Note - this post has been edited more times than any post I've done so far. First Elliot Fox gave me some new info, then Justin Wasserman and finally Bob English of Edgar provided some very concrete info. Read on...
I am including these two bands in one post as they shared members, played a similar style of screamy hardcore, were both from Oceanside (we're covering a good deal of Oceanside's bands lately with Last Days and Closure) and put out a split 7".
Edgar was formed by John English on guitar, Corey Martin on drums and Justin Wasserman on guitar. They had no bass player. John recruited his cousin Bob to sing once they had started writing songs without vocals.
Concurrently, Bob and John were also in Tetsuo where Bob played guitar, John played bass, Neil Rubenstein and Matt Gordon both shared vocals and Dan Boles played drums. Rebekka Takamitsu played second guitar at a few shows as well. Steve Gache (from Redko, Irony of Lightfoot and Thisyearsmodel) also practiced with Tetsuo on 2nd guitar and played on a few tracks on the live radio WUSB show split tape with Bor. He may have played live at one of the later shows as well. He never officially joined. Additionally, Myles Karr (Motaba Erewhon Conspiracy, The State Secedes, I am the Resurrection, Books Lie) practiced with the band on bass several times, but John played on all of the recordings and at all of the shows.
I used to get Tetsuo confused with the band Tsunami so that when I first heard Tetsuo it definitely was not what I was expecting. There is no confusing Matt Gordon and Neil Rubenstein with Jenny Toomey.
This split 7" was put out on The Mountain Collective by Chris Jensen from Halfman who join Bob in The State Secedes, and would then go on to Countdown to Putsch.
This split 7" was Edgar's only offical release. As Bob English recollects: "Edgar recorded 2 songs after the 7" in Loho studios (NYC) - one was for a compilation being put together by some kid from PA - we were told it never came out but then someone found a copy for sale at a show in 1997, so who knows. The other song was never released. There were plans to put out a full length on Mountain Records. Edgar had the material mostly written but the band called it quits before we could record anything."
In addition to this split, Tetsuo did a split WUSB tape with the band Bor at one point as well.
As we've recently covered, Corey Martin from Edgar would join Irony of Lightfoot and later Last Days of August. Bob English would start The State Secedes, Baby Teeth (later changed to Free Republic of Soul) and later become a lawyer. John English went on to the band The Color Bars and currently works as a steamfitter, and Justin Wasserman became a banker.
Neil Rubenstein from Tetsuo went on to form Irony of Lightfoot, and later Sons of Abraham, This Years Model and These Enzymes. In addition to showing up as an interviewer on Spike TV's Casino Cinema, being a stand-up comedian, in Neil's own words he currently books "hip hop acts and some DJs and help small rock bands find teams (label, manager, agent). I call it consulting, they don't pay me." Matt Gordon went on to form Helen of Troy. Dan Boles became a pro-snowboarder.
Big thanks to Neil Rubenstein, Bob English, Justin Wasserman and Elliot Fox for the information for this post and Elliot Fox for the music.
EDGAR and TETSUO
Split 7" - http://www.mediafire.com/?fk1xc3wl8sgpfyj
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Last Days of August
There was no question of what type of music to expect with Last Days of August. In the late 90's, their name was so imbued with emo-ness that to expect anything else would have been false advertising. There was a website around that time which had a random emo band name generator, and there were definitely a few names that would pop up that would probably cut a bit to close in similarity to Last Days. Regardless of that, if you liked emo - and by that I mean stuff like Mineral, Sunny Day Real Estate, Boy's Life, early Jimmy Eat World kind of stuff - then really Last Days of August was probably the band from LI that did that style most proudly.
Last Days was formed in 1997 by Josh Chaplinsky (formerly of Irony of Lightfoot) on guitar and Phil Capone on guitar after they met at Nassau Community College. They recruited Corey Martin who played drums in Irony of Lightfoot, Mario Leston on bass and Sal Montemaggiore from Small Screen View (SSV) on vocals. They quickly started playing shows (I think that their first one may have been in July of 1997 where an old band of mine, Six of One, literally broke apart during the show). They recorded a 4 song demo the following spring.
I have to say I really liked the demo, and I remember the guys headlining a show in place of Glassjaw in March of 1998 at the Wantagh VFW that Inside, Error Type:11, Movielife and Watership Down also played. It was a really cool vibe with all of these melodic bands coming up. I remember Last Days sounding excellent at that show.
