7 Seconds take one

7 Seconds at City Gardens, Summer 1987, Photo: Ken Salerno

Nothing too heavy here, just a happy and fun photo dedication to one of the greats... 7 Seconds. As always, big thanks to Ken for contributing these shots. Use your head, be aware, give a fuck! -Tim DCXX


Bobby Adams, Guitar, Photo: Ken Salerno


Steve Youth, Bass, Photo: Ken Salerno


Troy Mowat, Drums, Photo: Ken Salerno


Kevin Seconds, Vocals, Photo: Ken Salerno

IN YOUR FACE

You wanna be the way I am

But you could never understand

You shave your fuckin' head

Then you turn your back

On your best friends



It's not just in my head

It's in my heart

And you're not gonna 
Tear this one apart

The way you look it fits

How come your attitude is shit?

You say you do it your own way

But now I have the price to pay



If I can give a fuck

You better start, so...

Use your head be aware

Give a fuck!

The same routine. fuck up again

You have no real regrets

But this is not just something

I can easily forget



I can't believe you've come this far

Yet still so unaware

No cause no brains no fire inside

When will you learn to care



Kevin Seconds, a BL'AST! shirt, a happy City Gardens crowd, Photo: Ken Salerno

Joe Nelson Fights The (White) Power

Joe Nelson contiunes with part II of the Orange County White Power saga.

I really didn't think this needed clarifying, but in light of some comments to Part I, let me be very clear: Double Cross and Joe Nelson are not down with any racist movement or ideology, we think it sucks. In publishing these tales, we are letting Joe take us to a time and place in hardcore where this shit creeped up. The below images are examples of the stuff that was circulating by WP types in the hardcore scene. I can't believe I have to actually clarify this, but: WE DO NOT SUPPORT THESE VIEWS.

Thanks and enjoy... -Gordo DCXX

You Tube footage of the Geraldo brawl

Things were quiet on the Western Front for a while. The Nazi skins were not seen anywhere really except on the occasional Donahue or Morton Downey Jr. show. They also gained international notoriety with the infamous "Geraldo Brawl", where John Metzger and a couple buddies ended up in an all out fight with security and other Geraldo guests. During the fight Geraldo had his nose busted by a flying chair. They were now at the peak of their fame, the absolute pinnacle.

I started to think that maybe with all this new found national media attention they weren't as interested in the occasional Aggression or Battalion of Saints show. All the better, I rationalized. I had my 2 stickers, which was 2 more then I had ever hoped for anyway. A lot of us started to grow our hair out as well. The last thing we wanted, especially with the Nazis infiltrating the suburban airwaves, was to be mistaken for one of them at the mall or something.

Around my town of Huntington Beach, a couple of pretenders to the Aryan throne did arise. There were gangs with names like SFU, which is perhaps the most original gang name ever, since every city has at least 3 under the same name, and the Huntington Beach Skins. They weren't as organized though as the Metzger gangs. To me they seemed like amateur hour. I mean for Christ's Sake, they didn't even have any stickers to hand out. How the hell can you run a racist group without stickers?

Then the "Battle of St. Simon Jude Fair" happened. In fairness to the WAR and AYM skins, the H.B. Skins were very minor league, especially for a White Pride/Power type outfit. After all, their leader was a Hispanic kid, and one of the number ones was a Jewish dude, who had a swastika tattoo, and was nicknamed "Cornball". With people like that running the gang it was obvious they would self implode before ever being a real threat to us.

Skinheads on the prowl, Photo: Ken Salerno

However, on a fall night there they were en masse at the annual St. Simon Jude Fair. The kids I ran with were called the O.C. Sloth Crew, and we were considered a gang by some as well. So the fact that we were there at the church fair too meant that there were now 2 local gangs in the same motherfucking place, at the same motherfucking time. It was only a matter of a word or look being thrown before there was an all out brawl happening in the parking lot.

