Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Washed Up at 32

Haven't been doing as much posting as I would have liked in the past couple weeks, leading me up to the decision I made the other day to do one final post. Lack of time and other internet-related diversions have made me feel like I didn't have as much to put up in the past. If you want to keep up, there's the typical locations to do so:

Instagram: mypathintrochanges
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/wcsmithers
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wclaysmith

Pulling two of my favorite videos from past posts to repost. They pretty much sum things up for me a lot better than trying to post some embarassing wrap up of my thoughts.

First up: It's been posted before, but let's face it, it might be my favorite footage of all time, the final mosh from CBs. Different camera angle and the full set as opposed to the final intro video that just has, well, you guessed it, the intro and horrible sound.



The second is one is of my favorite surfers charging, Tyler Hatzikian. Not much chance of making it but still pulls in. The chances of me ever taking on anything remotely that big is slim, but makes you want to go for it.


If this blog is anything like the final mosh, there may be a few posts down the road in the future anyway.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Without Words

When it rains it pours and July has been a great month for zine reading. Managed to win a couple late 90s zines off of eBay and thanks to a previous conversation with Brett of Wasted Days fame, he sent me a PILE of good reading to borrow and I didn't even need a library card. The picture above is a mix of what I get to sort through, read and nerd out on for the next couple weeks. My love for hardcore zines has always been a subject on Death Tens, but it definitely bums me out that there aren't as many printed zines being done these days.

One of my favorite features in zines which there definitely needs to be more of: Show Stories. Hardware used to have then and so did Contention among others. Most of the time, they didn't focus on the actual bands that played, but antics that happened while the show was going on. Near fights, stagedives, sneaking into shows, near misses and everything else that goes with DIY shows always made for a good read.

This year there have been a couple good zines released and I definitely like the idea of releasing issues in PDF format for immediate download like a handful have done this year. Documentation is just as important as crucial merch.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

For Myself

Adding to the pile of merch that Stick Together has printed on tees, sweats, longsleeves, jackets, swim trunks and hats, I added the logo to the fin of my noserider earlier this summer. If it wasn't a bootleg, it might be considered the most limited piece of Stick Together Merch out there.


Hope that new 7 inch drops soon. Their track on the Striving Higher comp sounds great along with Rival Mob, Disengage, Blacklisted and Battle Ruins tunes. Haven't really listened to the others yet.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Straight Edge Revenge

This time you've pushed me too far...



Wednesday, July 20, 2011

History 101

It's time for another Lockin' Out Exclusive...

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Outcast

Boston Strangler demo has been on heavy rotation since it's release. I love how this video looks like it could have been filmed in the mid 80s and I'm hoping for the LP to drop soon.

Friday, July 15, 2011

Search Parties

Hung out a bit this morning on the steps before paddling out.



Tuesday, July 12, 2011

No Remorse, No Tolerance

Sorry, no download for the new 7 inch. My favorite straight edge band played their first show in my geographical range in a while last weekend. I'm glad I ended up going seeing as DFJ announced that it was also their only show of the summer. Demo songs, cover and two new songs off the upcoming Youngblood seven inch made for a great set. Rather than try and describe it with the appropriate hyperbolic adjectives, just watch:

No Tolerance (Full Set) from hate5six on Vimeo.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Safe in a Crowd

Decided to see if there was any fun left from this weekend's swell today. I headed over to Strathmere in the evening in the hopes of avoiding the weekend crowds and making the most of the leftovers that may still be in the water. My timing was off, unfortunately.


