DYS, Suicidal Tendencies and Danzig videos

DYS - "More Than Fashion" at Love Hall, Philadelphia, PA, January 1st, 1984

Surprisingly this whole video week thing for DCXX has actually been pretty fun. with the help of our new contributor Agent A., so many great YouTube video links were sent my way. I know people like reading the interviews and show memories and dig the photos, but one of our goals here is to try and mix things up as much as possible. I know speaking strictly for myself, there were a few of these videos that I had never seen before and upon discovering them, it really inspired me to spend a little more time hunting down other rare gems on YouTube. Hopefully you guys, the readers, enjoyed this as much as I know Gordo and I have. I can promise more unearthed or at least seldom viewed videos in the future. -Tim DCXX


DYS - "Open Up" at Love Hall, Philadelphia, PA, January 1st, 1984


DYS - "City To City" at Love Hall, Philadelphia, PA, January 1st, 1984

As for my choice here, again it was another link forwarded to me by Agent A., of the Boston Crew's, Department of Youth Services aka DYS. One of my personal favorite bands, one of my personal favorite frontmen, DYS and Dave Smalley totally kill it here in these videos from Philadelphia's Love Hall, New Years Day 1984. I was planning on keeping my choice to one video, but really, all three of these make for essential viewing and I couldn't stop at just one. Honestly, it was hard to keep it at three.

First up is "More Than Fashion" and Smalley drops this one with a ton of energy. You can clearly see this was a guy that was fired up and at 1:32, he even goes on to throw up the Teen Idles style clenched fists / crossed arms as if to say, "Straight Edge in your fucking face Philadelphia!". So awesome.

Next up, "Open Up" and Smalley intros it perfectly, "Open Up Motherfucker!". At .36 someone hits the floor and gets piled on until the City of Brotherly Love punks pick him up and brush him off. Ya gotta love the dude in the McDonald's ski cap.

Last but not least, "City To Fucking City... Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington...". This is when the dance floor erupts, but again, in a Brotherly Love sorta Philly way. What a great song, if I had only been going to shows four years earlier, that half hour drive to Philly would have been a piece of cake (too bad I was only ten years old!). Play one of these reunion shows in the states guys, I'll be there. -Tim DCXX


Suicidal Tendencies at Jockey Club, Newport, KY 1985

Suicidal Tendencies, 1985, and the crowd is just getting warmed up during the first song…

When I Want More kicks in, around 4:10 (and right after…THAT is how to do a front flip!!!! I think some Olympics judge just raised their “10” cards somewhere on Earth), it is so awesome I think I need to paint a giant “S T” on the wall of my apartment and get that kid down the block to throw his skate through my tv….

Okay, I gotta go dive off the coffee table. -Agent A.


Danzig "Brand New God" 1994

Coming off of my caffeine-induced entry on a moshing/diving Richie B., it's tough to switch gears into anything that isn't legitimate NYHC, and I'm probably gonna lose some people with this one.

But the reality is that Danzig (the band) is one of my very favorites, and DCXX has yet to really dabble with too much coverage. It's understandable, because even though Danzig (again, the band) is a fringe part of our world with legions of diehard fanatics from the true hardcore scene, there's still a huge camp that finds Glenn himself totally intolerable post-1983 and his self-named band the epitome of all things cheesy. Whatever your position, I don't think Danzig has ever really been considered a hardcore band by the group themselves, and has never truly assimilated with any hardcore scene during their existence. Thus, I've kept my fanboy brain at bay on Double Cross, and so has Tim, who is probably equally a fan.

That said, my love for the man himself and the 1988-1994 version of the band is extreme even on a wavering day and deserves some press here. That era of Danzig is just a powerhouse; doesn't matter that an entire generation of dirtbags and idiots bastardized the greatness of "Mother," or that the band played a lot of terrible looking daytime outdoor festivals, or that they are the one band every goddamn drunk idiot knows when you wear their shirt in public. Let me talk at you and get specific:

Danzig I - flawless record. Took the blueprint of Samhain, stripped it down, built it up, and hit a grand slam with it. Probably one of my most favorite productions on any record ever. Even if Rick Rubin is deemed utterly irrelavant in 2009, I consider him worthy of sainthood for his input here. Need an incentive to put on a leather jacket and attempt interesting things with your jawline? One listen to "Not Of This World." Want to pursue a hot stripper from North Jersey that has jet black feathered hair, a three-color lower back bull's eye tattoo, and an ex-boyfriend doing a 12 year bid upstate for meth distribution? Blast "She Rides" at full volume. Want to steal a motorcycle from a Warlock or just put someone in a coma? "Twist Of Cain," period. Chuck Biscuits is my favorite drummer. 1988-1989 Danzig = rock boner.

Danzig II: a little more metallic, a little slicker, and still completely capable of making me decide that walking into the grocery store with my shirt off while wearing mirror aviators, black 501s, and a Beasty cross while smiling at NOBODY is a totally acceptable move. Chuck Biscuits is still my favorite drummer. Wedding Crashers popularized the fun-line "sexual and violent," but this record defined it.

Danzig III: actually a close tie with the first record for my favorite album. Heavier production, thick as hell, good diversity...just rock power. It's 1992 and yet it feels completely unphased by anything awful going on within the music world at that time. Did I mention Chuck Biscuits being God? I put this record on when I'm in the gym and things literally just go black.


Danzig IV cover art

Danzig IV: Uh-oh. Things are starting to get weird. Some absolute monsters on here, but some questionable stuff is creeping in. Post-recording, Chuck Biscuits would bail with sources telling us he would hole up in his house for the better part of the next 15 years, and then that gave way to John Christ and his BC Rich ("The BITCH") hitting the highway when Danzig said it's "my way." Even the most loyal fans cite this as the beginning of the end with Danzig losing some of his voice, creative vision, and even his physical prowess.

But...even if you consider Danzig IV to be the band's last decent album with clunker tracks, you can't deny the power of the album opener, "Brand New God," which to my ears is basically a raging hardcore song with a Black Sabbath bridge/middle that basically allows you to catch your breath before returning to a place known as Destruction.

This video is just all out power with Biscuits destroying on the drums (possibly one of his later shows with the band), John Christ shredding like a 225 lb satanic priest (2:22 = best sound ever), Eerie Von reminding us "Hey, not only do I have the sickest collection of Misfits photos in existence, but I can wear a velvet shirt with lace and STILL slit your trachea open," and Glenn himself showing off one of the best voices in history with a presence that makes him look twice the size of his true 5'3 stature (5'6 with the lifts) every time he does the patented "my-God-am-I-feeling-it-so-I'm-going-to-hump-the-air-that-is-in-front-of-me" move.

I love Danzig and this is maybe the best evidence why. I don't even care that it is on a fully barricaded arena stage on a Tuesday night in Indiana in 1994...when Glenn yells "BRING ME THE RAIN JOHN-O!!!" over Christ's nun-burning feedback, I'm smashing my head into the wall, pretending it is a legion of Marshall full stacks, and that I have Wolverine-like sideburns and legitimate chest hair. In reality, I am pretty much the safest, cleanest, most all-American looking jock/prep type in the world, and I'm sitting in my house browsing the new Crate & Barrel catalog for high-thread-count cotton sheets. Kinda goes to prove that the psychological transformation as a result of prime-time Danzig video/audio is unreal and comparable to what I imagine the effect of PCP is like on the human brain.

MOTHERFUCKING POWER. -Gordo DCXX