5.24.2012

"I hope this city burns to the fucking ground..."

When I was really into hardcore in the late 90s and early 2000s, there were very few people in this area that were consistently bringing touring hardcore bands to our city.  I had done a bunch of smaller hardcore and punk shows at Vertex and in my old smelly basement, but I wanted Rochester to start having a lot of the same shows that Buffalo and Syracuse had.  By 2001, it was on and I was booking  a lot of tours here.  I was also losing a lot of money.  Aside from the whole always being broke thing, it didn't really bother me.  I was after all the one who put myself in this position.  Plus, I was booking all of my favorite bands at the time.  Occasionally, I would do a show for a band like Thursday or Coheed and Cambria, but pretty much every "big" hardcore show I booked I lost $100 or more on.  I once lost $800 on a fest I booked here, another time there was $500 on some random touring bands.  One of my favorites though was the night I lost $300 on an American Nightmare show.  I had gotten them on a show at the Bug Jar a year and a half ago when they were still a fairly new band.  By 2001, the word was out and American Nightmare was a pretty big band for hardcore standards.  Yet, for some reason, bands like this never really took off here.  I was always thinking my city would come around and these shows would draw as much as Buffalo or Syracuse and they never really did.  Unless it was Bane.  Anyway, I had already seen American Nightmare plenty of times in cities like Wilkes-Barre, Syracuse, Gainesville, and Buffalo.  The thing about "hype" bands and bigger hardcore bands is that I never really cared about any of that.  Not only that, but at the time I wasn't all that into Ten Yard Fight so seeing "ex members of Ten Yard Fight" in their name never really did much for me.  There is a certain blend of hardcore I have primarily stuck to and usually I will just seek bands out as I see fit.  American Nightmare was a little bit different musically than what I was listening to, because of how fast their drumming was, but more importantly because of the vocals.  While you couldn't always hear everything live in those first few dozen shows, the vocals that Wes was putting on those first few records weren't like much I had heard prior to that.  But more importantly, the lyrics were completely different than anything that was coming out at the time.  I think that is why this band is so influential and people get so excited about them still.  I know that I was dealing with a lot of personal issues back then, especially in 2000 and 2001.  Having the first two American Nightmare EPs to listen to back then definitely made things a lot easier for me.  I know that sounds cheesy and it probably is, but hardcore definitely carried me through some of my toughest times and American Nightmare was one of those bands.  I was in a lucky position to pretty much see them from the beginning to the end, as well.  The show I did here in 2002 itself was a lot of fun.  Of the 125 or so people that were in attendance, I would say 75 or more were from out of town or they were RIT students.  Crazy to think about it in retrospect, but most of the attendees of my shows back then were not from here.  I would definitely say that out of all the shows I put on this had the best lineup for my tastes.  There were a lot of shows that other people have said were this and that, but I like this lineup the best.  I loved Miles Between Us and even helped them put out their first EP.  I think they are still one of the best bands to come out of Canada too, for what that's worth.  Bad Business were definitely one of my favorite local bands and easily my favorite of this era.  Over the next couple years, they were able to make their mark and even did a couple tours.  That 7" is good shit, too and still gets some spins on my turntable.  Striking Distance were just a solid hardcore punk band.  I loved seeing them live, Dave Byrd was also fun to watch.  I still have the Striking Distance tour shirt from this show.  Thanks to my main man Chris Rivera for holding it for me while I traveled cross country in 2006.  I feel like Death Threat in 2002 and 03 was what Wisdom in Chains have been for the last few years; an extremely solid hardcore band that you could always count on to come play a good hardcore show.  Their first two LPs are definitely two of my favorite records to come out in the early 2000s.  Death Threat had canceled on the Thursday/Carry On/ETID/No Warning/Hopecon show I put on a few months prior to this, so I was stoked to finally have them on one of my shows.  I think they actually played after AN though and I knew I had already lost $300 so I was kind of bumming by then.  I even broke down in tears while explaining the situation to a friend of mine that night.  Again, I always had extremely high hopes for Rochester and I was always kind of let down on nights like this.   I swear when I was looking out off the stage it looked like there was enough people there for me to at least come close to breaking even.   I guess I am not that great at estimating crowds.  Still though, that American Nightmare set was extremely fun and I don't know how many more of their shows I enjoyed that much after that night.  I am still glad that I got to take part in not only this show, but all of the other hundreds shows I was involved in during that era.  A lot of people talk bad of bands doing reunions and I personally usually skip them.  I even sold the tickets I had to BOTH American Nightmare reunions in December.  I have made it a point to intentionally skip watching all videos from the shows.  Now having watched this trailer, it does bum me out and I think when they play again, I will try to go see them live. 