In the offseason, Strathmere is beautifully quiet with little more than empty, wide open beaches and sagging shore cottages mixed with the occasional shiny new condo. So it's for this reason it takes some time to get adjusted to the crazy personality change it takes on in summer mode.
Despite the Later time slot, things were hopping. Didn't see anything working at the first spot, but did see a pretty cool truck that looked like it had some sort of shower hookup on the rack for when you got done surfing. Despite the lack of waves, there was no shortage of boards on the beach.
Next spot check, nothing happening except a drunken fight at the steps by Mildred's restaurant as a guy tried to explain to his girl "it was only Facebook chat and Skype." he also yelled "Are you kidding me?!" about fifty times.
Finally a couple blocks north, I found a little wave pushing through even with the high tide. Steered clear of the Stand Up Paddler and assortment of other waves riders a few yards away and managed to snag a handful of waves while taking in the sights on the beach an in the water. Here's to summer. Get it while it lasts.

PS- On the ride home I saw a different truck that had a killer changing tent hook up hanging off the cab. Looked handmade and looked simply like someone rigged a hospital curtain off their cab. Killer idea.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Friday, July 8, 2011

In the Blink of an Eye

Looks incredible. As a high school kid I remember reading about City Gardens in zines and thinking it must be such an off the wall place to see a show. Can't wait for the final product.

Only the Realest

Slept on this demo and after I actually heard it, was really stoked on it. Might want to pick one up before they are gone:


http://getrealrecords.bigcartel.com

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Monday, July 4, 2011

Blind Justice

A holiday based on freedom has become all about how many hotdogs slobs can eat and chanting like a bunch of jocks at a high school reunion. Remember how cool we used to be?

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Disgusting Fun

July 4th weekend summed up:



Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Empire of Idols



Headed back to the Moose Lodge last night to catch a six band line-up that was part of the final night of War Hungry's handful of shows to support the new LP. Wanted to be sure that I made it to the show on time for once, so I didn't miss the opening band, Beware. It definitely backfired on me. Being 32, it's tough to scrape together friends willing to go to shows, let alone make an hour drive from Cape May County to Brick hang out in a hot social club or stand around outside and get bit by mosquitoes on a weeknight. I guess I'm just weird like that. The last thing I wanted to do was end up standing around by myself, which is exactly what happened. Factor in that I didn't really know anybody and there weren't a ton of people at the start of a six band show, it made minutes feel like hours. Awkwardness on my part.

Finally, Beware was ready to go. If you heard the demo, you know what you're getting: mid-tempo, west coast influenced HC that brings a lot of Chain references to mind. Vocals remind me of Tim McMahon, but the band's sound is a little faster than MP was, maybe more Hand Tiedish. They ran through the songs off the demo and sounded good. Vocals could have been louder, but that seems to be a common thing at the Lodge. They closed with "No Exceptions", which was a good choice considering the venue and the style of the band. If the response to the demo is any indication, kids are going to be into this band. With only a couple shows under their belt, they proved that they can live up to the hype that their demo has brought.

Following Beware, was Born Annoying, a new band from the shore featuring some ex members of some previous shore bands. I'm not sure if the name is a nod to Helmet (cool if it is), but they had a really good sound. They definitely leaned on a hardcore with a groove, bouncing between breakdowns and more rhythmic parts, kind of like Cro-Mags meets Supertouch or Planet Mental era Mental. They played five songs or so and I definitely was digging what I was hearing but was disappointed that there wasn't a demo available. Hopefully, there will be one available in the future and they'll keep the project going. The band had a good sound and was a lot different than most bands on shows these days.

Loose Ends were up next and played for-ev-er. Not a knock against them, their set just felt really long for a non-headliner. L.E. plays a lot punkier version of hardcore that borrows from earlier hardcore influences like the Adolescents or TSOL as opposed to Revelation worship. They were young and sounded good, although again, the vocals were tough to make out. I know they've been playing out and hopefully I'll catch them again at some point.

There was a huge gap between the Loose Ends and Rattling Cages set. Not sure why, but when you have a pretty lengthy bill, flesh eating mosquitoes outside and a hot venue, it's nice to keep things moving. I don't know a whole lot about Rattling Cages, so I'm not going to let my ignorance interfere with my observations. They sounded heavy and had some really good riffs; I'd say they were more on the metal side of things, but kept my attention.

