HXR20YR RETROSPECTIVE: HXR028- TAXA, "Ressurection Year" 7"

I still (as of this writing) have never met any of the people in TAXA.  I took a random chance on them.  I was at a lull with the label as some of the bands I had released records for had split up and I wasn’t sure how certain I felt about continuing to put out records.  I did a simple, limited CD release for the band Black Throat Wind (as chronicled in a previous entry), and that was about it for over a year.  I just really was unsure of what to pursue next, if anything at all.

And while randomly scanning that dumping ground of hardcore, the Bridge 9 board, I noticed someone posting about their band TAXA and how it was reminiscent of Shotmaker.  First off, I didn’t really expect anyone to post on that forum about Shotmaker, let alone figure that anyone even knew who they were anymore.  So, naturally, I was curious.  I checked out the music and found it to be pretty engaging.  The band was looking to have someone release it.  I got in touch saying I was interested.  And that was about that.  I knew nothing about this group, their background, where they were from, what kind of people they were, nothing.  That was highly unlike me, as I had always been mindful to get to know people in bands before I started working with them.

But like I said, I was in a lull and maybe I just needed to try something different, or a new approach, to operating this label.  It turns out TAXA call Vancouver, British Columbia home.  Members of the band had previously played in a group called Damages that did a couple records with React Records, and the sound was a bit similar.  And we knew a few of the same people in the Pacific Northwest.  And just like that, the bands two-song 7” was a reality we made happen.

Then there was the issue of getting the dang thing made.  It had been a couple years since I had dealt with any record pressing places and I needed to re-familiarize myself with that process.  The place I had been using was going out of business and I searched high and low for new pressing plants, many of whom had become extremely booked up because suddenly vinyl was a hot commodity again.  I settled on a press in New York called Brooklyn Phono, a smaller company that didn’t seem to have the backlog issues some other places were experiencing and they were a pretty down-to-earth operation.  They were also able to press in smaller quantities that I was hoping for (since I had no clue as to how trying to sell a 7” for an unknown band in 2014 was going to go).  Overall, things went well and it was a relatively easy process once I had the pieces in place.  I even ended up having to do a second pressing of the record, which I would have never thought would happen.

So that all being said, TAXA, who are kind of the Revelation Slipknot of Hex Records- a mysterious group that not many people seem to know about- continue to exist.  I caught up with Andrew Morrison, who has been my primary contact for the band since they began, and he was kind enough to give some time to discuss the group.  Fun fact:  this is actually the first time we had ever talked directly!  All other occasions have been through e-mail, or social media.  Here’s a couple of other facts- the band still exists, even though Andrew has like 500 side bands that operate concurrently.  TAXA has never toured the U.S. (though they have a bit in their home of Canada).  However, they have toured Cuba, of all places, on two separate occasions. Also, their re-press was printed incorrectly and had to be re-re-pressed.  For a band that only has a 7” and a split to their name after several years they have some interesting stories. Read on and find out more!

So how did TAXA start?

It started right around 2009 originally.  In that time we came up with the name and the general idea of the band, as well as a handful of songs.  We started because we had a good friend who played drums and we were looking for a good reason to do something with him, so we started that band with him, and shortly after it started he ended up having a baby and moving away for some time.  There was the promise, though, that he would shortly come back.  Six months turned into a year, turned into two years, until we gave up, eventually, on him ever coming back and just revived the band, proper, in 2013 or 14.

So that’s where we got it what it is now, with our current drummer.

It’s not a very romantic answer.  We had a buddy who played drums to a certain ability and we thought, ‘hey, maybe we should try to rip off Unwound, that would work for everybody for what we can do.’

Have you toured Canada, or the U.S. in TAXA or any of your other bands?

We haven’t toured the U.S. with Taxa, but we toured Canada with Taxa.  We went to Cuba with Taxa twice.  My old band Damages toured in the states.

So this is rather strange.  Taxa has been sort of relegated to Canada, however you’ve toured Cuba, of all places, twice.  How did that work?

Well, there’s an organization that used to be up here called Solidarity Rock.  And what their goal was, was to try and find musicians that were willing to go to places could benefit from  having some live band experience, and have bands not from there come in.  But also bands that were willing to do it for a not-for-profit venture.  So the way they do it is they raise as much money as they possibly can and so when we went we got a bunch of sponsorships through musical organizations that would donate gear to us so we would be able to bring a couple thousand dollars worth of gear with us that we could donate to the community down there.

So the first one we did went really well and it was a really positive experience.  We made a bunch of friends down there and just decided that we definitely wanted to do it again.  So we went through the motions and contacted the same people, gathered a bunch of gear that we could donate, and took it down.

How did it work in regards to the donations?  Did you bring your own gear, in addition to donated stuff?  Or did you just bring the stuff for donation, play the shows with it, and then leave it behind when the tour was over?

We brought it with us, used it, and then we left it.  That was a little nicer too, because it spares us from having to lug things onto the plane in both directions.

That is very cool and strange.  I take it Canada does not have any strained international relations with Cuba like the U.S. has had?

No, that’s the difference.  It often surprises our U.S. friends when we say we have toured Cuba for that reason because it seems less successful.  But that’s not really the case.  It’s a fairly, straightforward thing for us to go.

Is there a punk scene in Cuba?

