No Reason XXX Part II- The End

Though we had the CD on our final tour it wasn't until No Reason broke up that the vinyl version of our LP came out. I still think the songs are good, but boy oh boy do I hate the recording. The 7" and second demo are much, much better. Good thing FIVE of those nine songs made it to the LP. "Paper Hero" from the LP is one of my favorite songs I have ever written, it's too bad the recording turned out how it did. Paper Hero was named after a great episode of Robotech that my brother and I loved growing up. The subject matter (first verse) was about a friend of ours who had recently stopped hanging out/ being straight edge, the second verse was about a girl I really liked who, of course, thought I was a dork. Eventually, I stopped writing songs about girls in my late 30's. I'm trying to track down the tape we did BEFORE going to Trackmasters that we tracked live at Watchmen studios as pre production. I think Eric still has that DAT, if he does, I'm going to transfer it and check it out to see if it is as good as I remember.

We were originally slated to record in the small room at the original Salad days studio in Boston with Brian McTernan. When I called to get directions the week before we were leaving, Brian informed me the studio had flooded and that the recording couldn't happen on the dates we had booked. This led to my utter panic. We had a summer tour booked and needed our LP done so the cd would be out in time! Our drummer Blake very much shared that sentiment. Glenn, our fifth member at the time, suggested we go to Trackmaster, a local studio where the Goo Goo Dolls had recorded a Boy Named Goo. That record had gone platinum so I figured that meant we would get a platinum level recording, right? WRONG. Glenn really struggled matching some of the rhythm guitar I played and with some of his leads. I just think, though he had fun and live brought great energy, the style we played wasn't something he could play. Also, I don't really recall Glenn being in a band with two guitarists aside from evergreen and that was at least 5 years prior. I remember that there is a lead in one song he worked on for HOURS trying to nail. Literally hours, I walked in the booth and made a suggestion about taking a break or something along those lines and he said "one more fucking word and I'm walking out of here." He quit the band two weeks later.

It's a real shame how the LP turned out as a whole, because Blake and Eric played so well on it. The energy level is just perfect but the production values paired with my brother's sick/ asthma attack attempt at singing brought it down. Also, Mark, the engineer, didn't help. "Oh, so you guys are a hardcore band? Like SNFU, right?" Yeah, Mark, EXACTLY like that.

No Reason xxx.

No Reason xxx was a band that formed right on the heels on Halfmast's breakup in 1996. The idea was to still be a fast "youth crew" style straight edge band like Halfmast, but with a more updated and sometimes more "punk" sound. No Reason xxx was a fun band to be in and to write songs for. The Original Line up was My brother and I, the Ellman brothers and our cousin Abe. Abe played on the demo then moved before our first show, leaving us a four piece with Eric Ellman moving from guitar to bass. 

At our first show, Immigrant Sun records was talking to Chris Colohan, who was in Left For Dead at the time and asked us to do a split with them. We, of course, said yes; but shortly after, Left For Dead kind of fell apart. This was good because it gave us the opportunity to do a 7" with Immigrant Sun records, which people to this day still tell me they love. Ebullition Records refused to carry the record in their distro citing that it promoted violence against women. We used the Gator stuff because it was supposed to represent a loss of innocence for us and the world of skateboarding and because there was "No Reason" for him to do what he did. But I guess we never explained that to good old Kent McClard, but it made for a cool looking record sleeve.

Our local shows were ALWAYS incredible with kids singing along and having a good time. We played a lot of shows in the 1 1/2- 2 years we were together. On top of great local shows, we had some good shows on weekends we spent out of town in Chicago and Toronto. We broke up after playing a few shows at home after recording an LP we weren't happy with and losing our asses on a terrible tour that was plagued with cancellations. However, A good show we played in Toronto is shown here, though I think the date is a year off. We cover "Ready To Fight" by Negative Approach at the end, which I had zero recollection of until seeing this vid.

This story isn't about At The Gates.

