Spirit Of Youth

Matt Hoodrack of Stick Together

2010-09-25T16:58:00.002-04:00

Interview with Hoodrack from Sick Society Issue #1. Click image to enlarge.

United Youth is Here to Stay

2010-09-25T16:40:00.004-04:00

p: Danielle Parsons

Sorry for the delay, but Spirit Of Youth is coming back. A lot of things have happened in Wilkes-Barre. Venues have come and gone, bands have formed and broken up, and new record labels and zines have sprouted up. A lot of new information will be coming as there is a lot of things to talk about. A lot of new people to talk to, and a lot of things to advertise on here. For now, be sure to check out Dead End Path, Stick Together, United Youth, Disengage, and Back To Back Records.

9/18/10

2010-09-20T16:21:00.000-04:00

Posi #'s

2009-09-14T22:37:00.000-04:00

Picture courtesy of Yogi

July 18

2009-07-10T14:17:00.004-04:00

Omegas were dropped and Bad Seed was added.

Above and Below

2009-06-25T13:06:00.002-04:00

Photo: Katie Dance

War Hungry just recently posted their first brand new track in over a year entitled "Empire of Idols". The track is one of two songs that are going on a split with WBHC friends Bad Seed that is coming out at this year's Sound and Fury Festival on 6131 Records.

NEPA Hardcore Exhibit

2009-06-24T12:55:00.005-04:00

Krutch at Sea Sea's. Photo from Sea Sea's myspace.

On July 26th, 2009, the hardcore scene of Northeastern PA will be showcased in an exhibit entitled the NEPA Hardcore Retrospective. The exhibit will include not only pictures and flyers from shows from the area's past, but they are also compiling a DVD to be shown of local bands such as Option, Side Over, Extend, Burial Ground, Soughwhat, and Guardrail among others. Also, another DVD will be made of notable performances that came through the area with bands like Hatebreed, Vision of Disorder, Bloodlet, and more. The exhibit will take place at 610 Mulberry St. in Scranton, PA. There will be more information coming out soon so head on over to The NEPA Hardcore Exhibit's myspace where you will also be able to find links to old NEPA bands and the new myspace for the infamous venue Sea Sea's which includes some awesome pictures. Keep your eyes peeled for this one.

April 17

2009-04-14T22:35:00.002-04:00

I Am The Judge

2009-03-22T14:06:00.003-04:00

A little late on these, but check out these videos from Hate5Six of Bad Seed's set at the Stelton Baptist Church in Edison, NJ in February.

April 11

2009-03-19T16:42:00.002-04:00

Ill Blood

2009-02-17T16:13:00.000-05:00

No Warning "A Day in the Life" at Posi Numbers 2002

February 28

2009-02-11T21:46:00.002-05:00

Spoken Through the Serpent

2009-01-30T14:50:00.004-05:00

Hate5Six Productions recently uploaded a video of War Hungry's entire set from The Mongoloid s record release show in Edison, NJ on January 17th. You can watch videos from War Hungry, Mother Of Mercy, The Mongoloids, and Mark Porter's Sick People as well as other videos from shows in and around Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

When It's Underground...

2009-01-28T14:03:00.004-05:00

P: Danielle Parsons

Freeze Up posted a new song from their upcoming 7" on What This Means Records called "Last Respects." More info should be coming out on this 7" as well as other What This Means releases.

Scratch the Surface

2009-01-20T18:46:00.007-05:00

Naysayer. P: Brianna Collins

Thanks to everyone who came out to the show this past Friday. It was good to see familiar faces as well as a lot of new kids showing up. Thanks to all the bands that played, especially to Backtrack and Naysayer who ended their tour that night. I really appreciate everyone showing support by coming to the show, and especially to the kids for singing along and moshing. Hopefully this is inspired somebody new to check out these bands. Brianna Collins was kind enough to take some pictures of the show and put them up online so check them out here. I will try and get a video of the WBSXE revival up soon.

Also in WBHC news, preorders for the Mercy For None Compilation on Reaper Records went up a little bit ago. There are several preorder options which all ensure you a copy of the new 7" featuring tracks from Wilkes-Barre's own Bad Seed, Naysayer, Brick, Alpha & Omega, Unforgiven, and Absolute Madness. Preorder it now to get the limited color or just wait for Bad Seed to come around with some, which will hopefully be before too long.

Info seems to be coming up on the long awaited Cold World and Strength For A Reason split 7". According to As One Records, the Split EP should be out by this winter. As soon as any information is released I will try and post it up. Until then just wait and be sure to check out both Cold World and Strength For A Reason who have a number of shows coming up.

Concrete Reality

And last but certainly not least, Concrete Reality just recently put up a new song called " Stolen Minds" which will be available on their upcoming 7" coming out on NEPA's newest label What This Means Records. Check this out immediately and be on the lookout for more info on the new Concrete Reality 7" as well as their other releases which included Freeze Up and The Cutters.

On the Attack

2009-01-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

Shark Attack "C.C.P" at Posi Numbers 2001

January 16

2009-01-05T23:01:00.004-05:00

Come out January 16th at Cafe Metropolis and mosh it up for Freeze Up, Backtrack, Naysayer, and Disengage.

Back To Back

2009-01-04T22:12:00.002-05:00

Underdog "Back To Back" at Posi Numbers 2005

David Foster of Frostbite

2008-12-23T16:15:00.002-05:00

Frostbite P:unkown. from L to R Ryan Shafer, Dave Foster, Alex Russin, Chris Thomas

This is a Wilkes-Barre band that I surprisingly have not touched on yet. Frostbite was an essential early 2000's WBHC band that lasted for only a couple of years. Made up of ex-members of True Identity, Frostbite dropped the youth crew sound and started a straight edge (not for long) band playing pissed and fast much in the vein if Floorpunch or Right Brigade. Frostbite put out their "In The End Your Headless" Demo in 2001 and then a s/t 7" on Dead By 23 Records from Philadelphia in 2003. Frostbite broke up in January of 2005. I caught up with Dave Foster who now plays for Blacklisted about some Frostbite memories.

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

Foster: I had been into epitaph / fat wreck chords punk from the age of 12...pennywise,strung out,blink 182 nofx, etc.. When I was a freshman at Wyoming Area I had about 5 friends who were into skateboarding and punk. I was also playing in a band called Obsoleete. We were basically friends who sat around learning other bands songs...whatever we could. Life in Wyoming / Exeter wasn't too exciting and I wasn't really into drinking or doing drugs. Josh Anderson, who was an awesome skateboarder and into punk and core, would drive me home from school occassionally. He was a senior when I was a freshman, so obviously I thought he was cool as shit on principle alone. One day on the ride home he put a disc into his beat ass white volkswagen jetta. Kid Dynamite self titled. This was 1998. The first song blew my fucking mind. So fast and angry. It all spiraled downhill from there.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Foster: When I was playing in that band Obsoleete we finally got some originals together. We started playing shows at Homebase and Cafe Metropolis. Some local edgemen took notice in us, just as being new kids. Bobb Mac specifically put us on some homebase shows and Ed Gieda asked us to open for Bedford a few times. That was so cool to me when I was young. My mom would drive us in my step dad's van to the shows. Anyways, through all of that I met Rob Stitzer, Alex, Decker, Bobb and Dan, Pat Toole, etc. Pat drove me one night to pizza night at Rodano's which was about 25-30 local coremen and Posi Numbers Youth Crew chillin'. When I was introduced to Dan and Bobb formally, the first thing they said was "so are you edge mon?" I knew what the edge was, and like I said wasn't into getting drunk and smoking weed...so I said "yeah I am"....again, it all spiraled downhill from there.

SOY: How did Frostbite form?

Foster: We were all in True Identity first, which was a melodic core band that disbanded after an unreleased 7" melted away. Shafepunch was the next step, it was Ryan singing, Kluger on bass, Chris Thomas on guitar, Stitzer on drums. I'm pretty sure that started because Ryan wanted to sing in a band and Chris had dropped out of the college he was going to for the fall semester,so he was home doing nothing. I heard the songs and was like, let me play. Kluger was in school at Delaware so couldn't really do the bass gig anyways. The shafepunch demo was called "I Love Women", or something insane like that. But the songs were cool. We decided to do it a little more legitimately when we realized the songs and ideas were actually cool. Alex joined on and we just went from there. The name came from Brad "Bad Kid" spraying himself with a fire extinguisher, giving himself frostbite. We wrote the "In the End You're Headless" demo, started playing around Wilkes-Barre and Philly. Alex and Chris made friends with a lot of the Philadelphia hardcore scene (they were going to Temple and St. Joe's), such as Robby Redcheeks, who I think they talked into releasing our record on his label, Dead By 23.

SOY: Why did you temporarily quit Frostbite? and why did you re-join later?

Foster: In all reality I quit frostbite because I had a disagreement with Rob our drummer, that made me so mad that I couldn't even be in the band with him. It was probably over a girl, I don't really remember. For a lot of time in the spring of 2003 I couldn't play shows because i was grounded. I was a senior in high school and got caught 1. skipping 50 some days of school,
2. lying about something. I wasn't allowed to leave my house so I joined the volleyball team so I could at least do something. I rejoined because I loved playing and hated missing out on the shows.

SOY: How do you feel about Frostbite going from a straight edge band to a non straight edge band?

Foster: Some people in life aren't meant to be straight edge. Alex Russin being one of them. Mind you, he and the other members were at one time strong edgemen. I'm talkin varsity jackets, new balance 574's, shaved heads, etc. But people change and that's that. Wilkes-Barre got the no edge disease harder than almost anywhere. I remember looking back and thinking of all of the people who got me involved in hardcore, who were almost all straight edge, and now I can't count them on one hand. Frostbite as an edge band was cool but we never were Frostbite straightedge ala Let Down. Ryan didn't really sing about anything geared towards the edge. If I remember correctly his songs were mostly about chicks and maybe getting into a fight in the mall.

SOY: Do you have any good stories from any shows?

Foster: A couple of highlights to me were playing Outburst "The Hard Way" with Kluger singing. Anytime. It was always good. also, playing Posi Numbers was always fun. Specifically the VFW year (2003) when we did the intro montage, then played the AF outro with Georgie singing. Coming to Richmond for shows was the best. The reactions were always insane and we made some real good friendships here. Also this wasn't even Frostbite but when we did Gorilla Biscuits for Halloween in like 2001 or 2002, that was one of the best shows I ever played in my life. Also Connecticut with Blacklisted."DO YOU", Pepito with his guitar over his head like an axe. The dust is a must weekend with Scraps and Heart Attacks and Blacklisted... good times. One of my favorite stories though was when Kluger and Stitzer got in an argument in the van over Rob not liking Lord of the Rings. Kluger said "WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER WATCH DONNIE DARKO ON LASER DISC?"

SOY: Whatever happened to Frostbite: The Movie? Was there ever anything more than just a trailer?

Foster: You're gonna have to ask Fudgy about that one. He had some pretty good show and hangin' footage. But really it was shit that nobody would care about besides us.

