, when I went to shows it was punk, oi, hardcore and metal bands all playing together. So there would be HC kids, punks, skins all circlepitting for all the different bands. Genres at shows weren't so separated then. So when I was about 14 after liking the Fat Wreck style stuff, I was introduced to Earth Crisis, Strife, Harvest (who were a new band in my area), Warzone, Lifetime, and Gorilla Biscuits. I was introduced to HC as a whole big diverse music scene, and that's why our influences are all over the place. We have a traditional HC base, but adding new elements to that.

How do you see the hardcore scene today? Is there anything that bugs you or fascinates you?

I love that HC is opening up in different parts of world, like SE Asia, South America, (we're actually touring South America with Sick Of It All in a few months - so excited!), and just a lot of places we've started to go to with strong local scenes, and now bands are able to tour these places. It blows my mind and we want to take advantage of these opportunities.

Pick 1 band from the 80s era - Sick Of It All/U2 haha

Pick 1 band from the 90s era - Propagandhi/Madball/Nirvana

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era - Twilight Singers/Mew

Pick 1 current band - Alberta Cross is kicking my ass right now.

Pick 1 record you'd kill to own - I don't have a home so I'd have nowhere but my storage unit to put my vinyl haha.

Pick 1 reunion show you'd kill to attend if it were to happen - Chain Of Strength!

Any last comments?
Thanks for the interview!

Pre-orders for Symptoms + Cures are up at the Victory Webstore now - go grab it!

That's it. Next interview will be posted in mid-August.

Yours truely,

//Rune

Interview with Timm McIntosh

2010-05-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Me and Timm have tried to do this interview for quite some time, and due to some unfortunate problems with the Panic Records website, shipping orders and such the interview first came through about a week ago. This interview, however, is worth the wait if I may say so.

I talked to Timm about Panic, hardcore in general, records and especially the new Another Breath record.

Enjoy!

First, I want to congratulate you on the things you’ve accomplished with Panic Records and with finally having the new Another Breath record out the way it was supposed to be.

Thanks. Seems the record was cursed and wasn't meant to come out. Seems as though Jan from Assault Records (Vinyl Pressing in Europe) also suffered some set backs on the record and it was delayed for him as well. Like I said, a cursed record, but man prevails and the record is out. One of the best records in recent hardcore history in my opinion.

A quick one… Who is Timm MacIntosh: how did he get into hardcore and which bands has he played in?

I'm just a kid that loves hardcore. I got into hardcore/punk around 1988/89. I would attend punk shows at a place called Second Level in Sacramento California, where I grew up. I was just a metal head that stumbled onto bands like DRI, 7 Seconds, Agnostic Front and then got more and more into that sound as I moved along. I had a friend that lived down the street from me and I am pretty sure it was the same for him, though he was a year older than me and stumbled onto more punk/hardcore and gave me a lot of stuff that I was really psyched to hear. I grew up in Sacramento, going to shows in Sacto and heading to the bay area (Berkeley) to see shows at Gilman as often as I could get over there. I was definitely excited about it all and in 1994 I moved to Seattle and started a band called Trial with Greg Bennick and Derek Harn. I also played guitar in Champion and sang for Wait In Vain. Right now. I just run a record label and get excited about new bands. Outside of the usual hardcore thing. I enjoy hanging with friends, movies and playing baseball. That's really it, I'm a simple man living a simple life (sometimes).

Could you please give a brief summary of how Panic Records was born?

I started Panic Records in 2005. Though I had always wanted to do a label and was going to attempt one in 1992 to release a friends band on 7". I got information from people that were already doing labels and found that it was a lot of work and the potential to lose a lot of money. At that time, I wasn't really financially stable enough to throw away a couple thousand dollars, I'm still not...but...fuck it. In 2005 I started up Panic to re-release the earlier Trial recordings since they had been out of print for so long and people always asked where they could get them. A remedy to their search was to release it myself. I didn't plan on releasing a ton of records, just whatever I enjoyed. If a band was filled with good people playing music that I loved...then I would help them out. Here it is 5 years later and I'm still putting out records that I think are great and have made a lot of great friends throughout the process, in that regard, it's pretty rewarding.

Why did you want to start a label?

I love music, have always loved music since a young kid. Any way I can be a part of music, I want to be a part of it. Listening, playing, putting out, producing, anything music related, I want to do it. There's absolutely no way that I could survive a day without listening to music. Starting a label just seemed like a natural thing.

The roster of your label contains other than just hardcore bands at the moment. With bands like Make Do And Mend and Man Overboard, and on the more melodic side of hardcore: Hostage Calm and Set Your Goals, was it your intentions to have such a diverse roster from the start when you first released the Trial record?

Most definitely. The label started with Hardcore bands because that's where I'm from. It's easier to deal with people that are on the same level as you. They understand there's no money in this. We're not going to get rich, we can't expect it. I would love Panic to get to a point to release any sort of record that I wanted. I listen to everything, all genres of music. Just because the label started as a hardcore label, doesn't mean that was the intention. Panic is whatever I want to put out. I don't expect that a kid into Another Breath or Trial is going to be into Man Overboard or Set Your Goals. It doesn't matter, it's what I'm into. If I can help out friends bands with their records and I like their band, then that's the way it is. The problem is, well for example...I'd love to release a record for a band that sounds like The Smiths or Stone Roses. I don't know if that will ever be possible because bands like that (indie rock bands) have this idea that they're going to be rockstars and expect a label to shell out thousands of dollars. There's no possible way for Panic to do something like that, so...Punk/Hardcore bands are where I'm at. Probably better that way. The guys in these bands are more modest and understanding. Kids like to steal music from artists and small labels and the money just isn't there to support their egos.

How do you see the hardcore scene today? I reckon you have been around for quite some time, so you must have witnessed some changes during the years. Could you tell about that?

Everyone has their own perspective of what the hardcore scene is. I think that has to do with your age. A kid that's around today would say "hardcore is the best that it's ever been" a kid from 1988 will say "hardcore is over, these kids have no clue". I'm probably stuck between the two because I don't think it's the best it's ever been, and I don't think it's horrible either. I see a lot of trends which can be highly annoying and I see a lot of kids and bands that are really inspiring. The biggest difference is the involvment of kids. Seemed as though up until the early 2000's, there was a lot more involvement from people; zines, tables, booking shows, helping bands, causes. The new generation (not just hardcore kids) is very sedate and I think that has a lot to do with the distraction of our modern culture. They're bombarded and their attention spans are limited. There's just so much all the time. Hardcore has suffered dramatically from this and our culture dwindles in the number of kids that are free thinking active individuals.

Of course now that you’ve told about the past, could you perhaps tell about the future for hardcore? Which way are hardcore heading if you were to make a prediction?

Man, I have no idea where it's heading. I hope that it becomes more involved. I just couldn't say though. I'd like to see more positive things coming out of the hardcore scene. One of the best things that I've seen lately is the Enough Is Enough Digital Compilations. That's the kind of involvement I would like to see more of. It'd be great for hardcore bands and kids getting involved in things like this. It's very inspiring and makes hardcore more than just music. If things like this don't continue...then it's really just background music for us to mosh to. I don't even mosh anymore, so I guess that would leave me out.

You’ve toured Europe with Trial and Wait In Vain. How do you see the European hardcore scene?

I toured Europe in 1999 with Trial and it was incredible. There was so much appreciation that was given to the bands. It was the same in the states at that time too. I toured Europe again in 2003 with a friends band and the appreciation was there, but not as much as I had noticed in 1999, could have been the band though. Last year Wait In Vain toured Europe with Outrage. There was a good amount of appreciation, but it definitely isn't the same as it used to be over there. I think it's that same mentality that "oh, another band, no care ever....will be seeing another one tomorrow" that is happening over here in the US. We've just become so spoiled that we don't really care much for a band that is pouring their hearts out, sacraficing their time and money to just reach 1 person and be happy. I'm not saying that we need to love every band that comes through, I know I don't get out to as many shows as I used to. But when I'm at a show, I pay attention to every band that's playing, they drove all the way to play my city, I'm gonna give them a listen for a couple songs at the very least.

Now to Another Breath and the new record. Why did you want to put this out? I remember reading that the album has been ready for quite some time, but they had trouble finding a label to put it out, is that correct?

Why wouldn't I want to put it out? I mean come on, it's Another Breath. I was already into Another Breath from Not Now, Not Ever and Mill City. I thought the band had broken up because I hadn't heard anything about them in so long. I was on a message board and someone posted that Another Breath had a new song up on their myspace page. I checked it out of course and was blown away. They also posted a blog that said they were looking for a label to release their record. This blows my mind because I couldn't believe a band like Another Breath would have a problem finding a label to put out The God Complex. I wrote them an email and just told them that I would LOVE to put out their record if they still needed someone to do it. We talked back and forth on the phone and it just made sense for the record to come out on Panic. They're all great people and I'm pretty stoked that this record is a part of Panic history. I still can't believe that another bigger hardcore label didn't grab this up.

Personally I see The God Complex as a big step forward compared to their earlier work – especially with the lyrics! How do you see The God Complex compared to their previous releases?

I think that Ted really dug into himself for the God Complex. I can't speak for him of course, but I would guess that with the subject matter you have to come strong or don't come at all. Reading the Another Breath blog about the development of the record and the lyrics, it's evident that Ted did a lot of soul searching and questioning of himself and god in general to arrive at the conclusions put forth on the God Complex. I think he did an incredible job. As someone in a band that is always striving to outdo what has previously been created, you are still proud of everything that you've done in the past. It's a part of who you are, so to compare the two, it's just two different times that you can't really compare. I don't think I would do any of the previous work of Another Breath justice to compare them and say one is better than the other. They're all great in their own rites.

The God Complex to me is kind of a concept-album centered on a topic that has been used a lot and is easily used with less powerful and intense effect. Still, I think Another Breath came out successful and they used this tense relationship with religion really creatively - without comparing - something I’ve only seen Defeater do as good within the last years (I don’t mean the subject religion, but concept-album in general). What are your thoughts on this as a “concept-album”?

I agree that when you get into subject matter that deals with religion, it's easy to lose the intensity by going a certain direction. I think that Another Breath was affectual because they didn't point fingers at anyone, instead delved inside to ask the questions of themselves and where they were coming from. For me, I didn't grow up in a religious family at all. Only went to church with a friend a couple of times, overall, didn't have religion in my life. I of course would question the existence of a god because I wasn't forced to believe there was one. I had the questions and the God Complex resonates with me because of that. I can identify with the record because of this. That makes it a pretty powerful record in my opinion. For a concept album to be relevent, there has to be a journey through it, Another Breath definitely take you on a journey with this record.

Another Breath had to cancel their European tour – can we expect a new one any time soon?

They'll be over there this summer actually. I think the dates are being firmed up right now. (dates are up at the Panic site and AB myspace page, red.)

Another Breath live 2008

What does Panic Records hold for us in the future? Can you give a hint of forthcoming releases, ideas, tours etc.?

The rest of the year is filled with releases. I'm pretty exicited for all of them. There's a new band that I'll be announcing soon that everyone should be blown away by. It's been a long time coming with them and they're finally going into the studio to record their full length. I know you'll love them, they're right up your alley. Make Do And Mend are going in to record their first LP in June. The Effort just finished up thier LP and that will be out in July. The Make Do And Mend / Touche Amore Split 7" and maybe a couple other things in there. So far, it's been a really busy year for Panic and the rest of the year looks to be just as busy. Hopefully everyone is into the records and supports them.

