Al Faiths Ministry

Sometime in 1989, I was listening to 91.3 FM WBNY, the cool college radio station from my hometown that transmitted in mono, when I heard a promo for one of the student DJ’d shows.  “Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-neee, Duh-nuh-nuh-nuh-neee” voices mimicked snyth/ guitar sounds and the DJ, taking up a robot like voice, began doing a promo for his hour (or two) long radio show.  I didn’t know it at the time, but this, technically, was my first introduction to Ministry, and their song “Stigmata.”

A few weeks later, when I actually heard The Land of Rape and Honey, I was blown away, plus hearing THE ACTUAL version of Stigmata gave me a little chuckle; but after the song “Golden Dawn,” interest in the album waned, as I was much more Slayer than I was Depeche Mode, or whatever electronic stuff, at the time. Thankfully, that was pretty much side one of the cassette, my preferred format at the time. When the album A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste came out in 1989, there wasn’t a single person I hung out with that didn’t absolutely love it. Hell, I even had a Chain of Strength show on video where my friend Ryan is wearing a “Taste” shirt. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, loved that record. Ministry shirts were abound, though I’m pretty sure most were bootlegs.  I loved playing the riff to “Burning Inside” on my guitar and dreamt of having a band that punks, metallers and hardcores alike all dug- how could anyone write a record so loved? I never cracked that code, but Ministry did it again with their next release.

My old roomate wearing a Ministry shirt, early 90's

Around Thanksgiving 1991, I had saved up enough money to buy my first CD player, which, at the time, were incredibly expensive.  CDs, also, were pretty expensive, but CD singles were generally under $10. The first two CDs I ever bought were NIN “Head like a Hole” and Ministry’s “Jesus Built My Hotrod.” A year later, Psalm 69 came out a pushed Ministry into the stratosphere garnering a platinum certification and mainstream attention, thanks to an appearance of videos for the songs “N.W.O. and “Just One Fix” on Beavis and Butthead.

Shortly after, I was pretty much only listening to (and buying) new Death Metal and Hardcore records; records by bands outside that realm just didn’t register. I’ll tell you though, I never stopped listening to In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up- all the heavy hitters from Land and Taste featured live- but not really sounding live, and maybe it really isn’t, but top shelf from start to finish- and features Jello Biafra and the guy from Rigor Mortis in the home video release- so cool.

In 2005, Dead Hearts played a REALLY weird show with Rigor Mortis on tour in Atlanta, and I had every intention of asking Mike Scaccia about Ministry and The Revolting Cocks, but with the vibe being very much theirs and 0% ours, I figured punishing the guy with a million questions about Al Jourgensen was probably a bad call, so I refrained.  Now that he’s passed, I kind of wish I had, but at least those guys were chill when we did briefly chat.

Ephemera from the collection of the author

In the past 5-6 years, I’ve found myself listening to more and more Ministry. I think collectively, people are becoming more interested in industrial music again, with the Industrial Accidents documentary and with the overall “buzz” I see online, I think the genre is having mini-resurgence.  When I saw that the aforementioned doc about Wax Trax records was screening in SF and that tickets were available for free on record store day with purchase of the sound track, I tried my best to get to the city to get a pair, but failed, as I live north of the city and traffic was GARBAGE all the way down. I then forged a plan, and emailed Ministry’s PR direct. After a couple emails I got to the right person and the following was in my inbox, “Hi Jeremy, thanks for reaching out! I currently have you on the guaranteed entry list - do you need a +1 or a photo pass?” and with that, I was in!

 The movie was informative, I liked that it was more a story about the owners of Wax Trax than the bands on the label, per se, though the bands were featured prominently. There were some really tear jerker moments, considering both owners passed away from AIDS- related complications. After a Q&A where Jello Biafara (go figure) talked for too long, we were lead out of the venue to line up for the show. After coming back in, Cold Cave played a set, but really lost me after 3 songs- it’s not that it was bad, it just became terribly uninteresting and once they lost me, they were never able to get me back. A guy standing behind me expressed the same to his friends after their set concluded.  Then the evening’s real treat took the stage- Ministry performing an all “Wax Trax Era” set, exclusive to these screenings.

