Into Another - Omens

Whenever a band decides to go the reunion route I can't help but think of the scene from
The Blues Brothers when
John Belushi say's "We're getting the band back together." Followed by Akroyd's deadpan
"We're on a mission from God."

Since his days fronting Underdog. Richie Birkenhead has owned the most dynamic and impressive set of vocal chords to ever come out of the NYHC camp. A quality that has aged well and carries the songs with an impressive sense of emotional command.

Overall, Omens was somewhat of a surprise and a markedly excellent return to form for one of the 90's most uniquely rewarding post Hardcore acts. Still sounding dynamic, original and ahead of their time.
After listening to Ignaurus almost exclusively for over a decade. I've found myself dipping deeper and deeper in to the bands catalog, finding hidden treasure within every release.
Whereas many reunited bands from past eras seem perfectly comfortable continuing as nostalgia acts. Into Another have proven they are much more. A band that, years later,
still has something to say. One that is determined to follow through on unfinished business.
It's easy to say that Into Another stand as one of the most important acts to come together over the past three decades. James Damion

Find it at the following;
itunes
Amazon
Spotify
Rdio

Knapsack, Have Mercy and I Hate Our Freedom at Music Hall of Williamsburg

This past weekend I had the unique pleasure of getting to see Knapsack perform their one and only New York show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. I had first heard about the short jaunt of reunion shows a few months back. Though quite excited at the time I completely lost track of time and like with many reunions, failed to get tickers.

When my buddy Chris shot me a text asking if I'd be interested in taking an extra ticket off his hands. I was more that happy to take the weight off the poor kid. Up until a few years ago I would have considered myself a casual fan of the band. They were one of many, many bands I had seen at Maxwell's during the 90's and I recall having one or two of their records in my collection at one time or another.Years later during a record store run with my buddy Dave. Suddenly, the song 'Saturday Side of the Street' came across the speakers like a jolt of electricity. "Who's this?' I asked. "Knapsack" replied Dave in his usual even tone. I was as if I had found my new favorite band, As usual, it was one that was long gone. Having the opportunity to see them again with a renewed love and appreciation is something I'm pretty thankful for.

Brooklyn's I Hate Our Freedom opened by not sounding remotely any other opening band I've experienced.
I've heard about these locals for some time now. This, however was my first taste, my first face to face. The band features former personnel of such notable acts as
Texas is the Reason, Garrison, Milhouse and God Fires Man and House & Parish. The bands energy and edgy post core sound had me wondering why it's taken me so long to make my way to one of their shows.
I picked up their album 'Seriously' a few days later and can't wait to give it a spin.
I Hate Our Freedom

In between set I talked to a few of the people taking pictures and had and somehow found common round with someone standing right next to me.

Being that he was from New Brunswick, the conversation quickly turned to the towns history of basement shows. Going to shows is such an amazing way to meet and connect. Turns out we shared many of the same friends and experiences. Within a matter of minutes Have Mercy took the stage. Though I had no prior knowledge of the Baltimore band I could feel an instant connection with the bands music. emotive vocals and melodic buildups. Impressive to say the very least. It's always rewarding to see a non headlining/touring band get  a rise and response from the local crowd and Have Mercy more than earned the praise.
Have Mercy

The night was already bordering on perfect with a fantastic sushi dinner with a friend, finding a good spot up front to shoot and seeing some excellent bands for the very first time.

My lazy Sunday afternoon on the couch morphed into an epic night with so many memorable moments.

Knapsack

It might have been hard to imagine it could possibly get better. But as Knapsack finally took the stage. I quickly realized that it was about to.
As the band finally took the stage you could feel the energy and pulse of the crowd grow and quicken. My eyes and ears perked up as one of the best shows I'd been to in months was about to reach it's peak.Imagine my amazement when the band opened their set with that same song ('Thursday Side of the Street') It was the perfect song to dust off my memories of my first and only time seeing them perform live. The perfect track to remind me why, years later, I fell in love with knapsack for the first time through 'Silver Sweepstakes' and their self titled Alias releases. The bands set reminded me of everything I love about the band and live music in general, The give and take from the band and the audience was palpable. singer/guitarist Blair Shehan was more than happy to share his feelings about having the opportunity to play, share the stage with such good friends and fans. After their long,sweat soaked set, the band returned for an encore before sending us home with smiles on our faces, good tunes in our ears and perhaps a few trinkets from the merch table. Not bad for a Sunday night. Until the next time. James Damion

Knapsack

Have Mercy

I Hate Our Freedom

Gameface Reunite

After a series of reunion shows, South California melodic punk purveyors Gameface have officially re-united and signed to Equal Vision records.The band will be releasing a two song 7 inch titled 'Come on Down' on November 5th.  Check out the video to see what's in store.