SOY: Is it true that you recorded a full length without vocals before breaking up?

Foster: Yes. Well we demo'd a full length. Alot of songs. I don't remember if Chris played on it but i know me, Ryan, and Rob did 10-15 songs in Rob's basement. The songs were really cool. I heard them for the first time in years recently. I wish they were released.

Frostbite s/t 7"

SOY: How did the closing of Homebase affect Frosbite and WBHC?

Foster: The closing of Homebase was huge. Cafe Metropolis slowly began to shun away from a hardcore crowd and the Zoo didn't really last too long. It was just blow after blow for hardcore in the small city. Homebase and Cafe Metropolis together would house a hardcore show every single week. Any band that toured the east coast would stop through. It was a perfect hub between Philly, New York, Boston, wherever. We were really spoiled man. I think I saw Shark Attack, Count Me Out, Terror, Horror Show, No Rights, American Nightmare, The Hope Conspiracy, Bane, etc. once a month at least. It was great. Then homebase closed, and things started to seriously change. For the worse. Also, one of the biggest and most influential WB coremen who booked all of the shows dropping the core and edge didn't help much either.

SOY: If you could change about Frostbite would you, and why?

Foster: I wish the LP would've gotten released, but that's about it. I don't think Frostbite was a crazy influential band. We ripped off Right Brigade, Outburst and the Cro-Mags. It was just a fun band that we did. I never had big expectations. Going to Richmond for a show was the biggest I thought a band could be.

SOY: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any last words / shout outs?

Foster: Shout outs to the new breed of WB core...the young dudes who I mostly don't even know. Anyone who still carries the edge, the few that remain. Nanticoke Straight Edge, Dan Mills and his family, Alex Russin, George Hirsch, Nick Woj, Guerilla Crew...and lastly to quote a song that means alot to me: "Things have changed, between you and me, we don't hang out but that's OK".

Choke on the Bad Seed

2008-12-18T13:39:00.002-05:00

P: JDK

Bad Seed posted a new song "Watch It Burn" from their upcoming 7" EP on 6131 Records today on their myspace.

David Wood of Down to Nothing / Terror

2008-12-18T00:31:00.005-05:00

P: Janurant

Down to Nothing has been one of the most consistent bands of the latest era of hardcore. Release after release they have managed to put out some of the heaviest records, like 2007's The Most. Down to Nothing took a little break after their world tour this year but came back to play one of the best sets at this year's This Is Hardcore Fest in Philadelphia. Down to Nothing currently has a couple of dates booked right around the new year with Swamp Thing, Naysayer, and even Wilkes-Barre's Bad Seed. I caught up with David Wood who sings in Down to Nothing, and now currently plays bass in Terror.

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

David: Skateboarding, Thrasher Magazine, going to local punk shows and getting fliers to other shows. Checking them out and falling in love.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

David: Same way I guess. I remember hating "straight edge" early middle school years. I loved weed, and anything bad, so I thought the edge was for pussies. It also had a bad reputation in Richmond. When I saw dudes x'ed up at shows I thought they were gonna beat me up because I wasn't edge, hahaha. Then gradually, I was getting more into the core, while my friends were getting more into drugs and trouble. So, I just got really turned on to it.

SOY: How did Down to Nothing start? What were you original intentions when you started DTN? Have they changed?

David: Down To Nothing started when I was in high school. Daniel and I have been jamming since we were 14. We had dumb little bands before. We loved Rage Against The Machine, Pantera, and Biohazard. We didn't know what hardcore was... But we were just trying to play loud, fast, heavy music. When we got older and started getting into the core, we kind of started Down To Nothing. I was 17 or 18 I think. Crazy to think about that now. I'm 25 now. Haha. We never had any intentions but to just play. That's all we cared about. We never thought we would play out of Virginia at the time you know? The more we played, the more things came to us. Then, we all never really had any goals or anything, we just loved touring so much, so we wanted to do it as much as we could.

SOY: Why did it take you so long to come out with a LP? Are you happy with how "The Most" came out?

David: Hahaha. Dude I don't know. I think we were just young and dumb and full of cum. Naive maybe? Save It For the Birds was kind of one, but it was our first real thing, so I think we more focusing on our second one being the real LP..But then we weren't happy with our label situation so we were just trying to take the quick way out. I'm stoked with The Most. It's most. There's some little things I wish we could go back and fix, but we were short on time and money. Overall, I'm very happy with it.

Down to Nothing's The Most

SOY: How was your world tour? and why haven't you been touring since then?

David: The world tour was one of the coolest things I have ever done, and probably will ever do in my life. We did a full U.S., to South Korea, to Japan, to a full European tour. We were gone for 3 months straight. We were very busy before all of that too, so a good break from touring was needed. Groater was quitting after the world tour, and Daniel was going back school. We got Alan back in the band to replace Groater, and Braces from Bracewar on 2nd guitar. Neither of them can tour a whole lot, and obviously Daniel can't with school. At the same time of all this, I got asked to play for Terror. We didn't want DTN to break up, and so we decided to keep it going and play when we can.

SOY: How did you get involved in playing bass for Terror? How is playing with Terror different than playing with DTN?

David: They just asked me to play one day, and I didn't know what was going to happen with DTN at the time with Groater quitting and Daniel going back to school. You know? I couldn't say no to playing in one of my favorite bands. It's good playing with Terror. Good to do something different. Terror does some weird tours with bands outside of the hardcore scene, which Down To Nothing could never do. So it's fun, playing bass instead of singing, playing to a lot of new crowds. It's a whole new experience for me.

SOY: Are there any plans for any new DTN releases?

David: No actual plans yet. We have some new songs in the works. If you were into The Most and the songs off our Split with 50 Lions, you will LOVE these. But, we will have another release sometime.

SOY: Thanks for the interview. Last words / shout outs?

David: Jared, Daniel, Alan, Braces. Terror. Bad Seed, Title Fight, Cold World, War Hungry.SFAR. Naysayer. Reaper Records. Guerilla Fam. Lakeview Foster and Casey. Cruel Hand. Be true to yourself, give back to your scene, keep the PMA. 2009 is going to be a good year for hardcore.

P: Robby Redcheeks

January 11th News

2008-12-13T15:17:00.001-05:00

Magnus at Rodano's

I'm sorry to have to report on this news, but it looks like the January 11th show at the new Rodano's Pizza is postponed. Rodano's ran into some trouble with not having some permits or something and have to totally move their stage into a different room. I was assured this is happening and that they will begin to have shows sometime around early spring. Until then, the show on January 11th has been set back until Rodano's reopens for shows unless we can find another venue in the next month. The show that was on December 28th has been moved to Cafe Metropolis so be sure to still head out for that.

Sorry about this. Hopefully we have some positive news regarding Rodano's coming in the next couple of months. Thanks.

Freeze Up

2008-12-11T23:23:00.003-05:00

Freeze Up .P: JDK

Freeze Up posted two new songs "One Life" and "Bankrupt" on their myspace this week. Check them out at the Cafe Metropolis on December 12th.

December 12th

2008-12-08T16:24:00.002-05:00

Force Fed is also playing back from the dead. Come out support.

Plead Your Case

2008-12-08T15:27:00.004-05:00

Right Brigade at Positive Numbers Youth Crew Festival 2001 at Homebase

In Memory...

2008-12-07T23:13:00.000-05:00

All pictures courtsey of Pat and Prevail Fanzine

The Black Lodge

2008-12-01T16:36:00.004-05:00

Last night, after a 24 hour notice venue change, Concrete Reality, Not Til Death, Bad Seed, and Backtrack plus some other surprise guests played a show at The Black Lodge. The basement which should really only be holding close to 50 people was packed and kids were moshing and going off for every band (sorry I missed Backtrack) and it was awesome. After Backtrack got stuck in traffic, good ole Andy Saba tried to bargain a deal to get some bands to fill in between Bad Seed and Backtrack's set, and within minutes a reunion of a band that holds a special place in my heart and Cold World were slated to play. Every band killed it from first to last. All in all, it was awesome. A last minute show came out to be pretty cool. Thanks to Saba for putting it on and, as always, Mark Favata for hosting it, especially last minute.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T12:05:00.000-05:00

All photos courtesy of Pat from Prevail Fanzine

Venue Change

2008-11-24T15:39:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Andy Saba (Chicken Hawk) for putting this show up a little last minute. This show was supposed to happen at Fagan's Billiards but was canceled and Saba stepped up and is having this at his mom's house. Come and mosh in the comfort of Saba's humble abode and check out Concrete Reality's first appearance, Nanticoke's Not Til Death, Long Island's Backtrack (new 7" out on Flatspot Records), and Chicken Hawk and the Bad Seeds plus maybe a special guest.

Heating Up Hardcore

2008-11-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

If you pick up this week's issue of The Weekender to check out if you made it to the Model Of The Week, flip to page 19 to see a full page interview with Wilkes-Barre's favorite sons Cold World done by Alan K. Stout. Read up some questions about Limp Bizkit, the war in Iraq, and Europe. Be sure to check out Cold World on January 11th at the new Rodano's Pizza with Strength For A Reason, War Hungry, Bad Seed, Not Til Death, and Concrete Reality.

Race of Rats

2008-11-19T21:14:00.003-05:00

" We would like to welcome Wilkes-Barre, PA’s Bad Seed to the 6131 family. This young band has been turning heads on the east coast for a while now and will unleash their fury onto the rest of the world with their 6131 debut. Bad Seed has already started recording their debut 7”; the music is done and the vocals are coming soon. We’ve heard the music and it’s insane. Check out their demo on their myspace, and be on the lookout for their song on the upcoming Reaper comp"

This is an update from my man Joey at 6131 Records out of California. Be sure to check out the other 6131 releases coming out soon like the new Swamp Thing record " In Shame" coming out in early 2009 . Trust me, I've heard the music to these songs and they're some of the heaviest things I've heard in a while. Get the cassettes and shirts through Bad Seed's myspace now before they're going for top dollar on ebay.

Upcoming Shows

2008-11-18T18:47:00.004-05:00

Friday, December 26th

CRO-MAGS (Jam)
Death Threat
Wisdom In Chains
The Mongoloids
Bad Seed

at the Broad Street Ministry
315 S Broad St
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-4847
$TBA
email joehardcore@gmail.com for more info

Saturday, January 10

Out To Win
supporting bands TBA

At The Crock Rock (Allentown, PA)
6pm
$TBA

Strength Through Unity

2008-11-15T16:46:00.000-05:00

Nothing is Real

2008-11-10T23:46:00.006-05:00

Take a look at the new Bad Seed pictures

January 11,2009

2008-11-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

Walk All Night 1 Year Anniversary Show

2008-11-08T12:35:00.001-05:00

October 16, 2004 marked the one year anniversary of Walk All Night Records. One day before National Edge Day, the entire Walk All Night roster gathered at Cafe Metropolis in Wilkes-Barre. Cold World, Crime in Stereo, Drug Test, Iron Boots, Final Word, One Up, and a surprise set from Blacklisted killed it. Metro was packed and kids were moshing, diving, and singing a long. This was one of the last hardcore shows at Metro. The end of 2004 proved to be a trying time time for the WBHC with the end of hardcore shows at Cafe Metropolis and the closing of The Zoo. What happened? Get out to shows, listen to music, and get in the pit. Start a band, put on a show, put out a record, or a tape, or a cd. Wilkes-Barre Hardcore needs to get back on top.