Again another long layoff in between Rattling Cages and Dead End Path, mainly due to equipment trouble. Pretty sure they might have cut their set a little short, due to mic issues, but everybody was way into what they did play. DEP focused mainly on tracks off of their seven inch, and sounded a lot tighter than the last time I caught them. Endless touring will do that, I guess. The crowd reaction was nuts and the Lodge set up creates an almost bowling alley-like style pit for the mosh. Think traffic on the Garden State Parkway, if both the north and south lanes were merged into one at the same time. It was a great set to watch and I was stoked to get to see them play out again. This band has worked their ass off and it's cool to see kids into what they're playing.

War Hungry closed the show and all I can say is goddamn. Let me preface that by saying, I wasn't the biggest War Hungry fan, pre-LP. I had some songs I dug, would listen from time to time, but they weren't a band that found themselves in constant rotation and since they hadn't released anything as of late, I'd kind of fallen off playing their 7 inch tracks. They always seemed to be a really polarizing band: it you dug 'em, you really dug 'em or you just didn't get it. I think it's pretty safe to that that if you haven't heard the new songs, then you really have no idea what you're in store for until you hear them. There's been a lot of hype around this LP and let's face it: between twitter, facebook and hardcore messageboards, it's easy for mediocre shit to get hyped easily in this day and age. I was skeptical that the LP would live up the hype swirling around it for the past couple of years, but after hearing it and seeing/hearing the new songs played, I'm a flat out believer.

I had caught their set in Bethlehem, PA to open their mini-tour, so I kind of knew what I was in store for the second time around. Frankly, I was just psyched to hear the new songs again and see kids get stoked on Wungry. No keyboards for this set unlike Bethlehem, but the set seemed smoother than their first night. The new tracks are ridiculous and completely blow their previous releases away. And by ridiculous, I mean ridiculously heavy. A lot of crunchy riffs mixed with more a more metal guitar makes for an incredible combination. The crowd was into it and between War Hungry and the mosh being brought, it was an extremely entertaining set. During the intro to "Spoken Through the Serpent" I thought the floor was going to collapse from kids losing their minds. At the close of the show Arthur decided to throw his guitar into the crowd, signaling that the set was over and that was my cue to hit the road. I was lucky enough to grab a tour press of the LP from the 150 they had pressed up and have listened to it at least five or six times today alone. Safe to say it was worth the wait for the return of War Hungry.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The Anti-Social Life




I like dawn patrols more than any other time of day. I like the quiet. I like the solitude. I like feeling in tune with nature as opposed to dealing with crowds, attitudes and other stoke killers. Maybe I'm just selfish?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Coping Methods



Lack of real waves tearing at my sanity. Listening to Mind Eraser helps.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Do the Knowledge

Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

I Hope You Know

Happy fathers day.



Saturday, June 18, 2011

A Better Place

A morning bump this morning meant it was time to shake off the rust and get in the water. Found a comfortable, empty spot for a
couple hours.



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Through these Eyes

Our prayers have been answered:



BEWARE DEMO

Download it. Featuring members of Mother of Mercy and Stick Together, demo is a front runner for best of '11 and we're only half way there.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Only Moment We Were Alone


I was all set to review the Cold World/Sean Price video and then I stumbled across this clip. I want to ride this wave, wherever in New England it may be. Instant stoke.
View this video at Hurley.com

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Mirage



This is the Sacred Love LP that I thought was coming out soon on Youngblood, but now I'm not sure when it's getting released. It's a one-sided LP of 100 from the fall showcase in 2010 and if the rip sucks, I apologize. If you've heard the demo, you know what to expect as far as a sound. The more I listen, the more I like.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Looking Back



Felt like I hadn't been to a show in forever, so I headed to the Barbary for a matinee to catch Stick Together and Disengage along with some other bands on a Rainy Saturday. Ended up getting there late and missed the opening band, Good Times, who I think are from Cape May. I didn't see a single song, so I can't really comment and just take my F- in showing a band from my area support. Another Mistake followed and sounded pretty good. Louisville Kentucky Straight Edge in effect. I was amped to see Sacred Love after hearing the demo and they didn't deviate too much from what was on there and the LP. Kind of like a mini-LOJ, they were down a guitarist, but still sounded tight. Not a lot of mosh, even when they did the breakdown to Weighed Down, which surprised me. Up there as far as DC/Bodymore bands I dig. Sorry my geography is terrible outside the tri-state.