Jello joins the band on stage for The Land Of Rape and Honey, much like the "In Case You..." VHS

From the onset, my friend Mat (my plus one) and I could tell this was going to be a set for the history books- Al was clearly in a good mood and the band sounded better than any expectations held. The Missing/ Deity/ Stigmata/ Jesus Built My Hotrod/ Just One Fix/ N.W.O./ Burning Inside/ Thieves/ So What/ No Devotion/ Supernaut/ The Land of Rape and Honey/  (Everyday Is) Halloween. I mean, look at that setlist- Incredible. I cannot stress how good of a performance it was, and I don’t throw this around lightly, after seeing thousands of bands and thousands of shows in my 30 years of attending gigs and touring, it was undoubtedly a top ten showing.

My on again, off again with The Misfits Part 3

I never expected to write a part 3, but here we are... (part 1, part 2)

Maybe something bad, maybe something good

4 years ago this month, I ventured with some friends to the annual "This is Hardcore" fest in surly, yet wonderful Philadelphia, PA, I went for the camaraderie and not to really see a specific band per se. The Jerry Only fronted version of the "Misfits" were headlining Saturday night, which had the most bands playing that I was interested in (Killing Time, Cro-Mags, and after the fact, surprisingly, Biohazard were a highlight) so I was kinda looking forward to that, especially when I saw they were going to play Earth AD in it's entirety.  Alex, Milford and I had traveled to "Natefest" earlier in the year and it was a solid crew to be travelling with.

Alex, Milford and the Author.

The shows were what festivals always are: fun at times, but arduous at best. The Misfits came on late on Saturday and the Crowd was initially amped, but without a front man, the 39 song set just seemed to drag after like the 8th or 9th song. As the set steamed a long, Milford turned to me and said "I'd never thought I'd be so bored hearing these songs." I agreed. This line up was not BAD they played just fine and was certainly better than some of the late 90's and early 2000's shows I had seen, but it was unbelievably NOT captivating.  If you watch the video of the set, it seems like they lose the crowd pretty fast.

After that, I pretty much thought I was done seeing the Misfits (again), why would I want to watch songs I absolutely love be so absolutely mundane? Not to mention, but I had seen the whole "Danzig and Doyle" thing twice and they absolutely crushed the 8 or 9 Misfits songs they did for those shows, plus they were sandwiched in between absolute classic Danzig material. On that 2005 tour, Danzig had his best post-John Christ era guitarist, Joe Fraulob, on guitar. Sad that he didn't make it longer, he could actually play the leads with the skill and feel they require. On the 2006 tour he had Kenny Hickey, another totally legit stand in for John Christ. Those dudes, plus Doyle, put the 2015 Jerry trio to shame. Not to mention in 2006, they did a bunch of Samhain songs too, apparently at Kenny's behest.

Joe Fraulob and the 'Zig 2005, by Maurice Nunez

Kenny Hickey, lifted from a Myspace fan page (lol)

Listen, I love Danzig... Misfits, Samhain and the eponymous band, it just strikes a chord with me. But this love comes with conditions. Danzig's last two records, Skeletons and Black Laden Crown were bargain bin fodder and the Misfits without him is so fucking spotty, it's really not worth the effort. But two weeks ago, tickets for the June 29th "Original Misfits" show in LA practically fell in my lap and I made plans to go and I am so glad I did.

Werewolf bar mitzvah, spooky, scary 

I gave my spare ticket to Adrian, who plays guitar in Tuning on the condition that we take his car. It also worked out that we could stay at his brother's place in Ventura. The trip was planned and actualized fairly quickly and soon enough we were at the Banc of California stadium. We ran into, and then hung out with, Andy Coretex (who was responsible for the Tuning record even happening) and his family the whole day. The thing is, although we checked out where our far-away-from-the-stage seats were, we never actually sat in them, as there was a snack area, with a much closer view of the stage had a railing you could watch the show and eat at- and that's where we stayed for the whole show.

I'm having the time of my life here.

