ISSUE 1, COMING SOON.

YO! you read that right. after last year's half assed attempt, this year i'm more focused than ever. expect big things. shout outs to Not Like You Crew and the BDS posse. BOOM!

KILLER INSTINCT - DEMO: A REVIEW

yo, if you don't know my man Joey from the Poconos you're fucking up. best dude around. anyway i got a hold of the emps for his old bands' demo, Killer Instinct. let's break it down song by song:

1- Intro
i see where this is going. good groove mosh going on. would most definately pit.

2- I'm Not Impressed
boom, goes straight into a fast skank part. pissed off vocals and lyrics, NY style. kind of reminds me of Inside Out NY mixed with like Sick Of It All 7" era. a ill groove part with hi hats and double picking between verses, then boom into a fast part which keeps things interesting, and back to the first part. pretty good.

3- Outburst
the opening riff could've had it's place on the Raw Deal '89 demo, that's for sure. it goes into a fast skank part with vocals coming at you like fire. i really dig the riffs on this joint, very late 80s nyhc which im sure that's what they were going for. Joey and I definately have long nerd out sessions about that particular era. the last riff is more reminiscent of early 2000's bands such as No Warning, which definately isn't a bad thing at all. my favorite so far.

4- Rude Awakening (Outro)
this kicks off with a slowish part, on some Crown Of Thornz tip or something. then out of NOWHERE this ill groove kicks off. just like that. BOOM. bobbing my head pretty hard to this. then it slows down into a crunchy mosh part that i'd see James Dijan windmill to in the NYHC documentary. it picks back up to a low skank style rhythm with a pretty hard riff layered on top of it. dope.

that's it. the production is good, the vocals are really sick (even though he says otherwise) and this is basically a tribute to NYHC of all eras. very dope. i wish they were still a band. got any shirts left? i rock a XXL. peace.

download this shit fool!
http://www.mediafire.com/?ymmnoynzwdn

THIS IS HARDCORE

yo, what's good. karl here fittin' to write up a review for TIH2011. it's my third year going, and as much as i had fun in '09 and '10 i think this year was my favorite one. im gonna do my best to try and remember everything, it was a long weekend.

PRE-GAME:
i got into philly late tuesday night. got to drew's apartment, talked for maybe 10 minutes then went to bed pretty quick. we all got up nice and early the next morning, around like 8. we showered, drew made some ill breakfast burritos then they had to run some errands so i went with them. after that we went to sonic, it was my first time there, the jalapeno poppers and cheese tots were so ill. heather got in town not too long after that so we went back to drew's, watched a couple episodes of eastbound and down then went to pick up heather's friend franny from the airport. after that we met up with drew and lexie at govindas for some veg cheesesteaks and took off to do touristy shit, namely love park and the rocky steps. it was alright. after that we dropped franny off at his hotel and went over to jersey where heather and i had a room for the night.

THURSDAY:
the next morning we woke up, had breakfast/lunch at honeys where i got a ill veg chicken fried steak, after that we went to the liberty bell for more touristy shehanigans. driving around i saw some people i knew from MTL, yelled some shit out of the window in french and stuff. we went to the hotel to check our shit in and stuff, we went swimming for a little while and then headed to the venue. i said hi to all my friends and then the gig commenced.

go rydell from FL opened the fest, they are basically a kid dynamite tribute band, not that it's a bad thing at all. they covered lifetime, that was cool. i didn't watch full of hell. face reality from detroit straight edge were up after, it was a pretty cool set. they covered straight ahead. right after that a newish band featuring bob from let down/mother of mercy on the mic hit the stage. they're called BEWARE and they are a new straight edge band from PA. they were probably one of my favorite bands that night, the reaction was pretty crazy. they played all 4 demo songs and covered Floorpunch - No Exceptions. i moshed. after that sacred love played, i was already hot/tired (the church is a fucking oven) so i went outside. i like them a lot but i figured i had seen them a few weeks before at Screaming For Change. apparently they covered Cro-Mags - Death Camps which is one of my fav non-AOQ mags songs. im still kicking myself for missing that one. oh well. Disengage was next, they opened with the United Youth intro. their set was cool. nothing groundbreaking but it was enjoyable. the new songs sounded chill. Mindset played after. the reaction was the craziest ive ever seen for them by far, it ruled. they were also very tight. and they played a ssd cover. madness. i took a break and didn't watch reign supreme or bracewar but im sure they were good. i went inside to watch foundation from the back. they were really tight as usual. shout out to my man evan for rocking the mic for a second. Underdog played after. the pit was awesome. the setlist was perfect. everyone that stuck around inside were really into it and that was cool. they also played for a while which was a bit tiring but i had tons of fun nonetheless. after it was all done we got some cool drinks and walked back to the hotel. there was talk of a party on the roof like last year, i went to scope it out and there was a few heads hanging out. i stuck around for 5 min then went to wawa with my dudes joey and victor. when we came back everyone got kicked out and there was like 60 people waiting for the elevator on the 24th floor. apparently some idiots had ruined everything for everybody. typical. whatever, i went to bed kind of early and woke up feeling great so that was fine.

FRIDAY:
we got up, i went swimming with pat and chuck. the manager came up to the pool area cuz he had a noise complaint or some shit, maybe it has to do with the fact that 10 hc dudes with shaved heads and tattoos were doing cannonballs and one norm came up and left and warned him or some shit. whatever. anyway then we gathered everyone and rolled out to new harmony where a bunch of us met for some good vegan food and laughs. the dim sum was ill, i ate like a pig so that was tight. after that i think we went back to the telly to chill for a bit then went to the venue after a while. i didn't catch wrong answer but made it inside in time to watch Praise, who had a new band slide in and play some songs called Peace. it's steb from TFS on the mic and Mike C from Mindset on the crunch, i didn't recognize anyone else. they were REALLY good and i look forward to seeing them again. anyway Praise were really tight. shout out to them for using a tambourine and making it sound cool. i spent the day hanging outside until Mouthpiece played. i bet i missed a lot of cool sets, but i'd rather be hydrated and not feel like crap for the bands i REALLY wanna catch. anyway i went inside when mouthpiece were about to start. a pretty good reaction, people were moshing, some diving and a lot of them knew the words too. they covered Chain Of Strength - True Till Death, sans Curt this time. i don't give a shit about any of you nerds who say Chain wasn't a real sxe band, that song still fucking rules. also respect to Mouthpiece for having a full sxe line up. "what it means and what it meant, nothing's changed in me" really rings true. Title Fight were next, i skipped them to rest and chill outside. im sure they were great, i like them a lot but thats the thing with fests, you can't watch EVERY band. well you can if you hang out in the 21+ or VIP area... haha anyway. TOKEN ENTRY were next... i honestly didn't know what to expect but it was so awesome. if you didn't watch them you're a fucking poser. they played all the hits, the pit was so fun. shout out to everyone on the stage and in the pit during "The Edge". if you know, you know. anyway H2O played after. again i spent their set hanging outside/away from the heat and noise of the venue... i heard they were great though which isn't surprising. their live set is always good. finally, it was time............ from the first chord and the "WE'RE BACK!!" chant, people started diving and pitting. YOUTH OF TODAY hit the fucking stage. i had my spot right at the front and had many a diver jump over/on top of me but i didn't care. all i did was scream my lungs out to my favorite songs and finger point in true edgeman fashion. their set was pretty good, a lot of my favorite songs were missing but then again they have no bad songs (except for Time To Forgive, way to ruin a classic). everyone had a good ass time. anyway after they played we went outside, got some wawa, shot the shit with everybody and kicked it outside before going back to our rooms. i passed out immediately.

