Unaltered Perspecitve Zine #9
Closing out 2024 Hardcore with a smash in the face
Hardcore does not slow down. I thought I had a moment to breath and then all these insane shows came up. I had to go get interviews from Lead Spirit and Chopping Block. On top of that there has been so much to listen to I can not possibly review it all. I am going to keep the reviews to much less than normal but you should still check all the other new releases that came out since the last zine. I will have them below the reviews as usual. Check all this out and let me know what is the best. It has been a very mixed bag these past months so depending on the readers taste we might have an interesting edition on our hands here.
Interviews
Interview with Lead Spirit
I got the pleasure of sitting down with Cameron from Lead Spirit when they came to play Dumb Records in Springfield Illinois. This is what we got to talking about.
Also please note that this was a taped interview that I transcribed so I am not sure these band names mentioned in the interview are 100% correct Lead Spirit please correct me in the comments if I fucked up.
Justin: Who is in Lead Spirit?
Cameron: Lead Spirit is Wyatt on guitar, Joey on Guitar, Nick on Bass, Nathan on Drums, and myself Cameron on Vocals.
Justin: Do any of you play in previous bands?
Cameron: We play in a bunch of stuff. We have been playing in harcore punk bands for a long time based out of Omaha and Lincoln Nebraska. Currently Nathan is in BIB. Wyatt and I do a band called fireside. That is more of a punk band. I play drums in a band called Truta. I have a straight edge band called Physical. That is rarely active that I do with Brock from BIB as well. So we are all like pretty active in out scene as well as booking show. Nathan has been in bands forever, different punk bands and stuff but actively he does a really cool singer song writer project just under his name. Nathan Maw I think the main active things he is doing is BIB and us.
Justin: Is Lead Spirit a Straight Edge Band?
Cameron: No. I joke that we are straight edge presenting. I am the only one actually in the band that is straight edge. It’s funny how often we get that question. Because it does kind of sound like one and maybe the themes and content sometimes allude to that but defiantly not.
Justin: I was not under the impression that you were but I had to ask because of the previous question.
Cameron: When we played in Pittsburg with that band XREPRESENTX and they were like a crazy heavy band on tooth and nail I think. They were a heavy militant straight edge band from the early 2000’s. They were added to our show and we had to message the promoter and tell them “hey you know we are not a straight edge band right.” Just because that was the vibe that band used to give off when they were younger. But they were awesome and the show was supper fun.
Justin: I feel like it is a weird thing to group a certain sound as the straight edge sound because it could be any sound.
Cameron: It can be. And I know a lot of straight edge bands kind of sound a certain way which is cool and also part of what I love about hardcore.
Justin: What’s the Scene like in Omaha?
Cameron: Its awesome. Omaha is definalty a bigger city. There is a lot of people there. The omaha metro is pretty big. And it comes in waves you know. I think the whole world is kind of seeing a post covid boom with hardcore if they can create space for it. I have been active in it since I was a kid. Me and My friend Morgan have a DIY space called the breakroom that we opened up. And before that we had a space called the Blindspot that was all ages. Things have been really great and the scene is growing and just really fun energy and we get people coming through probably for the last few years. But even in the last 2 years the scene looks very different then it did when I was young. A lot of new diverse people. Bands I book that come through will tell me that we are one of the best shows of tour. Shit is really popping there right now. Which is cool. I will say that and jinx myself and shit will fucking implode tomorrow. But i’m pretty proud of what we are cultivating and the people that are involved and some cool bands happening there right now. That I think are going to be a really rad future for that scene.
Justin: Why did lead Spirit start?
Cameron: It was a passion project at first. Between me and Wyatt. So he joined a previous band I was in called Jocko. He came in and played second guitar and so I was getting to know him better and we liked the same old youth crew and melodic stuff too. Sometimes at Jocko practice if we were waiting for other band members to show up we would jam some of that stuff he played guitar and I played drums so we would write an few songs that way. After that he just kept riffing and coming up with new things on his own and not even showing them to me. Then we were doing a band called firesign that he was playing drums in and I was playing bass in which was fun and we got to a point where we thought it might be a good time to start making lead spirit a real project. It is something we put a lot of work into. Me and him writing the riffs and really trying to iron out the songs and then me him and nick recorded the demo together. Then we recruited Nathan to play drums and he will be on the 7 inch and Joey will be playing some of his guitar on the 7 inch as well. The demo is awesome and I am super proud of it but I am also really excited about this 7 inch because it is more of a colabaritve effort. The Demo was just kind of me and Wyatt and Nick learned bass to record on it. The 7 inch is us all kind of adding our own flavor and still a lot of conceptualizing from Wyatt and I. Because we are so passionate about this project but there are some guitar leads and crazy drum parts that we would not have done. Fucking cool. I am really excited about it. But more simply put this was a passion project where we saw and opportunity to start it with other bands slowing down and we said we got to put some work into this and set some deadlines. Then we did and it all kind of fell into place magically.
