THE INTERNATIONAL ASSHOLE

Blog Highlight: Rob Unit's Blog

2009-10-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

It was March of this year that I went with Rob Glasier (pronounced with a Quebecois tongue)to go see Morrissey at Foxwoods with some of his homies*. Gig aside, the most memorable part of the evening was Rob telling me, and everyone else, so many times throughout the night about the blog he was starting. Obviously I was intrigued because in all seriousness I can't get enough of the life and times of Rob, I know how sarcastic that sounds but it is true. Either way, after all this talk and Facebook-newsfeeding Rob's blog culminated in one epic post that would never be followed up on again. While his blog started and ended with that one post, it ended up being the greatest blog to ever exist, and barring his own Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter accounts - would be the greatest web site to ever exist.

Please do yourself a favor and take the time to check it out: http://robglaser1.blogspot.com/

That is all

*Shootout to Sean Sullivan who would become my dude from this day on.

Futuristic Burger King

2009-10-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Did Burger King just get even iller? Yup. Do you wanna go practice karate in the garage? Yup. To be honest I really only like this because they describe BK as "futuristic," beyond that it's not really interesting at all to read.

Burger King revamp aims at higher-priced kin

By ASHLEY M. HEHER (AP) – 5 hours ago

CHICAGO — Burger King Corp. plans to swap its generic fast-food feel and bland tiles and tabletops for a vibe that's more sit-down than drive-through.

As part of a plan revealed Wednesday in Amsterdam, the company will announce a massive effort to overhaul its 12,000 locations worldwide. The sleek interior will include rotating red flame chandeliers, brilliant TV-screen menus and industrial-inspired corrugated metal and brick walls.

"I'd call it more contemporary, edgy, futuristic," Chairman and CEO John Chidsey told The Associated Press. "It feels so much more like an upscale restaurant."

But that comes with an upscale price: The new look is expected to cost franchisees, who operate 90 percent of Burger King's locations, between $300,000 to $600,000 per restaurant.

The company said the new design, called "20/20" at the Miami-based chain, is already in place at about 60 locations around the world. Burger King expects about 75 more redesigned restaurants to be open by the end of next year. But it will take years before all its locations are transformed.

Burger King franchise owners are contractually required to update their restaurants after a set period of time, and executives said the redesign will be the primary option for future upgrades. All new restaurants will be built using the plan.

So far, remodeled restaurants have seen sales climb about 12 to 15 percent, while restaurants that are torn down and completely rebuilt at the same location have seen sales climb by as much as 30 percent, Chidsey said.

Observers say the hip, urban and masculine elements in the redesign may be a hit with Burger King's most loyal customers — young men who frequent the chain known as much for its signature Whoppers and "steak burgers" as its sometimes-creepy "King" commercials. But some experts are skeptical about whether sales will grow as much as the company claims and how eager franchise owners will be to part with that kind of cash, particularly in a sour economy.

Chidsey said he thinks most franchise owners, who typically own both their restaurant's building and the land, won't have trouble obtaining financing and will be swayed once they see how sales can climb.

Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy said the reformulated restaurant could keep diners at the table longer but may not draw in enough extra diners to justify the cost.

"I don't think they'll change their perception," he said. "They're pretty entrenched in their reality."

A group representing Burger King franchise owners didn't immediately comment.

Fast-food restaurants typically get almost two-thirds of their business from drive-through or carryout orders. More appealing interiors could help the company compete with sit-down counterparts that many customers think offer better food and better ambiance.

Ron Paul, president of the food consultant company Technomic Inc., said he thinks the redesign shows just how determined Burger King is to compete with "fast casual" restaurant chains such as Chipotle, Starbucks and Panera, which customers think of as a cut above typical fast food.

"People in the fast-food category are recognizing they've been losing customers to the fast-casual player," he said. "What this sounds like is an attempt to get that dining-in business back by making it an attractive environment."

They might also help Burger King, the No. 2 burger food chain the U.S., stand out from larger rival McDonald's Corp. and other competitors, including regional chains, who've begun to add bigger and better burgers to their menus as they clamor for a share of the growing burger market that's worth $100 billion in the U.S.

"It's a competitive necessity to square up against the competition," Chidsey said.

While the most noticeable changes will be inside restaurants, Burger King executives also plan to update exteriors, too, adding metal canopies and more signs proclaiming "Home of the Whopper."

At the same time, the company is beefing up its value menu, temporarily adding a $1 double cheeseburger to U.S. menus. And it's also in the final stages of installing new broiler ovens that cut energy use and will let the company roll out new menu items in the future.

On deck is the Steakhouse XT burger, which has a thick patty topped with mayonnaise, fried onions, lettuce, steak sauce, cheese and tomatoes. It's slated to join menus in February.

New Favorite Show: Elmo's World!

2009-08-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

Shootout to Jenn for opening my eyes to this wonderful program.

In Retrospect

2009-06-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

...this should have gone over better than it did

Despite the minimal popularity still a great idea by AJ.

The Seasons are Changing

2009-04-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

It's still cold but less cold, and some days are even warm. I got one day of posting up while wearing camo shorts with a belly full of Eagle's Deli in. I guess one can't complain too much. Haven't even moved into the HOS yet and already anticipating its demise in the Fall, followed by myself, Hudon, Chedge, and Toomey relocating to Brookline (shootout to Washington Sq.). Not sure whether or not this means we're becoming grownups. If this picture of Hudon is any indication we truly are fucked.

Jenn is at the point of recognizing sneakers on the feet of passers-by, my apologies go out to her. Must have been all the time she spent studying up with me.

And due to a lack of interesting content (aside from Rob Unit's rumored pink slip from Sweet Ink, the greater discussion of the 2009 shelling season, Bodega's S/S collection, assorted giggery, etc.) here's a Free Spirit interview I did not long after our first show with my friend George, a young zineman from Tallahassee. I'm not even sure if this issue of his zine - expertly titled Look Around Fanzine - ever even came out, and if it did it was not circulated well so I think it's safe to post on here.

Free Spirit - Look Around Fanzine
Q: To begin with, how are you Gil? Its been a while since our last
conversation. Have you acquired any new Stop & Think merch?

I'm good man, just concluded doing midterms which absolutely sucked
but I'm happy to be done with it. I have actually gotten some snt gear
recently, got the stacked shirt in the mail today and Champ from
Foundation is sending me his red/yellow tee as part of a trade we did.

Q: Alright, Free spirit. When you first started this band what were
your intentions? To just play local gigs, possibly tour?

I came up with the idea to do Free Spirit in February with our drummer
Kenny, the idea was just to do a cool band that was heavily influenced
by Straight Ahead where I would sing. No intentions to tour or nothing
just play cool shows and do a demo. It took a while to actually get it
going, we practiced sporadically for months before having real songs.

Q: I haven't seen anything clarifying the lineup of Free Spirit. Who plays what?

Free Spirit is: Myself on vocals, Jack Daniels on guitar, Kenny
Fontaine on drums, Ryan Hudon on guitar, and Nervous Luke on bass. The
lineup changed a lot as we got going but this is it for now haha

Q: How did Free Spirit's first gig go?

Our first show was awesome! As usual we did everything super last
minute and super crappy but we were all amazed to find we had demos,
shirts, and an actual set to play haha. We did the demo all the way
thru with a Straight Ahead cover as our second song and all our
friends went crazy. I honestly can't imagine having a better first
show.

Q: As of now all you guys have released is a five song demo. Any plans
for upcoming releases? Or possibly label support.

Well Triple-B put out the tape for us, so that's our label. Sam should
have tapes for sale in the label store online. Also Standhard Records
bootlegged the demo (along with the No Tolerance demo) onto a tape
which was sold at the show with a zine. We're gonna write more songs
but I can't really speculate on if there will be anything else. Maybe
a demo 2 one day.

Q: Recently was the 9th anniversary of edge day. How was the edge show
in mass? How did step forward do? What about rampage it seems like
they never play around anymore.

The show was really cool, it was all our friends' bands and it was
kind of a crew thing that the greater scene could enjoy. It was a long
day, and by the end i was pretty burnt out but man it was a really
exciting and fun time. Step Forward were great they opened with p-salt
stomp, then played through the whole ep and also played their song
that was supposed to be on DFJ's compilation. Kenny is a good drummer
but a GREAT frontman so I love seeing him on the mic in step forward.
Rampage play every now and again and did that LP for lockin out so I'd
say they're just as in the game as ever.

Q: If there was one thing you could change about current state of
hardcore what would it be?

HC just needs more kids getting involved, not for recognition or for
the sake of being in a band or whatever, but being involved cause they
love being hc kids. That's my thing, I'm a fucking hc kid and it's who
I am to the bottom of my heart, not being involved is something I just
couldn't do. Just get out there and have fun and make some friends, be
a hc kid at more than face value is something I'd like to see the
newer people getting into it do.

Q: Gil, the first time we met I remember you making a comment about my
Justice stage dives rules shirt (which happens to be one of my
favorite shirts) what would you say are some of your favorite shirt
designs of the core?

Ah yes I remember that, good times. I love shirts, my favorite ones
include: Stop and Think final shirt and stacked design, the
Altercation shirt, UC a wish to dream shirt is really cool, the Bold
"Speak Out" shirt is one of the best ever. There's too many to name.

Q: Top 5 NYHC releases?

Another question where there's too many to name but here I'm just
gonna say ones I like and not ones I feel obligated to say because
they're great...

Straight Ahead - Everything
Our Gang - Uprising tape
Token Entry - Jaybird
WarZone - Lower East Side Crew
Agnostic Front - Victim in Pain

Q: Winner of Paris Hilton's New bff prediction?

I think it's gonna be Brittany and I've gotten a pro tip it's gonna be
her. It's not gonna be Kayley, and I don't think it will be Shelley
either. The rest are a little bit too forgettable. Corrie isn't
likeable enough to win though she's got that ill body. So yeah I'd say
Brittany cause she's a standout contestant who Paris def seems to
like.

Q: Alright, this about wraps up our interview. Any shout outs, last
words you wanna leave us with?

Yes thanks for doing the interview and doing this zine, I liked issue
1 a lot. You and the other guys in Tally have something cool going I'm
glad I've been able to chill there. Thanks to all the friends and
Triple-B Records. Unite to do what's right, whatever you think that
may be. Rival Mob LP is my fav hc record of the year. Peace!

That's Real

2009-04-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

Thank You

2009-03-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

via Highsnobiety

Shangri-La

2009-03-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

Shootout to Progresso Chicken Gumbo

Free Spirit Live at Anchors Up 3/6/09

2009-03-24T15:46:00.001-07:00

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=019724fff0b3465ed0d290dca69ceb5ce04e75f6e8ebb871

Setlist:
Honesty (YOT)
Free Spirit Intro
Express Yourself
Open Mind
Stand as One
Unite
Be Yourself
Not Afraid (Straight Ahead)

Free Spirit Weekend

2009-03-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

"When I'm sleeping it's only green sheets and the hair down my legs"

Overstimulation

2009-03-05T09:26:00.001-08:00

Air Footscapes

2009-03-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

Nike Air Footscapes

Can one of my friends please win these since I can't allocate those funds right now?

Have Heart / Rival Mob Weekend

2009-03-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I went out with two of my favorite bands (which double as two of my favorite groups of people), Have Heart and the Rival Mob, for a weekend of gigs - Sammy came along for the ride as well. Due to a busted trailer we fit the 12 dudes on the weekend between the Have Heart van and an auxiliary car. The weekend of gigs coincided with my 21st birthday on Friday which consisted of the normal routine: Sunsesh and hitting a bar where friends ordered many a college beverage in my honor.