Norbecker Pilsner Commercial #1


5.23.2012

Gorilla Biscuits- Cats and Dogs

I missed the Black N Blue Bowl this year.  There's no getting around it now I guess.  I might miss This Is Hardcore too, although I am going to try to my best to get down there for a day or two.  Either way, I will always remember the two times I have seen Gorilla Biscuits live.  This is from BNB last year, you might even see a busted dive by yours truly in here....

Fire and Ice- Not of this Earth (Reaper Records)

  A lot of bands have come and gone in hardcore and it is really hard to have any kind of staying power, especially in this day and age.  One thing I have noticed is that while anyone can play hardcore, few people can play it well.  That may sound picky and snobby, but with all of the bullshit that is flooding the internet these days, I would like to think I am free to be as picky as I want.  For starters, as I said before this music is really easy and anyone can play it.  That doesn't mean you have to practice it for a day and then go out and tour.  While I do still have a great big soft spot in my heart for loud, sloppy hardcore, I prefer watching bands that are a little bit tighter at this point.  I guess good songwriting and stage presence is what sets bands apart for me these days.  While I wasn't a huge fan of Fire and Ice's vocals on their first demo, they have grown on me more and more as I listen to the "COLLECTIONS" LP and now this NOT OF THIS EARTH LP.  The guitar sound of this band is something I was fond of immediately when I heard them.  I definitely feel the late 80s NYHC vibe continuing on with this release and there's nothing wrong with that.  I really like the riffs on this record, they keep things interesting while playing a style of music that isn't always exciting.  There's even a Bill and Ted's esque (though I am sure it wasn't meant that way) guitar interlude on here.  I've always been somewhat reminded of Leeway (with some Madball in the hard parts) in this band's sound and AJ Novello even co-produced this record with Dean Baltulonis!  What sets this band apart to me are the guitars and the vocals, which as I said I have grown to enjoy with this band.  Both at times almost have a late 80s rock feel to them (a la Leeway again).  There's also even a couple hints of melody on this record, which isn't a bad thing by any means.  These guys also get extra points for saying "sock it to me" at the beginning of a breakdown.  I have missed this band the couple times they played this area, but after hearing this LP I definitely intend to see them live soon.

Expire- Pendulum Swings (Bridge 9)

I don't know if it's just me getting older or whatever, but it seems like a lot of hardcore bands have become stale and overproduced in recent years.  I feel like a lot of bands think that hardcore is just about breakdowns and creating hype for yourself on the internet.  Fewer and fewer bands are taking to the old school method of recording a demo, hitting the road, and meeting tons of people on the way.  In my opinion 2004-08 saw a very small amount of bands take to this approach.  I can't blame people I guess, it is probably far easier and productive to just hype your band up on various social networking sites, rather than risk losing money paying for overpriced gasoline to fill your van along the way.  Luckily, there are still some risk takers out there carrying the torch for hardcore kids both new and old.  One of those bands is Wisconsin's Expire.  I first caught them here in the Winter of 2009 in Rochester with a bunch of mostly forgettable local bands.  The one thing I can say after all these years is that when I hear of a good band doing a DIY tour that is solid hardcore, I will check them out.  I remember being somewhat impressed by Expire that night and then they topped it off with covers of Leeway and Integrity.  Being a somewhat well known band now, I doubt they really have to grab anyone's attention with covers anymore, though I wouldn't mind hearing that Rise and Fall intro again!  Expire's debut full length "PENDULUM SWINGS" picks back up right where their last two EPs left off.  I like many apects of this band and record, including the vocals which aren't too overbearing but still don't really sound like a lot of bands either.  The guitars are what make this record for me though, every mosh part makes me want to break something.  There's a lot of good mosh on this record and while they're not breaking any ground in the music department, the songs are all tight and well written- a quality that is sorely lacking in most current hardcore bands.  In one of the better tours (in my opinion) in years, COLD WORLD, BACKTRACK, DEAD END PATH, and EXPIRE are currently criss-crossing the United States.  They will be playing in Buffalo at the end of the US dates on June 12 and I plan to be there.

