HEX20YR RETROSPECTIVE- HXR002: SPARK LIGHTS THE FRICTION, "Cocaine Honeymoon" CDEP

By the time I had finished college and made my way back to Syracuse, I was curious as to what was going to come next for the label end of the zine I was doing.  I had released one record, and wasn’t sure if I would do more.  I suppose the right thing had to come along.

And as I soon discovered, some friends back in town had just started playing together in a new group.  A local punk/hardcore band called Set In Motion had been playing around for a little while now, but were wrapping up at this point.  Our friend Jon had done a stint, strangely enough, as the singer for One King Down and also returned to Syracuse.  A couple guys from Set In Motion, Jon, and Emmett Menke from another local punk group started jamming with Jon and chose the name Spark Lights the Friction (after a Shotmaker song, and foregoing other unfortunate monikers such as Bourne From Steam and Family In a Corner).

By the early Fall of ’99 the band was ready to play out and I ended up booking their first show for them.  No too much longer afterwards I approached them about doing a CD (because I still didn’t have much idea of how to press vinyl), and eventually the “Cocaine Honeymoon” CDEP was born at some point in 2000.  In another turn as a studio tag-along I ventured with the guys out to Albany for the weekend where the recording was to take place at a makeshift studio operated by engineer Brett Portzer, of the band Falkirk.  I distinctly recall that they were supposed to pick me up at a certain time and when that time had passed I thought they had just forgotten about me and took off.  Cell phones were pretty uncommon still and Emmett was the only guy in the band with one and I began calling him over and over in a panic, thinking they were somewhere on the I-90.  It turns out they were just getting lunch at the local diner before heading over and they were running late. I don’t know why I panicked as much as I did.  It was unusual.  And once the recording began things got even weirder.   

Grant had intended on doing about half the vocals, but when he heard his voice on tape he was very unsatisfied with it.  So he and Jon hashed it out to establish how the vocals would go, as Jon would be handling most of them instead.  Furthermore, their second guitarist, Jim Heffernan was doing a semester in France for school and he also did vocals in the band.  He gave his blessing for the band to play shows and record without him while he was away, but that left Jon to not only handle most of Grant’s vocals, but also Jims (as well as the lyrics he wrote).  It was kind of a wild process, but I personally thought it helped the band develop a personality and further solidify what they ended up becoming.  And a few months later Jim came back and began playing and recording as a four-piece once again.  But as far as the process of getting there, and whatever came afterwards, had it’s fun, as well as it’s challenges.  

                   Grant Johnson, at one of many shows played in Rochester

Spark Lights the Friction made a considerable impact upon Syracuse during the time they were around.  It was one of those situations where a large group of friends came together around a band and cheered them on, and that friendship spread to many others across the region.  During their tenure they ended up touring the US a couple of times with locals Darker Day Tomorrow, The August Prophecy, as well as Poison the Well and Thursday on different tours.  Their recorded output includes a pretty much unreleased demo, the CDEP I released, a split EP with Ruined In a Day, a compilation appearance, and a full length for Trustkill Records. 
I reached out to my old pal Jon Peters, who was the bassist/vocalist/raccoon for the band to wax sentimental about the whole thing:

             Jim Heffernan (left), Jon Peters (foreground), myself (sans glasses and with hair) watching on

R:  I’d like to start with some of the formation of the band.  You had just left One King Down and came back to Syracuse.  How did the other guys fit into the equation? 

J: At, or around the time I left OKD I resumed going to college and S.U. because I had previously taken a semester off.  I was already friends with Jim and Grant from school because we all lived in the same dorm for a while, and when I was back I fell back into hanging out with them.

There was a bunch of stuff that we had to figure out that I’m fuzzy on. For example, how we got connected with Emmett.  I think that connection was made because Jim and Grant knew him from high school.  

                                                 Emmett Menke

I remember there being all sorts of other shenanigans too that helped us all come together and figure out if and how we were going to start a band – jamming with other Syracuse musicians, talking to drummers, figuring out where we could be loud for a few hours.  There’s a ton there to recall, but I’d need help from the other fellas to fill in the blanks and help connect the dots.  

