Sort Of Brown

Dear Ayumi...

2011-05-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

It was nice seeing you again. When and where will we meet next?

2011-04-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Nerve Hold Records is coming back with some limited cassette tape releases until I finally settle in a spot for longer than 4 months.

nervehold.blogspot.com

2011-04-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

On Friday I will be leaving the farm I have stayed at for the past month to hang out in Whitehorse at various hostels and couch surfing spots for a week. I have a very
large love/hate thing for Whitehorse. I love it because the independent/underground scene here is very active and it's not difficult to find. I hate it
in the same way I hate Banff or Tofino where it is full of gift shops, hotels, and other stupid things that attract tourist business (minus the annoying Australians).
Not to say it's not necessary, but when it's so in your face it's kind of a downer.

The original plan was to head to Dawson on Monday morning, but alas my good friend Ayumi is coming to explore Whitehorse next week and I just can't say no to that face.

I have decided to fly from Whitehorse to Dawson rather than hitch hike. The 3 reasons I choose to hitch are all of equal importance; the economical factor, the sense
of "adventure" as part of travel, and the self medetation and reflection I personally feel when being on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. To be honest with
you, the thought of blowing just under $190.00 to head to a place that's a 7 hour drive is eating away at me, but the other 2 reasons just aren't there.

Hitching to Dawson just seems like a nightmare right now. I'm told it's an easy hitch that can easily be done in a day, but when I think about standing on the side of
a road, alone, for an unpredictable amout of hours, the only thing that comes to mind is "no fucking way". I am usually quite fond of the hours spent alone. It gives
me time to reflect, listen to nature, read, write, or just close your eyes and enjoy the solitude. I think almost anyone that has ever hitch hiked will tell you
the same thing (unless you're just trying to get from point A to point B and you're incredibly hungover, which I learned last weekend).

In the last 45 days, I have literally spent 98% of my time either alone or with
2 strangers (and at the end of the day, even though you work, eat, and share a home with them, they are still strangers), and I'm much more excited thinking about
setting up my tent, finding a job, and living normally* for 3 months. Sure, it only takes a day to hitch, but the excitement, and more importantly, the NEED to start
something fresh would make those 24 hours feel like hundreds.

It's been an incredible time on these farms. I would encourage anyone interested in self sustainability, good food, and meeting like minded people to give wwoofing a
shot. The things you learn are things you will take with you for the rest of your life. When I think about what life is like in the city, buying food that you hope
wasn't sprayed with too many chemicals or treated too badly (and I can tell you, with words like "organic" and "free range" being such hot words in the food market
right now, you REALLY need to look into the companies you buy from), being bored 5 minutes after you turn off your laptop or television, turning on a tap or flushing a
toilet with no connection to how you're getting that water or where it's going, it urks me now. In all likelyhood it will be something I'll need to be apart of again
soon enough, but at least I'll have a much better understanding of it and a lot more of an idea of how to combat it.

The community aspect of organic farming has much the same feeling as that of the punk scene. You feel like you're a part of something. There is a small group of people
wanting change and actually doing something about it. A community where people communicate on how to make things better. A group of people sharing ideas, books, and
helping each other out. Actually, now that I type that out, it's not much like the punk scene at all.

Of course, this is all random thoughts that would need numerous posts on their own to really go any further. I should also note that I have been doing more writing in
the past month than I have all year. I will probably share some of it, then delete it do to self conciousness, and file it away with the other writings that will never
make it past my notebook or laptop.

I look forward to wwoofing again in Alaska this August.

*Going to a job, paying rent, buying food, going to work, paying rent, buying food...

Playlist

Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
Color Dream - Live In the Sky
Oxbaker - Discography

2011-04-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

So what is more terrifying? Getting picked up on the side of the road, entering the vehicle, and noticing a mild smell of vodka in the air? Or is it meeting someone for the first time that offers you a couch to crash on, and seeing stacks of Black Belt and Handgun Combat magazines on the living room table?

Getting slightly too old for this...

PLAYLIST:

Omegas - Blast Of Lunacy
SQRM - Rodeo
Cursed - II
Relay Of Death - Birth of a Older, Much More Ugly Christ

2011-04-08T19:26:00.001-07:00

Great times were had in New Hazelton, BC. Living in a house run totally off solar panels, a vegetable oil generator, and wood logged from the property is a pretty unreal experience, but something most of us can do (minus the wood part). Pissing on all over the property is encouraged to add much needed nitrogen to the soil. The closer to the compost pile the better.

New Hazelton to Whitehorse was mostly uneventful. Prince George stinks, Dawson Creek sucks, and Fort Nelson will not allow drunk native women on their bus.