Justin: Do you know if any of those songs that you played at the practice studio became on the demo?
Cameron: Some of the early versions of the song “The Question” we were jamming together. We defiantly reworked it a lot.
Justin: Why did you go with from within records?
Cameron: I love what they are doing man. To me it’s some of the coolest shit happening right now. Like Scheme records, Fortress Records, From within Records. Those 3 labels have a really good finger on the pulse of what I think is cool passionate classic hardcore. From Within is funny because they get into some interesting heavier shit. That is not us. But is still so sick. But then they do other stuff that we do kind of sit along with nice. I like what they do a lot and I was a fan of them before we started the band. When we had the demo mastered and the art put together I just shot them and email. I have never met Carter but I was a fan of his shit. So I just sent him the demo layout ready to go and a link to the songs. I said “If you like Turning Point and Fastbreak you might like this. Check it out if you want.” To people out there, Less is more, if you got a strong visual and just hit it to the point if you are trying to get a label to read your shit. Defiantly don’t send long paragraphs to DIY labels. They don’t care. Half the time they still want a tape which I think is bad ass.
Justin: Could you walk me though the recording choice to change from how the demo sounds to how the 7inch sounds? And when the 7inch is coming out?
Cameron: The demo was fun. One of my closest oldest friends has and old metal barn, he used to play in Jocko with me, he bought this house with a property that had this old building on it. We built this room in there that we keep our gear in and it is kind of on the outside of town where noise is not as much of an issue and we use it as a practice space. Anyway that has been a second home to us for like the last 6 years. Every band I am in practices out there and we are just out there all the time. So we record a lot of our stuff there anyway already. For lead sprit a friend of ours gave us and old 8 track recorder. Because we wanted the live feeling. It was blazing hot. He came out to our practice space and brought the equipment. We recorded it in June or July. We played the songs live to get the roots of the songs. Wyatt did second guitar later and I did vocals later. We just knew the 8 track would give it the feeling we wanted. Very warm and personal. Like I said this is a very passionate project. So we wanted this demo to be very approachable. We recorded it as pure as possible. We were hyped on doing it that way and very happy with how it turned out. Like I said there is a warmth and an energy that I know we would not have been able to achieve otherwise. So to make a choice to change that idea. At first when we told From Within we wanted to record somewhere else he was supper hesitant and wanted it to sound like the demo again. We were worried about that too. If we record at a real studio are we going to alienate some of our friends and fans. But also all our approach to all this stuff so far is just totally purely honest. So with the 7 inch we could afford to go record in Chicago at Bricktop Studio. He just is phenomenal. In my opinion the best engineer for hardcore. He has a certain focus and he plays in Weekend Nachos so he knows his shit. You can just show up and it is just a fun experience. If people like it cool if they don’t it just is what it is but we are pretty proud of it. “Release(Hounds of Hope)” is off that 7 inch which is a single we put out to help promote it. Which was supposed to come out over the summer but we had some delays on art. So it has been taking longer than planned. It should be out soon. I gave the artist a deadline so it should be done and turned over and 7inch out in early fall? Even though the add says summer but that is hardcore baby. For some reason the part that always takes the longest is always the art. But it is out of our control until the art is done.
Justin: Do you have closing thoughts? Where to find you or any new news?
Cameron: Nothing announced but we want to get on the road again. We just did the east coast with Wreckage. Who is just such a sick band to be with. Again Scheme Records is just the shit right now. So many good bands on that label. 7inch coming out hopefully early fall. There are some really great things happening in Omaha. Check out a band called Set Back that I put out a demo for back home that is super sick if you like fucking beatdown. We are just passionate about what we are doing. I love everyone in the band. It’s just like a dream team of people where we have all been playing next to each other for years. Now we are in this band together and doing something we are all just really fucking passionate about. I think that is how it should be. If you can’t give it your all don’t give it anything.
