Youth Of Today European Tour 2010 videos

You probably thought you were going to get through a weeks worth of DCXX and not get any Youth of Today Euro tour 2010 talk… sorry, you were wrong. Gordo dug these two videos up and sent them over to me.

The first video is from Prague and consists of the Sammy on drums, Ken on bass line up. Personally I think they sound great in Prague, it's obvious the night in and night out playing has tightened them back up into a well oiled hardcore machine. The second video is from Italy and has the switched up lineup with Ken Olden taking over drum duties and Graham Land on bass. Apparently Sammy had something come up and had to fly back to NYC early, so an improvised lineup was put in place to finish the tour. If only we could get these guys to play one more show in the states. -Tim DCXX

Flyers and memories from Dave Brown

(Fall Brawl 1989 flyer)

Of the many versions of this flyer - I don't think any of them ended up being 100% accurate. Rest In Pieces & Underdog did not play - but everyone else did. One of the other variations had Judge listed, who also didn't play. Token Entry headlining was cut a bit short due to some police problems outside - if I remember correctly. This was the 1st hardcore fest I ever went to & still one of my favorites after all these years.


(Killing Time/Vision flyer)

Another great WUST Radio Hall event... with a newly renamed Killing Time headlining the stacked bill, I was finally really getting comfortable taking pictures at shows because of this big show. Ken Salerno was on the other side of the stage that night taking pictures too.


(Killing Time at Safari flyer)

This show was actually recorded in it's entirety to be released as a LP featuring all 4 bands... until In-Effect stepped in & squashed Killing Time's involvement, and from what I heard after that the release was scrapped. I had so much fun during Killing Time that I didn't bother taking any pictures of them (and still regret it).


(Killing Time/Sheer Terror flyer)

This show is special for a few reasons... the main one being that my wife was at this show too - though we didn't actually meet until many years later. It was also my 1st time seeing Sheer Terror live & they blew away every expectation I had. I have a soundboard tape of this show that will eventually see the light on youthcrimes.blogspot.com too.


(Mouthpiece flyer)

I think this was my 1st time seeing Mouthpiece, with the main memory I have is of their bass player jumping & accidentally cracking me in the forehead with the headstock. I was a sweaty bloody mess. I have held onto this flyer because it has a young Ken Olden on it in his Domino's Pizza uniform at work... and is still hilarious!


(Shelter flyer)

Me & my friends were outside smoking some crazy weed during Desiderata, and also missed most of Worlds Collide too. I was asked to help keep kids off the stage during Shelter, and accepted, even though I was high as a kite. As Shelter started, things got really blurry in my brain... and I remember looking up at Ray as he stood next to me singing... and in my stoned state I thought to myself "Ray totally knows I'm high & is SO disappointed in me right now". Ray neither noticed, nor cared either way... though I am guessing he thought I was the laziest bouncer with my half-assed effort keeping kids off of the stage that night. It's funny to tell this story now, since it is the only thing I remember about the show. This show memory is a reminder why I love being SE now too.


(Supertouch flyer)

This was probably the worst place I have seen a hardcore show, since it was a tiny bar that was smaller than an average living room. They had plywood stacked on the actual bar area so the bands could stand on it, leaving the audience a tiny area to watch them play. Release opened the show with Supertouch headlining. I have no idea if any other shows happened here, since I never went there again.


(Uppercut/Outburst show flyer)

I can't remember if Strength In Numbers played or not... Outburst & Gut Instinct were solid as usual. Uppercut covering AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" was an added bonus. I don't recall this being a packed Safari Show... but it was still a fun one!

Powerhouse

I first started talking to Tim Pryce of Powerhouse back in 1989. The Powerhouse demo had just been released and I was doing Common Sense fanzine. Tim had sent me a demo to review and right off the bat it became a favorite of mine. Over that year, I must have listened to that demo hundreds of times, then when the 7" was released on New Age, that went into regular rotation. I also had a great live tape that I'm pretty sure came from Tim as well. For whatever reason, listening to Powerhouse on my Walkman while I delivered news papers on my paper route, became part of my routine. I loved that band and it was always cool catching up with Tim, but like so many great bands from that era, they broke up and completely dropped off the map.

Many years later, sometime around 1999 or 2000, I found myself in contact with Tim again. We picked up where we left off and have tried to keep in touch ever since. A few weeks ago, Powerhouse vocalist, Ivan White contacted me and sent me a DVD of a live Powerhouse set, which got me thinking that it was time to bring these guys on board for some DCXX content.

So here we go, part one of what should be a multiple part entry with Florida's Powerhouse. Thanks to Tim for answering our questions. -Tim DCXX

First off, how and when did hardcore/punk find its way onto your map?

It was mostly through skateboarding when I was about 13-14 in 1985. I was about a year or so younger than a lot of my friends, and they were going to shows a lot on Miami Beach at this huge old movie theater called The Cameo Theater. The place was pretty big and every band used to play there. The punk scene was rather big back then – there were 1000+ people at every show there, and there were shows twice or more every single week.



Who were your favorite bands when you first discovered it?

Of course, the obvious – Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Bad Brains, Black Flag, AF, Cro-Mags, The Misfits, The Meatmen, Descendants, Government Issue….


Ivan fronting Powerhouse, Photo courtesy of: Powerhouse



Early show memories? What bands do you recall and who left a lasting impression?