5.22.2012

Boogie Down Productions- BEEF

Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody

LA Story


If I were a Laker fan, I would be blaming this all on David Stern.  OF COURSE, HE IS THE ONE WHO VETOED THE LAKERS ORIGINAL LA TRADE FOR CHRIS PAUL .  In the proposed deal, The Lakers would have received Chris Paul, the Hornets would have acquired Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, and Goran Dragic, while the Rockets would have received Pau Gasol to complete the three team deal.  Without getting into that too much, the Hornets would have made out good in that deal (there was also a draft pick in the deal, which I believe is a mid-first rounder this year).  Goran Dragic had a legitimate breakout second half for the Rockets with Kyle Lowry out.  He would have been a huge asset for the Hornets moving forward, plus all of the other players they would have received.  But the commissioner (And Dan Gilbert, of course) quickly moved in and made sure it did not happen.  The league was in control of the Hornets at the time and wanted to make them as profitable as possible for a potential sale.  Days later, Chris Paul was on his way to LA, but not to the Lakers.  THE CLIPPERS HAD ACQUIRED CHRIS PAUL, reaching a deal that sent Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al Farouq Aminu, and a draft pick to the Hornets.  SAINTS OWNER TOM BENSON BOUGHT THE HORNETS FOR 338 MILLION MONTHS LATER.   Obviously, you play the hands that are dealt to you and there's no way to tell, but anyone with half a brain that follows the NBA would tell you that the Lakers/Rockets deal would have been better for the Hornets moving forward.  Not only that, but you could say that deal totally killed the chemistry of the Lakers this season.  They ended up ridding themselves of Lamar Odom for nothing, completely destroying Odom's season in the process.  Pau Gasol was left to wonder all season long what his future with the  organization was.  While he never got traded during the regular season, I would go out on a limb and say he is likely to get traded this offseason, quite possibly to the Rockets.  I would take him in a heartbeat, despite his up and down performance lately.  I might not be at my best either if I didn't think my employer had intended for me to be helping them out right now. 
All excuses aside, it was a roller coaster ride for the Lakers this season that included the usual drama.  I think Mike Brown and Kobe Bryant held it together well all things considered.  Between Metta World Peace's name change and subsequent elbow seen round the world, Andrew Bynum's questionable play and attitude, Pau Gasol's trade and veto, Ramon Sessions arriving at the trade deadline, this was a difficult season for the Lakers indeed.  It is pretty obvious at this point that the Lakers could use a little adjustment in their roster.  They need to do something to increase their speed on this roster, as the Thunder were able to run all over them during key points of this series. 
On the flipside, there was the "Don't call us Lob City anymore" Clippers, playing half of their games in the same Staples Center as the Lakers.  This was the year that the Clippers were making themselves noteworthy again.  They were certainly able to do that, with their nightly highlights, and (more importantly) by making the playoffs and advancing to the second round for the first time since the 2005-06 season.  Throughout the first half of the season, the Clippers looked like they might unseat the Lakers as the best team in LA.  While that might happen in years to come, Kobe Bryant isn't quite ready to give that crown up just yet.  The Lakers and Clippers are likely to improve over the summer and the next couple years should provide for a pretty intense rivalry between these two teams.  Hopefully, David Stern won't have too much of a negative outcome on any of that.


5.21.2012

One era ends in Orlando...

Today what most of the basketball world had known for most of this season became official, AS STAN VAN GUNDY AND OTIS SMITH WERE RELIEVED OF THEIR DUTIES BY THE ORLANDO MAGIC.  It ends an up and down five years for Van Gundy in Orlando, a period which even included a trip to the NBA Finals.  The magic made the playoffs all five years that SVG was their coach, a feat only matched during that time by the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks.  The last four months in Orlando kept reminding me of a restaurant job I had in my mid 20s.  A fellow line cook and I would always talk about the state of the restaurant we were working at and how it seemed like the place was going downhill fast.  We didn't have the numbers of course, but the place just didn't seem to be doing well.  Long story short, we always would joke about what amazingly bad things we could or would do on our last night the store was open.  Luckily, that day never came.  Stan Van Gundy got to live that moment out every night this season pretty much, only he never had any LANE KIFFIN-ESQUE moments during his final days in Orlando.  You have to admit, SVG was the consummate professional right up until the end, even when HE MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE KNEW DWIGHT HOWARD WANTED HIM FIRED.  I have always partaken in the "Stan Van Jeremy" look a like jokes and I have enjoyed it as much as you, but I gained a lot of respect in this final month of coaching from Van Gundy.  He easily could have put the Magic in full tank mode.  Instead, he helped them reach the playoffs despite the absence of their star player for much of the second half of the season.  They even kept their series with the Pacers interesting, winning a game without Howard.  Dwight Howard will probably be looked at under a microscope by the media next year and rightfully so.  While a lot of superstars have fled their teams to chase championships, I can't think of many superstars completely quitting on their coach and getting him fired (Knicks...).  Dwight Howard will get everything he wants, next year we will see what he does with his team.  My prediction is that he will never win a title, but that's probably just me hating on him like I do a lot of other people. 