SATURDAY:
once again my ass was out of the bed by 10am to go swim with pat and chuck. best way to wake up. i was bustin' cannonballs left and right for a little while then i went back to my room to shower and get ready to bounce. i wanted to show up on time for Stick Together and that's what i did. they were pretty cool, Ned was pitting instead of playing guitar that was kinda cool. they covered Side By Side and SSD. i think they mighta played a new song, i can't remember my memory sucks. fun set. Coke Bust played after. i was outside but i heard them play YOT - Slow Down. seeing as it wasnt played friday thats kinda cool. i didn't watch any band til Rival Mob played. people were going pretty nuts which was cool. they played the intro to Invasion - The Fight, i guess me and my man chris luke were the only ones pitting and any other so called LOCjocks were too busy waiting in line for merch or simply had no idea what the song was... get some knowledge in ya. anyway their set was cool. Brendan dropped the n-bomb on stage. the next band i watched was Betrayed. i hadn't listened to them in so long but they were one of the first bands i got into when i first started listening to HC so i was stoked to see them. they didn't disappoint! the setlist missed a couple songs i wanted to hear but they were really tight. im probably a dumbass for missing District 9, but the only song i really know from them is Victim. did they play it? i hope so. good song. didn't watch Ressurection, id rather see a Release reunion. wishful thinking i guess. caught the tail end of Damnation ADs set. they covered GB - Hold Your Ground, it sounded kinda weird. Mike DC's forehead was bloody like he walked out of a ECW match or some shit. i made sure to catch cold world, i didn't watch them in '09 or '10 but since it was the last time i'll see them for a long ass while i figured i would. they were really good. the pit was chill, not too violent as people were getting pretty tired. understandably so. bane played after, i made sure to catch them as they always rule live. i had my spot under the fan on the floor so i was literally chillin' for most of their set. i have nothing else to say about them, except i pitted/piled on during Count Me Out. i missed strife. i watched blacklisted from the back, i never got into them but watching the pit, shit was pretty crazy. and they were really good. RIP? maybe. Terror wrapped up a pretty cool day. i never listen to them on record but live they fucking bring it. so anyway after that we all hung out some more, wawa, roaming the streets of philly, all that shit. then it was time for bed.

SUNDAY:
aight so i was gonna go swim in the AM but, surprise surprise, it was pouring rain outside. good thing i had brought a rain jacket. i didn't leave the room til like 1 so i missed 10 minutes of Dead End Path's set but what i caught was pretty fun. shout out to Uriah. after that i figured since i didn't care about anything til DTN was playing, me joey and heather went out to this pizza place on spring garden. i had two slices, heather got a eggplant parm sandwich and joey got a big ass stromboli. it was good and real cheap. i'll definately go back there whenever im in ILLadelphia again. anyway we made it back for Down To Nothing. they were really good. played my favorite jams (I Can't Believe My Eyes and Smash It) and the pit was kinda wild but still fun. can't complain. Killing Time played right after and i hadn't seen em in over two years so i was REALLY stoked. they played basically everything i wanted to hear. everyone was just trying to have a good time and that was really awesome. shout out to Lynn and the Quebec City dudes. Reach The Sky played next, damn it was like a rock block or some shit. there was a fight during the first song, i don't really care about going into details since its not important, but it was funny how they said "you picked the wussiest band on the bill to start the fight?" hahaha. anyway they picked up right where they left off and were awesome. highlights include "she really loved you" and "maybe next year". i went outside after to cool off, i missed From Ashes Rise. i never really got into them but i seen em in MTL and they were cool, so im sure they were good tonight. we all went in for the last band of the fest, MADBALL. in all honesty, i was very disappointed by their set list and by the time it stopped sucking no one cared to go off as hard as they should have. still they played pretty good and "set it off", "get out", "it's my life" and "smell the bacon" were worth enduring all the songs i don't care about. anyway after that we all went outside, said good bye see you next year to all our friends, got more wawa and went back to our room. i showered that night cuz i smelled like i walked through a swamp or some shit. the next morning Heather and I drove out to her parents' house in MA where we hung out til Thursday.

alright, done. shout out to all my friends, old and new, Joe Hardcore and everyone behind TIH. it was one of the best weekends of my life for sure. hardcore still lives! XXX

PS: un gros shout out a tout le monde du Quebec.

underdog, boston, etc

yo what's up everyone, karl here to type up a quick summary of my weekend in boston. my stay, albeit a bit short was very fun and was one of the best weekends ive had in a while. here goes.

i left MTL late at night friday around 11:30 to head down overnight on the greyhound. no wifi which kinda blew but whatever. customs were a breeze, biz as uge. i got into boston around 8ish, it was raining so that was wack. i went to starbucks for a frap then to dunkin donuts for a bagel and hash browns. i love that place. anyway so i was just bummin around til the stores opened and i could go shopping. first i went to macys to browse around, i got a polo cap for $16. sweet. then i went to champs. got some socks (im ocd about socks and buy them whenever i see them) and some dope nike frees which i wore all weekend afterwards. them shits are comfortable. oh yeah i also got a cool ass nike shirt with the basic logo oversized and turned sideways. blue ink on white tee. fresh. anyway so after that i made my way out to mass ave to hit up bodega. that joint rules. i got a HUF hat and a bodega tee. staff is cool as fuck too. walking back to the T i bumped into my buddy aaron, he was headed to an indian buffet and was sposed to meet up with gil and invited me to tag along, alas i had alredy got in touch with my dudes keith and mike and planned to meet up with them on harvard square. we chit chatted under the rain for a few minutes then we each went on our way. i got off the T thinking i had time to run to urban outfitters to get some jeans, but when i was paying for them they were calling me saying they were waiting for me. oops. at least they were nice jeans. so anyway, i hop into mikes car, we say our what's ups and catch up a bit. we headed to spike's to get some food and i figured i should try the kennel club challenge. following edge day 2009's epic failure at it (i stopped at 4 1/2) this year i was a man on a mission.