And finally, something I like asking:

Pick 1 band from the 80s era - I assume we're talking punk/hardcore bands so I won't say Bananarama. I'd go with, fuck I don't know. So many great bands from the 80's. Bad Brains, maybe?

Pick 1 band from the 90s era - BURN, hands down the greatest hardcore band of all time. I fucking love BURN.

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era - I really enjoyed Verse. I think Verse would be the band from 2000 - 2010.

Pick 1 current band - Defeater really gets me excited. That new EP is the jam. Of course any band on Panic would be in there, but then I'd feel like a real dick singling any one of them out. I love them all equally. hahaha.

Pick one reunion show you’d kill to attend - BURN, I would kill someone to see this. But it couldn't be someone random, it would have to be someone I didn't like.

Pick you record you’d kill to own - I don't know. I had a lot of records and sold them to start and keep this record label going. The irony right? So I've pretty much owned any record that I would kill to own. There's records that I would never sell because they mean a lot to me. BURN 7" on Pink and Turning Point LP on Clear. Those two records will always be in my collection, even when I become homeless from doing a record label, I'll carry those two records around with me along with my sleeping bag.

Any last comments?

Sorry it took me a million years to do this interview, hope it came out well. I'm not big on interviews, don't know that I am as well spoken as I'd like to be. To anyone reading, if you've supported Panic Records in the past or going to in the future, thank you. It's appreciated more than I can tell you.

Another Breath - The God Complex can be ordered from Panic Records (US pressing) and from Assault Records (Ger) (EU pressing).

Pressing info for The God Complex (US pressing):

Black vinyl Rejected Test Press /15

Black vinyl Accepted Test Press /15

Grey vinyl "The God Reject" /100

Brown vinyl w/ black labels West Coast Tour edition /100

Brown vinyl /100

Black vinyl w/ silkscreened pre-order cover /108

Grey vinyl /200

Yours truely,

Rune.

Interview with Kalle of Balance

2010-04-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

After a little break, I'm back with more interviews and the first one is with Kalle Hallqvist of Balance.

I asked him some questions about collecting records and about their forthcoming LP release.

Here's what he had to say...

Kalle, please give a summary of how Balance came alive, and tell a little about the changes during the lifespan of the band and the current state of affairs.

Balance came alive after me and Ulf moved to Lund right after the summer 2007. We moved into Johans parents house since they both were going to Malaysia to work for at least a year. Since we all were straight edge, into the same kind of hardcore and without bands for the moment, it just felt natural to form something together. Max who used to play guitar in the band Castaway (Johan used to sing in that band too) wanted to play drums, so he was in right away.

We started rehearsing alot and recorded a demo maybe two months after forming. We did a show with Sinking Ships and a few others at that time. We did a short tour with Anchor a couple of months later and recorded a 7" after that tour. We didn't have any changes at all during our lifespan, it has always been the four of us and we never wanted it any other way. As for now we are no longer a band. Johan didn't want to do it anymore, his heart wasn't in it. He is studying really hard with something really serious, so he didn't have the time for everything we wanted to do with the band.

You mentioned that Balance is no longer a band and yet you're still about to record your first (and last) LP this summer, right?

Do you think that will be affected by that fact that you're all aware of this being the last thing you're gonna do, before you d it?

We are no longer a band, but we still wana do this LP as the last thing we do. The last thing is gonna be the best shit we've ever done. The reason why we wanted to do it in the first place was that we had so many great songs that we had spent hours and hours in the rehearsalroom perfecting and polishing. And we have evolved so much since the first 7", so we felt that it would suck if we wouldn't get this on tape before we quit. The new songs are so much harder and so much more New York than we have ever sounded before. Johan has never sounded so furious, Ulf plays some sick guitar and Max fucking shreds man. I'm so proud of this and we still have some hours left in the studio until we're done.

I know some of you broke edge, which there's nothing wrong with. However, Balance was kind of a vocal straight edge band to me, how is this gonna affect the message of Balance and the lyrics on your forthcoming LP?

Yeah, both Max and Johan broke edge, but I don't really care since they are still the same people for me, still the same good friends. And I know that some of the lyrics were pretty vocal about straight edge, I mean, we were a straight edge band with a clear standpoint, but that's not what all the songs were about. Just a few. I think the songs on the LP are gonna deal with the same kind of variety as the ones on the 7" and the split.

Are you currently involved in any other bands? Or thinking about starting something new up?
I have just started a new band together with two of the dudes from FY FAN and a dude called Alex, who look like the perfect mix between Henry Rollins and a heavy fucking tank from world war II. The band is called Self Abuse and it sounds like a couple of good years in Boston around 81-85. We have 8 songs that we are going to record in like 2 weeks. Expect a demo and a shitload of shows all over the place after that.

I know you've started your own label Jaguar Trust Records. Was it with the intention of releasing the LP on your own label? Or will Not Just Words Records or another label put it out?
Yeah I just did, and it has been fucking awesome so far. I put out the Fuckyoufingers - World Domination LP and have a few more releases coming up as well. I'm not gonna do the Balance LP though, another label is going to do it I think. I don't really know actually, haha. Hopefully Not Just Words Records will do it because those dudes are awesome and did such a good job with the "In Like A Lion" 7".

Since Balance is set to release this final record at some point, I guess talking about some "final shows" is relevant, or is it?

Yeah absolutely! We will play a last show, or some last shows for sure. We have just been talking a bit about it, but one thing is sure; we are gonna go out with a bang...!

Draw me a picture of the hardcore scene in Sweden. I've been to shows in Lund a couple of times and I got the impression that the scene is relatively well supported? At least compared to Copenhagen, haha....

The scene in Sweden is amazing right now. There are so many good bands and so many cities with good venues and good local support. People travel a whole lot from allover the country to attend shows. People does fanzines again and it seems like a lot of young people are here to stay. One thing that I really see as a good sign is that swedish bands gets better support and more stagedives than american bands that come here on tour. I think it's fucking awesome that we take care of what we have in such a good way. Everytime I cross the bridge and go to shows in Copenhagen it's always super crowded and fun. A bit different atmosphere than in Sweden, but still good!

You should always take care of what you have and keep building on the scene, that's how you make it last.

Let's talk about records Kalle. Tell me a bit about your favorite records and where you go record hunting in Sweden.

Haha, I do love records and love buying them. The thing is that I don't really like buying expensive records all that much. No overpriced Ebay shit! Everyone could buy whatever on there, you just need money and I'm not a fan of that. I'd much rather scope 2nd hand stores and fairs and shit, and occasionally bumping in to someone that has some gnarly shit, and when that happens I get more excited than ever, haha. When the amphetamine-user tries to sell a huge pile of record to a 2nd hand store and gets refused and I see that he carries a few Battery CD's, I ask to buy them from him and ask what else he has. A few weeks later I end up buying demo tapes and 7"s from loads of old swedish punk and hardcore bands in perfect condition really really cheap. That's what I love about record hunting!

Some of my favorite finds include Citizens Arrest - Collosus (1st press on Wardance), Absolution 7" on Combined Effort and loads of other shit. I'm not home right now, but this is the stuff I found dirt cheap and love to death, haha.

Are you the kind of nerd like me who is obsessed with collecting every variation of all releases from a handful of bands?

I don't collect that way at all! I do have some "must haves" in my mind, a lot actually, but I never spend large amounts on records. I know what I like and I have a rather unfocused taste in music, so I dig pretty much everything from the most neanderthal punk to youth crew to black metal and early emo etc. I do collect everything and have almost everything from Scholastic and Millencolin (first band I really really got into when I was younger).

Pick 1 band from the 80s era - Uniform Choice

Pick 1 band from the 90s era - Lifetime

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era - The First Step

Pick 1 current band - Hårda Tider

Pick 1 reunion show you'd love to attend - Judge (but I hope it never happens!)

Pick 1 record you'd kill to own - Uniform Choice - Screaming For Change (Wishingwell Rec.)

Any last comments?

Thanks for the interview Rune and sorry for taking so long to answer it!

Please check out jaguartrustrecords.wordspress.com and buy the LP! Keep an eye out for Self Abuse, we are gonna bust the house down.

Pressing info for Balance - In Like A Lion 7":

Black vinyl (TYF Demo rip-off cover for Edge Day 2008) /30

Black vinyl Test Press (with blank handnumbered labels - sold on tour) /50

Black vinyl (Pre-order sleeve) /75

Dark blue vinyl /100

Black vinyl /825

Pressing info for Balance/Hårda Tider split 7":

Black vinyl Test Press (no cover) /3

Black vinyl Friends Press (blue cover) /20

Black vinyl (black/white cover with different inner sleeve) /100

Black vinyl (colored cover) /900

Next up is (hopefully) my long awaited Timm MacIntosh interview, Interview with Common Cause and an interview with female collector Kelly.

Your truely,

Rune.

React! Showcase 2010

2010-04-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

Next interview will go up when I return from this....

Interviews coming up: Balance, Panic Records, Common Cause, Comeback Kid, female hc vinyl collector Kim

Interview with James of Times Together

2010-03-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

This weeks interview is with James, singer of Times Together - one of my current favourite bands. I already thought about doing this interview when I was searching the field for my first interview. I thought it would be a great follow-up to have the next interview be with a member of one of Seb's new releases. Also I wanted to do this interview because even though the "question-structure" is similar to my last interview, I can relate to some of the questions personally here, being that I too live where no hardcore-scene lives!

Times Together is more or less holding down the Youth Crew fort in the UK all by themselves, here's what James had to say when I asked him a bunch of questions... He even managed to secretly dizz my blog in one of them, haha! ;-)

James, first of all let me congratulate you and the rest of the band on the release of The Changing Of The Leaves 7" - a killer debut if you ask me.

Could you give a quick summary of how Times Together came alive and what you wanted to do with the band?

Well, to start off with Gaz, Dave and Dex were all playing in a band called Affirmation (they were awesome, check out the CD on Courage To Care Records), but with Gaz on vocals and not an bass like in Times Together, and I was singing in a band called Marks Get Set GO! at the same time. Being that we were from the same area, ad pretty much the only bands in the country playing a "youth crew" style of hardcore, we played a few shows together. At one show both bands were playing together I arranged with the guys from Affirmation for us to do a few cover songs inbetween the sets, but with Gaz on bass, and me on vocals (this line-up later became Times Together). Not long after that MGSG! broke up, and I still wanted to do a so called "youth crew" or "traditional" style hardcore band so I asked those guys if they wanted to start something. Affirmation had always had problems finding a bass player (our good friend Hash played bass for them alot towards the end) so it only kinda made sense I suppose for Gaz to jump on bass and me on vocals, that way we had a solid line-up!

As far as what we wanted to do with the band, I suppose there were no set targets in the beginning, just to play hardcore the way we love it to be played, fast and sounding like all the bands we loved from the 80s and "97"-era, put out a demo and play some shows :-). Although I suppose we had always hoped that we would put out a 7" in the future :-).

I remember you saying that you've had these songs ready for quite some time, howcome they first saw a release now?

Yeah, the songs were recorded in July 2009, I suppose it has been a while until they saw the light of day, and some of those songs have been actually been finished a long time before that!

I suppose sometimes things just take a while to happen, I mean we really wanted to have that silver spot colour on the records which was probably the main hold up with the production of the record sleeves (the vinyl was actually ready a long time before the sleeves), but at the end of the day, it's worth it to get something you are happy with. I think Seb first asked us to do a record in October 2008 if my memory serves me right! But we didn't wanna rush anything, we wanted to let the song writing process take its own path , and then once the songs were finished we wanted to get them as tight as possible before recording them. Same goes with the artwork, we wanted to get every aspect perfect, so that in 10 years time you don't look back and think "I'd change that bit now if I could", so yeah a few extra months is nothing to get something you are 100% happy with.