Bryce Harper is here to stay

IN 2010, STEPHEN STRASBURG PITCHED HERE.   Two years later, the Nats other big time prospect Bryce Harper was set to play here with Syracuse.  I only got out to one of the games, the first of a day/night doubleheader (The game had been rained out earlier that week).  THE KID HAD BEEN PRETTY HEAVILY HYPED IN THE MEDIA SINCE HE WAS 16 so I figured I would at least get out osee him play here once if I got the opportunity.  Little did I know that this was to be his last day in the minors.  During his first at bat, a bunch of kids from Greece Athena were chanting "overratted" quite loudly.  Harper promptly laced an RBI single into right field.  Syracuse went on to win the game 3-2.  He might not hit those crazy bomb home runs that he was hitting against the lesser competition, but Harper does produce all of the tools to have a very productive MLB career.  At only 19 years old and having been moved around in the lineup quite a bit in four weeks, Bryce Harper has managed to reach base safely in 24 of 28 games.  As far as I have seen, all of THE ATTITUDE PROBLEMS he may or may not have possessed in recent years have been left behind.  His haircut does still resemble that of someone I could see heading out on this year's Warped Tour though.  Granted, a line of .244/.449/.782  isn't exactly anything to write home about, Bryce Harper has clearly been instrumental in keeping the Nationals in the playoff picture in the National League.  That is something Washington fans can deal with hearing for the next 10-15 years, if they keep their young stars in tact. 

Youth of Today- No More


NBA Playoffs: Where fundamentals happen....

In the beginning half of the season, it was pretty trendy to pick the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder to face off in the NBA Finals.  While that still is a possibility, the San Antonio Spurs have quietly steamrolled their way through the last month of basketball, including sweeps of the first two rounds of the playoffs.  By defeating the Clippers last night, the Spurs became the FOURTH TEAM IN THE CURRENT NBA PLAYOFF FORMAT TO SWEEP THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS.  While history might suggest otherwise, the Spurs now stand a pretty good chance at making it into the NBA Finals.  Interestingly enough, I have had ESPN on most of this morning and of course, they have been focusing on the Heat and The Thunder/Lakers (who didn't even play yesterday).  As always, the Spurs are flying under the radar of the media hype and I am sure they don't mind that one bit.  Of course by now, most hoops fans have taken notice of what the Spurs have done.  Tim Duncan is playing great basketball and the Spurs are all finally healthy for the first time in a couple years.  Top that off with Greg Poppovich's coaching and you have a legitimate title threat.   Having won their 8 games by just under 14 points a game, the Spurs might be able to rest a little bit if the Lakers can close a game out against the Thunder.  I still think the Lakers have a chance in this series, but it will take a gigantic comeback and a big collapse from the Thunder.  If they lose tonight, I think Pau Gasol will be gone but Mike Brown should be safe for another year or two.  All things considered, he has done a good job with keeping this team somewhat together this season. 
The haters will probably say it was only one game.  But it was one hell of a game, possibly the best playoff performance in my lifetime.  In a must win situation on enemy soil, LeBron James took his team on his back and they responded by helping him close out this game in the second half.  In what his fellow players referred to as " VIDEO GAME NUMBERS ," LeBron James put up a once in a lifetime performance yesterday.  Of course the one day I don't do a daily fantasy sports league too!  They will need Chris Bosh to win a title this season but this was definitely a momentum shifter with this series heading back to Miami.  LeBron and company now have a golden opportunity to make Lance Stephenson look like a complete idiot, although I am sure they have much bigger goals in mind.  If they are to move on to the next round and possibly the NBA Finals, LeBron will have to continue to have games like that.  It was refreshing to see Dwyane Wade finally have a good game as well.  HEARING WORD THAT WADE RECENTLY HAD HIS KNEE DRAINED puts his performance in this series into a better perspective I guess.  Hopefully, he will be able to knuckle up and help his team despite his banged up body.   Thanks to a lot of foul trouble for Indiana, Udonis Haslem chipped in for 14 points- his highest playoff output in three years.  Game 5 will be tomorrow night at 8PM, in what is a now a best of 3.  I think the Heat will be facing the Celtics in the Conference Finals, but nothing would really surprise me at this point.

Happy Birthday to Christopher Wallace...

Should be 40 today...