Steve Yu of Death Before Dishonor on "Victim In Pain"

Steve Yu with Death Before Dishonor at CBGB's, Photo courtesy of: Mark Ryan

I am very happy to hear my Hardcore Brothers - Agnostic Front, are re-releasing "Victim In Pain" next month. When people talk about NYHC in conversation or on the web, automatically Agnostic Front is a topic. They put their stamp on Hardcore back in the late 1970's. I remember the first time meeting with Vinnie at CBGB's - he would always say hello to all the kids, it did not matter the way you looked, or the color of your skin.

Eventually we (Death Before Dishonor) become friends and started opening for AF. I will always remember Vinnie and Roger being great people and helping all the Hardcore kids in the past and now. It's my honor to say: "CONGRATULATIONS TO MY BROTHERS AGNOSTIC FRONT ON THE NEW RECORD AND HARDCORE FOR LIFE."

Best Regards
Steven Yu


Ken Wagner, Roger Miret and Steve Yu at the benefit for Jimmy Gestapo's legal fund, Photo: Laura Zeitlin

Kevin Crowley - The Abused

The Abused, a NYHC original, and one of the very best early 80s EPs. Appropriate coverage has been on the DCXX checklist since day one, finally we catch up with singer Kevin Crowley. We need a drug free youth... -Gordo DCXX

Where did you grow up?

New York City for the most part, but I “did time” in Lansford, PA; Streamwood, IL; Woodbridge, CT & Netanya, Israel.

What was your early music exposure?

I have a sister who is eight years older than me and very musically inclined (hi Radha). When she was in her teens she played drums in an all girl rock band. They used to rehearse in her bedroom (it was the coolest thing in the world to a six year old). There was always music blaring in our house. So while my friends were humming the theme songs to Speed Racer & Ultra Man, I was being weaned on the likes of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple & Led Zeppelin.


Youngblood, Kerry Kraker and Kevin Crowley, Photo courtesy of: Kevin Crowley

How did you get into punk and early HC?

I moved back to the city just as I was about to enter tenth grade (fall of 1980?). I got accepted to Music & Art HS which at the time was up in Harlem near City College. I remember standing outside of the school on the first day, seeing a group of kids who were punk rockers and being in awe of them. They looked and dressed so different from everyone else. They were an obvious minority, yet they were oblivious to all the kids around them who were staring or making comments. I instantly identified with them. I ended up becoming very good friends with a kid named Kerry Kraker, who turned me on to a lot of really great music. We started hanging out on Avenue A and eventually progressed from “punks” to “Hardcore Punks”. 


What were some stand out early NYHC shows you attended?

The first shows I went to were at A7 and were probably the most influential. Bands like Kraut, Heart Attack & The Mob always put on great shows there. Seeing the Bad Brains play at Irving Plaza and seeing the Dead Kennedys play in Staten Island also stand out in my memory. I don’t think I went to a show that didn’t stand out in one way or another. It was a really great time to be into the scene.


Who were your favorite punk/HC bands of the time?

For such a simple question, I’m having a hard time coming up with an answer. So many bands were so good. Most bands’ records don’t do justice to the live shows they put on. But, if I have to name names…the Bad Brains would probably top the list followed by (in no order of importance): Minor Threat, Kraut, The Mob, Heart Attack, SSD, Urban Waste, Cause For Alarm, Antidote, Reagan Youth…etc (this list is pre Murphy’s Law / Agnostic Front / Cro Mags). I also listened to a lot of Discharge & GBH, although I never got to see them play live.

When did you start doing artwork and stuff for bands/venues?

The first flyer I drew was a “coming soon” flyer for The Abused (we wanted to build some hype once I started singing with them). So I guess you could say we had the flyer before the gig. In retrospect, it would have been pretty funny if we never played a show after I made that flyer. I pretty much stuck to flyers for our own shows. The pointillism technique that I used was really labor intensive and the flyers took a long time to complete.

How did you get to know the other guys in The Abused? What did you do before the band musically?

I met the other guys at A-7, Raf & Dave basically came up & introduced themselves to me. I really didn’t get to know them until we started playing together. We ended up becoming great friends. Pre-Abused I wasn’t doing anything musically except for pretending to play guitar. I wasn’t very good. Let’s just say it’s a good thing I stuck to vocals.

To be continued...

