My Top 10 Records Of 2009

Not this again, haha, why do i even bother.
Again like last year when i initially sat down to come up with my 10 fav records i could barely think of a handfull that would make the list, but with a little more thought i again came up with way more than 10 and had to narrow it down.
Anyway, here it is in alphabetical order.
If anyone actually reads this thing post your top 10 as a comment, iam interested to see what people came up with.

Alexisonfire- Old Crows/Young Cardinals
Baroness- Blue Record
Blkout- Total Depravity
Converge- Axe To Fall
Morrissey- Years Of Refusal
Nails- Obscene Humanity
Piece By Piece- S/T (still not released, and may not be, but i received it in 2009!)
Trapped Under Ice- Secrets Of The World
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis- White Lunar
50 Lions- Where Life Expires

And the runners up are ....

AFI- Crash Love
Break Even- The Bright Side
Foundation- Hang Your Head
Hope Conspiracy- True Nihilist
Iron Age- The Sleeping Eye
Iron Mind- The Sun Has Set
Isis- Wavering Radiant
Mastodon- Crack The Skye
Rise And Fall- Our Circle Is Vicious

Intro/Changes

Its a been a busy couple of months.
The US and Canada was awesome, and it was just as awesome to come home after sleeping on floors for more than a month.
The 50 Lions/TUI tour was a success and went off without any major problems.
The weather has been great, and ive been surfing in boarshorts, life is good!
This week i pack up my life put it in a truck and drive it interstate.



Looks like ill be spending alot of time here next year.

USA/Canada

Here i come.

3 of the best records of the 2000's

Inspiration

This Is Australia

I kind of let this slip a couple weeks ago on Chucky's Blog, but sometime in 2010 i will be releasing on my own record label (i need a name!) a 4 way split 7" titled "THIS IS AUSTRALIA" that will feature 3 of my good mate's band's as well as my own.
Parkway Drive, Miles Away, 50 Lions and No Apologies will all contribute one previously unreleased and original song each.
Thing is though all the songs have to be under 1 minute in length.
This is going to be alot fun putting together and the wheels are already in motion.
Keep an eye and a ear out for more details soon!

Keeping Busy

Voices

I just got home from a recording studio where i sang a few lines on a track for what will be an ep by a young band from Sydney called Persist.
They have always been a good band with alot of potential and from what i heard today i think they have really really really stepped things up.
Iam not sure when its coming out, but keep your ears open.

No Allegiance

I was originally going to write something about the first 2 albums i ever bought (Toe To Toe's- Threats and Facts and Madball's- Set It Off) but after listening to the Toe To Toe back catalog tonight they have stolen this post.
I was 12 years old when i first saw Toe To Toe, they were the first hardcore band that i ever saw live and also the first hardcore band i ever heard full stop. Lucky for me they played a "festival" at my local beach, Maroubra, along with some punk and rock bands. They blew every other band of the stage and i am lucky enough to have a vhs of their set that features me and a whole bunch of people i am still good friends with to this day circle pitting our heads off, haha.
That day changed my life, after seeing them play this perfect mixture of punk and metal i wanted more of this hardcore stuff.
It combined the punk and metal that i was already listening too, but it had more aggression and "realness" that i really connected with.
The following Monday i got my Dad to drive me to Resist and i purchased, probably with my Dad's money (thanks Dad!) my first hardcore records. From there it just snowballed, id check thanks lists, listen to mix tapes my friends (Ricky!) made me, read zines, etc, etc. It was such a crazy world and it really did take some researching, i guess alot unlike today.
Through Ricky i met Scott (the singer of TTT) and the two of them would sneak me into shows/pubs (haha)
I distinctly remember jumping the back fence of the Iron Duke Hotel straight onto a table seating amongst other big, tattooed and frightening looking dudes, Scott and Freddy Madball, and them just laughing at me, and giving me some weird black beer that tasted like shit.
15 years later iam still involved in this crazy fucking music and listening to these songs is bringing back alot of memorys.
Toe To Toe in their prime where unmatchable. To this day still one of the best live bands i have ever seen, and definately some of the craziest live shows i have ever witnessed.
Scott is still playing out live with what sadly has become a bit of a revolving line up of dudes on the instruments, but fuck it, its his band he can do what he wants with it. I know one thing, next time they are playing in Sydney ill be going to check it out.
If you can, get your hands on their discography "The Best Defence Is Attack"

Believe

At the start of September this guy will be back in Australia and we are going to make music together again.
I cant wait.