R: The music was decidedly quite a bit different from anything else you had done in the past, as well as different from most other bands that emerged from Syracuse at that time.  Was there an idea coming into the band to gear your sound a particular way? 

J: I don’t think (at least to my recollecting) that we said at the outset that we wanted to be a certain type of band or have a type of sound.  We just wrote and jammed on stuff that we found interesting and fun to play.  Part of that was everyone contributed ideas – riffs, parts, lyrics, etc. 

R:  Let’s talk about the recording of the EP.  It was pretty difficult from beginning to end, starting with me being super annoying, Jim being away in France, and concluding with you handling way more of the vocal duties than you had expected to do.

 

J: When I think back on it I don’t remember it as being difficult. It was kind of a crazy time and there were things that were probably a pain in the ass at the time, but I don’t really think back on it that way.
There is actually a lot that I laugh about whenever I think about it, or if it comes up in conversation with the dudes. For example, Brett, the guy who recorded us, did vocals at his apartment. He didn’t have a studio really in his place, so we needed to improvise a sound proof vocal room out of stuff Brett had at his place. So the “vocal booth” was a MacGyver’ed fort, where we took the egg foam off of a fold out couch-bed, curled it up and put the mic stand inside and put a pillow on top. I recorded vocals in a semi squat position so that I could fit totally within the booth-foam-fort-thing. It was ridiculous!
That was probably a pain in the ass thing, but now I just laugh at how goofy that whole experience was. But we dumped it to DAT so it paid off.

R: How about touring from this point. You all began to get out on the road more and had some very interesting meet-up’s on the road.

J: Yeah, we had some wild times. Strange characters, van problems. What band at the level we were at didn’t have those problems?

R:  People who remember the band always seem to associate your shows with the humor you and Jim had going, even though the music was very serious and well-crafted, the between-song banter was quite memorable.

J: That’s just how we are together. Something that I value from those days is how we all could laugh with one another. That’s just how my friendship Jim and Grant is. We crack each other up and it doesn’t really matter if it’s on stage, in the van, in private…we just get each other going and laugh.

I guess what you’re talking about is how that all happened on stage too. I think that was just a product of us having fun together and we acted like the audience was in on the joke…even though many of our jokes were inside jokes.

R: How often did Shirts As Pants (an acapella joke band between Jon and Jim) play out?
 
J: There were a ton of Shirts As Pants adhoc performances – in the van, waiting for shows to start, just hanging out. But there were very few times we actually did Shirts As Pants on stage. I think maybe only once or twice. I think.

                           the band's first show, before they officially had a name (1999)

R: Discuss a bit about moving on to Trustkill and what happened with that?

J: I remember Josh being sort of interested, but I think he wanted to make sure we were going to tour and work before offering to sign us. So he expressed some interest but let us go out on the road first.

It was funny to us because we played him a practice tape that we made at one point and he, no joke, told us we sounded like Phish!

The thing that I think made Josh want to sign us, not sure if this is true or not, was when we played a Quicksand cover at the Westcott and got kids to mosh. I feel like that was when he started to take us serious enough to want to get us on Trustkill. But I don’t know if I ever talked about it with him.

                               the lighter logo the band used for a bit

R: The band eventually dissolved, with Grant doing The Funeral full-time and Emmett moving into being a touring drummer-for-hire for awhile. Why did the band split up?
 
J: I think the wheels feel off due to a bunch of things going on in each of our lives. Emmett wanted to try out for a bunch of different, more known bands. I was mad and salty about that. It seems so trivial now, but I was upset. I was also having relationship trouble with my girlfriend at the time. I don’t know specifically what was motivating Jim and Grant.

Looking back, I think things had just run their course.

R: What’s your overall opinion on the EP and what that meant to you?
 
J: I’m proud of what we did. It has some moments that I really like and it has some moments that make me cringe. But whatever we were making music and having adventures so who cares if some of it or all of it is/was cringe worthy. All told, my time in SLTF, especially those early days on Hex, was an adventure that I wouldn’t trade for anything. So many crazy stories came out of our time in that band! So I look at that EP, and all of our recordings really, as sort of trail markers on a nutty adventure path I took with a bunch of my friends.

