November and December Shows

**I did my best to put on a list of all the local stuff going on this month and next. If there's anything that you know of that isn't on this post, let me know and I'll add it. You should definitely go to as many of these as possible, even if you have to drive a little bit. The facebook links underneath each date go to the events page so you can get more info on bands and such.

11/17-

Facebook

11/19- Relapse Records Showcase feat:

Hero Destroyed, Iron Thrones, Fight Amp, Mose Giganticus

Secret Art Space

Located on Rink St.

(the alley behind 4th st./diagonal to Wildflower)

Bethlehem, PA

$8 Doors at 7:30pm

Facebook

11/21-

Facebook

11/24- 5th Annual Thanksgiving Eve at Gravel Pike

Animal Haus, Run For It, Stoked on Being Pumped, & Rough Justice

The Gravel Pike Inn

595 Gravel Pike

Collegeville, PA

$5 Doors at 7pm

Stay On Point Booking

Facebook

11/26- All Ages Phoenixville Punk Show

Rough on Rats, Run For It, Stoked on Being Pumped, Dead End Kids

Lighthouse Lounge

243 Bridge St

Phoenixville, PA

$7 Doors at 6:30pm

Facebook

11/26- Food Not Bombs Benefit Show

We Have Heaven, Pet Milk, The Complete Strategist

Secret Art Space

Located on Rink St.

(the alley behind 4th st./diagonal to Wildflower)

Bethlehem, PA

$6-$8 Donation Doors at 7pm

Facebook

11/28- Black Friday Indie Craft Mart

Come see 15-20 local crafters/artists/packrats selling their wares and score a perfect holiday gift for all the loved ones on your list. Screw the mall, shop local!

Confirmed: Eskandalo Hair/Wink Magazine

Loly Designs- Fabulous hair accessories for the holidays!

Save the Kales

Square of Opposition/LVAC

Renee Uzzardi

Matthew Zillhardt and Jessica Echevarria

Christine Rallis- Unique Jewlery and handspun wool items

Paula Donham- Mosaics

Emi Fox - knitted crafts

Sam Keller- Jewlery and Photography inspired by nature

LEOPOCO- Robert Daniels

Blind Willow Book Shop

Raw Stone Images

Kansas Boxes (excellent way to give a gift!)

Gina Mento

Christina Galagarza- C2G2- Repurposed jewlery

Secret Art Space Located on Rink St.

(the alley behind 4th st./diagonal to Wildflower)

Bethlehem, PA

12pm to 7pm

Facebook

12/11-

Facebook

12/17- Skarhead, Wisdom in Chains, Naysayer, Animal Haus, Through This Defiance,

Concrete Reality

The Polish Club

328 E High Street Phoenixvilla, PA

$10 Doors 6:30pm

Stay On Point Booking

Facebook

12/18- Pearls and Brass, Serpent Throne, Gods and Queens

The Nowhere Club@ Christian's Spring 2890 Christian Spring Rd

Nazareth, PA

$10 in advance (http://nowhereclub.bigcartel.com/)

$12 @ the door

Doors at 8pm

18 and over, BYOB w/ID and $3 Corking fee

Facebook

12/25- Super Bang Pow Xmas Funtime Hangout feat Paxton (last show) + 2 or 3 TBA

Secret Art Space Located on Rink St.

(the alley behind 4th st./diagonal to Wildflower)

Bethlehem, PA

50 Cents doors at 7pm

Facebook

Interview with the Straphangers

Hello everyone,

New for this week, an interview with Straphangers, from New York (mostly). These guys have played St. Bernard's a few times, and seriously know how to party. They've got a six-song demo out, aggressive, old school hardcore, it's excellent, fucking great, and more songs on their myspace, the address of which is at the end of the interview.

The following is an interview with the band, conducted via e-mail. Be sure to check these guys out, their recordings are super-intense, and they have a great live show.

I seem to remember at one of your past shows you mentioned that the five of you are from different towns in NY and NJ. Is this right? I mishear things all the time, but if not, how does that work as far as practicing and whatnot?

Yes, three of the Straphangers live in queens, Emily lives in NJ, while Larry travels two hours each way from Staten Island. But traveling once a week to Queens to practice is doable and when we have to bring equipment for shows someone always manages to find a ride.