On Saturday I woke up first on the HOS floor and made my way to Chucky's vacant closet where I would catch a couple extra hours of sleep before waking up the second time to leave for the gig in Edison, NJ. The ride was trying to say the last as I felt like I had been up all night drinking and thrashing around (wonder where this would stem from), along with being sandwiched in between Hudon and Kei, who has a strange inclination towards leaning sharply to the left - putting me also at an angle. I spent most of the pre-gig time drinking lots of coffee and water in order to snap myself out of feeling sick. By the time doors opened and I was seeing some out of town heads I was looking forward to hanging with (Apps, Jenn, Hoodrack, Rifkin, Morgado, Jaycox, etc.) my body came around and I was back in commission.

The Rival Mob - Upside Down from hate5six productions on Vimeo.

The Rival Mob - IIB + Thin Ice (Outburst) from hate5six productions on Vimeo.
Rival Mob got one of the bigger reactions I've ever seen from them. This was one of the first shows they've done since the Demo 7" came out on Triple-B so they were hawkin' those things pretty hard. I sang an Outburst cover with them, which they learned as a birthday present of sorts. Apparently Porter from Floorpunch was sounding off about how into the cover he was - not a bad thing to hear.

Have Heart - Pave Paradise from hate5six productions on Vimeo.
Have Heart were great as always. They played the hits and a few of my favorites, along with "Something More Than Ink" featuring Sammy on vocals during the break in the song. You can't beat the energy of a Have Heart set, all those kids being so into a band with a great message gets me pumped every time.

Me, Hoodrack, DFJ, Sammy

Post-Gig dinner sesh - I ordered the French dip

Some of us stayed the night in Philly at a friend of Hudon's apartment. Sam was pretty shook by this cat cause of his allergies, he fared pretty well though by strategically taking some meds before we got there. The apartment was clean and filled with couches and beds aka Heaven on Earth. I slept like a baby.

Around 12:30 Hudon woke us up, and after taking a round of showers, some of which were cold due to not being able to figure out the hot water, we were off to Philly to get some food and hang for the afternoon before the gig in Doylestown, PA.

The line at Jim's was out the door

Good food

After our quick traverse down South St. we drove to Doylestown where the rest of the guys had been for a good while. The show was in a quaint small town which seemed pretty wealthy and traditional. It had a small movie theater on the same street as the hall with a big marque, something out of a movie. Weird to think that this town has emerged as a newer hc gig destination but it has, and in fact I'll be there again this Saturday with my own band. By the time we showed up a couple bands had already played and Rival Mob was next to go on.

Mob played one of the better sets I've seen them play despite a small reaction

Did "Thin Ice" again, as I said it was a small reaction

Hudon blowing off some steam during Have Heart

HH brings the energy even in a smaller hall like this one

By the time the show had ended we had gotten word that the bad weather we were warned about earlier in the weekend was no joke and that schools in Boston had canceled classes. We hit Wawa briefly for dinner and to stock up on snacks, and then hit the road prepared to drive into a blizzard. The ride was supposed to be 5-7 hours and ended up lasting 15. I won't get into the mellow drama of the ride but I will say that everything that could have gone wrong did and I was kissing the ground when I finally got home at 3 in the afternoon on Monday. My mom, who was aware of the bad weather and the drive I was doing, probably lost a couple minutes on her life due to stressing out.
Just the tip of the iceberg - in Jersey

Kei made me cry laughing multiple times on the road home, this face inspired one of those times

The weekend was memorable to say the least, and I will remember my 21st birthday as one of the best I've ever had. Thanks to everyone who was a part of it. Photos are by myself, Kei, and Danielle the show photographer from Doylestown.

Rough Draft by Kenny

2009-02-23T22:08:00.001-08:00

NYC 2009

2009-02-18T17:24:00.001-08:00

How to pack for a weekend: Jordans, 95s, two SnT's

Me and Apps are no strangers to a good photo op

Tricked Kali into coming to NYC to see me...prank'd!

Apps picked up some Air Wovens at Flight Club that had been sitting on the shelf for about a year now, they must have been amazed someone finally copped. If they were a size 9.5 my dog woulda had some competition that's for sure.

Valentines party in Brooklyn - we don't know these girls

Evan and The Dog - how I loathe him (The Dog, not Evan...well yeah, Evan too)

That's the weekend in a nutshell. Saw some fun loving incorrigibles of mine, ate some food, drank some college beverages, bought some gear. Now I'm good to not go back for months.

My Sister and I Had a Party

2009-02-12T19:10:00.001-08:00

The Cheerios were great!

There was Indian food too...

Boston Crew

2009-02-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

Most heads know that the Radio Silence book came out amazingly, and when they picked up their copy last year hurriedly flipped through it to try to take in all the incredible images upon impact. Visual hammers-to-the-head like the Token Entry jacket, Uniform Choice flyer depicting an animated crowd, and the likes of Tommy C and Porcelly moshin it up to Crippled Youth in AJ Is left core nerds like myself speechless. I was happy to finally get the chance to celebrate the efforts of both the authors and the fine folks at Bodega/The Fourth Wall Project who recently opened the gallery which served as the venue for the Boston release party exhibiting original prints of photography featured in the book. The event went swimmingly, and the gallery space looks incredible - truly a fun night for everyone. If you haven't checked Radio Silence out be sure to head over to www.radiosilencebook.com and pick a copy up. While you're at it be sure to visit www.bdgastore.com and keep an eye on this new gallery space located on Brookline Ave which is sure to have some cool events coming up.

Let's Grub

2009-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Mealing, grubbing, bustin' it down Sammy Triple-B style - whatever you call it, we all love to eat.* A fresh semester and a more peaceful living situation has brought me to a new point of culinary motivation. Also, the new set of kitchen stuff my mom hooked me up with doesn't hurt either. Brian Murphy and Carrie both did some cooking segments on their respective blogs, and while I'm not gonna jack their idea, here's a couple of examples of what I been up to in the kitchen.

Chicken Masala, Chana Masala, and Spanish rice (no Jasmine rice on hand). Shoutout to the Indian grocery store on Moody St.

In action

Steak and eggs sandwich, served with liberal use of Tapatio

Be on the lookout for me and Carrie's new cooking web-show, coming never.

*This excludes my parents, a number of girls I knew from around the way, my college roommate Sophomore year, and some others not worth mentioning due to their inability to enjoy one of life's finest pleasures.

It's No "A Wish To Dream"

2009-01-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

...but it'll do

Also: The Gorilla Biscuits ripoff of the classic UC shirt design, what's the deal with this thing? I never caught a good glimpse of it but I'm real down with the color choices and would like to peep.

Nike ACG Air Mocs

2009-01-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

If the brown ones aren't enough to convince you to pony up the cash, having that old tyme box lyin' around your room might do the trick.

Step Forward Interview

2008-11-24T08:58:00.000-08:00

What we have here is a real blast from the past. This is an interview I did with a guy who would become one of my good friends, Kenny Fontaine of Step Forward (and Waste Management, and my band Free Spirit). We conducted the interview about a year and a half ago for a fanzine which never came out, and while we didn't know each other at the time it took place, a strong friendship grew out of it. Kind of a cheesy story, but nonetheless a nice example of the community that Hardcore and Punk really is. It's a shame this zine never came out, and it's about time this interview saw the light of day.

Other interesting notes about this interview:
*1.5 years later it's still relevant as DFJ's comp remains unreleased and Step Forward has gigged prob less than 5 times since then
*Me and Kenny's frequent feuding often stems from: his laser pointer, the "Be Yourself" Remix, bad phone etiquette, whether or not Wedding Crashers is the funniest movie ever, weird shit in his car ("don't touch my Harry" - referring to a Harry Potter doll which was inexplicably in his backseat), and him not buckling up despite his frequent car accidents
*After Brian Murphy hounding me for the last year, I've one hundred percent relinquished the idea of my fanzine ever coming out. Congratulations Murphy, you win.

Step Forward Interview - Summer 2007

Yo man, who's all in Step Forward?

My name is Kenny and I sing, Chris Cory play lead and masterminds the riffs,
Ryan Hudon holds down second guitar, Justin Detore on the skins, and last
but certainly not least is the one and only Maurice Scace on Bass.

How would you describe the sound of your band to those who haven't heard you
yet?

We tried to combine the speed and raw sound of bands like Minor Threat, DYS,
Straight Ahead, etc. with the tunefulness of bands like Uniform Choice and
early 7 Seconds. Just fast, straight edge hardcore without any modern
influence whatsoever.

Could you give a brief history of the band and its members?

It started quite a few years ago with CC and Rich Purusi jamming on CC's
riffs for a new band to be called Loud and Clear. The practice tape kicked
around for a few years with a few proposed singers, but nothing ever even
made it to a full practice. CC gave me a copy of the tape after my old band
so we got Justin to play. We wrote a bunch of songs over the period of a
and recorded the record on a saturday. We put that out on 200 green tapes
and then put it to 7" both on Painkiller. We actually played our first gig
in Montreal with Righteous Jams, but I like to pretend our first show was
last october 21 (edge day observed). We've played a handful of shows
since, and that brings us up to the present.

To clear up any confusion, is your band 100% called Step Forward now? I still hear Loud and Clear USA getting tossed around.

Yeah, we're officially called Step Forward. We were originally called Loud
and Clear, which like I said above dates back a few years, but our friends
in Belgium beat us to it and released a record under that name first. Then
we entertained the idea of calling the band loud and clear USA for a while,
but an unpatriotic member shot that down(cc- “I won't include the name of any country that has documented their experiments with lsd on its citizens so extensively in my straight edge band. There I said it - the United States of America is a druggie
loser.) I personally love my country, but we all have to agree so… Actually, Stand Hard records and Lockin out released a few Loud and Clear USA tapes and we passed them out at a justice show as a gag (sort of).

Did you get the name from Step Forward Records? Do you own a Step Forward
Records Drug Free Youth shirt? If I was edge I'd definitely cop one of those.

We actually get the name from The Mob song Step forward. I used to own one of those shirts, but bills forced me to sell a few higher ticket items in my collection. I
wouldn’t mind scooping one again though. p.s- that song has the best BUST IT! ever recorded.

The lyrics on the EP are overall pretty positive. What would you say is the
general message of the band?

I mean, some are, but I thought most were just me being pissed of at life.
You know, reaching my boiling point, having no apologies for what I think,
being held back in life, etc. The song about hardcore and straight edge is
pretty positive, but I felt I need to write that kind of song. The older I get the more I see people turn away from straight edge and hardcore, and
that’s just the way it is I guess, but for me its just been the opposite.
Other than that, the more positive songs are really just stating to myself, there is a solution for these problems. I’d rather be negative though if you want to know the truth.
CC: even though ken writes the lyrics, I think the band for me, and
for all of us is just about being real. That’s why the songs are
short, and the lyrics are to the point and direct. It’s not about
repressing certain emotions so you can be more "positive" and isn’t
about wallowing in your problems and misery. I don’t know if that
makes sense, but I think it does.

Are you happy with the reaction your EP and live-show gets from kids?

I'm more than happy so far. It's refreshing to hear that people like the
band for what it is and not who it is. Most people had no idea that it was
ex members of so and so until recently. From our first show on we had
decent reactions at shows, and besides the 200 tapes we had, the ep is sold
out of the third press. (Actually it’s more like 2-1/2 presses) We just
played sound and fury fest in Ventura, ca and I was literally blown away.
There were a bunch of kids moshing and knew our songs. I mean this was
really maybe our 6th show and we were on the other side of the country,
that’s just crazy to me.

What's your take on the current state of the Hardcore in Boston and the rest
of the USA? How does it compare to when you first got into things?

It’s pretty good I think. As I get older, my filter for bands has become less
accepting, but there are some cool bands. The Boston scene has always been one
of the top scenes, but at the same time shows are really hit or miss. We
have such a strong concentration of successful bands. I hear Richmond has
the best scene going which is cool. I started going to shows when there was
in my eyes, floorpunch, ten yard fight, etc. gigs all the time, so it’s hard
to compare to that, but its going strong I think.

Speaking of which, how did you discover Hardcore Punk and being straight edge?