Cold World. P: Lisa Hrichison

Iron Boots. P: Lisa Hrichison

Blacklisted. P: Lisa Hrichison

Walk All Night Records. Courtesy of Walk All Night's Myspace

Born To Expire

2008-11-06T18:26:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Pat for this

David Jaycox of Short End / Miles To Go Fanzine

2008-11-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

The first time I ever saw David Jaycox was at the Italian's Club in Pittston, PA this past February. The Early Birds opened up a solid show that included Trapper Under Ice, Bracewar, and a surprise set from Cold World and Antrhacite's only show. The Early Birds opened the show and played an Inside Out cover of "No Spiritual Surrender." Jaycox came out of nowhere and was moshing so hard. After that, I just kept running into him. Jaycox put out Miles To Go fanzine and has also started a new band called Short End. Jaycox that is clearly into hardcore for a love of the core and it shows in everything he does. Check it.

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

David Jaycox: I got into the core through my Dad and video games. My dad was into punk and some hardcore so he had some dope records. He was actually at the AOQ record release and the Bad Brains/Cro-Mags show at the Ritz (Rock Hotel show) in the 80s. Hard. He got me into punk with Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell, The Ramones, etc. I heard Black Flag - Rise Above on a commercial for some skate game when I was 11 or 12 and I was floored. I asked my dad if he knew who Black Flag was, and he pulled out the Damaged 12''. I jammed that shit all day, and discovered the Bad Brains, Husker Du, Minor Threat and the Cro-Mags all in that one day.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Jaycox: I found the edge after listening to the Minor Threat - Out Of Step 12'' that my dad had. Out Of Step was a secret song on the B side. I didn't claim edge because I didn't really know what it was, but it was pretty mind blowing to me that a grown man didn't smoke drink or fuck. After hearing other edge bands and finding out exactly what it was (namely JUDGE), I claimed edge the summer going into 9th grade. I smoked weed twice that summer (only did it the second time because I didn't get high the first time), smoked cigarettes for a week, then realized how lame it was and quit, and drank once and hated the taste of alcohol. I had been listening to Minor Threat and Judge non stop at this point and I said fuck it, and claimed. I just turned 20 years old, and I can already tell that the edge will be with me until I die.

SOY: Is Short End the first band you ever played in? How did it come about? What's up with the demo taking forever to come out?

Jaycox: Short End is technically the only band I've been in that has actually done anything. I was in a band with Dan and Pat before Short End called Slamwich, that never played a show, and had one practice where over 40 people showed up and just moshed to Cro-Mags covers. I was also in a very short lived indie band called the Jawsome Sharks with Pat of Short End/Slamwich and this other kid Max.

Short End is the product of 3 best friends who have been trying to start a core band for over 5 years finally getting it done. Dan of Mind Piece/Swear To God on vocals, Pat "Stank The Bank" Stankard on drums, and Dane of Curtains on second guitar. Our boy Frank is playing bass. We're just trying to emulate that NYHC sound that we all love. A little bit of Breakdown and Outburst, with the hardness of Dmize and Merauder. And of course the rawness of the Cro-Mags.

The demo is taking forever to come out because we're all too busy with school and other things. I live in New Jersey currently, Pat lives in Queens, Dan works two jobs, Frank goes to college and has a job, and Dane just plays NHL 09 all day. Pat and I both also go to college in NYC. When it comes out, it will be the hardest thing ever and you will mosh in your room. Believe it.

SOY: What's up with Miles To Go?

Jaycox: Miles To Go Fanzine is just something I do for fun when I'm not fucking with school. I always enjoyed picking up new zines at shows when I was younger, and I slowly realized that NO ONE on Long Island was doing a zine. So I hit up my boy RKB and asked if he'd be down to do help me out with some reviews and interviews. The first issue was done so quickly and sloppily that I hate it now, but at the time, it was monumental. We sold out of the first issue, and we're sold out of the second issue now.

Miles to Go issue 2

I'm not sure if I'm going to do a third issue, but right now, it's looking like it will be coming out with a mixtape comp of some of the illest bands out. Don't sleep.

SOY: Thought on Long Island hardcore right now.

Jaycox: Long Island hardcore is STRONG right now. I got involved with LIHC at the tail end of the Backup Plan/Subterfuge era, so the first couple of years I was involved it was kind of stale minus a very few bands. Crime In Stereo has always been strong. Caught Up was a sick LIHC band that I used to get down to. Members of that band have formed the Agent, which is one of the best melodic HC outfits out right now.

Long Island has been known for it's melodic hardcore scene (which I am not hating on at all. The Agent, Thieves & Assassins, The Nautical Mile and Iron Chic are all great melodic hardcore bands), but lately there have been some bands bringing back the hard style. Backtrack, Incendiary and Soldiers are some of these bands. Backtrack's got that classic NYHC style, Incendiary is doing the mid 90s thing (think Strife/Buried Alive) and Soldiers are just hard. Turnouts for shows have been on the rise, and that is mostly thanks to Ronie Singh and his show booking abilities. Without him, most good tours would not hit Long Island, and he's given a lot of local bands the chance to get on shows and be discovered by new kids.

The only thing that LI doesn't have is an edge band or a youth crew band. Both which will soon be changed. Believe it, punk. Pick up that Backtrack demo 7''. Spoiler did the art for it, shit is sick.

SOY:If you could be in any NYHC band, what would it be and what would you do?

Jaycox: This is rough. My first answer is obviously Judge. They're my favorite band of all time, no contest. I'd play second guitar and just mosh and stage dive while playing. Everyone would be dead when the Storm kicks in. My second answer is the Cro-Mags, not even as a band member but as a road dog, so I could mosh the stage and destroy people during Crush The Demoniac. And Obitiuary on guitar so I could headbang like I've never head banegd before during Turned Inside Out.

SOY: Do you think you could outmosh your dad at the Age of Quarell record release?

Jaycox: Oh wow. To be honest, no, my dad is in shape and I'm a piece of shit right now so he would probably destroy me. I'd only have one chance, and that's if they played Don't Tread On Me into Life Of My Own into It's The Limit.

SOY: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any last words / shout outs?

Jaycox: Shouts to Backtrack, Bad Seed, Title Fight, Spirit Of Youth Zine, NYHC, Wilkes-Barre HC, and the almighty Dog Pound Crew. New Cruel Hand, Violation and the Trapped Under Ice/Dirty Money split are the hardest releases of 2008 without a doubt. New York Straight Edge in full effect 2008.

Short End live in Long Island by Chris Albin

Option Interview

2008-11-02T22:18:00.000-05:00

The following is an interview with Option from Boyz in the Hood Issue #3. Click images to enlarge.

Back to the Future

2008-10-30T15:00:00.003-04:00

Mental at the Future in Kingston, PA October 8, 2005. P: Lisa Hrichison

October 8,2005 marked the end of The Future. The Future was a short lived venue located right next to Lino's Pizza in Kingston. The room was the old Tudor Book Shop Cafe, but after the rent being to high, they had to close that portion. So what was left, was the perfect place for a venue.

After checking with the owner of Lino's Pizza, Nestor, we decided that we would act on having shows there. Coalesce played the first show last minute thanks to Eric Davis on August 20, 2005. We had the first official show booked for August 26, so we started building a stage. It took about 2 days and 10 15-year-olds to build the stage, and Mr. Rhoden. The first show included War Hungry (feat Bobby Coat the mosher) opening every song with the "We Gotta Know" intro and little girls being moshed for a Moondog cover by Title Fight.

The Future had to close for about two weeks in September to get the doors up to code, but it was back in business in no time. Eric Davis took control and booked show after show and kept updating the PA system with older and bulkier equipment. Everything was going great and shows were happening almost every weekend. October 8 marked probably the biggest show that The Future had ever seen with Mental, RZL DZL, War Hungry, Steel Nation, and the Gnarlies playing. The Future was packed and kids were going off. After Mental had played, Eric Davis got on stage and announced that the show would be The Future's last.

The Future lasted for only about 2 months, but in that short period of time put on some fun shows and created some good memories. The Future left a small but good impression on WBHC history. Thanks to everyone that came out to shows, helped build the stage, and Eric Davis who took the entire place under his wing. Also a huge thank you to Nestor and Lino's for the support.

Mental. P: Lisa Hrichison

Little Matt

2008-10-28T21:24:00.002-04:00

Little Matt singing for Let Down. P: Zac Wolf

If you have been to a show in the Pennsylvania area in the past year or so, chances are you've seen a little devil moshing harder than you. You've probably said, "Who the hell is this kid? How old is he?" The answer is simple. He is Little Matt, prince of Doylestown Hardcore. I wanted to uncover some of the mysteries behind this little guy like what's up with the Problem Child 7", or the Ball of Destruction demo? I asked Little Matt some questions, and he sent me back this paragraph.

I got in to hardcore from going to shows at the YMCA teen center because I went to the skate park and I liked metal and started to like hardcore. I found straight edge in the beginning of the summer 2007 by hanging out with crust punks and one of them was straight edge and I wanted to be like him so I became straight edge. The best pit I ever moshed in was at the Floorpunch reunion and opening for Let Down and stage diving and landing on my knees. My favorite video game is Frogger or Donkey Kong. I haven't really been in a band besides with Drew Ferry and Joe Kane and I wrote lyrics about stuff that they told me to write about but the lyrics were stupid. I don't know, maybe I just need to stop being a pussy and just do it. I want to accomplish to stay straight edge for ever. This is what I have to say to all of you break edge pieces of shit out there: suck my dick faggots.

Little Matt stage diving at This is Hardcore 2008. P: Garrett Field

Return 2 Earth

2008-10-27T21:22:00.001-04:00

The following are pictures from a show in Edison, NJ this past Saturday that featured WB favorites War Hungry and Bad Seed. Thanks to Danielle Parsons aka babii danii for these pictures.

War Hungry. P: Danielle Parson

War Hungry. P: Danielle Parson

War Hungry. P: Danielle Parsons

Bad Seed. P: Danielle Parsons

Bad Seed. P: Danielle Parsons

Slambfest

2008-10-26T12:52:00.001-04:00

This is a short video put together by Brendan Morrison with footage he took from this summer's Slambfest. There is supposed to be more footage up soon from the rest of the show, but check this for now.

Bonus Interview with Lenny Holeva of Concrete Reality

2008-10-25T15:59:00.006-04:00

The following short interview includes questions that didn't make it to the Concrete Reality interview with Lenny.

Spirit of Youth: What is your favorite pair of mesh shorts?