The Cro-Mags set was hit and miss, I'm not sold on this latest Harley incarnation, the Age of Quarrel songs sounded terrible, but the Best Wishes songs ruled. Anti-Nowhere League sucked, flat out and The Distillers were terribly uninteresting in this setting. Rise Against were pretty good, I really like their first few records and don't terribly mind the radio rock hits, plus Dead Hearts played with they when they were on the way up and they were really fucking cool. The crowd started to fill out 1/2 way through their set- by the time the Misfits took the stage, there were A LOT of people in that stadium.

The Misfits raged through 30 songs, all played with intensity and with 100% devastating effectiveness. I've gone over the set a hundred times in my head the past three day and it's been tough to really find the words to describe it aside from the typical- AWESOME! AMAZING! INCREDIBLE! But that's exactly what it was, awesome, amazing and incredible. I highly doubt the Misfits reunion shows that came before or that will come after will be as good. I think this is the prefect show to finally put the Danzig baby to rest, end on a high note. Especially considering there will be no higher note than the HILARIOUS $10 parking lot bootleg I got with a terribly drawn likeness of the current band on the front and the MICHAEL GRAVES era on the back! Bravo!

The Front

The Back

The Author Enojoying

To Some Avail

The old register at Sit And Spin

 In 2000, I worked one day a week at Sit and Spin records on Transit Road in Depew, NY. The two friends of mine who owned it, worked other fulltime jobs and Friday was the day they couldn’t cover, so I would leave my overnight hotel job at 7, sleep a little (like literally 45 minutes) then either drive, get dropped off, or picked up and head there to ensure there was no lapse in the wares they offered. It was usually pretty slow until after the High Schools let out, when a few punks or hardcore kids would creep in and I would mostly spend my time listening to CDs that had been traded in, or new release promos.  I remember listening to the Rancid  Self-Titled album that I thought sucked, the one with the song where Lint sounds like Adam Sandler’s “Cajun Man” on the song “Antennas”.  I also remember listening to Leatherface and the No Justice demo (which later became their 7”) shortly after The Control played with them. But the one thing that sticks out is that Sit and Spin was the place where I fell in love with Avail.

on EVERY backpack circa '95

I had first heard Avail in the early-mid 90’s and, admittedly, I didn’t “get it.” My roommate Mark liked them, my friend Heather loved them and there was always an Avail patch, or shirt, at every show, it seemed,  from ’94 on. I’m not a fan of what’s called “southern rock” so without hearing more than like 2 minutes of what their recorded works had to offer,  I dismissed them as the “punk rock Lynyrd Skynyrd” and did my best to avoid them.  I was at shows they played as support in 95-96 but I didn’t pay attention.  In the spring of 1997, No Reason played a raucous show with Avail and Grade at the Rivoli in Toronto, and Beau was very cool to us and showed us his Ian Mackaye tattoo, but I spent their set outside.

No Reasonxx at the Toronto show we played with Avail. 

In 1999, I saw them again and thought,” huh, what a diverse group of people going wild for this band” but, as I was “super mister serious early 80’s hardcore thrash guy” at the time, them cracking jokes on stage and looking like they were having a good time was the antithesis of my attitude; that all changed a year later.

One day, while trying to stay awake at Sit and Spin (I didn’t have a key to lock the front door, so leaving to go get a coffee was not an option) I plopped a trade in copy of Dixie into the CD changer, and by the time it got to the song "25 Years," I was HOOKED. I listened to it the whole day. The Sit and Spin guys used to pay me in CD’s, so I took that and Avail: Live at the Bottom of the Hill as that week's payment. I was on my way into "Availdom," grabbed their back catalog, and although I wasn’t jazzed on the recording of Satiate, the versions on the live record were incredible and they went from being dismissed to being one of my favorite bands; even if the record they released a few weeks later, One Wrench, really didn’t seem up to snuff.

 My girlfriend at the time was HUGE into J Church, so it didn’t take much to convince her to take a quick roadtrip to see them with Avail in Pittsburgh on a weeknight in March of 2001. They were incredible that night and I bought a “vanarchy” shirt, which stayed with me until the week before I moved to CA in 2015, when I sold a huge lot of shirts that didn’t fit to my friend Alex (don’t worry, I still have HUNDREDS of band shirts). I did love that shirt though; it should have been one of the ones I held on to.