Thanks again to Cameron from Lead Spirit for the interview and be on the look out for that 7 inch that still has not dropped yet.
Chopping Block Interview
Justin: Who started the band and who all plays in it?
Antonio: I'm gonna tell it this time. Kevin started the band from public opinion when he lived in Seattle. He wrote the first demo and, like, approached me about it. He was like, I want you to sing on this, and so we did that. I made this stupid Bugs Bunny meme that you've probably seen before that's like, lord forgive me, but it's time to go back to the old me, and I just, like, scratched off old me and put play Youth Crew. And Matt saw that meme online and then heard the demo and was, like, yo, Kevin. What's up with this band? And Kevin's, like, oh, we just recorded a demo. We're probably not gonna do anything. And Matt's, like, no. This is a real band and I'm in it. And and then basically from then on, everything we've done has been because Matt's driving it.
Matt: I don't think that's true.
Antonio: It's pretty true. Matt makes a lot of stuff happen.
Matt: I make stuff happen. Yeah.
Justin: So, the other 2 guys were immediately on board with the band guitarist and drummer?
Antonio: Yeah. So guitar, Brent has been playing with us from the beginning and Kevin played drums originally. And Matt plays bass and I am the vocalist. But after Kevin moved to Denver, we got, new drummer, Alex from punitive damage. And Keep it clear. And other cool bands.
Matt: Yes. Such a fucking cool dude.
Antonio: He's a very good drummer, so I was very excited to have him take Kevin's spot, and that definitely changes some of the dynamics, but it's good. It's a good group of guys.
Justin: So other bands that you guys are in, public opinion, punitive damage? What else do you guys got on your plate? Anybody playing in anything else?
Matt: I think that's it right now.
Antonio: I think that's it for, like, current stuff. Yeah.
Justin: What's Seattle like? You guys are both from Seattle?
Antonio+Matt: Yeah.
Justin: So what's the scene like there, and if you've got any bands that you wanna give a shout out to that are kind of local to Seattle.
Matt: Seattle scene's good. The northwest scene is good. It's interesting, in Seattle, like, kinda going north to south, there's Everett 30 or 40 miles south of that is Seattle, 30, 40 miles south, that is Tacoma, 35, 40 miles south, that is Olympia. And so we've got this kinda stretch of bands that all, you know, play together sometimes, don't play together other times, but it's pretty live right now. It's pretty heavy right now, which is, you know, I like that shit. So that's cool. But not a lot of bands that sound like Chopping Block in Seattle these days. But there's some good bands. Bad Image, great band from Seattle. Maybe a little more punk. You know, walking that punk and hardcore line, which is sick. Dry Socket from Portland. One of my favorite bands right now playing. Punitive Damage from Vancouver. There's a lot of cool stuff happening in the Pacific Northwest. It's sick.
Antonio: Elephant Walk from Portland.
Matt: Oh, Elephant Walk from Portland. Yeah. We did a weekend with Elephant Walk, a month or 2 ago, and it was pretty fucking fun. Cool band.
Antonio: There's a lot of lot of cool different stuff that. Obviously, gag has been playing a lot again and Apex Predator and Odd Man Out. So there's bands that have been around for a while that are still doing it. There's a lot of new bands too.
Justin: How's tour been going so far? You got a favorite spot that you've liked playing?
Matt: Well, this tour, we call it microdosing tour. Because it's 2 shows. We flew into Saint Louis. We played Springfield tonight. We're playing Bloomington tomorrow. We fly out of Saint Louis on Sunday morning. So it's a kind of a whirlwind for me and Tony.
Justin: Is public opinion playing more than that, though?
Matt: They're doing a real tour.
Antonio: So it was Matt and I flew out. Brent is doing double duty with Public Opinion and us, and he's in both of those bands most of the time. And Austin, who played drums for us tonight, this is the first time we played with him. Like, we didn't even get a practice in.
Matt: First time I met him is today.
Antonio: Yeah. That's true. Yeah. Like, right before the show right outside Dumb Records, it was like “Hey, I'm Matt.” You know, it's like “Oh, we're playing together.”
Justin: That's awesome.
Matt: Yeah. And he's good as hell.
Justin: He's good. You guys killed it.
Antonio: Yeah. I meant to shout him out during the set, and I forgot that it wasn't our normal drummer because it just sounded so good.
Matt: It sounded so good. Yeah. The show tonight was amazing, dude. What's going on here is fucking awesome.
Justin: So he's not your normal drummer. So the normal drummer is Punitive Damage’s drummer?