Despite the fact that Last Days eschewed heavier "breakdown" type of parts and as mentioned above their music did have more of the midwestern-emo leanings, they were put in the long island emo-core pile along with Inside, Silent Majority and Movielife. It wasn't a bad place to be, but it often got them mislabeled. I would be remiss in not mentioning some of the flack the guys took for their unflinching dedication for sounding... well, like an emo-band. They had pink band shirts made that said "Bowling for the Pink Team" on them in what may have been one of the better flip-offs to scenesters. Their sound did continue to grow, and after appearing on the "Blood Sweat and Tears" comp, they began putting out music on the Fadeaway Records label in part ran by Josh's former bandmater Neil Rubenstein. They did a split 7" with a band called The Remington, appeared on Fadeaway's "Best Comp in the World" and released a full length in 1999. They replaced Corey Martin around this point with Joe Corbo and did a 22 date tour across the US.
They wound up breaking up in 2000. There was some disagreement on the direction of the band and what level of success that were looking to achieve. Sal went on to form RC Driver with Corey. Josh would join December Grey and later SpeedSpeedSpeed. Joe Corbo would join ThisYears Model, The Krylls and later go on to SpeedSpeedSpeed as well. Phil Capone would move to LA and join a band called Lamour, which definitely is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Last Days of August. I'm not sure what happened to Mario Leston.
The download is for everything that the band did, at least as far as I know. There may have been a track recorded for a 6 band Motherbox Split that was to inlcude Last Days, The Cotton Weary, Silent Majority, Inside, Movielife and Glassjaw which never materialized, but otherwise this is everything. This includes the first demo, the split with The Remington, the full length and " Dead Boys Club" from the "Best Comp in the World and "Words I Wish Were Mine" from the "Blood Sweat and Tears" comp.
LAST DAYS OF AUGUST
Discography - http://www.mediafire.com/?fqgk1gq9tomov18
Other Links for Last Days of August:
The Band's myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/lastdaysofaugust
The original website: http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/lastdays/
Long Island Music Scene Wiki Page: http://longislandmusicscene.wikia.com/wiki/Last_Days_of_August
Villiage Voice Article: http://www.villagevoice.com/1999-09-07/long-island-voice/don-t-hate-me-cause-i-m-emo/
Last Days was formed in 1997 by Josh Chaplinsky (formerly of Irony of Lightfoot) on guitar and Phil Capone on guitar after they met at Nassau Community College. They recruited Corey Martin who played drums in Irony of Lightfoot, Mario Leston on bass and Sal Montemaggiore from Small Screen View (SSV) on vocals. They quickly started playing shows (I think that their first one may have been in July of 1997 where an old band of mine, Six of One, literally broke apart during the show). They recorded a 4 song demo the following spring.
I have to say I really liked the demo, and I remember the guys headlining a show in place of Glassjaw in March of 1998 at the Wantagh VFW that Inside, Error Type:11, Movielife and Watership Down also played. It was a really cool vibe with all of these melodic bands coming up. I remember Last Days sounding excellent at that show.
Despite the fact that Last Days eschewed heavier "breakdown" type of parts and as mentioned above their music did have more of the midwestern-emo leanings, they were put in the long island emo-core pile along with Inside, Silent Majority and Movielife. It wasn't a bad place to be, but it often got them mislabeled. I would be remiss in not mentioning some of the flack the guys took for their unflinching dedication for sounding... well, like an emo-band. They had pink band shirts made that said "Bowling for the Pink Team" on them in what may have been one of the better flip-offs to scenesters. Their sound did continue to grow, and after appearing on the "Blood Sweat and Tears" comp, they began putting out music on the Fadeaway Records label in part ran by Josh's former bandmater Neil Rubenstein. They did a split 7" with a band called The Remington, appeared on Fadeaway's "Best Comp in the World" and released a full length in 1999. They replaced Corey Martin around this point with Joe Corbo and did a 22 date tour across the US.
They wound up breaking up in 2000. There was some disagreement on the direction of the band and what level of success that were looking to achieve. Sal went on to form RC Driver with Corey. Josh would join December Grey and later SpeedSpeedSpeed. Joe Corbo would join ThisYears Model, The Krylls and later go on to SpeedSpeedSpeed as well. Phil Capone would move to LA and join a band called Lamour, which definitely is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Last Days of August. I'm not sure what happened to Mario Leston.
The download is for everything that the band did, at least as far as I know. There may have been a track recorded for a 6 band Motherbox Split that was to inlcude Last Days, The Cotton Weary, Silent Majority, Inside, Movielife and Glassjaw which never materialized, but otherwise this is everything. This includes the first demo, the split with The Remington, the full length and " Dead Boys Club" from the "Best Comp in the World and "Words I Wish Were Mine" from the "Blood Sweat and Tears" comp.
LAST DAYS OF AUGUST
Discography - http://www.mediafire.com/?fqgk1gq9tomov18
Other Links for Last Days of August:
The Band's myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/lastdaysofaugust
The original website: http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/lastdays/
Long Island Music Scene Wiki Page: http://longislandmusicscene.wikia.com/wiki/Last_Days_of_August
Villiage Voice Article: http://www.villagevoice.com/1999-09-07/long-island-voice/don-t-hate-me-cause-i-m-emo/
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
With Every Idle Hour
"All dreams have flaws, maybe this one does..."