Disengage took the stage next and were awesome. Standard straight edge hardcore in the vein of all the old Rev bands on your ipod, they played a lot of the songs off the record, a demo song, a YOT cover (insanely cool) and a new song "Think for Yourself" which had a killer intro. Been trying to catch them live for a while now and was glad I finally did. Mindset was next and well, whatever. I know a lot of kids are way into them, but I can't say that I am. Next. Finally, Stick Together closed and put out a tight set just under 20 minutes. Another band that reminds me of NYHC meets the late 90s in a near perfect combination. Demo songs+ 7 inch songs+ Hoodrack commenting on Straight Edge made for a great set, so much so, it didn't dawn on me that they didn't do a cover until I was walking to my car. Managed to get kicked in the head by Hoodrack when he dove in the crowd, which is always a bonus. Good to see them again and found out later that weekend about the Brick show, so already stoked for that. Didn't snag any merch, which was probably a mistake. Didn't see any Stick Together gear I didn't already have and was hoping for that black Disengage shirt, but no dice. Some white tees, which are great for summer, but I've always had that white tee phobia of getting ketchup or something on a favorite white shirt. Afterwards, I headed into Center City to meet up with some friends, which made for a great Saturday.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

True Colors

If he was holding a burrito, it'd sum my life up completely.



Friday, May 13, 2011

Burn the Lies

This should happen at every surf contest.



Wednesday, May 11, 2011

On Another Level

A band that actually lives up to the hype:



Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Monday, May 9, 2011

Life Unknown

Somewhere in Cape May County...



Friday, May 6, 2011

Skate Tuff

Beat it ya Val jerks!



Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

What's In Worth

Purpose was a late 90s straight edge hardcore band that came from New Jersey. If somebody stumbled upon this blog, chances are you know a bit about them already. If not, I'm not really here to give a band bio or anything, but instead, share some of the records that they put out. I came across them early on and they are a band who's records have always stuck around in my collection as others made their way to eBay or to be traded in at record stores.

In the late 90s, I was a high school kid who just discovered straight edge hardcore and relied on things like the Very Distro catalog and Hardware Fanzine to get me into new bands. I was really into a lot of the late 90s explosion that brought out Floorpunch, Rancor, Atari and the like, and was always searching for new bands that fit the same mold, so to speak. Bands didn't have pages or anything, so it was purchasing records based on a blurb and seeing if the records lived up to the hype. Anybody who was around for the whole 1997 "rebirth" knows the line that was drawn between being great and being completely generic and a fine line it was at that.

One day at Double Decker Records, I picked up a seven inch by a band called Purpose. I took it home and was really into it for the most part. It was way more melodic than a lot of the hardcore I listened to, but it sounded really good to me, so I recorded it to a tape and played it each morning on the way to high school. It was on my turn table or tape deck regularly and I saw them listed on a few local show bills, but never got to actually see them live.

The story kind of stops there. I had read a review of one of their records in what I considered to be a reliable zine and the reviewer's words weren't the most flattering. It kind of made me think twice about the initial awesomeness I had bestowed on the Reaction 7 inch, but I shrugged it off and still listened to it on the reg. Like a lot of my records, it got lost in the shuffle and just sat on my shelf, but any time I found a Purpose record at a record store, I was sure to pick it up.