Lenny: I'm gunna have to go with the black ones, there loose and comfortable as fuck.

SOY: What happened at the convenient in Olyphant?

Lenny: The drunk ass owner wanted to have me work every Friday and Saturday from 4pm-12am. I wouldn't have a life, so I quit.

SOY: What happened with the metal workshop?

Lenny: Haha, well it was my first day working there over the summer, and this kid that graduated last year was acting all cocky because he's been working there for like 3 months. So he told me to crush some boxes in a very cocky manor, So I told him to get fucked, I'm not doing it. So I got fired.

SOY: What happened with pouring concrete with your uncle?

Lenny: That shit lasted like a week, I actually liked doing it. He just stopped calling me, so that was the end of that. Fuck Him.

SOY: Who made you start going to school last week?

Lenny: I hate school, and every motherfucker in the place. I'm not school smart at all. I decided I wasn't going to go at all and just drop out. Nate found out somehow, I forget, and kinda made me go. He actually called me to make sure I was going. I mean, I was pissed, but it made me realize someone out there gives a shit about me. Class of 09, I'm running that shit now.

Edge Day 9

2008-10-21T22:34:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I made my first trip to the 9th National Edge Day show. I left Wilkes-Barre on the real Edge Day (10-17) at around noon with Rifkin and was on our way to pick up Hoodrack. We got to Hoodrack Road and then decided to try and catch a meal at Five Guys first. It was my first time, and I would eat again. We then got on our way to Boston. The drive was long but filled with edge music and gear talk. Traffic in Connetictut sucked, but we made it to Boston at around 8 PM and went to a swap party at CC's house. I was dumbfounded at the ammount of shit just laying around and being offered up. Got some good Chacko's (sp?) Pizza and some free gear (thanks!) and then went to get some ice cream. The spot was good besides having no sort of soft serve, bummer times. After that, Hoodrack finalized a trade and got himself an Underdog "From Now On" 1989 tour shirt and we went to No Tolerance practice. Met Doug there, and then Hoodrack, Rifkin, and I went to Doug's house to settle down for the night. Rifkin and I slept in a room that had to be 20 degrees and Rifkin claimed he got hypothermia.

We got up the next day at around 11 and went to the practice spot so that the gear could be loaded and we could head out to the show. The show was about 45 minutes away from Boston so we had to leave early to make it there to set stuff up. We stopped at a Dunkin' to get a quick breakfast and then went to Anchors Up. The venue was way smaller than I could ever imagined. How did Killing Time play there? The show started a half an hour late but everything got moving quickly. Free Spirit and No Tolerence opened the show. They are both some of the best new bands out there. The No Tolerence demo is so heavy and the Free Spirit demo sounds like unreleased Straight Ahead songs. The pit was solid even at 2 PM. The rest of the show moved quickly with awesome sets by Waste Management, Step Forward (who got one of the best reactions and deserved it), Blank Stare, Rampage, Invasion surprise set, Let Down surprise set, The Mongoloids, and Have Heart. Invasion's 2 song set opened up with Floorpunch's "Changes" and the place went nuts, so cool. I missed the end of the show to get home at a reasonable time and I heard that Have Heart did the entire Alone in a Crowd 7" with the "Teenager in a Box" Cover. Wish I had seen that.

Overall, it was an awesome show and an even better weekend filled with moshing, gear, new people, and the edge. Saw so many good covers and saw people get in the pit. Lots of good merch, hope you picked some up.

Thanks to everyone who bought a zine, Sweet Pete, Bob Shedd, Doug, the Dog Pound, Gil, Ken, CC, Wrench, Hoodrack, and Rifkin.

I also have a handful of Spirit of Youth Issue 1's left over, so if you want one email me at:

thewilkesbarrestraightedge@gmail.com

I don't have many left, so this is on a first come first serve basis. The prices is $2 ppd ($3ppd international) and is a first come first served basis.

Here are some pictures from the sets courtesy of Zac Wolf, Dan Gonyea, and Reid Haithcock.

Free Spirit. P: Reid Haitcock

No Tolerance. P: Future-Breed

Waste Management. P: Zac Wolf

Step Forward. P: Reid Haithcock

Blank Stare. P: Future-Breed

Rampage. P: Reid Haitcock

Invasion. P: Zac Wolf

Let Down. P: Future-Breed

The Mongoloids. P: Zac Wolf

Have Heart. P: Reid Haithcock

Pat Engleman of Prevail / Generation X Fanzine

2008-10-19T16:23:00.000-04:00

Pat in Italy. Picture courtesy of Pat

I met Pat by trying to find old WBHC memorabilia. Pat told me he had done a zine in the early 90's called Generation X which turned into Prevail. I recently met up with him and he hooked me up with the largest amount of flyers, pictures, and zines I had ever seen. He had stories about every single show he had a picture of and every single zine he had. I'd like to personally thank Pat for helping me out. There's so many bands that I've learned about from just looking through pictures that I never would have heard of without these. I hope that other people

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

Pat: I guess I always liked strange music. I was not into what everyone else was. When Guns and Roses were all that anyone listened to, I was off on my own with old Motley Crue, so I guess my turn to strange music happens a long time ago hardcore comes along later, because punk was first in my world. I was specifically introduced to punk back in 5th grade. A few of my friends were into skating. We would ride our Nash boards around and think we were just ripping it. We would sit in the Insolacos supermarket in Pittston and read Thrasher and TransWorld. We would write down some of the names of the bands and then try to find them at the Gallery of Sound at the Pittston Bypass “mall”. Sometimes it would be total trash, sometimes it would rule. That same year, a kid who was held back because he missed a year due to leukemia was in my class. That kid, David Valenti, a friend to this day, had an older brother who was into all sorts of crazy music. He got us to listen to the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Warzone, etc. I guess we just continued to get deeper into hardcore at that point. There were always all sorts of music around from hip hop to thrash, but hardcore was around the most back then.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Pat: Well I found the edge after being exactly opposite for a long time. I never could stand smoking, but I had no problem with drinking. It was what my dad did and what every family gathering turned into, so why couldn’t I do it too? I guess it was when I was 14 or so, I was hanging with Dave Valenti and others at his mothers place. There was never any parent around, so we would find something to drink and go for it. His older brother also had little bits of weed around all the time. There were all sorts of opportunity to do the wrong thing and a good deal of peer pressure to go along with it.

I more or less had the perfect storm happen that drove me to the edge. A few things came together at once. I had a beloved uncle die from things he did to his body through booze and drugs over many years and I realized that if my parents knew that I was having vodka and oj for breakfast after sleeping (which was really skating and running the streets till daylight) at Dave’s house, I would be dead. I also met a friend of Jay Valenti named Ed Philbin. Ed sang for a band from Pittston called FluX. Some of the shows I went to let me see what straight edge was, and it kind of gave a name to this idea that I should keep away from the booze and other stuff to avoid ending up like my uncle and other family members who were killing themselves with that junk. I really remember Sammy Syno and a bunch of other kids going to the Factory (a club across from Kings and down the street from Rodonos) to see Earth Crisis. I really got to see how many SE kids there were out there. So really I just found a different group of people to hang with. I started to avoid Dave’s place because I thought we were heading for heaps of trouble and started to get deeper into this idea of straight edge.

Cover of Generation X #2

SOY: How did Generation X start? And how did Generation X turn into Prevail?

Pat: I guess Gen X started when Ed Maleski, a friend I have had my whole life decided that we could write a zine like some of the other kids were. The name came from a late night Leno or Carson interview with Bowie where they were talking about generation x. I jumped on the idea of naming a zine that, and was surprised no one did at that point. Ed and I were super close friends and we just decided to put his art skills and my writing together to make this thing. I think it lasted for two or three issues. Two issues Ed and I worked together and I think I did the last one by myself. Ed and I were too much alike. We would fight over what was happening with it and the pace things were going. We realized that I wanted to do it more than he did and he gave up his “stake” in Gen X. Prevail started as kind of a maturity from the idea of Gen X. I decided to give up the idea of Gen X because that was something Ed and I had and I thought I needed a break from that. Prevail was later in high school maybe sophomore year. The name never came from the NC band of the same name, but I did become friends with those guys along the way. We were going to have a Prevail (band) interview in Prevail fanzine, but they broke up before we were able to finish it. The name actually came from a bathroom air freshener that my mom had. My best ideas come in the crapper. I was thinking of a new zine name and just spotted the word. I thought it did really describe what being straight edge/vegetarian and fighting through all of the stupid high school stuff that I had to deal with at that point. I thought through being outside of the norm and writing about it I could prevail over all of that stuff. As cheesy as it sounds, that is where the name came from. There were quite a few issues of Prevail. I was proud of them. I though the quality continued to increase as I continued to do it. I guess you can say that a combination of newsprint zines (that I refused to do), college work, and the internet killed my physical zine.

Cover of Prevail #1

SOY: How did you see the Straight Edge scene evolve over the years? Do you have any thoughts on it now?

Pat: I have seen Straight Edge come from just a few kids who kind of kept it to themselves for fear of getting the shit kicked out of them by skins, punks, football players, and who ever though that drinking was the only way. I saw people afraid of these people because it was so militant. I saw it covered on national news shows like 20/20 where it was grossly misunderstood. I saw it get really popular which was good, but the wrong people got involved for the wrong reasons. I then saw the decline of straight edge. It is still there, but to me it seems that there are really very few kids in the states these days versus what it seemed like back then. Maybe I am just out of touch, but that is how I see it. If the kids are still into it, they just do not express it as much. I guess how I feel about it now is that Straight Edge was a name for something that was a lifetime choice anyway. Now when someone asks if I want a drink, I don’t say I am SE. I just say that I don’t drink. It was never just a club for me, it was really a life choice that I made and I was lucky enough to have a crap load of friends allover the world that agreed with the choice I made. I hope it stays somewhat popular and hopefully positive. I think there is a great deal to be learned if we go through the world with a slightly clearer view.

SOY: What was the Pittston Crew?

Pat: The Pittston Crew means many things to many people. Pittston always had a good deal of kids who were into all sorts of music. If you are talking about the music scene, there are a whole bunch of kids who were into it and supported it. We had some of the older kids that we knew like Ed Philbin, Jay Valenti, Ron Peppercaveage, Brian Quinn, Tommy Winder, etc who kind of brought this music to us. There were other kids I went to school with who were also really into the music scene, but not necessarily straight edge. I think of those who supported us like Amanda and Janna Kessel and Sandy and Karen Urtishack who were more punk or alternative fans, but who were around and still an important part of the Pittston Music scene.