Matt: Yeah.
Justin: Okay. So I had a question about where the influence comes from, especially drumming wise. There's these songs, like, in never understand and others. Where there is these choppy bits. You know, I don't know how to explain it because I'm not a musician, but, where there's kinda like a gallop in the sort of, lets say “Youth Crew” sort of part. Where's that coming from? Are you ripping a specific band or kind of getting that part just from Youth Crew in general?
Matt: I don't wanna speak for Alex too much, but he and I have talked a lot about the drumming in Vacant State, which is a great band from, Vancouver that doesn't have a big internet presence, but, awesome sort of hardcore punk maybe skin band, and then also the Nerve Agents. Talks a lot about Nerve Agents influencing this drumming. And his fills are incredible, and the the way he contributes to songwriting is really, really cool because he'll hear a riff and then, you know, play it the way you wrote it, play drums to the riff, and then he'll, like, subtly change it and just sort of stretch parts out or condense them or make them choppier. And then we end up, you know, reengineering the guitar part back to his drums because he's such a good drummer. It's it's fucking coolest ever. He'll hate that. He'll hate that we're talking about him this much.
Antonio: That's true. Yeah. But he's great and I love him.
Justin: What label are you guys putting a new record out on, if any? And then what is the new record called? Where can people get it?
Matt: It's on a a new Seattle label called Brain Floss Records. Our homie Eddie's done an amazing job of, putting out a lot of good Seattle music in the last year. I think we're the 3rd release. I think he's got 2 or 3 more lined up, like, in the next 6 months. So Brain Floss Records, you could get it at brainfloss.org. Our record's called Seattle's hardcore. It's a 12 inch EP and One-sided and we're psyched as Hell.
Justin: Anything else you want to leave anybody who might read the zine with?
Matt: I think what you guys have here is really special. I'm looking around and seeing punk kids, straight edge kids, skinhead kids, metal kids, high school kids that don't know what the fuck they're doing here, all having a really good time with no bullshit and no drama. That's not, that doesn't just happen. Right? That happens because people in the scene make it happen. Like, it's so much easier for things to fall apart than to hold together. So I just, I was floored by the show today, the turnout, everything. So keep doing what you guys are doing. It's fucking sick as Hell!
Antonio: The first time I was in this area, we played shows with Shroud. Shout out to Shroud. Shout out all those people and all their bands. Thought Crime, Prevention. Discern. Good stuff.
Then we ran inside to watch Prevention who had already started playing and it was as insane as always. Thanks to Anthony and Matt from Chopping Block for the interview I hope they continue doing what they are doing for a long time because this new EP is fucking sick.
New Releases(Reviews)
Chopping Block - Seattle’s Hardcore(EP)
Seattle’s Hardcore is one of my favorite EP’s of the year. This one sided 12 inch from Chopping Block is next level. I am looking for all the fast energy fueled music I can get from punk and hardcore right now and this EP really scratches that itch. The record has some mid tempo stompy parts but also plenty of straight up hardcore fast beat. I love the section of the song “Clown” at like 40 seconds in when the singer Antonio says “I don’t owe you shit/shut your mouth” and if you listen to the song to me it sounds like he is saying shit and shut at the same time even though he only says one word. That shit is so sick. That is some hardcore heat of the moment energy where you start recording the vocals and just try and yell the lyrics and it ends up coming out like that and it fucking rips. All the songs on this EP are bangers though. Do not skip any of these at all you will be banging your head and singing along after a few listens. I got to see Chopping Block play recently in Springfield and they fucking killed it and played the whole EP. They also had time in the set to cover Agnostic Front “Victim in Pain” which also was so fucking sick. I could listen to this EP all day and you should too. You can get a copy at Brain Floss Records.
DISTICKPATAH - Warsick (EP)
I guess this band likes the term crust punk. I would call this D-beat or maybe even just Hardcore. They are from Kluang Malaysia and the band is DISTICKPATAH. Their new EP Warsick is a really fantastic listen. I love the second song “humanity.” The shit just starts out with a few ring out chords. Then turns those chords into simple rocking guitar with a slower drum beat. Then all of the sudden it hits the double time beat and almost sounds like a youth crew part I don’t know why but then runs into a classic hardcore ragger throughout the remainder of the song until the last minute when it goes slower and they do a guitar solo then fast for a few seconds at the end with some more yells. The yells on this are hard to distinguish the words but luckily bandcamp has the lyrics. I really fuck with this EP the drumming sounds so good and the guitar has such interesting changes in tones that they do throughout the record. I hope you all get a chance to check this one out because I just so happened to stumble over it and had not heard them before and this EP rocked my socks off. The cassette will be out soon on Sukma Records.