I ripped what I had in my collection although the sound may not be the best (cracks, pops, etc.), so listener beware and apologies in advance. As I transferred everything, I gave it another listen and despite no longer being an easily influenced teenaged posi-core kid, I still dig a lot of what I'm hearing. Some of the lyrics are a little heavy handed, but I still dig 'em. Here's what's included:Self Titled on Reaction Records
1. Pride in Belonging
2. Don't Sit Down
3. Vicious Circles
4. Forced Through the Cracks

What's In Worth on Special Forces Records
5. Opinion
6. Tried
7. What's In Worth
8. Tonight
Art as a Weapon on Underestimated Records
9. We are the Third World
10. That Smile
11. Land to Glass
12. Player Piano

Alpha and Omega LP on Special Forces Records

13. Pedestal
14. Over My Shoulder
15. Striking Worker
16. Our Future
17. Despair
18. Kill For the Cause
*Remaining tracks not included but are the same as on Reaction 7 inch


PURPOSE: THE COLLECTION

Bringing It Backwards

I know there's a lot of talk about their new album, but I don't think anything will get me as hyped as the breakdown @ 3:07 of the SNL appearance back during the Ill Communication era.



Chewing gum while destroying your bass=hard.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Shed

What's the name of the new Title Fight record, again?

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Constant Headache

Watch this once and it will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day:

Friday, April 22, 2011

Waste Management

Don't waste a minute.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Rooftops

i'm here and i'm waiting to begin again.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Positive Outlook

Good form on the spot-check. Can't wait for this to be followed by actually paddling out and snagging some waves together.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Monday, March 21, 2011

Drawn and Quartered

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to zines. Always liked collecting them, reading them, storing them and then reading them again years later. Arty zines, hardcore zines, one-sheets, newsprint, photocopied, whatever was around was good for me. Nobody did it better than Frank Foe. I can't say I was a regular reader in '84, but FOE was still going strong in the mid-90s and I didn't miss an issue. While I feel like FOE was the gold standard, the quality never matter much to me: I've been responsible for some lame zines in the past (Young & the Useless) and read some pretty lousy attempts, but lately, I scooped up some really good zines that are really well crafted.

The first is from Easton's Giancarlo DeMarchi. He's responsible for some of my favorite show flyers, prints, t-shirts and artwork for hardcore bands over the years. Analog Dreams is a pretty sick collection of some different prints that he has done. I have always dug his style of drawing and really like the color scheme of the whole book. Not sure if it was intentional, but the size is similar to a 7 inch record and comes in a similar sized protective sleeve.

The second pair come from the Drug Money Art collective, run by Tin Ojeda. A little on the pricey side, DMA book 1 and book 2 (Everything You Know is Wrong) are a collection of photographs that are screened (yup screened) over newsprint to make a killer collection of random images that are a mix of the east coast longboard and art scene. Each one is handmade and there is some overlap in images in both books, but there is something really unique about the pages being fully screened as opposed to printed. I would imagine the overall aesthetic would be frowned upon by the usual weekend joe-longboarder , but it's good to see an effort to document the culture outside of the bigger magazines. Surfing needs more zines.
An interior shot of Everything You Know is Wrong. The dimensions are 14x11 or something really cool like that.
Last up is Through These Eyes by Robby Redcheeks. Again, a screened cover, with the inside being newsprint. The cover should be your first indication that it is not just another hardcore fanzine. What makes this zine unique is that along with some pretty incredible live shots (and set lists), the writing comes off as a manual for how to do it yourself, whether it be booking shows or creating zines. It's not only a great read, but a pretty good push for the reader to get going and get get creative with whatever he or she is in to.
I don't think I did any of the books any justice with this write-up. I'm not a zine reviewer, just a couple that I was stoked on over the past couple months. It's zines like this that help me get through a long winter. Happy first day of spring.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Savory

Point Concept Surfboards': Third Stage from Ryan Lovelace on Vimeo.


I really want a Vampire hull, but I'm not sure it's cut out for Jersey beach break. Love the way they cruise on longer points. The music in this is kinda eh, so here's my recommendation after you mute it:

Friday, March 18, 2011

Cut Throat Tactics

This came in the mail for me the other day. I was really excited. The End.