My best friend growing up had an older brother who was into hardcore and was
a bouncer at the rat in Boston back in the day. He introduced me to mostly
shit like Slapshot, DYS, SSD as well as a lot of the New York shit. My
friend also had a cousin who was involved in the New Bedford scene. He was
in a couple of bands but would take us to cool shows at reflections in New
Bedford. From there straight edge was just part of the whole package. The
bands I was getting exposed to, the shows I was seeing, early Rev releases
really caught my ear, so straight edge just seemed to fit perfectly with the
rest.

What does being straight edge mean to you? Has the meaning of it changed at
all for you as you've grown up edge?

I never drank or did drugs as a kid. I had always found it lame and useless
so it seemed natural to me to be straight edge. You got to admit too, the whole image of it is pretty appealing. When ten yard fight would play reflections or something,
they would make it seem so god damn cool. I still think it’s cool as a matter
of fact. Some people that stay straight edge when they get older don’t really
see it as something they relate to anymore, but still don’t want to drink or
smoke or whatever. I on the other hand, in part, still relate to it the same
way I did when I was 12. It has changed a little bit though. These days I
can count my straight edge friends on one hand just about. The fact that
they are choosing not to be edge anymore make me feel more empowered.
I think it’s pretty cool to have something remain a sincere feeling; operate
self control at an age where it’s critical to find yourself, etc. I think my
edge grows sharper with every day.

Do you view being in a band as an effective way of getting involved in the
scene? Would you say it's important for hardcore kids to do more than just
be audience members i.e. start a label, band, fanzine, book a show, etc.?

It’s kind of a fine line to me. A lot of kids that are involved in bands no
longer participate in hardcore on a spectator level anymore. You can catch
me still stage diving and moshing for the bands I like just as much as when
I was 16. At the same time though, I think that for some people, being in a
band is the only thing that keeps them involved this long. I think it’s
definitely important to be more than an audience member, but I don’t think
most kids these days even do that. Kids these days think they’re fucking rock
stars themselves and are above being up front and above scuffing up their
shoes that they wore to the gig to show off, above letting people know they like hardcore, and above even going inside! It’s getting a little ridiculous.

What's your life like outside of Hardcore? Do you work and/or go to school?

I work full time at a lumber yard and I’m also going to school full time to
be an art teacher. It only took me 6 years to go back, but I finally bit the
bullet. I like to hang in the suburbs playing mini golf, going to dinner, go
to the beach, etc. My goal is to have all my friends move into the suburbs
too, it’s so much cooler than the city. I'm actually just going through the
process of buying a house. I know it’s a pretty adult thing to do, but its
perfect timing. That’s pretty much it, pretty normal.

As a dude who plays in a band drawing from the older hardcore sound, which
would you rather see: young kids getting siked on older bands or them getting siked on the current and new acts? Both are obviously very important.

Yeah, both are definitely important. I don’t know, what came first the chicken or the egg? What’s more important, being siked on modern hardcore and not caring about the roots, or caring only about the past and thinking
everything else sucks? I think balance is the key. When we played sound and
fury more kids knew our songs it seemed than when we played a DYS and
Uniform Choice song. It’s cool as hell that they know our shit, don’t get me
wrong, but its really depressing to play such important and historic songs
and have them just cock their heads clueless.

Step Forward performed at Sound And Fury Fest in California recently, what
kind of reaction did you guys get? Was it your first time on the West Coast?

Yeah, as a band it was the first time out there and actually it was my first
time also. I haven’t even flown before that. Those other guys are all
seasoned vets at touring though. The reaction was way better than expected,
but unfortunately we hadn’t practice in months and it showed.

Every member of your band is in at least one other band, (see: Righteous
Jams, Have Heart, Mind Eraser, etc.) does this make
it difficult to tour and play as many gigs as you'd like?

Yeah, that’s pretty much the only problem we ever have. It’s impossible to
practice never mind play a gig or go on the road at all. The other bands make
it tough; especially Have Heart, they’re probably the biggest act in hardcore
right now. Cold World too, they do a lot and Mind Eraser is pretty active
also. I think they are all going to be slowing down for a bit though, so
hopefully we can take advantage of that this fall/winter/spring.

Do you have plans to put out any more material soon? I read on the
Painkiller site you'll be appearing on an upcoming
compilation - will this include a new song?

Yeah! DFJ is putting out this cool comp called "the best comp in the world".
Were going to have at least one song on it. We have that song ready to go, were
planning on recording it soon. We’re also writing for a new ep, but I’m not
sure when to expect that. Not too far in the future but not too soon either.
We’d like to strike while the irons hot.

What are you future goals as a band?

uhh, write new material that doesn’t stray off the original sound too much.
Too many bands do that. Have fun, id love to tour a bunch. I’m the only one
in the band who hasn’t seen a lot of the world with thanks to hardcore. If we
can turn a kid on to straight edge or some cool old band we cover or
something on the way, that’s cool too.

Alright man, thanks a lot for the interview. Do you have any closing words
or shoutouts you wanna give?

Thanks to you for the interview, it’s great to see someone doing a cool zine.
The Boston Straight edge, all the dudes and bands we’re friends with. Everyone knows who they are…

Free Spirit - "Be Yourself" Demo

2008-10-12T23:26:00.001-07:00

"Stick together me and you, stand for something fucking true..."

After about 6 months of practicing, and an equal number of hypothetical members the Free Spirit demo is actually a (cruciality) reality. Kei Yasui explained it by saying "it's like seeing McDonald's commercials your whole life and then finding out Ronald McDonald is real." Whether or not you share his sentiment, one must admit it's been a long and arduous half-hearted, half-joking road that has finally come to some form of conclusion with this demo. Enjoy.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/ledpqz

Yeah, a little

2008-08-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Krakdown Style

2008-08-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

"Intro/Nazi Threat" "Freedom" "Sick Society"

Blog Beef with What Chedge Wears

2008-07-05T09:06:00.001-07:00

The OC - This Was A Time I'll Remember

2008-07-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

The summer of 2006, one which I spent in Florida enjoying my last months of living at home before moving off to Greater Boston for college, is a time I consider pivotal in the solidification of my interests in adult nerdery. I spent so many nights of that summer staying up until 5 AM with my friend Jordan running DVDs and records into the ground, namely The OC Seasons 1 and 2. I struggle in fighting off the urge to turn this into a coming of age story, however it must be said that during those nights I felt so at home in that living room. It had become such a welcome routine, retiring after doing what could be considered something and finding the true joy in doing nothing. In the microcasm of the universe which was that 3 month period of driving back and forth between my house and Jordan's that routine defined a percentage of my social life I hesitate to enumerate for the sake of saving face. The OC was the backdrop to this whole experience, which of all the time I spent with my childhood and to this day good friend seems to be the most vivid in my memory.

I loved the show. I loved all the characters. I loved hearing "previously on The OC..." I loved catching recurring lines. I loved how stupid it was on the surface, but how I got it for one reason or another. In today's terms I would say that The OC is kind of like Inside Out NY or Nike Wovens - it's just the kind of thing that when taken at face value just makes sense to some people. I'm not saying that I'm smart and could see something others can't see, I'm saying I have junk food taste and I like what I like.

Two years later, which is shocking to see written as its felt like a lifetime, I can finally say that I've completed the series in order. It took a considerable amount of restarting but with the help of a roommate who taught me how to download TV shows (I still don't know how) I finally finished what Jordan and I sought out to do. It's over-grandiose to say that completing all 4 seasons has been a journey or spiritual experience, but it has been fun, theraputic, and a conversation piece to boot. I didn't grow up with these characters, I blasted through their life events and traumas over a highly spliced up two year period, but there's a connection between myself and the Cohen family I do hold as real.

When I look at myself at 20 I see a person who wears his interests on his sleeve, and I think this inclination towards over-analyzing and discussing past-the-point-of-courtesy the minutia of the things which people often leave as a list of their favorite bands or movies on MySpace as a quality I inherited from years of friendship with Jordan. We shared The OC at a time when our interests were splitting off into two different directions, and the meeting grounds for our increasingly infrequent meetings are still a living room. What there is to say about this period of OC worship is unclear for me in looking back at it, but I will say goodbye to my second favorite television family (guess the first) and hope that we meet again some time later in life when I need to be reminded of the comfort I felt in the time I spent with a friend on the cusp of adulthood.

Shoutouts to the OG fans: Jordan, Sam, Megan, Chucky, Rob's Mom

No love to: Che or as he was known in the Chrismuk-huh? episode, Chester. And Oliver. Both these characters drove me up a fucking wall.

Give thanks and praise to: The Bullet (Bang!). Illest character!! I loved how over the top he was, this was so involunterily good too because every other over the top character on the show was obnoxious and came close to ruining many otherwise good episodes.

Right back where we started from...

Free At Last

2008-06-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

Exhaust

2008-04-19T01:04:00.001-07:00

There was a time when Token Entry shirts w/ Positive Force sleeve print were all over eBay every week, going between 20 and 40 dollars each auction. Now when I'm ready to pull the trigger on one of those bad boys they're nowhere to be found. Same with Bold "Speak Out" shirts, that I'll even take a boot someone throw me a fucking bone here. If this was Chucky's blog I'd say if any of you readers have one of these joints and are looking to give it a good home hit me up gsayfan@gmail.com but I know that only a handfull of people close to me will see this.

I downed a Godzilla Burger from Eagle's Deli no problem, no surprise there - I can truly fuck up a good burger when the time is right. I won't get to into that though I keep it reserved for those unrefined gourmands out there.

Apps wears floral print shorts, word.

Coming Soon:
Who's Your Boy Blog
Free Spirit Practice Tape
Stop Look and Listen Records #1
Third Tier Kenmore's return to greatness
Motivation
Vacation

Grabs + Devours

2007-11-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

Sincerest apologies to the few people who check this for not updating in a while - I swear I have been legitimately busy. Edge Day Observed 2007 gig - total blast. New York City vacation - ur moshing, Floorpunch reunion - fuck yeah. It's been an interesting month or so. Dad went in and out of the hospital, and I've begun No Shave November with my roommates. Halloween was disappointing, basically missed out on that entire thing. Baseball season came and went, I listened to the Red Sox win the World Series on the radio on an uncomfortable van ride from Philly to Boston while sleeping on a pillow of Have Heart shirts. Basically it's been a while and there's too much to say so in essence I have nothing to say. Here's some pictures of my vacation and some pickups. Thank you to Apps for the Mental handmedowns and everyone please listen to The Rival Mob.

Triple B Thank You Very Much

You Won't

Girls Love Me
and pickups...

Step your Mental game up

Welfare Records in Haverhill is awesome

Supreme Sport Cap (more tan than pictured)

Some new denim from Rugby

Check back in soon and be sure to look out for Casual Pizza Fanzine and Think Right Fanzine both dropping in the next month.

Pickups

2007-09-16T23:18:00.001-07:00

Polo Ralph Lauren Longsleeve Buttondown (note the elbow pads)

Righteous Jams "Invasion..." White Shirt (shoutouts to Asya Han for the trade)

The North Face Windbreaker

Causin' mad trouble in '07

Popularly Cultural

2007-08-21T22:50:00.000-07:00

Mandy Moore covering Rihanna's "Umbrella" (Official Video)

My sister clued me in about this - go figure. The image quality is weak but the video ain't much to look at in the first place, just peep the song.

Horizons

2007-07-28T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here's an interview I did with my boy JP from the hardcore punk band Evasion. This was supposed to go into Life Is Stupid #2 but there simply wasn't enough room, and you tend to cut your friends first cause they're the most understanding. It would be too out of date to throw in issue #3 so enjoy this web exclusive brought to you by LIS Fanzine. This is also my first piece I layed out on photoshop. Enjoy.