Equal Vision Records

Caught in an Altercation; Talking with Andy Guida Part I

In part I of my interview with Andy Guida I decided to focus on the reunion and history of the band Altercation. Saturday night the band will be taking the stage at Webster Hall for day one of this years Black N' Blue Ball. As far as reunions go, this will be one for the ages considering the band has not performed together in more than twenty-five years. 
Though they only had a demo, a handful of shows and a memorable WNYU set. 
They left a permanent mark on the first decade of the storied and oft misunderstood NYHC scene. In my mind the band always seemed to fit in perfectly with contemporaries such as Breakdown, Raw Deal and Krakdown. Good company if you ask anyone that was around at the time. This hopes to be the first of a trilogy of interviews I'll be doing with Andy. 
Thanks for the walk through. James Damion

James: Altercation were a special band for me back in the late 80's. I remember having an old army knapsack that had Altercation written with a big fat marker on it. The name Altercation looked perfect wedged between the likes of Raw Deal,
Breakdown, Krakdown and the NY Hoods. Can you tell me how the idea of bringing Altercation back to the present came about?

Andy: There were two near misses for Altercation reunions over the years. First, maybe 1989, we rehearsed at least once that I can remember. That was with AJ Novello on rhythm guitar instead of Myles. Then about ten years ago we thought of doing it. A promoter contacted me about doing a show. We even started rehearsing with
Scott Heatherly,
(Lament, Running Like Thieves) on bass. No second guitar. In the end we decided we didn’t want to do it. The band sounded great but we didn’t feel right about it. Over the years I’ve been approached a few times about releasing the demo as a 7”. I always resisted doing it for various reasons. But then we did the Absolution record with Ryan at Lushlife.

That went smoothly and he and I started discussing other releases we could do. Independently of that, I was contacted about doing the B&B Bowl this year. It made sense to reunite now. Myles can’t do it because of work commitments. Eddie wasn’t interested.
So it’s Paul, Jay and me for original members, and Dan Cav (Resurrection, Absolution) on bass. I think we sound great. I’m excited to get this band in front of people! We’ll see what else we do after the B&B Bowl.

James: What's going on with the 7 inch? Why did you decide to re record it? This practice of re-recording

old material is becoming somewhat prevalent with a lot of older Hardcore bands. As someone who was raised on these bands. It comes off as somewhat of a cop out. 

Why do you think bands tend to tighten the screws on old recordings as opposed to writing and releasing new material?

Andy: The record is not re-recorded old songs. It is the old versions of the old songs. It’s a phase corrected, mastered version of the original demo. We don’t have plans for any new material or re-recording the old stuff. But, there is a new outro on one old song in the live set. Maybe a free download of a current rehearsal recording playing the old songs? We have changed some things in a few songs. Just extending certain parts, not adding new. People want to hear what they love the band for. They don’t want to hear it all fucked up. When I saw The Police on their reunion tour I thought they were weak. "Next to You", as a mid tempo laid back groove is not good. I didn’t want them to rearrange the songs I knew from studio and live recordings. They changed too many songs. It’s one thing for a band that is consistently together to morph songs. It’s another when you come back after 20+ years and songs sound completely different, however recognizable. Altercation, in it’s current state as a reunion band, wants to give people what they remember.

As far as old bands re-recording old songs I can see why it’s done. In the case of Absolution we did it because Gavin and Djinji felt strongly that the recording and performances on their 7” was sub-par. I have to agree. And I think the record we did destroys the old one. I haven’t listened to any of the redo records except for Exodus doing "Bonded By Blood". I don’t like it. The original was well played, well recorded and it was heavy as fuck, perfect to me.
So I can see both sides. Some fans want the original. But to me, if the original isn’t good it needs correction. It’s all about perspective though.

James: I recall seeing Altercation several times and remember the Crucial Chaos set rather fondly. 

The band had a certain vibe and energy about them that was dangerous and explosive.
As if to say, "Before this set is over, blood will flow." Was that reputation more perceived or earned?

Andy: Some of the guys in the band got into plenty of fights. Some of the friends of the band got into plenty of fights. Of course, 15-18 year old skinhead kids tend to fight.
And we were pretty damn pissed off skinhead kids. But we weren’t exactly the Cro-Mags.

James: I understand one of the bands girlfriends at the time wrote a lot of Altercations lyrics. I can only imagine that was a first in the history of NYHC. How did that situation present itself?