To say that With Every Idle Hour was a great band doesn't seem to be sufficient. They had a great sound, were consistently excellent live and always had fun shows, but they never commanded legions of kids coming to see them despite having songs that were pefectly tailored for sing-alongs. They certainly weren't unlikeable, in fact they remain some of the most friendly guys you could meet. I'm sure if you are familiar with the band you may be saying right now "Hey, I liked that band!" I really don't know. Maybe they didn't promote themselves enough, maybe they didn't wear the right t-shirts, maybe they didn't kiss enough ass. The bottom line though is that the band was great and if you didn't appreciate them then, now's the time to change that.
With Every Idle Hour was formed in 1998 by Sergei Ruber on Vocals and guitar, Sean Hanney on guitar, Austin Lawther on drums and Zachary Abresch on bass. They were originally known as Sinc, but eventually decided on changing it to With Every Idle Hour, taken from the name of their community in Oakdale, NY. Sean, Sergei and Austin all grew up in the town and have known each other since childhood.
Despite Hanney having been the drummer of a Ska band (someone help me out with the name here) during this point and time, the music that the band focused on originally was a melodic blend of post-hardcore and emo. Around 1998-1999, there were a good deal of bands who kind of had that sort of thing going on. In Transit, early On the Might of Princes and the cotton weary all kind of had a Sunny Day meets Quicksand vibe. With Every Idle Hour did as well, but the riffs were super catchy and Sergei Ruber had something that most other bands did not - and no offense should be taken by anyone here - a singer that could really sing.
In mid-2000 they released a 4 song tape that previewed tracks from their full-length called "Finally". I believe that the tracks on the tape were "The Sum of Your Problems is This", "Just as Well", "Nameless" and "Version II". I remember seeing the band play at Ground Zero in Bellmore at a Saturday or Sunday Matinee with Knox Overstreet, Lord Humongous and Nakatomi Plaza. I was blown away by the band and shocked that more people didn't know about them. I had also been drinking copious amount of Rolling Rock that Ground Zero offered in those little 7 ounce bottles which may have made me a tad more effusive when I went to pick up the 4 songer from their drummer Austin, but once I listened to it (sans beer) I was no less impressed.
"Finally" was released later that year in October of 2000. Shortly after that in early 2001, they parted ways Zach Abresch. Lou Fontana of On the Might of Princes stepped in on bass as a temporary replacement but wound up becoming their enduring bass player. This was the best move for the band. Zach tended to overplay and distract from the pure melodic aspects of the songs. As Lou was a guitar player, he kept things simple to accentuate Sean and Sergei's guitar playing and Sergei's vocals.
The band did some tours up and down the East Coast as well as out to Michigan, notably with Nakatomi Plaza. Concurrently, Sean set up work as a studio engineer and set to recording the band's next album "The Distance Between." The new material was more melodic than Finally with influences of Hey Mercedes, Jets to Brazil and Jimmy Eat World becoming apparent. "The Distance Between" was released in July of 2003 on Factory 77 records, a label ran by Justin and Lee from Merch Direct. According to some of the band members - they count this as their real first release, more so than "Finally". There was also a video filmed for "Moxie" by Hilo Films, but I'm not sure if it is available anywhere.
The band played numerous shows on Long Island during this period with Come Down, The Cotton Weary, This Years Model/Bravado, Nakatomi Plaza, Knox Overstreet, Uplift, Regarding I, Pretty Polly... and probably just about every band that existed around 2000-2005.
The band's sound continued to evolve and they would begin recording songs for their next album "Blueprints" in 2005. The new songs were extensive, layered and wound up working into a song cycle that Sergei created a concept around. I'd be remiss in not mentioning that Sergei is an excellent lyricist who would craft vocal hooks with lyrics that could be subtle or direct. "Blueprints" was planned to be a concept album, but unfortunately life interfered and both the band and recording came to a halt. The band played at On the Might of Princes reunion show May 19, 2007 and did continue on until the following year. I can't say for certain when the band's final show was with certainty. It was one of those unfortunate situations where the band never officially says that it is over, but there doesn't seem to be a contingency for it to return either. The album is still unfinished, although Sean does intend to see it through to its completion one day.
Following WEIH, Austin Lawther would join Lou Fontana in his flamenco-indie brainchild God's Gift To Women. Lou also played guitar (as Guitarbeard) in Small Arms Dealer and is currently a member of Fellow Project. It also bears mentioning that while Sergei Ruber has not been in another band since WEIH ended (and it hasn't been for my lack of trying to recruit him numerous times), during his tenure in the band he also was in a brief side project named Midget with Justin Beck of Glassjaw and Jon Florencio of Inside.