Click on the images in order to make them full size

YouTube Update Pt. 2

2007-07-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

Morrissey and Johnny Marr visit a primary school

Years From Now perform "You're Living a Mediocre Life, Pal" at Significant Fest in Tampa, FL with a special appearance by myself on guest vocals

An old ad for Nike's Air Max line - first advertisement to ever use a Beatles song.

And cut

SOC

2007-06-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

I'm reminded it's Monday because the hospital is busy again.
Saturdays and Sundays are calm and most of the staff and visitors aren't there, also most of the discharing of patients is done before the weekend on Thursday or Friday.
On Monday every one is back and subsequently the line for the coffee shop is long and the elevators are packed.
I'm waiting for the elevator and I may or may not be carrying 1-3 hot beverages and/or an elephant ear.
I most likely am not wearing headphones.
Elevator doors open, a crowd of people inculding myself enter, I assume the position against the right side [if you are facing the door] of the elevator.
Movement starts and stops.
Older Doctor looks at me for long enough that I'm now uncomfortable.
Level 8 - Elevator stops upward movement, doors open, Older Doctor exits, a pretty nurse waits outside the open doors for a downward moving elevator, I stare at her ass until the closing doors have completely obscured it.
Movement starts and stops again.
Level 14 - Elevator stops upward movement, doors open, I exit, my head moves in the wrong direction, my body moves in the right direction, I say hello to familiar faces, one or two people may or may not be making jokes about me sleeping late.

(24 hours pass and our hero sits on a plane [I am perpetually in uncomfortable situations] waiting to take off.)

I just saw the Turning Point handprint logo but there's no way that was the intention of its existence.
Recalling yesterday reminds me that yesterday was Monday, though I know for sure today is Tuesday or else I wouldn't be on a plane.

Above the Fold

2007-06-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

From today's issue of the Boston Globe
by Florence Graves and Hadar Sayfan

First things first
'Housing first,' a radical new approach to ending chronic homelessness, is gaining ground in Boston.

AT THE LATIN ACADEMY, a majestic former school built in 1900 near Dorchester's Codman Square, Joe Jeannotte is participating in a social experiment.

Jeannotte lives in a sparsely furnished new two-bedroom apartment. Light streams through large windows, and a burgundy and forest green couch faces a small television. He looks older than his 38 years -- gaunt, scruffy, with dark brown hair -- and shares the place with his girlfriend, Judy, who asked that her last name not be used. Often, the noise of construction filters in as workers rehab other apartments, but the couple doesn't complain. Not long ago, they were convinced they would never have a place to live at all. When they moved into the new place, at public expense, they had no home and no money, and both had been struggling for years with heroin addiction.

In the past, society's approach to homeless people with chronic health problems such as addiction has been governed by tough love: Stay in treatment, or you don't get the opportunity for publicly supported housing. People who could not confront their addiction, the thinking went, could not handle an apartment.

But a new approach, called "housing first," is gathering momentum. The idea is to target the most difficult cases -- the chronically homeless who make up between 10 and 20 percent of the homeless population and spend years cycling between the streets, shelters, jail cells, and emergency rooms -- and give them apartments without requiring them to get sober, in the hope that having a place to live will help them address their other problems. More than 150 cities or counties around the country already have programs of some kind or plans to initiate one, and last month the Massachusetts Senate Ways and Means Committee recommended doubling the size of a small pilot program in the state. If the pilot succeeds, proponents say it could force dramatic changes in homeless policy -- and a recognition that the current shelter system, built on what they call a punitive moralism, has fundamentally failed.

"Shelters have become the poor houses of the 21st century," said Joe Finn, executive director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance (MHSA), who is administering Home and Healthy for Good, the pilot program.

The program's appeal reaches across the ideological landscape. In 1999, a Republican Congress endorsed the concept, requiring that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development devote at least a third of its homelessness funding toward putting the chronically homeless and chronically disabled in permanent housing. Cities like San Francisco, Atlanta, and Portland, Oregon, have become proponents after successful tests. The Bush administration has also been enthusiastic. In 2002, it hired Philip Mangano, who spent 25 years in Boston as a homeless advocate, to head its homelessness efforts, and he has evangelized widely for the housing-first approach.

Part of the program's broad appeal is its counterintuitive claim: That it can often break even or save money while providing housing. Academic studies, based on programs in New York City and Philadelphia, have found that cities spend almost the same or less money on the housing and other services than they would on shelter beds, emergency rooms, and other health care costs.

"Cost-benefit analysis may be the new compassion," said Mangano, the founding executive director of MHSA. He's now executive director of the federal Interagency Council on Homelessness.

There are also critics across the political spectrum who are uneasy about what they think amounts to rewarding bad behavior -- putting drug addicts and alcoholics at the front of the line for housing.

Yet the housing-first movement is part of a broader, more ambitious agenda: ending homelessness, not managing it. Many Americans forget that widespread urban homelessness is a recent problem that began in the early '80s, not an inevitable price of capitalism. For years, a great deal of money has been spent managing homelessness in various ad hoc approaches, particularly shelters.

In pushing the housing-first approach to municipal, county, and state governments, Mangano (and, by extension, the Bush administration) is rejecting the idea that chronic homelessness will always be with us. The problem can be solved, they argue, and, eventually, much of the social-services industry built up around it can and must be dismantled.

It is an argument that longtime advocates say brings a mixture of excitement at the possibilities and fears about what it might mean in practice. Nan Roman, president and CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, says some shelter providers have said to her, "If we end homelessness, what are we going to do for a living?"

Many observers credit the birth of the housing-first concept to Sam Tsemberis, who calls himself a "recovering psychologist." While treating homeless people for their mental health or substance abuse problems, Tsemberis, who is based in New York City, recognized that "business as usual" was not working. His patients invariably told him that, before they could work on their other problems, they needed housing first. In 1992, he founded Pathways to Housing to provide mentally ill and substance-abusing homeless people with their own apartments immediately.

During the 1990s, Dennis Culhane, a sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, started collecting and analyzing the data on all that spending and its effectiveness. In a series of studies, he revealed, among other things, that the chronically homeless population -- the mentally ill and addicts who were spending years on the street, in and out of shelters -- made up only 10 percent of the homeless population but were using 50 percent of shelter resources. In follow-up studies, he revealed that by focusing on housing this subgroup, communities could better keep down costs and help turn around lives.

A landmark 2002 study by Culhane found that providing housing and other assistance to the homeless could bring down nonhousing expenses almost enough to pay for itself. The study followed mentally ill homeless people between 1989 and 1997 and found that each permanent supported housing unit saved $16,281 a year in public costs for shelter, health care, mental health, and criminal justice, offsetting most of the $17,277 cost of housing and other services.

Mangano, a former seminarian who had focused on housing for the mentally ill in Massachusetts, said he was so impressed by the New York Pathways to Housing program and Culhane's research that he decided to take the ideas and disseminate them nationally.

"[We] committed an act of legitimate larceny," Mangano said.

Medical bills for today's homeless are a large expense. For example, between 1999 and 2003, the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP), a group that provides primary care for people living on the streets, tracked the medical expenses of 119 chronically homeless clients. All told, the group racked up 18,342 emergency-room visits, for an average of more than 36 visits per person each year. At a minimum cost of $1000 a visit, that's an annual emergency room bill of ,at least $36,000 per person. Lack of stable housing makes it hard for people to rehabilitate after an illness, properly care for wounds, or take medication consistently, according to Dr. Jim O'Connell, the president of BHCHP who headed the study and is also involved in the Home and Healthy for Good pilot in Massachusetts.

Last year, the state legislature allocated $600,000 for that pilot, which is being tried in locations across Massachusetts. Preliminary data from the program indicates that it is saving the state money, according to MHSA executive director Joe Finn. Home and Healthy for Good has put 155 formerly chronically homeless people into stable housing, paid for their apartments, and assigned them social workers to help them find the services they need. Finn's group concluded that the Commonwealth saved, on average, $918 a month during the fist six months in shelter and service costs (including health care, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, incarcerations, drug detoxification, and shelters) for each person housed. That's a projected annual savings of $11,016 per person. Federal figures suggest that there are at least 3,137 chronically homeless adults in the state.

The savings are impressive, but some worry they may be inflated. Jim Greene, who heads the city of Boston's Emergency Shelter Commission, suspects that some of the success stories from around the country are misleading, worrying that the people who ran the studies were selective about who they enrolled. But the Massachusetts program has specifically asked for the neediest and most challenging street people, according to Dr. Jessie Gaeta, an MHSA Physician Advocacy Fellow and a clinician for the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program who is one of the study's investigators. Still, she said, she will not consider any of the results to be valid until they have at least a year's worth of data.

Even if the program does save money overall, it still poses a political problem: The agencies that save money on health care, for example, are not the same as those that spend money on housing and other services. That could lead to a budget turf war.

The program could also force changes in the shelter community. Romney appointee Linda Barton Fosburg, executive director of the Massachusetts Interagency Council on Homelessness and Housing, says that some advocates "don't want to see the shelter industry dismantled" because "they don't want to let go of their piece of the pie." Robert V. Hess, commissioner of New York City's Department of Homeless Services, said he has seen "a fair amount of push-back" from shelter providers to the idea of housing-first in New York, as well as in Philaldephia, where he introduced it.

But housing-first advocates say that some shelters can adjust programmatically and financially by becoming providers of transitional and permanent housing. Several homeless shelters in the area, such as Father Bill's Place in Quincy, have already started converting.

Yet even as the Massachusetts pilot has shown promise, critics have begun to express other concerns. One, they say, is that success would distract attention from the 80 to 90 percent of the homeless population who are not chronically homeless. Another is that lawmakers will be too quick to reduce funding for the state's many homeless shelters -- or that they will try to do housing-first on the cheap, which will cause it to fail.

"We don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul," said Lyndia Downie, president of the Pine Street Inn. The state is in dire need, she said, of a comprehensive plan to address homelessness.

Last October, the legislature created a commission to be co-chaired by Rep. Byron Rushing and Tina Brooks, Governor Deval Patrick's Undersecretary for Department of Housing and Community Development, to do just that. But Patrick, who has said he is committed to ending homelessness in Massachusetts, has not yet appointed any members.

Another open question is how much housing-first helps the homeless with their underlying problems. But advocates say that this is a very high bar; addiction, for example, is a notoriously difficult problem, and even modest goals make the idea worthwhile.

"If you measure success as complete abstinence, success rates are very low," said Culhane. "Many people relapse." But "in the public health field, there is a countervailing view, sometimes characterized as harm-reduction." In this view, minimizing harm -- as in the case of clean-needles programs to reduce the spread of HIV -- is every bit as important.

Joe and Judy, the couple who recently moved into the Dorchester two-bedroom, met five years ago at the Long Island Shelter in Quincy Bay while handing out blankets. On the street for years, they had both spent their nights bouncing from Boston Common park benches to various shelters and back to hang out on the Common during daylight hours. Now HIV positive from sharing needles, Joe says the simple act of taking his life-saving medications was often thwarted when his small bag of possessions was stolen as he tried to sleep on the streets.

For now, the two appear to be functioning well: They say they have been attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings three times a week, keep the place neat, and cook for themselves. Both say they are clean and want to kick cigarettes next. They say disabilities have kept them from working, but Judy wants to find a job.

"I have a lot more hope," she said.

Florence Graves is founding director of Brandeis University's Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism. Hadar Sayfan is a senior research assistant at the institute.

"To all the kids in the USA who will always KEEP THE FAITH"

2007-06-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

an ad appearing in the newest issue of Think or Sink Fanzine

I'm a playa yeah it's true

2007-06-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Just a few things to address:

1. One of the tightest exhibits of classic HC gear has appeared on eBay

New Age Records sleeve print. The way the text on the back fades colors. The design on the back in general. Probably the coolest Turning Point shirt I've ever seen, and the seller is letting a couple of other similar ones go as well.

2. Sick People recorded some practice tape jams, peep them here.

3. Apps (you may recall him from a previous post on this thing) interviewed me for his blog. We discuss Sick People, LIS Fanzine, and Piebald. You can read the whole thing on Aaron's blog.

