Sep 24, 2009

REALITY "something hurts" 7"



Early 90's Reality from Salt Lake City, Utah was Chris Carlton - guitar, Trent Falcone - vocals, Brad Butterfield - bass, Justin Spencer - drums, & Spencer Jacobs - guitar. They played a style of hardcore similar to later Insight meets Outspoken. I've had this 7" in my collection for ages and never really ever heard anyone talk about them or read anything about them in zines around that time. I always felt like it had a great sound to it and liked the vibe they were going for during this era.



REALITY "something hurts" 7"
Released 1992 on Flatline records

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD


1. Something Hurts
2. It Takes More
3. Chain of Fools
4. Black

Jul 23, 2009

LAST MAN STANDING "Unseen" 7"



Anyone who knows me can tell you I'm a bit of a nostalgic Erie Hardcore & Punk nerd. This area has spawned so many well known bands and on the other end of the spectrum, obscure gems. I'm always eager to hear about new and old bands from the area at any given time of the day. In the mid 90s I released the Erie Hardcore Scene Report CD that featured some of my former band mates earlier bands called Out of Hand. The singer from that band, Ben Frazier, had also fronted another early Erie punk band called Last Man Standing that all of my older friends would rave about. I met Ben several times through mutual friends and he was always super nice and energetic guy. I missed a lot of the early 90s era of Erie as I didn't live in the region yet but I've heard many stories of the salad days of a lot of our friends. The Continental Ballroom on 20th and Plum St in Erie was a mainstay for punk and hardcore concerts for many years. This coming weekend is a little celebration in honor of those times. The list of bands that came through the tin foil lounge (check out the ceiling in the pic below) is legendary. I played my very first show in Erie, PA there and it will forever be ingrained in my memory as one of the most exciting times of my life. So if you've got the time this weekend to see some old school Erie vets dust off a few old songs come out to the Beermug as Last Man Standing is playing. Below is a 7" of theirs that I found on Ebay a few years back. To anyone interested in the Erie music scene it's a nice taste of the eclecticism that has been produced here over the years. Even though a lot of people like to stereotype what the "Erie Sound" is Last Man Standing is even further proof that there was and still is a lot of diversity in the area. I look forward to Saturday night this weekend.

Last Man Standing was on this recording:
Ben Frazier - vocals
Jim Beveridge - guitar
Pat Bova - guitar
Pat Kowalski - bass
Don Grace - drums


Last Man Standing @ the Continental Ballroom




LMS Live in Perry Square


LAST MAN STANDING "Unseen" 7"
Released in 1992 on Smog Veil Records

https://www.mediafire.com/?cvfqklxdob2e3wt
1. Boy
2. Temple
3. Tainted
4. Stigma

May 6, 2009

BROTHER'S KEEPER "discography"



I recently posted this on the Brother's Keeper facebook page. I could go on for hours with stories about touring, recording, writing songs, etc... We had a good run and I was always proud of what we did despite all of the criticism we received. so I figured with all of the wicked 90s nostalgia going on I'd put this stuff out there for people to check out in case they missed it.

For photos, fliers, and the BK CD/7"/LP pressing discography go to:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brothers-Keeper/142699002457316

"So apparently we (the actual members of Brother's Keeper) do not have the right to upload songs to the Myspace audio player. The songs I add get removed and I get a warning stating that if i upload more I could be kicked off of Myspace. Awesome, I only spent almost ten years of my life in the band and co-writing the music with the other guys. That's a great feeling to feel like the music you created isn't even yours.

So anyway, to anyone who has ever been interested in hearing or owning our music, here it is i its entirety. Everything from the first recordings, ever CD, 7", split, cover song, and our last demos... it's all in here. Enjoy." - EMS

Discography Volume 1 includes: Foreverneverending LP (all of our early stuff), The Continuum LP, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy EP, Sweet Revenge EP.