It wasn't even much of a fight, but being boring ass Orange County, where it took place, the local paper reported on it. My friends and I also now had an enemy, but not the one we really coveted, not the real Nazi Skins. It did mean however that we would get to spar with these fucks for a while. It meant we were now able to get some real combat training under our belt. After all, we knew the other skinhead gangs were practicing daily on the lone gay kid, or maybe even if they had a good day, hit the mother lode per se, the occasional single suburban black kid. At least we wouldn't be completely rusty if we ever came across the menace again.

I also started to hear from agents around the country that there were similar problems happening with bush league skinhead gangs. While I was traveling I ended up encountering one of them in Allentown, PA at a Gorilla Biscuits, Insted, No For An Answer, Beyond show. I also heard a tale of Pat Dubar of Uniform Choice fighting off all the Dallas Nazis armed with nothing more then a Gatorade bottle. The menace was indeed national, and infesting the hardcore community everywhere.

The hardcore community retaliated of course, in the BEST way it knew how too...by writing a series of anti-racism songs, and printing shirts that said things like "Fuck Racism". Wow, that will really show em'! I'm sure when the Germans were bombing London on a daily basis, Churchill thought, "My God, if only I can find a great mosh part for this song I'll have the bastards right where I want them." I knew better. I knew that the only thing the Nazis would ever understand was direct violent retaliation. After all, in a war, which this indeed was, you can't sing your way to victory.

D-Day came. It didn't happen on the Normandy Coast though. No, this D-Day occurred at the County Club in Reseda, CA. It was actually the last place I thought I'd ever see The King Of The Skins, and his cronies at. They seemed to be a primary San Bernardino or San Diego County based army. Reseda was Northern Los Angeles, and it was our turf...well, at least the clubs were. At first nobody really cared that they were even there. A couple of kids from another skinhead type group who called themselves S.H.A.R.P., (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) were making a huge fuss about the Nazi presence in the parking lot. They were almost more annoying to me then the Aryans. At least with the WAR/AYM people you knew where they stood, no matter how twisted and perverted their beliefs were. The S.H.A.R.P.'s only stood for a haircut. They were ludicrous human beings really. I remember the argument outside we had with the S.H.A.R.P. leader.


"We have to do something about it," he cried. "They can't be here, we need to team up and stand up to them!"

In my General Patton moment I retorted with "Fuck Off, maybe we should just team up with them and kick you and your communist nerd friends' asses instead."

The S.H.A.R.P. leader babbled on for a while about their tradition, and something about how the "Skinhead" look came from Jamaican Moonstompers in the late 60s...I eventually turned to him and said "Jesus Christ are you still talking to me about this?" Inside I knew though that the little moonstomper was right. Today was the day, and they would probably have to help us rid the punk world of the scum once and for all.

Once inside the club I approached my "friend" David and his gang. I figured I'd determine how many there were, and at the least get another sticker for my collection from them. At first he didn't even recognize me, since my hair was now grown out. He introduced me to his girlfriend, who called herself "Eva Braun" if you can believe it. She actually had a couple of cuter girls with her, which was about as shocking a thing you could find at a show in those days. Nazis at shows Sieg Heiling the bands all night was commonplace, but one cute girl? No fucking way. That just didn't happen.

Sarcastically I asked if they had any new stickers, and to my surprise, Eva Braun handed me one that had what I imagine was the Aryan idea of a dream girl, a full figured blonde holding an M16. It had a message as well stating something like "My man is a real racist..Is yours a wimp?" Some gibberish like that.

"Rad...thanks" I said.

I returned back to base, and reported on the numbers of the enemy. Twenty maybe? Weapons? None I could see. We talked for a while about the best strategy to attack them, and concluded we didn't really have one, and that it was weird to just attack somebody first without being attacked. "Fuck, we suck" I said, "We've waited for this day, and now that it's here...we don't even really care. Oh well."

