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This is kind of the rough story of how I became a punk, or maybe I was always a punk at heart? Well this is how I became involved with punk which lead to me being involved with Sorry State, which then lead to me writing this.  A warning, my memory is complete garbage and the fact that I was able to remember this much impressed me.  I tried to fact check dates but yeah some stuff might actually be out of order.  Also maybe this isn't exactly how things happened but it's what I remember. 

1994-1997

The first real memories I have involving anything with "punk" go back to the early 90s.  My family had huge parties every labor day that were just insanity.  Hundreds of people at the tiny three room a-frame house in the middle of the woods that we were residing in at the time.  Most of the time I was too young to really partake in a lot of the fun minus the pinewood derby racing tournament that happened every year.  Somehow I remember meeting a kid who shared a name with a famous baseball player and we became friends.  He lived like two towns over so we didn't hang out a lot, but every once and a while my parents would drop me off over there to hang out.  I remember seeing MTV for the first time at his house (I'm pretty sure this must have been late 1993/early 1994 because this was the fist time I had heard Snoop Dogg's Who Am I).  Anyways I remember him making me a mix tape that had a bunch of more alternative stuff on it, most of which I can't remember.  I do remember that Green Day's pre-dookie material was on there (I think he had gotten it from his cousin or something, the specifics of how he got it are just all together not there).  I think having access to MTV definitely kept him way more up to date than me and he was always showing me new music.  The tape got a lot of rotations along with my other tapes I remember having (Tom Petty, Foreigner and a lot of other classic rock).  The next year the greater Charlotte area got its first "alternative" radio station 106.5 The End WEND.  This was a huge impact since all we had before hand was classic rock, I remember waiting for the day it actually went on air excited to hear something new and more current. The station also held its first end of year festival called The Weenie Roast that year.  I didn't go to that one but did attend the next year which had Space Hog, Stabbing Westward, Luster the Verve Pipe and more.  This might have been one of the first music related things I went to on my own volition and not just because my parents were going.  Anyways this is diverging too much into how I got into bad alternative music in the 90s.  I went to the Weenie Roast a couple more years and spent all my time obsessively recording songs off the radio onto cassettes since there wasn't really anywhere in town to buy CDs or tapes.

1998-2002

'98 was a big year for me.  I had just started high school.  High school was terrible for me. I grew up in a small southern town that was slowly being invaded by super rich families and really I just didn't fit in anywhere.  My sister is two years older than me and due to my inability to talk to people I would kind of hang out with her friends, who were your typical late 90s alternative crowd, ranging from nu-metal to punk and even juggalos.  I had been buying more punk stuff (real starter stuff and a lot of compilations) from the mall whenever I could, along with the typical mainstream stuff which seemed like real cutting edge underground compared to everyone at my school who listened to hip-hop or Dave Mathews.  The biggest influence though was my sister dating this guy from Philadelphia (which at the time seemed like a whole different world).  He explained a lot to me about music and I would wait till he forgot his cd book in my sisters car and steal it to rip it all to cassettes.  This was how I first heard a lot of classics like Minor Threat and Black Flag.  Black Flag was definitely one of the ones I remember playing a lot because it didn't make sense to me. It just kind of didn't sound like music in the way I knew, because at that point the most punk thing I owned was probably The Offspring (which I let someone borrow and they lost it and gave me a Skankin' Pickle CD in exchange which started my hatred of ska).  Yeah so now I had a very shaky foundation in underground music but really nobody to share it with.  There weren't any bands at our school, there was one punk guy, everyone else was just kind of weirdos but older and so I still didn't really fit in anywhere.  Not until I oddly went to church.  My family didn't ever go to church after we moved from Chicago in 1990 but my mom decided we should try this one church up the street.  We didn't go for long but while there I met these two brothers Paul and Mark.  They were more into punk and alternative stuff and I think I bragged about how I played drums to them at youth group (my dad had a drum set but I had no clue how to actually play it).  A couple months later they called up my house telling me that were starting a band and needed a drummer. I panicked and said yes even though I had no clue how to play.  So then we started our first band Stereotype.  Influenced by everything terrible in the late 90s.  The brothers parents were super Christian to the point of not believing in contraceptives of any sort (resulting in like 8 children) so we had to say I went to church and play more Christian oriented events which mostly meant at local Christian Youth centers which were abundant at the time in the area. The cover picture is from possibly our first show, putting me at 14 or 15 I think.  The other big turning point of 1998 was going to my first punk show.  I remember very little about it but I do remember the lineup being Snapcase, H2O and Boysetsfire.  I knew all of them probably from a Victory Records sampler or something.  I went with my sister and her boyfriend, I don't remember having any life awakening epiphany or anything like most people describe, I just left thinking it was cool. Well maybe it wasn't as big of a turning point as I thought?  I do remember this is my first time experience "hardcore dancing" though.  From there till college I drifted around a lot going and seeing really just anything I could.  I'd go to any show that seemed underground and cool (even though most of it with my current wisdom I would have deemed bad).  Once I got my license in 2000 I stopped spending as much time in my home town and more time down in Charlotte.  One of the biggest things was Manifest Records where I spent lots of time buying CDs and then Records.  It definitely wasn't the best store but always felt cool, with all of their weird little junk around and it was huge.  Sometimes it seemed more like a Spencer's Gifts than a record store but it was home base for a good while (of course until FYE bought it out).  