Any favorite places to play? How far west have you played?

We have had pretty good responses in PA. We were in Bethlehem and Pottsville twice and had some fun times there, and Pottsville was the farthest west that we have played. And once a month we will play somewhere in the city. Most of the punk/metal venues are now in Brooklyn and Queens so there’s usually a pretty good turn out for the shows in those boroughs. A lot of the places that we started out in are closed, like Bar 131 in Queens, the Continental, Knitting Factory (closed in Manhattan and re-opened in Brooklyn), Otto’s is always a favorite of ours located in downtown NYC, but they recently had a fire so we’re not sure when we can start playing shows there again. Most recently, the best response we had was at the Hill Tap Tavern and we’ve deemed it “the best response” because three people were bleeding profusely by the end of our set.

Your style pulls a lot of from hc, punk, and metal—what kinds of bands do you find yourselves playing with? I’d imagine you could get on all kinds of different shows.

We have played with so many different kinds of bands since we started. We are always happy to cross genres and play with new and different bands, but we have also been booked on some shows where we were completely out of our genre. In those instances we either cleared out the room because we were too heavy or the place went insane because people had been waiting for an aggressive band. When playing out close to home we usually play with a lot of the Adrenaline Head bands, one of those bands is YoScunt who just played some PA shows with us back in October.

I like the artwork on the demo. You all horror fans?

Yes, very much so. We’ll even cover some horror movie theme songs so keep an ear out for those when we play.

You guys have been together almost ten years. How has the lineup changed in that time?

Straphangers has gone through many changes over the years, and the music has progressed to what it is now. There have been several guitarist changes and Mike, the drummer, left for a couple years and sang in another band, but he is now back permanently. We are all very happy with the line-up now and hopefully things will continue to progress.

What bands have you seen that have had a strong effect on you—anyone in particular who’s had an influence on your style on stage?

The local New York scene has affected us greatly. Our peers are probably the most influential components in our lives as musicians. We all feed off of each other’s energy and creativity and it has been very interesting to see all the bands that we’ve been playing with for years change and grow.

Do you have upcoming plans for touring and/or recording?

We will begin working on a full-length album in January and February and hopefully by the spring time we’ll get back on the road and start promoting the CD. We all have full-time jobs and some of us are parents so it’s hard to do long tours, but we are going to try one or two 4-5 day tours in the summer.

Since this is a Bethlehem-based blog—do you think you’ll be out this way again in the near future? The last two shows you played at the Burner’s seemed to get a pretty good response.

We definitely want to hit Bethlehem again. Probably won't return there until the spring though, after we are done with the CD. True Blue Productions hooked us up with the past two shows at the Burners so I'm sure Billy Dukes and Walt will have us out there again when we are ready to do some more mini-tours in PA.

Thanks again to the Straphangers for the interview--check out their info below, and by all means, if they're playing nearby, go see em. -- Mark Rooster

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Straphangers/123179234370450 http://www.myspace.com/straphangers/

First Blood "Silence is Betrayal" (2010)

Track Listing:

1) Intro

2) Silence

3) Preamble

4) Enemy

5) Resist

6) Truth

7) Detach

8) Enslaved

9) Confront

10) Fear

11) Occupation

12) Fascism

13) Lies

14) Messenger

15) Survive

16) Armageddon II

When I first listened to First Blood's debut album "Killafornia" a year and a half ago or so, I enjoyed it. It was heavy and it was aggressive. When I heard that they were coming out with a new album, I was marginally excited. At the very least I thought it would be a decent listen and not a waste of time. I seriously under-estimated it. First Blood took the formula from "Killafornia", refined it, injected more anger and aggression, and "Silence is Betrayal" is the result.

How often do you see one word song titles? It's rare to see a band that can convey the meaning of a song so easily. Most song titles are a phrase, and on rare occasions, a sentence long. From the start of "Intro" to the end of "Armageddon II", the songs all fit their names. I feel like this is a concept album for sure. Lyrically the songs are pretty socially concious and focus on the state of the world right now. Whether it be the wars going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, or the way corporations take advantage of the masses, it's all covered. The anger and aggression in the music gets the point across that something needs to be done, and that sitting back and doing nothing is contributing to the problems.