4. Moved into a new apartment in Beacon Hill with the family. It's small, but making for a good summer spot, in close proximity to MGH.

5. FL week long vacation June 26 - July 2

More updates to come shortly

A Message

2007-05-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Sayfan and his most loving family,

I am Michael (medical graduate from Hong Kong) and about to depart Boston for L.A. and soon will be flying back home.

Thank you for letting me participate in your care. I understand your inner turmoil and fears - which is natural in the circumstances, but at the same time I am in awe of your courage and positive outlook in life and have been also been most touched by the loving bonds in your family.

My heartfelt gratitude for your kindest encouragements as I begin my practice in medicine next month. When I endure hardship in the future, I will remember you and be inspired by your example in facing adversity, and recall your kind words for strength.

I will be praying for you. You are in the best hands possible and thereafter, we will hope for the best.

My best wishes for you and your family,

Michael

"Think Right (To Unite)"

2007-05-24T13:15:00.001-07:00

My dear friend and co-worker Matt Pick hooked me up with a link to an old Straight Ahead interview where Tommy Carrol answers the questions. I've been down with the Craig Ahead interview for a little bit now, but had never seen or even heard about this one. In my excitement I figured I'd share it with all my loyal readers.

This is taken from District Eleven Webzine, and they took this from Definite Choice - International Hardcore Fanzine. D11 reproduced the text as it is from the fanzine, providing for lots of misspellings and awkward grammar which just makes the interview cooler in my opinion.

WHO ARE IN THE BAND?

Me (Tom.C)-vocals, Rob on guitar, craig.s on bass, and filling in on drums in Arman. Craig and I are 16, Rob and Arman are 18.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC/SOUND?

Fast with crucial mosh n.y.style! very generic at some points, like old minor threat sped up a lot, you have to hear it to judge.

WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT TO YOU: THE MUSIC OF THE LYRICS?

The lyrics 'cause I write them, the lyrics because that is the main thing to be in a band, to express your views, trying to make a better tomorrow for future generations. We put a lot into the music too!!

WHAT DO YOU SING ABOUT? AND WHO WRITES THE WORDS?

We sing about unity, peace, carring, loving...etc. hoping for a better world, helping people in need, never forgetting to care. I, Tom.C that's me, write most of the lyrics. It's time to help others, unite to fight the enemy, our fucked up system which only supports the rich. People have to start helping other people to make things work. We're much stronger when we stick together to destroy: Sexism, Negativity, Fascism, Nazism, Racism, We are the youth, the future it's up to us to make a better world!

DO YOU PRACTISE A LOT, IS IT EASY TO FIND A PRACTISE ROOM IN N.Y.?

We practise 1 or 2 times a week, sometimes 3 times. Yes it is easy to find a room here, we rehearse for $5, - at Giant studios in N.Y.C.

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE N.Y. SCENE?

New York is a good place, a strong united scene, not much fights i'm happy to say but sometimes stupid shit starts for no reason. BANDS: T.F.Numskulls, Youth of Today, Fit for Abuse, rest in pieces, token entry, letch patral, cro-mags, sheer terror, murphy's law, crippled youth, there are many good N.Y. bands. Too name a few good zines: Attitude, guillotine, tse-tse fly, smash apathy, bullshit monthly. Gigs every week at cbgb's, sometime even 3 gigs a week....very strong scene & good bands.

DID YOU EVER PLAY IN OTHER GROUPS?

No, well oh yes! i played in N.Y.C. MAYHEM for almost 2 years before we buske off and a couple of joke around bands before that.

WHO CAME UP WITH THE NAME OF THE BAND, AND DOES IT HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING?

I did and yes much meaning, it describes our music, attitude and the way we think and live. We're proud of what we do and who we are, we walk STRAIGHT AHEAD, straight to speak with fairness, truth and honesty and ahead to try to succeed in our fight for unity, caring, and peace.

DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF GIGS AND HOW'S THE ATMOSPHERE AT YOUR GIGS? IS IT EASY TO GET A GIG?

We play 1 or 2 times a month this summer we tour the U.S. we might go to europe this summer also. The atmosphere is good, no fights only 1 or 2 fights in all the time we played that were serious. No violence almost, it's kind of easy to get gigs you just have to meet people in other big bands.

DO YOU HAVE ANY "FANS", A FANATIC STRAIGHT AHEAD FOLLOWING?

People come to see us, but i don't know about any fanatic following, mabey? who knows?

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT POLITICS? ARE YOU A POLITICAL BAND? ANY PERSONAL VIEWS?

Concerned...we're not really a political band although we know the U.S. system has to be changed to help everybody not just the rich, don't get me wrong i don't hate them, some of them worked hard for their money, it's just that they got so much and we got so little. Our system must be changed or improved but we the people must stand together to make a change.

ARE THERE ANY SQUATS IN N.Y.C.or 'rEAL' punk/HC CLUBS (OWNED & RUNNED BY PUNX)?

Yeah!! There's squats, also real punks. The clubs i really don't know of any clubs owned by punks mabey runned by punx but not owned by them.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE N.Y. BANDS?

Wow! many, too name a few it has to be: T.F. NUMSKULLS, SHEER TERROR, WARZONE, YOUTH OF TODAY (ct.), REST IN PIECES, MENTAL ABUSE (n.j.), CROMAGS, and so on.

HOW DO YOU THINK ABOUT METAL MIXED UP WITH HARDCORE? SEEING HC BANDS GOING METAL?

If that's what they want to do then i guess it's fine. As long as they keep the heart, trust, spirit and hardness and don't forget the people who supported them in the beginning. Stay loyal!

WHAT'S YOUR VIEUW ON "STRAIGHT EDGE" ? IS THERE A HIGH DRUG-ALCOHOL ABUSE IN N.Y.?

I'm straight edge the rest of the band doesn't take drugs or shit like that, they drink beer once in awhile. Plus they have girlfriends and shit, that's fine if they really love them. Yes too many people get drunk and start fights, if they can't handle alcohol they shouldn't drink. Drugs, not that much just smoke, that stuff is stupid and a losing game, STAY STRAIGHT, stay pure and stay hard, especially when it controls you instead of you controlling it.

WHAT ARE YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES AND WHAT BANDS INFLUENCE YOU LYRICALLY?

Too many too name ,put it this losy band i've listened to since i've been into music. I listen to a lot of south california bands like Doggy Style, Scared Straight, Unity, Uniform Choice....etc. I like good positive thinking bands.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON NUCLEAR POWER, THE ARMSRACE?

We should bring it to an end DISARM!, why should we pay for our government's ignorance and angry. We're people equal as they are, the first thing to do it to unite and stop this mad obsession with power.

DO YOU LIKE LIVING IN N.Y.C.?

Yes, very much but i wish i had a car or money to travel. I've been here to long i need a vacation.

HOW ARE THE COPS IN YOUR CITY, DO THEY LEAVE THE PUNKS/SKINS ALONE OR DO YOU GET HASSLED?

The cops are pretty cool lately but i don't know, you give somebody a gun and a badge and they think they're better and stronger than you, alot of them are very ignorant and don't care about helpin', just killing or beating up people. But there is good & bad too everything and everyone. I'm only one voic e that will never stop expressing his vieuws!

I HEARD THERE ARE MANY YOUTH GANGS IN N.Y.C. IS IT TRUE, IS THERE A LOT OF VIOLENCE ON THE STREETS, CLUBS...IN LIFE?

That was 2 or 3 years ago not now, it's mellow alot. The scene is smaller more united. Sure, there's fights but nothing like there were back awhile ago. Besides they're weaker and we're getting stronger, we'll take a stand for our scene.

HAVE YOU MADE ANY DEMO/TAPE/RECORD ?

No, but we're recording 10 songs for a comp.ep in feb. That should be out in late march or april (It's out now!!!!!) LaRM, PILLSBURY HARDCORE, ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT will also appear on it. MIKE RUBENSTEIN is putting out the record called: END THE WARZONE. Then we record a 7" E.P. and we're looking for a co label to press it up. We might put out an official live tape in march too.

ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HARDCORE?

We're getting stronger, the scene is more united and i see many improvements. Nothing dies in my heart, it just makes changes for the better.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ACTIVITIES BESIDE THE BAND?

I help fanzines out, but i'm not a studyworker or writer for one yet. I woorkout, practise (i play drums), work sometimes, hagnout with friends, write lyrics...stuff like that.

DO YOU HAVE JOBS/GO TO SCHOOL OR ARE YOU UNEMPLOYED? DO YOU WANNA WORK? AND IS IT EASY TO GET A JOB?

Bob works, Craig goes to school and i work sometimes at a moving company. It's hard to find a job and even harder finding a good job, but we manage.

ANY FUTURE PLANS?

Records, tours and looking for a better world for you and me.

ANYTHING MORE TO SAY TO OUR READERS?

Stay pure, stay straight, stay true, stay hard. Keep the spirit and never loose the heart. Think right (to unite) start to care for others. Take a stand for unity and wipe out all negative ignorance, watch out for a group of kids from washington D.C. calling themselves POSITIVE FORCE, they sound like the got cause, spirit, and heart. Take care of yourselves...thanks to Paul from larm for the interview, rock'on hard!

I Came To Win

2007-03-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

My to-do list looks impressive but I've got little to show for it. All I want is to hold Life Is Stupid #2 in my hands while high-fiving my mom about my exemplary grades while jamming to the Crossroads, Sick People, Ice Age, and/or Think Right demo(s).

The Triple B Records Message Board is red hot right now. If you're not on it, well, get on it. Some of my finest Internetting is being done on there currently, and if you know anything about my resume you know that I am an above average messageboard poster (see my username).

Yesterday, in the midst of the finest episode (or radiosode - I'm looking to coin that word in the near future) of Culture Pop to air yet I officially announced the changing of my DJ name from DJ Cro-Magnon to DJ Cro-Mag 69. I figure Dan G already staked his claim in Rosenthal 69 (see his username), so I might as well meet him halfway. Other than this groundbreaking change of namesake the show was pretty good, probably my favorite one to date. My four co-hosts and I now live by a new mantra, "Safety in segments." I'm a segment-making powerhouse.

This is what a re-blizzard looks like from my dormroom window.

This hat (pictured), after months of wear, finally fits the way that feels right on my head and looks good in the mirror. I took a picture out of satisfaction.

My next update is going to be an album review of 2003's The Greatest Story Ever Told by The Lawrence Arms. I'm stating this mainly to obligate myself to actually write and then post said review. I may even include ten words John Park has to describe an unnamed Chinese buffet in Daytona Beach, FL. You know, the one.

Yeah.

"Vacation - all I ever wanted"

2007-02-21T23:48:00.000-08:00

Reporting from the parents' crib...

This short vacation from school, work, and Boston winter has proven to be a relaxing one, save a trip to the dentist and Orlando traffic. There is very little to post about currently, though I do have some shhh cooking that will hopefully entertain. Years From Now and Blacklisted on Friday, then Make Or Break with Barriers Now Bridges on Sunday. A time to mosh...

One thing I do, however, have to post is a spectacular movie review by my close friend and fellow Years From Now Pit Crew member, John Park.

"Friends, tonight i come to you to talk about something serious. A huge problem i have with the way things are going lately, what is it I'm talking about? The way most of you probably haven't seen Norbit yet of course.

I'm going to ask a question now, a pretty general question but I want you all to think long and hard about your answers, ok? Ok here goes...

Do you love laughing?

If you answered "no" then you are a piece of shit and i don't really care what you think, go fuck yourself seriously.

Now, if you answered "YES" then Norbit is the feel good, side splitting all out laugh riot of the year, decade, century, forever. Look out Criterion collection, you've got another title coming your way! Seriously, this film is on the same level as "Casablanca", "Gone With The Wind", or even "In The Army Now"

Anyways, Eddie Murphy has really outdone himself this time, playing not one, or two but three characters, seriously how does this guy do it??? One of them is even an old asian man!! i tell you, i tried to keep the LOL'z from coming but it was fucking impossible.