I admit to having some obvious bias with this post. I count everyone in the band as friends, but that developed from having an appreciation for the band, playing shows with them and then becoming friends with the guys. I also am one of the few (or not so few) to have filled the bass slot while Lou was on tour with OTMOP (Steve Gache of This Years Model and Rachel Rubino of Regarding I/Bridge and Tunnel are the others). The music rocks, and for me brings back a lot of memories as well. Whether it was helping the band record gang vocals for "Collapser" at Sean's House at the "Yeah! Woo! BBQ," playing with them as they opened for Rainer Maria at the Ethical Humanist Society, remembering Sergei describing the movie "Duel" onstage before they played "El Camino," filling in on bass for them on a show at the old Local 7 that fell on my birthday, Serg and Sean playing an acoustic set for the last Satellite Lost show, and just hanging with band at rehearsals. All good times.
On to the music. These downloads are for "The Distance Between", the tragically unfinished "Blueprints", and the tracks "The Truth About Graduation" which appeared on the Rok Lok "The Hope Machine" comp and "When the Sky Was Opened" which was on the Break Even Comp "Definition". "Moxie" from "The Distance Between" also appeared on the No Nucleus comp which I've posted already. I've only included a few tracks from "Finally". As I mentioned above, some of the band members do not look back fondly on "Finally" and would prefer those songs not to be included with this post. I don't want to go against my friend's wishes, so I am not posting the album in its entirety. If there are enough requests for it, I will ask them permission to post the rest. In the meantime, I've included a few songs that I felt were essential to their discography. As far as "Blueprints" goes, what is presented is far from a finished recording. These are rough mixes, with some parts that were intended to be re-recorded and obviously this was not mastered. You will notice that there is a track number missing (there's no track 9) as one song only had drums recorded and thusly was not included . The rest of that album is fleshed out with vocals or has been left instrumental. It is unfortunate that at this point songs like "A Game of Lines Crossed", "Blueprints" and "Fixtures" do not have vocals as the songs are the strongest stuff that the band ever put together. In any case, finished or not this is a great listen and I am psyched to be able to offer it up here to download.
WITH EVERY IDLE HOUR
The Distance Between, Blueprints (In Progress), + More - http://www.mediafire.com/?lh0d7w07ujqv2i2
Buy "The Distance Between" on Merch Direct here:
www.merchdirect.com/WithEveryIdleHour
Go here for more info on the band:
www.myspace.com/witheveryidlehour
http://www.last.fm/music/With+Every+Idle+Hour
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Closure
The following post was submitted by fellow blogger and LI'er Elliot Fox of Sunny Day Entertainment. Over at his site you can find posts on all form of pop-culture including music, mixtapes and more. He may be posting here on occasion provided he has time. I also want to reiterate that the offer for others to post goes out to all. When I started this blog I did it with hopes of a spirit of community, much like the scene we grew up in. If you have music and memories of a band to share, then get in touch.
Now on to Elliot's recollection of Closure:
Closure was a short lived hardcore band hailing from Oceanside, NY. The band took hold in the suburban basement of drummer Dave and bassist Mark Spelbur's parents house. Besides the Spelbur's, other band members included Mike Treff and Adam Gutwein on guitar and the aggressive and driving vocals of Trevor Perry.
These guys were intense live, I remember seeing a show, i believe it was the Oceanside Knights of Columbus, where 2 days prior Trevor had his wisdom teeth removed, he was screaming and bleeding from his mouth, it was epic. Their sound is aggressive, emotional, punch you in the face hardcore/screamo, but still melodic with complex guitar riffs, soft parts into explosive, dramatic harsh screaming parts.
Dave is an extremely talented drummer and went on to become a member of a few other bands including The Fall Drive, Token Embrace and The Color Bars. Mike went on to run Tiger Style Records, now owned and operated by Insound, which was responsible for putting out records from bands like Tristeza, The Mercury Program, Ida and more. Mark went on to get his MBA, Adam to become a Dentist in Miami and I have not been able to find any trace of Trevor.
Closure released a split 7" with the Canadian hardcore band Breakwater in 1996 and In the Summer of 1997, they released their self-titled LP on CD and Vinyl with Mountain Records
Click the following links for those releases:
Closure/Breakwater 7": http://www.mediafire.com/?ub2iybova7k5c67
Closure - S/T : http://www.mediafire.com/?sc7lgagf15ewzfc
Now on to Elliot's recollection of Closure:
Closure was a short lived hardcore band hailing from Oceanside, NY. The band took hold in the suburban basement of drummer Dave and bassist Mark Spelbur's parents house. Besides the Spelbur's, other band members included Mike Treff and Adam Gutwein on guitar and the aggressive and driving vocals of Trevor Perry.