Discography Volume 2 includes: Fantasy Killer LP, Five Hits From Hell (Misfits Cover) EP, Oxymoron (Split w/ Disembodied) EP, Box Office Smash EP, a few covers (Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies), 2 other unreleased demo tracks, 1 unfinished instrumental song (when we were recording "Fantasy Killer" the tape machine (yes pre-digital) well it went nuts and in the middle of the song the tape ripped in half when Brian McTernan tried to manually stop it. So we never properly recorded it or finished it. This version was a demo of the music), and a our final 3 song recording.

DOWNLOAD VOL 1:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ns5zc8l89h3c036/broscreep1.zip
DOWNLOAD VOL 2:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/n8r5f0sabaaz67e/broscreep2.zip


Mar 31, 2009

NO JOKE "Discography"

Do we have a treat for you guys today! Greg Gonzalez, guitarist from NO JOKE came across our post of his former band and was cool enough to send some words our way along with tons and tons of mp3s for you all to enjoy. Some of the recordings never really surfaced so this is a real treat. I'm pretty stoked on getting the chance to share these with everyone because the tracks that I had not heard before are fucking awesome. I've had a lot of people from the bands I've posted in here get in touch and everyone is always willing to share some stories and rare recordings. Hopefully contributions like Greg's will keep coming in as this is some really crucial stuff from Western NYHC. Enjoy and thanx Greg! - EMS / Coregasm

---------------------------


“Here is the deal with Jeff Johns. We met him when we played at Club Blitz and signed a deal with him. We were to pay half of the price to record the 7" and he was to pay the other half. He would then press the record (1000 copies), distribute it, and give us records to sell (I think 100 records).

Jeff sent us the money; we recorded the 7" and sent Jeff the master tapes, cover art, and band pics, etc. Then he disappeared. We called repeatedly over a period of months. He kept telling us he would have the records soon. At some point, he sent us a test press of the 7" and then stopped answering our calls.

We went to Chicago to find him, to no avail, and I think we had Dennis' father (an attorney) write Johns a letter. We were all between 17 and 20 at the time and did not have the savvy or resources to solve the problem. Ultimately, we wound up with no 7" after playing a year of shows with no product to sell. That did not help advance the band.

As you can understand, we were pretty upset with Jeff when we recorded our second 7". Thus, the note for him. I think there is also an extra song on one of our recordings with some vocals recorded backwards that lays out our feelings towards him.

In 2002, I did a google search for "No Joke" "Tragedy of the Masses" and found a listing for the TOTM 7" on Larry Ransom's website. I emailed him, and he told me that he bought it in a store (I think in Chicago). I couldn't get him to sell it to me, so I started looking all over for it. Eventually, I found a couple on www.gemm.com and bought one for myself and one for Justin. That is how we got a copy of our own record! Every once a while, another one pops up on that site.

I have posted all the NJ catalog to the site below for you to add to your site. We are cool with you posting all of the music as long as you make it available for free. We just want people to hear it. There are three additional studio recordings we did that not get much distribution (Buffalo, NY EP; New School EP; and Deadtime CD). Here is a list of what is in the folder:

Put into Place Demo 1989:

This was recorded on my four track and sold at shows. The band at that time is Justin, Greg. Dennis, and Rob.

First Demo 1989:

Although this is called First Demo, I think we recorded it second. It is also another recording from my home four track. Clint plays bass on this one.

First Live Show 1989:

This is a recording of our first show. We are opening up for SOIA at the River Rock in Buffalo. The recording is pretty good considering the equipment we used.

Buffalo NY EP 1990

This is a studio recording we made just prior to heading out to Club Blitz. We sold most of the tapes we put out on that trip. The band is the same as the TOTM 7".

TOTM 7"

You might want to check the quality of the 7"s I posted. They may be better than the ones you have.

Into My Words 7"


Practice with Dennis 1991

After Clint left the band, we brought Rob back. This practice recording is Dennis, Justin, and Greg playing "Second Birth" without the bass. We sent Rob a tape of the song so he could learn it while he was away at school.

New School EP 1993 (Fusion)

After Dennis left, Jesse Muscato (Buried Alive) joined the band. We released this three-song studio EP on our own label, run by Justin, called Fusion.