2002-2007

College was kind of a blur, mostly I have very few memories that stand out.  I still played in bands a lot, usually falling a little more on the bro-mosh side of things.  I would go see multiple shows every week, hang out with punks, skins, hardcore people, scenesters and whoever was around.  I wasn't too happy in the scenes I hung around or the music I played.  I had a roommate who felt the same way, we wanted something that didn't feel like such a shitty dude fest (even though I've come to realize most music scenes are this on some level) and more punk.  This all changed when we got the first Government Warning ep in 2005.  It was everything we wanted, super punk and fast and seemed seperated from all the bullshit we were getting tired of.  We started coming up to Raleigh NC for house shows, buying all the No Way, Sorry State and Grave Mistake releases and worked on starting a band that we liked.  Eventually in 2007 it was time for me to move so I picked up and moved to Durham (which is like 20 minutes away from Raleigh).  This is where I feel like I finally was into punk; everything beforehand seemed like obstacles to get to that spot. I was finally happy with the people around me, the bands I was in, and finally felt like I was part of a group of people who I could identify with.  I felt free to be the giant dork that I am instead of trying to be cool.  Here's a picture of Logic Problem (my first band after moving to Durham) being a collective bunch of dorks in front of a castle in 2009.

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Records Records Records

I probably care more about punk now than ever. Getting to hear so much awesome stuff on a daily basis is pretty amazing. So here are a few things I've been stoked on lately.

Natterers: Toxic Care Cassette- This reminds me a lot of Night Birds in a way.  It has that good pop sensibility with a foundation in great punk.  It manages to be ripping while still being super catchy.  Their demo was great and this is a step forward even.  If this band isn't on your radar then get with it so you can say you were there before they blow up.  

ISS: Endless Pussyfooting 12" - I'm sure I've said enough about ISS by now.  penISS Envy might be one of the best songs ever.  Every time I listen to this I catch another lyric I hadn't heard yet and usually it ends up making me laugh.  But yeah this is essential so don't be an idiot and miss out.

Reptoides: Nueva Especie 7"- 

The cover art on this one fits super well. The music is dark and raw and a little on the weirdo punk side. Are these the reptilian overlords everyone keeps talking about? If so then sign me up for this new world order.  

Booji Boys- Sweet Boy 7"- 

Raw power pop that still has a punk edge in a way most bands are never really capable of pulling off.  Much like The Carbonas' second album which is a blown out mess but some of the catchiest songs written ever.  Part of the song Sister reminds me of the intro to Sweet Rot by Hubble Bubble.  This is a solid ep front to back with 5 hits and then an Undertones cover to top it all off.  

Neo Neos: The Hammer of Civilization 7"-

Chalk up another one for Connie Voltaire.  This powerhouse of prolificness treats us with 3 new songs and a new recording of the great Puke Girl's Class.  All the songs are super twitchy and blown out.  It's a beautiful thing really.  No Dancing is a frantic burst that makes me want to dance around like an idiot.  It's hard to say if this is Neo Neos best stuff since they have so                                                   many great things but it's definitely up there.

Blah Blah Blah.. busy busy busy.. jokes that probably went rancid in the 90s.  Y'all heard enough of that in the newsletter. Hopscotch is right around the corner so we've been restocking the store and moving things from one place to another place and what not and trying to get as much new stuff on the floor as possible. So there's that, if you're local come check it out.  Also we have redone the counter and the front is now covered in show flyers and looks V PUNK (it is featured partially in the photo for this post).  Come to the store and admire our work. Just another step into slowly making this place look more awesome. 
I probably won't make it out to much Hopscotch fun this weekend (I do highly suggest seeing Das Drip play at Legends on Friday if you can) but on Sunday Sorry State is sponsoring this awesome show with some Sorry State bands and new band De( )t which features some people from some things but that doesn't matter much because they rule enough on their own merit.