The irony is, that because the record was finished and recorded in July, we have been working on new material since then, and are a good way into writing a follow up record, so after a long wait for our first record, the follow up might come around a lot quicker! :-)

How did you guys decide to let Just Another Day Records put it out?

Well like Seb mentioned in his interview previous, I knew him a little bit from the Thunder Lizard messageboard! The funny thing is , just as Seb asked us to do a record we were in the process of making these promo CD's to send out to different record labels that we liked, so they ended up never going out and just got given to a few select friends and people who had helped us out as a band.

But anyway, yeah Seb asked us if we wanted to do a 7" on his new record label he was starting up. At this point he hadn't released any records and bands like Overload and Debaser weren't on the label yet, but to be honest we didn't even need to think about it! I knew Seb was a huge record collector and loved all the little details in records, so I knew he would do an amazing job, and also he had told me he was going to put out the Freewill Discography, and the chance to be on the record label that put out a record by a band that we love, that influences our sound, we were never gonna up on that!

I had the great opportunity of listening to the 7" in mp3-form before it came out and I was blown away to say the least - what are your own thoughts on how the vinyl came out; from the musical aspect to the layout?

Yeah I'm really happy with how it came out :-). The print job, especially on the colour photo on the cover, is outstanding! I mean really something special! Everything looks amazing, the thick card for the sleeve, the labels on the record, everything. I think Seb did an amazing job, I also have to big up Chris who designed the record, and just did an overall awesomejob with every little detail, be it specifying the thickness of the card, or the layout! The whole idea was for it to look like a record that could have been on Wishingwell Records, and in my own personal opinion, I think we succeeded. As for the vinyl, it sounds really good. The thing is, the amount of music on each side is on the limit of what you can fit on a record, and if you take that into consideration, not to much quality has been lost really, although it will obviously not sound exactly the same as when you hear it on CD. But yeah the whole thing exceeded my expectations!

Your record release show is right around the corner, can we Europeans expect a tour anytime soon?... And what about the US?

Yeah, well, if we ever sort out the record release! ha ha. Nah, but seriously I will have to sort that out soon! As for tours, yeah you can expect to see us in Europe for sure. We've been saying it for a long time, but we will definitely come over! We plan to play some shows with our buddies in Birds Of A Feather, I think the initial plan was to play Belgium, Holland and Germany, but that got put on hold for a while, but hopefully it will get sorted out for this year. I know I wanna play Europe and see those guys again soon!

As for the US, I can't see that ever happening if I'm honest. It sucks, but that's just the way things are :-(. I'd love to do it, and would be there in a second, but I don't have as many responsibilities and commitments as the rest of the band do. So realistically, I can't see it happening, but never say never I suppose! (For instance if Uniform Choice did a reunion show and we all came over for a few days, we could play a show in there somewhere! ha ha).

My knowledge on UK-based Youth Crew bands doesn't reach far. I know that the UK doesn't have a well-breathing scene, right? Why do you think that is?

Yeah there is nothing to have knowledge on to be honest. There is a band called XcurraheeX from Manchester, they have just had a record come out on Commitment Records, and are really cool, so check them out.

Other than those guys and us, I can't really think of another band playing this style. There has been a few bands in the past, In The Clear, The Last Chance, Touchdown and then bands that the other guys in Times Together have been in, Step Back, Approach, Affirmation (yeah those guys are old! ha ha ha) and a few other bands I'm not thinking of, but not much. I think the UK has a scene, but just not the kind of hardcore I personally can relate to, bands that wanna sounds like No Warning, or Integrity or whatever other stuff people like in that vain seem to be everywhere, but "youth crew" hardcore just never took on here. I mean, you go to a show, and you don't see people wearing Bold shirts, that shit ain't right!

How do you see the hardcore scene in general today? In your time here, what has changed in a good way and what has changed in a less positive way?

I think it's hard to comment on really, as you can talk about so many different things. In a way things seem to be slowing down a bit, a lot of messageboards that used to be really active seem to be pretty dead nowadays (Thunderlizard RIP), and I think a lot of poeple seem to be losing interest in one way or another that I used to see around a lot. But then there are always a new wave of people coming through at the same time. I think it's great that there seems to be a new line of younger kids getting into good hardcore through things like React! Records and the React! Messageboard, and there a lot of cool new/newish record labels keep things alive like Just Another Day Records, Salad Days Records, Amendment Records etc, as well as the great lebsl still going strong like Crucial Response. I think in the UK there used to be a lot more people into the kind of hardcore that I can relate to than there is nowadays. I mean, you used to go to a show and see people in Bold or Chain Of Strength shirts, I'm not saying all the time, but it would happen, and that just doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I think a lot less "decent" bands tour over here as well, I mean, a lot more bands tour over here from The States, but they are mostly average, and that being polite in my opinion. Before when a band used to tour, at least they used to be a decent band, with more than a demo out.

I actually have a bit of a different opinion to a lot of people when you read interviews with people wbout these kind of topics, most people seem to say, start a band, do something to contribute to the scene. I actually think (well in the UK anyways) there are way too many mediocre bandsout there already, I mean, there are just so many bands that sound the same and don't wanna try something different, it's ridiculous. And when, on the very odd occasion, a band that you would love to play with like The First Step, the support is usually laughable. We would have loved to play with bands we love and respect like TFS. What the answer is to stuff like this I don't know though :-(, but that's just my opinion. There seems to be a lot less zines floating around now as well, which is a shame, but I suppose with the internet, and particularly "blogs" that was always going to be the case :-(, which is a bit of a shame, although The Effort Fanzine is making up for the lack of other quality zines at the moment.

Hardcore sure is taking advantage of "modern day technology", that be messageboards, Myspace, Bigcartel, etc. etc. Do you think this "digital-unity" helps keep the scene alive more now than ever, given that in the UK and in Denmark the scene is... well subtle?

I think those can definitely be a good thing. I mean, as an example, from our perspective as a band, without Myspace and messageboards, we probably wouldn't have sold half the amount of records, demos, shirts etc. that we have, and people from places like Australia wouldn't have picked up our record, I know that for sure. I would imagine about 70-80% of the stuff we sell gets sent outside the UK if I'm being honest. While playing for people locally is really great, and people picking up your record at a show who might not necessarily be into the bands who influenced you is really awesome also, for me, I love it when people get the chance to hear us and like what we do, who also love the bands that influence us, people who actually see the little references and nod's to other bands in songs and fully get the sound you are going for. That's what I like the most anyway :-). I have joked before when we write a song, that if our friend "Will" likes it, than it's all good! (Especially if he plays "air-bass" at a show) :-).

I think also people can find out more about shows happening etc. which is good, but I'm really not into downloading. I mean, I don't want just the songs, the artwork/package is just as important to me. I remember waiting for that last Damage Control 7" to come out for what seemed like years! I must have passed on downloading those songs so many times, even though I wanted to hear them so bad, I knew it would be worth waiting for. I suppose it's how you get into things though. I think I got into hardcore just before stuff like the internet took off (or it was there and I didn't know about it!), so I bought most of my records because a bands' name was in another bands' thanks-list, or because the record had College font on the front, a picture of a guy X'ed up or wearing a Bold shirt. And I mean, some of the best records were discovered that way! That's probably why we wanted to make sure there was a bit of a Chain Of Strength shirt on the front of our record! ha ha.

Are you collecting records yourself? If so, what is the thrill of it to you? What is your most charished piece of vinyl?

Yeah I collect records. I don't really know what the thrill is to be honest, ha ha. It's just something you do. I think when it's a record you wanted for ages, and it turns up in the post, it's so exciting opening that package, and looking through it all and listening to it. I'm also really big on my shirts as well, there is something about an awesome shirt, that is just so special. Although it sucks the amount that don't fit me anymore.

Sadly though, I haven't picked up many shirts or records in the last year. It used to be the case I'd get one or two things a week, now it's probably once a month. I think while I've been waiting for our record to come out, my mind has really been on that, so hopefully I'll pick up where I left off now, although the more you get the things you want, the less there is left to get :-).

My most charished piece of vinyl? That's hard. I love my Insted - Bonds Of Friendship on red vinyl and on white vinyl. I mean, that's one of the greatest albums ever, no doubt, and it's Wishingwell coloured vinyl, which is always something special! I also love my Chain Of Strength records, again just a classic record. Another record I love, which I suppose isn't really that rare, or worth that much money in the scheme of things, is Uniform Choice - Staring Into The Sun gatefold-LP on red vinyl. I don't know why that one comes to mind, but I just love everything about it, the artwork, and the record is just amazing musically.

I suppose I should stop here, but there is so much stuff I could list, my Fastbreak collection, my Tiebreak test, Damage Control tests, Envy test, Eyeball test, those are all things that I was so happy to get.

To be fair, Gaz and Dave from Times Together both have records I think would blow all this stuff away, and would probably blow most other peoples best record away. Gaz has a really amazing shirt collection too, ha ha.

I've also asked Seb of Just Another Day Records the following question, I think it's great fun:

(Hardcore only)

Pick 1 band from the 80s era - I'd be tempted to say Uniform Choice or Unity, but since Seb has gone UC, I'll go Youth Of Today to keep it interesting.

Pick 1 band from the 90s era - Hands Tied

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era Desperate Measures (Our Turn and Damage Control rockin' up a close second)

Pick 1 currently playing - Remission

Pick 1 reunion show you'd kill to attend if it were to happen - Uniform Choice/Unity

Pick 1 record you'd kill to own - Unity - You Are One on blue vinyl (and the obviously Youth Of Today - Break Down The Walls on red and on blue vinyl!)

Any last comments?

Thanks for doing this interview Rune, sorry it took me a while to get back to you!

If anyone wants, you can get our stuff here timestogether.bigcartel.com

We should hopefully have some new 4-sided shirts coming in the next few weeks.

Also, check out Remission, Birds Of A Feather, Alert, Resolve, and Right Idea and the record labels / bands I've mentioned above. Last but not least, thanks to Seb for putting out the record and believing in us :-).

One Love!

Pressing info for Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7":

Black vinyl Test Press /22

White mix vinyl /11

Record release version /??

Red vinyl /90

Purple vinyl /110

Green vinyl /120

White vinyl /180

Get Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7" here!

Next up is my interview with Timm MacIntosh of Panic Records, and I've started to plan the next one as well. Stay tuned!

Yours truely,

Rune.

Interview with Seb of Just Another Day Records.

2010-03-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

This is the first post on my new (or improved) blog. I got bored with just posting pictures of stuff I get in the mail and didn't really see a point in the long run as it got more and more trivial. Therefore I decided to turn this into an interview-blog - focussing on new releases I find interesting and news in general from bands and labels.

My goal is to post interviews that are actually interesting to read. Not all of them will have the vinyl collectors aspect included, but that's something I myself can live with as long as I get an interesting interview done.

This interview is with a good friend, who's currently running one of the best labels around in my opinion. Here's Seb of the Belgic Just Another Day Records. He has recently released Resolve - Won't Stand By LP and Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7".

Here we go...

1. First I want to ask you a few questions about hardcore in general. I reckon that you've been in the scene for quite some time. How have you seen the scene change in the time you've been around?

That's a good question. Well I think the major change for me is that most of my friends don't go to shows anymore and started having other interests, I think they wanted a life rather than being surrounded with sweaty dudes. I guess now I must say I don't go to shows much myself anymore, as I don't want to travel 4 hours to see a show anymore, unless the band is really good...

