The History of American Graffiti

I've never really been into Graffiti. I do like it but not enough to go out there myself or even learn anything about. I can dig a nice piece when I see it in the streets and I certainly enjoy the influence it has on Hardcore. Gotta love that Breakdown logo to name just one example.
Checking up on the various Blogs I follow I came across some info on a recently released book called "Paint it back: The History of American Graffiti". Unfortunately it was only about a scheduled signing in NYC so I had to browse the web all on my own to find out more. And I did. So to save you the gruelling process of googling yourself just hit the picture below to get more info or click here to order it from a retailer in Germany. Of course you could also just use amazon but as we all know there are reasons not to. I'm sure you'll find another source for the book if you're into that kinda stuff and do not live in Germany.

New WOLF X DOWN song + demo release

Did you check out WOLF X DOWN yet? I know I told you to. By now they have 2 songs up on their bandcamp and they are both soooo good. If you're into 90s vegan mosh you'll definitely love them. They are right up there with Birthright, Culture, early Abnegation, early (i.e. good) Morning Again, etc.
And tomorrow they will be playing their demo release show. I really hope my legs will be better by then although it doesn't look like it. Another major bummer having to miss out on that Show. You should really go there.


sorry for the bad quality picture.

SHEER fucking TERROR

It's not really news that the almighty Sheer Terror are... well I wanted to write back together but that's not really the case here. Anyways. They are playing Shows again and when I saw them playing Antwerp earlier this year Paul mentioned some new recordings that were about to be made.
Ever since I have been siked to death and about two weeks ago the good folks over at Reaper Records 'finally' put a new Sheer Terror 7" up for pre-order.
It might seem a little late to post about it now but if you follow this blog you will know why I didn't do so earlier but I would be damned if I didn't post about it at all.
I might be taking a wild guess here not having heard any of the new stuff so far but those new songs will probably be better than 90% of the "Hardcore" records that came out since their last release. And you know why? Because it's fucking SHEER TERROR. Go buy that shit now!

New Age Records Discography

For quite some time during the 1990s New Age Records along with Conversion Records were the Labels to watch out for. Not one bad release during those years. Of course there were other labels that put out only quality stuff but they didn't put out as many. So for me Nineties Hardcore will always be associated with NAR and CR. Unfortunately though there is not much pressing info to be found on the web. New Age did finally put up some info on color vinyl pressings but the geek that I am this does not at all cover it for me. And Conversion records? Well, I haven't dug too deep into that topic yet but I don't know about any presing info of theirs on the net. If you do let me know. If not... well it definitely is on my list ofthings to be done.
Now if I do love New Age Records then there is no word for how much my old pal Ferry Krop digs it. I've never seen his collection but maybe it's a good thing because I might not be able to catch my breath again. But he does not only collect the good stuff he also put together the most detailed NAR pressing info in the world... I think ;)
Check it out here and if you've never seen this list before you might wanna have some tissues at your disposal because you will probably cry the way I did seeing all those different pressings and realizing how incomplete your NAR collection really is. Dig in.

General update

The up side of being as busy as I was lately is that now I do have some more money to spend on my one and only addiction: record collecting.
I was able to score some nice gems on the cheap lately but also I paid a little too much on one or the other record which always bums me out. But I can comfort myself knowing that the money went to a guy who deserves every bit of support he can get.
Unfortunately though I'm not able to post about my new records just yet due to the health problems I have to deal with right now that were caused by those damn insects.
Because of them I couldn't even go see the Swing Kids in my hometown although I was looking forward to that Show for about 2 months.
Also it kept me from attending the rehearsal room gig by Sandblaster Records newest signing Telegraph Road (check out their presence on the web in the link section). Due to that fact there are still no news to be announced for the release of their demo-tape on SBR. But hang tight. I intend to get on that asap.
And one last thing. There will be some new additions to the distro section. Keep your eyes open for some used records from Wide Awake, Face Value, Lifetime, Unbroken, etc.