Deadtime CD 1994 (Fusion)

We recorded a full length CD at MetalWorks right before we broke up. The band here is Greg, Justin, Rob, and Jesse. For some reason, we released this under the name Deadtime rather than No Joke. We never distributed it, and I still have a pile of these at my house. The CD contains some new songs we wrote with Jesse and some old ones we wrote when Dennis was in the band. The CD also includes two songs from the New School EP.

If anyone wants more NJ info or wants to get one of the Deadtime cds, email me at gregtastic@aol.com

There are also some old NJ videos on You Tube or here:
www.myspace.com/nojokebuffalo

Thanks again for posting this stuff!"
Greg Gonzalez

DOWNLOAD:

https://www.mediafire.com/?5udb47ht0fmz27k

Feb 27, 2009

MOTHER SHIP "Obedience" Cassette



Mother Ship were an early 90’s metallic hardcore crossover style Erie hardcore band featuring bassist Brian "Alfred" Oborski and guitarist Dave Quiggle who later on founded one of Erie’s most well known bands xDisciplex A.D. The 2 of them paired up with brothers Mike (drums) and Matt (vocals) Shreve and churned out a few cassette releases, “Obedience” being one of them. I never had the chance see them live as I did not relocate to Erie until 1995 but many of my friends would often talk about them. Their songs had a bit of a thrash metal sound to them as opposed to the later on stripped down beginnings of xDisciplex A.D.. However you can see where their roots started and can hear the patented Dave Quiggle chugs as well as great bass breaks that Erie bands have always been about. Mother Ship was without a doubt a Christian band and you can hear subject matter of their faith through out the songs. In the instrumental track you can even sample some of these guys weird obsessions with movies and TV as the song is peppered with Star Wars and other samples throughout. The cover art of “Obedience” is some of Dave Quiggle’s earlier published work which is pretty cool as he’s gone on to do many small and huge artists in the world of hardcore and beyond.

I had the opportunity to posthumously release 2 different Mother Ship tracks on the “Erie Scene Report” compilation CD that was released in 1996. It featured another track entitled “Vital Indecision” and a different version of “Narrow Path” also featured here on the demo. At some point the band had a vocalists change and Matt Salusky (heard here on “Vital Indecision) came into play. Matt also later went on to be a founding member of xDisciplex and played drums on their first recording “Lantern”. There’s a whole other demo tape that I used to own with the tracks that Matt sang on but lost over the years. I definitely wish that would surface so I could post it.

xDisciplex A.D. has even given homage to their predecessors Mother Ship by covering 2 of their songs on different occasions. A cover version of “Dead Wrong” appeared on the same previously mentioned Erie Scene Report compilation that I released in 1996. The band recorded it during the “Scarab” 7” sessions. They also later recorded a cover of “Vital Indecision” in 2001 and it was not released until later on on Facedown Records “Doxology” CD. Check out this video of xDisciplex in their early days playing “Dead Wrong” live. This was a show at the Erie Art Annex and P.O.D. actually opened this show up. Yes the same P.O.D. that you are thinking of.



Hopefully some other Mother Ship recordings will surface once I start bugging some of the crew. I’d love to post them for everyone as they are definitely a part of Erie Hardcore history. I’m not really sure as to what led to their demise but a lot of good things came out of their humble beginnings.

Here's a video of Mother Ship @ Cornerstone Fest with Matt Salusky on vocals doing "Vital Indecision". Check out the first few notes as Brain aka Alfred stomps a hole right through the stage.




MOTHER SHIP "Obedience" cassette
self released 1994
http://www.mediafire.com/download/xbnd8se1vw88jo5/mothership_Obedience.zip
1. It Falls
2. Not A Breath
3. Floating Yellow Feathers in the Wake of 50 Ticked Imperial Troops (Instrumental)
4. Dead Wrong
5. Narrow Path
6. Bonus

-----------------

This cassette tape was transferred using my new toy...the Ion Tape2PC deck. After a few hours of battling with my soundcards we made it happen and hopefully will continue. This will make it a lot easier to rip some of these sweet demo tapes I have laying around as my previous methods of using the mic input jacks were only coming out in mono. Get stoked.