Oh yeah.  Huge punk scene.  There’s very interesting stories there.  It would be easier for you to just google it, but their history when it comes to punk rock is very intense.  In the early 90’s when the AIDS epidemic first came to Cuba the overall conditions for living were so poor for punks they would actually inject themselves with HIV so that they would be put into these government-run sanitariums.  The belief being that there was going to be a cure for HIV shortly.  So, there was this community of punk people that were all forced into these government sanitariums, but they did it because they were then safe from assault by police.  They had food and clean water access daily.  They also had access to creative spaces.  The sanitariums also had music rooms.  And, of course,  the cure for HIV didn’t come within a couple of years.

That’s crazy.

Like I said, I don’t want to slaughter the facts of it all trying to explain it, but it’s definitely worth looking up because it’s pretty intense.  But that was sort of the jumping-off point for the punk scene in Cuba and what has informed what’s happened there since with their music scene.

What a wild difference.

It’s really funny because you and I are probably of an age where the sort of wild times of punk came and went before we got too deeply into it.  So you read those stories from afar about people ‘living the life’ and whatnot.  It’s kind of surreal to go to Cuba and see these people in our modern times still living those sorts of things.  They’re really adhering to the idea of what they perceive punk rock to be, and living it as a lifestyle, in the face of adversity and violence.

That’s pretty tough for me to wrap my head around, especially with the circumstances they went through.

Yeah!  That’s why you ought to just come with us some time!

(laughs)  Oh yeah.  Wait, didn’t you invite me on one of those tours?

Yes!  That’s why you ought to come!

I remember now.  I recall thinking, ‘I’m American, I don’t think I’m allowed to go to Cuba!’

Well, related to places being far away, does it feel as if Vancouver is cut off from the rest of Canada, making it tougher to tour elsewhere?

Yeah, that is kind of true of Canada everywhere though.  There’s no real easy amount of major touring between major cities in Canada the way there is in the U.S.  But that’s definitely the case with Vancouver to some degree because not only is it a simple amount of miles between here and the next major city going east, which would be Calgary.  But there’s also the mountains.  That’s quite a barrier.

So that has likely put a damper on being able to tour much, period.

Well, the only damper that that causes us, really, is a time meter.  So when we tour in Canada, because of the drive between some shows, that means you probably aren’t able to play as many shows.  Where a tour in the states may be able to be nine shows, that could just be seven up here.

 The first and second pressing on pretty colors

Are there unrecorded TAXA songs?  It’s been several years, I imagine you have some more material somewhere.

Yeah!  We took a break for a little bit to actually try and write an LP, or finish it.  I think we have a dozen songs at this point.  We’re just sitting on them until we can find a time, or a reason, to record them.

It’s nice to know that you’re all still a band because we don’t hear too much about the band.  And I know you have a million other projects going on.

The thing for us that we tend to do is rather than run out of steam by putting all our eggs in one basket we try to do as many types of bands that we can in order to allow us to play with as many of our friends and people that we respect musically, that we can.  And also, it takes some of the pressure off of those periods where a band, for whatever reason, can’t be super active.  And that has been the issue with Taxa.  Taxa came to a bit of a halt at one point because our then guitar player went to school, so she needed to take some time off to do that. And then she eventually decided to go back to school again so she bowed out of the band at that point because she was holding things back for a period of time.  So then we got a new guitar player, and right now we’re taking it a bit easy because he’s doing really well with his wrestling gig.

 ads for things, including this Taxa record

So, to be clear, the other bands that you have been a part of since forming Taxa- Black Pills and Silver Chains- is just you, or is it other members of Taxa as well participating in these bands and projects?

Well, Silver Chains is everyone from Taxa except for the guitar player who wrestles, and another friend of ours does vocals.  But all of these bands have always been myself and Heig, who is the vocalist and guitar player in Taxa.  He and I have been music partners for many, many years at this point.  So every band always includes the two of us, and then there’s some overlap.  So everyone in Taxa is also in the band Griefwalker.  Heig are both in Black Pills, which is now called Teeth To Your Throat.

Taxa guitarist by day, wrestler by night, Daniel Makabe

So for a band that has a very small discography, and has been this band that has not had a huge history as part of this label I have to say there are an abundance of unique stories and circumstances surrounding your group from touring Cuba, to being involved in numerous other projects together, to having a wrestler in your ranks.

One other unique story that comes to mind, and I don’t know how much you know of it, but are you familiar with the circumstances surrounding the re-press of the 7” I released for you?

No, I don’t know!  I remember talking with you when you said it was close enough to being sold out that you were going to do a repress of it.  Was there some aspect of it being problematic that I don’t know about?

Yes.

Oh!  Well, then, no.  I don’t know.  Lay it on me.

So, the band I play in, Dialysis had a seven inch out as well.  And when it came time to repress the Taxa 7”, which is a two song record, I went through the pressing plant I was using at the time.  They ended up using the Dialysis plates to repress the Taxa 7”, which makes no sense because the Dialysis 7” is a 10-song record and it should be pretty easy to tell which is which just based on the spaces on the record between songs.  So they sent me 200 of the Dialysis records with the Taxa labels on them.  Our two bands really couldn’t be any more different.  So I contacted the pressing plant and let them know they sent me the wrong record.  And they apologized and said they would re-do it, and, to their credit, I’ve never seen a pressing plant do a turnaround so quickly.  Within a week they re-did the Taxa 7” correctly.  And then I asked them what they wanted me to do with the incorrect ones, did they want me to send them back?  And they just said, ‘eh, we’ll let you know.’  But they never got back to me about it.  So I’ve just been sitting on around 200 wrongly labeled Dialysis 7”s and sometimes I just give them away to people.  I re-did the Taxa cover to say ‘Dialysis’ instead.