At 3:15 in the morning I sat in a Tim Hortons with an oil tycoon, 2 girls who had to take the bus 4000 KM after their car was totalled in Calgary, and an unemployed man who was bored and bought a week long grey hound pass. I would probably never spend another minute with any of them but boredom has a way of bringing people together.

Whitehorse is nice. I will not be taking many pictures of the landscape. If you would like to know what it looks like out my window, find your 4 favourite mountain pictures on your computer, crop & paste them in a paint file, and thats more or less what its like.

Smelly, and a little thinner.

Dan

2011-03-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

2011-01-18T22:18:00.000-08:00

WIKI

2011-01-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

Omegas are the best band in the world right now. The first time I saw these guys was in Toronto when they were recording and wanted a last minute show in the area. The show almost never happened because our band and Eating Glass both didn't bring a bass cab and Molested Youth were playing their first show and didn't have a bassist. I'm still not sure where the one we all used came from.

Demo
JoyBoy mix tape

2011-01-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

Vancouver, BC's Baptists play dark, heavy hardcore. FFO: the the same 7 or 8 bands that always get mentioned when you say "dark, heavy hardcore".

I caught this band over the summer in a sketchy club on East Hastings. They have a 7" coming out on Southern Lord which will get the treatment it'll deserve.

Download
Facebook

2011-01-13T13:00:00.000-08:00

Low-fi garage punk played at maximum volume. Probably my favourite single from these guys. The band has released stuff with P Trash and Fashionable Idiots so you should have an idea what you're getting yourself into. Rip taken from a blog that hasn't posted anything in close to a year.

Download

2011-01-12T02:28:00.000-08:00

Urban Blight on Equalizing Distort.

2 hour interview and live floor recordings from Urban Blight. The interview is pretty detailed and covers the entire existence of the band from the demo to the Euro tour and More War 7". Rather than copying and pasting everything the link above takes you directly to the ExD blog post with all the info and download link.

2011-01-11T10:50:00.001-08:00

2011-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Late pass?

OFWFKTA

2011-01-09T19:40:00.001-08:00

2011-01-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

It took a while to get into this when it first came out. The demo and 7" were pretty raw, as was most of the Choking Victim stuff. Re-doing Nazi White Trash with horns? Piano interludes? And whats with the surf song? All of this was confusing to my 16 year old brain.

But the more I listened the more I loved it. It's still a fucking weird album, but contains all the quality ska/punk/hardcore that the first LoC recordings and all the CV stuff had. I listened to this for the first time in 3 or 4 years the other night expecting to hate it, but I don't. Actually, it still holds up with other favourites.

Download

Buy at your favourite record store.

2010-12-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

Download DOTWO

2010-12-22T19:54:00.000-08:00

Can't stop listening to this. If you're into mid-late 90s Matador/Sonic Unyon/Sub Pop stuff you'll really dig this too. Another steal from Well Fed.

download
Myspace

2010-12-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

This footage is from a show that happened when I was 3 years old.

The first SNFU album I listened to was The One Voted Most Likely To Succeed in 1999 after hearing "Don't Have The Cow" on Punk-O-Rama 2 in 1998. For over 10 years I missed this band for reasons ranging from horrible winter weather to not being able to switch my shift with anyone when working at McDonalds. I saw SNFU for the first time in 2010, and while I think I would have preferred seeing them at an all ages show in southern Ontario 10 years ago, the 19+ show with a bunch of drunken goofs (most older than I) in Canmore, Alberta will always be one of my all time favourite shows.

2010-12-07T12:28:00.000-08:00

2010-12-02T15:15:00.001-08:00

2010-11-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

New and sold out 7" from Texas unit Mammoth Grinder, courtesy of Play It Loud

download

2010-11-19T11:11:00.001-08:00

2010-11-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Terrible sleeping arrangements September 2009

2010-11-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Download

Final Breather Resist 7" plus 3 more unreleased tracks before Steve left and the band became Young Widows. I remember picking this up when I saw BR/Coliseum and thinking "what a weird EP". The band became Young Widows 2 months later.

Tracks 1-3 = Full Of Tounges 7"
Track 4 = Mirrorfucker (Young Widows song with Steve doing vocals)
Tracks 5-6 = 2 instrumentals (some of which are used on Settle Down City)

UPDATE: Thanks to ROBOTIC OBSCURITIES, you can download all singles, splits and an additional instrumental demo at this link HERE

2010-11-16T15:20:00.000-08:00

2010-11-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

2010-11-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

2010-11-11T11:44:00.001-08:00

2010-11-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

2010-11-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

ARK 2

2010-11-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Propagandhi - How To Clean Everything

For a good chunk of the people viewing this blog, this will simply be a nostalgiac look back on being a snotty kid who wrote band names on his or her school binder that was in the beginning stages of trying to find something (ANYTHING) new.