Best Record Of 2009?

It could be.

Mate

This is my good friend Mark Mathews, he rides a surfboard on waves that would kill 99.9% of people, i think he is crazy.
Follow his travels here

Mate

We live and we learn and that is all that we can do.

We live and we learn and that is all...

Mates

I just got home from 3 days in the best place in the world (Byron Bay, duh) and i hate being back in Sydney already.
My mates have got a DVD coming out soon (THE DVD) and its a fucking ripper, i think it has to be the best "band" dvd ive ever seen.

14 Hours Work = 4.42 Minutes Of Music

Heres some fun facts from Saturdays recording session.
Before the day;

- Andres and i had not practiced once
- I had never played the songs on guitar (i dont own one, i wrote the songs on my bass)
- I had obviously also never sung the songs
- On the last note on the last song of the day (Tunnel Vision) i snapped the E string, but we left it cause its a cool ending.
- We recorded, mixed and mastered 5 songs in 12 hours, not a bad effort and most things were done in the first take.

To download the songs

CLICK HERE


I guess people were always going to compare this to No Apologies because i sung/sing in both bands, but please don't.
Its two totally separate things, No Apologies was a fairly "serious" band and we wrote and rehearsed for close to 12 months before we recorded "Survival", where as with Smash we just went in and banged it out for fun.

SMASH DEMO

Is up on the

SMASH MYSPACE

More tomorrow, iam tired.

TYSON

Saw the documentary on the weekend.
One word, AMAZING.
The guy rules, best boxer (fighter) ever?

The Damned, The Shamed

I dont think there's been enough talk about how good this record is.
In todays current hardcore climate, where every band is trying to "do something different", "make their mark" or are just straight up making bad music, Terror released (in my opinion) their best record since "Lowest Of The Low"
After "Always The Hard Way" i think they had to mix things up a touch and this record has it all.
Every song rules, but "Let Me Sink" takes the title for best song on the record for me.
If you let this one slip by, get the fuck into it!

Demonstrate My Style

I have finished writing(both musically and lyrically)for the SMASH demo and i am looking at getting into a studio asap to record it.
If you or anyone you know fits the following criteria and plays guitar or drums, get in touch.
-live in Sydney(or surrounding areas)
-have your own gear and transport
-straightedge
-listen to current HARDcore (that does not mean Bury Your Dead, Bring Me The Horizon, Deez Nuts, etc, etc)

The Sun Has Set

Iron Mind are a new(ish) band from Melbourne Australia who play HARDcore the way it was meant to be. It its refreshing (for me at least) to see a young Australian hardcore band that actually are playing hardcore and not either metal, pop punk or what has been increasingly popular, the repetitive mid tempo "rock, emotional, look at me my life is so tough yet iam a middle class rich kid that lives with my parents fag core" with shockingly bad lyrics about how life sucks and they hate the world and wish they could die (so do i!)
Fuck all that, buy this now! It rules and its on repeat.

Derek Kitagawa (Violation, IA)

1- Violation, Devoured was hard as fuck and a great record and you guys fucking killed it when i saw you, but you guys dont tour all that much do you? Is it that you dont want to or are some dudes siked and others got other shit on? What are your future plans?

I'm glad you liked the record! I'd like to say that if it were up to me, Violation would be a full time touring band, but unfortunately I too am guilty of being held down along with the other members of Violation. Four of us are full time undergraduate students at different universities around California, and the only one who is not happens to work full time. Thus, our touring capabilities are rather limited to summer and school breaks. However, hopefully this coming summer we'll be able to hit it hard. We're hoping to do a full Europe tour and possibly a full US tour immediately following. Whether it be with Violation or not, I'm trying to make it work so that I will be gone all summer this year. Book us an Australian tour!!!


2- You guys alone with a bunch of newer bands(TUI, Alpha & Omega, Bad Seed, etc) are really coming through as the next generation of younger American hardcore bands. What do you think of the whole american scene at the moment and hows your local scene right now?

American hardcore is awesome. I continue to get excited about up and coming bands and new releases all the time. The new Bad Seed EP on 6131 is great, I love it. I also just got the new Iron Age LP (sorry!) and I must admit, I must have listened to it about 20 times in the last 3 days. I can't wait to hear that new TUI record as well. Locally speaking, Southern California has a lot of good bands coming out right now as well. Alpha & Omega as you mentioned will have a new record out by summer hopefully. My favorite local has to go to Downpresser from Santa Barbara. They have a new EP coming out on Triple B records that blows away all their previous material, check that band out! My other Cali favorite would have to be Take Offense, great band and awesome dudes from Chula Vista.