Norbit's wife, Rasputia is the kind of lady any guy would want, that Norbit really is one lucky son of a gun, from the way she constantly accuses him of "adjusting her seat" to her he-freakin-larious catch phrase "howYOUdoin?" which was always perfectly timed to send me into a spiral of uncontrollable laughter, at one point i think i shat myself in the theater but didn't dare get up and miss a second of this comic gold.

Really what can i say about this movie that hasn't already been said? Genius, Amazing, Brilliant, 15 stars, 11 thumbs up, you get it, this movie will forever change cinema, forever. All in all what I'm saying is, go see this movie, do yourself a favor, it'll change your perspective on everything, and you'll forever be a better person."

Stay tuned in,
Goliath

72 Hours Down the Drain

2007-02-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

2 days with an old friend at his new spot...

...then one night seeing the band that started it all for me.

Headcolds and homework are nothing anymore.

TV Party Tonight

2007-01-18T14:16:00.000-08:00

After a month long vacation in beautiful Orlando, Florida I have finally made my return to Brandeis University. Getting back into new classes feels great, and re submerging myself into productive life feels even better. The vast differences in my mentality and feelings between the time spent in Florida and time spent in Massachusetts, more specifically the space between feeling braindead and feeling viable, have gotten me thinking a lot about the benefits of education. Coincidentally, an assignment to read Francis Schrag's Back to Basics has shed some light upon these thoughts. Schrag believes there are three goals we as a society should have for our great-grandchildren.

From Schrag's Back to Basics
1. Our great-grandchildren should care about arguments and evidence bearing on any course of action or conclusion they are contemplating.
2. They should be disposed to continue their own learning.
3. To the extent possible, they should have developed the capacity to continue that learning.

I think it was my Junior year of high school that I told my parents that I don't care about learning. My father, though a stubborn man, could not empathize with this position at all, as knowledge and learning to him have been commonplace necessities throughout his life. This attitude of mine persisted through all 12 years of my public education, up until my first semester here at Brandeis. Upon beginning higher education I truly felt a shift in my personality, many of my views changed, many of my interests changed, and more than anything a desire to learn emerged. My family and close friends who had known me for years noticed, I noticed as well, but figured it was the result of finally growing up.

I now believe that this abrupt change is mainly due to the way I'm being educated. Schrag's belief is that the current educational system (Back to Basics was written in 1995) is not sufficiently nurturing the future existence of the three goals for our great grand-children. My time spent in public schools made me an apathetic person, made me someone who does not care about or value learning. I did well, obviously well enough to get into a respected university, however I can remember none of what I had "learned." I got the top score possibly on the AP Exam for the highest Calculus class available, and cannot remember a single fact, nor did I attach any emotion to the subject. High school was a game and most importantly a mission to get the right scores in order to attain a scholarship to the right university. Going by the standards of the three goals, I can say that I, along with all my teachers, failed high school.

Why has the US become apathetic? The finger should not be pointed towards the Internet, TV, drugs, etc. Instead let's remember the SAT was introduced in 1901. Since then the popularity of standardized tests has grown significantly. We now find even elementary education is geared at the passing of specific tests, and around the 8th grade the potential life-ruiner SAT, what could be better identified as Suffering Academic Trauma, is introduced. School is not fun, grades are given inaccurately, all knowledge is temporary, and certain children are left behind because of an inability to achieve a minimum number. The arbitrarily granted successes and failures of public education are breeding students who do not value expanding their minds. This is why people care so little about their own society, or care little to look past their already existing political views. Schrag explains that a student may learn the scientific method expertly, but as an adult will never appreciate what made it a valued part of the informational sphere. If we raise children who do not want to learn, they become drones in the democratic process. No one will be there to listen to the arguments of Presidential candidates, the one with the more aesthetically pleasing tie will win. An off-color liberal university saved me. Who is going to save you?

I realize this offers few answers. Schrag notes that there truly is no easy way to grade one's successes when put in the context of the three goals. However, one must bear these in mind throughout the schooling process and while observing one's own children's progress. Getting an A in a history class is an achievement, however it can only be considered a success if this gives the student insight into the workings of the world in his or her adulthood.

All in all, I'm off to dinner then to see Howard Zinn read segments of his new book. However, I'm ducking out early to catch the new episode of The Office. Ironic this may be, but I must know what happens to Dwight.

Much love

An Evening with Aaron Bloomfield...

2007-01-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening, I sat down (on the Internet) with Boston resident and all around great guy, Aaron Bloomfield. We discussed his many current projects, opinions on the scene, video games, and choice meals. Be sure to check out his blog and keep up with this guy because before you know it he will be on ESPN 2 playing poker. Enjoy.

Gil: What’s up Aaron? How is Boston doing right now?
Aaron: To tell you the truth I'm not really sure. It's been a few weeks since I've actually been in the city to hang out or do anything related to the core.

Gil: What's been keeping you in the 'burbs?
Aaron: The recent acquisition of a Nintendo Wii mostly. Plus some of my friends from high school are around for the first time in a while so I've been catching up with them and playing a lot of cards.

Gil: You're a well-liked man around the city, especially in the Hardcore scene. When did you first become involved in Hardcore?
Aaron: Damn, good question. I guess it depends on the definition of "involved." I didn't start going to shows until 6 years ago maybe? But i grew up in Southern California skating and listening to various punk bands when I was in middle school. I probably heard Black Flag for the first time when I was in 6th or 7th grade but it took me a little while to get into the more modern core.

Gil: Which would you say is more important: New kids getting in touch with old bands, or old kids staying interested in new bands?
Aaron: I'm sure people would disagree with me but I think it’s more important for kids to get down with newer bands. There should definitely be a balance, but the currents bands are what are here and now you know? How shitty would it be to go to a show and have a bunch of young dudes saying, "this band sounds like they want to be the Cro-Mags but can't pull it off," instead of having a good time and appreciating what's around now?
Gil: I definitely agree, my friend Sergio who is sitting next to me says "Oh yeah Aaron, straight on! Straight on!"

Gil: How did the nickname Apps originate?
Aaron: Apps started because of my voracious appetite. When I was working at B9, we used to go to this spot Red's. Dudes used to try to get me to eat the largest amount of food possible and I would, and then wash it down with a slice of chocolate thunder cake. Some notable meals are as follows:

The Ribs-This is a plate covered in a rack of ribs. Once you negotiate that layer there are thick helpings of mashed potatoes and corn beneath to do you in.

The Half Chicken/Half Ribs-Same as the first except you get half a rack and half of a chicken.

Chicken Parm lying on a bed of French fries-no explanation necessary. The ribs have also been had on a bed of fries.

I once ordered an omelet made with 6 eggs and filled with steak tips, cheese, and mushrooms.

Gil: You do The Business Journal Fanzine. Would you like to give the readers a little background on this?
Aaron: I don't even know what that is

Gil: Any future plans for The Biz Jurn?
Aaron: Like I said man, I've never even heard of it

Gil: You've also been playing in a new band called Frozen Wave. How is that going?
Aaron: We had one practice and recorded a song into a tape player. I'm pretty happy with it. I don't want it to be a full time job or anything. Our one song sounds like a Foo Fighters b-side which is cool. Hopefully we can get it going again in the upcoming months.

Gil: What is your involvement with the Bridge 9 Records Message Board?
Aaron: HAHA, well I'm more of a lurker now. I post every once in a while if I feel compelled to or especially interested in the topic at hand. What I like to do now is ban people or change their posts to make the board a funnier place to kill some time.

Gil: You have an especially keen relationship with Brandeis University, more so than most non-Deis Bostonites. Why would you say this is?
Aaron: Well, like 4 years ago there used to be this band in California called For The Crown. I met those dudes on a tour they did in SoCal and when Posi #s of ‘03 rolled around they were looking for a place to stay. So basically what ended up happening is these two guys Andrew and Donald came and brought their friend Sofy with them, and they all stayed at my house and we drove to PA together. Fast forward now like 2 years. Sofy goes to Brandeis and we start hanging out regularly. So that's pretty much how I have met everyone at Brandeis, except you. Also, I'm a Jew and we all know each other.

Gil: You and I both love the ladies, in fact, a conversation of ours prompted me to write an article about how to pick up women (entitled How to Pick up Women - coming soon). How would you describe the struggle in Boston?
Aaron: Haha, yeah. The obscure compliment actually isn't even my move. I have to give credit to my boys Justin Garcia and Kyle Knox, who will probably never see this interview, but they are the ones who came up with that (as far as I know) and also "So are we gonna hook up or am I just wasting my time?" As for me, what I like to do is wait until the summer when I am selling semi-offensive t shirts outside of Fenway Park and then make bird noises at girls way out of my league when they pass by. So yeah, I guess "struggle," is actually the perfect way to describe it.
Gil: Don't forget the struggle.
Aaron: Don't forget the streets bordering Fenway Park.

Gil: You're about to embark on the Semester of Gaming. Are you excited?
Aaron: Oh fuck, you have no idea. First of all, I have a Wii. I'm working on Zelda and I have some select Gamecube titles to fuck with also. Then there are the virtual console games, hopefully some old SNES RPGs. I also have a Nintendo DS on the way and Harvest Moon for it, which is my favorite game series ever. On top of this I am going to get a 4.0 GPA.
Gil: Sidenote: My friend John Park, who is sitting right next to me as well, is a big fan of Harvest Moon.
Gil: However, Sergio is not.
Aaron: Sergio wouldn't know a great game if it cast a level 60 spell on him.
Gil: We are all laughing. That's going in the interview.

Gil: As a fellow rookie blogger, what can you say about how likeyouvereadabout.blogspot.com has improved your life? I know blogging has brought mass joy and recognition to my life.
Aaron: Shit man, I like my blog a lot. I need to be better about updating it. I like writing about poker hands a lot. Hopefully when I start school again I will have some stories about how stupid everyone I go to school with is.

Gil: Well Aaron, that's all I've got for now. I'm looking forward to seeing you once again next week. Any final thoughts/shoutouts before we part?
Aaron: Shoutouts: Gily F. Baby, Link, The Blue Ocean Strategy, my puppy, Mental, and most importantly Sergio.
Gil: Hell yeah!

This Is For You Fest 2006 Day #3

2007-01-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

The lateness of this post was slightly more than expected due to the quest for batteries for my digital camera, however the pictures are finally loaded and ready to be elaborated upon. It may be 2007, but I think I'm still capable of giving an accurate representation of Day #3 at Florida's best fest - This Is For You Fest.

We woke up tired from the previous night of partying. I was sad to leave the Chris Tharp HQ as it had been so good to me the previous days. We thanked Mrs. Tharp for letting us into her home and said our goodbyes to the faulty shower and nail impression that sits on his coffee table.

This is Kim Kuhn. She takes awesome photos and is always taking pictures of bands. A lot of people complain about the amount of time it takes for her to post pictures on the internet, I'm one of these people (however most of the time it is in jest). Check out her photos here. Oh, and Kim has a fancy fan as shown. How fancy is that?

Expired Youth played. These guys drove from Chicago just to play the fest and left right after. That's fucking dedication. Their singer wore an awesome Straight Ahead longsleeve, I was impressed. Definitely best shirt of the day, if not the fest (stiff competition from a Biohazard tour shirt). I picked up their 7" on Think Fast Records and it definitely does not dissapoint. Check these guys out and go see them as soon as you can because word on the streets is that they won't be around for much longer.

Here's Chris Tharp eating another PB+J. He won MVP of Day #3 not only because of how often he ate this sandwhich, but just overall by being one of my favorite kids, being the only guy in Daytona who likes clothes, loves Years From Now and Crime In Stereo, is my long lost brother, and is hilarious. Our boy Clay accidentally knocked over a YFN CD while attempting to say goodbye to people and Chris screamed at him "Go already! Just go! Leave!" It was spectacular.