12:39 PM

12:57 PM

im happy i did it but never again. i felt like shit afterwards and still feel effects from it in my stomach. and if not being able to deal with eating more soy in 20 minutes than a human should in a week makes me a pussy, youre probably right. that shit is full of estrogen.

so anyway after that we hit up City Sports and i got a northface jacket which is probably my favorite thing i've bought in a long ass time. best jacket. we checked out a few thrift stores for kicks then hit up whole foods. keith and I got some refreshments.

blue machine sucka

after that we went to this dude zach's house where keith and mike were chilling all day. i grabbed a change of clothes, we all bullshited for a while and kicked it around the house then got in the whip to drive up to haverhill for the gig. following the traditional fix on beverages at white hen i checked out the record store upstairs then went down to the venue area. i bought some neon am95s off bourbeau. dfj brian pete and yours truly as well a bunch of other people were just chillin outside waiting for the show to start. some kids were out shooting hoops. eventually we all ended up inside and the gig commenced....

Alert got up on stage first. they played a handful of new songs from their upcoming 7" (pre order that shit on www.sixfeetunderrecords.com fool) as well as old demo cuts and covered yot - together to close off their set. it was a good way to kick off the show. kids were into it. i definately was. they had some new tees, and i'm just gonna leave this here...

hehehe

it's all good. i traded a baby blue no for an answer boot to keith for one of these so they can't be that bad.  ;) peace to jake kyle keith and mike.

after that free spirit got up on stage. dfj filled in for them as kenny hurt his arm moshing to cromags in tx. i dunno if it's them or him but they sounded very tight that night. usual set list, demo songs, 7" songs, america's hc comp song (if you don't own that shit you're a moron) and a sick abused cover. IM NOT JUST ANOTHER FOOL! nothing less to say. kids got down, and shit, so did i. good set.

naysayer played after. i judged it was best for me to catch a breather and just watch from afar. i was basically all around the venue at different parts of their set. they opened with a sick intro i just wished i knew what it was. gary had some cool ass things to say on stage and not just mindless dumb shit like a lot of bands that have that general style do. hopefully next time i won't be dying of heat when i see them. 

rival mob was up next, sans evan. i was still wiped from the first two bands so i just chilled on the side of the stage for most of their set. brendan still had some funny shit to say as he always does. i dunno if it was the low turnout or not but it's def not the craziest mob set ive seen. i mean sure there were kids going off but i've seen some way gnarlier pitting to them. anywho it was an interesting set, it sounded kinda thin due to there only being one guitar (no offense to doug free of course) but i still enjoyed it.

the anticipation was over. motherfucking underdog hit the stage. i can't remember specific moments but all i know was i was vibing hard and just so into it that i couldn't remember deets. they played everything i wanted to hear, from now on, back to back, vanishing point, say it to my fuckin face, a lot to learn. great set. people were enjoying themselves and going off. they were super tight and im stoked to see them again in philly at this is hardcore (for which i probably will have a full report of)

heres a vid i found online

photos at: http://www.future-breed.com

merch pick ups:

aj's zine/gil's zine/loc sticker sheet bundle

underdog drowning skater shirt

alert "carry on rip off" shirt

free spirit snoopy shirt

travis grillo gave me a grillos pickles shirt off his back, does that count?

anyway after it was all said and done i rung out my token entry shirt (that shit was gross, straight up) and changed into my newly acquired alert tee for the drive back. we stopped at a falafel joint, i got a hummus  wrap and two cokes. shit was dope. anyway after that we made it back to zach's apartment, where we shot the shit for a while and watch the ten yard fight vhs. after that we all went to bed.

i woke up around 10:30 ish, mike and keith bounced back to wmass when i was in the shower cuz keith had to work earlier than he thought. i packed up my shit, said thanks and bye to zach and went down on harvard sq to this place called veggie planet for brunch. i got a sick omelet with moz, asiago, tomato and spinach in it and some tempeh sausage which was good but not great. i shoulda got the bacon instead. anyway heres how it looked like:

i cleaned that plate up in less than 15 minutes. i was hella hungry. anyway after that i made my way to south station where i succumbed to the pressure and got a pair of slices at regina's. say what you want but i love that chain. after that i got in line to get on and bumped into my buddy conor who was coming back from a pretty long trip. the ride back was quite uneventful. customs crossing back were a breeze also. i got home kinda late but whatever. it was a good weekend and i look forward to seeing everyone again soon. peace.

unfinished biz

hey everyone. heres the unfinished product of what was supposed to be think clear fanzine. i slacked off on that and i even slacked off on this "blog", just goes to show how strong my work ethic is hahaha. the only thing i got together was the interview with Lifers which was the 2nd post on this blog. that interview is now a year old, sheeeeesh... if you look at the intro i had way bigger plans in mind for this. also that thank you list is very outdated to say the least. regardless i hope you enjoy. click on the pages to see them fullsize.

WISDOM IN CHAINS / GRAVE MAKER / BACKTRACK / EXPIRE / HARRIERS / HEAD CHECK IN MTL: A REVIEW.

i went to Berri metro to meet up with Victor, while waiting for him i bumped into JF Pepin (of Mental Crew Canada fame) and we chit chatted for a little bit. he had just bought a ton of records and was catching a bus back to Sherbrooke. anyway Victor ended up showing up and we made our way to the venue. when we got there the doors were just opening, i said what's up to everyone as i made my way inside. there was like 6 bands and i don't have the best memory but i'll try to wrap this up real quick.

Head Check played first, they're a relatively new band and they play a 90s nyhc style with some other influences. anyway they were pretty good, the guitars sounded a bit thin and out of tune at times but it was a fun set, kids were moving a bit. good way to set it off. oh yeah those dudes are all like 15-16 so they're only gonna get better. im stoked to see what this band will grow into.

next up was Harriers, another newer band from Montreal. they have a more modern sound, alot of breakdowns, a lot of mid tempo parts and some fast parts too. they sounded fucking great, their set was tight. you could tell a lot of people were there to see them because the room felt a lot more packed when they started, as soon as they began their first song kids started moshing immediately. some even knew the words to the songs. it was dope to see. another good addition to the MTL HC scene.

Expire got up on the stage after, i saw them in Philly at This Is Hardcore this summer and they were pretty good. last night was no different, they play a hard style of NY influenced HC while incorporating other things that make them a bit more distinguishable. a couple kids were into it, for their first time in MTL it was awesome. oh yeah and they covered Hatebreed - Empty Promises. sweet.