After splitting up Jon and Jim eventually formed Bad Cops, who occasionally still play every now and again. Grant went on to play in The Funeral with me, and then did Night Owls (who released a record with Hex), and now Difficult. Emmett went on to be a touring drummer for a bunch of bands including Glasseater and Polar Bear Club for quite a few years before settling down.


And for the next week, their EP on Hex, "Cocaine Honeymoon" can be purchased digitally through the bandcamp for $3! Physical copies of this release are long gone, but the music remains.

                                              original CD layout masters

HEX20YR RETROSPECTIVE- HXR001: THE HEX RECORDS COMPILATION 7"

Since this year marks the 20^th anniversary of this label I thought it would be cool to go back and indulge in some history of the releases that have come out over all those years.  I don’t have the biggest back catalog (especially for a label that has been running as long as mine), but they all hold a special place to me and there’s some interesting stories to go along with those releases.  This year I plan on highlighting a different record almost every week, doing a little history on it, and maybe talking to people involved in it’s creation.  So, like any (hopefully) good story, let’s start at the beginning.  But stay until the end for some extra goodies.

In 1999 I was on the cusp of graduating from college.  I was living in Buffalo and was planning on making some big moves with the zine I was doing at the time- Hanging Like a Hex- by moving it into a much larger page count, and adding a full color, glossy cover.  For a couple years I’d also had an interest in starting a record label, but I just didn’t quite know how to go about it.  However, a friend in Syracuse who was in the band Hermon DeKalb informed me that the label they were on- Temperance- were looking to do some sort of sampler record as a bonus with a zine to showcase bands on their label.  They had released records from (or were in the process of releasing records from) the aforementioned Hermon DeKalb, Nora from NJ, The Passenger Train Proposal from Philly, and Purpose, also from NJ.  All these bands were going to be on the record.  Hermon DeKalb recorded two new songs in preparation for it at Buffalo’s legendary Watchmen Studios that I had the pleasure of sitting in on (and receiving a speeding ticket driving home from after the session).  

                                                   Hermon DeKalb

                                                   Carl Severson from Nora

                                                                Nora at Syracuse Fest '98
 

And then the bottom fell out.  Temperance completely flaked and were not to be heard from ever again.  A couple of the bands also seemed to just disappear as well.  Just zero communication.  But things were already in motion so I reached out to bands I knew of and decided to try and keep it a little more local.  Syracuse’s Eternal Youth stated they had music to provide and I got a track from them.  And some little band out of Buffalo who had just started making some noise called Every Time I Die stated they had just recorded two new songs (after their standout demo).  One was set aside for a compilation on Goodfellow Records and they didn’t know what to do with the other one.  I offered to add it to my comp and that was that.

                                         ad for the comp. before things changed around a bit

I then had the issue of where to actually press this.  I spoke with Carl from Nora (who also ran Ferret Records, now Good Fight, and were also on the comp) about where he went to press records.  He put me in touch with Musicol Records out of Columbus, OH.  They were basically a father and son operation and were easy enough to deal with.  I put the order in for 1000 records and I came up with a cover, designed and printed it down at Kinkos, added somewhere in the order of 300 copies to the initial batch of zines for retail spots (I was bumping up the pressing of my zine to 2000 copies at the time), and sold the rest separately, or gave to the bands to sell.

All in all it worked out well.  It was rather hodgepodge, but in the end Eternal Youth, Hermon DeKalb, Nora, and Every Time I Die comprised the first Hex Records release.  Two of those songs (from Hermon Dekalb and Every Time I Die) to date have never been released elsewhere.