Another change is that the whole hardcore scene has pretty much died in my opinion. There used to be shows everywhere, at some point I went to 3 shows a week, seeing the same bands over and over again. Some people may say otherwise, but to me it's just not the same seeing Liar again as it was 10 years ago.

Also I try to listen to a alot of Belgian bands in hopes that I can do a record with one someday.

Other than that the internet has changed a lot, not only for hardcore, but for the world in general. Let's say about 12 years ago I'd never surfed on the internet before - you actually had to buy records/tapes/CDs to hear the band you wanted hear. Compilations were still interesting to buy since you could check out a lot of bands at once. These days you can find whatever record you want to hear online in a matter of minutes, no matter how obscure they are, and that isn't always a good thing since there are idiots around who think that music should be for free and that is complete bullshit.

I'll just end here, I could name a few more, but these are the major changes I experienced when I first got into hardcore.

2. How do you see the future for hardcore with labels such as your own, React!, B9, Panic Records etc. etc. ?

I hope that every label will still be around and hopefully I can do the label full time in 10 years (fingers crossed this actually happens, haha). Basically I don't think we should compare Just Another Day Records with Bridge 9 or Panic, there are people working fulltime for the label there, they are both some of the biggest labels and do this with a lot of passion.

Maybe we'll celebrate JAD50 in a few years ;-)

3. Maybe you could mention some of your own favourite current labels and current favourite bands?

There are so many good bands and labels around these days. Anything Salad Days Records has put out is amazing, Hearts In Hands Records is doing a good job, Life To Live Records does some good stuff, React! is on top of their shit. I guess I would only name bands on those labels haha. At least I try to support as many labels as possible these days, which is something I haven't always done sadly.

4. What got you into starting a label in the first place, and why do you think it got off to such a good start (at least that's how I see it) ?

I alwats wanted to do a label, but I was way too busy with collecting records, so most of my money went to that. At some point I kind of lost fun in collecting and it became more of an obsession. For example when I would spend 300 euros on one record, I just looked at it a few times and stored it away and maybe took it out once or twice a year.

There were 2 reasons to start Just Another Day Records: mainly for the love of vinyl and hardcore in general, and to do something for the scene that gave me so much all these years.

I'd never thought it would go this good, so I started taking things a little more serious - I think you can reflect this on our 2 latest releases. To anyone reading this, I can't thank you enough for your support, without you guys I would be nowhere!!

It will be cool when I can show these records I put out to my own children/grand children to prove that their old man wasn't always a lame ass haha.

5. Just Another Day Records' first release was the supreme Debaser debut 7". After such a good start from a new label, it might have been hard to follow up, but that surely wasn't the case. You've recently released Resolve's first full-length LP and the debut 7" by Times Together. How do you see these releases in the line of JAD releases?

It was a great move to contact Debaser. For some reason I felt that this band had something special before anyone else realised. In theory the Out To Sea 7" was going to come first, but when we announced the news about Debaser, about 25 people were emailing saying they couldn't wait for the record, so I took JAD04. When I received the test presses my hands were shaking and I was like "Oh my god the first JAD test is a fact!" I smiled the whole week like a little child, in fact I still do that when new releases arrive - so stoked to check them out; if there are any variants, how they've come out etc. etc. I guess record collectors can understand the feeling. With the Debaser record, there was like 12 red copies that made my day even better haha. Also when people email/tell me (good) things about the label releases I always get so excited haha.

Back to your question: Just Another Day has a more youth crew approach (90% of the upcoming are at least), Resolve and Times Together fit in perfectly. I don't really see a line in future releases, the logic is to put out awesome records. Who knows, our next record might be by a German grindcore band that has been around for 20 years!!

6. Given that JAD has gotten a core of die-hard supporters pretty much from the start, and top quality bands, how do you see JAD grow in order to achieve bigger things in the future, in terms of being an attractive label to the bands you want to release stuff by?

Well actually I think I need to keep giving smaller bands a change and that's what I'm going to. For example the upcoming Half The Battle LP came out of nowhere. I normally don't "sign" bands when they ask me to put out their record, but the least I can do is take a listen. This one blew me away. Even though they are from Asia, this one needs to be heard and I'm sure a lot of people will agree with me that this is a musical gem by a fairly small band. I've also noticed that Eastern Europe has a lot to offer these days, so who knows what will happen.

Also, my intention is to build a solid home to bands, if they want to stick with me because they are happy, I realise I'm doing well. Happy bands usually means awesome records.

7. When you first gave me the privilege of listening to both records in mp3-form in advance, you literally told me that the Resolve record perhaps would be the hardcore release of the year in your own opinion. It took me about 3 or 4 "mp3-spins" to be convinced about just that (Times Together caught on faster). Why did you want to release these two records? What do you find interesting about Resolve and Times Together musically?

Resolve was on my "I-want-to-put-out-a-record-by-them-list" haha, no just kidding. Their 7" on Commitment Records was one of the best in the past years. They had already made a name for themselves and are somewhat underrated in my opinion, I hope the LP changes that. I first got in touch with them when I had plans to do a compilation LP (it's still going to happen by the way). I told Mike (singer) that whenever they were in need of a label, I'd always be down to do the LP. I never thought Mike would email me back asking if I still wanted to put out their LP. I didn't listen to the whole record, only the first 2 songs. I somehow felt the same as I did with Debaser; this could be a very special record. Mike's vocal is a little more aggressive than most singers in youth crew bands, with that you'll recognize immediately that it's a Resolve record.

Times Together was about to record the 7", I had listened to the demo and was greatly impressed. I knew James (singer) from the old Thunder Lizard board. So I just asked if they would be interested in doing a record. This was even before Debaser and Overload came along. The whole 7" took about a year to get out, but both music-wise and artwork-wise it's a gem. As many people say; they could be on Wishingwell Records if they'd existed 20 years ago. Music-wise I can find myself a lot in the Wishingwell catalog, and basically we shared the same love for Freewill so that also helped!! When I heard the entire 7" for the first time, I knew this one was going to be awesome.

8. The quality of these two releases, not just musically, has received a lot of praise. What were your thoughts about the layout and quality when these releases were merely "blueprints" ? (please elaborate on the Trooper-cover)...

The Times Together layout was completely James' own idea, I didn't have any input in. To my knowledge I wouldn't have changed anything on it, it's a fresh idea which James did good on. The silver spot colouring came out exactly like it needed to be. So all credit to him and the band for this one.

The Trooper cover (Resolve) was done by my friend Mike (singer for Make Or Break). The guy has amazing skills and he was the perfect man to have my ideas worked out. It took me a while to convince the band to let me do this one though haha. The basic idea as you may know or not know is a tribute to the almight Iron Maiden. We used The Trooper-cover of theirs as inspiration and Mike designed a hardcore version of the sleeve!! I was, needless to say, pretty stoked to say the least, even the folks at the pressing plant commented that it was done top notch.

I think both gatefolds differ from each other as well as the vinyl colours to go with. It wasn't cheap to make it, but it sure as hell was worth it.

When I look back at it now I would sort of have made a back for the silkscreened cover!

Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7" (all variants shown, except for the Record Release version)

Resolve - Won't Stand By LP (silkscreened cover /80)

Resolve - Won't Stand By LP (The Trooper-cover /400)

9. Your thoughts on the vinyl colours? There weren't a lot of "colour-mistakes" This time.

Apart from the Overload 7"s which was a complete disaster. All my 7"s are pressed at a small plant in Germany, run by 2 nice folks. They are the nicest people, they only do 7"s, if they would do LPs I would press them there too! I think the vinyl quality is very good and you can order small quantities of colours which is cool. As far as I know I've never heard anybody complaining about the vinyl colours and/or the quality. That there are colours mistakes is understandable, I can understand that they don't clean out their machines if I order 4 colors for a 500 press, but even big plants doesn't clean out their plates, so mispresses are are part of the game, not everybody is happy with this. I will continue to press my 7"s there, why change something if you're happy, right ;-)

Resolve - Won't Stand By LP (regular cover)

10. What does JAD hold for us next time? Can you tell us something about the future releases? I know some are already to be released next month.

What is about to be released is the Half The Battle LP, a Beartrap 5", Sanity's Dawn/Wadge split 7" and a new Resolve 7" with 3 songs they recorded last fall. There are a good amount of projects in the works, but I'll announce that when the time is right!

11. And the question I want to ask just because it's fun:

Pick 1 band from the 80s era: Uniform Choice

Pick 1 band from the 90s era: Floorpunch

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era: Drug X Test

Pick 1 current band: Too much to mention

Pick 1 reunion show you would attend if it happened: Rain On The Parade

Pick 1 record you'd kill to own: Floorpunch - Division One Champs 7" Test Press

Any last comments?

Thanks to every band that had enough faith in me to let me do a record, everybody who bought from me and supported JAD in any way, Andreas and the MY45 pressing plant, Dave and Ed from AGRM, Bieber and Christian from Flight13, DrukkerijVan Damme and you, Rune, for doing this interview it was a lot of fun to fill in, good luck with your blog and your collections!

That was it. My first serious interview is done and I am satisfied with the outcome. If you liked it, follow this blog, comment, do anything! :)

Pressing info for Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7":

Black vinyl Test Press /22

White mix vinyl /11

Record Release version /??

Red vinyl /90

Purple vinyl /110

Green vinyl /120

White vinyl /180

Pressing info for Resolve - Won't Stand By LP:

Black vinyl Test Press /20

Record Release version /30

Burgundy vinyl (silkscreened sleeve version) /80

Burgundy vinyl (regular sleeve) /220

Green vinyl /300

Red w/ splatter vinyl (The Trooper version) /400

Next up is interviews with James from Times Together and Timm MacIntosh who runs Panic Records! So be sure to check back soon!

I'll try to have one new interview up every week at least.

Yours truely,

Rune.

Just to sum it op...

2010-02-26T16:27:00.001-08:00

The last weeks have been heavy work for my mailman and I've been too busy to keep up with it here, so.... I'll just post a list of all the records I've gotten within the last weeks.... no descriptions, no pictures....

Committed - The Pride We Share (Green vinyl, Reflections Rec /100)

Sportswear - Keep It Together (Slikscreen sleev, CRR)

Sportswear - It Runs Deep (CRR)

Know Your Enemy - S/t (CRR)

Right Idea - Our World (Olive vinyl, Bottled Up Rec.)

Resolve - S/t (Chung King rip-off sleev #11/15)

One Voice - Break Free (Blue vinyl, CRR)

The Defense - Common Sense (Green vinyl, CRR)

The Defense - Statement (Orange vinyl, CRR)

Thought Crusade - It's Our War (Clear vinyl, Triple-B Rec. /100)

Usipian - Clouded Restrainment (Metal Fortress /300)

Stand & Fight - Impact Demo (Red vinyl, B9)

Pushed Aside - S/t (Indecision Rec.)

Hit The Lights - S/t (Reaper Rec.)

Strike First - Chan Down Babylon (CRR)

Up Front - What Fire Does (Red vinyl, Smorgasboard Rec.)

Vitamin X - Straight Edge Crew (Commitment Rec.)

Atari - Skate Tuff (Siton Rec.)

Go It Alone / Blue Monday - Split (White vinyl, Rivalry Rec.)

Damage Control - Can't Keep Us Down (CRR)

Downslide / Know Your Enemy - Split (CRR)

Expired Youth - Where We Stand (Think Fast! Rec.)

Fired Up - When The Lights Go Out (Blue vinyl, Youngblood Rec.)

Go For Broke - Open Your Mind (Take The Risk Rec. /100)

12"

Turning Point - 1988-1991 Discography 2LP (Orange vinyl, Think Fast! Rec.)