The photography of Mikey Fast Break

A monster stage dive during Outspoken, 3-1-1991 at Moorpark High School, Photo: Mikey Garceau

It's been a fairly text heavy week here at DCXX, so we thought we'd hit you with a handful of selected photos from the lens of Mikey Fast Break. There's still at least one more entry coming from our interview with Mikey, so hang tight for that. In the meantime we take you back to the late 80's/early 90's Southern California hardcore scene... Animal Style. -Tim DCXX


Rob and Mark Haworth with Hard Stance at the Whiskey, Photo: Mikey Garceau


Mark Haworth Zack De La Rocha and Eric Ernst with Hard Stance at the Whiskey, Photo: Mikey Garceau


Mike Hartsfield with Freewill, Photo: Mikey Garceau


A Freewill sing along with Dan O, Joe Nelson and crew, Photo: Mikey Garceau


An off the drum riser jump by Pushed Aside guitarist, Jeff Carlyle, Photo: Mikey Garceau


Another Jeff Carlyle, Pushed Aside jump at the Whiskey, Photo: Mikey Garceau


Outspoken's first show in Jim Lavern's garage, Photo: Mikey Garceau


John Coyle with Outspoken, Moorpark high school gym, 3-1-1991, Photo: Mikey Garceau

Everybody's Scene outtakes with Gavin Van Vlack

Gavin with Absolution at the Anthrax, Photo: Joe Snow

In our ongoing posting of outtakes from Chris Daily's upcoming book, Everybody's Scene, we bring you some great content from Gavin that was caught on tape. Be sure to grab Everybody's Scene for much, much more -Gordo DCXX

The Anthrax, it was a total grab bag of music...you had no idea what you were going to get. You were going to see your friends' band, you knew what they sounded like, but you didn't know who else was opening or closing or what last minute add ons were playing. You'd see some stuff and be like, "Wow, DRI? What? What is this?" Seeing stuff like that, JFA...stuff that just shaped me musically. DRI invented the metal scene as far as I’m concerned. There would be no Slayer if there was no DRI. There would be no me, musically speaking, if there wasn't The Anthrax. I would not have had a platform to tinker around with music and play with ideas and do weird stuff if it wasn't for that club.

So many things that came out of that club, and influenced not only punk rock and hardcore but rock 'n roll in general.

We don't have that underground anymore. The media is so massive now it's just an expansive web that covers everything. The second a band has a million friends on MySpace or Facebook, they're overnight pop sensations. We didn't have that back then. It was like, "Wow, I found this really awesome little diamond of a thing, that's so incredible. And I’m going to share it with my friends and hopefully it's going to blow up into this really great thing." Well, I remember seeing the Cro-Mags in '84 at CBs and being like, "Oh my God... if the real world knew of this it would be horrible." And the problem was, the real world found out and it became horrible. It wrecked the Cro-Mags. That band is such a part of my heart. Those guys, Agnostic Front, bands like, all that stuff...Underdog - you want a New York freedom fighter - Richie Birkenhead, there you go. If people were getting into fights at Underdog shows or Youth Of Today shows...I always tried to take the right side of the fight.


Gavin hits the Norwalk dancefloor, Photo: Jeff Coleman

I would hear "Well Gavin's a violent person" so on and so forth. I can't say that what I did was right, but I can't say that I would have just honestly stood by and watched some of the shit that I saw get validated and not have something to say about it and not act on it.

I’m kind of built like a manhole cover with feet...and that was before I started fighting competitively. Which is funny. I take a good shot. I don't really roll out, I’ve been hit a couple times by some people where they're sure of it being a knockout shot and it just doesn’t happen. Being that young you have this invincibility. At this point I’m 41 years old, I think competitive fighting took that out of me, knowing that anyone can get hurt any time, it’s not a game anymore. It's something I was doing at hardcore shows, getting into fights, to where, brought into a competitive aspect, I’ve been hurt in training more than I’ve been hurt in fights at hardcore shows... I mean, I’ve been hit with skateboards!

There was a good amount of fighting that went on...I had a big reputation for being a big violent thug. I’m not saying some of it may have been deserved. I tried my best to take the good side of things. My only weakness is that if I'm seeing a guy getting beat up by three other guys, I’m going to jump in on it. I’m going to even it up just a little bit. That’s what was happening a lot. This pack mentality. Oh he's not one of us. Some kid's wearing an Exploited shirt! These guys are wearing Warzone shirts. He’s a punk. We’re skins. That’s the stupidest shit ever. It’s so ridiculous.