                   Eternal Youth (note Pete Wentz from Fallout Boy in the background with the sideburns)

                                            Eternal Youth




 To go with the release I did short interviews/write-ups on each band for issue #12 of Hanging Like a Hex, of which the record was released to coincide with.  Eternal Youth were a local Syracuse band started by my good friend Tom Ranger.  It was the first band he had ever been in.  Tom was one of the first people I really got to know well within the Syracuse hardcore scene, as he had an extremely pleasant and polite demeanor towards nearly everyone he met.  It’s a rare trait, but one he is an expert in.  I think if it weren’t for his welcoming nature I probably would never have met most of the people in town that I ended up being friends with afterwards.  The other guys from Eternal Youth were Tony Merola, who I ended up being roommates with a few years later; Andy Williams, who later played bass in my first band The Funeral; Brad Dingman, a local Rochester guy who was known more for singing in the militant vegan straight edge band Contempt (and later on, Break Of Dawn) rather than drumming for a punk band.  Guitarist Dan Hunter started out with the band, but later on Grant Johnson (also of The Funeral, Spark Lights the Friction, Night Owls, and Difficult) took his place as second guitarist.  Below is a bit I did with them in Hanging Like a Hex #12 to promote the record.

Obviously, the band that ended up gaining the most notoriety was Every Time I Die.  To date, the song they contributed was never re-recorded, or re-released, on any other record.  It remains a lone anomaly in their deep catalog, but one which I think is still a pretty righteous song.  It definitely caters to their earlier style, which long time fans will be familiar with.  I had the good fortune of living in Buffalo right as they got started, even in the suburb that two of their members grew up in- North Tonawanda.  I had known Andy Williams (the other Andy Williams on this record) and Mike Novak (AKA Ratboy) from their previous band- the grind/powerviolence-influenced Sirhan from booking them a couple times in the Syracuse area.  They were a great pair, and when they teamed up with the Buckley brothers the band took off immediately.  Right from the get-go their shows were crazy.  Always tons of energy, wild antics, and lots of fun shenanigans.  Not long after this comp came out they began touring more, releasing full lengths, and making the band their life.  20 years later and they’re at the top of their game still.  Coincidentally, both them and this label are celebrating 20 year anniversaries, which is pretty cool.  Somewhere in-between that demo/7”-era and their first full length I interviewed vocalist Keith Buckley for Hanging Like a Hex zine #14 (around 2000-2001) and here’s some excerpts from that:

R:  You know, every band that has played this place hates playing here.  Is it because of the sound?

K:  It’s the sound.  It’s not very personal.  I don’t like stages I guess.  I need to have people really intimate because I’m constantly glaring out into the lights and I’m just sweating profusely, and I don’t see people’s facial expressions.  I just see this huge myriad of hair and eyes, and it’s very impersonal.  I like to hear people’s voices when they try and sing along.  It just makes the whole atmosphere a little more enjoyable I suppose.  It’s harder to get a response on a stage.

                                         ETID at Westcott Community Center around 2000

R:  But the thing is that you guys are going to have to deal with that more now with getting on bigger shows and so forth.

K:  Right.  And there’s no better place to get warmed up to that than your hometown when your friends come out and support you.  But I also don’t want anyone to do anything that they feel is obligatory.  I don’t want people to show up just because we’re their friends.  But it’s good to know that you’re comfortable in front of people when on a stage where there are situations when you’re very separate from, and very intimidated by them mixed with everyone else.

R:  But what about having to give up a little of that crowd intimacy by playing on bigger stages?

                       ETID Buffalo maybe?  One of their first shows around early 1999

K:  I don’t know.  I guess it’s just part of the game, and you have to suck it up.  I’m not going to complain about it.  I’m not going to get on stage and have a shitfit about it because I can’t have people around me.  I mean, if people came out to see us then we’re going to give them what they came for.

R:  I guess so.  So what do you think about being a pretty young band, where all of the members have little background band experience, and all of a sudden receiving a lot of attention?

K:  It’s kind of funny.  It’s always sort of funny to me because I’m naive about it.  I wasn’t ever really in a band before.  I know Andy and Rat were, Aaron (former bassist- ed.) was, Jordan was in a local band.  But it’s funny because when we’d be practicing in the basement it was just sort of fun.  I didn’t even really know Andy or Ratboy until we decided to get together, and now to come out and play, while being so naïve as to how the schematics of a band works, how the politics of how a band works, still gets me off guard.  Also, paradoxically, I think our age holds us back because none of us are really aggressive as far as getting what the band needs.  Like, I’m not really much of a people person when it comes to setting up shows.  My schedule is so busy with school that I’m really afraid to start booing shows because I feel like if I tell somebody we can play, and we have an obligation to them, then I have to go back and make sure everyone else can do it.  