After 3 listens, this album has exceeded all my expectations. I expected to like this album, but it has joined Terror's "Keepers of the Faith", Madball's "Empire", and My Turn To Win's "No Challenge" (I've been meaning to write a review on this since I got my vinyl copy, but haven't yet. I'll get there) as my list of favorite albums of 2010. Definitely check it out.

Interview with Dan from BURDENS

Hello everyone,

Here's an interview conducted recently with Dan Zimmerman, guitar player for BURDENS. These guys are from Pennsylvania and recently put out a split 7" with Cut Short, from Delaware. The record kicks ass--check it out if you haven't yet. Fast, heavy, metal-influenced hardcore, very aggressive and fun.

BURDENS will be playing next month, November 12th, at St. Bernard's in Bethlehem. Check em out if you can; they have a few other upcoming dates scheduled as well, posted after the interview.

Here it is . . .

You went on tour with Cut Short this past summer—how did that go? What kinda places were you playing?

As with any tour, it was hit or miss with each venue. Either way it was a great time playing house shows or legitimate venues, though we love house shows. Michigan and Ohio were definitely two of my personal favorites. Hopefully we’ll be back there again soon.

Do you have any upcoming touring plans? I’d imagine, like the rest of us, you guys have regular working schedules too—is that hard to work around?

Finding time for touring is a pain. We definitely love getting out and playing different areas, but three of us are in school, and working, Chris is student teaching, and Nick just graduated. We’re currently working on some weekend dates with our friends in Full of Hell that are tentatively planned for January 7-9. Other than that, we definitely plan to tour this summer. We’re also happy to drive out for a far show here and there.

I found out about you guys due to the split 7” with Cut Short, after a show they played earlier this year at St. Bernard’s. I gotta say, both sides are fucking great. How did that record come about? Did you know those guys before?

Thanks a lot. We were really excited about the record and were very thankful that Dave Heck of Get This Right Records could put it out for us. We basically just had 4 songs written, and had seen Cut Short at some shows around our area. We were at the same place in the band’s lifeline, with only a demo out, so we talked about doing a split. We ended up recording 4 songs, 3 of which are on the split, the other that is up for free download on our site.

You’ve had some lineup changes recently, including vocals. Was it easy to switch that up, and how’s the new lineup working out so far?

Unfortunately our past singer, Jared Birdseye, had plans to move away to get his degree, which we fully support. We spent some time trying to find a replacement, but found it was much easier to switch Chris to Vocals from guitar and get a new guitarist, Nick. The new lineup is working out great. Our sound has changed a bit, but it’s most definitely a progression towards better songs.

You’ve got a new record, “You Can’t Save Us All,” coming out soon. Do you have a date on that?

It’s been sent to the presses and should be out Dec ’10 or Jan ’11. Vince of Harvcore Records should have pre-orders up pretty soon and we’ll be planning a release show somewhere in the Philly area. We’re all really excited about the new songs and ready to start playing some more live once the record is out.

The three songs on the split 7” have a little less metal influence than the demo. Was that intentional—or perhaps I’m completely off on this one?

If that’s how the split comes off, then no, it wasn’t intentional. I still feel that it has some real metal influence, especially in “untitled”, and that our demo was a mix of the two genres as well. You’ll be able to find some bangers in our new EP that’ll make up for it.

And what’s the new record like, is it similar to the split with Cut Short, or a different direction?

“You Can’t Save Us All” is definitely a new direction, but still has the backbone of the sound we’ve had since we started. It’s got a song under a minute that after listening, you won’t even know what happened, to a straight rock ‘n roll headbanger. We’re all extremely proud of the 5 songs we recorded at Skylight and are excited to join the Harvcore family.

Thanks for the interview, Mark. Hopefully we’ll be seeing you and some new faces in Bethlehem Nov 12^th.