Wow… there are lots… when we saw 7 Seconds (Ivan & I) just as New Wind was coming out – it was incredible. We wanted to meet Kev so badly. We got lucky & got to walk South Beach with him and talk for like an hour before they played. It changed our lives… Bad Brains on the I Against I tour was something else… It was the very first (and only if I recall) show that they actually ran a TV commercial for! Seeing bands like AF touring with GBH was crazy… There were so many awesome shows… Seeing Fugazi for the 1st time was really magical for me…



The Florida hardcore scene isn't exactly the most well-documented, what can you tell us about the scene in those early days? Who were the popular bands? What were the happening venues? What were the positives and negatives?

Well, it’s true that there isn’t a lot of documentation of the scene down there, but it was really big. It wasn’t “splintered” up the way it became in the mid-90s on. There were punks, skins, skater/surfer kids, guys, girls – everyone from South Miami all the way north to West Palm Beach went to every show. It was pretty violent back then too – most of the Florida scenes in the other main cities had white power skinhead gangs & stuff like that. It was never that way in Miami.

There were a lot of HUGE battles in those days. You had to kind of “earn your stripes” back then… First, there was a place called Flynn’s on Miami Beach – then The Cameo was the big place for quite a few years. After we started playing a lot of shows (and setting them up), we had a bunch of smaller venues – The Junkyard, The Thrash Can, Washington Square and a bunch of others… The positives were that we had crazy times and formed truly deep friendships… The negatives, of course, were that it was dangerous at times and people got hurt, and sometimes searching for venues to have national acts come to play was rough.




Tim, Ivan and the rest of Powerhouse, Photo courtesy of: Powerhouse

What are some your memories from the late 80's straight edge bands coming through Florida? Youth Of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, etc. What bands stood out and how did some of these bands leave an impression on you?

It’s funny, my earliest memories were of 7 Seconds and Government Issue. Actually, one of the first of the “spirit of '88” bands to come down was Insted. That was really great – those guys are awesome. When we first saw YOT, Break Down The Walls was still on Wishingwell Records – but they were one of the most energetic bands ever. I think Ritchie was playing guitar for them then, and Mike was playing drums. They all had shaved heads, & of course, tore the place apart. We were blown away be them. In '89, at the Cameo, YOT, Bold, Reason To Believe, GB, Insted & Uniform Choice played all together in one night. That was incredible! At the time, I had been writing to some of those guys - and it was really great to see all of them at once.



Give us your band history? How and when did Powerhouse come together and what sort of goals did you guys lay out in the beginning?

Ivan and I started playing in '86/'87. We went through a few name changes, like most bands – but we just wanted to bring as much energy as we could to our shows. There were only a very few other bands playing HC there at the time – but we all stuck together and made a great time of it. We played as a 4 piece and a 5 at times – but Ivan and I were the constants. We always had fun and everyone who played in the band with us had a ball.

More Powerhouse to come...


Andrew Powell on Drums with Powerhouse, Photo courtesy of: Powerhouse

Favorite Armand / Craig combo band poll wrap up

Sick Of It All at The Anthrax, Photo: Cara Longo

I gotta admit, I'm pretty damn surprised with the results of this latest poll. From the looks of it early on, it appeared that Straight Ahead was going to take home the trophy. I mean hell… everyone loves Straight Ahead, they are a serious fan favorite and well deserved, but somehow or another, it didn't happen. I guess as great as that Straight Ahead album is, Sick Of It All are still the NYC heavyweights, as they should be.

As often as I've blasted that Straight Ahead album, I've probably blasted Sick Of It All 150 times more, and that's no knock on Straight Ahead in the least. With Sick Of It All though, you've got a killer demo, a destructive 7" and a demolishing LP in "Blood, Sweat and No Tears". I practically grew up on those first three Sick Of It All releases. Got the demo in 7th grade from my math teacher (Mr. Koller, a cousin of Pete and Lou), ordered the 7" directly from Revelation when it was released, did my first City Gardens stage dive during Sick Of It All's set with Exodus, worshiped the "Injustice System" video when it popped up on MTV's Headbanger's Ball, danced, jumped on heads and sang along to Sick Of It All so many times between 1989 and now. For those reasons alone, I had no choice but to vote for Sick Of It All. Too many memories and too many personal attachments to vote otherwise.


Classic Tommy Carroll with Straight Ahead

As for Rest In Pieces, I've honestly never been much of a fan. I can put on "My Rage" once in awhile and get a good laugh off some of those lyrics (insert the lyrics to "Balls N All" here), maybe feel the urge to hit the dance floor, but generally speaking, Rest In Pieces just doesn't carry the same weight as Straight Ahead or Sick Of It All.

So in the end, Sick Of It All came out where they should have and all is right with the world because of it. Now go do some serious G.I. Joe head stomping. -Tim DCXX

Sick Of It All - 256
Straight Ahead - 215
Rest In Pieces - 36


Armand Majidi with Rest In Pieces at CBGB, Photo: Ken Salerno

A Time We'll Remember fest 2010

Tidbits from the past

Project X table sign from The Superbowl of Hardcore at the Ritz.

It was on "our table," I guess that night some or all of the bands had a table, like a reserve type thing. God knows we didn't get paid, or a soundcheck or anything. I remember Chris Williamson basically saying we had to play immediately or we couldn't play, hence the drums were totally fucked up, we had no time to set up. Click click click, we started...Alex tried to jump off the drum riser, skidded across and fell on his ass, it was a train wreck but fun. - Sammy Siegler


Project X at The Ritz, Photo: BJ Papas


Original Chain Of Strength hand written lyrics

These were used in early rehearsals and studio sessions. Curt left them in my bass case and I've had them in a folder in a box in the closet next to all other random lyrics for Statue, Inside Out, etc. - Alex Barreto


Chain Of Strength, True Till Death 7" photo shoot, Photo courtesy of: Rev Vault

10 More Hardcore flyers from the collection of Pat West