                                            ETID, Buffalo, NY at Sikora Post 1999

R:  What are you graduating (school) with?

K:  I’m graduating next Spring with my degree in English.

R:  What are you going to do with it?

K:  I want to write books.

R:  Somehow I knew you were going to say that.

K:  I know it sounds like such a pipe dream, like, ‘Oh, I want to be an actor!’  But I really want to write books, and I think you really can’t do that on hope alone, and I want to be a professor, but in the meantime write here and there.  I guess it’s sort of preliminary though because I feel that with all the work I put into school to glorify this I can handle the band and teaching.

                                                                       A more accurate ad for the comp.

*And while this comp is long out of print you can get the digital version of it through the Hex Records bandcamp for just $2 this week only (Jan. 3rd-8th).  As an added bonus, if you purchase this comp keep an eye on your e-mail because someone will win a test pressing of the 7"!  So go and do that now.

                                                           Hermon DeKalb at Westcott Community Center

HEX RECORDS IS 20 YEARS OLD!

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Happy anniversary to us!  It’s been 20 years since this label was founded, which is really wild to think about.  In that time Hex Records hasn’t been the most prolific label around, but there has been a pretty wide variety of music released and projects completed under that banner.

To celebrate this anniversary we’re releasing a bunch of new records in 2019 from the likes of Seattle’s Post/Boredom, San Antonio’s PINKO, as well as Coming Down out of Rochester, USA Nails from London, and a few more surprises that you will learn about in the weeks and months ahead!

Carrying over from 2018 and headed to your mailbox within the next couple of weeks is the split 12” from Great Falls and The Great Sabatini, so add that to the list.  You can order that now and hear some material from the record HERE.

And while we’re unleashing new stuff upon the world we’re also going to be celebrating our past with almost weekly features on our blog about each record to come out through Hex over the years- ‘making of’ pieces that have interviews with members of those bands, flyers, pictures, etc for those that enjoy nerdy shit of that nature.  To go along with each feature there will be a week long sale on that particular record, and maybe even some test pressing giveaway/sales.  To start off, check out the feature on Hex Records #1- the compilation 7” that started things off way back in 1999 coming tomorrow (1/3/19).  Make sure to follow it until the end to find out about a deal going on associated with it.  It’s like a really easy scavenger hunt.

So while the past is fun to celebrate and explore, there will always be an eye towards the now and future which we hope to balance out nicely throughout 2019.

Thanks for the support.  We can’t wait to share everything that we have in store for our 20^th anniversary!  Let’s make it an awesome year!

IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR LIST!

Music kind of makes my world go 'round.  So I like to list the stuff that got me most excited and inspired.  Generally, I tend to put all my favorite stuff in one lump, but this year I definitely had some favorites over others, so it's ranked.  It was tough because this really has been an excellent year for stuff that I'm into.  One thing remains consistent though- I like guitar-based music.  So there's that.  The section with my favorite shows I saw is just in chronological order.  So yeah, feel free to compare thins with your own list, discuss, and if there's things on here you haven't heard this year I highly encourage you to give it a listen and see what you think.

FAVORITE RECORDS 2018

1.)

TILE, “Come On Home Stranger”

I started getting excited about this record in the fall of 2017.  It didn’t come out until somewhere in August of this year.  That’s a lot of waiting.  But it sure paid off.  Ever since they released their last full length a few years back I have been anxiously awaiting new stuff from Tile and they delivered in a big way.  It’s everything I want in a heavy record- huge dumb riffs, the type of distortion and feedback that sounds like a garbage truck being sucked into a jet plane’s intake, vocals that are shouted with total disdain for any pleasantries the locals of their hometown of Allentown, PA may extend to their neighbors, and pushing that sound so that it teeters on the edge of catchy songs with great songwriting and the endless chasm of unlistenable noise.  It’s a perfect balancing act.  Honestly, they just kill it.  So damned heavy and so damned good.

2.)