Andy: I don’t know how that happened. I must agree, it’s got to be a first. Bianca, then Paul’s girlfriend, wrote the lyrics. I don’t remember how that came to be. I don’t recall caring, I thought they were great lyrics. We all did. We were young and clueless. And very, very angry. Anger looking for a direction. The lyrics aided in direction, I suppose. Though I never noticed it back then. There was mention of borderline "racist lyrics". 

James: There was a lot of racial tension around that time. I was curious about how those ideas materialized and how they were received in the Hardcore community at the time.

Andy: There was a pretty big skinhead thing going on at that point so we were very well

received by a segment of the people going to shows. I’m sure there were plenty that

thought badly of us. Within in a year of being in Altercation I had regrets about aspects

of the band. I read something where Walter Schreifels said he saw us and worried the

dark side was going to win. That cracked me up. That’s a powerful reaction to evoke!

Though, not the one I want at this point in my life. There were definitely prejudiced and simply misguided lyrics. Also some stuff that’s not correct. Robert Chambers, who, “Getting Away with Murder” was about, did not get away with it. He went to jail. Although the sentiment, the rich “getting away with it”, still is true. But I can’t change what was said. The music is great, and we can change some lines live. If we were skrewdriver I couldn’t stomach doing a reunion. We were hardly that.

James: When recording the record did you make a point of changing them?

Andy: Live Jay is changing some lines. When he remembers. Hearing it one way for twenty six  years made an impression!

James: Can we expect new material and songs from the band in the future?

Andy: Don’t expect new songs from us. It could happen, but it’s unlikely

Altercation  Facebook

Atercation Blogged and Quartered

Six III Studio  Andy Guida

Strife - Witness a Rebirth

Hardcore torch bearers Strife return to the fold with "Witness A Rebirth" the bands first studio material in more than ten years.
Back in the 90's when California straightedge band Strife first appeared on the Hardcore radar. They filled the void left by bands such as Judge,
Chain of Strength and
Youth of Today and may have even tightened the screws a bit. While 1994's "One Truth" refueled us. 1997's "In this Defiance" inspired us.

When first hearing about the reunion and the making of the record I tossed it into the figurative abyss of reunited bands looking to relive old glories on the dance floor. However, unlike many of the unmentioned newly reunited and reinvented bands. Strife held a special place in my later Hardcore history. At a time when it seemed like I was holding on to a genre that had been littered with bands playing metal riffs and representing their gangsta' hood. Strife, along with a handful of bands gave me inspiration and made me feel that.... all hope was not lost.
So I proceeded with caution and an open mind.

On "Witness A Rebirth" the band fires on all cylinders at a breakneck pace. All the elements that made Strife stand out two decades ago coming rushing back as the band return to their relentless beast of a sound. Passionate vocals that renew old battle cries coupled with a relentless guitar assault and enough mosh parts to turn any square footage into a war zone. The album features it's fare  share of who's who from a list of bands I never really cared much for myself. Terror's Scott Vogel, Chino Moreno of the Deftones, Dino Cazeres of Fear Factory and Igor Cavalera of Sepultura add to the mix. Making one wonder if anyone from the actual band even showed up for the recording. Regardless of whether or not those players made any major differences in the records sound. It works!!!

Though the record doesn't really break any new ground. It doesn't do anything to erode the foundation and reputation the band worked so hard to create. It might just win over a new legion of fans. As far as reunions go, this is about as good as it's gonna get. James Damion

Dag Nasty's Original Lineup to Reunite

The Black Cat in Washington DC will host an evening of DC hardcore/punk on December 28, 2012 that will include the reunion of the original lineup of Dag Nasty! That's right, the original lineup.

Brian Baker, Roger Marbury, Shawn Brown, Colin Sears

PLEASE JOIN US ON DECEMBER 28 AT THE BLACK CAT FOR A VERY SPECIAL NIGHT!

Scheduled to appear:

Dag Nasty (lineup of Shawn Brown, Brian Baker, Roger Marbury, and Colin Sears)
Government Issue
Black Market Baby
Kingface
and special guests! (One can only allow their mind to wander.)

This is a night to celebrate the filming of ‘Salad Days’ documentary which should be released around that time.

Texas is the Reason Talk About their Reunion

Here's a short documentary in which Texas is the Reason discuss their up coming reunion for the East Coast version of Revelation Records 25th Anniversary celebration. 