Problems - Beg for Release(EP)
Problems new release Beg for Release is great if you like fast pissed music that is channeling the early 80’s hardcore scene. The first song “Repetitive Stress” has one of the signatures of that early 80’s scene where the song is fast for about half and the second half gets about half the speed and does more of a chorus type part with a catchy as fuck guitar riff sequence behind it. “Beg for Release” the title track is a mid tempo banger for sure. I love this EP and this style in general is so my wheel house. We need more shit that sounds like this. This EP came out on Adult Crash Records. This band is all the way out in Oslo, Norway. Shits crazy.
Sidestep - Sidestep(LP)
This record is so fucking groovy I love it. Sidestep I feel in love with a while ago when they put out their “Control Society” 7 inch in 2022. This self titled LP is a magnificent return for this German hardcore band. If you like some funk in your music but also some ass beater and fast parts in the hardcore you will be dancing to this for sure. I also want to call out that vocally this band has an immense amount of swagger. Kind of in the way that Big Boy vocals give off that supreme confidence and it is as if you can picture the way the vocalist carry’s themselves while preforming the songs on this LP. Get a copy at Static Era Records or Monument HQ.
Torena - No Control(LP)
Torena from Oxnard California is back with another banger. The new LP No Control out now on Daze Records is a brand of hardstyle I love. I really like bands like Downpresser and they hit me with some of those same themes throughout this EP. Great intro. I love songs like No Control because of the fast parts with the metal influence and then the chorus is so easy to bounce along to. Then the songs closes with a heavy ass beater part but not to slow. This LP has been on repeat for me I love this shit. I also really fuck with “Fueled by Rage.” This track just gets me moving and is supper well written I just cant help but bang my head and sing along. Great band who is doing some really cool things. I defiantly think this is their best material so far. I also want to call out that this stands apart from other such releases of its type. I think Torena, and this LP in particular have a special style that is not quite in line with what 90% of hardstyle hardcore is doing and their sound is extra refreshing to me for that reason.
Periferia - Antijaula(EP)
Santiago, Chile comes in with this ripper from Pefiferia. The Ep is called Antijaula. I love this shit. Punk as fuck. Super high energy. I love the 2 singer dynamic and just the energy this brings is super refreshing. It reminds me of and old school punk era that I can’t quite put my finger on what band I feel they remind me of. But it is a very familiar sound and the songs are just so full of energy in a really refreshing way. This is unlike anything I have heard this year. Seems like kind of a lost art to make Punk rippers like this.
Other New Releases
I don’t have time to review everything unfortunately and I also have little time on my hands these days. In the interest of getting this zine out at some point in time I am going to just post the link to the music in this section and you can look the bands up and do the research to find out where to get the records and so on because If I do that with this many records this shit would have never come out.
V/A Stronger Than Before - Volume 2 (EP, Comp)
Oi!/Punk
Sick/Tired - Whip Hand Paranoia(LP)
Grindcore/Powerviolence
VA - One Scene Unity: A Hardcore Compilation Vol. 4(LP)
Various Hardcore
Punitive Damage - Hate Training(EP)
Fast Hardcore
MOB 47 - Tills Du Dör(LP)
Old School Hardcore
Drug Church - Prude(LP)
Alternative Rock
Thridface - Minsterial Caeteria(LP)
Hardcore
Prevention - Fall 2024 Promo
Modern Midwest Style Hardcore
Monument X - Time for Drawing More Life(EP)
Youth Crew
Koyo - Mile A Minute(EP)
Pop Punk
Haywire - For Better Or For Worse(EP)
Hardcore
Si Dios Quiere - No Angels(LP)
Hardstyle Hardcore
Illiterates - Tour Tape 24
Hardcore
The Next Level - Demo(2024)
Hardcore
Step by Step - PROMO 2024
Hardcore/Youth Crew
S.H.I.T. - For A Better World(EP)
Hardcore
Brigade - Protest(CS)
Hardcore
SlutBomb - Attentäter(CS)
Hardcore
Condition One - Another Hopeless Prayer(EP)
Hardstyle Hardcore
Shows
Thanks to @shanussy217 on instagram for the pictures. Also defiantly open up the posts I have linked here to see more pictures of each of these sets.