3- The last IA show was last weekend, it sounded and from the vids i have seen looked pretty fucking crazy, all the bands on the bill were great, NTB last minute set, Terror playing 'Lowest Of The Low" from start to finish, etc. How wild was it?

The last IA show was wild indeed. Sold out at Chain Reaction. Every band that played that night killed it. My highlight from the pit was definitely the Terror "Lowest of the Low" set. So much fun, it went off hard. I was dead at the end of the night though man, I had to play back to back with Vio and IA. I hopped off the kit for the breakdown of "Casualty of the Core" to get my IA mosh on 1 last time while Andy played drums, and in the 30 seconds of me being off the kit I managed to roll my ankle pretty bad. I then hobbled back onto the stage and finished the set. It was appropriate though I guess, I became a casualty of the core.


4- You and Chris took me surfing (even though it was tiny) when i was there which was great to get away from the super fest with 1825378253461 bands playing each day. Do you know of many other dudes in bands that surf over there? and why is it do you think that 99% of core kids nowadays look like if they tried to play any sport, let alone go surfing they would have a fucking heart attack?

Yeah! Good times. Fests can get to be way too overwhelming sometimes, so it was great to take a break from the madness and go paddle around for awhile. As far as other "band surfers" go, I'm pretty sure a few other locals from Downpresser surf. I know Dennis IA likes to sponge it up with his boogie board up north. Weakness is plaguing California hardcore haha. I'm trying to rise above and step up my gym game actually. But for example, Madball recently came through, and at most of their CA shows, there was hardly any mosh going on. I had to pit of course, but come on, I'm not that big of a guy at all. When myself and other friends that are my size are holding it down in the pit, that shit is weak. You know you're in a mosh to survive situation when you're actually afraid of the pit situation. Not to say there are no hard moshers on the west coast, but I see what you're saying. There are a few notably hard west coast moshers in my book though... First example, Corey Williams. Haha, I feel like he is this unpredictable force in the pit that has absolutely no regard for anyone in his immediate area. Smash and Destroy.



5- Ok, i gotta ask this, cause your guilty of this yourself, whats up with kids in so-cal wearing beanies all the fucking time?
Its like a thousand degrees, there just wearing shorts but they have a fucking beanie on. Please, whats the deal? haha

Haha fuck. No comment. I started that shit, all these lames are just biting my style. I'll switch it up for you though :)

Piece By Piece

Holy shit.
Their new songs are going to blow your mind.
All My Life (I Say Fuck You)
Amazing!

Stacey Taylor (Cry Murder)

1- Cry Murder has been a band going on 6 years now, yet your debut album "Above Us The Waves" only just came out on the weekend. How much hard work went into the record? and tell us some of the bs you had to go through over the years to get to where you now are.

It was really hard trying to stay focused, since every time we were getting where we wanted to go something would stuff us up. But all good thats what makes you stronger and more determined. Mainly it was just member changes that really took its toll, but at the end of the day it was all for the bet because now we are happier than ever with the out come and having way more fun.


2- Standard "girl" question for you, haha. What is it really like for a girl playing in a metal/hardcore band? Have you ever been treated disrespectfully by other bands members? and what do you think of girls that go to shows with their boobs hanging out and sit at the merch desk all night? haha

No never been disrespected by other band members but there are a couple of venues that dont believe im in the band and im trying to get in for free.. mainly it is the girls with their boobs out at the door that give me a bit of grief but thats cool im not there to impress anyone im just there to play music.... I dont have a problem with those type of girls each to their own i guess....


3- Your about to head out on your first headlining national tour.
Are you looking forward to it? and what do you get up to in your down time on tour?

Definitely looking forward to tour. It is so good doing what you want to do everyday and also playing all new songs is really refreshing. On our time off we just go the usual site seeing and chilling out. some of the boys like to party but im a nanna and stay home usually and sleep.


4- Adelaide has changed alot over the years since you first started going to shows there, how is it now and which would you prefer, the year 2000 Earth Crisis wanna be Adelaide or the 2004 Poison The Well wanna be Adelaide? haha. What band is it cool to like there now?