Then out of the blue and from the Country Club stage came Big Boss, a rock of a man, who I'd watch fight everybody throughout the years, and never come close to losing. He was a legend, and one of our greatest allies in the scene. Behind Big Boss stood the Chorus of Disapproval guys, including our very own "Street" Regis Guerin. Big Boss was shouting at the Nazis, who in between my undercover mission and failed strategy summit had started sieg heiling. There wasn't even a band playing yet either. They were just Sieg Heiling the empty stage. Obviously they'd gone completely mad, and Big Boss was not going to have it. Not tonight. It was ON!

Frank and crew charged the Nazi skins from the front swinging at all of them wildly, and we immediately attacked their left flank from our position, and when we met in the middle it was a full on war. Guys picked up chairs and started bashing the Aryan Warriors with them. Big Boss was dropping 2 - 3 of them at a time, while the tougher dudes from our platoon like Scott Sundahl, Brett Page, and Greg Brown were head butting them and doing wild WWF type maneuvers off the tables into them. Together we pushed them into the streets of Reseda, and the battle continued out there.

Somewhere in the melee the S.H.A.R.P, skins joined up increasing our number to an overwhelming majority. The Nazis were falling in heaps left and right. They were getting brutalized. They were done. I watched David flee in terror, nose bloodied, into an alley. If he had a slingshot to hurl at us it never materialized. It would be the last I ever saw of him. Some of his followers held their ground a while longer, but eventually succumbed to the constant assault of fists and feet. As they all retreated, somebody from our side screamed, "You thought Hitler was cool? That's what you get."

It was over. We had won. The Nazis were never seen at a show I attended ever again. Eventually after a series of betrayals, the entire Metzger organization collapsed, ending with a crushing defeat inside a Portland, OR civil courtroom in a wrongful death suit. As for me? WelI I ended up going home after the show with one of Eva Braun's friends who had stayed behind. I guess I felt that a true warrior gets to take the losing armies one cute woman with him. I mean that's what Genghis Kahn would have done, right?

I remember back at this girl's house hung a full on Nazi flag, a collection of 45's from the English Nazi Rock band Skrewdriver, and on her bedside table an 8 X 10 of a smiling Tom Metzger, displayed proudly like one would a boyfriend. As I lay there in her bed staring at this creepy picture, trying not to think of the "father" issues she obviously had, and reflecting on the war which had just been waged, I said to myself, "one day I need to talk to this fucker, this Tom Metzger, and get some answers as to what happened here, during this time in our lives". In the year 2002 I would finally get that chance, and although no real answers came from our discussion, I did get a funny fake Christmas card out of it.

The Skinhead salute, Photo: Ken Salerno

Fanzine Spotlight: Boiling Point

The complete Boiling Point collection

It's been awhile since we've done one of these Fanzine Spotlights, so why not kick it off again with one of the best fanzines ever... Boiling Point. Done by Dennis Cheng, Tim Singer and Tom Rockafeller and generally based out of New Jersey, Boiling Point was THE hardcore fanzine of the late 80's.

From it's first issue with Bold, Side By Side, Gorilla Biscuits and American Standard, these guys blew the doors off the art of fanzine making. Layout and design that was second to none, excellent photography and all telling, indepth, well done interviews with the best bands of the day. There's no question that Boiling Point set the mark high and although many tried to replicate the formula (myself included with Common Sense), very few could ever come close.

Some how or another I ended up with a copy of the first issue early 1988. Right from the minute I saw the cover I knew I was in for something special. A clean reversed white on black Boiling Point logo across the top of the cover with a hand drawn classic looking straight edge guy, complete with the backwards hat and Champion hooded sweatshirt, a city skyline / brick background and clean, bold band logos. Then as you start paging through you find great features like the Boiling Point playlists, "Boiling Over" which was B.P.'s faves, "Quittin' Time" which were bands B.P. thought should hang it up and "Up And Coming", which were bands the B.P. crew thought you should check out... and you better believe I did. Then on to the interviews, starting with Bold, just a great interview, awesome photos, cool flyers, nice layout, which is pretty much the same story for each interview. By the time you're finished reading issue one, you really find yourself enthralled with the bands and that late 80's New York City Hardcore.