Early on, it was an amazing, fun and goofy thing, and it became this juggernaut, this Frankenstein...that was the sad evolution.

The puppy stopped being cute at a point. I think I walked away from the concept of hardcore in '86. I grew up around music. All music was good. Then it became this exclusionary thing where, "You can't like this if you like that." It just didn't appeal. As a musician it's stifling..."You’re only allowed to eat bacon...forever...that's it." Well, it's like 2 o’clock in the morning. I don't wanna eat bacon. Not to offend any vegetarians. I listen to so many genres. I don't listen to anything that I’ve listened to before. Either I hate it, or I learn something from it musically.

The Norwalk Anthrax was a really weird time for me. I loved going to CT because I got to see all my old friends, the Sheridan brothers, etc. It was weird because the scene became something I didn't want anything to do with. When we would play we would bring up a band we loved, like when I was in Absolution, we brought up Nausea, and the kids didn't get it. They just didn't get it...that’s what hurt me, when kids thought, “I have to get it.” They couldn't just accept stuff. That to me was kind of indefinite. I played in Burn after that and we still played at the Anthrax. It’s a typical Gavin thing to drive things into the ground. Even with Burn I was trying to do something different. I was trying to get away from doing the normal hardcore.


Gavin with Absolution, Photo: Dave Rabenold

I think the end of it for me was one of the last shows we played there at The Anthrax. I had become really...we were living in Williamsburg, way before hipsters were living in Williamsburg, this was like 1989, I had become a recluse, I didn't even really talk to the guys in the band anymore. I remember we were playing at the Anthrax and this young skater kid came up to me and said, "You're the guitarist form Burn, right?" And I was just sitting there like, "What the hell do you want from me?" And he goes "You made me want to play guitar" He grabbed my hand, basically forced me to shake it and was like "Thanks." At that point I realized how much of a jackass I was.

I was really really angry. That kind of killed things for me. I realized I can't do this anymore. I quit Burn. I had gone back to living in abandoned buildings. I was living in between Avenues C and D. I actually still live in on 6th St. I mean, it's really nice. I hooked it up. But back then, when I moved back, I stayed inside for the rest of the week, ordering food from Chinese restaurants. I was like, I can't do this kind of music any more. It’s just killing me. I just hated everything. This kid came up to me with the biggest compliment I had ever heard in a really sorry existence, I was the reason this kid wanted to do music. And I had the nerve to feel spite for him...just to see what I was turning in to...and that was at the Anthrax, it was sad. That was the club that had made music so amazing for me, but at the end of it, it was the death of all things for me. I didn't want anything to do with it. It had become a Frankenstein.

Another thing was that the friends that I had couldn't come to Burn shows or they would get beat up. I have a lot of friends from the gay and lesbian community, from different walks...there's a lot of violence going on there, and they can't come to my shows. That's what hurt...I remember when I first started going to shows...it was a lot of kids who, honestly didn't know their place in high school, a lot of them were gay and lesbian or just didn't fit in, and then it became this place where you had to fit in, you had to fit this mold. That was the death of it for me, because I had become so resistant to anything, to anybody. I mean, this kid who gave me the biggest compliment, inspiring him to play guitar, and all I could feel was contempt. My attitude was just, “How dare you talk to me?” I could have just taken him aside and said, "Go buy this record, this record, this record, here's a thousand better reasons to play guitar." I couldn't even be that constructive.

So I stopped playing music for probably 6 months, just did a lot of drugs...and then started this band called DIE 116 which was a whole different change all together. We never got to play the Anthrax; I don't think we would have been accepted. We were ballistic way beyond anything I ever wanted to do. That record was my favorite record I had ever done in my life. That includes the Burn stuff.


An X'ed up Gavin with some Stamford Anthrax follies, Photo: Chris Schneider

Chain recording memories from Ryan Hoffman

Ryan Hoffman and Alex Pain with Chain at City Gardens, Trenton NJ, Photo: Ken Salerno

Which is your favorite Chain 7", "True Till Death" or "What Holds Us Apart" and why?

I like them both for different reasons, but overall, "What Holds Us Apart" is my favorite.