Since the last zine I went to see Lead Spirit in Springfield at Dumb Records. This show was great. Same as every show at dumb Records. Lead Spirit went over really well. There were a few stage dives and some sing along and plenty of dancing.
I also went to see the record release show for No Guards 7 inch war over me. This was a great show all the way through. I missed the first band Class Violence. But the second band Reject Modernity was pretty dope and they covered Agnostic Front “Gotta Go” which got a lot of singing along.
Then Colossal Man played. This band as well as Civilian were the main reasons I went to this show. I love the newest Collosal Man promo tape. They played both of those songs and I thought they sounded great.
Next up was Civilian and they fucking blew me away to be honest. One of the best sets I have seen in a long time. They played the 3 songs on their demo which is one of the best demos of the year. The new school Oi punk type shit. That is a little lo-fi but still fucking rocks. They also played a new original song that is not out yet and then ended the set with a cover of Cock Sparrer’s classic Riot Squad. The room went nuts. There was probably 200 people in this room and at least 50 people were getting involved in singing along. Including pilling up towards the stage. This was so much fucking fun and a great song.
Then No Guard played and they did the whole 7 inch I think. Closing with my favorite track which is “Me and You”. They get so much love from this area whenever they play I think they are just going to keep getting bigger. Definitely a band to watch.
Then Soft Kill closed the show. They are a indie/alternative rock/shoegaze band. I thought they would be boring as fuck but I was vibing with it. Not like I was vibing to Civilian but they are defiantly a cool band people should check out.
I also went to see Chopping Block at Dumb Records and they fucking rule. I got the chance to interview those guys and they are awesome. I got to sing along with them during the set many times. Their EP might be one of the best of the year. They are unreal. Every song is fucking amazing front to back. They played the whole EP as well as 1 older song. They also covered Agnostic Front “Victim in Pain” which was fucking sick.
I just recently went to see Haywire in Peoria. The spot was one I have never been to before. It was at a community center. The show itself was on the gym floor. The bands were set up under the basketball hoop on the floor. Their had to be over 100 people in the room. Each band went over great. I missed the first 2 but I saw Prevention and No Guard. Both I have seen before but both rule every time as they are loved in Central Illinois. After No Guard played they announced they are doing a split with Haywire and that they are going to play them in a basketball game right there on the court and use the audience participation (Cheering on the teams) audio in the split. I stayed inside in between bands to watch the basketball game. I have never seen anything like this before it was a bunce of fun to watch. It reminded me of the stories of the football game between Floorpunch and Ten Yard Fight. Haywire won the basketball game. Then Haywire headlined the show, they fucking killed it. When they play their sing along songs - which is most of their songs - people were piling up 20 people at a time and then someone would jump on top of the group like a dog pile. It was fucking epic. Haywire rules and you should check them out if you have not they are going to just keep getting bigger over the next few years.
Hardcore fucking rules - But writing is time consuming.
Listen to Youth of Today.
Don’t stop doing this shit. I love this music and we need more of it. I have been super busy these last couple months as I have started volunteer organizing work in an organization called Workers Strike Back that is organizing in the streets and in our workplaces against the bosses and their political servants. Hopefully after listening to YOT like I just told you to do Ray Cappo has made you possi-ified into considering taking some direct action to “Maaayyke aaaaa Chhaaauuhhaaauhhaaauhhnge” don’t worry this isn’t some Krishna shit. Just some building up unity amongst workers and calling for militant labor action to use our unity to smash capitalism.
If you miss this December meeting click here for January meeting information.
This has been a tall task that has sucked up my time I would normally spend on these articles. I will try to keep posting every few months but I think I am mostly going on hiatus other than if something exceptional comes across my radar. I will probably do a year end post in some way. Probably late though. I am spending lots of time trying to take the politics I have learned in punk and using it to fight back against this oppressive fucked up system we live in. Even if my actions are meaningless at the end of the day I think it is important for me to spend this time to be in constant struggle for the betterment of the working class. Hardcore points out that solidarity is key. That we need to unite, and I am taking those lessons and applying them more broadly to the working class as a whole and not just people who come to shows. But we do need unity in the scene and I think fighting for that gives us some lessons we can take to broader society and bring about revolutionary change. As always reach out at my email in the about tab if you have anything you want to talk about or new music I should be in the know on. Hardcore fucking rules. Keep it real. Catch you next time.