Backtrack were next, opening with Killing Time - Backtrack. i dunno what's wrong with people here but me and victor were the only two singing along and moshing to it. oh well. they played a couple of new jams from their upcoming LP as well as the 7", demo and AHC comp songs. i've seen them a handful of times now and last night is definately up there. nothing else to say about them except lots of fun.

i had to catch my breath so i went to the store to get a water after. i didn't really feel like watching Grave Maker (im sure they were good, just not my cup of tea) so i ended up chilling outside talking to some people about bands when this drunk dude that stumbled out of the bar across the street asked us what we were talking about, then went on to say he loved Iron Maiden (awesome) then told us how his left ear has been ringing ever since he was 17 along with some other shit i can't really remember right now. we went back inside and hung out in the staircase (the best inbetween from the heat of the venue to the freezing cold outside) were a bunch of us just shot the shit for a while. we made it back upstairs to go watch Wisdom In Chains.

now i'm not too familiar with their material and i hardly ever listen to them, but i gotta say that they are definately awesome live. Joe shouted out Yan and Alexa for  travelling to see them all the time which i thought was dope. i was hanging out on the side just watching but did end up in the pit for "Die Young". lots of pile on and sing alongs, it was cool. after it was all done we hung out there for a bit then took off. last night was La Nuit Blanche which meant there was shit going on all night and the subway ran around the clock as well, so there was tons of cops and people all over the place. there was a toilet on a street corner, i took a picture sitting on it for lolz then we got in the metro. there was this girl passed out face down on the floor, probably from mixing pills and booze... welp. some other dude had gotten into a fight. the night was just getting started when we all got on the Green line going towards Honore Beaugrand toward a good night's sleep. 

RIVAL MOB / FREE SPIRIT / COKE BUST / VACCINE / LIBYANS / GIVE / MOB MENTALITY / STICK TOGETHER IN MEDFORD MA: A REVIEW.

it's been a few months since i've updated this. i wish i had an excuse but im just fucking lazy. who cares. i'll try to update more often though

anyways! so just looking at the title, you could guess there was way too many fucking bands playing this gig. but it's all good. there's a couple i didn't watch cuz i needed to snack and get a cold drink and shit but i'll do my best to review this. off we go... oh yeah, go check out pics of the gig on Future Breed.

so heather and i got to the venue around 7:15, the show was supposed to start around 6 so i was kinda illin' cuz i figured we'd be late. i also thought we were lost + didnt end up at the right spot but when i saw people walk around with guitar heads i figured we were at the right place. we got inside and stick together was setting up cuz some of the bands from DC were late or something. i had time to say what's up to some buds and shoot the shit with everyone for a bit before it started so that was cool.

so stick together kicked it off with X treatment, and everyone got moving quick. i still had my jacket on but made the wise decision to chuck it halfway thru the first song. i might retire from varsity jacket moshing unless it's at edge day. anyways, i don't really have much to say about their set except the banter between songs was funny as usual, everyone moshed and everyone had a good time. most people knew the words to both the demo and 7" songs so it was a pretty constant sing along up front. they covered ssd - glue and side by side - living a lie. word. and of course they had some ill merch.

mob mentality played after, i never heard of em but i thought they were pretty cool. i was hanging out on the side cuz i was already winded and it was hot as fuck in that place. + the fact that i didn't have water and ate like crap before the show didn't help things much. anyway i thought their set was pretty cool, a couple kids were moving around too but i think the heat was alredy starting to suck everyone's energy out. i dunno how to describe them but check em out, it's worth a listen.

give got up on stage after, for those who haven't heard them, keith summed it up as "if swiz and supertouch had a baby". i can't help but agree. for their whole set everyone was just chillin' in front of the stage bobbing heads and having a good time. i can't say i'm very familiar with their material but last night was definately a good incentive to check em out in more detail. i caught word that theyre playing with Mindset in toronto in the spring, so im gonna try to go out there and check that gig out.

after their set me and a couple others decided to go where the concession machines were in some other building, and basically it was a pain in the ass to get our shit cuz one machine didnt work at all but gave change (basically spit out dimes and nickels), one other machine didnt work either, one was fine and the last one only had diet coke left... but after figuring out logistics i managed to walk away with my bag of nacho cheese doritos and a bottle of diet coke. drinking something felt good. we all just hung out there for a while, shooting the shit, talking about sneakers and other random stuff which caused me to miss the two next bands.

when i went back to the venue vaccine was just wrapping up their set and coke bust were about to play. im not usually a fan of really fast shit but they do it right and they were fucking cool last night. not a band i'm very familiar with but they had some cool songs, i was just hanging out on the side watching. people got into them and shit so that was cool.

free spirit played after, it was basically what i came to expect and a bit more. good songs, people moshed, everyone had a good time. they played a Rampage cover, that was fuckin cool. they played the intro from the demo which i was stoked on. asides from that it was a blend of demo and 7" songs. again, a good time.

rival mob wrapped up the night and i was chillin on the side of the stage for the first half of the set trying to recoup from what was a pretty hot/long night. i did end up in the pit after tho. anyway, unless youve had your head up your ass for the past two years you know what the fuck they sound like. it was a average rival mob set: funny shit being said between songs, jabs being taken on BOLD*, people going off hard and the band being mad tight. nothing else to say about this. awesome as usual.

so after a long night of pitting, snacking, singing along and some other things we picked up, said goodbye to our buds and left. we put in denny's in her gps but i guess her thing is outdated cuz we ended up at a pub 99, which was closed. with no dennys in the immediate vicinity we settled on burger king. i was a bit skeptical at first cuz the veggie burger in canada is mediocre to okay, but the one in the states is made with a morning star patty. it was probably the best veggie burger ive had in a while so i was stoked on it. we put gas in the car, i got a gatorade and we hit the road, back to her house. i crashed immediately.

p.s. stay away from McDonalds Ice Cream. 
p.p.s. *i love BOLD

CRUEL HAND / BACKTRACK / BORN LOW / REVENGE IN HOLYOKE MA : A REVIEW.

we left Worcester at like 4:30. before the show we went to bueno y sano in northhampton before the show to get some grub. i got a  grande seitan burrito with extra cheese, it was great but it messed with my stomach pretty bad. anyway after that we made our way to the venue, it was early (6:30) but there was alredy a lot of kids outside. the venue was cool, good sized stage but it was really long so everyone was in the back, almost no dives, bummer. im sure its awesome for bigger shows. also the people working security are hardcore kids too so they know what's up. anyway i didn't watch the first couple bands attentively cuz i was catching up with some buddies and i was still recovering from that burrito (that shit was the size of a small child) so bear with me. the first band was called swamps, they were young and sounded like trash talk/ceremony. not my vibe at all but kids dug it so that was cool. it seems most people that were into em didnt stick around for the rest of the gig... it was a school night after all.  then Lifeloss played, from what i heard it kind of sounded like AN/Panic. they were pretty tight too. again not exactly my jam but i can appreciate it. revenge got up there next, you could tell it was their hometown, kids were going nuts. they were supposed to play DYS wolfpack but one of their guitar players didnt know it, bummer. their set was really hard though. born low played after, i watched from the back with Keith and Zach and at one point the pit was wall to wall stage to sound booth. that was awesome. not much else to mention about them, they have that reaper records style which is cool. backtrack hit the stage after, they opened with the first song off their 7", i started moving but kids were burnt out at that point, that's what happens on 6 band bills. they played most of the 7", a few demo cuts and their song off America's Hardcore. no complaints, great as usual. they're coming up to Canada with Expire, Grave Maker and Wisdom In Chains in February apparently, that should be pretty neat. Cruel Hand played last, they played a lot of tracks off the new LP, which i find is dope. i notice they have a sweet thrash vibe to them now, that's awesome. they also played an old track, Under The Ice, which remains a favorite of mine. overall cool gig, we drove Keith back home then went back to Worcester and crashed.