Last August, I ventured up to Toronto by myself to go see one of my favorite 90's Swedish death metal bands, At The Gates. The plan was to rage at the ATG show, then after a brief 5 hour nap, drive to This Is hardcore Fest in Philly to catch 7 Seconds, Judge, Killing Time, Negative Approach, Slapshot and a myriad of other classic and contemporary hardcore bands. It didn't go as planned.

After the ATG show (they were really, I mean REALLY good), I went to a Pakistani/ Indian take out place to eat, which was convenient as it was a block from the Phoenix Theatre, where the show was held AND on the way to where my car was parked. While I was ordering, the guy behind the counter was so unbelievably rude, I walked out mid order. Undeterred, I did what my friends and I always did after we went to shows in Canada growing up; I went to get a falafel, which was cold and terrible. I cannot remember the name of the place, though it was across the street from a park and the neighborhood seemed pretty shitty, but it was on my way towards the expressway and again, convenient. I was looking at the photos I had taken at the show on my iPhone, as I had the cellular data turned off so I could not look at instagram or whatever. After a little while, I threw out my 1/2 eaten dinner and started to drive home. At some point after I left, I realized I did NOT have my phone. I turned around, retrace my steps and anxiety and hilarity ensues as it does not turn up, nor does anyone at the kabob shop give a fuck about my plight. Also, the woman who was trying to bum a cigarette inside the kabob shop while I was eating, who was still hanging around outside when I returned, denied any knowledge and denied stealing my phone off the table. It sucked and killed the rest of my plans for Philly the next day, as an AT&T employee who was working his last day did not activate my 5 year old back up phone properly and required THREE trips back to AT&T to get it up and running.

I had much better pics than this, as I was right upfront for the majority of the gig, I lifted this from an online review.

For the next 2 weeks I was going crazy using an old flip phone and then and really early Android Motorola phone that were the only old phones that were laying around.I Know I sound like a privileged brat and it's probably pretty unbecoming of someone in his 40's but it SUCKED. I've only had iPhones since 2009 and going back to a flip phone felt like I had gone back to sending smoke signals or something. My Mother was up for an upgrade and she was gracious enough to give me her 4s, as I could not afford to drop $400 on a new phone at the time. While I was waiting to meet her at the AT&T store after work about a week later, I heard a familiar song BLASTING from a Mini Cooper stopped at the red light at the intersection in front of the AT&T plaza. I mean this dude was listening to the song LOUD, like piss off your roommates/ parents kind of loud. The song was We All Fall Down by Egghunt, the last song you'd ever expect bumping from anyone's car. Suddenly, all my problems melted away at the absurdity of what I had just witnessed; a great song at a time and place where I would have never expected it. It's funny how music can turn around a mood.

Thirteen years ago...

My old band, The Control, did a 4 show in 3 days weekend. This first being in Pittsburgh on a Friday (which bands cancelled the show AFTER showing up), then Saturday we played a matinee with 9 Shocks Terror in Western Massachusett and a Evening show in CT. I forget where the 4th show was but it was at a weird upstairs legion hall. Today was the first time I saw the video of that show.

Anyway, our set has some lull thanks to a broken string but man, Kevin was a great front man and we played pretty well considering we drove straight through the night to get there. But the real story is the insanity that went on during 9 Shocks set. Fire crackers, a burning couch. a dive out the window to return to the pit on a bicycle; it was mayhem. Here's some brief video proof:

On another note, I was a much better guitar player back then I think, stylistically speaking. 

Burn

I only saw Burn once and they were incredible; during their set I saw some of the most aggressive dancing I have ever witnessed at a hardcore show. Unfortunately, I've never seen a video of that show BUT I saw this vid for the first time recently and wanted to put it on my blog because Burn rules.

Here's another vid of them recording the record that some don't recognize or like, but I do.

Photo Evidence of a great reunion era Misfits gig

Remember that awesome Misfits reunion show in Toronto I posted about two weeks ago? I'm sure anyone who read that and knows how far the band and brand has fallen might be skeptical; but I had discovered photographic evidence! I stumbled across a flickr account with a few pics from the gig; it looks like a classic show. Thanks Shawn Merrill, whoever you are. STILL I wish there was video of that set.