Me You Youth Crew, a spread out of the YOT interview in issue two

As if after reading issue one you didn't think the Boiling Point crew could out do themselves, they went ahead and did just that with issue two. Picked my copy up directly from Tom Rock at the Bold, Rutgers Scott Hall show. Ever so slightly streamlined, issue two picks you up and drowns you in what I believe might be their best issue ever. More great, powerful, bold, layouts, more flawless photography and some of the most memorable interviews you'll ever read with classic bands like Youth Of Today, Wide Awake and Half Off. If you happen to be as big a YOT fan as myself, this interview simply can't be missed. It goes down right after YOT bounced back from their break up and it's just one of the best you'll read. Total "Flame Still Burns" vibe in interview format. Here's a great quote from Ray: "For everyone that hates you, there's always more that love you, I think you try to do something good in a hardcore scene that's generally full of drugs, dorks and people that are into chaos and stuff like that. If you try to say something decent and humane you're gonna get cut down. I've already accepted it as my job to be criticized". So fuckin' good, the kind of stuff that really gets my blood pumping. And how can leave out this classic quote from Porcell: "Me and Ray saw DK's and beat fuckin' Jello Biafra up. I ripped a cigarette out of Klaus Flouride's mouth and stepped on it. We were obnoxious kids. Ray had a "straight edge in your face" banner on the back of his jacket". They Ray says, "On the back of my jacket I had a picture of this straight edge guy punching the cigarette out of the mouth of this guy with a mohawk. It said, "Violent Children: Straight Edge In Your Face". Wow, so good.


The back covers of Boiling Point, take notice to the cut and paste film strip layout

I could honestly go on and on about every single issue (with the exception of issue five which takes a bit of an over all dip). But I'll just mention a few highlights. Issue two and a half, with Choke of Slapshot and Dave Smalley of DYS / Dag Nasty, again great interviews and then once again, layout wise, even more strides from the earlier issues. To this day, my jaw still drops looking at that back cover with the slanted film strip and incredible photos promoting the interviews for the next issue. Then issue three, which many might argue to be the best issue ( I know this is Gordo's favorite), with the Chain Of Strength, Beyond, Sick Of It All, Raw Deal and Fugazi interviews. More mind blowing layouts, more sick photos, more impressive interviews, always stepping it up a notch. Issue four, although slightly lighter in content, has two heavy interviews with Judge and Inside Out. The Judge interview in particular has a typically great B.P. style layout. Although as I had mentioned, issue five, the last and final issue of Boiling Point, takes a stumble in overall quality, it's still well worth checking out. It's just that interviews with the Treepeople, Soundgarden and Hammerbox, I could do without. But I will say, the Amentiy interview is pretty good and there are some great photos included in there.

So there it is, Boiling Point, if you've never seen it, by all means, track it down. If you have some of these issues, you already know the deal. Hardcore fanzine greatness personified. -Tim DCXX


A heavy band, a heavy interview, a heavy layout

Favorite Verbal Assault release poll results

Chris Jones of VA at CBGB's, Photo: Ken Salerno

Poll after poll I seem to always go with the unpopular vote. Granted, I love "Trial", great record, no question. Not a surprise to me at all that "Trial" dominated the votes. As much as I like "Trial" and agree that it's pretty much the classic Verbal Assault record, my vote went to "On". There's just something about "On" that really hits me. The songs are heavy, groove filled and definitely next level. But hey, I'm just one vote, well actually I guess 56 others agreed with me. Either way, both are great records and I'm looking forward to the Volume Two discography CD, which I assume will be released at some point this year. -Tim DCXX

Trial - 167
On - 57
Learn - 25
Tiny Giants - 18
The Masses - 7
Your Choice Live Series - 6
Exit - 5


Verbal Assault at CBGB's, Photo: Ken Salerno


Pete Chramiec with VA at CBGB's, Photo: Ken Salerno

Intensity at City Gardens 3/11/1990

I've had this footage saved as a favorite of mine on YouTube and have planned to post it here on DCXX for quite awhile now. Tonight seemed like as good a time as any considering most of this weeks posts have been a bit text heavy.