Oh!  I remember us talking about that a little bit, but I thought maybe you had just gotten some incorrect test pressings or something.  I didn’t realize it was the record proper.

No, they didn’t bother with a second round of test pressings since the first press came out right.  They were just supposed to take the same plates and use them again for the next pressing since they are intended to last for a couple thousand records.  They just ended up grabbing the wrong plates and pressing a grind band onto what was supposed to be a completely other group.

I hope you can find something creative to do with them!  It would be fun to have one, for sure.

The mix-up 7", a true collector's curiosity

But in regards to the real 7” you released, which is mainly what this conversation is supposed to be about, is there anything you’re particularly fond of, or anything you regret about it?

Well, I would have changed the misspelling of the title on the cover.  That’s the first thing that comes to mind.

Is it spelled wrong?!

Yeah, there’s a misspelling. ‘Ressurection’ is spelled wrong on the cover.

I think that ever since the 90’s band Ressurection happened I’ve been spelling that word incorrectly.  They spelled it wrong, but I always thought that was the way you were supposed to spell it.

Yeah, I knew of that band but I didn’t know they spelled their name wrong.  The thing is, though, that every one of us missed it.  The guy who did the cover missed.  Every one in the band saw the cover before it was sent to you and we missed it.  The only way we found out it was wrong was one of the places you sent the record in for review mentioned it in their review.  We read the review and the first thing they said was ‘it’s unfortunate that they misspelled ‘ressurection’ on the cover of their record’. 

So the joke that we have been running ever since then is that that is how we spell it in Canada.  Which is, of course, not true.

(laughs) Yeah, that’s how you all do it, it’s fine.  Don’t worry.  Vancouver specifically.  It’s the Vancouver spelling.  It’s very regional.

Exactly!  But otherwise I’m very proud of it, it’s a great record.  Part of the thing with Taxa too is that because the music was not hardcore we wanted to use it as a vehicle for it’s difference.  As great as it is to still have contacts and have those people you can count on, it tends to get you stuck in a groove.  So after my band Damages broke up we didn’t want to just move on to the next thing and rely on all those same old contacts that we worked with from the past.  We wanted to do something different musically, which would potentially open us up to meeting new people and work with different labels, or promoters.  We didn’t want to miss a chance to meet a world of different people that we might not have were we to just continue on working with the same people that we did in the past.  We never gave ourselves that opportunity in the past.

That’s kind of the funny thing about how we connected because Taxa was not a band, style-wise, that I had any clue as to where to go with for contacts for labels and stuff.  When I initially messaged you about Taxa it was not with the expectation that you would have any interest in the band.  But it was more that you would know maybe who I should contact for things.

So, to date, what has been the best part of the band and what has been the worst?

I think the music is the best part of the band.  There has been a lot about the music of Taxa that I really like.  It’s great to have had some of the experiences that we have had because of it.

The worst thing is probably- because there have not been any big drama things with the band insofar as bad encounters- the drag of time that comes with not being able to keep everyone’s schedules on the same page all the time.  But I guess that’s really kind of part of every band to some degree.  But I think the difference is that Taxa could have done more than we have up to this point.  It seems like the kind of band that could have a little more legs under it were we to push it a little more.  But such is life I guess.

AND if you act now you can get that tasty 7" with it's pretty cover, for a mere $3 this week only.  And if you're a digital-only sort of person a solid buck will get you the tracks.  Encourage your inner cheap-o to capitalize on a deal.  Operators are standing by.  Not really.  We don't have those sorts of things.  Just order it on your own HERE.  or go through the bigcartel and get some other stuff while you're at it.

SUMMER DOG DAY REVIEWS

I'd been thinking that it was sort of a slow year for new music that really caught my attention.  I mean, there's been some good stuff, sure.  But no real record of the year sort of contenders for me yet...  until all this stuff suddenly came out.  Just in this batch of reviews I'm counting at least 3-4 year end favorites.  And a lot of Relapse stuff.  They put out a lot of stuff recently that I like, no favoritism or payoffs present.  So take that as you will.  Perhaps I'm just getting more picky in my old age.  Whatever the case you ultimately can be the judge, I'm just the tour guide.

ALPHA HOPPER, “Aloha Hopper”