Front Porch Stories was a much better record and when they announced a Buffalo show in January 2003, I was pretty stoked, plus they were playing with The Curse from Philly, who were friends with my band. I went to the show even though I hadn’t been able to hear out of my left ear for 3 days (I saw a doctor later that week, a quick procedure and 90 days of recovery and it came back) and had a fucking GREAT time.  At the end of the show, Beau was going through one of those “hotel guides” that you used to be able to get at rest stops, looking for a cheap place to crash. I worked at a Days Inn at the time (you know, the one I used to leave at 7 am to go to Sit and Spin on Fridays) and told them I could give them two rooms for 25$ each, the employee rate, as I was going to work RIGHT after the gig.  They accepted and gave me a nice screen printed tour poster, which I have no idea where it went, as I moved three times from January 2003 to summer 2004.

I'm the "A" in AK press, looking like lurch, right behind the girl with immaculate make up. 

That Tuesday in 2003 was the last time I saw Avail, and my love for them has only grown. I listen to them constantly: hell, I even named my current band, Tuning, in part because of the Avail song by the same name. Two days ago they announced their first show in 12 years and a new online merch store. Even though I don't think I can Fly across the country again this year (I just went back east for 10 days in February) I can finally, after 4 years of not having one, get myself a shirt and revel in the memory of the path that lead me to loving one of my favorite bands. 

RIP my Blitz Shirt: Nostalgia and a show I attended in 1997

Yes, you can see me in the lower left of this video getting aggro with Hatebreed in my old white Blitz shirt. I REALLY loved that shirt, but after this show, it had so many boot and sneaker prints on it that wouldn't wash off. I tried to dye it gray, but then it just looked like a GRAY shirt with shoe prints all over it.

The author, part of the mayhem

This set was just a part of what destroyed my beloved Blitz shirt. The true set of the night was the Slugfest reunion. Slugfest were near and dear to my heart my senior year of high school (1991-92) and I saw them many times from 91-93. Hell, there's even a picture of me getting kicked in the face in their 1992 demo.

Lower Right- OUCH!

I literally joined Halfmast because they sounded like a Slugfest ripoff. Even though the undisputed "kings" of Buffalo Hardcore was Zero Tolerance, those guys were older and kind of unapproachable in a way. You could talk to the Slugfest guys, they were my age, they had a long haired metal guy in the band! Funny enough the first time I met the guitar player Jay in 1991, he was "shot gunning" stolen beers in a bathroom stall at the Tonawanda American Legion before the band he was playing bass for, Against All Hope, with Scott also on drums went on. I bought the Slugfest "Music to Dance to 92" demo at a show at Randall Studios and got home, brimming with excitement; only to find that it was blank! I called Tim Redmond, the drummer and arranged to exchange the cassette at a show at a short lived club in Clarence called the Toybox. Even though the recording quality of the demo left a lot to be desired, the songs were great. I also remember really loving the song Chuckidoo's Flight when I first heard it at a show they played with my old band Childish Intent. I went off for that song at every show after.

Slugfest didn't make the flyer for some reason.

By 1993, the line of Slugfest had changed a bit, Jay and the long haired guys were out, replaced by Tim and Flipowitz from Agaisnt All Hope. But man, they were STILL good. The last weekend of August 1993, they played a matinee show with Integrity in Rochester and there were limited cover versions of their 7" for sale. I picked one up and poured over the lyrics to learn them all for the show the next night that they were playing in Buffalo with Shelter and 108.

Sadly the show on Monday 8/30/93 was their last. I'm not sure why the band fell apart, though I heard at the time it was due to Tim joining Snapcase, who knows? All I know is by the point, I loved Slugfest and couldn't stand Snapcase, so I was pretty bummed. 

But, there was unfinished business. In 1996, Slugfest recorded 4 songs written before their break up and paired them with the 7" for a CD on initial records, who was now home to Scott's then current band, Despair. It stoked the flames, that's for sure and in April 1997, Slugfest did their reunion, we all went and enjoyed, and my poor blitz shirt suffered.