These guys were intense live, I remember seeing a show, i believe it was the Oceanside Knights of Columbus, where 2 days prior Trevor had his wisdom teeth removed, he was screaming and bleeding from his mouth, it was epic. Their sound is aggressive, emotional, punch you in the face hardcore/screamo, but still melodic with complex guitar riffs, soft parts into explosive, dramatic harsh screaming parts.
Dave is an extremely talented drummer and went on to become a member of a few other bands including The Fall Drive, Token Embrace and The Color Bars. Mike went on to run Tiger Style Records, now owned and operated by Insound, which was responsible for putting out records from bands like Tristeza, The Mercury Program, Ida and more. Mark went on to get his MBA, Adam to become a Dentist in Miami and I have not been able to find any trace of Trevor.
Closure released a split 7" with the Canadian hardcore band Breakwater in 1996 and In the Summer of 1997, they released their self-titled LP on CD and Vinyl with Mountain Records
Click the following links for those releases:
Closure/Breakwater 7": http://www.mediafire.com/?ub2iybova7k5c67
Closure - S/T : http://www.mediafire.com/?sc7lgagf15ewzfc
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Welcome to New York, Now Go Home
Alright, normally I don't do this. I have a kinda-sorta system. I usually will not bump something to the front of the line and do a post on it if I literally JUST received it and have not even listened to it yet. But, hey it's Festivus and whatever holiday you may be celebrating this week, YOU deserve a gift. And many thanks to Dan DeLuca who asked me if I knew anything about this comp last week, and sent me a copy of this (as well as the 4172) comp in record time. He is my own personal Santa Claus, and I don't mean that in any weird dirty way either.
This post is for a little-heard comp called Welcome to New York, Now Go Home. While I don't know much about it boasts a ton of great LI bands including some songs that are exclusive to this collection. I remember reading on The Judas Iscariot's facebook page that whoever was putting out the comp booked two days in a studio and had every band come in for 1 single hour and bang out their song, leave and then the next band would come in. So I would imagine everything was done live. I can't say for certain how legit the story is though. Apparently though, Bittersweet Records who put out the CD only did a small print run for this release. This is the only release I know of from that label as well.
I'm pretty sure most of those songs are exclusive to the comp. "Soft Six" from Silent Majority did show up later on the "Based on a True Story" compilation disc they put out and "Mother Jokes" from Milhouse was on a split with 52X and the Wreckage/Exit comp. The Judas Iscariot songs also showed up on a separate comp as well. Indecision re-recorded "Purgatory" for Unorthodox, and SFA probably did the same for "Nothing in the Dark". But really, who cares? There's stuff I never heard before from THE LAST CRIME, IRONY OF LIGHTFOOT, KYI and Pacifier (!!). I swear I'm spazzing out like Ralphie getting his red rider BB gun right now.
Enjoy!
Here's the Track Listing:
1) Irony of Lightfoot - "Five Inches of Consolement"
2) Kill Your Idols - "Lead Song & Ten Cents a Day"
3) Indecision - "Purgatory"
4) Judas Iscariot - "Cessation Talk & Madeleine Murray O'Hare"
5) Pacifier - "These Damn Batteries & Universal Choking Sign"
6) Silent Majority - "Soft Six"
7) Shutdown - "United"
8) Chupacabra - "Sing Nada"
9) Black Army Jacket - "Parliament of Rooks"
10) Milhouse - "Mother Jokes"
11) The Last Crime - "Everyone's a Comedian"
12) Mason - "All Passion Spent"
13) SFA - "Nothing in the Dark"
Dowload it:
WELCOME TO NEW YORK, NOW GO HOME Comp
http://www.mediafire.com/?e4k78221tcpww16
This post is for a little-heard comp called Welcome to New York, Now Go Home. While I don't know much about it boasts a ton of great LI bands including some songs that are exclusive to this collection. I remember reading on The Judas Iscariot's facebook page that whoever was putting out the comp booked two days in a studio and had every band come in for 1 single hour and bang out their song, leave and then the next band would come in. So I would imagine everything was done live. I can't say for certain how legit the story is though. Apparently though, Bittersweet Records who put out the CD only did a small print run for this release. This is the only release I know of from that label as well.
I'm pretty sure most of those songs are exclusive to the comp. "Soft Six" from Silent Majority did show up later on the "Based on a True Story" compilation disc they put out and "Mother Jokes" from Milhouse was on a split with 52X and the Wreckage/Exit comp. The Judas Iscariot songs also showed up on a separate comp as well. Indecision re-recorded "Purgatory" for Unorthodox, and SFA probably did the same for "Nothing in the Dark". But really, who cares? There's stuff I never heard before from THE LAST CRIME, IRONY OF LIGHTFOOT, KYI and Pacifier (!!). I swear I'm spazzing out like Ralphie getting his red rider BB gun right now.