Most of you are probably wondering, "Who the hell is Intensity?", well I'll try to fill you in. Intensity were from Princeton New Jersey, which is a town over from where I grew up. My friends and I all picked up their demo at a BOLD, Up Front show in Sayreville, New Jersey. At the time, which I believe was 1989, picking up a new demo by a band from Jersey that had a huge X on the cover seemed kinda cool. Jersey had bands like Turning Point, Release, Enuf and of course Vision, who at the time were pretty much making the most waves. To find a brand new band was exciting because you never knew if they were going to be the next big thing.

On the way home from that BOLD, Up Front show I remember us all listening to the Intensity demo. Then once we got home we listened to it again and again. Although lyrically it was pretty damn goofy (the lyrics to "Jersey Shore" are priceless), musically it wasn't that bad, total mosh fest type of stuff, like a straight edge version of Maximum Penalty or maybe even Breakdown. Soon after we ended up meeting the guys in the band, hanging out and getting to know them. Eventually I even had a hand in getting their 7" released on a new D.C. label done by Ken Olden, called Common Sense Records, which was an off shoot from the fanzine that myself and my friend Tony were doing at the time.


Intensity at City Gardens, check out their guitarist Jordan with the drum riser jump, right behind Chris their singer

Some how or another Intensity actually had a lot of hook ups. I know their drummer Kevin was friends with Drew from BOLD, so they would get show hook ups through them. They also got some sort of hook up with Judge and ended up playing with them quite a few times (Unisound, The Anthrax, City Gardens, etc.).

This particular video is from the Judge "Where It Went" video shoot show at City Gardens in Trenton, New Jersey. It was Sunday March 11th 1990. Intensity opened, followed by Outburst and then last but not least, Judge. I've talked about this show countless times and I'm not going to bore you all again with how great it was, but I will say, having Intensity open was a really fun way to start the show. For me and a lot of my friends, since we knew the band, it was cool having this "down with the band" that's playing vibe that was going on. Keep in mind, I was 16 at the time, so being "down with a band" that was playing City Gardens with Outburst and Judge seemed really cool. You can even see me (blue Nike hat) and some friends up front singing along. I'm pretty sure this was the same night Intensity threw lollipos out into the crowd when they played their song "Lollipop" of course.

That's pretty much it for now, I really intended to keep this a "text light" post, but evidently that is easier said than done. Have a good weekend, thanks for tuning into another week of DCXX and remember, "What a mess, what a mess, I don't want to get a needle stuck in my chest !". -Tim DCXX

Brian Peterson - The Burning Fight Nineties Hardcore Book

Brian Peterson is the guy behind the forthcoming book on Nineties Hardcore, entitled Burning Fight. We wanted to catch up with him to get the scoop on this book and what we can expect. -Gordo DCXX

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into hardcore. Where and when was this? How would you compare yourself today to the kid that got into hardcore then?