KEITH ALERT - INTERVIEW.

 

Keith is a cool dude. I met him and all the Alert dudes at This Is Hardcore 2009 and we've bumped into each other at shows I trek to ever since. When i started this thing he was one of the first people I wanted to interview, so here it is. Enjoy.

interview done over AIM November 2010.

Karl St-Pierre: ok imma make questions up as we go. you ready!?

throwingxbricks: yeah

Karl St-Pierre: ok state your name, age, place of living and the band/bands you play in.

throwingxbricks: I'm Keith, 22 years old. I live in Springfield, Mass and I play in Alert, and another band I'd rather not mention haha

Karl St-Pierre: word. what do you play in alert and that mysterious band you won't talk about

throwingxbricks: Bass in both bands. I also play guitar in a band called Use Your Head! but I'm not really sure on the status of that band

Karl St-Pierre: aight so how exactly did it begin? what was your first show and first record?

throwingxbricks: For hardcore? First show was kind of mixed but this band from New Hampshire called Mercury Switch played here and that was pretty cool I guess. Not really into them now but it was all new to me so I got hooked on going to many local shows after that. First record? It's hard for me to remember it was either Bane - The Note or the first Suicidal Tendencies record which my friend's mom gave me

Karl St-Pierre: thats cool. so as far as i know alert is a straight edge band, how long have you been straight edge for exactly?

throwingxbricks: Going on 5 years I think. Once I found out what it was I was all about it. I've never really done any drugs or anything before stumbling upon hardcore.

Karl St-Pierre: what's the status of alert right now? who's in the band at the moment and are you guys playing any shows? what's in the future?

throwingxbricks: Puffer on vocals, Kyle on guitar and Brendan on drums. We're basically in the process of writing a couple more songs for a 7" that should be out this winter on Six Feet Under Records. Once we do that I'm not really sure what the future has in store but I know we're all really excited to be doing this record.

Karl St-Pierre: what should we expect for the new record?

throwingxbricks: Definitely expect a similar sound. We didn't do anything groundbreaking or very different that our usual stuff, but I think these songs are more solid and I definitely think this record will be better than the demo. For sure

Karl St-Pierre: word. i dig the demo alot so i'm stoked to hear the 7". how did Alert start and how many OG members are left in the line up?

throwingxbricks: We started summer 08. I had met out original drummer Will earlier that year as well as Kyle and found out they were interested in starting a band influenced by that whole Youth Of Today era sound. Wide Awake, Judge, Side By Side, all that stuff, so everyone got together though at the time no one knew each other except through me. The rest is history. Last winter Will left us to pursue other things and we picked up Brendan.

Karl St-Pierre: you guys were supposed to play This Is Hardcore this year, what happened to that?

throwingxbricks: Hahahaha yeah we were supposed to play a couple songs but it was supposed to be a surprise I guess and some friends found out and posted it on a message board. No more surprise so we didn't play. Not that big of a deal, though.

Karl St-Pierre: is anyone in the band vegetarian/vegan?

throwingxbricks: I'm vegetarian and Mike is vegan. Kyle and Brendan aren't but when we had Will he was also vegetarian

Karl St-Pierre: word. staying on this topic what would be your favorite vegetarian song

throwingxbricks: No More. Awesome song and music video

Karl St-Pierre: definately. that video is also the epitome of style, no doubt. in a normal week, approximately how many hours do you lurk ebay for gear?

throwingxbricks:Honestly I haven't lurked ebay for a while. I just don't have the funds for that anymore, though I once in a while glance to see if I can find that Wide Awake red Schism shirt I've still be trying to track down

Karl St-Pierre: who's your favorite band in 2010 so far?

throwingxbricks: Does Sick Of It All count?

Karl St-Pierre: no.

throwingxbricks: It's really hard then because so many current bands I like a lot. I'd probably have to go with Waste Management or Step Forward

Karl St-Pierre: 1982 or 1988?

throwingxbricks: 1988. most of the bands i like are a lot are from that era, and if i could grow up in any era in hardcore it'd be in nyc between 1987-1991

Karl St-Pierre: nikes or vans?

throwingxbricks: nikes. grew up with nikes all my life and only owned like 2 pairs of vans ever

Karl St-Pierre: Stop And Think demo 1 or 2?

throwingxbricks: 1st

Karl St-Pierre: the way it is or new breed

throwingxbricks: fuuuuuuuck. the way it is. but it's close.

Karl St-Pierre: i think that about wraps it up. anything else you wanna add?

throwingxbricks: Keep an eye out for that new record and for all the youngins reading start bands, make zines, and keep on supporting hardcore bands. Keep this shit alive! XXX

http://www.myspace.com/alertstraightedge

THE RIVAL MOB / FREE SPIRIT / STICK TOGETHER / OVERPOWER / PLANET DANGER: A REVIEW.

 

Chris, Victor, Danielle, Paula and yours truly left Montreal around 9am. Spoiler was supposed to roll but was tied down with a cold or whatever he had told me haha. anyway the drive down was pretty uneventful. we made the traditional Brockville Harvey's stop to chow down on some veggie burgers, got into town around 3 or so and just kicked it and ate food. Chris got a haircut.

we made our way to Rancho at around 8:30 or so, i met up with some of my buds that came up from Buffalo, and went to say what's up to everyone til the gig started. as Planet Danger were setting up i made my way up the stairs and changed into my newly acquired lime green Stick Together shorts (it's like a sauna inside rancho. no way i was wearing pants all night) and hit the pit...

 

Planet Danger from Barrie Straight Edge opened the gig, they have a hard sound reminiscent of what's coming out from the Reaper roster. they are MUCH better live than on their recordings. their crew were definately representing on the floor, i thought that was cool. i couldn't help but get in the action myself at some points. Bob shouted out MTL SXE and was wearing a Plus Minus shirt. that's what's up.

i didn't watch Overpower, i heard they opened with NA ready to fight. thats cool.