Enjoy!
Here's the Track Listing:
1) Irony of Lightfoot - "Five Inches of Consolement"
2) Kill Your Idols - "Lead Song & Ten Cents a Day"
3) Indecision - "Purgatory"
4) Judas Iscariot - "Cessation Talk & Madeleine Murray O'Hare"
5) Pacifier - "These Damn Batteries & Universal Choking Sign"
6) Silent Majority - "Soft Six"
7) Shutdown - "United"
8) Chupacabra - "Sing Nada"
9) Black Army Jacket - "Parliament of Rooks"
10) Milhouse - "Mother Jokes"
11) The Last Crime - "Everyone's a Comedian"
12) Mason - "All Passion Spent"
13) SFA - "Nothing in the Dark"
Dowload it:
WELCOME TO NEW YORK, NOW GO HOME Comp
http://www.mediafire.com/?e4k78221tcpww16
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Greensleep
I freely admit that I barely know shit about Greensleep. My main exposure to them was a Motherbox split 7" that they did with Scarab back in 1996. The bass player I was in a band with at the time had been in Scarab and played me the 7". I didn't have the heart to tell him I liked the Greensleep side better.
Greensleep was from East Northport and played a noisy punky type of rock like Jawbox and Hellbender, and while I never saw them live, I remember seeing flyers for them sharing bills with Garden Variety and Sleepasaurus quite a bit. This was yet another band that featured Dave Patrikios on drums.
They had previously put out another 7", a split tape of WFMU performances with The Warped Weeble Wobbles and a full length on Alone records. "Society Song" from the full length also appeared on a comp by Allied records called "Invasion of the Indie Snatchers" in 1996, and as far as I can tell they appeared on the "Adventures in Hub Cap Corner" comp on Creation Records as well which may or may not truly exist. Apparently there are some other unreleased recordings as well - which I have not been able to lay my hands on yet.
I had jacked these files from the (currently inactive) Por Vida blog ran by Mike of Dead Broke Records and a brand new blog that I just stumbled on called Uncle Ron's Dusty Discs. Uncle Ron seems to originally be from the Sandbar as well and is posting a TON of goodies with far more velocity than I. Definitely click over to his blog and check it out.
Back to Greensleep, these downloads are for the two 7"s and the s/t full-length on Alone Records.
GREENSLEEP
First 7" - http://www.mediafire.com/?p9wbxr6wa9zi9z1
Split with Scarab and Full Length - http://www.mediafire.com/?uweddl1cs3ms87p
Greensleep was from East Northport and played a noisy punky type of rock like Jawbox and Hellbender, and while I never saw them live, I remember seeing flyers for them sharing bills with Garden Variety and Sleepasaurus quite a bit. This was yet another band that featured Dave Patrikios on drums.
They had previously put out another 7", a split tape of WFMU performances with The Warped Weeble Wobbles and a full length on Alone records. "Society Song" from the full length also appeared on a comp by Allied records called "Invasion of the Indie Snatchers" in 1996, and as far as I can tell they appeared on the "Adventures in Hub Cap Corner" comp on Creation Records as well which may or may not truly exist. Apparently there are some other unreleased recordings as well - which I have not been able to lay my hands on yet.
I had jacked these files from the (currently inactive) Por Vida blog ran by Mike of Dead Broke Records and a brand new blog that I just stumbled on called Uncle Ron's Dusty Discs. Uncle Ron seems to originally be from the Sandbar as well and is posting a TON of goodies with far more velocity than I. Definitely click over to his blog and check it out.
Back to Greensleep, these downloads are for the two 7"s and the s/t full-length on Alone Records.
GREENSLEEP
First 7" - http://www.mediafire.com/?p9wbxr6wa9zi9z1
Split with Scarab and Full Length - http://www.mediafire.com/?uweddl1cs3ms87p
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sidefires
Sidefires is very much an active band. They were formed in 2009. The band shares many of the same members as a band that was called Circle the Sun. Well, except for one member. That would be your beloved author here.
It's hard to write any sort of history about the band without somehow including myself in the narrative. In the interest of just focusing on the band that Sidefires is, I will simplify it. Circle the Sun ends, Justin Williams (bass and keyboards), Jason Crawford (drums) and Evan Lieberman (vocals) recruit Christopher James (formerly of Deepen the Shade, Bayonet and Spectators) to play guitar. There you have it.
They play a spacey brand of indie rock that has elements of Codeseven, Elliott, Sunny Day Real Estate and Inside at times as well. They recently recorded a 4-song demo which is some great stuff. Check it out!