When I think of a “Pittston Crew”, I think of the folks that I hung out with and were very close to. There are many that I am still very close with now, and there are some who would not remember me in a million years. I think back to the old skaters of Team Anonymous like Gary Forsh and Chucki Litzi who were never into the straight edge thing, but they were always considered part of the Pittston crew. There were really a bunch of us throughout the time. I think we really benifited from having sets of brothers and sisters involved. Besides the sisters and brothers I already mentioned, we had Mike and Brian Oboyle who were in the bands Self Determination, Sun Burns Cold, FluX, and others. Then we had Kevin and Ben Kline who were drummers in all sorts of bands, as well as really great skaters and BMX riders. They had a full halfpipe in their back yard. Back in the early 90s that was the coolest thing ever. We also had Andy and Chris Sleboda. Andy played guitar in Sun Burns Cold, Option, Only Hope, etc. Chris was the singer of Sun Burns Cold and he played guitar and sang in Bedford. Chris also had a radio show on Wilkes radio. He would get all sorts of new stuff for us to listen to. He brought in other hardcore but also bands like Lifetime and Farside. I guess he was someone who brought “melodic” music *(what is called Emo now) to Wilkes Barre Chris also had a tee shirt company and music distro called the Andrew Thomas company. He was a great graphic designer and outfitted many of us with some cool straight edge and veg shirts. We also had people who wee more into skating than music like Russ Zapko Vince Bonitz Joe Yanchis and others. Joe will probably deny it, but one of the first times I hung out with him, he had a black Youth of Today shirt on. We were fortunate enough to have some girls in our little crew. People who were into the musc and the movement like Carrie Guasto, Jes and Jen Sulkoski, Ann Marie Paradis Amy Kalmanovicz, Jacki Kristula. People who were also well involved were Nick Zaleski, Kyle Shambie, Carl Dorbad, and many others along the way.

Photoshoot for Generation X Shirts

Spirit of Youth Issue 1

2008-10-16T01:53:00.007-04:00

Cover of the first issue of Spirit of Youth

I just received the first copies of Spirit of Youth Issue 1. I am excited to finally be able to talk about this. The first issue features interviews from Wrench, Mark Porter, and Sweet Pete, as well as a "tour"journal from Matt Decker on the first ever Bad Seed weekend. These will only be for sale at the official Edge Day show in Boston on Saturday for $1, but if there are copies left I will put these up for sale. I only got 60 copies since everything was on such short notice, but hopefully I will be printing this again. Also, included in the Edge Day celebration, the first 21 issues sold will come with a Disengage tape. Disengage is the newest Wilkes-Barre Straight Edge band. More updates on them soon.

Disengage tape. out of 21

Thanks to Wrench, Porter, Sweet Pete, M-Wiz, Colin, and Mr. Gorman.

Sorry for the poor picture quality. Better pictures and more info coming later.

National Edge Day

2008-10-13T22:02:00.004-04:00

Less than a week away. I will be there with zines and some other goodies. Check out the Free Spirit "Be Yourself" Demo and mosh for No Tolerance. It's a celebration.

Blizzard of '03

2008-10-13T16:09:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Lisa Hrichison for these flyers from the 2003 era.

Stick Together

2008-10-12T22:24:00.010-04:00

These are some extra pictures from the Magnus interview. All pictures courtesy Dan Mills.

Magnus at Homebase

Gorilla Biscuits at Halloween at Cafe Metropolis

Gorilla Biscuits at Halloween at Cafe Metroplis

Magnus at Homebase

Magnus above Top of the Slope

Collisions

2008-10-10T14:31:00.003-04:00

Collisions Crew Shot

After months of secrecy, Collisions has finally posted two demo songs on myspace. Collisions features members of Tigers Jaw, Freethrow, and The Early Birds. For fans of Inside Out. Be sure to check this songs and then be on the lookout for shows so you can hit the pit. My favorite track is "Escape"

All? NO ALL!

2008-10-09T17:16:00.004-04:00

This is an interview with ALL from Outhouse zine #3 including an edge question.

(Click image to see full size)

Wilkes-Barre Fest '97

2008-10-08T23:26:00.002-04:00

If you still believe...

2008-10-07T14:14:00.000-04:00

From Choke Zine

So much more to come.

W-B Youth Crew. GO!

2008-10-06T13:13:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Mark Favata for these flyers. I have some huge updates coming up soon with an absurd amount of WBHC flyers / zines / pictures thanks to Pat. I could still use more, so if you have anything just shoot me an email.

thewilkesbarrestraightedge@gmail.com.

Black and White and Red All Over

2008-10-03T15:29:00.004-04:00

Biohazard soundchecking

Yesterday, I made a trip to go see possibly the hardest show I've ever seen. I got on the road with Foster, Mook, Hoodrack, Alex, Rulio, and Dan at around 4:30 after planning on leaving at 3:30 in usual Cold World fashion.We got to the Croc Rock at around 5:30 and right as we were bringing the gear in, Biohazard was soundchecking. Evan was nowhere to be found but Bobby was already shredding and doing the illest moves. I went to get some pizza and came back to watch an hour long Pigfoot set. Barricade went on next and their set got cut short. Strength For A Reason played next and did awesome. James Ismean did guest vocals and was honestly the best thing I've ever seen. Cold World played next and I filled in on bass. I couldn't see much and almost passed out, but I think it went pretty well. Dan did a stage dive, but apparently he just fell.

Biohazard went on (after Moxley played) and opened with "Shades of Grey". Are you serious? So good. Evan's voice sounded so good and so did Billy's. The only thing was the mix wasn't the best, but other than that they sounded awesome. It was cool to see grown men going nuts, but maybe it was just the beer in them. Hearing "Punishment" live was incredibile. I talked to Billy for a second aftewords and he said that my "moves were good" and that I "held it down". Spirit of Youth takeover 2008.

Biohazard

James Vitalo of Backtrack

2008-09-30T08:19:00.001-04:00

P: Tyson Luneau

Backtrack is hardcore band out of Long Island, NY. They put out a demo earlier this year with a Breakdown rip off cover. These guys play music the way it should sound from New York. They recently completed their first tour with Brick from Baltimore, Maryland. They played Wilkes-Barre first in June at the infamous Slambfest and came back in August with Brick to play the Black Lodge for the first hardcore show there ever along with Freeze Up and Bad Seed. I thought the Black Lodge would either collapse or not fit everyone, but it actually turned out to an awesome show with the first pit ever at the Black Lodge. I recently talked with James Vitalo who sings in Backtrack about the core, the edge, their recent tour, and some of his personal favorite activities like pranking and ebaying.

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore? What were Long Island shows like when you first started going?

Vitalo: I got in to hardcore through my cousins who live in Jersey. When I was real young we were tight, they would make me mix CD's and take me to shows all the time. One time we were at a local punk show in my town and two hardcore bands jumped on. All of their friends came out wearing basketball jerseys and backpacks and they were beating the shit out of each other. At first I was terrified, but after the set I was in love. I picked up their demos and I got a bunch of flyers. From then on I started seeing those bands every weekend and I discovered more bands from just going to shows and meeting new people. Those two bands were Subterfuge and The Backup Plan. Long Island hardcore was in real good shape when I started going to shows. Local bands would draw up to 100 kids every show, and people went off. Every show was the same 8 or 9 bands rotating every show, but I didn't give a fuck. About an hour away from me there was a venue called the Local 7 that a lot of awesome touring bands used to play at, but I could rarely get a ride there. I saw a good amount of shows there but the majority of the time I could not get a ride due to the fact that I was 12 or 13 years old and I didn't have friends that drove.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Vitalo: I found the edge through going to hardcore shows on Long Island. A lot of kids I knew from shows were straight edge and they would X up at shows. I started drinking and smoking at a young age but by the time I was going to shows I was over it. I felt weird claiming edge so there was a period when I didn't do drugs or anything but I didn't call myself straight edge. I was at a show and I saw a kid wearing a Gorilla Biscuits shirt that said "Start Today." So I took it as a sign and I started that day, I became straight edge. That dude wound up becoming one of my best friends and taught me a lot about Straight Edge and showed me bands like Side By Side, Youth of Today and Warzone. He broke edge like 2 years ago...brutal.

SOY: How was the Backtrack/Brick tour this summer? Favorite show? Worst show? Best pizza?

Vitalo: The bricktrack tour was fucking awesome. It was booked so last minute and a majority of the shows were really sick. The dudes in Brick rule and that bands tight so I was siked to go out with them. It's hard to say what my favorite show was, but the two days where we met up with Bad Seed were awesome. It was non-stop moshing and destruction. The Jersey show was all Long Island and Wilkes-Barre kids in the pit, it ruled. Columbus Ohio was pretty sweet too, the dudes there are out of they're mind...in a good way. That night was wild. The Long Island date would have been insane but it got shutdown right before we were supposed to play. The show got moved from a backyard to a tiny garage right before Brick was supposed to play. I was bummed because I thought no one was gonna go to the second show, but it seemed like more kids came to the second show. It would have been so fucking sick, I'm still bummed us and Brick didn't get to play..someone would have died. The worst show was hands down D.C. The show got booked literally three days before we left for tour, and there was like 5 people there. It was awesome that the house came through for us, but we drove 11 hours to play and there was less than 10 people watching us. Best Pizza was by far W-B pizza. I had it for the first time after Slambfest and I wasn't down, I took a bite then passed it along to Saba. Needless to say it grew on me hard, sweet sauce rules. W-B WON'T BE DISGRACED.

W-B / LI

SOY: What does Backtrack have lined up for the closing months of 2008 and for 2009?

Vitalo: Backtrack has got a ton of shit lined up for the end of '08. In about 12 hours were playing a show with the Cro-Mags, I'm pretty fucking siked. We have a weekend with Hostage Calm in October. I'm missing edge day which is brutal, but you gotta do what you gotta do. In January were doing a three week tour, should be sick. Were doing a few dates with Naysayer from RVA, a few dates with Empire from Columbus and hopefully a few days with a band from Long Island called Incendiary. We're pressing our demo on vinyl with Flatspot Records, that should be out by November. Che is the man, he's hooking it up hard. Flatspot records is tight. We're pretty much done writing the 7", we just need to record it. I'm not sure who were putting it out with but I'm real siked on the way its coming out. I'm not sure about '09, hopefully world tour with Title Fight and Straight Ahead so we can harass Tommy Carroll.

SOY: What is your most prized shirt? What shirts do you plan on acquiring?

Vitalo: It's hard to name my most prized shirt. I'd have to say its a 3 way tie between

-Warzone shirt.
-2 Underdog shirts my girlfriend got me.

The Warzone shirt rules for many reasons. One of the main reasons it rules is because the legendary Dsprau was outbid on this shirt. I didn't do the bidding but it was done..and that's a fact. W-B just got disgraced. It's a white shirt size XL printed on Hanes 50/50. The front says Warzone "It's Your Choice" with the E from Warzone going through a skull. The right breast says Lower East Side Crew New York City.The back says United States Invasion with the lyrics to DFTS,DFTS. It's a tight shirt.

Someone was selling a bunch of Underdog shirts on the internet. I made him an offer for the two coolest shirts and he said he got an offer for 20 dollars higher and he took it. I was devastated, then a month later my girlfriend gave them to me as an anniversary present. Besides the fact that they are two of the coolest shirts around, they have sentimental value to me. Bust.

SOY: What is your favorite type of pranking?