Stick Together came on next, as usual they brought it, sans Ned who was on tour with Title Fight. if you haven't heard them, they remind me a lot of Release and harder sounding YC bands from '88. played Breakdown and CW gonna bust as well as the demo cuts, a few new songs to come out on a 7" and another song that will come out on a SFU comp that talks about racism in hardcore, "i dont care if some people wanna go in corn fields and burn crosses and shit, but if you see that shit happen at a hardcore throw those people down the stairs" or something close to that was what hoodrack said before playing the song, awesome. near the end of their set one of the overhanging speakers' chain got off somehow so the speaker was only hanging from one chain instead of two. the soundguy got a little heated, but it's to be expected when that stuff happens. to the delight of most the front monitors were gone, i still have no idea why they keep them there. anyway fuck all of that, Stick Together ruled. WBSE.

Free Spirit played after, and by now the people who didn't know, know. solid both on record and live, they opened with the first track on their 7", played the song they have on AHC and a handful of others, but mostly 7" and demo material. they played a NA cover i didn't recognize at all and closed with Straight Ahead... THAT was awesome. "because i care, i'll take a fucking stand!"

then Rival Mob came on... shit got crazy real quick. i picked my spot on the side of the stage, at that point i was pretty winded so i just wanted to watch and sing along. tons of dives, tons of pitting, great stage banter as usual, no YOT cover, i was kind of bummed but what are ya gonna do. i think they played their whole HC4HC 7" and a few tracks off the 12". kids were really going off, for the first time when i said "im gonna take it easy during RM tonight" i actually did. kids were asking for another song but they weren't having it.

i really can't say anything else about this show, again lots of dives, lots of pitting, a handful of drunk idiots tryna sweat people on the floor but it is to be expected at shows in a bar. peace to Greg, Vik and Mike le Mosheur for setting this thing up. it was around 1 when we rolled out of there, we decided to hit the town and get some burritos... just so happens the joint was smack dab in the middle of the clubbing area of the city, it made for some pretty good laughs. on the real though Toronto has amazing food and the place we went to was a good example of that (i think the girl taking the orders was having a bad night but that's another story). we went to brie's to crash for the night, got up around 9:30 and went to Sadie's, another TO tradition, for breakfast. Chris and i got awesome vegan chocolate chip pancakes, they fucking ruled. we took off not long after that, dropped D'Arcy, Brie and Danielle off at the TTC station and went home. the drive back was pretty boring too, i ate doritos, m&ms and got a couple of cream cheese bagels at tim hortons. it'll feel good to eat real food later tonight...

 

a la prochaine,

-Karl.

REVIEWS.

EASY WAY OUT - DEMO

those dudes are from the niagara region, i met some of them at TIHC fest this year. anyway i ended up DLing the demo. right when the first note hit, i noticed the production sounded really raw and powerful, something which in my opinion lacks a lot in newer HC demos. good riffs, there's a clear Lockin' Out/NYHC influence but those dudes manage to maintain their own sound without completely stealing riffs. the only thing i could comment on is, the vocals should be a bit more amped/intense but on the real tip, one of the better demos i've heard in 2010. hopefully those dudes continue in the same direction they're headed and play shows around.
http://www.myspace.com/easywayouthc

DISENGAGE - LOOK BACK
a new band from wilkes-barre featuring the dudes from bad seed/title fight, disengage dropped their look back e.p. in the late summer on back to back records, and let me tell you, it's a total banger. it sounds like a mix of warzone and insted, yes that's awesome how this 7" is. my favorite song on this is the self titled one, especially this line: "i have faith in this hardcore scene, cuz it depends on you and me!". i also really dig the Magnus cover, it even features Dan CW on guest vocals. i love songs about being angry and shit as much as the next guy, but posi edge shit was my first love and it's nice to hear a band execute that perfectly.
www.myspace.com/thewilkesbarrestraightedge

WRITTEN OFF - DEMO
 yo, from the birthplace of the Slugger comes Written Off, and they dropped their Louisville Straight Edge demo last summer. an obvious LOC influence, i'm really digging the re-emergence of this style. they kick things off with a pretty decent intro, the first few songs are pretty cool but i really prefer the second half of the demo. the vocals are pretty good, i wish the guitars were louder but aside from that i really can't complain. 10 minutes of chill mosh. if you got down to Jungle Jamz you'll definately dig this.
http://www.myspace.com/writtenxoff

LIFERS INTERVIEW.

Those two cats are behind arguably the best zine that came out of Mount Real in recent history. I got 'em to answer a few questions and tell the people what's really good... it's a bit dated but i figured you guys could stll enjoy. 

interview done via e-mail spring 2010.

Karl: whats up guys, how's everything? what's keeping you busy these days?

Hugo: Life is good, right now I'm unemployed which is kinda shitty, but it gives me more time to work on interesting things like the next Lifers issue, drawing flyers and playing guitar. I'm also working on the music for some short movie my friend is making for school so that's really cool.

Tremblay; Yo dude, life is good. I was on the road with Beneath The Massacre and Dying Fetus all over Europe for almost a month, it was pretty crazy. I just got back to work a couple days ago, and I can't wait to get back to school in September.

-you guys lived in MTL all your life right? how was it growing up here?

H: I lived in Montreal nearly all my life. I was born here, then moved in a small town on the south shore when I was 4, then moved back to Montreal when I was 7 because my mother was getting depressed in "the woods." Both of my parents grew up in Hochelaga/Centre-Sud so that can explain why we moved back to Montreal fast. I grew up in the east-end of Hochelaga, which I guess is definitely not the fanciest place on earth but still a good place to live. Growing up was cool, started skateboarding around 9-10 so me and my friends were always skating in a pack, exploring other neighborhoods trying to find skate spots. We were all living near a metro station so it was 15 minutes metro rides to downtown, the Olympic stadium and other skate spots. Skateboarding was the only thing we thought about until we discovered girls and listening to music on drugs. But other than that, growing up was pretty smooth, even though the neighborhood was really poor in some parts and some people I knew got caught up in some shit. I never had any real bad experiences, and I always had people that were there for me so I never really fucked up bad. I think I've done ok so far. I just learned that one of my childhood friends has lost most of his teeth because he's a heavy meth user now, that's kinda fucked up.

T: I lived in Longueuil all my life, mostly the same thing as living on the island, I was closer to Downtown than anybody who was living up to 20 minutes away from it. It was great, I was into lot of shit when I was younger, I was into drugs and girls. I moved to Montreal 5 years ago.

 

-when exactly did you start getting involved in hardcore? what's the first hc record you bought? first show you attended?