Okay, well, I'm 32 years old. I'm originally from a small town called Minot, North Dakota, but then I moved to Illinois when I was in high school. Dylan, a childhood friend from Minot who was a skater and all around underground music fan, introduced me to hardcore in junior high, but at the time I was obsessed with hip-hop. I've always been attracted to music with a message and listening to Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and others was a pretty eye-opening experience, especially for a kid from a small town in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, I understood the energy of hardcore, but I just wasn't ready for the screaming at first. [laughs] But after listening to a couple mix tapes, some of the bands made an impression on me—especially after I found out what they were screaming about! My family moved to Illinois when I was about 15 and by then I'd already gotten into Nirvana and then more contemporary hardcore or punk influenced bands like Fugazi. From there I got re-introduced to the classic hardcore bands that Dylan introduced me to like Black Flag, Bad Brains, The Misfits, Minor Threat, Youth of Today and so on. It's funny, though, as I didn't even realize there was a thriving hardcore scene happening at the time. I guess I had thought it was all from the past, probably because most rock journalists viewed hardcore or punk as "dead," even though that was really because they weren't truly paying attention to the underground. A friend in Illinois made me a mix tape with some contemporary hardcore bands and soon enough I found myself at shows and not too long after playing in some hardcore bands. My life would never be the same.

As for comparing myself at present to the kid who got into hardcore, I've matured a lot. I was a pretty shy kid, and I didn't feel confident in myself. But hardcore taught me to take my own ideas more seriously. Sure, there are negative sides to the hardcore scene, but I've always found it to be a pretty supportive and encouraging place. I'm now a high school English teacher and if someone would have told me when I was younger that I'd end up in this position now I would have thought they were crazy. [laughs] But that's another thing about hardcore: it taught me that giving back to others – whether it was friends from the scene or strangers on the outside – was important. I could also say being a part of hardcore was like going to college before and while going to a traditional college. I learned as much about life and about myself from my time in hardcore than I did from anything else.


Brian Peterson braves the snow

Where did the idea for the book come from, and specifically a book on the 1990's era of hardcore?

I didn't get directly involved in hardcore until the early-nineties, so that era had a huge impact on my life. As I mentioned earlier, I've always been attracted to music with a message and almost every hardcore band I was exposed to had some sort of message, whether it was political or personal. I also found a lot of the debates and discussions I'd overhear or participate in at shows to be really interesting. While some of the debates – everything from straightedge and animal rights to political and spiritual/philosophical issues – were sometimes taken to absurd levels, I found the ideas to be relevant and important.

Fast forward several years. American Hardcore came out and I thought that book was really amazing. It had such great source material from all those classic bands and it was an entertaining read. But something troubled me. The author insinuated that hardcore died around 1986 and that idea floored me. Sure, that first wave of hardcore moved on around that time, but what about the bands that came after? Nineties hardcore changed my life, as well as the lives of many of my friends. I guess I felt like it was somewhat ignorant to say that hardcore "died," considering that it is still thriving to this day. Along the way, I had written for some zines and magazines, but I grew tired of many places only wanting to run stories on bands with a "buzz"—essentially groups most other publications were covering already. Anyway, an idea occurred to me one day, "No one has documented nineties hardcore in the way the eighties era has been. Maybe I should give it a shot." I started contacting some people for interviews and I found their responses to be really positive and enthusiastic. Everything just snowballed from there.

How have you approached the subject matter? Where do you draw the line, what gets in and stays out? Especially considering the musical definition of "hardcore" is considered by many to have been stretched to its limits if not completely ignored in this decade, defining a "hardcore" band in the 90s seems like it would be difficult for the purpose of a book, no?

There are so many ways to approach hardcore. The nineties era is no different than any other era in that respect. I'm not trying to "define" what nineties hardcore was on the whole. I've always stated up front that this is just a story about some debates/ideas and some bands told from some people's perspectives. 100 other people would probably write the book 100 different ways. There is no definitive definition of hardcore as I believe that each person has to define it for him/herself. That said, I think one of the most interesting parts of nineties hardcore was the diversity in ideas and sound. Now obviously there are lines that have to be drawn in terms of what hardcore's sound isn't. For instance, I don't see an acoustic jam band fitting the hardcore mold. At the same time, I don't think that hardcore has to necessarily have break downs or traditional sing alongs, as great as those things are. I tried to cover a variety of bands that spoke to a variety of issues and played a variety of styles of hardcore – from the traditional to the experimental. Some will disagree with some of my selections, but I think once people see the book (or even look at the full title of it) it will make sense. I agree, though, that the nineties did stretch the sound of hardcore to its limits, and like I said earlier, to me that's one of the most interesting things about that era. I love traditional sounding hardcore, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that hardcore is just as much about community, ideas, and ethics as it as a specific sound.