Defeater - Travels (White vinyl, Topshelf Rec. /100)

Right Idea - Our World (React! Rec. Accepted Test Press /20)

Mainstrike - No Passing Phase (CRR)

Lie And Wait - Led Astray (Blue-white swirl vinyl, Triple-B Rec.)

One Voice - Break Free (Orange vinyl, CRR)

Token Entry . The Re-Issues 2LP (Gold vinyl, Durty Mich Rec. /500)

Damage Control - What It Takes (Purple vinyl, Livewire Rec.)

Give Up The Ghost - Background Music (Burning Heart Rec.)

Modern Life Is War - Midnight In America (Reflections Rec.)

Modern Life Is War - My Love. My War. (Black-gold swirl vinyl, Lifeline Rec.)

Reaching Forward - For The Cause (Reflections Rec.)

Subject To Change - What Tomorrow Brings (CRR)

The Defense - From The Start (CRR)

Stand & Fight - Together We Win (Blue-grey swirl vinyl, B9 /770)

Lights Out - Overload (Blue marble vinyl, Youngblood Rec.)

Onward - These Words Still Pray (Silkscreen sleeve, CRR)

Eyeball - More Days To Come (Reunion Show sleev #120/280)

Champion - Promises Kept (Mustard vinyl, B9 "Warehouse edition" #170/205)

Comeback Kid - Turn It Around (White vinyl, Hellfest Press, GMS /33)

2010-02-23T16:04:00.003-08:00

busy weeks.... I'm about 20-25 12"/7" behind on my updating..... will post them sometime....

CRR arrivals

2010-02-17T13:03:00.000-08:00

I recently placed an order at Crucial Response Records - one of Europe's bearing hardcore labels - and only a few days later it arrived at my door. That was some time ago, but I haven't been able to find the energy needed to post it. Now I'm at my old folks place for a few quiet days, so I figured that now would be the time.

Ordering at CRR implies that most of the releases are from European bands, and here's a couple from the members who has been there almost from the start.

Profound - Integrity 7" (Black vinyl, CRR)

This was the band that started a lot. The family tree goes like this: Profound - ManLiftingBanner, Mainstrike - Birds Of A Feather. Profound turned a spark into a raging fire on European hardcore scene. This release, however, suffers from a poor sound, and to be honest I mostly got this for the historical reasons. Albeit this could have been produced better, it's still a damn good record.

Mainstrike - S/t 7" (Mint vinyl, CRR)

Mainstrike was perhaps one of the best hardcore bands in Europe (Portugal had some rad bands as well!) and this, their fourth release on CRR, is solid and generic as most of the American releases! Mint vinyl /405

Mainstrike - A Quest For Answers LP (w/ silkscreen cover, CRR)

First full-length release by Mainstrike. Pictured is the version with the limited silkscreen cover /97

Mainstrike - Times Still Here 7" (w/ silkscreen cover, CRR)

The debut by Mainstrike pictured with the limited silkscreen cover /102

Birds Of A Feather - Our Aim EP (Stamped labels, CRR)

Birds Of A Feather is the last remaining fort in the family tree mentioned above. This 7" was included in the Voice of a Generation zine #1 released by CRR.

Sportswear - What It Meant (Stamped labels, CRR)

I got acquianted with Sportswear quite late. My first encounter happened when I bought Voice of a Generation #2 where this 7" was included. I gave it a couple of spins and was hooked. Sportswear arose from the ashes of Onward - one of the best Scandinavian hardcore bands ever.

Brotherhood - Words Run... As Thicks As Blood LP (Black vinyl, CRR)

This is the best European hardcore release (Brotherhood is American, but released by CRR, Germany, hell yeah! We take credit for this one!). If you don't know this release, leave my blog now.

Hands Tied - S/t 7" (Black vinyl, Equal Vision Rec.)

I ordered this through Merchnow.com - the only place this is still available to my knowledge. Hands Tied include members of Mouthpiece and is just as rad!

Awake again with two LPs that rocks!

2010-02-02T11:12:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time since my last post, and that is even though I got a couple of records in the meantime. The Chilean hardcore band Remission had put their album "Accept" on for free download and there's no poetic way to say that I thought it kicked ass right from the beginning, so that's whal I'll say. It's unbelieveable that something like "Accept" from 2009 can sound like something from 1988! It really does! So, having to feed my craving for the limited shit, I wrote to the guy from Amendment records, because they only had white vinyl available, but the purple one is more limited. He said he's send me a copy on purple and under two weeks later I got it. Here is one of the best old school hardcore records of 198... 2009:

Remission - Accept (Amendment Rec. Purple vinyl /100)

Download the entire album here, but if you like it buy it here afterwards.

I went down to Repo Man Records in Copenhagen the other day just to look around, and I found a record that I've been meaning to pick up but never got to because other records came in the way.... Well, they had it at the store and I have 100dkr that wasn't earmarked, so.... I got this:

Mouthpiece - Can't Kill What's Inside: The Complete Discography (Revelation Rec. Black vinyl)

I got familiar with Mouthpiece through there "Waht Was Said" LP and it blew me away. Discography releases are always nice (unless they have a jacket like the Turning Point discography!) so this was the ideal way for me to have it all. There's no need for me to elaborate on the music of Mouthpiece, because you should know it.

mid-january arrivals

2010-01-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

January's looking pretty solid as my pre-orders from November/December are ticking one nice and slowly.

See, there's been this big fuzz about the vinyl edition of Thrice - Beggars, because it is out on a variety of colors, and the only known fact is that the pressing is limited to 2000 copies. So far it has there's been detected 6+ colors. I got my white/clear version from Nerd Alert Records and later found out on the Vinylcollective board thats this color is out of 205.

These are already hitting Ebay for $40+ which is pretty insane considering they're still available some places..!!

Thrice - Beggars (White/Clear vinyl mix /205)

This is my first Thrice purchase as it is not really a band I have a flawless relationship with.... meaning that I dislike their previous work. This is like a a soft version of Muse (which is a good thing despite how it sounds).... and you just gotta love the artwork!

Seattle's Not Sorry, one of my current favorite hardcore bands, released their debut 7" on Lifeline Records in USA and Salad Days Records in Europe. I pre-ordered a special package of the Europe pressing. This package has two transition presses included, one of them is limited to 30, so there was 30 of these packages tops.

Not Sorry - Moving On (Blue vinyl /96)

Not Sorry - Moving On (Black vinyl /300)

Not Sorry - Moving On (Yellow vinyl /78)

Not Sorry - Moving On (Transition Yellow/Green vinyl /37)

Not Sorry - Moving On (Transition Blue vinyl /30)

The blue transition press is sold out now, but you can still pick up the other 4 version from Salad Days Records (Portugal). As I said, this is one of my favorite HC bands at the moment, and if you'd just pcik this up and put it on, you'll see why! I don't really know how to explain their music without making it look like other YC music from our time, but it is something else..

Last I got the final issue(s) of At Both Ends zine. This baby is a 148-page BOOK! with a lot of great interviews! I personally loved the interview with Verse and with Wait In Vain. Along with this zine came a double 7" with brand new songs by Bane, Grade, Unrestrained and Between Earth And Sky. The dude put so much work and effort into this zine and it is very clear when you hold it in your hands and read the articles. Only thing is that a lot of the records reviewed in it are pretty old.

Here's the double 7":

V.A. - At Both Ends #9/10 (Black vinyl and Grey vinyl /??)

2010-01-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

As for any dedicated vinyl collector, I've had my ups and downs regarding the amount of gold I spend on it and the amount of time flew out the window looking for a piece of vinyl I need. None the less it's all worth it in an irrational way, that few people would actually understand.

React! Records is one of the most active and alive labels around when it comes to YCHC, and when they released the pre-order for the vinyl issue of Carry On - It's All Our Blood I acted fast and got the limited red vinyl version (well, with that being said, I lost a nights sleep because of my inability to convert time zones!).

Anyway, because of an unfortunate delay, I finally got my record about a week ago and here it is:

Carry On - It's All Our Blood (Red vinyl /250)

I always try to keep up with updates about pre-orders from my favorite labels, and not long ago I found out that Six Feet Under Records, was doing a limited pressing of the True Colors debut full-length and a limited edition of their second release Rush Of Hope.

I am not a TC collector, nor will I ever be, but since I recently sold my regular copies of those albums, I just saw this as an excellent opportunity to get them back - in a cooler edition (although few things are as cool looking as the cover of Focus On The Light!)

True Colors - Focus On The Light (White vinyl w/ silkscreen cover /78)

Sadly TC broke up, but they announced that they're doing a final 7" and it will be available around March/April. I hope I can scrape enough money together to see them at the React! Showcase in San Francisco in April.

True Colors - Rush Of Hope (Yellow vinyl w/ silkscreen cover /79)

Their second and final full-length is somewhat of an exploding volcano of straight forward YCHC, with the distinct vocal like early YoT. When you put this record on, and then later read that it will be the final full-length, it really comes to mind that there is no justice when it comes to all! ;-) Maybe this was written for dramatic effect, but none the less the European HC-scene lost one of their dearest children.

Last but what was later discovered as NOT least, I pre-ordered the reissue of Title Fight - Kingston 7". I have always had a sweet tooth for melodic hardcore like Title Fight, Hostage Calm and Shook Ones, and this 7" might easily be the best one.

Title Fight - Kingston (Grey marble vinyl /97)

Also a Six Feet Under Records release. Not much to say about this one besides that it is one of the best melodic hardcore 7" I've heard in a long time.

catching up...

2010-01-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

...because I've received 6 packages since my last post and I am very close to comparing this to homework, and that's not good. Lately I've just being posting what I've received, but cared so much about the written stuff.... this is not gonna be different.

I am in the middle of a hard situation. My hardcore-buddy doesn't have the same spark for it anymore and it's taking me some time to accept :P

I'll try to post these in order after when I received them, first one's going first:

2x Pointing Finger 7"s from Nico (New Morality):

Pointing Finger/Pollution 7" Yellow vinyl w/ Wide Awake rip-off tour sleeve /100

Pointing Finger - Reasons, Not Rules on black vinyl:

Bane is continuing to do this realesing-7"s-on different-labels-within-a-short-period-of-time-thing, and here's their second 7" released on the Irish label Hurry Up Records:

Bane - Rome 12:58 on Magenta vinyl w/ blue haze /250. Colour is better seen below.

Next up is the first release from my good friend Dave's band Outlast (not the Swedish band)... Life To Live Records put up a pre-order package with all four colours (white being the exclusive pre-order colour /100). It also included a t-shirt, put they only had Small left, so this is like body-paint on me!

Pressing info:
White (numbered /100)
Clear /125
Blue /125
Black /150
Black test pressing /10

Here is my first post that include something besides hardcore (with the exception of Broadcast and Tom Waits). I haven't been updating my indie vinyls much (in comparison to hardcore), but here's a little update:

The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (black vinyl, Matador Records)

..... And here's a little update to my skinny electronic vinyls (not very keen on much electronic music anyway

Yelle - Pop-up 2LP
This is a bit of a hard piece to find. Not that it's expensive at all, but it's just not available a lot of places. I had to buy this from a store in New Zealand for crying out loud!
It's electronic at it's best with female fronted vocalist singing in French... and my god she's charming. Unfortunately their best song Qui Est Cette Fille isn't on this record :(

Last up is my order from Get The Most. I got a hoodie and their double-pack 7" with their Tour sleeve /75:

#15/75:

X-mas record store catch

2009-12-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

On my way home to my parents, I decided to pay a visit to a record store on the way. I really shouldn't be spending any money right now, but I couldn't help myself, so I got these thingees:

My good friend Benny introduced me to this record years ago. I didn't give it much attention back then, but lately I've been playing it constantly, so I thought that I'd better pick it up. This is the press on Day After Records (Czech Republic) and it's on white vinyl. I don't know the pressing info on it. Culture.....SHOCK!. This record reminds me a lot of Vision - In The Blink Of An Eye. To me they have similar ways to build up songs.