Now its very different, it is very split in the middle between hardcore and metal. back in the day we were lucky to see an overseas act. now we are spoilt and dont support aus music as much which is a shame. i dont know what i would prefer. even though i love earth crisis era ill have to say poison the well coz more bands were playing then like prom queen and DOC. It was
such a good time for adelaide and bands.


5- You looked beautiful walking down the aisle at Adrianne and myself's wedding, any chance we will see you on stage rocking that dress and high heels? haha

HA HA HA NO WAY!!!! i could only walk in those things for like 5 mins and i was gone!!!!

George Hirsch (Blacklisted)

1- Blacklisted toured pretty much non stop in 08. Tell me some shows/places/experiences both good or bad that stick out to you for whatever reasons.

Australia as a whole was the best experience. For me it was a dream to just go there, let alone be able to play music. On top of that we were greatly accepted beyond any expectation I had. I would put out records just go to there and play shows, I wish it worked that way. Japan was very similar to that. All the shows we played though out the year were for the most part beyond any expectation we held to tell you the truth. I feel like sound and fury for us was pretty awkward, the lights were on and it just felt weird and uncomfortable playing. However this is hardcore was the complete opposite, it was dark and just really comfortable. The whole year was like a dream.


2- I upset a few people by saying the word faggot on stage at S&F. Do people really compare that word with the 'N" word over there?
Because here they really are two opposite parallels, and the "F" word really does get thrown around with gay abandon (pun intended, haha) and is not used as an insult towards gay people or by homophobic cross burners(well not around where i live anyway)


I think they are very similar. Its pretty clear cut what they are both mean, so I will not get into that, However whether it be an African American or a Homosexual, the thing it really boils down to is respect and using either of those words is the opposite of that, it is just plain disrespectful. Why would anyone want to use a word with so many negative vibes around it, especially in hardcore which is gaged for such a more open minded audience? Its crazy to me to see people use either word. Recently it feels in hardcore that it is acceptable to use words that hold that much weight. I've confronted people using both words and it always turns into, well I was just calling my friend a "nigger" or a "faggot", but he is neither so its not disrespectful, its just playful. But the reality is it is even more disrespectful. When your friend is fulfilling some stereotype created around an African American or a Homosexual and you call him those words, its like you are cosigning that those words are the truth and acceptable. Its just ignorant, Ignorant and disrespectful is the best way to put it, It sucks that people still speak like that. On top of all that, say you're band is on stage and you use those words, you are ostracizing anyone in the audience who may be homosexual or African American, which is a shame because we all come to hardcore/punk to get away from the ostracizing nature of real life, when it starts to happen in the place we come to for that escape, it becomes even more of a problem. When you used it on stage I was surprised because you are such an intelligent and respectful person it kind of caught me off guard. I understand what you were "trying" to say in that moment, but there could have been a better word to use you know? Another thing I find odd, Is the bands that preach like loyalty and family and brotherhood etc etc, we all know the type, they are the first bands to use faggot or nigger, its crazy to me. Its crazy in 2009 that I see this as an issue, or even you see it as an issue to bring it up to me. Doesn't it seem like this is an issue that should have been figured out, years ago?


3- You know i was stoked to be at shows over there and actually have a few people that weren't just rich white kids (Chaka not Chaka!) running around me (unlike Australia!), growing up in Philly was it quite multicultural? and for the most part will shows over there (i only really saw Cali) have a few African American/ Latino/ whatever else dudes repping?

Where I grew up was multi cultural yes. Shows on the east coast have generally been that way for my entire time in hardcore. But that in no way takes away from hardcore being a white heterosexual male dominated thing. As far as social class, I grew up below middle class, my family and friends families did the best they could, However I've met more kids in hardcore with money than I have who grew up in a similar situation I did, I don't see this as a good or bad thing, I don't tack growing up poor to being white/black/latino or whatever, being broke has no color. A lot of poor kids I know have shitty attitudes, so do a lot of kids I know with money, and some are the most kind hearted people I know, The wheel spins both ways. With that said, shows have always been great in the are I grew up in , Philadelphia, Nyc is an hour and half away, DC is three, Baltimore is an hour or so and if you want to get really crazy, Boston is about 5. I have no regrets about seeing bands because anyone that played a good amount of shows had to come through that area and I had more then enough opportunities to see them. You were so psyched at sound and fury ahah I remember,


4- You have recently started a new "blog" (that word fucking sucks) that so far has 2 great in depth i/v's and some personal writing.
Who else do you have plans on/have you started interviewing? and what do you hope to get out of it?