Hopscotch Hangover and Over  

If you aren't local don't fret, we haven't forgotten you. We obtained a bunch of stuff from another distro that they had laying about.  There are a ton of amazing 90s-10s reissues, bootlegs and dead stock of some classic punk and hardcore.  Lots of Japanese, Swedish, Finnish and other International Punk, Hardcore, Crust and the lot.  It's like going through a distro at a show in the 00s and all pretty great. On top of great records there's a bunch of great books and other various things.  A majority of it is up now but we'll be adding things throughout the week. That said here's a couple of my favorites I ran across.

Christ on Parade: Sounds of Nature 12"

An underrated rager, part anarcho/peace-punk part hardcore, holds a lot of similarity to Crucifix.  Never understood why people don't talk about this band as much. 

Here's a sick video of them playing live in '89

Gepøpel: Complete 1982-1985 12" 
The first time I heard Gepøpel was when someone showed me the great Beware the Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Compilation.  Killer fast 80s Dutch Hardcore. It has a very West Coast feeling to it because it's super fast but with the vocals more sung than shouted. Here's the song that first introduced me to them.

Various: Propaganda 1- Russia Bombs Finland 12" An all-star line up of Finnish hardcore. Really no way you could go wrong with this. Here's one of my favorites from Terveet Kadet. From the first two ep era where everything is just kind of an amazing mess with the distinctive snare drum 1-2-3-4 breaks. Attitude Adjustment: Dead Serious Demo 12" What a service it was when this came out. I had heard the Attitude Adjustment demo through some sort of blog in the 00s, I liked American Paranoia but really latched on to this demo because it sounded less like Anthrax and more like raw hardcore. Anyways yeah amazing USHC that has a lot of similarities to NYHC bands (especially similar to Urban Waste in it's speed and looseness).

Anyways ;TLDR Version- There's a bunch of cool stuff in the store. A small sampling is up above this. Go buy it because there's only one or two copies of most of it.

-Seth

Being sick and hurting my back has put writing on the back burner a little lately. I’m thankfully going on vacation this weekend so hopefully I’ll be back re-energized and ready to knock some stuff out. Thanks everyone for the positive feedback and discussion on the other blog Strange Obsessions. It was fun to write and to read everyone’s response. The next one should be up sometime soon discussing the current state of compilations and some of the ones that have come out lately that I really dig. There’s been so much stuff coming out lately that I was pretty lost on where to start and know I forgot a million things I want to write about but here we go anyways.

Wiccans: Sailing A Crazy Ship 12” - I feel like it’s been a while since we last heard from Wiccans. Their new LP is definitely worth the wait. A blend of psych influenced soaring guitar leads with stompy hardcore that’s somewhere between NYHC and Negative Approach. Wiccans have always managed to stand out from the pack and this LP puts them ahead of it. Here’s a video from the great Will Mecca of their entire set at EINOK this year. It starts out with the great opening track from their new album.

Marc Cone: Now Showing 12” - Another home run from Urochromes frontman Jackie’s alter ego. Super tight drums with simple bass lines mixed with some very 16bit sounding synth. The vocals are definitely the key to how great these songs are though, full of sass and wit. Definitely a fun album all together. Here Is a sick video of Mark Cone playing on the awesome Highland Park TV.

Process of Elimination 7” - Industrial punk? Punk industrial? I’m not super big on industrial music myself, if it sounded like this though I think I would be a huge fan. This is dark and heavy with super raspy vocals that sound like they’re being sung from another room. The drums are a very 1-2 drum beat and everything feels pretty raw, not in a poor recording way or anything. Everything just feels dark and dirty. Definitely cool and unique.

The Bug: Humbug Or So Many Awful Things 7": A pure cacophony of aggression. Super chaotic and unhinged. Before you can wrap your head around what’s happening the song is over and the next one is halfway done. Residual Mope is definitely my jam on this one.

Various: Horrendous New Wave 12”: This is definitely a weird but cool idea for a comp. It’s a handful of musicians and bands playing under fake band names. A couple of the bands are obvious or didn’t change their name (the great Natural Man song Tie Me Up makes an appearance here) and then some are a complete mystery since the album contains no information. The songs range from new wave to minimal synth and some that could be released as KBD singles and nobody would bat an eye (well someone would since you know it’s the internet). Here’s one of the Western Civ song that sounds like some art school punk band from the 70s in a way that I dig.