Newest addition to the LIS Fanzine Crew

We concluded the day by going back to the Chinese buffet. It was even better the second time. This time we got one huge table.

Noteworthy bands

Expired Youth (Youth Crew from Chicago done extremely well)
Foundation (ATL mid-90s style Hardcore go buy the demo it rips)
Years From Now (It is no mystery that I love this band and that I love these guys. Go buy the full length CD out now and find out how much you've been missing.)
Make or Break (Orlando old school style HC)

Day #3 was really all about being tired and sore from the previous days, checking out new bands, going off for your friends' bands, and saying goodbye to the kids you had so much fun with. With those things considered, and despite Iron Age and Iron Boots cancelling, it was a success.

My pickups from the fest

Years From Now Daytona Seal Shirt
Cro-Mags Overpower Overcome Shirt
Expired Youth "Where We Stand" 7"
Better Than A Thousand "Self Worth" 7"
Years From Now "We're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat" CD
Foundation Demo
Shelter Demo
Permanent Teaser
Meantime Demo

Check in soon for an interview with Aaron Bloomfield.

While I typed this up I listened to Token Entry, Turning Point, and Straight Ahead. You should do that as well.

This Is For you Fest 2006 Day #2

2006-12-30T18:45:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the not-so-timely update. I was too tired after Day #2 to do an update, and when I tried to do one the next morning the internet at the Chris Tharp HQ was not agreeing with my future machine. I just got home from the third and final day of the fest, showed Mom and Dad (Youtube.com celebrities) the zine, used a familiar bathroom, and had a cup of coffee. In order to instill a natural progression of days, I'll cover the third day tomorrow.

Me and Brian woke up in the living room of the HQ at 11 AM to the sounds of Chris munching on cereal. We then layed around for a while and listened to the Meantime demo which is awesome, very heavy with Mikey's E. Seinfeld-like backup vocals. After a little while we got motivated to go get lunch and check out Daytona before the bands started.

Brian and Chris outside the HQ ready to start the day

Me and Brian got Publix subs for lunch. Tharp sat it out and vouched for eating one of his daily PB and J's which I will delve into more later. Without asking me the lady working at the deli put Salsalito turkey on my sub which was a cool surprise. Mrs. Tharp gave us a coupon for a free 2 Liter so along with the subs we picked up some Fresca. Dankest soda ever, no?

We wanted to truly experience Daytona Beach so Chris suggested we check out the Flea Market. Him and Mikey YFN visit this place on a weekly basis. These dudes are all about the dollar VHSs and cheap DVDs. All jokes aside, this flea market was less sketchy and heinous than the one I went to a couple times in Sanford, FL (outside of Orland). Tons of Dale stuff up in here, free samples for all the ill flea market food, old video games, marijuana parafanelia, surprisingly good hip hop vinyl. All in all, no one bought anything.

Chris made these posters for the fest. I tried to get a decent picture of the list of bands for Day #2, but couldn't get a clear shot even with the help of my boy Alexx. This will have to do.

This is me and Tamara. There is a reason this picture was taken, but I can't remember it. Next year I'm bringing a notepad.

Larry and John Park booty danced. How unsexy is this?

Chris Tharp packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich every single day. I have reason to believe that if we weren't staying with him he would have had his mother cut the crusts off for him. I like taking pictures of Chris eating sandwhiches. More to come soon.

10 of us decided to skip Have Heart to go to a Chinese buffet right by the venue. I justified this to Alexx by telling him "at this point in my life food > Hardcore." He then told me I was the Negative MVP of the day. I grudingly accepted this award.

The Chinese buffet was amazing. We moved the tables all over the place while yelling about Hardcore Unity. Made some new friends here, and overate to the max. Mikey loves this place. Me and John Park celebrated our one year anniversary as friends. Tamara didn't eat.

The Wolfpack walking tall after a great meal

John Park won MVP of Day #2. He is the best kid to watch in between songs and in between bites of good food. He's so stoked on everything, makes me laugh constantly, named 10 things he loves about me, I named 12 things I love about him. He currently lives in SoFla but is relocating to Orlando next month. I look forward to seeing him more on my trips back home. As said earlier, we celebrated an anniversary.

After the show a million of us went to Steak 'n Shake where the people who didn't eat got some food. We spent majority of this time discussing and strategizing our moshing at the first Meantime gig, Jan 7th. From there we went to party at the Ramada where a number of our friends were staying. It was awesome having a bunch of kids who don't all know eachother that will hanging side by side having a good time. The drinkers drank, the edgers edged.

Matt (MVP of Day #1) told stories a good deal of the night. One of the most underrated kids in hardcore, next year you're gonna see this guy on the cover of GQ. He's taking over.

Jason threw the party in his room. Very cool of him to take one for the team considering security came countless times and eventually kicked us out.

Me and Matt

We all got kicked out of the room. Some went to Denny's, the rest of us went to Sam Triple B's room where I moshed to the Cro-Mags until I tired myself out. Tired eyed and sweaty, back to the HQ we went for a night of sleep in preparation of Day #3.

Though it seems like this emphasis from this day was more on hangouts than hardcore, some great bands did play. Check the band rundown...

The Mongoloids (Heavy as fuck, great stage style, Cookie Monster meets Paul Bearer vocals)
Down To Nothing (Best generic HC band)
Another Breath and How We Are (Overrated bands, but entertaining nonetheless)
Bracewar (People in FL love this band. Super fast into super heavy)
Have Heart (Boston Straight Edge - I don't care if I didn't watch them this band is always good.)

Ultimately a great day. It really rung in the atmosphere of fun that I'm thinking of in looking back at my experience of the fest. Hanging at the Ramada coming up with 100 new inside jokes ruled. Everyone got Tharp'd, including myself. At one point I even got Low Class Egyptian'd.

Expect a Day #3 rundown very soon

Yours truly

This Is For You Fest 2006 Day #1

2006-12-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

I am currently sitting at the Chris Tharp HQ in Daytona Beach, FL. Seinfeld (episode where Jimmy refers to himself in the third person and is BAALLLLLLINNNNNNNN) is playing on the TV, Chris is to my right eavesdropping on my typing, Brian Heff is chillin to my left doin his thing. It's been quite the day, and a hell of a Day #1.

And now...a brief photo recap.

Me and Brian before our voyage to Daytona (Photo courtesy of Susan Sayfan)

Today dobuled as the launch for me, Mikey YFN, and Chris Tharp's Zine Life Is Stupid HC Fanzine Issue #1, as well as the launch for the Meantime demo. Meantime is a new heavy HC band from Daytona - about time. Featuring members of Years From Now. I haven't heard it yet, but get into it cause I'm already moshing.

The Zinemates

Me, Heff, John, and Jason went out to Chipotle for dinner. John plays in a pretty cool band called Evasion who are based out of Tampa and have a 7" coming out on Demand Records. Jason paid for my burrito even though I insisted he didn't and threw money his way which he would not take. He's a very good guy and just got his certification to be a firefighter. What a guy!

My Revenge are a skate hardcore/thrash band. These guys played last year and were pretty good, same for this year. They played a Beastie Boys cover and a Trial cover. Both resulted in kids going nuts.

This is Matthew Metric. He is the MVP of Day #1. This guy has a million crazy stories, mostly about ridiculous drunken adventures though he is currently walking The Straight Edge. He has been stabbed, sells shoes, beaten up by gang members, works with dead bodies as a side job, danced with a girl who had multiple teeth fall out during the act, and smoked weed laced with PCP and went nuts. I love this guy, and it's a treat to see him when I can. He moshes for Years From Now and likes Biohazard in a non-ironic way. He told us many gems today but his greatest quote which earned him the title of MVP was this:

Matthew Metric on the fest running late - "Moshin' til 6 in the MOANIN'!"

Shipwreck played last tonight. Great as usual. This is one band I can see all the time and never get sick of it. These guys are from Boston and seem to get love all over the US. Big ups to JD for hooking me up with an interview which you can read in LIS. Kids mosh so hard for these guys its sickening. Sam Triple B moshed himself into the 4th Dimension the man I talked to after their set was definitely not him.

All in all today was a day and tonight was a night. Seeing friends from all over, minimum boredom, preoccupying myself with taking pictures (band photography is not something I should dabble in), some great bands I had never heard before, some great bands I already was a fan of, launching the zine, going on a mission for a "drank" with Heff and my girl Haley, the invention of the Me to Friend to Chick Ratio, and so much more.

Band highlights:

Permanent (Melodic HC similar to Killing The Dream from Richmond, VA)
Black SS (Everyone compares this band to a faster harder Kill Your Idols. I will too.)
My Revenge (Ill covers, boring rambling, but good band)
Lion of Judah (Best band of the day, so fun, I moshed hard for this band and was able to execute certain moves that belong at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.)
Shipwreck (Heavy heavy heavy)

Two more days. Tonight there was no partying due to the show running late and a need for recharging. Stay tuned, thanks for reading, pick up the zine if you get the chance, listen to the Cro-Mags.

From everyone here at Chris Tharp HQ
One love

It was all a dream, I used to read LIfe Is Stupid HC Fanzine

2006-12-11T09:29:00.000-08:00

-10 page paper about communal interpretations of the future CHECK
-13 page paper about the transition from liberalism in the 1960s to conservatism in the 1980s CHECK
-20 page group paper and presentation on the involvement of religion in Hip Hop Culture CHECK
-The Sixties final exam CHECK
-Intro to Econ 2A final exam...coming Wednesday

All in all it's obvious that I've been keeping busy.

December 7th, 2006 marks the information superhighway blackouts at Brandeis University, in which wikipedia'ing studyers, porn-watching masturbators, and flamestillburns-reading ballers were left in the dark of pre-Internet life. Fortunately for me, I had to work a 5 hour shift so I missed much of the frenzy, but I was privy to the complaints of some babbling women whose nationality was not revealed in her thick and mysterious accent. Max continued to do his news show, despite his inability to gather any stories from his usual websites (mind you he never thought to check one of the free issues of the New York Times given out on campus). The show came out surprisingly well for being produced and run by 4 people, who none of which understand the technicalities behind turning Mic 4 on/off. The powerhouse news team covered The Weed Report, Internet Blackout Crisis, Tribute to: Gil Sayfan, Phone Interview with Gil Sayfan, Hip Hop Talk - featuring music by Big L, Clipse, and Girl Talk.

The coming month of excessive free time is really getting my creative juices flowing.

The Coming Soon Playlist...

-Ice Age Interview: Expose' on the Ice Age Fam
-Third and Long: After the Breakup (Featuring Asya Han)
-Cro-Mags Sauce: What Would it Taste Like (Collabo w/ The Business Journal)
-Cro-Mags the Video Game: Survival of the Streets (Part 2 of TBJ Collab)
-Crossroads Demo Sessions - FL NY MA Love
-Crossroads Crew Logo (Coming Tuesday)
-Years From Now Moshing - "I wanna go! Pick it up! Ugh!"
-In the Kitchen w/ Susan Sayfan (Details to come...)

I'll probably try to fit in some of Waltham's finest food (2 carnitas burritos and a Crossover Calzone) before I head back home. I'll be puking grease in no time.

I hate Jazz.

1 Love

"We need to get out of these boxes."

2006-12-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

I don't understand how I went from considering myself a friendly and social person 4 months ago to a person who grows wildly uncomfortable in the event of having to make small talk with other Earthlings.

However, that's besides the point. Shoutout to my boy Max for featuring me on his radio show yesterday. What resulted from this collab was 30 solid gold minutes of WBRS programming: Micahel Richards, The Hardcore Report, Tribute to Thirsty Thursdays, interviews with Anton Kavalski and Avi Shai Malinger, The Doors, Fucked Up, etc. Why we haven't been given a weekly talk show yet is phenomenal.