Any stand out memories from recording the "True Till Death" 7"?

Writing the songs was a great experience but the recording process sucked! You would have to clear it with Bratton, but from the best of my knowledge it was recorded for under $500. So it wasn't fun at all, we just rushed through our set and most of the music and vocals were first takes. That was the one really great thing about Curt, he would nail it on the first take.


More Ryan and Alex from City Gardens, Photo: Unknown

Any stand out memories from recording the "What Holds Us Apart" 7"?

It was right about the time when Dag Nasty's "Field Day" was released and Bratton and I really like the sound quality of the record, and heard from Brian Baker it was inexpensive to record. Again we were on a very strict budget and rushed through it but this experience seemed more relaxed. I can remember the recording engineer telling us stories about Dag Nasty bringing skanky girls to their sessions which was hilarious. Also, there were stories about the studio's claim to fame, the 80's metal band Dokken. But what really helped make it a fun experience was bringing everyone in for backing vocals: Trevor (Foundation Records), Porcell, Steve from Turning Point, Dennis Boiling Point, Randy Pushed Aside and many others. That helped make it super fun.


Ryan with Chain Of Strength at the Country Club, Reseda CA, Photo: Dave Sine

Arthur Smilios on "Victim In Pain"

Arthur with GB at the Anthrax, Photo: Brian Boog

"Victim in Pain" is undoubtedly, one of my top five hardcore records, ever; pure hardcore, before they started doing metal. How long is it? 25 minutes? It's a quick sonic bludgeoning; a raid on your village and it's over before you know it happened, yet, for some reason, you're grateful. You want it, again and again.

I would listen to that record, constantly. It was the whole package: Civ and I have discussed how we'd stare at the gatefold for an eternity, wishing we could be as cool as Roger, with his tattoos and the chain around his waist. Agnostic Front, quite simply, WAS New York Hardcore; still is.

Is there a better opening track than "Victim In Pain?" ("We Gotta Know," from "Age of Quarrel" is the only one that compares.)


Late 80's GB era Arthur, Photo: Jen Buck Knies

The lyric, "Remember we're a minority and every one of us counts," still gives me chills, to this day; or,

"Society's rules have made me cruel,
I'm just the opposite, ain't no fool.
The way I act, the way I dress,
Doesn't make me strong or best.
Soon they'll find the reasons why
I'm open-minded and not blind."

That was downright anthemic to a 16-year old misfit, rebel-in-training. I had finally found my people: other disaffected freaks, seething with anger and youthful energy. They were blatantly anti-establishmentarian; the entire package; a perfect confluence of music, lyrics and personalities.

I know it sounds trite, but it's true: Punk/Hardcore saved my life. "Victim in Pain" was a major part of that process.

Remember, "There's no justice, it's just us. Blind justice has screwed all of us." Truer words have rarely been spoken, Roger.

For a Better World,
Arthur (Still in awe of Roger, Vinnie and the boys).


Arthur and that YOT Youth Crew 88 longsleeve at the Anthrax with GB, Photo: Brian Boog

Poll results for favorite track off of Brotherhood's - "No Tolernence" EP

Brotherhood… not a band that's been talked about much here on DCXX, so what better time to start than now? Hopefully at some point we'll track down some members for something more substantial, but we'll kick it off here with a few random memories.


Brotherhood - Seattle Straight Edge, Photo courtesy of: Brotherhood

- For some reason I remember ordering the Brotherhood 7" directly from Ron, their singer. I think there was some sort of hold up on shipping it, maybe something about Ron waiting on a shipment of 7"s from Skate Edge Records. I remember Ron writing me and apologizing for the hold up and then soon after receiving the actual 7". About a week later I received another copy of the 7", only this time from Kiersten, Ron's then girlfriend who helped him with mail order. I guess there were a few mix ups and some how or another I ended up with 2 copies of the 7". No Tolerance… No Complaints.

- Brotherhood toured with The Accused in 1989 and played a show in Philadelphia on that tour. A few days before the show I remember getting a post card flyer in the mail and up until that point I had no idea the show was even happening. I scrambled trying to figure out how I could get to the show, but ultimately never succeeded in securing a ride. Unfortunately 1989 was pre-driver license days for me and like many out of town shows, if no ride was secured, no show was attended. Total bummer. I do know that Greg, the bassist of Release, went and scored himself a royal blue Brotherhood "Fuck Racism" shirt which I saw him wear quite a bit. That shirt and those maroon suede Pumas were often Greg's outfit of choice.