Next is a record I also got into a bit late:

Blue Monday - Rewritten on Turquoise vinyl /250. When I picked this one up at the store I thought it was the most common color, but as it turns out, both the purple vinyl and the picture disc is more common. I got into Blue Monday through What's Done Is Done and I liked it a lot. I just kinda forgot about them and only noticed this record about a year ago.

The next record is 7 Seconds - Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over on Side One Dummy Records. Legendary 7 Seconds still got the melodic aspect and this record might be more punk that it is hardcore. Serves them right, because they've been doing that from the start.

Last but not least I got three 7"s as well... Not gonna elaborate on it, cuz they're classics I somehow managed to miss.

Two times the bay got me.

2009-12-14T11:45:00.001-08:00

I'm in the middle of my winter-exams and frankly I'm a little, if not to say a lot behind on my reading. Therefore this post will be short, because right now I should be reading about sociology, welfare state and political ideologies.

The bay threw some great records at me a couple of weeks ago, here's the first one:

It's the last to complete my CBK (Victory part) collection; Comeback Kid - Wakte The Dead on solid baby-blue vinyl out of 330. Even though there are 330, this one is significantly harder to come by than it's limited equivalent debut full-length Turn It Around on red vinyl w/ red labels (out of 300). This one rarely sees the light of day on Ebay and are the hardest of all the CBK records on Victory Records to come by.

Next is a record I felt was needed in my collection for a long time. A record that to me is one of the brightest releases in 80s hc:

Insted - Bonds Of Friendship on black vinyl. This, along with Vision - In The Blink Of An Eye, is probably the best record to emerge from the 80s hc scene(s).

Giant order from XsentientX.com

2009-12-08T10:43:00.001-08:00

I recently decided to break up my huge AFI collection, only to keep one of each full-length release and to be able to buy a bunch of new stuff.

Let me paint you a picture. It's a typical Sunday night, I'm at home watching American football and browsing through different vinyl distros and then I stumbled across this German distro that carried A LOT of the stuff I have been meaning to order. It's the guy who runs Assault Records, who has this distro xsentient.com.
I emailed Jan (who runs it), and said that I was planning on placing a huge order, and wanted to know if I could get a good deal on the shipping. To my big surprise he only asked for 10 euros to ship about 25 pieces of vinyl... That kind of settled it.
So, with the most expensive parts of my vinyl collection on Ebay and the rest sold to a local vinyl store, I had the funds I needed to place this huge order.
I'm not gonna write about each vinyl, cuz I'm really lazy today for nu apparent reason.
Here's what I got..

12":

Another Breath - Not Now, Not Ever (Silkscreened cover, white vinyl)

Judge - What It Meant Discography 2LP (Black vinyl)
Birds Of A Feather - The Past The Present LP (brown swirl vinyl)
Birds Of A Feather - Chaper 5 7" (black vinyl)

Let Down - Anthology (blue/silver swirl vinyl)
Ruiner - Hell Is Empty (pink/blue swirl vinyl)
The Rival Mob - Raw Life (black vinyl)
Word For Word - Keepsake (cream/black swirl vinyl)
Uniform Choice - Screaming For Change (black vinyl)
The Effort - Iconoclasm (blue vinyl /250)
Said And Done - Everyday (red vinyl /375)
Lewd Acts - Black Eyes Blues (Coke vinyl /500)
Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today (black vinyl)
Defeater - Travels (brown vinyl /900)
All For Nothing - Can't Kill What's Inside (clear vinyl /300)

7":

The First Step - What We Know Sessions 7" (white vinyl)
Golden X - s/t 7" (black vinyl)
Keep It Clear - s/t 7" (orange vinyl /125)
Miles Away - Brainwashed 7" (white vinyl)
Right Idea - Demo 2008 7" (white vinyl)
V.A. - Youth Crew 08 Compilation 7" (yellow vinyl)
Up Rights - Old School Revenge 7" (black vinyl)
Have Heart . Demo 2003 7" (yellow vinyl /125)
Mindset - Realpower 7" (black viny, 1st press /500)
Get The Most - Moment In Time EP (black vinyl)
Get The Most - Common Goals EP (black vinyl)

Calm before the storm!

2009-11-28T07:52:00.001-08:00

The following three packages is the calm. I placed a humongous order at a German distro this week, so they should be here next week! That doesn't mean I wasn't filled with anticipation when I got these records.

The first one actually came about a week ago, but I haven't gotten around to post it. I didn't really know much about Rise And Fall before a friend wrote in his Facebook status that their new record was awesome. I figured I better check it out, and boy was he right! I pre-ordered the record immediately from Deathwish, only to see that I didn't do fast enough to get the most limited color. Well, serves me right, because I had been sloppin' on some other pre-orders but made it get the rare colour. I guess I can't do that every time... Then again all them hc-kids are lying at wait in the Deathwish-bushes just to storm out and attack each time a pre-order comes up! Did someone say Converge pre-order??
Anyway, maybe I can make my piece with having this exact color, because it literally looks like the receiving end of the sewer on Thanksgiving:

You can tell it's a Deathwish release just be looking at the cover, which isn't a bad thing, but a little bit diversity would be nice.
This brown/bronze color is out of 700.
The one thing that got me into this release was how track 2 "Built On Graves" reminded me of my Black Metal period. That guitar-riff is evil as fuck! With that being said, my overall impression is that they put a lot of work into thge construction of the songs and that they have tried to make it a more diverse experience to listen to the record from frist to last track. Something which they didn't have as much success with on Into Oblivion imo.

Next thing up is my little mission to collect one of each of Bane's new 7" releases. Apparently some of them aren't being released on vinyl. As I understand it, they have/are releasing a total of 6 different releases, on 5 different labels. I don't remember the time in the titles of the releases, but they called, Dublin, Boston, Rome, Los Angeles, Perth and Tokyo. The last two is not out on vinyl. I got Dublin, have pre-ordered Rome, will pre-order Los Angeles and just got Boston today:

Ordered from Triple B Records. They require that overseas buyers order at least two items, so I grabbed the Downpressor 7" even though I might not have ordered it if this requirement wasn't there.
Anyway:
Downpressor - Age Of Ignorance (Green vinyl) /300
Bane - Boston 6:58 pm (Red vinyl) /700

Last but in the direct opposite of least is my Ebay winning for now; the last two Our Turn 7"s. I now have all three. Our Turn is an amazing youth crew band and I am annoyed to hell that these guys aren't around anymore!

Our Turn - Demo (Transparent orange vinyl) /??
Our Turn - Catch Your Breath (Clear vinyl) Posi-fest press, stamped /225

Catch Your Breath is easily one of the best YC 7"s in many years imo. It was released on the cool label Youngblood Records, which also released, along with React Records, Carry On - It's All Our Blood!

Stuff from the HC show last night....

2009-11-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

Me and my good friend Benny and a woman who was doing a report on straight edge went to a hardcore show in Lund, Sweden last night. Both Benny and me knew people from some of the Portuguese bands who were playing. Besides the two Swedish bands Balance and Hårda Tider, the line-up was top quality bands from Faro, Portugal: Pressure, Broken Distance and Critical Point. I was really siked to see Pressure and Broken Distance. All three Portuguese bands included members from the infamous Pointing Finger, a very beloved band, that sadly isn't around anymore.
Here's a little picture from last night:

And here's what I got from their merch-table:

I never got around to order this one from React, so when I saw it here, I thought that I better grab it now. Great record, very straight forward!

I bought these for two different reasons. I got the Broken Distance 7" because what I heard on their Myspace page is simply amazing and I dug it right away. It's very generic and it's almost as if you can hear it's coming from the Faro-scene, if you're familiar with Pointing Finger and Pressure (This is a good thing!). They had black vinyl and this orange/black split - I figured this is the most limited, but I don't know?

I bought the Balance 7" primarily because of their show that night. I really endured their energy (especially their pissed off vocalist!) and their generic style of hardcore. I didn't know much about this band before going to this show, so I kind of took a chance with this 7" since it's always hard to judge a bands' sound from their live performance. It turned out to impress me when I put the record on the next day. It grew on me instantly, but then again I only had last night's live performance to compare it to. In Like A Loin is one of the best releases coming from Europe in a long time, and as Crucial Dave from Broken Distance said it during their show last night: "...Balance is probably one of my favourite European hardcore bands at the moment..."... It might not have been those exact words, but you get the point.

Last but not least I got a tour edition of the Pressure 7". This is limited to just 30 copies and I was lucky enough to grab one while they had them. It's an amazing hardcore 7" and these Portuguese people continue to impress me, and they're really cool and down-to-earth-people too. Very important. Here it is:

Limited tour edition #23 out of 30.

They're to be looked at, never played!

2009-11-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

This "article" include several purchases, unlike the previous ones where I've tried to contain one purchase in each. My laziness prevented me from posting these purchases right away, so this is going to be a rather long post.
First I got the first full-length by Count Me Out from a dude on the deadformat.net trading board:

Count Me Out - 110 on solid yellow vinyl out of 331 on Indecision Records. I first got acquainted with CMO about a year ago when I first heard their second full-length entitled Permanent. Solid hardcore, and if I were to review Have Heart, I'd claim them to be in the vein of Count Me Out.

My order from Reflections Records arrived yesterday, I got this LP and an Outspoken shirt. Love this album:

I always tend to compare this release to Vision's "In The Blink Of An Eye" and don't really know why, they both just have something in the sound that I really like.

Next in line is a Sinking Ships 7" limited to just 8! SS collectors might ask, what the hell... I didn't know if this!?! It turns out that the guy from SS who runs Excursion Records found 8 extra of this Sinkings Ships 7". So he numbered them and gave people on the React board first shot at them. I was quick enough to get my hands on a copy:

Sinking Ships was put to rest way to early, but they released solid stuff in their time. This most definitely being one of them.

I went on a one-day trip to Esbjerg, only to pay Bogormen a visit, and here's what I brought home with me:

This is one of my two favourites by Tom Waits. The first track "Alice" is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. This is very most like Blood Money, only a bit more diverse.

Original pressings of Sigur Rós records are quite expensive, so when they first reissued "Ágætis Byrjun" and "( )", I ordered those right away. I hoped for a reissue of "Takk...", since I missed that one when it first came out. It came about a couple of months ago and I picked it up in Esbjerg. It was relatively expensive, but considering what it contains, I guess there's no need to complain. 2 DMM Vinyls and a 10" etched b-side in a stunning thick cover. This is the last Sigur Rós I decided to buy, since I don't really like the newer stuff.

New AFI record is surprisingly good, compared to the last one, Decemberunderground. Even though the cover may indicate Duran Duran, the music is much more like Sing The Sorrow tha Decemberunderground, and I appreciate that. Track 3 entitled End Transmission is stunning in particular. The single from this album called "Medicate" is... average. I don't really understand why this is the single. It even came out on two different 7"s.