James Damion

The Mob - Back to Queens / That's it

Thirty years after releasing one of the greatest Hardcore EP's in Punk/Hardcore history with
"Upset The System"
New York City's The Mob return from utter obscurity with three slabs of Hardcore for the senior circuit. After reforming for a set at NYC's 'BNB' Bowl in 2012 the Mob headed to the studio to record their first record in over twenty-five years.

"Back to Queens"
(An ode to the greatest Borough NYC has ever known) opens up the short set with a good pace and energy. It took hold of me with it's opening riffs, rolling bass and up tempo beats.
Ralphie singing the chorus "That's where I got my walk, that's where I got my talk. going back to Queens, that's where I belong." Coming in at 2:47, this stellar track kept me on my toes throughout it's entirety.
The B side follows with a trashier sound more reminiscent to the ancient Mob style. Unfortunately, "That's It" and "Zoo Crew" are  instantly forgettable to the ears.

Though the band were seminal to a lot of kids my age getting into Hardcore. (And particularly in Jackson Heights, Queens.) But personally, the bands music, it's influence and their Hardcore legacy faded as time went  on.

This record doesn't really do anything that inspires one to look at the bands storied past; Nor does it get the listener eager for the future. I would suggest tracking down the bands classic work on "Upset the System" or "Truth Over the Airwaves." This just seemed like a lot of hype and little reward. The band is back in action and is planning more releases for 2012. One can only hope they get better as they come. James Damion

Buy it Here

The Mob - Back To Queens Video Teaser

I'll be posting my review of the Mob's new three song EP.  (Their first recorded material in more than twenty-five years) In the mean time you can check out the video that celebrates the new records release.

http://www.facebook.com/themob101

Into Another Launch New Website

After a decade and a half of inactivity Into Another have launched a new website and have announced they will headline the opening night of Revelation Records four day celebration of the labels 25th Anniversary. The event kicks off Thursday, June 7th at the Glass House in Pomona, California. The band will be sharing the stage with former label-mates Sense Field, Ignite, Gameface, In My Eyes and Kiss it Goodbye. Check out their new website here: http://www.intoanother.com/

James Damion

Rorschach, Converge, Indecision, Xaddax show at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC May 26th 2012

There are only fifty tickets remaining for this show. Get them before they are gone. 

Order Now

Scream - Complete Control Sessions EP

DC based legends Scream are back with their first release since 1993's classic "Fumble". Reunited in 1999 to play a series of shows including one at the DC's Black Cat during the blizzard of 2009. (Yeah, I was there)
Lucky for us they decided to head into the studio to record new material. As I pour over the seven tracks on Control Sessions I can't help but feel this is by far the bands best work to date.

Not to lessen the impact of the bands early work. Records like "Fumble" and "Bang the Drum" were epic recordings that still hold weight decades later. It's just that this record is that good. On Control Sessions
(Recorded live at Dave Grohls Studio 606 in February) the band fires on all cylinders.
It's great to see the original cast of Franz, Pete, Skeeter and Kent, along with the addition of guitarist Clint Walsh. The vocals and guitar work on the record are so good I was shaking my head in awe. All seven tracks have a "Stick to your ribs" effect but "Stopwatch" (The opening track) and "Jamin' at 606" are my absolute favorites. I'd highly recommend this to anyone. Even the most casual Scream fan can love a record that flat out "Rocks".
James Damion


Scream   Band Site

DYS - More Than Fashion (Live From The Gallery East Reunion)

As kids growing up in the 80's bands like DYS, SSD and Minor Threat, just to name a few, were untouchable.
They were Gods that walked on water as far as this wide eyed fifteen year old was concerned. Brotherhood and even the more Metal influenced
Fire & ice were already classics.
As one of the kids that missed seeing those bands by a few years I salivated over the chance to have seen them in their heyday or owned an original copy of Brotherhood. Fast forward twenty five years and the nostalgia of movies and books such as 'American Hardcore' has a good amount of the bands from that era have reformed are touring and recording. This brings me to DYS - More than Fashion. The music is taken from their reunion show at Gallery East in Boston on August 29th 2010. Looking back I really wish I would have taken the invitation to join Dave Stein and friends for the bus trip they took to this show. I'm sure it was memorable to say the very least. As for the record. It covers much of the bands material from both records rather well Dave Smalley and crew are in good form. However, it's rare when a live record captures the emotion and energy of the actual show. Personally I feel the old saying "You were either there or you weren't" best fits here. It's not a bad record but I think the band would have made their fans a lot happier by recording new material. I really don't feel this record does anything to enhance the bands legacy. James Damion

DYS on Bridge 9 Buy Here