H: I discovered what the "hardcore" scene was around the end of 99/early 2000. I was a young cat who mostly listened to punk rock & hip-hop but I was always open-minded when it came to music, I was always buying with records and trying to learn about more stuff. Music was always important in my parents house so I grew up with a urge to discover music. I remember browsing to my pops record collection all the time, just looking at album artwork and learning to read and stuff. The first time I heard The Misfits, Black Flag and Minor Threat was in some skate videos, but I really had no clue about who they were, what they had done or what they were about, they were just punk bands to me but I was really into them, and still am to this day. Anyways, around the beginning of 1999 I bought a "Victory Style" comp and fell in love with bands like Snapcase, Hatebreed, Integrity, Buried Alive etc. From then I started getting more and more interested in HC and went to stores like the Underworld or used cd's places downtown, and also learned tons off the internet with sites like QCHC, which basically just made me learn that there was a local scene here in Montreal, but there was also shows in smaller cities and that made me even more interested. To know that there are other little "scenes" out there with people doing bands, booking shows and basically the whole DIY thing made me even more into it. I've had seen a couple punk shows before that, but the first time I went to a show to see a hardcore band was Snapcase with Down By Law & Mustard Plug at the Spectrum in March 2000. That was the first time I saw a "modern" hc pit and seeing people going off was awesome. Then the next show that made it for me was Hatebreed, Cold As Life & The Hope Conspiracy at the Rainbow in May 2000. That show is the one that confirmed that I'd be fucking around with this thing for the next couple years. Cold As Life scared my ass shitless and I was blown away. At the end of Hatebreed's set, I went to the bathroom in the back to get some water and there was this guy with a broken nose and blood everywhere. Hatebreed played an encore and the guy just ran back to the pit. That was cool. And after that I just started going to shows all the time, the Montreal scene was active and had a lot of bands so I attended every show that I could.

T: I started going to punk shows when I was around 14. I was always at Warped Tour, Snow Jams and all that shit, so I was watching Hardcore bands like Sick Of It All, H20 and Straight Faced. I was really into those kinda bands, and I had no idea what Hardcore was back then. A lot of my friends from Longueuil were into Hardcore at that time, so I started going to shows with them. I don't think I remember the first show I went to, probably Cro-Mags, Earth Crisis, All Out War and Shutdown at Rainbow, or something before that. First CD I got was probably Hatebreed - Satisfaction Is The Death Of Desire, I think it's one of the most influential Hardcore records of the 90's.

-what have you been listening to lately? Favorite bands right now?

H: I listen to so much stuff that it's kinda hard to narrow it down, my music mood changes every 2 hours and I love listening to music on shuffle, but right now I listen to a lot of Neil Young, especially "Chrome Dreams", KenLo Craqnuques beat tapes & a lot of Type O Negative. Some records I always listen to are Dinosaur Jr "You're Living All Over Me", Carcass "Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious", Smashing Pumpkins "Gish", Motörhead "Bomber", The Misfits "Earth A.D.", E-Town Concrete "Time 2 Shine" & "The Second Coming." I listen to old Kool G Rap almost everyday and rap is always predominant in my headphones. I also love late 60's / early 70's soul & funk and there is a some records that I couldn't live without. But if you want to narrow it down to HC, Crown Of Thornz, Leeway "Desperate Measures" always, Cold Front LP, Maximum Penalty demo and "East Side Story", Burn, and all the NYHC classics for sure. As for current HC, I love Steel Nation, Bad Seed, Dead & Dying, Terror, Trapped Under Ice, T.N.S. and Omegas. I love the last Death Threat 7" and "Peace & Security" is still an amazing record. Also looking forward for the new Bitter End LP and even though they are not HC, my man Louis's new band Solids is going to be one of Montreal's finest bands in the upcoming years.

T: Favorite bands right now: Enforcers, Death Threat, Trapped Under Ice, TNS, Steel Nation, Said & Done, Sons Of Disgrace, Kickback, Maximum Penalty, Backtrack, Naysayer, Fire & Ice, and Bitter End. Playlist of the week: Roc Marciano – Marcberg, Merauder - Master Killer, Dead End Path - Death Walks Besides Us 7", Kool G Rap – 4,5,6, Downpresser - Age Of Ignorance

-you've been doing Lifers for a while now. how did that start? who came up with the idea of doing a zine?

H: The idea came when we came back from the 07 Superbowl and I think the goal was to start a blog that would interview not only musicians but also the people who were part of the scene for some time. We were eating at Just Noodles on St-Laurent and Tremblay went to the bathroom and came back with the name Lifers. So after doing a couple interviews and stuff on the blog we knew we had to do a printed zine, and since I love zines and I do ok when it comes to graphic design and stuff I started working on the first issue. The first issue was 72 pages, cover included, which is kinda big for the first issue of an unknown zine. It took me like 2-3 months straight to do the page layouts and we had Spoiler to do the cover art, and I think it is, and will become, a classic HC artwork. It was our first attempt at doing a zine, and I think we sold about 500 copies in a year and a half. We wanted to send a ton of copies in Europe but the shipping rates were so expensive that we couldn't afford losing more money, so we sent some copies here and there and were able to sell them at shows in Quebec and the USA. We had bands like Terror and Trapped Under Ice who really helped us out and brought issues of the zines with them on tour. The second issue had less pages but was more well-done in my opinion, and the cover art was also great, courtesy of Dylan Drug Dogs. We talked about doing it a bi-yearly thing, but it is so much time and with other things going on it is hard to keep up. Issue 3 will be out this year for sure though. The word will be spread. I'm glad we have this project going on and I'm proud of what he have done so far.

T: We are still doing it, not on the same level, but we are still here. Issue 2.5 & 3 are coming soon!

-what about Plus Minus? how did that come together? how are the reactions for the demo? what's your plans with the band right now?