The Smiths - complete deluxe box-set

Hello everybody,
the last two months have been really, really busy at work which caused the lack of new blog posts but that time is over now. August definitely looks promising. There might actually be a lot of off days coming up. Just like today. Unfortunately my last job was outdoors in a Park that was home to some crazy ass insects which went wild on my legs and now I have to stay home to get rid of the swelling and the inflamation. Seems I'm somewhat allergic to those beasts. But ey... at least I don't have to work.

Just recently I discovered that there is a huge The Smiths box-set about to be unleashed upon us by Rhino Records from the UK including all Albums on CD and LP + all 7"es + a DVD with all the music videos + a lot more.
It seems to be really nice but I realized I'm not the box-set kinda guy. And on top of that this one is a little too rich for my blood anyway. Maybe you can afford and really need this.
But if you're a poor schmuck like me and still want a complete Smiths discography without having to look all over the place there's still the Vinyl Box-set. And even cheaper is the CD Box-set.
Hit the picture for more info and ordering from the Label.

WOLF X DOWN - vegan x straight x edge

Sink Or Swim was a really good Band that my old Band No Easy Run shared the stage with on more than one occasion and it was always good times. So it was a bad thing to see them fold but now some of them have a new thing going Wolf X Down and they are also on bandcamp. You know what to do.

Jeff Terranova!!! Shenanigans and serious stuff!

Jeff Terranova used to play Bass for the incredible UP FRONT (who still play shows) on their classic SPIRIT LP and switched over to take care of the vocals on later releases. And as if that isn't enough he also is the one-man-show known as fucking SMORGASBORD RECORDS. Right now he has a new Band called CONFIDENCE CRISIS (fb) and is taking great pictures.

Over on xSTUCK IN THE PASTx is an interview with him where among other interesting things he shares a really funny tour story about hi-jacking a lawn gnome. It's hilarious!

Check out all this stuff!!!!

Impact Bookings etc. Help a brother out!!!

Does anyone remember Pointing Finger from Portugal? They were a great Youth X Crew Band that folded a few years back but as it was written at least once on the back of a Shirt in 2006 "different ways always mean different lives". My man Rafa who played drums for PF started Impact Bookings a while back and also is in XpressureX. You should know he is good at what he does. If not from knowing PF then maybe because you saw him filling in on drums on the The First Step/ Common Cause Tour a while back. So go check them out.
Diogo who used to sing for PF and does (did?) the awesome Wake Up And Live 'zine is now fronting Critical X Point. Anyone who has ever seen one of his Bands live will know that he is a terrific frontman. Crucial dude right there. So check them out too.

Here are the links and what Rafa had to say:


Hi there!

PRESSURE – FOR FANS OF CHAMPION & CARRY ON
xPx Bandcamp
xPx Facebook
xPx Myspace



YOUR RAGE EP OUT NOW ON:
Salad Days Records (Portugal)
Monument Records (Sweden)
Refuse Records (Poland)
Demons Run Amok Records (Germany)

For merch and other infos:
xPx Merch
xpressurehcx@gmail.com



CRITICAL POINT – FOR FANS OF YOUTH OF TODAY & GORILLA BISCUITS
CxP Bandcamp
CxP Facebook
CxP Myspace

TRIAL & ERROR EP OUT NOW ON:
Commitment Records (The Netherlands)

For merch and other infos:
Critical X Point Merch
criticalxpoint@hotmail.com

For infos about shows and tours:
Impact Bookings Blog
impactbookings@gmail.com





Critical Point will probably tour in September/October. Get in touch if you would like to help with a small DIY show in your local venue.



PEACE!

FUCKED UP - queen of hearts --- official video

and another one that the german gema nazis don't allow us to see while the band puts up a link on their blog. luckily there are other countries who are a little more liberal than germany. in this case it's a blog out of russia that delivers the goods. damn rad video. you mustn't miss this!!!!