Alpha Hopper are such a difficult band to pin down in terms of sound that I looked up my own review of their last album and decided it was completely inaccurate, and then googled other reviews to see if anything stuck out and still nothing really nails it.  But that’s great!  They are a rather indescribable band in regards to labels.  However, to say they are a freaky punk/post-punk band could be an umbrella term I suppose.  Either way, on their second full length the Buffalo group break out 11 new off-the-wall rippers that have a continuous frantic, nervous energy to them.  That tension is often ramped up by vocalist Irene Rekhviasvili whose loud, brash, and bratty voice can either completely turn potential listeners away out of annoyance, or be seen as the essential component that adds to the band’s unique nature.  I’ll admit, when I first heard this band I was thrown off by how up front her vocals were and wasn’t sure if I wanted an album full of that.  But after a couple listens I came to the conclusion that it’s fucking awesome and it totally fits into the bands aesthetic.  As for the music I don’t know what to tell you.  There’s no bassist (just two guitarists), but they use some bass distortion in parts to add that low end (like the slow-low riffing in “Blood Test”).  “You Eat” has a driving, rhythmic flow that adds some very Jesus Lizard-esque slide guitar on top.  “Line In/Line Out” takes some more Jesus Lizard cues in that serpentine crawl, but with more space effects.  And it can be said the band owes a debt of gratitude to Fugazi’s experimentation with guitar sounds while keeping things catchy and almost anthemic, though I’d be hard pressed to find a weirder sing-along than the closing bit of “Dawn Of the Knife Mask” and it’s repeated chorus of “And the fools, they’re not people, they are ghouls.”  If that helps with descriptions then I’ll just add one more thing- this is a really fucking cool record and I’m really happy the band finally has something new to offer the world.  It’s weirder and better for it/because of it.  (Swimming Faith/ Radical Empathy)

CHERUBS, “Immaculada High”

Cherubs last outing, the comeback “2ynfynyty” record (and accompanying “Fist In the Air” EP) was a riotous blast of feedback-drenched, glorious noise rock head-fuck orchestrated by three guys who melded their fuzzy crush with Beach Boys melodies.  It was damn near perfect.  They seemed headed in a more pop direction (to the extent that could occur through off-timed filthy noise rock) and I was fully prepared for a catchy follow-up.  However, “Immaculada High” is a bit different to me.  It took a few listens before it really caught on.  For starters, the recording feels significantly different.  It’s less in-your-face and ‘bright’, for lack of a better word.  It’s more subdued.  And instead of the band’s pop tendencies coming more to the front they instead opt for some more psychedelic vibes, particularly through Kevin Whitley’s strained, nasally vocals.  They open strong with “Turista”, an expected amalgamation of Cherubs molten, off-time groove confusion and Whitley’s strained howl.  Next up is “18 the Number”, a quick and dirty number that has just as much freaked-out aggression as well-worn Cherubs tracks of yore like “Carjack Fairy” or “Shoofly”.  But it’s the tracks that work a bit outside of the band’s comfort zone(s) that I’m still sorting out.  I guess that’s a good thing because they’re challenging to describe.  Whether they work or not is debatable but it’s cool to see Cherubs flexing on something a bit new, which for a band that took a twenty year break only to come back with some of their best material, is pretty cool.  “IMCG” plays with a tripped-out sort of dub fever dream, while “Cry Real Wolves” works a disco beat across a sweat-filled single riff for three minutes, and “Full Regalia” maintains a creepy stalking bass line with somber noise and an almost post-hardcore approach.  And then the band goes with primal aggression and collapsing beats for under two minutes on “Pacemaker”, while “Nobodies” closes out the record with a dumptruck of a riff crushing any notion of a band purely hooked on…  well, hooks.  It’s a varied experience on this latest Cherubs record and I’m totally down for the ride.  They choose to try some different things and go in an almost opposite direction of what people may have expected their next move to be.  (Relapse)

EXHALANTS, “Trample the Cross Under Foot”

Texas dudes who went and made one of my favorite records last year return with a new EP that was intended as a tour-only sort of thing when they hit up the West Coast a couple months back.  These songs were definitely recorded on the fly as they are definitely not high quality by any means.  Generally that’s something that irks me a bit seeing as getting a decent recording is significantly easier these days than it was 10-15 years ago.  However, as Exhalants excel in being loud, chaotic, and noisy, the subpar recording is hardly a crime in their case.  It sort of works for them.  And I have some degree of confidence that they will more than likely re-record some of these songs for a proper release later on down the line.  Either way, they drop five new songs that lean big on a slow and chuggy side of things (especially on the first song) for the most part.  Some of the flourishes inherent to the band- tingling melodies, skronk, and chunk feedback heaviness, and tense abrasiveness- are on display as well.  I know, as far as the recording goes, this doesn’t hold a candle to their LP, but it’s new Exhalants stuff and I’ll take it.  I’m hoping to hear more from them soon.  (self-released)

GIANTS CHAIR, “Prefabylon”

23 years.  It’s been 23 years since Giants Chair released a record.  I mean, they were most definitely broken up for a long time.  But a couple years ago they decided to give it a go again and now here we are with a wonderful new LP from them, easily my favorite of the 90’s Midwestern ‘emo’ bands, though they certainly leaned heavier on an indie, or post-hardcore style of playing (think Superchunk, Drive Like Jehu for immediate reference points).  I can’t overstate how great I have always felt this band was.  Their impact may not be immediate because they are not the household name that other well-known bands of that era/style became, such as Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, or Texas Is the Reason.  But they have always been one of those groups that is your favorite bands’ favorite band.  And this should continue that trend.  This new release finds them back in the pocket- vocalist/guitarist Scott Hobart picks up right where he left off with his extremely distinct way of playing and singing (his other ongoing gig for years has been in the country/honky tonk vein) that combines melodic, but angular playing that can open up as big as the sky.  Drummer Paul Ackerman’s playing is incredibly tight and as together as ever, while bassist Byron Collum fills the gaps and I hope to god he still has that weird spinning doo-hickey on his amp that makes it seem like not only is it amplifying his bass but also gathering meteorological data as well.  As far as the songs go they’re great.  Most of the record runs at a similar tempo, which is fine, but it lacks a little of the speed and stop-start precision that made “Purity and Control” such a great tune, or the slow burn that gave tracks like “New Orleans” such emotional heft.  What you do get is 10 excellent tracks that are Giants Chair through and through, and that’s an extremely rare thing because there’s only one Giants Chair and it’s been over two decades since they released any music.  If there’s any big noticeable change it’s that while many of their lyrics in the past felt a little more cryptic while still yanking at the heartstrings, things here feel a bit more direct and intentional, even slightly political at points.  And maybe part of that is just being in your 20’s versus your 40’s and having life a little more figured out.  But while many reunions kind of just go through the motions while pining for that long-lost youthful recklessness and coming up as a somewhat bland copy of themselves Giants Chair never got huge by any means and remained humble.  They remained a band’s band.  And I think part of that relieves them of pressure to have to come back with something big.  They just came back as themselves and wrote some great music to go with it.  What more could you ask for?  I know I personally never thought I’d hear from them again.  I’m exceptionally glad I did.