- In July of 1989 Ron Guardipee (Brotherhood singer) and his friend Brian (Pea Body) made a trip out to the east coast. Off hand I don't recall why they were out here, but I do know that they ended up at the Bold / Gorilla Biscuits show at City Gardens here in Trenton. The weekend of that show Ron and Brian crashed at my friend Tony's house and we all spent that weekend hanging out. I remember getting one of those SSD "Kids Will Have Their Say" Ex-Claim boots from Brian and a weird one-off screened Inside Out shirt from Ron. I also remember Ron introducing all of us Jersey kids to putting Parmesan cheese on our pizza. We've never looked back.

- During that weekend of hanging out with Ron and Brian, we all took a ride into Princeton. Of course we went to the Princeton Record Exchange (which everyone should do when visiting Princeton), but we also engaged in some straight edge shenanigans. Ron walked up to a couple of dudes, one which was smoking a cigarette and asked if he could bum a smoke. The dude happily pulled out his pack and handed Ron a cig, which Ron immediately snapped in half and dropped on the side walk. Ron says, "Oh damn man… sorry, can I get another?" The dude reluctantly pulls out another, which again Ron takes with his fingers, snaps in half and drops on the sidewalk. Ciggy dude was bummed and considering Ron was a bit of a menacing looking fella, nothing was said and ciggy dude walks away with his head hanging low. Ron says something about Straight Edge Revenge, we all laughed and that was that.


A Brotherhood sing along with Greg leaving his guitar behind and joining in on the fun, Photo courtesy of: Brotherhood

- Later on, the same night as the Princeton incident, we were driving around my town and pulled up on a high school party crowd that was gathering in front of someone's house. We saw a girl that went to our high school and Ron yells, "Stop the car!" We stop, Ron rolls down the window and says, "Hey, are you the singer for Hateful Youth?" The girl looks at Ron like he's crazy and says, "Hateful Youth… I don't know what you're talking about, sorry." Ron says, "You can't fool me, you're the singer for Hateful Youth, you're fucking awesome!" The girl shakes her head and walks away. We later find out that Hateful Youth was a band that Ron sung for. From there on that girl that went to our high school was always referred to as "Hateful Youth chick."

- A couple of years after first meeting Ron, I ended up in Seattle with my band Mouthpiece. We were doing some shows with Seattle's Undertow and of course we ended up hanging out with Ron. I remember going out to eat with Ron and a couple of the Undertow guys and Ron telling me and the Undertow guys that the torch had been passed to us and bands like Mouthpiece and Undertow were the future of straight edge hardcore. I was stoked to hear that considering I was a definite Brotherhood fan and had a lot of respect for Ron. After eating Ron drove me to the Seattle overlook where the cover shot for the Brotherhood "Words Run As Thick A Blood" photo was taken. I was stoked to say the least, unfortunately I had no camera to capture the moment.


Brotherhood - "Words Run As Thick As Blood" Seattle overlook shot


An outtake shot from the "Words Run As Thick As Blood" cover shoot

As for the 7", classic east coast style straight edge hardcore played by a band from Seattle with a singer that sounded as close to Springa from SSD as you could get. I loved the entire 7", but my vote for favorite track went to "The Deal". Why… because of these lyrics:

Litter our streets, with your poison
No concern, for the deadly consequence

We are coming on strong
The deal, you'll pay a price

Step on whatevers in your way
Push and shove, selfish heart
And you will pay

This pain, that you've caused
Like our attack, it's coming back

-Tim DCXX


Greg Anderson with Brotherhood way before his Southern Lord/Sunn O)) days, Photo courtesy of: Brotherhood

The Deal - 82
Til' Death Do Us Part - 63
No Tolerance - 21
Won't Turn Our Backs - 12
Courage - 7
Gain - 5


Here's a video of Ron's post-Brotherhood band, Resolution doing a cover of Brotherhood's "Breaking The Ice". In this video Ron's friend Brian (as previously mentioned) is accompanying him on stage with Resolution. This was filmed by Cedar Bristol at Washington Hall, 12-2-1989 Seattle Washington.