Brian in Milwaukee, 2008

What have been the highs and lows of doing the book? If you knew what you were getting yourself into, would you have still started it? What have been some crowning moments or big breakthroughs?

The highs from the book? Being able to give some attention to these bands, people, zines, and debates that played such an important role in my life. I've felt like a lot of bands from this era have been overlooked for too long, so I hope that what I'm trying to do helps re-focus some attention in this era's direction. It was also really cool to hear so many people's perspective on the issues I'm trying to cover. Lots of really interesting conversations transpired. Lows? Well, I never thought it would take five years to assemble this book. I've spent a pretty outrageous amount of hours interviewing people (I talked to over 150 people over the course of the book) and in some ways I feel like I've had to put other aspects of my life on hold in order to finish it. I've learned more about sacrifice, time management, and multi-tasking then I probably ever wanted to know. [laughs]

Where are you right now in terms of the book, and what happens from here on out?

We're still wrapping up final edits and layout at this point. Revelation has been extremely supportive and helpful and I'm really excited about the way everything is turning out. Plus, a lot of people from the nineties have been generous enough to donate pictures, flyers, zine covers, etc. Rose Noble, the person doing the layout, is doing a really great job, and I'm stoked to see the finished version! We don't have a definite release date yet, but obviously the Chicago show on May 2nd and 3rd is the date we are shooting for. There is also a California show in the works. Stay tuned for an announcement about that soon at www.burningfightbook.com and www.myspace.com/90shardcore


Groundwork, Photo: Sean Capone

A Reintroduction by Billy Rubin

Billy and Bessie, early 1986, Photo: Ray Cappo

Half Off / Haywire frontman, New Beginning Records kingpin and Think Fanzine editor, Billy Rubin returns with another entry. This time around Billy fills us in on some recent discoveries as well as some old ones. Like many of his west coast counterparts, Billy delivers the stories. Expect more from Billy in the near future. -Tim DCXX

Some people have wondered where I’ve been for 20 years…I’ve only kept in touch with one person (Doc) from back in the day. Doc called me about a month ago and told me that Radio Silence had come out. My initial reaction was “Oh No”. Then about a week later I got an email from Bill “Nego” Case. At first I wasn’t even sure the email wasn’t spam. Bill turned me on to the Double Cross web site and then I got my own copy of Radio Silence.

I honestly wasn’t prepared for the wave of memories and emotions that came next. I knew half of those people in that book and was involved in a bunch of the music (back up vocals, shows, interviews, etc.). Seeing the page of Radio Silence with THINK fanzine in it was amazing. The address of my childhood home is in that book for the world to see. There is even a comment on that page of THINK/Radio Silence about a trip to the East Coast I was about to take.

When I was 16, back in 1985 I was publishing THINK fanzine. I would go to shows with a tape recorder and interview bands. I was just some kid (and still am albeit 39 years old). Dan O’Mahoney and I (probably Casey Jones too) drove way up the 605 fwy, past the quarries, to some shit hole cowboy bar in some town like Azuza to see a band we had heard rumors of…Youth of Today…I can’t remember the details, but they were either with 7 Seconds or someone from 7 Seconds was with them…I don’t know. I interviewed YOT in the 7 Seconds van. Bessie Oakley was there too. She was instrumental in so much of the early punk scene it’s a story in itself.