I had a great opportunity to stock up on some classics, which I have been meaning to get for some time, but never got around to buy. Now was the chance, so I picked up 4 great classics from two legendary hardcore bands, which everybody are familiar with, I presume.
There's really no reason to eloborate any words on YoT. Even though I haven't been listening to them for that long, I know through books and word of mouth that it's one of the most essential straight edge hardcore bands ever. These three records are probably the core of what I endure about the first wave of straight edge hardcore, along with 7 Seconds, Gorilla Biscuits, Bold and Uniform Choice. Speaking of 7 Seconds, I picked up The Crew - a record my good friend Benny introduced me to several years ago when we both lived in Esbjerg. It's muc more melodic, but make no mistake about that, it's still straight edge hardcore smeared all over your ears. Bogormen had like 4 copies of this...

And speaking of old goodies, here's some, to a lesser extent, classics I also got:

I haven't found Speak Out by Bold yet - not that it's hard to find, I just bought other stuff instead, but this MLP entitled Looking Back is really good as well. It's no Speak Out, but still good. I also wanted Value Driven by Better Than A Thousand, but I haven't found that one yet, so when this one was available for 80kr. (app. $16) I picked it up right away. Ray Cappo's BTAT is just m,y cup of tea, with the ribght amount of melodic rifss and the right amount of old school hardcore! Dag Nasty is a bit too melodic for me in comparisation.

Here's just a little addition to my CBK collection. This version is still available everywhere, I just had to pick it up at some point. Didn't really know if I wanted to include the Victory releases in my CBK collection, since I can't stand that label, but I am only missing one of 'em now, so what the hell....

Here are some CBK records I won on Ebay in one lot - was missing to of them:

From left to right:
white, red w/ labels, gold, red/clear w/ labels. I've got two of the white and the red one now, but I had to have the two others. now there 7 CBK recs to go and it's complete!!

A Bridge To Many (French hc)

2009-11-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got a package that I have been waiting for with excitement. I noticed this French hardcore band in a thread on the React board. Never heard of 'em before, so I decided to check it out, mainly because I can't mention any kick-ass French hc bands (with the exception of Up Rights).
These guys are called A Bridge To Many (name taken from the Ruiner song A Bridge Too Many). Apparently there's a point with the missing o in "too".
There's really nothing new under the sun in this project. Maybe with the exception that it's French. Not much good hardcore have come from France imo, so these guys are helping to fill out a huge area. Their 7" called "Weights" is a 4-track ep, with nicely done artwork, on baby-blue vinyl. I was quick enough to order their "mailorder-version" from their e-store. This is limited to only 15, mine being #5. It is personalized like Seb from Just Another Day Rec. does. Something I appreciate.
Here are some photos:

This is the packaging it came in (well this one was in another package). Very nice detail with the name.

The content of the package: Photo, sticker, ad, lyric-sheet, poster, stamped inner-sleeve and a ribbon to hold the sleeve and inner-sleeve together.

Above is a picture of the personalization with me name written =)
A Bridge To Many is a great band with a promising hc future, if that term is even applicable in hc :) Check 'em out!

New recs.

2009-11-02T09:27:00.001-08:00

After a little delay I'm just about ready to post this short update. I waiting for a few pre-orders, so hopefully I'll have some packages within the next couple of weeks.
I bought this record a couple of days ago in Repoman Records (Denmark):

This is the first danish hardcore record I've bought (I think). There's not a lot of good hardcore in Denmark, and those that are good, do not release their stuff on vinyl. This one though, is rad. Night Fever is not a straight edge band, or a band with any other significant moral values, which is completely alright. It's the first time that I've seen such a generic, energetic band, and I simply love this 8-track EP. I didn't get the chance to grab a test press or the limited colored version out of 100. This black version is the regular one out of 400.

Next I got the 7" by All For Nothing. They played in Denmark for the first time. My buddy Benny set up the show and it was rad! All For Nothing with female vocalist Cindy is just as generic as Night Fever, but in another way. I simply LOVE her voice. Their new album "Miles & Memories" is out on CD now and will be pressed on vinyl in February 2010!. Here's the 7":

I am currently working on my own little "straight edge-statement". When I feel it is done, I'll post it here. It just contain the usual stuff: why I decided to go edge, what I think it can benefit etc. etc. It's mostly a paper to bite back at all of those who do not understand, or all of those who think it's just trend or a temporary thing...

Packages from HUP and Musicstack

2009-10-19T05:26:00.000-07:00

From a very successful one-weeks leave from the daily routine, I returned to my nest and found 3 packages lying on my kitchen table. mmh.....
First a visit at my old folks place, then a successful destruction of the our spare capital city :)
Anyway, here' what I got this time:

Two additions to my Broadcast-collection. I got these fairly cheap off Musicstack - around $10 each. at the top is Broadcast - Pendulum 12" (Lovely design!!) the guy who designs all the Broadcast sleeves is currently in The Focus Group. At the bottum of the picture is Broadcast - America's Boy 7" from the album Tender Buttons. The track America's Boy is stunning!

The first Bane-release on Hurry Up Records is "Dublin, 11:58 pm". The design is really gorgeous and not like previous Bane releases. The music though is a natural continuation of The Note. This 7" is loaded with hardcore strength and I might favour this over The Note.
This 7" exists in 5 colors, 2 of them which have record release covers. This one is a regular version; orange w/ white spectacles and it's out of 200.

Bookworm Rip...

2009-10-14T03:16:00.001-07:00

One week of holiday has started and I decided to spend monday to friday at my old folks place, which is about 350km from CP of H. On my way I could just as well pay the biggest record store in the country, which is only about 80km from my folks' town, a visit. I had about $120 credit in the record store and here's what I blew 'em away on:

I apologize for the unforgiveable bad picture. Anyway, here's the content in words:

Tom Waits - Blood Money (Anti Records)
Easily his best record IMO... More rough around the edges than Alice and more deep and challenging than Rain Dogs (just to compare with a few)... Blood Money has a finely tuned mix of rough pirat-like hymns, and soft, cotton-like easy tunes... It literally gets me up and down. Massive!

Broadcast - Haha Sound (Warp Records)
Perhaps Broadcast' finest release along with Work And Non Work. The aesthetic production along with the charming 60s-like vocals of Trish Keenan is really a combination that appeals to me. Quite a lot of people say that Broadcast fans must also be Stereolab fans. I disagree on this, because Broadcast has more focus on making their work sound vintage and aesthetic (buzz-word of the month!), where Stereolab has a stronger focus on exploring in the Electronica-world IMO. Track 2 on Haha Sound called "Pendulum" will most likely underline my point.

Touché Amoré - ...To The Beat Of A Dead Horse (6131 Records)
The most promising newcomer on the screamo-hardcore scene have released a solid debut! See, usually screamo does not appeal to me. I couldn't care less for Thursday, Poison The Well or Hawthorne Heights..... But Touché Amoré has a more grooving hardcore vibe to it. I first became famiiliar with this band when a friend of mine introduced me and later showed me some live footage that really caught my attention.

Vision - In The Blink Of An Eye (Tacklebox Records)
As much as I wanted a limited colored copy of this one, as much was I mind-numbingly impatient to get it. So I settled for a black copy. This is, along with the Chain full length and Break Down The Walls, the best hardcore release ever to emerge from the 80s IMO. It is much more melodic than YoT or Chain. Massive!

Count Me Out - Permanent (Indecision Records)
I noticed Count Me Out quite late and at first I didn't really care for them, but then one night, when I was on my way home I had my iPod set to shuffle and it played 3 songs in a row from Permanent, then I was hooked. It's hardcore right down to the core and it's really aggressive and straight forward. With all the revival stuff that are being thrown out nowadays, Count Me Out is... not anything new... but is generic for what it's supposed to be.

Jeez, I almost stepped on these when I opened the door!

2009-10-07T10:53:00.001-07:00

A quick little post here.
When I got home from school today, I almost stepped on two small packages. I'd recently decided to make a move on my starving Broadcast collection, and here's the first new addition:

I really endure the aesthetic design of the sleeve. It's quite the same feeling I get when I listen to the music. Massive!

Last, but not least I got a 7" off the Bay that I been wanting for some time. This time I thought "to hell with it! gonna get it this time!"... and I ended up paying $26.50 + shipping for this version which is stamped on the inside and comes with a nice insert and two pins. May I present: Our Turn - the Step Aside EP:

The cover is, as mentioned, stamped on the inside, which is shown beneath:

I'm expecting more Broadcast soon.....

Packages from JAD, GW, etc.

2009-10-05T13:56:00.001-07:00

I received the following stuff a few days ago, but I've been too busy to report it. Lately I've been focusing on redecorating my apartment and redecorating my soul as well. It all went good somehow. There's still a few scratches on one, but perfection is overrated anyway.
So I got my complete 2nd press of Debaser - Rich White Boys 7" a couple of days ago. 4 pieces all in all, with two of them being handnumbered out of only 12. Apparently Just Another Day Records is getting a lot of praise and respect, which is fully earned. But JAD haven't grown out of size, so Seb still takes time out to respond to his loyal supporters (read: moi). I asked him for a full set of the 2nd press, and he promptly responded in a coorperative manner :)

Here they are:

white /225, green /190, mint white /12, green & black /12

I also got a free 7" from JAD this time. The debut from Out To Sea. It's located below with a Miles Away 7" I got off Ebay for $0.99 and the debut 7" by Signs Of Hope on blue /108:

Out To Sea on clear vinyl /200
Signs Of Hope on Blue vinyl /108
Miles Away on Black vinyl /500

I ordered the Sign Of Hope 7" from Goodwill Records in Portugal. Unfortunately he was in the middle of moving to Berlin with a stop in Italy, so I had to wait about two months before I got this. With that I also ordered a Pointing Finger - Milestone LP test press out of 10. I was really siked that they had more of these left. They're one of my favourite hardcore bands, so 20 euros for this super rare piece of European hardcore history was a bargain:

Hurry Up and CA packages 22.09.09

2009-09-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

After some days of nothing happening, I got two packages with delicious records again. First a little something from Hurry Up Records in Ireland. Bane decided to have Hurry Up put out their brand new 7" called "Dublin, 11.58 pm". I pre-ordered this, but I got an email saying that they had some left overs of their tour edition, which was ready to ship out immediately, so I fumbled my paypal code out in the light and ordered this.
TWO DAYS later I got it (pretty fast!). it's on opaque green wax, limited to 480 copies:

With this release Bane continue where they left off with The Note. The 3 songs on this one will quickly settle in your memory. Get it from Hurry Up Records!
Next is my package from Crucial Attack. I have been waiting quite some time to get this, and finally it came yesterday. They guy I talked to at CA plays in the band Cornered, whom I saw live in Copenhagen some time ago. I talked to him about my order, because I had ordered their demo 7". He said he'd toss in their 7" test press for free, and he remembered! :)
The test press has a white cover, opposite the regular release and is limited to 32 (although it says 50 on the cover)

The top version is the regular one, and this orange vinyl version is out of 100. The bottom is the test press.
The other thing I ordered from Crucial Attack was the Miles Away - Consequences LP. This release did not see a pressing plant when the CD was released, but Sharkmen Records and Powertrip Records got together and release it on vinyl (like the did with the other Miles Away release "Rewind, Repeat"). Miles Away play extraordinary well arranged melodic fast hardcore in the vein of In My Eyes.

This release is out on 3 different viny colors: red, clear w/ splatter and black vinyl. Clear w/ red splatter as shown above is out of 175.

Gold Vinyl (12 days of nothing!)