SBF: Double Blind 7” – Yes! Two new SBF tracks. Two tracks that are both just straight fire. Lots of additional weird background noises are littered through out both tracks. The recording is definitely clearer than the first 7” and this feels more aggressive. The guitars definitely have a more chugging metal feeling to them. Lots of crazy solos going on sometimes simultaneously. Remember Highland Park TV which was mentioned earlier? Well they have a cool set of SBF playing which is pretty awesome and I think the debut of the title track.

Blank Spell: Miasma 12” – Ever since their promo tape for this album I have been anxiously waiting for this record. The wait is finally over and totally worth it. This LP is blazing. Some of the best dark punk going right now. The guitar is a shimmering light of treble coming over the bass which feels super dark and oppressive. The drums are super tight and keep the momentum of the songs at a constant fist pumping tempo. The vocals have an intensity that makes them seem more like commands being yelled at you in short controlled bursts. This is definitely going to be a constant on my turntable for a while. Here’s Vines which might be one of my favorites.

Modern Art: Oriental Towers 12” – A cool reissue of Modern Art’s second cassette. A cross between minimal synth and the poppier side of post-punk, there’s a lot of elements of the music world of the early 80s. The whole thing while being super upbeat and poppy has a gloom that seems to hang over it. It’s like walking through a dying industrial town on an overcast day. Here’s a music video for the very Echo & The Bunnymen esque title track

Ok so as you’ve seen we’re changing things up a little around SSR, especially on the internet end of things. We’re all super excited about it and hope you all are also. This one’s a little long because we’ve gotten a ton of cool stuff in and because I’ve been super behind, but as far as right now goes the plan is that I’ll be posting a more condensed version of the newsletter every other Monday under the name Outta Style. While there’s always a possibility of it not making it up every Monday (for example this is being posted on a Tuesday) I’m going to try my best to make it happen. So with that said the next post will be on June 12th. But yeah there’s tons of stuff to talk about and I know I didn’t even get to half of what I wanted to write about.

Skull Cult: Vol. 1 Cassette - This is six minutes of manic intensity. Lots of lo-fi KBD feels with a midwest flavor. Super treble soaked guitar, cheap casio sounding keys and probably the tightest drums and super locked in, solid as they come bass. The vocals have a very Liquids feel to them, I think it's all of the effects/fuzziness of them. This features member(s?) of the great Buttzz who's great Summer Luvin tape I loved. While Buttzz were very Ramones-esque pop weirdness Skull Cult are more like a hyper-active Nubs. But yeah get in on the ground level before the hype whisks this one away because this tape is HOT! Also go down to your local recruiting station and get yourself enlisted in the cult, I know I'm going to.

Skull Cult: Vol. 2 Cassette - The second helping of Skull Cult's brand of keyboard infused punk insanity. This one somehow seems crunchier yet poppier than the last tape. Maybe it's the addition of a second keyboard allowing for more complex melodies? The keys definitely have more of an Ausmuteants vibe on this one and feel a lot more up front while the vocals get pushed a little bit more to the back. Skull Cult definitely feel free to skip around between the super tight high-energy punk and poppier tunes more akin to related band Buttzz (what that relation is I'm still clueless on). If you liked their first tape then what is there to lose on getting this one? I mean it costs less than your fancy coffee and will probably get you more ready to face the day and in the end make you a better person. Also after some intense research I have found some documentation that makes me assume that Skull Cult is possibly one person and also has live drums.

Nurse: Discography 12” – Let’s be honest, I’m not raking in the money at SSR. I make an honest living doing this but you know am not about to drop $300 on two 7”s no matter how great they are. And let me tell you the two records that make up this discography are pretty great. The first flexi is super raw and once you get past the endless cheat beat you can tell it’s something special. This has a weird feel of American hardcore in the riffs, kind of Negative Approach like in their simplicity. While a majority of it is pretty straight forward and fast the last song sounds like Part 1 or something, it has that slow stomping funeral dirge feel to it. The second Ep definitely is a little clearer in the recording and features a more prominent bass sound to carry the songs. The songs definitely are slower and not the straight 1-2 beat. Everything just feels a million times more competent and clearer. It definitely has more of a Stalin vibe in it’s kind of more mid paced rock riffs with the flanged (I suck at picking out guitar effects) out guitar? Also there’s some sick guitar fuzzed out guitar solos on this one. This big change obviously comes from Tatsu from Gastunk taking over guitar duties. Definitely a cool piece of history, especially if you’re interested in Japanese Hardcore/Punk and don’t have a wad of cash laying around to get the originals. Here’s some cool live footage of Nurse (not the best quality but still cool)