Misfit May 10,1996 in Toronto

Night Birds at Nietzsche's (last time I saw bands here was 1992/93)

I actually went to a show this year! I know, HOLY SHIT, right? Last year, I made it to a few, with Flag and Negative Approach being highlights. As a matter of fact, the Negative approach show back in November (7 months ago!) was the last show I went to until this past Thursday when I ventured out to see Night Birds.

I first heard Night Birds a few years ago with the song Killer Waves and although I didn't have any of their records, I made a mental note to get out and go see them, but something always came up when they played the Funeral Home and I missed them. However, now that my daughters are both toddlers, it's easier to get out of the house and after hearing Born To Die In Suburbia, the latest output by NB, I had to go.

I got there before the first opener went on and picked up a copy of Bloodstains Across Buffalo from a distro table. The comp is full of old punk and power pop bands from here in Buffalo from 77-84. I work with a guy who went to see all these bands during those years and he also turned me on to The Enemies 5 years ago. The Enemies are featured on the comp along with another one of his favorites: The Jumpers. One should track down a copy, as it catalogs a nearly forgotten local music scene. Also, if you ever come across the Enemies records, pick them up, you wont be disappointed; though it took me a few years to track down the Product of the Streets LP for a reasonable price. 

With all apologies to friends who may be involved, the first two openers were straight up boring; plodding along with no real hooks or dynamics. I spent most of those sets looking at my iPhone, which why Aaron and the Burrs probably seemed so good to me. Aaron and the Burrs are an instrumental band jamming upbeat surf rock with tempo changes and the typical flair, but while looking like an 80's crossover band. It was refreshing after an hour and a half of sheer boredom.

For those of you not familiar, Night Birds sounds like an amalgamation of the Adolescents, Agent Orange, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks and Reagan Youth, but with an energy that spares them from sounding like a wanna be rip off. Their set was energetic, spot on and entertaining; which is surprising seeing as the crowd was mostly there for the bar or to see the second opener. I made sure to pick up the LP versions of their singles collection Fresh Kills Vol 1, and the full lengths The Other Side Of Darkness and 

Born To Die In Suburbia which are all great. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My boredom during the openers killed my battery, so I made a gif of the few pictures I did take. 

 FIN

My on again, off again with The Misfits Part 2

Portrait of the author wearing his favorite misfits shirt summer 1997.

So, I was singing the praises of the reunited Misfits to anyone who would listen in 1996. I had seen two incredible live gigs and  AT FIRST couldn't really tell the difference between the classic era and the current. No new songs had been released and the shows were just filled with maniacs going bananas. Although a couple shows the following year were so-so, I still carried the torch. Then something happened. Something terrible. Something that would have me cowering in the corner in fear. That something was called American Psycho.

Granted, if the album had any other name on it, I may have liked it, but I saw it as one misstep in a great catalogue and thought "fuck it, they'll still do old stuff." So when I found out that they were playing with KILLING TIME in Albany the summer of 1997, some friends and I went. After staying at some weird feminist college "we hate Jeremy compound," we got to the show really early, as we didn't have tickets and wanted to make sure we got in; and as luck would have it, we got there as Doyle and Jerry were carrying a workout bench into the club- SWEET.

While we sat our pale lumpy bodies against the wall outside the club, the promoter Ted Etoll walked up with a grocery bag and handed it to Jerry; they then began rummaging through the contents:

"Hey, I got you some Fruit Loops!"

"FRUIT LOOPS?! I LOVE Fruit Loops!"

Right there the mystique of the Misfits was dead to me. Maybe it could have clawed its way back, maybe the reunited Misfits could have won me over again... That is until I saw Dr. Chud and Michael Graves running down the street chasing after an ice cream truck. 

Killing Time KILLED IT, Anthony had less girth back then and the crowd was way into it. The Misfits put on a great "Rock Show" set and I just wasn't into it, it all seemed like a cartoon. These ice cream eating- fruit loop loving guys singing "Die Die." It was over for me BUT they did film some footage that ended up in this video:

I guess I never made it into any of the footage, probably because of my bummed out face.