2009-09-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

After 12 harsh and brutal days without buying or receiving any vinyls, I finally got my pre-order from Just Another Day Records. After the release of the Debaser debut 7", I decided to keep an eye on this label. I thought to myself if a label can put out such an amazing record as their first, then there's no stopping them!
I decided to pick up their second release as well then (although it is called JAD003). It's the debut 7" by Overload entitled "We Live Here And Now". Overload is a straight edge hardcore band from Cleveland, Ohio, and this debut is solid as hell. I like this band so much that I just ordered their t-shirt whilst writing this.
Seb from JAD had been bragging about the color of the pre-order vinyl this time, so I was really siked to receive mine and what all the fuss was about. He did not let me down. May I present the #1 gold champion:

And if the cool color wasn't enough, the above sleeve is a different pre-order sleeve. This pre-order is limited to just 44, mine being number 16.
As usual Seb, continues to do his "thing" by stamping the innersleeve and writing each persons indivual names on it, and I really like that:

Because of these solid releases and the dedication and kindness from the man behind this label, JAD is my favourite label and I'll be continueing to order his releases, 'till JAD is no more! :)

Oh and by the way, the Debaser 7" is getting repressed very soon and two new colors: white and solid green, be sure to pick them up.

PAY-DAY record store visit!

2009-08-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

mmh... pay-day... Money is enough to make me happy, 'nuff said.
So, me and my buddy went to a couple of record stores today, just for the hell of it...
We went down to our local (and favourite) punk & hardcore store and I happen to find a few pieces I thought I should own. Here's what I got:

In My Eyes - The Difference Between on black vinyl. Was hoping this was a colored version, but the wrapping didn't unveil anything but black wax. Although I don't think this is as good as Nothing To Hide, it's still a solid release. the track Actions Fall Short is a stand-out number that makes me clench my fist almost per reflex.

Here's the other little thing I got:

Ten Yard Fight - Demo 1995 7" on black vinyl with two inserts. This is my first piece of TYF vinyl history, but only because I haven't be able to find others at a reasonable price. This 7" came out on S.O.A. Records.

Because I bought a 160GB iPod and am getting a tattoo this month, I'm already broke :( Jeez.....

Package(s) 21.-22.08.09

2009-08-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit of a dry-spell lately (well, not really, but it feels like it). I've had some stuff incoming for quite some time, and some of it came yesterday.
Seb of Just Another Day Records were to ship a complete Debaser collection to me (with the exception of the pre-order version), but he had to go on vacation which was fine, so yesterday a very distressed mailman knocked on my door and handed me a heavy little box. This box included:

That's the complete Debaser collection. It includes:

Neon Yellow /110
Blue /100
Orange /87
Lilac /84
Blue/Purple swirl /7
Clear/Red swirl /12
Light Blue /6
Dark Magenta /107
Test Press /20

Thanks a million to Seb for helping me with this.

Last night me and some friends went to see Rush'n Attack (NL), Cornered (NL) & Deal With It (UK). They played at a small venue here in Copenhagen. I recently became familiar with Cornered, as someone posted a link and praised them at the React! Board. They sounded great and I ordered their demo 7" right away from Crucial Attack Rec.
Anyway, they had their distro with them on this tour and I jumped over to the vinyl section right away. There was a lot of stuff I wanted to buy, including the Alert 7", Keep It Clear 7", Deal With It LP etc, etc, but due to my empty wallet, I only ended up buying a Cornered t-shirt (which is too small) and this:

As far as I know, this is sold out, so I had to pick this up over the Alert and Keep It Clear 7"s as they are still available. I talked to a guy from Cornered and he said that the Resolve LP is going to be amazing and that I should def. pick it up. Before that I'd already be talking to Seb (he's putting it out on Just Another Day Records) and he would hold a test press for me :D

Last, but certainly not least I got this today:

This is the black cover Picture LP version of Turn It Around on Best Times Records. Only 70 came with the black cover. Although this is numbered out of 100, only 70 had black covers. The first 30 had red covers:

This is numbered #064/100. Now there's 10 CBK recs left for me to collect...

Package 15.08.09

2009-08-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Over my (relatively) smaill amount of years in hardcore, I've had (just like anybody else) certain that I adored from the beginning, because they were their with me from start. Pointing Finger is one of those bands.
In my search for Pointing Finger records, I contacted the band on their myspace page to see if they could hook me up with some of the 7"s that are sold out. They've didn't have any to sell, byt they did point me to a label called Monument Records (Sweden). Monument put out Pointing Fingers "The Illusion Of Perfection" 7". I looked through Monuments catalog and there it was. I knew this release existed on both black and red vinyl (only black was listed in the catalog). So I contacted Johan who runs Monument and asked him if he had a red version lying around - and he did, so I placed my order for 2 PF 7"s. They came to day:

I didn't get to ask him about the pressing info, but I'll find out soon enough.
Some time ago, I got screwed over by a label called Heartland Records. I ordered the 7" by Pressure with a special pre-order cover /20. It never arrived so I had to file a paypal complaint to get my money back. Don't ever order from this label!
Anyway, I saw that Monument had the regular version of the 7" in-stock (didn't nreally care for the pre-order cover anyway), so I grabbed that one as well:

Portuguese hardcore is really overlooked imo. These two bands (well, RIP Pointing Finger) are the cream. I might even go as far as saying that Pointing Finger is one of my 5 altime favourite hardcore bands.

Before I press "publish", I just need to show you this. A little thing that makes it all worth it - something the captivates that the true unity and kindness is indeed alive in the world of hardcore, and isn't to be seen anywhere as clearly as in the world of hardcore. I ordered a tank top with a new promising band Outlast, and when I received it I also received a zine and a little message on the back of the envelope:

Nowadays I just find it so rare that people actually take time out to do something like this. It is nothing really, but it shows that people care. Like I said, something I only see in hardcore to this extent.

Package 10.08.09 (CBK Edition)

2009-08-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an excuse to tell the world about my Comeback Kid collection. As mentioned in an earlier thread I'd post a collage-photo of my entire collection. (bottom).

Today I received my "Turn It Around" Test Press /13 (This being #13). I was so psyched about this, I paid $170 + shipping for this piece and maybe I wanted my Nike Air Mogan as much, but there's tons of those, but only 13 of this one! ;)
At first I thought that the test press came with a regular cover, but I saw that I comes with a plain black cover and a slip-sleeve around it (see photos).

Here it is:

There's now 11 pieces to collect before I can call myself the only dude in the world who owns a COMPLETE Comeback Kid collection.

Here's a collage of the entire collection:

Record-store catch 05.08.09

2009-08-06T04:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I decided to visit Esbjerg (Danish city, population: 85.000) with a buddy. Our diaboical scheme was to hoard records! Esbjerg houses the best record store in the country (ironic since it's the 5th largest city).

Besides having a great time, I got these fine things:

12"Hatebreed - The Rise Of Brutality
12" Hatebreed - Supremacy
12" 25 Ta Life - Friendship, Loyalty, Commitment (Yellow w/ black swirl) /??
12" V.A. - For The Sake Of Dedication (w/ booklet) (Black vinyl) /2398
7" Far From Breaking - The Identity E.P. (White vinyl) /500
7" A Step Apart - Structure (Black vinyl) /500
7" A Step Apart - There Is A Choice (Black vinyl) /722

Package from JAD 03.08.09

2009-08-03T04:33:00.000-07:00

First thing's first: I overslept. I woke up by the sound of a package hitting my floor. It turns out it was the Debaser 7" I ordered from Just Another Day Records. Debaser - "Rich White People" is a 3-song hardcore/punk bomb and a very promising debut! Talked to a guy from the band an he says they're working on the next 7" which will be called "Rich White Girls".
This is the pre-order color (Dark Magenta), but I ordered it after pre-order time. JAD does something extraordinary neat with pre-orders: they stamp the inner sleeve (see picture below) and then they write your name to personalize it. It really made me feel special :). Actually I am very appreciative about this because it really shows that the label care for its customers.

Pre-order stamp:

So, the Debaser 7" comes in a variety of colors. This pre-order colors is /107. Here's the pressing info the Debaser - Rich White Boys 7" (JAD #4):

Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Black, Test Press /20)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Blue /100)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Blue-Purple /7)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Dark Magenta, Preorder /107)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Lilac, Tour Press /84)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Light Blue /6)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Neon Yellow /110)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Orange /87)
Debaser - Rich White Boys (7" Red, Stamped Sleeve /12)

I like this record so much that I contacted Seb who runs JAD. I was able to negotiate a deal with him about purchasing a copy of every single version above, making me one of the few that has a complete Debaser collection! He said I got the last copy of some of the versions above how fortunate =).

Picture that shows the pre-order color:

And here's a picture of the record with cover:

As mentioned I have all the other versions incoming, so I will post those too when they get here.

Package from Reaper Rec. 01.08.09

2009-08-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today I got my pre-order package from Reaper Records. The content of the package was a pre-order LP and a 7" (not PO).

Pre-order LP:

On - Double Vision on grey marble vinyl /250. Double Vision is the two 7"s "Vital Times" and "Control" compiled onto one 12". The grey marble color looks really good. It's sold out now, but the Black vinyl version is still available. On will be playing in Denmark along with Common Cause at the end of August - so stoked about this! I'm writing this in the wake of an amazing Agnostic Front concert. Got my ears blown off and my body is sore all over - like it's supposed to! :)

The 7" from Reaper:

The newest release from Death Threat entitled "Lost At Sea" is a true hxc/punk blast and features a cover of Ourburst's "The Hardway". This 7" certainly delivers what it is supposed to. The picture maybe be misleading - It is in fact translucent purple vinyl. The pre-order was clear vinyl and came with a different sleeve (This sleeve is way more awesome though!).
This was my first encounter with Reaper Records and they did not disappointment me. The package also included lots of free stuff like 3 big posters, stickers and a plastic download card. The label is solid!

Package(s) 27.07.09

2009-07-27T09:00:00.000-07:00

Today I got my first package since I decided to make their content accessible to the public with this blog. As a matter of fact I got two packages today, one of them which disappointed slightly. Well, be that as it may, I was stoked about getting these.

Content of package 1:

After surfing some vinyl boards late one night, I cam across the band Signs Of Hope, and I saw several people collection their records. Found them on myspace and a minute later I placed an order at Detonate Records. Signs Of Hope is an amazing hardcore band. Out of mere fear of misguiding somebody I've decided not to describe their music. "Choices Made" is the 2nd release from SoH, and it is available on white, clear, red, gold, green and blue vinyl. I've seen some other strictly limited colors of this release as well.
I was slightly disappointed with the cover of this release (it just has a "sleeve-slip" instead of an actual cover), but Detonate is a small label and it's okay. The first 7" from SoH can be ordered here.

The other 7" I got from Detonate Records this day was the Horizons debut 7" "Hostile Territory". A very solid debut and the vinyl can also be ordered in the same colors as the SoH 7".
Check Horizons out on myspace. Detonate have released two very solid 7"s here, be sure to pick them up.

Content of package 2:

Look at it! JUST LOOK AT IT!! It's amazing. You're looking at a picture of the "Turn It Around" Friends Press limited to 33. This is number 16. Comeback kid was probably the first band I started to collect after AFI. I've been after this piece for over a year and here it is (oh, and I'm out $140, but who cares...). I love this album and now I only need these to complet it:

Turn It Around Facedown Fest Press /43
Turn It Around Test Press GMS /13
Turn It Around Test Press (white vinyl)
Turn It Around clear/red blood w/ labels /218
Turn It Around gold /100
All the picture discs (hate these!!!)

hook me up. I got a lead on the Facedown Press and the clear/red blood w/ labels /218 press.

Someday I'll take a picture of the whole thing.

2009-07-26T18:12:00.001-07:00

Every time I get a package delivered with vinyl content, I will post it here.