Youth of Today were really good, it was the first time I saw anyone mosh (not slam). They were nice guys. We totally clicked. We became pen pals, we started networking. I also became good friends with Bessie. A little while (weeks) after that show, Ray and Bessie came down to my parent’s house (THINK fanzine headquarters) in Huntington Beach. They were just kind of touring around having fun and wanted to pay a punk rock visit. We had fun and were becoming fast friends. In fact, I have a picture of Ray and I standing on the beach (Bolsa Chica for all you So Cal people) looking out at the waves.


Underdog in Albany, Photo: Billy Rubin

I started to get involved with the formation of a new record label (New Beginning) that was going to involve Ray, Bessie, Mike Trouchon and possibly Jordan. That label was going to put out Crippled Youth, Underdog, Negazione and who knows what else. I think they needed someone on the ground in LA that could deal with our contact (Kane) at the pressing plant and I was becoming that guy. As things started to come together Bessie got accepted to art school in NYC. She was going to drive out there for the summer before school started and get settled in.

Bessie wanted someone to share the drive to NYC with and she asked me to do the drive. I didn’t have any money, so I got a job at Kentucky Fried Chicken at the corner of Warner and Bolsa Chica in HB to save up for the trip. Part of the deal was that I had to get to Reno, NV first. We reached a compromise. Dan would drive me to San Francisco and we’d all meet at the Maximum RocknRoll house. Over the years Dan and I made many trips to the MRR house (someone should ask Dan to tell those stories because they are so fucking funny I’m laughing right now).

Bessie and I drove to NYC over the course of about a week and made various stops along the way . The Dag Nasty demo had just come out (with Sean Brown). We’d listen to it non stop. It was the first we had heard of something called “emo”. Later on, it was hard to get used to hearing the same songs with Dave Smalley’s voice. We stopped in Albany where I met Dave Stein (great guy). While in Albany I saw Underdog open for Dag Nasty at a VFW hall. Incredible show! Both bands rocked my world. I also met Mike Gitter who I became friends with. Later on that same trip, I spent some time at Mike Gitter’s place in Boston and also met John Anastas of DYS and Choke from Slapshot. I was on straight edge cloud nine. When we got to NYC we went to Ray Cappo’s apartment at 8th and 15th (or is it 15th and 8th?). Within minutes of our arrival, I was hanging out with Craig (who was about to join YOT), the Crippled Youth kids (who at the time were even younger than me, and I was really young), Ray Cappo and Richie (Underdog). I spent about a month in NYC hanging out with all these soon to be punk rock celebrities. We'd go to St. Marks pizza, the Pyramid club, venture over to Avenue A, etc…I was amazed, we’d be walking down the street and run into Harley Flanagen or Raybeez from Warzone. I also met a very young Todd Youth who became the guitar player in Warzone. Looking back on it, it was crazy. I was 17...all alone in NYC. My parents didn't want me to go, but I told them they couldn't stop me.

We had a lot of fun. Ray turned me on to some great music. The Cro-Mags (Age of Quarrel) had just come out, and he turned me on to the Abused. He also turned me on to possibly the single best hardcore song ever...”Something Must Be Done” by Antidote. I went to Raybeez's apartment. I was blown away. I was a rich kid from the suburbs and this guy was living in a dump of an apartment with the interior walls and ceiling painted blood red. He had pit bulls living in his apartment with him. I went to CBGB’s, Bleeker Bobs, Some Records, Ray’s Original, etc, etc, etc. We also drove up to see a few shows in CT. At one of the shows, I think it was a roller rink (maybe in Enfield) I saw the Melvins. We also saw the Adolescents in Rhode Island, the same show that is pictured in Radio Silence. After the show the battery in Bessie's car had died and Casey from the Adolescents gave us a jump start. I think he recognized me from DI shows at Fender's. There were so many highlights of this trip I really can’t remember all of them. I made friends with people like Gitter and Al Quint who I stayed in touch with for years after that. I came back to the West Coast feeling like hardcore was really up and coming!


Half Off at Fenders in Long Beach, with a young Issac from Chorus and Zack De La Rocha watching on