Rest in Peace you incredible shirt and Rest in Peace Slugfest.

Music Festivals: A Personal and Truncated Memoir.

Not me, but really a festival "everyman"

As a whole, I am not fond of music festivals. Particularly big (or small) open air stages filled with overpriced food and beverages and sound akin to a loud tin can falling into a puddle. That’s not to say I haven’t had positive experiences attending one, it’s just that, as a whole, at some point you realize you’re standing in a field, or a parking lot; baking in the hot sun, or having rain pissed on you. I often think, “Have conditions ever been 100% exactly perfect for a festival in North America?” After going to Punk Rock Bowling in 2016 to see Dag Nasty, I SWORE I’d never go to another outdoor gig. Yet since, I’ve still found myself at them, either wishing I had a jacket, or a bag to put stuff in, or maybe something I would actually want to eat while I’m fucking locked inside the fences; is that too much to ask?             

 The first outdoor “music festival” I attended was Lollapaloza in Barrie, Ontario in July of 1993. I went with a group of friends who I had graduated with a year earlier. It was really the last “big thing” we did before two of them decided to head off to the army. It was a hot day, you weren’t allowed to bring anything in and food and water was pretty expensive. Then again, alternative rock was pretty big business by the point, with bands and labels making money hand over fist. I went wearing an Inside Out long sleeve shirt and HUGE ‘X’s” on my hand, with the intention of getting on top of the crowd during Rage Against the Machine and giving the middle finger to Zack de la Rocha for “selling out” straight edge. I made my way to the front, near the barrier and waited… The opening bass line to “Bombtrack” started and when the drums kicked in with “UHH!” I was lifted from my feet by the surging crowd and toppled over.  I have been in fights at shows, foolishly dived off stages, but in that instance, I truly feared for my safety; I had no control as to where I could move to as more and more people fell on top of me. After what seemed like an eternity, I pulled myself up and fought my way out of the densely packed crowd. I walked far up on the lawn and watched RATM level the place. I saw a lot of bands that day, even fell asleep on said lawn during Dinosaur Jr. but that Rage set was something so great that (last minute) I went to see the same show 2 weeks later in PA. I honestly don’t remember RATM’s set from the second show, just falling asleep on the lawn (again) to Dino Jr. I also bought a copy of the Bhagavad Gita and a Youth of Today “Youth Crew 88” shirt (right off the back) from a Hare Krishna guy in the parking lot.

Lifted from a google search

A couple of weekends ago, I’m hoping that I went to what will be my last outdoor festival, not that it was terrible, I just don’t like experiencing music this way.  Anyway, I took a chance on something called “Burger Boogaloo” in Oakland. Mostly, the lineup consisted of bands that seem far too “hip,” or something, than my “I grew up in the suburbs in the 80’s” taste. It seemed like it was mostly stuff for people who live in gentrified areas of a city and stay out late drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon on a weeknight.  I arrived in the early afternoon, waited an hour in line and pleasantly ran into my friend Mike, whom Dead Hearts (my old band; Mike happens to be an uncle of another member, but is my age) had stayed with a bunch on tour. Mike drove a long way (Olympia, WA) to get to the show. We caught up and tried to watch Mudhoney but they were as boring as I’d remembered.  I was never much of a “college rock” or “grunge" guy, so no surprise there. Some other bands played, but I barely watched any, until The Mummies came out and wrecked the place. Now, seeing a band in broad day light in not optimal and I think most people can agree that seeing a band in a dark, packed club is always the ideal. I saw Dimmu Borgir once in the middle of the day at an outdoor gig in 90 degree heat and high humidity: it did NOT work on any level. I actually felt bad for those guys having to do their evil black metal shtick while slowly melting on stage.  Anyway, the Mummies came out and after one of the greatest introductions I have ever seen, ROCKED. Their gimmick works at 6:45pm as well at it would at 11, so I was pretty into it.