Since my last update I conducted interviews with Tradition and Shipwreck, both of which I'm very happy about the way they turned out. These will be featured in Life Is Stupid HC Fanzine Issue #1, debuting at This Is For You Fest '06, at other shows in Florida, and for sale from me in Boston. If you're into either of these bands, it will prove to be a good read.

Lots of Florida people in the area this weekend, along with 4 awesome hardcore/punk shows going down. I will do my best to enjoy all of this with finals looming over my existence. To think vacation is only 2 weeks away.

And now, a Youtube.com update...

My Brother and Me - Goo Punch Commercial
A slice of 90's American childhood

Meir and Susan Sayfan - "I'll Follow The Sun"
My parents covering The Beatles

Also check out Chirs Fafalios Dot Com for The Chris Fafalios Show and Texas Toast. Chris not only plays bass for one of the best pop punk bands doin' it right now, but is also incredibly creative and funny. See what he does with his free time on his site. This man is also the reason I met Aaron Barrett 2 summers ago.

Stay safe, world. See you in 2 weeks when I emerge from final exams, and awaken in sunny Orlando, Florida.

Do I look creative?

2006-11-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

For those who tuned into my radio show yesterday evening, you may of heard me and my fellow Brandeis student and friend, Anton, discussing Snyder's Buffalo Wing Pretzel Pieces. I stand by every statement I made during the show, and in fact would like to elaborate on how extraordinary these snacks are. My life without Buffalo Wing Pretzel Pieces consists of thinking all day about how I should go buy them. My life with Buffalo Wing Pretzel Pieces consists of me waking up, thinking about how I'm going to eat them later on in the day, and then breaking up my day in Pretzel Pieces eating sessions. BWPPs are the best thing I eat all day, they are better than any so-called "real" food. Go try them, and more specifically go buy them for me.

On the topic of the radio show, big thank you to everyone who listened, requested a song, told me you enjoyed it, made fun of my speaking voice, and helped me promote. Unfortunately there isn't a designated hardcore punk rock show, and the times when I am playing music like I have my last few shows is when there is a position to sub in for an all-genre show. However, there is a punk rock show on Saturdays, and a metal/loud rock show sometime during the week, which are fine programs. I consistently listen to the punk rock show while driving a campus shuttle on my Saturdays, whoever DJ's that show had me hooked after he did a Clash tribute show.

Lots of reading to do about liberalism in the sixties, conservatism in the eighties, social memory and history, illustrations and ideas about the future, etc. Only with a fake major like mine do you get to read comic books as research for a final paper.

Below is an interview I conducted with 111 Records' very own, Rory, appearing in a fanzine I'm doing with Mikey YFN and Chris Tharp. We were going for an interview that was 90 percent nonsense, 5 percent James Buell references, and 5 percent content. It came out weak in James Buell references, but I dig it. Be on the lookout for the zine, containing this interview and many others, at This Is For You Fest 2006 in Daytona Beach, Florida at the end of December.

Gil: In proper interview fashion, please tell the people your names and what you do in Rory.

Jordan: My name is Jordan... I play guitar and talk a lot.

Marc: My names are Marc, Stephen, and Ispass (first, middle, and last respectively,) and I play the bass guitar and do other things.

Jordan: Unsexy things.

Gil: What is a Rory?

Jordan: My life.

Marc: A dinosaur.

Gil: Good answers.

Jordan: My life as a dinosaur.

Marc: You don't have any other lives.

Jordan: Was that a question?

Gil: You guys just put out a new record called "We're Up To No Good, We're Up To No Good". Does it suck or rule?

Marc: It rules on all accounts of ruling things.

Jordan: It rules certain things and sucks others.

Marc: But, it actually rules that too. So, I don't even know what that is considered.

Gil: Tell me about the album.

Marc: It sucks the suck out of itself. So, that it is all rule.

Jordan: It's bringing fun back to rock'n'roll.

Marc: Yes, so it's 'Rockfu'n'roll"

Gil: How'd you come up with the name "We're Up To No Good, We're Up To No Good"?

Jordan: Joel

Gil: Who is Joel? I know no Joel.

Marc: It's irony. Everything we do is good. So, it's ironic.

Gil: Irony is for suckers.

Marc: Joel does good things too.

Jordan: We were in the van one day... Joel (our drummer) and Chris (guitar) decided they wanted dinner...

Marc: Lunch.

Jordan: so in the middle of an intersection, they bothed jumped out of the van and yelled "We're Up To No Good, We're Up To No Good" without telling us where they were going.

Marc (interrupts): At a burrito establishment -- CHIPOTLE (give us free stuff!!!)

Gil: CHIPOTLE?

Gil: FREE STUFF....

Marc: FREEEEEEEE CHIPOTLE!!!! FOR OUR MOUTHS AND BELLIES!

Marc (resuming conversation): And then Joel hit the hood of the car next to us with his palm and yelled that phrase to the driver.

Gil: What kind of music does Rory play?

Marc: Fun and interesting music with the main interest in fun.

Jordan: Rory plays rockfu'n'roll

Marc: Loosely based off of the music of aboriginal Galapagos Islanders.

Marc: Just kidding, there are no aboriginals there.

Gil: You guys hail from Orlando, FL. What is the scene there like? Was it nurturing to you guys as a band?

Jordan: Ehh.. on and off. Orlando has it good nights a bad nights.

Marc: Orlando nursed us from its teet like the thriving child we are to it. Orlando is a really hard scene to pin down. Especially since so much of the population is transient, with all the schools and tourism.

Gil: Where do you see the scene there going in the next 2-3 years? And more specifically...will Orlando ever recuperate from the loss of Gil Sayfan?

Jordan: Orlando has some great bands coming out of it, so in that sense, i think it will continue to thrive, but as far as attendence at local shows, i doubt it.

Jordan: No... unless James Buell starts going to shows again.

Gil: Not gonna happen.

Marc: I think the scene will continue to have it's slight rises and falls as it has always had. Though, short-term, the loss of Gil Sayfan will certainly be a thorn in the sole of everyone's feet (both of them.) There is nothing in Orlando that enables any kind of expressive culture to really thrive as well as it should. The past year or two, however, things have definitely been on an up-swing, which makes me hopeful that people will see that growth is good.

Gil: You guys recently added a new member to your band?

Jordan: Our old singer, Allen Peoples, is joining us on the road! It's great having him back. He will be doing a double shift as additional guitarest/merch guy... so if you kids are coming out to shows, give that man a nice big kiss and tip. He deserves it!

Gil: What do you think having six people on the road, versus five, does for the stage dynamic of Rory?

Marc: It makes us run into each other a lot more.

Jordan: It really thickens up the live sound.

Marc: Also, it gives everyone more sexy faces to look at and more bodies to hit with things.

Jordan: Way more sexy faces

Marc: at least two-and-a-half more.

Gil: You guys shot/are in the process of shooting music videos for each song on the new album. How is that going?

Marc: It WAS going amazingly. But then something happened and the pace has slowed to a grueling crawl.

Jordan: It's become a really long hard journey, but the process is so much fun for me. I can't wait to get the rest finished.

Gil: What are you guys planning to do with the videos?

Marc: Compile them onto a DVD that people can watch at sleepovers.

Jordan: Right now 4 or 5 of them are on absolutepunk.net and our website.

Marc: Yeah, that's happening first.

Gil: Word life.

Marc: But, then the rest of them will be compiled WITH those and DVDed so that the world can see them in all! We'll also have a LOT of other fancy footage too.

Marc: Fancy footwork too.

Gil: Speaking of the Internet...How do you guys feel the internet has helped/hindered your band and punk rock in general?

Marc: Oh, man... the Internet has single-handedly nourished the independent music scene to become such a strapping creature that it's eaten itself to death. On one hand it is incredible that every band who wants to, can get their songs out to the public. At the same time, the market is so saturated, it is a lot harder to do WELL. I believe that this scenario is actually the case for all business -- selling less of more. There are more bands, more varieties, more flavors, etc. But, no one sells as much as they did 10 years ago.

Gil: You guys are about to leave for the 111 Records tour. Are you excited for this tour?

Jordan: Very excited! Also very bummed out that Inkwell just dropped of... but reguardless, this tour is going to be great.

Gil: I can't wait for the Boston show.

Jordan: Jordan spells regardless like a Brit.

Jordan: Hey! I don't spell!

Gil: Does Rory hate the British?

Marc: No. Rory love the British. Really. I think we have more fans in the UK than we do west of the Mississippi River.

Marc: I cannot wait for the Boston show too. Halloween is the best.

Gil: I have a midterm that night, so I have to come late. Make sure you guys headline that night.

Jordan: The tour is awesome because everyone on the tour are already friends!

Gil: Who else is on the tour?

Jordan: This Day and Age, Rookie of the Year, and Mashlin

Gil: Nice. The new This Day and Age record is awesome. I listened to it a couple of days ago.

Marc: Sweet. I still have not heard it. All I have been listening to is Bollywood music.

Jordan: I heard it for the first time a couple nights and and thought it was great. I'm excited about hearing it live.

Marc: I haven't really been listening to Bollywood music.

Gil: Who would you guys rather be: The Terminator or Bill Gates?

Jordan: Bill Gates

Marc: The Terminator, because Jordan already said Bill Gates.

Jordan: I would rather live in Seattle and do charity work all day. I have no desire to be a killing machine.

Marc: But if your passion is killing, it would totally be worth it.

Gil: Bill Gates could buy Terminator - That's my answer.

Marc: That was my answer when you asked me two weeks ago.

Gil: What are the future plans for Rory?

Jordan: Damn... we should be asking the questions. Your answers are better.

Marc: Well, commission Boeing to build an army of Terminators.

Marc: Bill Gates could build an army of Terminators.

Gil: Next time you guys can interview me for the Rory website.

Jordan: Gil... honestly... what are the future plans for Rory?

Gil: Well I think first Rory is gonna do the 111 tour.

Jordan (laughs): Smart boy.

Gil: Then do a rad tour this Winter with some awesome headliners.

Gil: Then chill with me during the holidays, drink beer, watch The OC.

Marc: Do you think Rory will ever tour with Johnny Cash?

Gil: I have a bus to catch, so let's get to a couple personal questions before I leave.

Gil: What bands are you into lately? What food are you into lately? What clothes are you into lately?

Marc: Lately, I've been listening to Andrew Bird, Facing New York, Emiliana Torrini, and The Wood Brothers. But, mainly I listen to my entire iTunes library on shuffle. And no, I do not own an iPod yet.... Okay, I own a first-generation Shuffle. That hardly counts. Recently, I've been eating a lot of pluots (75% plum, 25% apricot), honeydew melon, avacado salad rolls from Publix, and yellow corn chips and salsa. And home-made pizza. Lately, I've been wearing the same jeans that I've been wearing almost every day since I bought them in March. They're some cut of Gap 1969, which I have not been able to find anywhere since. As far as shirts go -- I can't remember the last time I bought a new shirt. I mostly just wearing two random colored t-shirts and/or baseball shirts on top of each other. And also, recently I've been wearing powdered wigs... Three of them... at the same time. Also, hockey pads.

Jordan: Music, Well, then last week or two would consist of Less Than Jake, Lawrence Arms, Heavens, Set Your Goals, Crime In Stereo, Wilco, Murder By Death, Outkast, Justin Timberlake, +44, Mew, Dave Brubeck, David Bowie, All, RxBandits… I just listen to a lot of music all the time. I could go on for another 20 bands and list a whole new batch for next week. Food...meat, cheese, veggies, sauce, and beverage. Clothing, either a sleeveless t-shirt or a dress shirt with a tie and vest over a pair of long shorts. White socks and grey and purple Nike SB’s.

At this point I am on a bus going into Boston, and the interview ends. Go check these guys out, keep an open mind, and you will not be dissapointed.

Time for the first shower of the day, one.