TURNSTILE, “Time and Space”

There’s a good reason for all the hype this band has behind them- it’s totally deserved.  They write incredibly catchy and fun hardcore without being corny that has just as much energy and excitement as early Bad Brains and wears its influence like a badge of honor.  They’re also the wildest live band going.  Listen to this record once and you will have energy for days.

3.)

HOT SNAKES, “Jericho Sirens”

When a band can take about 14 years off and then come back and kick the shit out of everyone else, like they spent that entire time honing their skills, it’s a beautiful thing.  Even more, Hot Snakes may have made their best album.  That’s completely subjective.  I’m still considering if this is their overall best record.  It’s definitely at least number two in their discography for me.  It’s all things off-the-rails, aggressive, fun, and completely knowledgeable of the fact that each member of this band is a total master of their craft.

4.)

RED HARE, “Little Acts Of Destruction”

This was most definitely one of my most anticipated records for this year and it did not disappoint.  There’s something about bands that make great music, but due to time and distance they’re pretty limited to playing out only every once in awhile, or making a record once every few years, that really keeps me excited about any sort of news they have.  And it keeps me on my toes because I know Red Hare is one of those bands that are always going to deliver.  Every single time.  In fact, basically any member of this band could do something and I know it’s going to be quality.  They blend that DC/Dischord punk/melodic post-hardcore with a jagged edge only seasoned pros (or architects of that style) can create.  An excellent record from start to finish.

5.)

WRONG, “Feel Great”

The album where Wrong has totally come into their own.  To be clear, I have had absolutely no issue with this band pulling a Helmet worship thing because they do it incredibly well.  However, they have traded some of the riffy grooves for speedy technicality and it’s made this band a little more their own thing.  It’s still a parade of riffs, crazy solos, stop-start rhythms, and barked vocals.  They’re just getting better and better at it.

6.)

JAYE JAYLE, “No Trail”

I was a little hesitant on my man Evan’s new-ish band when he started fumbling around with solo type stuff a few years back under the name Jaye Jayle.  But within those few years the project found some life and direction and now they’re a fully-staffed touring machine playing an amalgamation of really weird stuff.  Well, it’s more like stuff I don’t typically find myself listening to, but I’m really feeling this newest record, which melds all these elements of neo-folk, Krautrock, dusty desert trance-sessions, and other stuff that might be more at home on Thrill Jockey or Drag City.  Whatever it is, it got me hooked and I think this is an excellent surprise of a record.

7.)

EXHALANTS, s/t

Oh hi, we’re a new band from Texas and we’re about to fucking destroy you.  Yeah this just really popped up out of nowhere and completely blew me away.  I previously made a comparison that this band sounded like the offspring of Unwound and Unsane, and it’s really true.  I mean, I don’t know why no one else went for that combo in the past, but this trio nails it- super dirty and heavy aggression, mixed with fuzzy production, vocals through a bashed-up microphone, and more strangely melodic sounds…  like some filthy-ass early 90’s emo band with great songwriting chops.  This is probably the most exciting new band to me right now.

8.)

MARRIAGE AND CANCER, s/t

Once I moved out to Portland I had the chance to see a number of local bands do their thing and within a couple of months of living here Marriage and Cancer released their debut full length, and I have to say, I’ve never heard a band quite like them.  Easily the loudest damn band in town and with a jangly, weird, heavy, and strange sound all their own they found a way to make the wild sounds of bands like Drive Like Jehu sound downright creepy, discomforting, and melancholy.  It’s quite a feat and as odd as that may sound it still rocks my socks off.

9.)

COMING DOWN, s/t EP

My dudes from Rochester kinda started this thing a couple years back and it didn’t get much traction because they were all adults who were busy as fuck with life.  And then they altered the lineup a little bit and are still busy as fuck adults.  But they manage to get a bit more done and have nailed their sound, which is a total DC/Rev Summer/Give/Swiz amalgamation of righteous hooks, rocking riffs, barked anthemic vocals, and spittin’ in yr coffee attitude.  Achilles/How We Are/Like Wolves homies tearing it up with six perfect songs.

10.)