*Currently available as digital only, vinyl coming soon.  (Caulfield Records)

GRIZZLOR, “Coolness Factor 6” 7”

It’s been a minute, but Grizzlor have returned with a quick, four song 7” about leaving Earth because it sucks, being turned away by aliens because humans suck, and space nukes.  It’s all sci-fi thrashy, trashy noise rock that only Grizzlor can do.  While some of their material errs towards repetitive, riffy, sludgy heaviness this one is all quick blasts of their faster, punker side.  Basically anything Grizzlor does is great and this is no exception.  If you liked them before you’ll be perfectly content with this as well.  What could possibly go wrong (aside from space nukes and shitty aliens?).  Paranoid ramblings, gigantic bass, meaty guitars, and fast beats.  Get weird. (Learning Curve Records)

METZ, “Automat”

“Automat” collects Metz’s early material- their first couple of independently released 7”s, as well as a couple comp tracks, and up to the “Eraser” 7” they released a couple years back.  You get to see them evolve through this. Oh, and the record comes with a bonus 7” with three different, very random covers on it- Randy Numan, The Urinals, and Sparklehorse (talk about varied influences).  From the get-go of “Soft Whiteout” it’s pretty clear the path that Metz chose to take was one where noisy, yet catchy and abrasive punk collided with pop hooks hidden under all the cacophony.  And they’ve really nailed down their niche there.  But there’s some early material where they gave some heavy and ugly noise a whirl too, as evidenced on “Lump Sums” (which is a fucking awesome song, but on a bit of a different path than Metz ended up taking).  “Ripped On the Fence” messes around with a long, drawn out spacey ending that bears some semblance to Sonic Youth’s more blissed-out moments.  But from there you get a couple demo takes of well-known tracks that made it on to full lengths, their Sub Pop 7”, as well as the aforementioned “Eraser” 7” (one of their best songs period).  While there’s 12 tracks on the record (and the other 3 on the bonus 7”) this is a somewhat abbreviated collection as the songs from the Mission Of Burma split, the Sub Pop 30 7”, and the John Reis-collaboration record are all absent.  I would suggest seeking those out too.  Fuck it, just really get anything Metz-related to be honest.  They’re an excellent band and if you get a chance to see them (which shouldn’t be tough, they tour constantly) do it and get blown the fuck away by how incredible they are live.  (Sub Pop)

TORCHE, “Admission”

It’s Torche.  You know exactly what you’re getting.  Sure, there’s some variation.  Sometimes they work the cement mixer falling off a cliff angle and other times it’s pop songs tuned to ‘wrecking ball’.  But you always know it’s them.  Five full lengths and a solid decade-plus into their time as a band Torche not only have a sound that is completely ‘them’, but their albums have kind of a similar arrangement as well- strong opener, a couple upbeat and catchy songs, introduce some ‘bomb’ string heaviness (this record’s “What Was” compared to “Restarter”s “Undone”), a couple more catchy songs, one track that goes slow and uses that bomb string for most of the song (this album’s “Infierno” vs. “Meandrathal”s title track).  It sort of feels like the band is staying in their lane a bit and giving the fans what they want.  There’s nothing wrong with that either.  Torche don’t need to re-invent the wheel.  They do what they do extremely well and it’s always pleasing, so I’m sure no one is asking them to change it up greatly.  The only real switch up here is bassist Jon Nunez switched from bass to second guitar, while Eric Hernandez, frontman for hometown pals Wrong has come in to fill the bass spot.  It’s really a no-brainer as far as replacements go.  And for Torche to be Torche is really a no-brainer either.  Luckily, no else can do it the way they do, so may as well let them keep being themselves.  I’m not going to complain.  (Relapse)

VICTIMS, “The Horse and Sparrow Theory”