How To Clean Everything made me want to get into punk. I had owned a few Bad Religion tapes and probably listened to that god-awful "Hot dog In A Hall Way" song a million times, but this album just made me say "holy shit, I need more"

This isn't Propagandhi's best album. Actually, of the 5 full lengths they've recorded in 16 years, I can't see anyone ranking this higher than 4th. Musicly, I always found this album to be above anything else on the mid-late 90s Fat Wreck roster (I know, that's not saying much), and listening to some of the lyrics at my age now are almost cringe worthy, but they were perfect for a bunch of 13 year old kids being introduced to this kind of subject manner for the first time.

2010-11-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

Stay positive and healthy in Kamloops, British Columbia

2010-11-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last week an old friend moved in with me. Before the move she mentioned she had a couple sweaters of mine. One was a Coliseum "No Salvation" zip up and the other was a Warsaw Pack pullover that I completely forgot I even owned. I immediately hopped online to download this album. Warsaw pack was a hip hop band from Hamilton, Ontario. I never made it to any of their shows.

This isn't the greatest rip at 160. If you like it, I highly recommend dishing out the 10 bucks to G7 or probably paying less and searching online for the CD.

Download

2010-10-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

2/3rds Wolf Eyes. Tapes and 10" on American Tapes probably sold out by the time you read this.

2010-10-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of releasing this on cassette through my old (on hiatus?) label Nerve Hold. I was always into their previous (on hiatus?) band Our Father and my old band (definitely not on hiatus) got to play a couple shows with them and Cursed on Cursed's final string of Canadian shows.

You can come up with all the "band A mixed with band B" and "genre meets genre" definitions you want. When it comes down to it, it's a solid punk demo made by guys who can't seem to do much wrong when it comes to writing music.

buy
download

2010-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

2010-10-22T13:53:00.001-07:00

2010-10-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

LIVE FROM SIDE TWO

In the Cult Ritual post I had mentioned their Live From Side Two tape and how I couldn't find it anywhere. Well Side Two has recently updated their website and provided a direct link to the Live At Side Two archives. I'm joyed at the fact I can listen to the Nazi Dust, Gov Warning, and Acid Reflux recordings for the first time. I'm bummed to be reminded I also had the Blank Stare cassette and can no longer find it anywhere.

2010-10-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

VILE INTENT 2010 TOUR TAPE

Summer tour tape from Vile Intent. 5 tracks from an upcoming 7", 2 from an upcoming compilation, and 2 live jams. I was able to see this band a few times in Toronto before I left Ontario and was floored every time. You can download their demo and 7" from their blog. Tape rip come from Well Fed

2010-10-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia
Amazon
(try to support your local book store)

2010-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

One of the most intense sets I've ever been to. I don't know if discography LPs are necessary in 2010 (and I have the 7"s anyway), but I would love to see this stuff become available again on vinyl for people who missed out the first time.

2010-10-11T11:05:00.001-07:00

2010-10-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

Confines - Withdrawn 7"

It took a year since the demo, but the first slab of wax from Confines has been released and subsequently ripped by the fine fellows at I Could Die Tomorrow. Members of Failures, Blank Stare, Brainkiller and the vocalist of Cut The Shit playing a little slower and a little rawer.

Purchase from Labor Of Love or Side Two. If you download and don't buy, support side two differently and pick up one of their screened shirts.

2010-10-09T12:58:00.001-07:00

Hibernation season begins.

2010-10-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Cult Ritual 3rd 7"

This is my favourite of the 3 EPs Cult Ritual put out. A band that was often hated (was is the Youth Attack association? the 11 dollar 7"? or just the typical back lash any "hyped" band in the messageboard era recieves?), they were able to put out 2 demos, 3 7"s, and one of the best LPs of 2009.

This 7" contains 2 fuzzed out ragers on the A side, and an incredible cover of Sonic Youth's Death Valley 69 on the flip. I had the live tape which consisted of a Jesus Lizard cover, but can't seem to find the thing anywhere.

All other Cult Ritual stuff can be downloaded on their blog Cult Maternal.

Sonic Youth - Death Valley 69'
Uploaded by scootaway. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

2010-09-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

2010-09-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

EBAY

2010-09-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

2010-09-27T22:23:00.001-07:00

People have always had violent thoughts, and as such, violent lyrics didn't start in the 80s.

2010-09-27T16:15:00.002-07:00

2010-09-26T00:30:00.001-07:00