Jan 29, 2009

NO JOKE 2 x 7"s


No Joke were a Buffalo (West Seneca) area band in the early 90s. They had a bit of a metallic sound popularized by local bands Zero Tolerance & Solid State at the time. No Joke featured Dennis Merrick who later went on to join Earth Crisis & Path of Resistance notoriety. Featured here are two of their 7”s from 1991 and 1992 released on 2 different Illinois based record labels. Not sure of the back story but in the 2nd 7” “Into My Words” the band states “One last note: We all wish Jeff Johns, a slow and painful death. Rot in Hell Buddy!” Jeff Johns was also the name listed on the first 7” as the owner of Statue Records. Wonder if things went sour between the two. Kind of amusing. I enjoy the 2nd 7” "Into My Words" a bit more than “Tragedy of the Masses” as I think the vocals are better. Either way this is a good sample of things going on in Western NY circa 1991. No Joke was Justin – vocals, Greg Gonzales – guitar, Dennis Merrick – drums, and Clint Marriott on bass (later Rob Harris).



DOWNLOAD BOTH 7"s HERE:
https://www.mediafire.com/?bg69qkkoqa2v4ov



NO JOKE “Tragedy of the Masses” 7”

Released on Statue Records 1991 (Statue #3)
1. Lost Soul / Stand and Deliver
2. Misery


NO JOKE “Into My Words” 7”
Released on Crown Records 1992
1. Nevermore
2. Into the End
3. Mark My Words
4. Endtro

Jan 19, 2009

FUGAZI "87 demo"



Fugazi is definitely in my top ten bands of all time. After listening to them for just shy of 20 years I can honestly say I like them even more than when I was a young skatepunk rocking out to them in my friends bedroom. of course I got into them just because it was ex members of Minor Threat, Embrace, Rites of Spring and so on... but was pleasantly surprised to hear it was nothing like their previous noteworthy bands. At the time these guys ventured off and did their own thing and paved the road for many (quality) indie bands when emo wasn't such a bad word or tainted sound. Unfortunately I never saw them play and still would love to some day.

This demo recording is rough in some areas and a few of the songs sound very similar to their released versions. At some points in the songs you'll hear little different guitar or vocals parts that are kind of cool, that for one reason or another didn't make the final album versions. Also there's a few decent tracks that were never re-recorded on any of their full lengths (at least that I know of). so this is a pretty cool start to an amazing band that has been the soundtrack to many amazing points of my life.

FUGAZI "1987 demo"
http://www.mediafire.com/download/78mdb0d1lzpplgv/fugazi_Demo87.zip
1. Merchandise
2. (Don Talking)
3. In Defense of Humans
4. Break In
5. Song No 1
6. Bad Mouth
7. The Word
8. And the Same
9. Waiting Room
10. Furniture
11. Joe No 1
12. Joe No 2

Jan 8, 2009

HELL NO "self titled" 7"



Pre and post Hell No members were in Citizens Arrest, Kill Van Kull, Moses, All For One, Our Gang, Sleeper (Serpico), Go, Manacled, JJ Paradise Players Club, and also featured Ted Leo on guitar. They played awesome sounding NYC influenced punk and hardcore that sounds somewhat in between the lines of Born Against / Econochrist / Rorschach meets Mind Over Matter / Bad Trip kind of stuff. Very cool guitar riffs with a nice rhythm section and an almost snarling crusty vocal style made this 7" really stand out to me. Listening to it 16 years later from when I got it (mailordered it from the Relapse catalog) I can still pick out all of the reasons and sounds that made me stoked on it. And on top of all of the attitude this band exuded (the lyrics are pretty damn cool) the production is nothing short of some of Don Fury's top notch work. As much as I liked this 7" for one reason or another I never came across any of their other releases. I just found a myspace tonight that seems to have ties to the band. I'm going to seek out the rest of their discography and see if it keeps up with this great debut 7". My fingers are crossed.

Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/hellno1


HELL NO "Self titled" 7"
Released on Wardance Records (WAR #004)
Recorded 9-1-91 @ Don Fury's NYC

http://www.mediafire.com/download/9to94kko980xbes/HellNo.zip

1. Reformer
2. Consequence
3. Disciple
4. Shift