ISS: (Endless Pussyfooting) Cassette – Another bout of acerbic genius from ISS. If you aren’t clear on what ISS is well, there are two guys, one from Whatever Brains and the other from Brain Flannel, pretty much they sample drums and other random things (such as some X-ray Spex sax) from punk songs and then use it as the foundation for writing their own originals. Super catchy and original, I really can think of little to compare this to. If you checked out their great Studs tape you’ll recognize some of the songs on here like the amazing penISS envy which is a song comprised totally of Crass song titles. I can only imagine how hard putting these vocals was. With lots of weird little skits and samples this plays like a bizarre mixtape, all the songs have a similar core feeling to them but are all vastly different. Even the instrumentation on them is pretty all over the place. A really brilliant release all the way through and highly recommended.

Komplications: Human 12” - Whoa this is like everything I want right now. Super fuzzy synths with bouncy drums and very uk anarcho feeling vocals (I know it’s mostly just the accent but the delivery reminds me of The Subhumans) that also kind of remind me of ISS. This feels super light hearted and fun, no gloom to be found here. Everything just feels perfect on this as far as mix goes. This is a joy to listen to on headphones due to some cool panning stuff with the two synths. Punks with synths is a trend I can always get behind.

Kurraka: Otra Dimension Cassette – Every time I talk with someone about Kurraka it’s really hard not to just yell it like at the beginning of their LP. I was actually working at a record fair the other week and saw a person across the room wearing a Kurraka shirt and had to fight everything in me to not just be a nerd and yell it at them. This tape is definitely a little darker and more spacey feeling than their LP, a lot more brooding than raging. Don’t get me wrong though, this thing still rages. It definitely has a lot of ties into the darker side of anarcho-punk, the dark thick fuzzy guitar and bass definitely hit those Rudimentary Peni feelings. The drums pound away while the vocals go screaming off into the void with tons of delay. This one is definitely to listen to in a dark room with some candles lit. This one is definitely going to be played a ton around the shop.

Ataxxia: S/T 7” – Definitely drenched in Scandinavian Hardcore worship, this has some members of other bands but who cares because this rules without having to be legitimized with a previous work history. This is definitely a banger, even the slow stompy parts have so much energy and power. I really love the bass sound on this, it really comes through on the song Anxiety.

Nag – Files 7” – More Nag! Hot off their Total Punk single, this one’s a little darker feeling than False Anxiety, the whole thing seems to focus more on the sonic aesthetics of the group rather than the vocals and chorus like their previous work. The vocals are still there and still super catchy but feel more spread out. But yeah definitely still Nag meaning there’s no reason to not get this. This one still leads to more questions though, like what is the art on the cover? Is it supposed to be a snake (a very similar one is on the Total Punk single). Also is it pronounced Nag or more like Nog? I’m sure we’ll never find out.

Dream Probe: Demo Cassette – On their bandcamp this is described as “Cool Ass Tape” and I definitely agree. New band from Illinois, this is wild and blown out, everything feels in the red on the recording. This reminds me of circle pits at a house show on a beer soaked floor. Definitely super cool and has been getting listens when I’m home alone so I can rage out while drinking my coffee.

Mutual Jerk – S/T 7” – A better recording helps flesh out what was happening on their demo. With very talking vocals that remind me somewhat of Uranium Club or something but with their tongue sticking out at you while flipping you off rather than planted deeply in their cheek. This definitely has a post-punk feel but without the edges sanded down. There’s still lots of splinters and jagged edges to it. This definitely feels more rooted in hardcore than something like Total Control (which the guitar at points reminds me of a little). Listen to while loathing society and other people.

Punk Ekman: S/T 7” – I’m assuming this is at least Joni Ekman from the great Achtungs. Considering that he was one of the main writers of Achtungs stuff this sounds pretty much up that alley but a little more jittery feeling.

Various: Domestic Sampler UNYU 12” – This flat out rules. Lots of weird minimal synth/post-punk from Barcelona. Definitely hits on some of the more avant-garde side of things at points but it’s definitely a cool mix of stuff. The El Grito Acusador song is probably my favorite though.

Erik Nervous – Ice Cream 7” – I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. Erik actually yells on this one but really the guitar stuff on this is a dream and makes the song. But yeah possibly two of the best songs in a very impressive discography. Erik Nervous gets totally punk on this one.