SIDEFIRES - DEMO
http://www.mediafire.com/?e55l68e55l72ff7
Find out more about the band here:
http://www.myspace.com/sidefires
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sidefires/172513415942?v=app_4619579915
It's hard to write any sort of history about the band without somehow including myself in the narrative. In the interest of just focusing on the band that Sidefires is, I will simplify it. Circle the Sun ends, Justin Williams (bass and keyboards), Jason Crawford (drums) and Evan Lieberman (vocals) recruit Christopher James (formerly of Deepen the Shade, Bayonet and Spectators) to play guitar. There you have it.
They play a spacey brand of indie rock that has elements of Codeseven, Elliott, Sunny Day Real Estate and Inside at times as well. They recently recorded a 4-song demo which is some great stuff. Check it out!
SIDEFIRES - DEMO
http://www.mediafire.com/?e55l68e55l72ff7
Find out more about the band here:
http://www.myspace.com/sidefires
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sidefires/172513415942?v=app_4619579915
The Quick Fix (kills)
The Quick Fix Kills, originally known as just The Quick Fix before some other band threatened them with some legal action, was a band born on LI but eventually relocated to Jersey City. The band was formed in 2000 as a 4-piece with Dave O'Connell (formerly of The Movielife) on guitar, Chris Klein (of Godot on Bass), Rich Thrush on Guitar and Luke Boyle on drums. I remember their first few shows with Rich and Dave doing some shouted vocals before getting Mark Moody as vocalist. My memory may be crumbling bit by bit, but I remember their first show being Taking Back Sunday's release show for their first CD... not the Victory one, but that other one.
The band played a style which was not typical for Long Island. It was discordant and angular and definitely drew influences from the seminal Drive Like Jehu, as well as Lungfish, Fugazi and Jesus Lizard. I really dug these guys. I have to admit, I did prefer the shouted vocals of Rich and Dave prior to Moody joining the band as it reminded me of The Last Crime. I can't deny though that Mark definitely brought a bit more actual singing and an overall stage presence to the group.
They released a 4 song EP called "Novel Weapons" on the Ernest Jennings Recording label in 2002 and then a full length a year later on My Pal God records called "Saint Something."
Aubrey Arago eventually replaced Luke Boyle on drums at some point in 2004 and they broke up shortly afterward. They had posted some talk of a reunion show, but I'm unsure if that ever came to pass. Dave O'Connell and Chris Klein formed The Special Moves, I'm not sure what became of the other members. The last show I remember seeing them play was in the basement of some NYC club in Hell's Kitchen at some point in the summer of 2003 with Heston Rifle and Bravado, in what turned out to be the latter's last show.
This download is for both of their releases. Many thanks to Mike Satzinger and Chris Klein for providing some of the music here.
THE QUICK FIX KILLS - "Novel Weapons" & "Saint Something"
http://www.mediafire.com/?9xdbbrq23mlxnv2
Their old website (which hasn't been updated since 2004) can be found here: http://www.angelfire.com/indie/tqfk/index.html
Their myspace is here: www.myspace.com/thequickfixkills
The band played a style which was not typical for Long Island. It was discordant and angular and definitely drew influences from the seminal Drive Like Jehu, as well as Lungfish, Fugazi and Jesus Lizard. I really dug these guys. I have to admit, I did prefer the shouted vocals of Rich and Dave prior to Moody joining the band as it reminded me of The Last Crime. I can't deny though that Mark definitely brought a bit more actual singing and an overall stage presence to the group.
They released a 4 song EP called "Novel Weapons" on the Ernest Jennings Recording label in 2002 and then a full length a year later on My Pal God records called "Saint Something."
Aubrey Arago eventually replaced Luke Boyle on drums at some point in 2004 and they broke up shortly afterward. They had posted some talk of a reunion show, but I'm unsure if that ever came to pass. Dave O'Connell and Chris Klein formed The Special Moves, I'm not sure what became of the other members. The last show I remember seeing them play was in the basement of some NYC club in Hell's Kitchen at some point in the summer of 2003 with Heston Rifle and Bravado, in what turned out to be the latter's last show.
This download is for both of their releases. Many thanks to Mike Satzinger and Chris Klein for providing some of the music here.
THE QUICK FIX KILLS - "Novel Weapons" & "Saint Something"
http://www.mediafire.com/?9xdbbrq23mlxnv2
Their old website (which hasn't been updated since 2004) can be found here: http://www.angelfire.com/indie/tqfk/index.html
Their myspace is here: www.myspace.com/thequickfixkills
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Three Years Older
Normally I wouldn't put up such a half-assed write-up of a band. But despite Three Years Older's fair amount of longevity, their extensive member changes (most of which I probably couldn't give an accurate frame of reference for) make if difficult to provide an overall picture of the band.