Vitalo: Favorite type of pranking is tough. It used to be egging, hands down. I haven't egged someone in like two years though, I dislocated my shoulder in Richmond egging someone. I spent ten hours in the hospital, it was brutal. I'd say right now it's forking. For those who don't know what forking is, I'll explain. Forking is the art of sticking hundreds of forks in someone's front lawn. The end result is somebody waking up to a shitload of forks in their front lawn. That instantly ruins your day, and it makes my night full of fun. Runner up to forking is putting laundry detergent in a fountain, but I haven't mastered that art yet. Next summer I'll be a pro.

SOY: Alright thanks for the interview. Any last words / shout outs?

Vitalo: No problem dog, thanks for interviewing me. Sorry it took nearly a month. Brock Lesnar is the Freddy Madball of professional wrestling, the new Cold World record is incredible, Grand Theft Auto 4 fucking sucks, Short End is gonna be hard as fuck when they put out a demo, Bad Seed is already hard as fuck, I love Title Fight, my playlist of the whole week has been strictly WBHC and Brock Lesnar is the fucking man. That's the final word.

Backtrack at the Cake Shop in NYC on September 21, 2008

A Time We'll Remember

2008-09-27T12:01:00.000-04:00

Option

Shark Attack at Positive Numbers Fest 2002

Totaly Fury at Homebase

Vitamin X at Homebase

Lifetime

Into Another at Sea Seas

Thanks to Elliot for sending me these pictures. If you have any pictures, flyers, or anything send them my way at:

thewilkesbarrestraightedge@gmail.com.

Issue #1

2008-09-24T22:01:00.000-04:00

ISSUE #1 COMING SOON

The first issue of "Spirit of Youth" zine will be coming out on Edge Day 2008. It will be a half-page zine with brand new interviews from some esteemed edgemen. I have 2/3 of the interviews done and am waiting on the last one. I'm only making 50 copies at first and am putting together something special to go along with the first copies. After Edge Day I will set up some mail order options for those interested.

THANKS,
Ned / Spirit of Youth

New Breed of Bad Seed

2008-09-23T21:46:00.005-04:00

Bad Seed just posted that they have shirts and demos for sale. Just paypal adamrifkin@yahoo.com to pick up some ill merch and represent the WBHC worldwide.

Shirts
$13 Shipped in USA
$15 Shipped to Canada
$20 Shipped Anywhere Else.

Demos
$4 Shipped in USA
$5 Shipped to Canada
$6 Shipped Anywhere Else

Nate and Lenny of Concrete Reality

2008-09-23T15:50:00.002-04:00

Courtesy of Concrete Reality's myspace

If you didn't check out Concrete Reality from the previous post, now is the time to do so. Concrete Reality is a brand new band out of the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area playing hardcore that sounds like Killing Time and Leeway. They only recorded a demo and haven't even played a show yet but are already turning heads. I had a chance to talk a little with Nate and Lenny about what's going on with Concrete Reality.

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore? How did you find the edge?

Nate: When I was like 12 or 13 I was hanging around with this kid Mario. He had an older brother Mike. Mike was like showing us music one day and he put in Earth Crisis. We were like, "Holy shit who is this!" He told us. I was like, "Yo what is this band's deal?" I didn't know what they were screaming about haha. He's like, "They are Straight Edge. I was like, "What the hell is that?" He told me. I was like I wanna be like these guys so I've been edge since then, and that's also when I started listening to hardcore stuff. My tastes have changed since then finding new over the years. I didn't start going real to shows until a few years later cause I couldn't get rides. My dad would think I was out of my mind if I asked him to drive me to Wilkes-Barre and come back haha. But that's how it started haha.

Lenny: It was about close to 3 years ago, I was only listening to metal/metalcore at the time. I really didn't know, or attempted to listen to anything else. I was sitting in my uncle's bedroom, and him and his 2 friends were telling me not to tell my grandmother they were smoking in the house, and this band was playing, and I thought it sounded cool. So I asked who it was and they told me it was a band called Slapshot. A few of my friends at the time just starting going to these "hardcore" shows they always talked about, so I decided to attend one, and it happened to be Death Before Dishonor. I was hooked from there on out. My uncle explained to me what straight edge was, while I heard Slapshot for the first time. I thought it was fucking weird, and didn't understand how someone can be like 25 years old and not do any of that shit. Shortly after all of this, my grandmother got diagnosed with emphysema, my mother went to rehab for something I don't wanna discuss. Then it hit me, fuck all that shit, I'm not going to be like that. I'm in control of my life, and how I choose to live it.

SOY: How did Concrete Reality form? Why did you keep the members a secret at first? What are you hoping to accomplish?

Nate: Well me and Matt wanted to like do something for a while, just something aggressive with energy. We were gonna write some songs and record them however we could, show those to people and if anyone was like, "Hey I wanna play drums or bass etc." then maybe like a band would come of it. But before we got around to that idea Chuck, Lenny, and Adam wanted to jam one day cause we all hang out together and things like that would just happen at Adam's sometimes haha. So I had these riffs and song ideas, from what me and Matt were gonna do, so when we got together, we all worked with what I brought and decided to like actually be a "band". That's how it started haha. We just kept it secret to get an unbiased response to the music, not to get any hype. No one thought anyone would care actually. It shouldn't matter who's in a band for you to like it. People should grow up. It's not high school. People seemed to be about it though when they didn't know who was in the band, so it worked out. This is just from me personally. I just hope we play some good shows, and bring some energy. If people like it that's awesome, if not oh well.

Lenny: I love hardcore music, and love playing it even more. When I'm at a show, I get this weird feeling when the song I love by the band I love is playing. I somehow don't feel anything, and can just let everything out without knowing it until the song is over, and just be so happy that I'm there. I somehow want some kid to feel that when he listens to Concrete Reality, and give back the feeling bands have made me feel.

SOY: How do you feel about the Wilkes-Barre area Straight Edge right now?

Nate: I think the WB area edge is coming back, but there's a lot more than Wilkes-Barre. There's a lot of edge kids trying to do stuff in Stroudsburg, like the No Salvation kids starting to do shows up there and what not. More and more kids in northeast PA in general are getting into "the edge" haha. Whether it's a new wave of breakers or if they will stick with it no one knows, guess we'll see how it plays out. Being edge doesn't make anyone cool.

Lenny: I'm not from WB, but from what I see, it seems to be pretty solid. I really hope it stays that way.

SOY: Thanks a lot. Any last words / shout outs?

Nate: What's up to J Slash, Matt Stone, Adam Belve, Chuck and Lenny, Andy's Pizza, Dell Preston, No Salvation, Shane Moran and the Bad Seeds, Matt Wren and the Early Birds, you for doing the interview, Armand, Angela, one of the funny Concrete Reality line ups I've heard, kids that travel to shows, and J Slash.
I throw my money on tha flo....doom ditch doom doom.

Lenny: Shout outs to: Chuck, Nate, Matt Stone, Belve, DJ, JonnyxEdge, B NASTY, Chris Faceoff, Justin Facelift, Heather, Hoodrack, Joe Mercy, Matt Wren, Ziggy, Rifkin, Mike JRYB, Mikey BBTG, Shane Moran, and Paul D( RIP).

and the kid that likes turtles.

WBHC TV

2008-09-22T15:48:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Chris Albin for uploading these videos. This show was Sunday, September 21 at the Cake Shop in NYC with Cold World, Reign Supreme, Mother of Mercy, Backtrack, and Bad Seed. These two videos are full sets of Cold World and Bad Seed. Chris has other videos up too on his account so check those out. Shouts to Long Island / Dog Pound and Metal Martin for hitting the pit hard.

Wrong Side of the Tracks

2008-09-21T23:46:00.001-04:00

Cold World and Strength For A Reason with BIOHAZARD.
BE THERE.

John Reaves of Swamp Thing

2008-09-19T17:37:00.002-04:00

Swamp Thing at United Blood. P: Reid Haithcock

Swamp Thing's set at United Blood this year was actually insane. "The Youth Is Sick", their debut 7" out on 6131 Records, wasn't even officially out yet and kids were losing their minds. It was one of the best sets of the fest. That weekend, I got to stay with John Reaves without ever meeting him. John hooked us up and I've been friends with him ever since. John plays guitar in Swamp Thing who is climbing the hardcore ladder as we speak. They did a full US tour with New Lows out to Sound and Fury, and came back with Let Down and Wilkes-Barre favorites War Hungry. The new Swamp Thing LP is dropping soon on 6131 and it will definitely not dissapointment. If you have a change to catch a gig, I advise you do so. Pick up a 7", pre-order the LP when you can, and mosh in your room. Check it.

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

John: A few kids in my high school would always wear hardcore shirts and I was into metal then, and so in Richmond around then the two scenes weren't too far apart from each other. Eventually I went to my first hardcore show and that was that. I saw Army of Fun and I want to say Cold World. Wild first show. Maybe War Hungry?

SOY: How did you find the edge?

John: The kids who were getting me into to hardcore were also mostly straight edge. I hadn't really liked the transformation from clean, innocent skating kids to party people that I saw in high school and just embraced the edge. It just made sense to me. Luckily, Richmond had and has one of the best straight edge scenes I've seen.

SOY: How did Swamp Thing form? What was Richmond's reaction to Swamp Thing at first?

John: At first, Swamp Thing was just a joke band playing the most generic of hardcore songs. Shitty generic hardcore songs, in my garage. Being relatively new to hardcore, I thought what they were doing was stupid but I supported them and just watched. Since my brother and three of my best friends were in the band, naturally I was always around. I sang a Circle Jerks cover once and then they got offered a weekend with BraceWar and Matt (my best friend and old guitarist) couldn't make it and I stepped up. Richmond was basically all friends then and Swamp Thing was a catchy new band and everyone was just excited to be stupid for something new. No one thought there'd be any lasting affect.

Swamp Thing's "The Youth is Sick" 6131 Records

SOY: How was the tour this summer? Sound and Fury? Best show? Worst show? Any funny stories?

John: The summer was tight. Being on the road is fucking wild; so much to do and see and steal and worry about. When we got to Cali, we were ready for the real shows to happen. We broke down on the way and now incidentally owe my dad 1,500 for the van repairs. But when we hit Sound and Fury things went off. We played 4th on the first day, and kids just set it off. That was probably our best show or Romeo, Michigan. A tight scene there. Worst show was probably Austin, TX. It was at least 100º and we played outside. Fucking bummer.

SOY: What's up with the new full length? Any word on a release date or a title yet?

It's changing names and taking a while to get out there. We did all the instruments before the tour and Robert finished up the vocals the week we got back. It's sounding really good. I think it's more of a maturing of our stuff. Fuck maturing isn't punk. It's hard. But, we have no idea when that jam is dropping.

SOY: What can we expect from Swamp Thing in 2009?

More touring. We want to do a split with someone (hint hint) and we want to put out a tape. Hopefully the Record will be out before that and hopefully we'll generate some sort of interest when we go out with Let Down, Ceremony, Blacklisted and Have Heart in October.