Victims have been a band for ages.  They have a lot of material out.  Every time they release something new I think, ‘oh, they’re still a band?’  That probably has to do with living in the United States and they’re a European band, so it’s not like I’m keeping tabs on all their activity because most of it happens several thousand miles away from me.  That all being said, this new album has some cool artwork and continues to blend their d-beat/hardcore/somewhat doom-y punk into a vitriolic stew that is difficult to not want to at least repeatedly punch the roof of your car as you’re steadily increasing speed on the highway and cursing other motorists.  I can’t recall, in all honesty, the nuances of their previous work, and how it stands up to this.  But it’s an enjoyable listen nonetheless and takes many cues from groups such as From Ashes Rise, who also were quite good at not just playing d-beat (adding various melodies and tempos to their sound), but were primarily considered a d-beat hardcore band.  I could kind of do without the lengthy mid-point track, which is mostly a sample of some government goon discussing, at length, how global warming has contributed to war and refugee crisis’s.  And while the vocals remain gruff and bellowing, fitting accordingly with the music, they deter very little from ‘dude with a low howl doing this the entire record’.  They’re minor gripes for an otherwise good hardcore record.  (Relapse)

HXR20YR RETROSPECTIVE: HXR027- OAK AND BONE, s/t LP

      Outside of bands I have been in there are not that many groups that I can say I was there from day one, and again, at the end.  I mean, I’d feel like a total interloper if that were the case for tons of bands.  A couple of those groups were ones I did records for and Oak and Bone were one of those groups.  I booked their first show for them, got them hooked up with some other bands I thought they would get along with, helped book them some shows outside of town here and there, and released their records, and stuck around until they folded.

            Part of that association stemmed from getting to be pretty good friends with their singer Weston Czerkies.  I distinctly remember the winter we met- February of 2005.  It was an insane week because I had gone on my first date with my future wife and we ended up hanging out the whole week pretty non-stop.  And within that whirlwind of doe-eyed lovey-dovey gooiness a DIY venture was started by another friend looking to start a volunteer-run venue.  They had access to a building and a collective crew of interested parties was assembled to help out.  One of those kids was a young Weston Czerkies.  He definitely had a strong interest in DIY ethics and over the next year or so I could see that he was pretty committed to participating in this stuff through various bands, putting out zines, booking shows, and so forth.  We teamed up on a couple shows and eventually he mentioned Oak and Bone getting started.  When he gave an inclination of what some of the band influences were I was pretty much on board.  Without hearing them I booked their first show with Young Widows and it ended up being a good fit.  Not long after Weston moved into my house and lived there for a few years.  By then I had released Oak and Bone’s debut 7” and an LP was not far off.

 That pretty purple vinyl and a wild live photo insert to the record

            Another change occurred between that 7” and LP- my man Ted Niccoli, who had been in No Idols with me for our entire run, joined the band and had a considerable impact upon their sound and writing.  The songs that came together for that LP were nothing short of awesome and it remains one of my favorite records released by this label. 

            However, due to horrendous luck on the road, things got a little stressful for the guys and eventually they split up.  It’s a shame because they were truly on to something with that band.  It was definitely something that hadn’t really been done in our town so it left a mark, no question.

            A little after the dissolution of Oak and Bone Weston moved to the Ithaca, NY area (a good move, it’s a great town) and got very into the noise scene and has recorded and performed under several monikers (please don’t ask me what differentiates one from the other, I cannot tell), as well as operating a fairly prolific noise label (Prime Ruin).

            But that’s not what we’re here to talk about.  We’re here to talk about the fucking awesome LP, their only full length, by the mighty Oak and Bone.  And any chance to chat with my old pal Weston is a welcome opportunity.  So here you go.

I’m going to apologize in advance because I’m not usually a very good interview subject.

Oh, I figured as much

(laughs) I figured that you’d figure that!  I figure you’ll probably do some editing with this as well?

Maybe.  When I was writing out questions for this I imagined your answer being ‘I don’t know’ for half of them!  So I thought, ‘I’ll give it a try anyway!’ (laughs)

(laughs) I’ve been trying to prepare too!  I actually pulled out my folder of flyers from Oak and Bone shows and I used to do itineraries for every tour we went on.  So I have this pile of disorganized flyers, but very organized lists of every place we were going, and the number of who we were staying with and shit like that.

That’s good!  I mean, someone in your band had to be organized with that stuff, right?

Exactly.  That was really the only thing I contributed- pushing the guys to be like, we have to tour, we have to play shows, we have to be a band that people can see.

Let me ask you this- do you keep a list of how many shows you played?

I could probably figure it out.  Even now I could probably figure it out because I have a flyer from almost every show we played.

What’s your roundabout guess?

I don’t know.  See, there’s your first ‘I don’t know’.  But I would like to figure it out.

So I got the Oak and Bone history from John when I talked to him about the 7”.  But how about your take about how you fit in with the band and where you were coming from.

Yeah, so Jon and Drew have been close forever, and in bands forever.  But I think around the time the band got started me, and Drew, and Chris Putzer (original bassist) were all going to school at OCC (Onondaga Community College).  We were some of the only hardcore kids going to school there and we would hang out sometimes.  We all wanted to  start a band, so we talked about it, and the we had a practice in Chris’ parents basement.  It was kind of whatever and definitely needed something besides a bassist, a singer, and a drummer, which is where Jon was the obvious choice for the role of guitarist.  And then it just took off from there.  The songs were really easy to write I think for those guys.  It was such good music that it was really inspiring to me to yell for and write some words for.

I remember you mentioning having some issue with your lungs and my thought was, ‘can this dude do this band?’