My on again, off again with The Misfits. Part 1

I actually forgot all about this blog. I know last year I planning on waxing poetic about all things Dead Hearts, but I don't know, my heart really wasn't in it. I think our reunion shows in December of 2012 really gave me closure and though I like telling a good tour story, I'm not going to explore it in the way I intended with my last post, 10 months ago.

Also, since my last post in this blog, I was made a contributor to the great 90's hardcore blog Stuck In The Past I have make 3 or 4 posts thus far there, where I get to relive my 90's hardcore glory; it's been pretty swell thus far.

Also a year ago, I wrote about how I wasn't going to the Judge reunion. Though what I wrote still stands on how I felt about it, as fate would have it, I AM going to a Judge reunion in Chicago next month. My brother's band BLACK X is opening and I am travelling with them; should be a good time. ANYWAY, on to a real update:

I got into the Misfits late in life, as far as "punk rock" goes. I was into Danzig first and equated the 'Fits with terrible live bootlegs I heard in the early 90's. When I was 20, my friend Nick played a tape on a road trip; the infamous Misfits "Collection I," I was hooked the second I heard "She" and by the time I heard the bombastic and ripping "Earth A.D." I had a new favorite band. This was about a year before I rediscovered Danzig and I immediately sought out everything they released, or better yet; WHAT I COULD FUCKING AFFORD. When they announced "Collection II" was coming out in November of 1995, I made sure the local go-to record shop Home Of The Hits held one for me on green vinyl so I could pick one up after work.

I was pretty pumped to head down to pick up my copy and hopped in my van with plans to screech out of the drive way to make it to H.O.T.H. before they closed. I don't know why I put a 20 oz bottle of root beer on the dashboard and not in a drink holder, but I did. I also don't know why I turned the wheel with my body motion to catch it when it nearly rolled off said dash, but I did. I don't know why I totaled my nextdoor neighbor's mint Firebird, but I did. But goddamn that root beer was good.

My van only required minor repairs (IE: sledge hammer to pushed in bumper corner) and the record was still held for me when I arrived the next day; but let's backpedal a little bit in my timeline. Before Collection II, Static Age was supposed to be released, but was blocked, probably due to the impending boxset plans. My friends and I got word that there was going to be a static age listening party at Coney Island High in NYC on Halloween 1995. There were also rumors that the newly reformed Misfits were playing. We all bought tickets and headed down. We sat through some terrible openers, The Voodoo Glow Skulls and a GRUELLING 2 1/2 hour set by Murphy's Law. but at 1am, sure enough, some buff dudes in ripped up T-shirts took the stage, and THEY KILLED. Graves was doing his best early Glenn Danzig impression and people went NUTS.

After the show and in an alley, there was a box of opened "Static Age Is Coming" posters just hanging out by their lonesome. My friends and I grabbed as many as we could carry. The record being shelved made the posters a collectors item. I sold a bunch for between 10 and 20 dollars eventually, some dickweed has one up on ebay now for $175! Anyway, that show was great and when I found out they were playing the Opera House in Toronto in May of 1996, I couldn't miss the gig.

The Opera House show was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Keep in mind this is still 2 years before American Psycho, so it was basically a greatest hits show with a one minute and a half new song (Blacklight) which was fine. Graves was still doing his best at aping Danzig and the show had no barrier and no bouncers. if someone accosted Doyle, he'd just lay them out with a punch. It was sold out, with legal capacity being 850, I assure you there was a lot more in there. There were so many people packed in that place going bananas, that during one of my many stage dives, I couldn't get off the crowd back on to the floor and to this day serves as the only time I've "crowd ridden." So for most of "I Turned Into A Martian" I was a Lollapalooza grunger, I'm not proud of it, but it was FUCKING AWESOME. 

The thing I liked about the new Misfits at that time was, though they had a tight drummer who held it together, they still sounded like a legitimate mess. They missed cues and were often out of tune, but with the drummer holding it all together it was massive and satisfying. I sung the praises of these shows to my friends who missed them, hell, I told anyone who would listen. Little did I know that in two years time my bubble was going to be burst by an ice cream truck and a box of fruit loops...