SOY: What is the best trick landed on your mini ramp?

John: Either a blunt to fakie of when I power ollied from the railing. Good times.

SOY: Thanks a lot. Any last words / shout outs?

John: Definitely to my boy Chris Bradshaw who will be back from South America. 1028, WWC, 6131, TF. Keep it posi (that's for you Ned).

Hardcore Lives

2008-09-18T15:01:00.005-04:00

Taken from Concrete Reality's myspace

Concrete Reality is a brand new hardcore band from Scranton, PA featuring ex-members of All That and Roger Klotz. They put up home recorded songs on their myspace. Check them out and catch them on a show soon.

Photo: Mikey Vegan (taken from No Salvation's myspace)

No Salvation is another new band from the area coming hard from the Stroudsburg Area. They put out a demo that has been circulating around a little and have songs up on their myspace. Check this out if you like Intergrity.

If you have any new bands or any updates on bands in the Wilkes-Barre Hardcore area, email me at thewilkesbarrestraightedge@gmail.com.

Dan Mills of Magnus / Cold World

2008-09-17T14:54:00.004-04:00

Dan Mills, or Posidan, is probably known by most as the frontman for Deathwish Inc. band Cold World. Cold World has been playing since 2003 and has put a self titled 7" with Walk All Night Records, and a 7" on Lockin' Out Records entitled "Ice Grillz". Just this summer in July, Cold World released their first full length on Deathwish entitled "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First." This record is 15 tracks (11 if you don't count the voicemails, intro, and outro) make up one of the hardest records of the year with the hardest breakdowns this side of the Susque and guest spots from Mark Porter (FLOORPUNCH) and George Hirsch (Blacklisted). Cold World is obviously one of the best bands out right now, however this interview has nothing to do with that.

Rewind about 10 years from now and Posidan wasn't singing for a band that sounded like Biohazard, rather he was singing in a band that sounded like Youth Of Today. Magnus was a pivotal Wilkes-Barre Straight Edge band for the 90's generation. From seeing videos of their shows at Homebase, their sets looked like youth crew mayhem. Dan will be 31 later next month, and has been edge since he was 16. That's longer than Little Matt has been alive.

I talked with Dan about the core, the edge, Magnus, and more. Check it out.

Spirit Of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

Dan: My older brother was a big metal head, so I obviously listened to metal too. When I was 12 and 13 he had to watch me. He used to take me to these metal shows; they used to have battle of the bands at Roller King over there. This metal band did a Biohazard cover and I thought that was cool, and I saw another band do an Agnostic Front cover. I went out and bought the "Victim in Pain" LP and it wasn't metal. I fell in love with it.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Dan: Pretty much I got into Straight Edge, when I was in high school I guess I was kind of an outcast. Most hardcore kids, punk kids, skateboard kids were at that time. All the kids I'd go to parties with in high school got drunk and got fucked up and shit like that and I just thought I didn't want to be like them. Those were kids who I pretty much got in fights with, so why would I want to be with them? So I decided I wanted to be Straight Edge.

Orignal Magnus "Stick Together" Demo layout. Courtesy of Posidan.

SOY: How did you go from listening to bands like Biohazard to a band like Magnus?

Dan: I just liked hardcore in general. I loved all the early 90's cross over metal stuff just because I loved metal. But there was all always a soft spot for youth crew, I guess. I loved youth crew, always did even to this day. Love it all. Hardcore is hardcore.

SOY: How did Magnus form? Where did the name come from?

Dan: Magnus formed when I was 19 or 20. Me, my friend Jody, Hugh, and Hans decided we wanted to do a band. We just got together. We ended up writing songs and recording them about a month later. We got the name Magnus from watching World's Strongest Man all them time when I was 15 or 16 years old. There was Magnus Ver Magnussen and he won like 4 or 5 years in a row. That guy was awesome. The thing I liked about him the most he was so positive and confident. He'd come out and just be like, "I knew I could do it. Those guys are weak" and shit like that. He'd almost talk shit, but in such a positive way. I remember when I was like 16 there was this one club we used to hang out at called Mantis Green and I was telling Jim Callahan, the owner, about it and I was like, "Yo, that dude's positive. If I ever have a band one day I'm going to name it Magnus after him."

SOY: What were Magnus shows usually like?

Dan: In the beginning it was good, I guess. The Wilkes-Barre scene at that time was really good, just because everybody knew everybody. There was a lot of kids who went to shows. and you didn't really have any division in any underground bands. As far as pop punk, metal, hardcore, emo or whatever you want to call it so every kid would come out to see every show. so you'd have 200 kids at every show. So it was good. We were the first straight up hardcore band in the area at that time so kids liked it.

Courtesy of Dan Mills

SOY: Was Magnus originally a Positive Numbers Youth Crew band?

Dan: Magnus was way before Positive Numbers, probably 2 years before Posi Numbers even came about. Yeah, I guess Magnus was the OG Posi Numbers band.

SOY: What's up with the ski mask?

Dan: I don't know. We just thought it was funny to wear a ski mask on stage, so we wore ski maks on stage. I used to put patches all over it and shit... kind of funny.

SOY: When Magnus formed what was the Straight Edge scene like in Wilkes-Barre?

Dan: A lot of kids were Straight Edge. When I first got into hardcore and Straight Edge, there was a bunch of kids that were into Straight Edge, and those kids usually ended up selling out. There was a handful of them that stayed true. Then we got older and we were like the older Straight Edge kids. We were still 20 or 21 but then all the younger kids when they get into it, obviously, they get exposed to bands like Youth of Today, or even Magnus, so kids were more prone to being Straight Edge. So I guess the whole Staright Edge thing was cool, but I'd say 90% of those kids are sell outs now or don't care about hardcore. I mean I could probably count on my hand how many Straight Edge kids there were that went to went to shows that are still going to shows.

SOY: So Magnus had an effect on the Wilkes-Barre Straight Edge?

Dan: There was always a big Straight Edge scene in Wilkes-Barre, always was. It was weird. I'd say that 80% of kids that went to hardcore shows especially in our area were Straight Edge. As those kids got older a lot of them moved on, moved out of town, sold out, whatever, and when Magnus was a band I guess we definitely had an impact on the younger generation of kids coming to shows with them being exposed to Straight Edge, but most of them are sell outs now anyways.

SOY: Tell us about the "Nothing Means More" 7".

Dan: Well, the "Nothing Means More" 7" was I guess our fisrt real release. At that time, the members of the band were Me, Jody Bush, this kid Jesse Zinga, and Nick Woj and even though Jesse and Nick weren't the oringial members, to me the four of us were Magnus. Before that we had this kid Hans playing drums and this kid Hugh playing guitar and that was cool and all, but I don't things really click until the four of us got together. The "Nothing Means More" 7' was really good. We liked it a lot. The recording is kind of shiity. I think because we were all so young at the time we didn't really know the difference between a good recording and a bad recording. We just wanted to record. But it was cool to have an actual record out.

Courtesy of Dan Mills

SOY: Were you ahead of the Wilkes-Barre scene by putting out a record?

Dan: No, there was a lot of bands that always had 7" releases. Every band had records. Bedford, Turmoil, there was this band from Scranton called Option, Extend, all those band had releases at that time. It was still a big deal to us because we were young and for somebody to put our record out and to have an actual record... that's cool.

SOY: How do you feel about the hardcore and Straight Edge scene in Wilkes-Barre now?

Dan: Straight Edge scene.. I'll be honest, besides from all the Title Fight kids, me, and Chris NASE, I don't really know who else is Straight Edge. It seems like every other week I hear about some kid selling out. The hardcore scene is pretty good. We just haven't had any good shows in a long time. We haven't had a venue. Wilkes-Barre's always been a really good place for hardcore shows. Always had good kids, good attendance.

SOY: Favorite youth crew bands, go.

Dan: Bold, Youth Of today, even though I think Ray cappo is a sell out, GB, Side by Side, Warzone, Judge, etc. etc.... you know the usual.

SOY: Thin or thick X's?

Dan: Doesn't matter... just put them on.

SOY: Any last words / shout outs?

Dan: Stay straight, Think positive, it's a Magnus song. Shout outs to all the older Straight Edge kids, Chris NASE, Karl, Jack, Dave, Nick Woj, Guerilla Crew, BFL sxe, all the Title Fight kids, Title Fight Straight Edge. Fuck all you sell outs.

"Wilkes-Barre Scranton Straight Edge" hoodie. Courtesy of Dan Mills.

Cold World Test Press

2008-09-15T16:02:00.003-04:00

Cold World put up a test press of their LP "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First" on eBay recently to raise money for Paul D's family. This is one of 20 copies and this is the only copy that is being sold to the public. If you'd like to donate money contact Cold World through their myspace. Support a good cause and get a cool record.

War Hungry Demo 2004

2008-09-13T15:03:00.001-04:00

This is the original War Hungry Demo 2004. This is the era of War Hungry when they had a banner, had computer voices before every single set, and Hoodrack would wear wolf masks. This demo preceded the "War Is In" demo, but "sounded like it was recorded in an oven." Check it.

War Hungry Demo 2004
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?5rqb9tywhv9

Edge Day

2008-09-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

National Edge Day will be celebrated on 10.18.08 at Anchors Up in Haverhill, Ma.

HAVE HEART
THE MONGOLOIDS
RAMPAGE
BLANK STARE (tentative)
WASTE MANAGEMENT
STEP FORWARD
NO TOLERANCE (first show)
FREE SPIRIT (first show)

(taken from worldmovesfast.com)

A little over one month away. What are your plans?

Justin O'Hara of Force Fed

2008-09-12T14:39:00.000-04:00

P: Danielle Parsons

Force Fed was a band whose existence was about as short as one of their songs. Force Fed was a hardcore band from Doylestown, PA drawing influences from Boston Crew bands. They were due to put out their demo on cassette with Painkiller Records out of Boston and were quickly gaining attention. Unfortunately, Force Fed broke up this past week. I missed every show they played by somehow being in Disney World. I talked with guitarist Justin O'Hara about their recent break up. Check it:

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

Justin: When I was 13 or 14 a few of my friends from my middle school took me to a CDC show in an outdoor park in my hometown of Perkasie. Needless to say it was retarded, people moshing with chains, tree branches and there was a lot of fights. Kind of weird to say now but that CDC made me interested in local shows and i started going to a ton of shows in the Lansdale and Doylestown area. Coming from a town 15 minutes outside of Lansdale and Doylestown, I observed different trends that went on inside each scene. Lansdale was a bigger force at the time I was going to shows and they had more venues and I saw some bigger bands come to Lansdale and play that I otherwise would have never seen because of my age. Doylestown was a closer knit group of guys playing music I was more into than the Lansdale scene. Doylestown pretty much had a teen center to play in and it was the same few bands playing at the teen center. It's strange to see how it has evolved and Lansdale is dead and Doylestown is on the rise and still rising.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Justin: I was fed up with drugs, alcohol, and sex ruining people I knew.

SOY: How did Force Fed form? Were you in any other bands before this?