I don't have a specific goal I want to accomplish. Everyone I know always tells me to pursue writing, I guess this is my way of doing it but on my own terms. Interviews I have coming up, Justin Broadrick from Jesu/Godflesh/Napalm Death, Dan Yemin from Lifetime/Kid Dynamite/Paint It Black, I'd like to interview more people, I find interviews to be the most cathartic form of writing, I basically ask questions based on topics I feel and based on their answer it helps me feel better about myself or the world around me in its own strange way, I don't know if that makes sense.


5- Ok, this question is mandatory, no easy way out, i know your a music lover, so you gotta answer this, you are getting locked up for 10 years (fuck the standard your stranded on an island question, haha) and you can only take in an ipod with 10 albums on it to get you through that 10 years. What 10 albums are they?

I want to say I would pick some eclectic bunch of music, but I would probably stick with this that are comforting.

Supertouch-The Earth Is Flat.
Dinosaur Jr-Bug.
Nirvana-In Utero.
Jesu-Jesu.
Cro Mags-Age Of Quarrel.
Nas-Illmatic.
Neutral Milk Hotel-On Avery Island.
Catpower-Moonpix.

Fuck I don't know man this list sucks, I give up. Sorry.

Craig Setari (Straight Ahead, Rest In Pieces, Youth Of Today, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All)

1- You have been in pretty much every great NYHC band ever, tell me the first thing that comes to mind when you think of each band;

Straight Ahead- my baby
Rest In Pieces- quality concious
Youth Of Today- ego driven
Agnostic Front- boot camp
Sick Of It All- durable n determined


2- The Straight Ahead Discography cd/lp , is it ever going to be released? You know kids would be siked, send Graham all the tapes and lets make this thing happen!

-i dont think so,everything has been "blown up" so i feel lets not exhume SA, let it rest where it lived,in the past w/out the self glorification.


3- Tell me a little about your time in Youth Of Today. I know you didn't have exactly have a ball, what was the problem? and also tell me some stories about your time in AF, "One Voice" is a great fucking record, who wrote the majority of those songs? Matt Henderson? and how many times did Stigma do a special "unplugged" performance whilst you were in AF?

-YOT just wasnt my bag,their motives were different,it was all about self glorification not the combined effort toward a common goal. thats not Hardcore to me.
-AF was a blast,went in a boy,came out a man. Matt and i wrote one voice musically,roger wrote the lyrics.
- on occassion Vinnie was unplugged but it doesnt matter...he's a world class entertainer.


4- Sick Of It All, still going fucking strong some 22 years on. Thats crazy that band is almost as old as me! haha What keeps you 4 old men still doing it? and tell us, how is the new record coming along?

- were determined to live free.by that i mean not being under the thumb of the man so to speak,at least not completely. we stay in good physical shape and dont get "old" by avoiding the grind,im talking about the spiritual grind,the system thats designed to take away your dreams and replace em' with what's deemed socially acceptable...just tryin to keep my mind free n open brother. hardcore and SOIA have been VERY good to me...i give thanx everyday.


5- Your have been playing lately with John, Mackie and AJ in the Cro-Mag Jam, i have heard that you guys are tight as fuck and its the best those songs have sounded in a long time. Are you having fun doing that? I can only imagine you and John together, haha.
Also, the next time you come here are you going to man up and get the gloves on and do some real training with me? Iam ready, haha.

-playing with those guys is great. Cro-Mags are one of my favorite bands and its an honor to be chosen to honor such a great and classic band. like i said, Hardcore's been very good to me,i feel blessed and fortunate.
- i learned a long time ago in boxing...never say it,if you can do it than just do it. that goes hand in hand with never uderestimating your opponent. confused? wait till the leather is bouncing off your dome...it'll all make sense. thanx for the interview my friend,your a good man.

Glory, Glory To South Sydney

Its a wide world out there

I just got home from 10 days in Thailand and it opened my eyes a little more to the world and the people that live in it.
It was great to check out a whole different culture and to be a part of it even if it was for a very brief time, and to really realise that no matter who you are, what you do or where you live in the world, basically everyone does the same shit.
Fuck touring, i want to "holiday" with my newly acquired wife to every country in the world before i die.