MRR #280
I've taken a temprorary job this summer in Chicago. I'm pretty excited to be here as the local hardcore scene is blazing with great bands. Here's a quick mini scene report. Chronic Seizure play off the hook 82 style hardcore, they have a 7" out on Fashionable Idiots and their style is similar to label mates Formladehyde Junkies or perhaps Direct Control. I Attack is one of this countries most overlooked bands at present. They have an LP and a new 7" on Criminal IQ but I rarely hear people talking about them outside Chicago. Totally tight wicked hardcore which reminds me of classic 80's hardcore bands like DRI, Aritcles of Faith and Toxic Reasons. No Slogan just put out a new 7" on South Kore records, they are probably the most successful at putting a fresh take on the "Chicago Sound" of UK influenced melodic hardcore like Naked Raygun and the Effigies. Their previous 7" is boss as well. The Pedestrians have an LP out, but are apparently breaking up soon. The Repos are also rumored to be breaking up, their LP made kind of a splash when it came out and they are still kicking it with some raw and gritty hardcore punk. Sin Orden are back and raging. Their 7" on Lengua Armada was one of my favorite records of the Y2K thrash wave, and a total sleeper you can still score for a few bucks if you look around. The new Sin Orden has taken the old sound and turned things up a notch, total fast core thrash attack. Not grind core or metal, just super fast and tight hardcore. The drummer for this band has incredibly def style. I don't think they have any new material recorded, but keep your ear to the ground. Punch In the Face are not dead yet, but don't seem to be too active. Functional Blackouts are a really damaged punk band with a new second LP on Criminal IQ. Speaking of Criminal IQ they recently re pressed the VeeDee "Furthur" LP which is one of the best punk LPs of the past few years combining 60's garage punk/pop and 77 punk. I'm pretty sure Wound Up are finished. There's a ton of other bands kicking around right now as well, Disrobe, Weekend Nachos, Condenada, Intifada, Thin the Herd, Expired Youth, and probably a lot more I'm forgetting or just haven't had the chance to see yet. Shows here are high energy and the hardcore crowd is usually pretty amped up and ready for thrash. However, the Illinois/Missouri "linear" mosh style leaves a lot to be desired. This back and forth mosh action is somewhat akin to game of "Red Rover" and tends to difuse the energy of a good mosh pit into a sort of mad rush to slam into the wall of the venue. The circular vs. linear mosh debate has been ongoing for some time and I know I hold a minority opinion in these parts.

After some reflection, I've come to the conclusion that the two most crucial record labels in the history of American music are Dangerhouse, and Dischord (up to #9 at least). I of course grew up in DC listening to Dischord releases, and I've been covering DC hardcore off and on in this column for several months. Dischord was very conscioiusly modelled on Dangerhouse. Dangerhouse was such a ground breaking label in so many ways. These pioneers totally laid the way for the DIY punk aesthetic that was to take off with the hardcore movement. Indeed, the Rhino 39 7" was a harbinger of hardcore sounds just around the corner. Every time I spin them I am blown away at the cool layouts, sick (not slick) production and just overwhealmingly crucial nature of these 7"s. And the Yes LA comp was about ten light years ahead of it's time, a one sided clear screen printed LP in 1979. The "keep it simple" nature of the packaging and production meant there was no filler, fluff or any un essential about the Dangerhouse singles. They are just pure and raw punk. My pick for the most critical of these has changed over the years, but as of now my money is on the Bags "Survive/Babylonian Gorgon" as number one, with Avengers as number two. For those of you not into collecting essential artifacts of American punk history there's two volumes of the collected Dangerhouse singles. The re issues are a little frustrating as they split up the a and b sides on different records and sprinkle the Yes LA tracks in as well. More exciting are the recent spate of bootleg/re issues of the successive Dangerhouse 7"s, many of them pressed from the original plates rescued from Alberti pressing before they closed.

Dischord's story has been told in much detail elsewhere, but just looking at the first few years output from this label puts it in the front rank on it's own. Add to that the great raw and direct production Don Zientra got on most of these records and the usually solid layouts that are still copied today. Perhaps more importanlty though was the taking up of the torch from Dangerhouse with the aesthetic. Everything was simple and direct. DIY meant no resorting to industry gimmicks. Inner Ear was a four track studio in someone's basement, but recorded some of the most important recorda in ths History of american music. The majority of these records were laid out with just markers, x acto knives and rub on letters and xeroxed at a local copy shop. I find it ironic that many of todays' hardcore bands are using photoshop and machintosh fonts to try to ape this style that was so antithetical to this sort of mass produced machine age replication. I frequently feel like the advent of home computers, Compact discs and music videos were three factors that really "cheapened" music and had crushing impact on the look and feel of punk releases. As I look around today I still see bands and labels striving to capture some of the essence of these two labels groundbreaking releases. For punk and then hardcore they were the real pioneers and visionaries who were making up as they went along and they left an impact that can still be seen and heard today.

The one thing I would add, is that Dangerhouse knew when to pack it in leaving a sterling legacy. Dischord, although a standard bearer for integrity in the music business, has released quite a few less than essential records since 1982.

Publication Date:
January 1, 2006

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