With that said, Three Years Older was formed by former No Thought and Clockwise frontman General George Fullan somewhere around 2001. I remember this because Clockwise had dissolved in 1997 and being that George was a pretty good singer with great stage presence I had always wondered why he didn't form another band straight-away. When the cotton weary (my band at the time) were recording with George at Pie Studios I had asked him and he said nonchalantly "Well, I've got a new band now. I was just waiting for the right time." He went on to give me a run down of the band and how each guy in the band was 3 years Older than the next, ranging from 18 to 27. I think that the youngest guy was previously a guitar player in the band Neck, and George was the eldest at 27. Rick Haas, who previously was in the punk band S.A.D. was the next to oldest at 24. And really... that's all I can tell you about the lineup. I remember them playing their first show on George's 28th birthday and I think it was On the Might of Princes had their record release for "Where You Are and Where You Want to Be" that night too. I could be totally wrong about that, but I do remember buying the CD at that show. I think The Quick Fix and Taking Back Sunday played that night as well. That may have been the only time they had that original lineup, it kept changing and eventually the whole 3 years older concept got tossed right out the window with those constant member shifts.
The main guys in the band were always General George and Rick Haas. I know that Joe Canetti played drums for awhile and he may have been preceded or come after Ryan Mahon of Satellite Lost/Gracer filling in for a bit, a dude named Todd played Bass at some point, and Rick Michaels previously of End of World Smile eventually joined on guitar.
But that's not really why we're here. We're here for the music. Three Years Older played melodic hardcore in the LI style, but with touches of The Refused and Avail. It's definitely a bit more caustic than Clockwise was. George would always really get into it and I remember several shows where he would bust his forehead open with the microphone. It was visceral and and even a little disturbing, which was the intention. George is a handsome lad, but there he was re-enacting the office scene of Fight Club at every other show.
George was a full-time studio producer while doing Three Years Older, and his continual workflow may have contributed to a lack of output of their music. I think that there were two demos that they produced and I had heard that they had recorded a full length, but I have not been able to track it down.
Their Myspace has not been updated since 2006, but I do recall them playing shows here and there until at least 2007.
This download is for the band's first demo which features guest vocals from Mike Mallamo of Inside on the last track.
THREE YEARS OLDER - First Demo
http://www.mediafire.com/?vpv95nqs10fd31w
Three Years Older Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/threeyearsolder
With that said, Three Years Older was formed by former No Thought and Clockwise frontman General George Fullan somewhere around 2001. I remember this because Clockwise had dissolved in 1997 and being that George was a pretty good singer with great stage presence I had always wondered why he didn't form another band straight-away. When the cotton weary (my band at the time) were recording with George at Pie Studios I had asked him and he said nonchalantly "Well, I've got a new band now. I was just waiting for the right time." He went on to give me a run down of the band and how each guy in the band was 3 years Older than the next, ranging from 18 to 27. I think that the youngest guy was previously a guitar player in the band Neck, and George was the eldest at 27. Rick Haas, who previously was in the punk band S.A.D. was the next to oldest at 24. And really... that's all I can tell you about the lineup. I remember them playing their first show on George's 28th birthday and I think it was On the Might of Princes had their record release for "Where You Are and Where You Want to Be" that night too. I could be totally wrong about that, but I do remember buying the CD at that show. I think The Quick Fix and Taking Back Sunday played that night as well. That may have been the only time they had that original lineup, it kept changing and eventually the whole 3 years older concept got tossed right out the window with those constant member shifts.
The main guys in the band were always General George and Rick Haas. I know that Joe Canetti played drums for awhile and he may have been preceded or come after Ryan Mahon of Satellite Lost/Gracer filling in for a bit, a dude named Todd played Bass at some point, and Rick Michaels previously of End of World Smile eventually joined on guitar.
But that's not really why we're here. We're here for the music. Three Years Older played melodic hardcore in the LI style, but with touches of The Refused and Avail. It's definitely a bit more caustic than Clockwise was. George would always really get into it and I remember several shows where he would bust his forehead open with the microphone. It was visceral and and even a little disturbing, which was the intention. George is a handsome lad, but there he was re-enacting the office scene of Fight Club at every other show.
George was a full-time studio producer while doing Three Years Older, and his continual workflow may have contributed to a lack of output of their music. I think that there were two demos that they produced and I had heard that they had recorded a full length, but I have not been able to track it down.
Their Myspace has not been updated since 2006, but I do recall them playing shows here and there until at least 2007.
This download is for the band's first demo which features guest vocals from Mike Mallamo of Inside on the last track.
THREE YEARS OLDER - First Demo
http://www.mediafire.com/?vpv95nqs10fd31w
Three Years Older Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/threeyearsolder
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