Upcoming Shows

Nov 5 - The Phoenixville Polish w/ A Life Once Lost, Rock Bottom
Phoenixville, PA

Nov 12 - St. Bernard's (the Burners) w/ Common Enemy, Run For It
Bethlehem, PA

Nov 26 - Harleysville Branch Creek Church w/ Subcolour, Debtor
Harleysville, PA


More Info

www.myspace.com/burdenspa
www.facebook.com/BurdensPA
www.coldcutsmerch.com/gtrr (buy split with Cut Short)
www.sendspace.com/file/une9f8 (free download, 2008 7-song demo)

Thank you to Dan and BURDENS for the interview -- Mark Rooster

Madball "Empire" (2010)

Track Listing:

1. Invigorate

2. Danger Zone

3. Timeless

4. All of Nothing

5. Glory Years

6. Empire

7. Shatterproof

8. The End

9. Con Fuerza

10. R.A.H.C.

11. Hurt You

12. "Tough Guy"

13. Dark Horse

14. Spider's Web

15. Delete

16. Rebel4Life18

When I found out about this record, I got excited. Madball is definitely one of my favorite hardcore bands, and I enjoyed the two tracks from "Empire" that I got on "The Real American HC" 7 inch. I have literally listened to this CD 7 times since I bought it this afternoon.

It's everything you expect from a Madball record. It's fast, it's heavy, and it's filled with the raw emotion that I've come to expect. There isn't a bad song on this CD. The only thing that irks me a little bit is that during the chorus of "The End" the vocals sound a little funny to me. It's nothing that takes away from the enjoyment of the song, and at this point is not nearly as noticeable as it was the first few times I listened to the CD. This is absofuckinglutely an album that's worth buying and listening to. Start to finish it flows nicely, and each song feeds off the one before it. Even with how much I loved Terror's "Keeper's of the Faith", I think I like this more. I just wish it came on vinyl.

Best Why?

I originally intended on pre-ordering "Empire", but a fund shortage prohibited it from happening. When I got the cash to do it, I decided to hold off because by the time it got to me it would have been days after I could have it in my hands if I got off my ass and went to a store. Since the selection of independent record stores in my immediate area is pretty slim (Play It Again in South Side Bethlehem is the only one that comes to mind that sells new CDs), I decided for curiosities sake I would check Best Buy's website to see if they were selling it. They were, so this morning I got up and went to Best Buy.

First off, I fucking hate Best Buy. There is not one redeeming thing that I can think of about the store. I've spent a lot of money at Best Buy over the years, but that is simply because other options are virtually non-existent. Small video stores have pretty much vanished, along with small record stores.

When I got to Best Buy today, I went directly over to the CD new release section, because that seemed like a logical place to start. It was nowhere to be found, but that's probably just because how much shelf space Lil Wayne's new CD was occupying. So off I went to scour the shitty music section to find Madball's place in the M's. Since Best Buy has pretty much squashed their music section it didn't take long to find Madball sitting on the shelf between Loverboy and Madonna.

As I'm walking to pay I notice two things, one that I know for fact is Best Buy's doing and the other that I can only hope is just for Best Buy's audience. You can see in the picture that there is a brief explanation of who Madball is, so anyone just randomly picking up the CD gets an idea of what they are in for. If you can't read it from the picture here is what it says "Madball are an iconic force in hardcore as Slayer has been to thrash. Like Hatebreed, Madball's rise from the streets to dominating stages across the earth is nothing short of legendary". I have absolutely no problems with Slayer or Hatebreed, but I feel it really sells Madball short to have to include two bands that have both had commercial success in order to get the ignorant masses to give this record a listen. The second thing I noticed is that Best Buy classifies it as "Hard Rock". Come on now. That immediately lumps Madball in with the likes of Staind and Nickelback, are you fucking kidding me? Could they have picked a more generic term that's even less fitting then calling it "Metal"?

I'm not even remotely trying to call Madball out as sell outs. I get why their CD is being sold at Best Buy. There aren't a whole lot of other options. I hate Best Buy, but unfortunately if it wasn't for that devil of a store, I wouldn't be sitting here with "Empire" blasting while I write.

Interview with Jess from My Turn to Win

**I know I said that this was going to be posted soon a few weeks back, but it took a little longer, and it was seriously worth the fucking wait. I emailed the questions to Jess like a did with Ray from Bad American.

FTTW: In the last few days I've come up with a bunch of questions, but I have no clue where to start, so we'll just go right to a band question or two. MTTW is made up of sXe and non-edge members. When I first started listening to hardcore, I was one of the people that thought sXe and non-edge didn't mix. How does that dynamic work with the different beliefs you all have?

