stuff in the mail

got a package of the records I ordered from Fashionable Idiots Records yesturday.

Formaldehyde Junkies- s/t

The Formaldehyde Junkies are from MN, and play some straight up old school hardcore punk. Sound if pretty lo-fi, which isn't an issue for me, I welcome it frankly. A lot of bands as they evolve and put out more records seem to pay more attention to sound quality, not these guys. The recording may even be more rough than their first 7" on Firestarter Records. This one picks up where the last one left off with their Fix influenced early 80's midwest scene sound. The record clocks in under 3 minutes for 4 songs, so it's over before you have the chance to tie your shoe (which I discovered this morning).

Chronic Seizure- "Brain Sick"

Chronic Seizure i really didn't know much about before, but figured I'd give it a shot since I was ordering from the label anyway. The band has members of 14 or Fight, who I liked from their 7" on Lengua Armada. Sound-wise it's sort of similar to the FJs old school hardcore approach, but the vocals are a lot rougher. I like it a lot, and it came on green vinyl, which I don't see all that often. It's fun to take a chance on new bands...

I also saw the Ergs, Modern Machines, and the Measure in New Brunswick, NJ last night. The Ergs are one of the best current bands, they're always tight and write some awesome tunes. The Modern Machines really impressed me, it was my first time seeing them and my only referance for them was their split with the Ergs. Real good poppy punk rock, they even did an Ergs cover. I wish i had more cash to pick up some of their music. The Measure played first, and I missed all but the last 3 songs. I liked what I heard, and bands with girl singers always tend to catch my attention. I'd definately check them out again.

Hopefully, I'll be seeing Kylesa and Victims in Philly Friday. Victims blew me away when I saw them at Pointless Fest 2004 summers ago. My show's all booked, I'll be posting a flyer and a full run-down soon.

spreading the reality

You may notice the links on the side are all related to me. It's my blog, I can do whatever I want. Anyway, so when I first got my site I was kind of against posting art on other places. Over time I've come to realize that my artwork can be viewed on more specific mediums. Recently I've uploaded all my video work on YouTube.com a few months ago, and within that time my videos got 3365 views. That's pretty rediculous! I also just posted my first font on daFont.com on Friday, and as of writing this so far 607 people have downloaded it. I guess spreading myself out into more specific mediums is a good thing, even if it doesn't get me more jobs, at least more people can appreciate my hard work.

last week's music purchases

Pink Razors- Waiting to Wash Up CD

The press releases and descriptions I read seemed to herald them as the re-inventors of pop-punk. Now I mean I grew up loving Screeching Weasel and the Descendents, and think the complete garbage calling itself pop-punk is an insult to those bands. While yes it would be a big task to "re-invent pop-punk," I'm not sure if the Pink Razors are the ones to put your stock in. Vocals remind me of MC Chris, it's solid and poppy, just could use some more speed. I found it in a used bin, so for the $4, it's a good find. I'd be curious to hear more, but I probably wouldn't actively hunt it down.

Major Conflict- Sounds like 1983 CD

So I normally love when people re-release unheard of early 80's hardcore bands. This band was from NYC, but predates what people would consider the NYHC sound, which in my eyes is a good thing. I could never get down with the overly tough vibe with borderline metal sounding music. This stuff if pretty good, by no means as good as Antidote or even Kraut, but pretty solid. Another used bin find, and a good one at that. I'd rather see the worst bands from the early 80's getting their place in stores again than some of the more popular current bands.

Suburban Death Machine- Not Here to Make Friends LP

All I really know about this band was that they're from Pittsburgh, PA and has members of Crucial Unit, and Intense Youth. Pretty good resume right there, so I figured I'd give the LP a shot. The cover is silkscreened, and I believe it was self-released, so It's somewhat limited and tricky to find it. I would recommend putting the time in to tracking it down. It's fast old no bullshit hardcore, along the lines of old good Boston bands like the FU's and Jerry's Kids, with a rockin feel like Fucked Up but without being annoying like Fucked Up.

Honor Role- 1982 7"

This record is a reissue of an old band's 1982 material, which originally appeared on a split with Graven Image. I was familiar with Graven Image's "Kicked Out of the Scene" EP via music blogs, and so I was assuming this band rules too. I was right, this stuff is a lot better than Graven Image even, if you're into early 80's DC hardcore and the midwest scene from the same era, you won't be disappointed. I don't know much about them, other than they were from Virginia, but holy shit. No Way Records continues their flawless track record.

Suicidal Tendencies- Hate you Better EP

I'll be honest, I only got this because of the rediculous packaging. Plus it was 2 bucks... Musically, It's not my favorite era of Suidal Tendncies. A little too much metal for me. The record itself is a purple heart shaped disc, and the cover looks like a bandanna. So for visual effects, plus the fact that it was $2 i have no complaints...

Deadfall- Keep Telling Yourself it's OK 7"

I was lucky to cath Deadfall on their recent tour with I Object! in Philly a few weeks ago. On the tour they didn't have their new 7"s out, so they were selling CDrs and promising to mail everyone a 7" when they got back. I had almost forgotten about this, and maybe half expected to get anything. Last Saturday, however I was treated to a beautiful 7" in my mailbox. I'm not sure if i got a limited version, but the vinyl is this white with blue tye-dye splash. The music is the same no nonsense old school hardcore punk. I liked the Comrades 7", loved the LP, and found the rest of the out of print stuff on soulseek. This Ep pick up right where they left off, don't sleep on it. I can only assume this band is huge on the west coast, but the east coast needs to wise up and check this band as well as everything else on Tank Crimes.