The Mummies, photo by the author

I had made my way upfront long before The Mummies in order to secure a spot for the reason I came: DEVO. A band I had discovered/ liked in 1981, fell in love with in 87 and never looked back. I wasn’t a completest, but I had the Freedom of Choice and Are We Not Men? LPs and Greatest Hits on cassette, which I listened to on my Walkman riding the bus to and from high school in between blasts of thrash metal and hardcore. At the time, I didn’t have a copy of Duty Now For The Future, so on the extra blank space on side two of said cassette, I dubbed “The Day My Baby Gave Me  a Surprise,” my favorite song, off of the We’re All Devo Vhs tape I had. I wasn’t cool, and even though they acted like they weren’t, Devo certainly was.

John Waters came out and did a stumbly, odd-paced introduction and then we were off to the races. Devo sounded EXCELLENT and exceeded all of my expectations: Girl U Want/ Whip It/ (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction/ Secret Agent Man/ Uncontrollable Urge/ Mongoloid/ Jocko Homo/ Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA/ Gates of Steel/ DEVO Corporate Anthem/ Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)/ Beautiful World/ The Girl Can't Help It/ Come Back Jonee. It was really incredible, with the only song TRULY missing from the set was Freedom of Choice and seemed to be the only complaints fans had while I was leaving. It only took me like 37 years from when I first heard “Through Being Cool” to finally see them, I had been kicking myself for the many times I missed them over the years, but now that box is checked and I’m REALLY hoping that this is the last time I have to go to another outdoor festival gig, unless of course, I can sleep on the lawn during Dinosaur Jr.

photo by the author

Photo by the author

My journal entry from Dec 15th, 2001

Below is from my journal from 2001, after I saw the Bad Brains totally disappoint a massive crowd at the Showplace Theater in Buffalo, NY. Although I has seen Human Rights 10 years prior and the Brain's twice, this was the only time I saw them with HR on vocals. I saw them at CBGB's a few years later with JJ Bloodclot from the Cro-Mags singing and that was pretty good. The show mentioned below, was not. 

"Herod sounded like mush

Three Below sounded like mush wearing leather pants.

The sound at the Showplace is mush...

But the Bad Brains somehow managed to change that... they sounded phenomenal and every note and musical delivery was flawless... but wait something's fishy here...

HR the once proud frontman of the bad brains has taken a trip to the stars- where his body remains on earth and his mind is somewhere else in the universe. To understand what I am talking about check out a few x men comics when professor x's brain takes a vacation.

HR lives in his own little world. in this world, the audience is laughing with him and his love for Jah. Unfortunately, this is NOT the case. They’re laughing AT him ... his ridiculous banter and wacked out creepy guy at the bus station mannerisms speak more for the thousands of mentally ill homeless than for the purveyors of hardcore punk. it's amazing how disconnected he was. What is also amazing is that the band was completely raging around him, almost equally disconnected; disconnected in the sense that they didn't seem to pay any mind what so ever to their "frontman".

the band as a whole truly mimicked hr's mental illness. it was like the body functioned normally ( Dr. Know, Earl Hudson and Daryl Jennifer) but the mind controlling it (HR) was leading this visage towards bizarre madness and utter destruction.

The quotable HR:

"We are not earth wind and fire"

"Don't you ever forget my name"

"Jesus Christ was not god, he was the son of god"

"I like your knockers"

He also said "I love you all" more than Ozzy does on the Randy Rhoades tribute album.

HR came across as the crazy uncle who shows up at the family reunion gropes all your female cousins, eats your food, talks about the bible and tells dick and fart jokes until he asks you to give him a ride home...

I stood in front of Dr. Know the entire time, basking in his masterful playing...

Wow... I can't believe the contrast from the first two times I saw the Bad Brains. Granted they had Chuck Mosley singing the first time and Joseph I singing the second but they stilled ruled and it wasn't that the band didn't rage... they did... it was just that before the singer's voice may not have been dead on with HR's BUT they went off... I think this is the first time I've ever seen a band where the band goes off and the singer just doesn't care... strange."

Recent podcast interview

A good friend of mine has been doing a podcast for about a year now and asked me to talk about my experiences with music and the bands I've been in. So, I thought I'd treat him with an opening rant about how the most recent Danzig sucks and talk about a new band I tried to do that didn't end up happening.

I rant and talk about my favorite subject, me.