SHAME, “Songs Of Praise”

A bunch of this list is loaded towards early in the year and this young English group’s debut is among the crop released right after 2018 got started.  Barely old enough to drink (on this side of the pond anyway) this non-stop touring machine blends incredibly catchy post-punk with snarly/smarmy aggression that has the lads in all the pubs smashing pints and doing other funny British adjectives that we don’t say over here.  Far and away one of the wildest live bands I was lucky enough to see twice this year.

Bonus:

GOUGE AWAY, “Burnt Sugar”

I generally keep things to a top 10, but this one just had to sneak in there.  The progression of this band’s sound is nothing short of mind-blowing and is becoming this fully-realized awesome thing.  I totally love when a band can go from being a hardcore-punk band to sounding like something significantly different while still being aggressive and still being hardcore/punk as fuck.  Gouge Away are one of those rare breeds of bands.  They’ve definitely adopted some great Jesus Lizard/Superchunk vibes to their grungy, wild hardcore and I’m loving it.

FAVORITE SHOWS OF 2018:

2.19.18- Shame and Dreamdecay at Doug Fir Lounge.  The young English punk band on their first US tour going completely apeshit and impressing the hell out of the 50 or so people who showed up on a weeknight.

4.10.18- Finally, after twenty-some-odd years, getting to see The Breeders.  They may have played a huge place like the Crystal Ballroom, but they made it feel super cozy and intimate.

5.16.18- I hadn’t seen Hot Snakes since 2001 or 2002, so seeing them completely tear up the Wonder Ballroom was incredibly exciting.  John Reis kept leaning into the audience, making them kiss his guitar on multiple occasions.

6.23.18- I’ve never seen Will Haven and I have thoroughly enjoyed their records for over 20 years.  They played a perfect set at the Star Theater of all the songs I’d want to hear and they had tons of energy.

7.8.18- There’s a lot of ‘I haven’t seen this band in forever’ in this list and Neurosis is another one that I have not seen since the beginning of this century I think.  But they were every bit as crushing and entrancing as ever when they leveled the Roseland over the summer.

8.11.18- I ventured up to Seattle for the Sub Pop 30^th anniversary and saw the always entertaining Pissed Jeans (with Dreamdecay) do what they do so wonderfully at the Crocodile.

9.28.18-9.29.18- Two nights of The Jesus Lizard (Seattle and Portland) being just as rowdy and unhinged as ever.  A timeless band that cannot be topped, and pulling out some deep cuts, along with all the stuff you’d expect from the Chicago legends.

10.27.18- Report Suspicious Activity set specifically at Fest in Gainesville, FL.  Not only was it good to be back in a town I enjoy, but to see this gathering of old punk vets/pros work their magic in front of a small crowd was a rare and beautiful thing.

 11.14.18- Drug Church and Gouge Away at Black Water.  A perfect pairing of two of the hardcore scene’s more exciting bands who go together wonderfully playing a tiny punk bar.  Excellent sets from each.

GREAT SABATINI/ GREAT FALLS SPLIT 12" UP FOR PRE-ORDER NOW!

Just in time to close out 2018, or bring in 2019 (however you want to view it), an unusual offering will spew forth from Hex Records.

This project pairs up Seattle’s mightiest noise-metal merchants in Great Falls with Montreal’s long-running powerhouse combo The Great Sabatini for a 12” of exclusive material in one of the most unique presentations the bands (and this label) have undertaken to date.

Each band offers up two new tracks, each recorded during the sessions for their recent full lengths (both bands just released excellent new LPs), but saved for this occasion.  Additionally, there is a collaborative track between each bands ‘sides’.

The records are housed in letterpressed covers, designed and created by Great Falls guitarist/vocalist Demian Johnson.  The records themselves lave a laser-etched B-side with a design created by Sabatini guitarist Sean Arsenian.  All the records come on colored vinyl with a locked-groove during the interlude track that requires the listener to ‘switch’ sides to play the next track (unless they want to hear the interlude forever).  Is it over the top, weird, and potentially frustrating?  Totally.  But these bands would have it no other way because they are each a challenging, yet rewarding, listening experience.

The LP is now up for pre-order.  Bring in this New Year with weird heaviness.

GET IT HERE or HERE