Jess: Regardless of everyone in MTTW being sxe with the exception of Dave, it doesn't really matter. We're not a "straight edge" band, and none of us gloat or preach about it (being straight edge, that is). Honestly, I don't even really call myself "edge". Personally, I don't need a label to identify who I am and/or what I believe in. The only reason I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs is for myself and not anyone else. Those things are just not for me. If other people want to do any or all of the above.... well that's their choice; it's not affecting me any, and I have the choice to be around or not be around people partaking in things which may make me feel uncomfortable. I have a lot of friends who aren't straight edge. And, especially, Dave is my best friend in the whole world. Just because someone is or isn't straight edge doesn't make them any better or worse; or smarter or dumber than another. In my opinion, the only way sxe and non-sxe doesn't mix is when people are unsure of who they are, or aren't comfortable with who they are, themselves; that's when the ignorance and "I'm better than you" attitude comes into play.

Now that you're done with school and have your degree, where does hardcore fit into your future as compared to "growing up" and entering the "real world"?

Hardcore will always be a huge part of my life. This is a really good question, but man, is it going to be hard to answer this with the right words to describe my thoughts. I'll tell you what.... I wish my mom could understand and it's a shame that she never will. Anyways.... Hardcore has led me to the lifelong friends I have all over the world, has helped shape the ethics and morals that I stand by, has given me an outlet, and most importantly has shaped my view of the world.... something that "normals" will just never grasp. Hardcore has taught me to stand up for myself, it's given me something to fall back on when I feel like complete shit, and it's taught me to say, "fuck you", while questioning everything and everyone around me and the bullshit they're trying to sell. It's taught me to go against the grain, and that it's okay to be different; to make up my own rules. It's taught me a DIY ethic that has proven to be extremely useful, and that greatness isn't achieved by asking permission... and from all of this, I feel like regardless of degree or no degree... I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it. Why not, right? Yes, I have graduated college and I have a piece of paper to prove it, but going to college hasn't created this strong sense of self that has kept me happy. That's all I want in life; to be happy. I've never been much of a planner, and honestly I don't know what it is, exactly, that I want to do as a "career". I just want to take things day by day and see where that takes me. As long as I can pay my bills, I don't really give a hoot. While the majority of America is trying to achieve the, "American Dream", I'll be busy living out my own. I have hardcore to thank for that.

What was the first hardcore band/record that you heard, and how did that bring you into the scene?

I don't know if it was "for sure" the first hardcore band I've heard.... but it was definitely the band that got me hooked; and that band is (of course) H2O. In middle school, a friend of mine who shared similar musical tastes as I did wore H2O "My friends look out for me like family" t-shirts all the time. I mean, every day it was the same shirt but in a different color. This intrigued me. Thank the good lord for Napster and the high speeds of 56 K, 'cuz in 15 minutes I had one H2O song downloaded in no-time at all. That song was, "One Life, One Chance". I then immediately asked my Mom to drive me to the mall so I could just buy the whole damn album at The Wall (Speaking of which, since that store is no more, what happens with the lifetime guarantee?). It was when FTTW first came out. Anyway, that just opened up tons of new doorways for me and getting into hardcore. I started going to shows with friends whenever I could and things just kinda snowballed from there, little by little. The lyrics were what really got a hold of me and I liked that I could strongly relate to them. I felt alive listening to this stuff and thrived on the words and music that actually held some type of meaning to my own life. One thing led to another, and, well, here I am.


Ok, the music questions are done. I saw that Top Gun is one of your favorite movies, and I won't lie, that's pretty fucking rad. Top Gun is one of my favoite movies also, what's your all time favorite scene in the movie?

Obviously, the only answer would be the volleyball scene. Sweaty hairless muscley dudes? Need I say more? Yes, please, I'll take it. I don't care if he's absolutely insane.... Tom Cruise in Top Gun is hot. That is all. The Princess Bride is still my favorite movie of all time, however.

I took a look at your blog, and every post is really upbeat. What helps you keep such a PMA?