I had Spontaneous Pneumothorax when I was 16, which just apparently means that you build up these weird little holes in your lungs, like these air pockets build up and puncture holes in your lungs.  And I had a ton of them.  It happened in both my lungs several different times.  I had surgery on one of them, but by the time this band started I was around 19 or 20 and I think the last time I had an issue with lung collapse was when I was 18.  So by then I was feeling pretty good.  It was never a lung capacity thing, like if I was running, or doing something physical.  My lungs would just drop.  It would come out of nowhere.  One time I was walking through the mall I just felt this pressure and sudden loss of air to the point where I almost passed out.  Scary stuff.  But apparently common in tall, skinny young dudes.  That’s what I was told anyway.

How did they fix that?  Did they have to patch your lungs up?

I don’t know what they did.  I was 16 when I had the surgery so I don’t really remember exactly what happened.  They definitely put a tube in my side that was connected to some suitcase with some weird fluid shit, and they definitely pulled it out of me when I was awake and fully conscious.

That sounds like the basis of an Iron Lung record or something.

Yeah, it does sound kind of Iron Lung-y.

How would you describe what Oak and Bone did, or what you played? 

I think it was kind of like a heavy hardcore hybrid when we started that became a lot more stoner-y and weed-rock influenced as time went on.  It was an influence of those products upon those gentlemen.

But, for me, it was a little different than those guys because I was always from a bit more of a straight-up DIY hardcore background.  So I just took those DIY hardcore aspects to the band and tried to make things happen all the time, and from an artistic standpoint a lot of the lyrical content was pretty serious, or personal…  I don’t want to say a generic hardcore content, but pretty much all hardcore bands have the same realm from which they pull their content, and I would say I was no different in that regard.

Did you have much in the way of musical input, or songwriting input?

I think so, even though I don’t know how to play a single fucking instrument.  Even now that I do make music…  (laughs) ‘music’, in quotation marks.  I could never articulate what I thought we should do, but I would offer  my opinion if they were working on something, or something wasn’t quite right, or a ‘which do you like better’ sort of thing.  They mostly just figured it out and I watched them figure it out.  They knew what they were doing.  I chimed in here and there.  I never really had specific goals for songs, other than ‘they should sound good.’

That’s a strong opinion my friend.

(laughs) ‘I think music should be good!’  And I don’t want to hear music that is bad!

How did Ted (bassist) contribute to the direction and the sound of the band once he joined?

I think Ted was the missing link in so many ways.  His bass sound and playing alone would have been more than enough to make our band be, and sound, so much better.  But he also did so much heavy lifting in terms of songwriting.  He had really good ideas, and really good input into how the songs went.  I think you can tell, just from listening to the seven inch, into the LP.  The progression is just so obvious in terms of songwriting.  Those guys just clicked.  And he helped to push and pull them into the right directions.

For the LP you guys resurrected some older songs and re-worked them a bit, as well as writing a bunch of new stuff.    Was there an intent to use some of those older songs, or parts, and improve them, or was it more of being pressed for time to write a record?

I think it was really just that we liked some of those old songs and they needed a little updating.  Like they didn’t get the recording that they deserved, or a song didn’t get the audience that it deserved, which is why we re-recorded them.  We totally stood by them.  Parts needed a musical tune up here and there.

Right, because those were demo songs from the beginning of the band.

I know what you’re talking about. I have to look at the record to make sure… “Dust Cult”.  That’s the one.  The basis of that song is from our demo, and I think Jon felt really attached to that song.  It might have been the first song we wrote as a band.  There were riffs in there that he really wanted resurrect and give attention to.  So we sort of just re-wrote it and that’s what became the last track on the LP.  It’s definitely way better than the demo.

And the lyrics for “Acres” were taken from the demo too I believe.  The music is totally different, but the lyrics are the same.

Hmmm…  is it?  Maybe we re-worked two songs off the demo?  Man, I should probably go and listen to this record again, huh?

The live outro was never recorded, which I think is just a shame.

Yeah, I think that was intended to be just a ‘played live’ sort of thing.  There’s another song or two that we never recorded, but would play live.  We just didn’t think they would fit on the record.

 recording the LP with Brad Gorham

Brad Gorham from Engineer recorded the LP, but he did it at Moresound.  He was a little new to recording at this point.  Did he offer to do it?  Or did you specifically want him to record the album?

Here’s a good one where I don’t remember.  I know we were pretty set on Moresound and the recording happening there.  But I can’t recall if he offered, or if we chose him as an engineer.  I mean, it totally made sense.  I really wanted someone who understood heavy music and had seen us play before to record us.  We wanted someone who knew what we were like live.  Having someone who didn’t know that didn’t make sense.  So having Brad made sense in that regard.

We were probably trying to save money too.

So the record comes out and then what?

I think we planned a tour, not a big one, maybe a week long.  I think we lost our van right before that.  It’s hard to keep track of all the vehicles we fucking destroyed.  We lost Jon’s minivan.  And then we bought a trailer and broke that trailer somehow.  And then we got a van, which took us on tour for a bit, and then when we went down to Florida on tour, which was before the record was recorded.  We totally wrecked the engine going down there.  We sold what was left of it and journeyed back.  I don’t remember what the deal was with us canceling our tour.  We weren’t going to make it in the first place.  I think we were going to borrow someone elses van, or something like that, and it didn’t quite happen.  We mostly stuck to playing shows around upstate New York where we could rely on knowing people who had the kind of gear we would need to borrow, and then rolling up in two or three cars.

We had something like two or three vans, and a couple trailers we went through.  We left quite a bit of wreckage in our wake.

