FEEBLE "self titled" 7"

Pennsylvania's East Stroudsburg punk/hardcore band FEEBLE played a great mid nineties mix of energetic punk along the lines of Avail blended with a little bit of an Oi! flavor to it. It was upbeat and even had a bunch of quirky little lead guitar work in the songs very indicative of mid nineties punk like Lagwagon or Nofx. Their singer Jotham Oliver has a nice gruff but slightly melodic twist to his vocals giving their songs that anthemic feel to them.

Now if you didn't immediately recognize that name maybe you have heard of what he goes by in his current records, Mad Joe Black. That might ring a bell for anyone who knows of my favorite bringers of the Thug Rock BOXCUTTER as well as one of my favorite hardcore bands that have been pounding the streets lately, WISDOM IN CHAINS. He's even spent some time playing bass in OUT TO WIN. Yup, it's the same guy only a decade later. And you can definitely tell in his delivery where his current styles have come from.

There's brief explanations of the songs in the liner notes which are very reminiscent of the time. Anyone who grew up in Eastern / Central PA during the mid and early 90s hardcore scene can definitely relate to songs like "Myself":

"This was written after a couple of Nazis harassed our singer at a mall and we asked the question "Why does everyone put up with this..."

Or the obligatory song bashing hippies as in the song aptly titled "Hippies". They also have the track "No Sense" on a personal reflection about a friend who would change identities often:

"This song is about a kid we knew who convinced everybody he was for real but then became a "gangsta" followed closely by his sudden overnight change into a tie die wearing hippie." Man, Jotham really doesn't seem to be a fan of hippies huh?

After not hearing this 7" for so long I got a good chuckle out of the track "Anthem" which mind you is over 10 years old. The song goes on to talk about a kid they knew:

"We once met a kid who lied, stole, who claimed he was Mr. vegan straight edge while eating KFC & drinking Jose Cuervo he also claimed to be "Core to da bone" while lying and stealing from friends and family. This song is about him."

Ironically enough, judging by the last name in the song and the references to "Or we'll send you back to Cherry Hill" leads me to assume this song is about the same person who was one of the organizers and part of last years debacle known as Hellfest. You know, the fest which was was turned into a media seeking prostitute and canceled the week it was supposed to happen. Said person also being arrested while driving the hellfest bus around in the parking lot of the venue in protest. I guess that dude has had his share of problems throughout the years with people because not every average joe can get a whole song written about him! Did anyone actually ever get their money refunded from them for Hellfest tickets?

Anyway, this is a great 7" not only just because Mad Joe Black is still an active member of the PAHC scene, but the songs are catchy and a good listen. Did any of these other guys go on to be in other bands?

Feeble: Jotham Oliver - vocals, Mike Borrasso - guitar, Evan Ivkovich - guitar, Simon Oliver - bass, Keith Yosco - drums.


FEEBLE 7" released on Stirling Records 1996

http://www.mediafire.com/download/qzfq5z06x4mtjyg/Feeble.zip
1. No Sense
2. Anthem
3. Myself
4. Hippie Song