I am very happy to say that I have the most amazing friends in the world and I take much pride in the company I keep. My friends and family are a huge help to keeping my head on my shoulders, even when times are tough. I can't thank them enough for that. H2O plays a big part in it, too. I can't tell you how many countless times I've been stuck in a rut that H2O has gotten me through. Over the past 2 years or so I've also gotten into yoga and have read a bit on Buddhism and have found myself incorporating a lot of their "rituals" (for lack of better words) into my day to day thinking and doing. I read a lot of things similar to this blog: http://zenhabits.net/start/

In my own blog I force myself to document only things which are positive because those are the things that I will want to remember. These are the things that make me feel only good feelings. I feel like there is no reason to waste time and energy making your blood get hot over focusing on the crappy things that happen 'cuz while you're busy doing that you're overseeing and ignoring good, simple things going on around you, nah mean?

I'm sure you could tell either by my green lantern t-shirt at the show, or the fact that I told you I could recite the Green Lantern Oath that I'm a bit of a comic book nerd. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?

Among all of the super powers I would like to possess, I think the ability to NOT have to sleep would be at the top of my list. ONE THIRD of our lives are spent SLEEPING. That's WAY too much for my liking. I could be out having adventures instead. Life is way too short as is.... just imagine how much more time we'd have to do cool stuff if we didn't have to sleep. Other super powers I would like to possess would be to eat as much as I ever wanted and to not have it affect my health or weight, to fly (duh), to teleport, to time travel, to morph into a watery puddle like Alex Mack, to be able to warp into TV shows, cartoons, and video games, and to be able to have magical powers like witches and fairies and stuff so I could make inanimate objects come to life. Now I will ask you a question.... which superhero would you consider to be the most BAD ASS? We had this discussion at work today. It was getting heated. I argued that Batman was the most badass, because if you stripped all superheroes of their powers, they wouldn't have much. However, Batman doesn't have superpowers. Even if you took away all of his "fancy do-dads and what-have-you's", he'd still be equipped with his stealth ninja skills... not to mention handsome looks.

** Alright, sorry guys, I didn't catch Jess asking me what super hero I thought was most bad ass, so I'm fixing that now. I absolutely think the Hal Jordan Green Lantern is the most bad ass. He doesn't take shit from the guardians and does what he thinks is right, whether they tell him not to or not. He's overcome a ton of obstacles since he first got his Green Lantern ring, and it's because of him that the rest of the Green Lantern Corps can use their rings against yellow (which was first thought to be the Green Lantern's "kryptonite"). Even right now with what's going on in the DC Universe Hal Jordan is still doing what he perceives as right, not what someone else's definition of right is. Plus his power is strictly based on the strength of his will. His ring will only form things that his will power allows it to. To me that means he has to be unwavering in his commitment to be a protector, no matter what the cost to himself personally. Don't get me wrong, Batman is bad ass with his gadgets and the fact that he's the greatest detective aroung. And Barry Allen, is the best Flash alive, and can help you out in a pinch, but if I needed someone in my corner to help save the world, the first call I would make would be to Hal Jordan. Daredevil may be "The Man Without Fear", but that's only because he learned from Hal Jordan. Apparently you guys have all figured out I'm way into Green Lantern haha.

What's your favorite video game of all time?

Seriously? Is this a real question? This is too difficult. I can't just pick one. However, the first thing that came to my mind was The Ocarina of Time so I'm gunna just keep it at that to prevent myself from making a scroll. I wish that game were real life.


When everything is all said and done, what do you want your legacy and the legacy of MTTW to be? What do you want to be remembered for/as?

Whoa.... LEGACY? That word is pretty epic. I just want people to be able to relate to and enjoy our music. We have fun making it and playing it, so I just want people to have fun listening to it. If myself and/or our band makes a difference in just one person's life.... I'm totally and completely happy as well as extremely appreciative.



I know that you guys have been doing shows in support of "No Challenge", is there anything else you're excited about and/or want to promote?

We're touring Canada and some of the US in November and I am REALLY stoked about that. More than anything, I would love to go to Europe next year. If you are reading this and could help us out with that, by all means, please let us know! MyTurntoWin@gmail.com! haha. (I want to visit castles SO bad.) We also have new merch up online: http://myturntowin.bigcartel.com/ We had another t-shrit design, but it's lost at an APO somewhere because the postal service dun screwed up. THANKS A LOT, JERKS. FIND OUR MERCH. Other than that, you can follow MTTW on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MYTURNTOWIN

Thank you so much. :)

--
Thicker than water.

MY TURN TO WIN:
http://www.myspace.com/myturntowin

http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Turn-to-Win/187925488246?ref=ts