H: Plus Minus started with Simon, who wrote a couple riffs and jammed them with some drummer. He started working at my old job and we were talking about music, and thought it would be a good idea to form a band. I've been playing guitar for a couple years but I'm far from being a great player so I was kinda hesitant at first, but we tried anyway. We asked Ben from Final Word who was Simon's roommate at that time and he was into it, our friend Louis was also down to play drums and then we asked Tremblay if he'd be down to try to sing. We jammed together for fun, came up with the intro and the first song, then just started practicing every week. We were lucky enough to have the right people behind us to get us on the best shows all the time so that helped us get a little more serious about our thing. Simon came with the Plus Minus name, mostly because of the Breakdown album, but there is a little more meaning behind that name besides being just an album title. It was also the first name we all liked so that was it. The reactions for the demo have been pretty good, for some of us it was our first time recording something "serious" so it was a little stressful but I think we did well. Overall the reactions were good and pretty helpful for the most part. Some people were a little weirded out by the vocals on the demo at first, which I thought made us stand apart, but Tremblay wasn't satisfied with them so we respected his choice and let him record them again. Our man Rick Grenier just finished the new mix so it should be available pretty soon. I think this new mix with the new vocals really does us justice, it really corresponds to the energy we try to bring live. As of right now, we are writing stuff for an EP we'd love to record this September. We currently have 2 new songs and a new intro which are definitely a step beyond our demo days in my opinion and I can't wait for people to hear them. We found a studio in Quebec City which we are pretty stoked on, so right now I just want our stuff to be as tight and hard as possible. We just started another band which is basically PM with a different singer and drummer, the band is called Enforcers and is real different from PM music-wise, we have a couple songs now and they sound like a catchy mix between "Age Of Quarrel" and OLC. Fred from Final Word is singing, and our boy Chris Hogan from Brazzers is hitting the skins. So expect Plus Minus and Enforcers to play most shows together as of this summer. Simon and I are also starting to mess around with different styles, we have a couple alternative jams that will hopefully make us rich one day. Be on the lookout for Black Jesus. Oh and I gotta mention that we will be printing new tapes for the "new" demo with a different artwork, we'll probably have them for our upcoming shows in late May and late June.

T: We were hanging out with Ben Bass for his birthday at Blue Dog. I knew wanted to start a band, Ben was into it, so were Hugo and I. Simon got Louie on the phone a couple days after that, and two weeks later we had our first song. I think people liked the demo, except maybe for my vocals. I wasn't really satisfied with the job I did, that's why before I left for tour, I recorded all that stuff for a second time. I'm very happy with the new vocals, and I'm sure people will be more into it that way. It's a lot more pissed and it sounds like what I'm doing live. The new demo will be out this summer! Now we got two new songs and an intro, we wanted to record at least four songs this Fall for a new EP or a split. We are looking to do some weekends in Quebec, Ontario, and maybe the States pretty soon. We can't take the band full time on the road because we got jobs, bills to pay, dogs, girls and all that, but we want to play as many shows as we can.

-what other projects were you involved in before Lifers and PM?

H: Nothing much honestly, I've been doing show flyers for the last 5 years or so and I'm still into it, more than ever. Tremblay rapped in a joke rap band that was pretty hardcore content-wise and I made them the filthiest, sickest design. I'm looking at it now and I find it to be pretty fucked up haha. I had a band with some close friends during most of high school, and it was basically us learning how to play music. We recorded riffs and songs on a old reel to reel recorder, tape decks and all this old analog gear, in the trashiest basement you'd ever seen.

T: I sang in Reality Check for a while, the band was around in around 2006, 2007 maybe. I don't remember. We played two shows and that was it. I was also in a shitty rap group called LCL and that's about it.

-best show you attended? best show you played?

H: Even though we've seen so many great shows in Montreal, travelling for shows in the US is always the best because of the stories and all that, so some of my favorite shows were out of state. Leeway/Merauder in Clifton Park, NY in 2006, Merauder/100 Demons/All Out War in Brooklyn in 2007, Killing Time at The Pyramid in 2008, Only Living Witness in Cambridge 2008. Carcass at the Medley in 2008 was amazing, they ended their set with the last riff off "Carneous Cacoffiny', which is my favorite Carcass song. Danzig singing Misfits songs with Doyle at the Medley in 2006. I did my longest headwalk in existence during the intro to "Not Of This World". Obituary at Foufs last autumn was unbelievable, a hundred times better than the time I've seen them before in Clifton Park. Public Enemy in 2008 doing "It Takes A Nation..." in it's entirety for the Montreal Jazz Fest, Chuck D being one of the best frontmen I've ever seen. Ice-T at Foufs in front of like 100 people top. Negative Approach at the 2008 Superbowl, not as insane as I've thought it would've been, but still some awesome memories from that set. As for best show we played, I would say the Guns Up show this past January at L'Inco, it was our first time playing there, the place was packed, people knew the songs, moshed, and we were tight. That was a good night.

T: The best show I've seen is Death Threat & 100 Demons in Montreal at l'Inco in 2001. The weekend we did with Death Threat, Revenge and TUI was crazy, especially the one in Quebec City.

-breakdown or raw deal?

H: This is really hard, but if we are talking about demos I would have to go with Raw Deal. I love the Breakdown demo and "Safe In A Crowd" is one of the hardest songs of all time, but I'm definitely feeling the RD demo better these days. If we're talking post-demos, then I just can't answer, because you just can't compare "Jail Of Depression" to "Fools Die."

T: Breakdown.

-age of quarrel or best wishes?

H: "Age Of Quarrel" without a doubt, but "Death Camps" may be my favorite Mags song. I really love both, but "Age Of Quarrel" is unfuckwithable and has "It's The Limit" and that's the ultimate Mags song in my opinion. AOQ is simply flawless, compared to BW which has one of the worst songs of all time, "Fugitive". But I gotta mention that I LOVE "Alpha Omega". There was a point in my life where I listened to it more often than fucking AOQ.

T: Age Of Quarrel.

-biohazard s/t or urban discipline?

H: S/T, even though I love UD. The snare sound is awful but I like it. The songs are much more degenerate, it is the kind of record that I can considerate a riff bible. "Skinny Song." Imagine that record with the budget they had for "UD" or even"State of the World Adress." Bobby Hambel is the man.

T: That's a tough one. I will go with the Self-Titled because of Skinny Song.

-favorite sneaker?

H: Hi-top Dunks, nothing fancy, "Be True To Your School" colors especially. I've been meaning to cop a pair of classic white Stan Smiths for a while but I always pass on. I love my Wallabees, they're the best. I also love my pair of Infrareds, but I'm definitely not a "sneakerhead" and I'm not wasting paychecks in shoes.

T: Damn another tough one. Top 5: Air Max 90, Jordan 4, Air Max 95, Nike Dunk High, Air Max Light


-that's it. thanks for your time! any last words? shout outs?

H: Peace to all the Lifers Crew dogs in MTL, QC City, TO, USA & Germany, Jayzee the dog, Gilles Café L'Inco, Lafleur St-Denis, Coaticook Ice Cream, Karl leader of the dive bomb in MTL*, and finally, no peace to all of those dirty chickenheads running around.

T: Thanks for the interview son. Be on the look out for Plus Minus new demo, Lifers issue 2,5 & 3. Shout out to Lifers Crew Worldwide, BTM Crew, AOWNICK, Bmize, Drug Dogs Zine, SP, TUI, Steel Nation, all my dogs from Montreal, Quebec, and all over the world.

*ed note: every Jedi has his Master... give thanks to Tony Frenchman for the tips haha

check these out: 

Plus Minus

Enforcers

Lifers

INTRO

Yo, this is my first attempt at a hardcore blog/zine. I tried to put together a paper zine but i got lazy so this is all I got. I hope you like it regardless. Peace.