 Oak and Bone with future beard-y bassist Rob Button watching front row

What led to Ted leaving the group?  Rob Button briefly came on to play before the band split up as well.  How did he come into the picture?

I think he was just ready to peace out and do something different.  Otherwise, there was no reason.  We were pretty bummed about all the tour stuff that had fallen through, and kind of sitting on this record.  But as a band we still wanted to do stuff and maybe save up some money and figure out how to play shows again.  I think you ought to call up Ted and ask him!  He left for Portland to do shit out there and I know he was really excited to work at a brewery out there and do cool Portland guy stuff.

As for Rob we just needed a bassist.  So bassist number three, who’s it gonna be?  And Rob was the most solid choice we had in terms of someone who is available and has a lot of energy, and commitment to being in bands, and is a good bassist.  So, we thought, ‘this makes sense, let’s try out Rob!’

I think Jon and Drew were a little hesitant because they were like, ‘he’s straight edge right?  I don’t know if that’s going to work!’  But I convinced them he was fine.  He wasn’t going to edge stomp them or anything.  That type of person barely exists and definitely not in Syracuse punk. (laughs)

So we tried out Rob, it worked out pretty well, we played some shows, but we just sort of lost a bit of that momentum after that, after Ted left.  He had become such an integral part of our songwriting that things died back a bit after that.  He was also a pusher for us doing stuff and being active as a band.  With a little less of that influence we lost some momentum.

Discuss the Southern Lord call.  Elaborate prank, or possibly real deal?

I think it’s pretty real deal.  Jon would have the final word on this because I believe he did call them back and talk to them.  But the call from Southern Lord came probably like two weeks after we announced that we were going to break up.  We were talking about it, I was pretty certain I was going to move, and it just seemed alright that we all could do other bands as this band slowly started to fall apart.  So we thought, let’s go out on a high note.  I’d rather break up at our peak instead of stick around and tread water.  So yeah, two weeks after that break up announcement Jon gets a call from..  what’s his name from Southern Lord?

Greg Anderson?

Yeah!  I was going to say ‘Gary’

(laughs) ‘Hi, this is Gary from Southern Lord!’

So Gary from Southern Lord calls us up and is like, ‘Hey!’ (in nasally voice)  I wish his name was Gary.  Maybe it is his real name and he just changed it to Greg because it sounded harder.

So fuckin’ Greg calls up Jon and leaves him a message saying, ‘hey man, this is Greg from Southern Lord.  I heard your band Oak and Bones’ record.  It’s pretty sweet.  We kinda wanna do something for ya, so give me a call.’

So that’s it.  I’m not paraphrasing, that was basically verbatim of what the call was.  So naturally we were all a little skeptical.  It also just so happened that the morning after Jon came over to my house to tell me this and show me the message and I had some friends staying at my place who had played a show the night before.  One of them had worked for that big distribution place that had folded- Lumberjack?  I think we worked for them for a minute and was familiar with these labels.  I asked him if he had ever talked to Southern Lord and he said he had talked to Greg before a few times.  So I asked if that message sounded like him and the way he might offer a band a deal?  He was like, ‘yeah, that sounds about right.’

So I was like ‘fuck’.  I had to think about it a little bit.  But I sort of felt the same way that I did before.  I thought that was really cool, but this is just stupid, shitty timing and it’s a bummer.  We were still in the same situation that we were before.  We didn’t have money to get a van and tour.  And if we did a record on Southern Lord or something they probably would have wanted us to tour.  And even if they didn’t I didn’t think we were at a great point as a band in terms of having ideas for songs for a record.  I mean, at that point, we already had a great record that we wanted everyone to hear.  Did we want to potentially put out an OK record that everyone would hear?  It just didn’t make sense to me.  I think the guys maybe were a little bummed that I felt that way and they sort of wanted to go for it.  Hopefully they aren’t still curing me for it.

I still think there is something to be said about preserving your integrity as a band and realistically what else could we have done?

Looking back on that LP, how do you feel about it now?

Great!  I think there’s always things that I would change, but that’s what listening to your previous work will do.  But I think it’s solid.  I think those songs are sick.  I think Drew’s crazy little drum fills are awesome.  Tons of Jon’s riffs really hit home for me.  I think the quality is good.  I think the process of recording it was so much easier and smoother than all the rickety DIY recordings we had done up to that point.  So it felt like a real pro record.  I think it holds up well.  I think if we recorded it today it would sound just a little different with just how fast recording technology changes.  It might sound a little better.  I really like it as it is.  It’s a unique little piece of Syracuse history, like a unique footnote.

What was the best part of Oak and Bone for you and what was the worst part?

(laughs)  My least favorite-worst part of the band?  I don’t know.  I think they’re both the same thing.  I loved playing shows.  The energy of playing with those guys, even if even if it was a show where no one gave a shit- because outside of Syracuse that was mostly the case, aside from places like Bethlehem, which was always fun.  But the worst part was just not being able to rely on vehicles and shit always breaking down.  The money pit of being a touring band was so, so shitty and disheartening.  It’s a double-edged sword.  Half of that was the best, best possible feeling.  The other half was the worst feeling.

And there you have it.  And, as always, there's a crazy deal happening right now if you want to buy that LP because I'll give it to you for just $5.  That's how we roll.  Get it out of my attic. You'll be better for it.  Digital is only $4.  Get it HERE.