Justin: Force Fed was formed when Joe Bues, Christian Ventriglia and I decided to start a Boston Crew style in the vein of SSD, DYS, and Negative FX, We met Kevin Severson through the interweb and he was down to play.

I was in one band before Force Fed and it was a band called Strive. It was with Joe, Christian, Me and some weed smoking dweeb. We were younger and really didn't have a style of hardcore set so I can't describe it but i guess you can find it and listen to it. It sucks but oh well.

SOY: Why did Force Fed break up? What do you want Force Fed to be remember for in their short existence?

Justin: I won't dive into the subject too much, but I couldn't make myself play guitar in the same band as Joe sings.

I want Force Fed to be remembered as a straight edge hardcore band playing Boston Crew style hardcore.

P: Danielle Parsons

SOY: Do you have any plans for future Edge bands coming up?

Justin: I definitely want to start a new edge band. Nothing is set in stone because of all the Force Fed bullshit, but if there isn't an edge band that I'm playing in soon there will be a hardcore band I'll be playing in.

SOY: When is the unreleased material coming out?

Force Fed was going to be putting out a demo tape on Boston's Painkiller Records www.painkillerrecords.com but the band broke up before it got sent to the pressing plant. I'll make a sendspace of the demo or just put it on the myspace for download, either way you'll be able to get it for free.

SOY: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any last words/ shout outs?

Justin: Straight Edge, Fuck the liars I used to associate myself with, Listen to Let Down, Mother Of Mercy, War Pigs, Bad Seed, Backtrack. Go to shows, Mosh. Hi Mom. Hi Dad. Thanks for the interview, it was my first one. ;)

True Identity

2008-09-10T22:38:00.000-04:00

Last night, I was looking through an pile of tapes in my brother's room to find something that could possibly help me in doing this blog. I was hoping to score something along the lines of the Magnus demo I've been trying to find. After rummaging through mostly mix tapes, an In My Eyes promo tape, and a Bedford tape, I found some unused tape inserts for a True Identity "4 Song Promo." I was excited to come upon this, but couldn't find the tapes. Luckily a True Identity discography has surfaced on the Ben and Matt so I am able to post that.

True Identity at Homebase. 2nd lineup. P: Alex Russin

True Identity was a band started in 1998. The band was formed out of Frame Of Reference (Demo '99 post coming soon) and replaced singer Greg Nearhood with Nolan Margo. Nolan was eventually replaced by Greg again. True ID's demo was the only release that was ever actually put out. They recorded a 7" that was never pressed or released in any form. True Identity broke up in 2002 with more sound clips than band members. After True Identity broke up, members went on to form a Right Brigade rip off band better known as Frostbite that have since gained international fame.

The discography includes the demo, a live song from the "2 song promo", and the unreleased 7".

True Identity Discography:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?feyqkj4fxmk

Cam Foley of Cruel Hand / Crucial Change

2008-09-10T14:58:00.001-04:00

P: future-breed.com

New York City , NY; Boston , MA; Orange County , CA; Portland, Maine? Portland may not be considered the hardcore capital of the world, but with a band like Cruel Hand you know you're doing something right. Cruel Hand might be considered an "up and coming" band, but with already a killer self titled 7", an LP entitled "Without A Pulse" (both on 6131 Records), and multiple US and even a European tour under their belts, Cruel Hand is anything but up and coming. They recently signed to Bridge 9 records out of Boston to release a new LP/CD "Prying Eyes"which is set to be released on October 14th, 2008. I talked to guitar player Cam Foley about the core, the edge, and all Cruel Hand related news. Check it:

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

Cam: When I was 13 I listened to strike anywhere and nofx everyday and then I made friends with some older kids at my school and they told me to listen to hardcore. I was forced into it. One of them made me a mix CD of a bunch of bands and that was it i guess. I still have that thing lying around somewhere.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Cam: Well, I used to do a lot of drugs when I was younger, while simultaneously listening to a lot of Straight Edge hardcore. As time went by I didn't like getting wasted and smoking weed everyday anymore and my interest in it faded to the point where I was done with it. Some time later I became Straight Edge. It wasn't ever like, ok I'm done getting wasted and now I'm Straight Edge, there was a big gap between the two. I would call it evolving into an edgeman.

SOY: How did Cruel Hand start? Were you well recieved in Maine? Speaking of Maine, how is/was/will be the scene up there?

Cam: Cruel Hand started cause Chris wanted to sing in a band, and Nate wanted to play guitar in a band. I'm not an original member so I can't really say much more, cause how would I know. The hardcore scene in Maine is at a low point right now, so there's never many kids at shows anywhere. When we play in our hometown of Portland, it'll just be our 15 or 20 friends going off. We play two hours north in Bucksport sometimes which is fun, but sort of the same deal. The Maine hardcore scene used to be the shit. Some really awesome bands came from all around the state. Right now its kinda whack. Wake Up Call is from Maine and they're writing a new record right now. They fucking rule. Mostly kids from here are into metalcore, which is gay. Fuck them. I'd love for some younger kids to get into hardcore and start bands, put on shows, write zines, and all that good shit... cause I hate being like, yeah blah blah it "used to be" whatever. I wanna rebuild all that stuff. Hopefully Cruel Hand can help get kids siked on the Maine scene.

SOY: Tell us about the new album. Is the artwork symbolism or is it just really cool looking? What direction did you take the album towards?

Cam: The new album..... I like the new album a lot. I listen to it everyday. We figure you should write music you like and you wanna hear right? It's definitely different from the last record. Noticeably heavier and harder, but that's just progression of our sound. Bands do that naturally. I don't know if we ever made that a mission statement as our direction or whatever, it just happened. You can pick up on our influences when you hear it I'm sure. The record is called "PRYING EYES" and it's coming out on Bridge 9 Records October 14th. The artwork is just cool looking. There's no symbolism that I know of. Maybe it went over my head and I'll figure it out later.

P: Courtesy of worldmovesfast.com

SOY: How is the Straight Edge in Maine?

Cam: The Straight Edge in Maine is all right. There's a good bunch of us, but mostly everyone who hangs in our city wants to be a cigarette smoking fruit and hang outside coffee shops all day and night. Bike punks are everywhere in Portland, that shit sucks so bad. Our group of friends go to parties a lot and we get wild. People think we're wasted most of the time, which is fine, cause chicks don't wanna get with you unless you're wasted too right? Maine life can be really boring pretty much anywhere you go in the state, so people get drunk and do drugs to spice things up. That's what happens when you live in the woods.

SOY: How is Crucial Change going?

Cam: Crucial Change is currently on the back burner because Cruel Hand is so busy with shit. We'll pick it up once that slows down a bit, but who knows when that will be.

SOY: Do you feel neglected being a left-handed guitar player?

Cam: I wouldn't say I feel neglected. I probably don't look as cool on stage as I should because of it, but I will list three names in my defense:
1. Jimi Hendrix; 2. Kurt Cobain; and 3. Blake Schwarzenbach

SOY: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any last words/ shout outs?

Cam: Thank you my friend. Check out "PRYING EYES" when it drops, there will be a new song off it posted soon. www. myspace. com/cruelhand. Also, I was a Title Fight superfan before I met you and I'm a Title Fight superfan now, but you knew that.

Cold World Interview

2008-09-09T20:33:00.000-04:00

P: Robby Redcheeks (courtesy of deathwishinc.com)

Cold World was recently interview for the 17th Deathwish Inc. Podcas t. You can listen to the interview with Nick and Scace here. The podcast also includes new songs from new signees Narrows and Carpathian as well as more Deathwish news. If you haven't checked out Cold World's new full length "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First", I feel sorry for you. Easily one of the hardest records of year. Buy it and mosh in your room. Listen to the interview for insight on the recording of the new record, some stories, and a Duane Sprau shoutout.

Bob Wilson of Let Down / Mother of Mercy

2008-09-09T18:40:00.000-04:00

P: Katie Dance

If you've ever seen Let Down, you've noticed Bob Wilson. Bob is the frontman that I've seen stage dive off of 8 feet high speakers onto 5 people. Let Down is a band that has been representing Straight Edge hard since their inception and has been playing fast, pissed, and in your face ever since. Their most recent release "We're In This Alone" on Philadelphia Six Feet Under Records brings 11 tracks under 20 minutes. This record has the fastest stick counts I have ever heard. Bob also sings for Mother Of Mercy, another Doylestown band that is doin' the damn thing. They are generally new band but already have two 7"s out on Collapse Records and have been getting much praise and recognition. So check out this interview with Bob and remember: "Drinking is bullshit"

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore? How did you find the edge?

Bob: I got into hardcore towards the end of 8th grade, I was into slipknot and shit like that and I was friends with this kid kyle who used to put huge X's on his hands and wear gorilla biscuits and misfits shit. I asked what that shit meant and he said it was cuz he was Straight Edge, and when he told me I realized that I agreed with what it was all about (he broke about a year or two later and now is just a dude who loves coheed and cambria or something, bummer). I never did any drugs or drank or did anything ever. From there he just told me about bands like afi, h20, boysetsfire and things like that. Snapcase was the first CD I ever bought like that (besides things like sex pistols and downset). Me and my friend Tim used to buy CD's, look at the thanks list, and go buy CD's of the other bands that were in there. We didn't go online, see what was cool and jock it, we went by trial and a lot of the times error. I went to a show that year at an all ages school dance, this band called the bedwetters played, some punk stuff, I didn't really pay too much attention though. My first actual show was when I moved to Perkasie and got brought to a dysphoria, leavenworth and other bands show. I remember I stood right up front for the first band, Margin of Victory. I was psyched cuz the singer had an Etown windbreaker on, which I though twas the coolest thing ever. Five seconds into the first song, he kicks backwards and nails me right in the dick. Not a good first show. But dysphoria was sick obviously. I went to my first Doylestown show in tenth grade when I moved back, they used to have like open mic nights and our friends metalcore band would play. We would all go, mosh terribly or sit on couches and watch. Really weird. Doylestown only really had like pop punk shows where 200 kids would go and watch because they thought the dudes were cute or something. Needless to say Doylestown has come a long way.

SOY: How did Let Down come to be? What were shows like at first? How much destruction was done to the teen center?

Bob: Me, Justin (Ogden, bassist of Let Down) and Drew (Ferry, guitarist of Let Down) had been friends for awhile, and done some different bands, but nothing crazy. We were talking about how there was no good Straight Edge bands that sounded like we wanted them to, and there was no older style hardcore around. We were friends with Kyle too and knew he was gonna play drums in it, the whole point of the band at first was to piss people off, shove the edge in their faces and maybe start some fights or something we were originally called FUCK IT, which is why I say that on the song head cold cuz I wanted to have a song where I shouted out the bands name which every good band usually needs, but after our first show which was in Pittsburgh for some reason, we changed it to Let Down..I've always been a shit talker, and wanted to say a lot about what was going on around me I guess and just annoy as many people as I possibly could. Pretty much every single Let Down song is about someone specific. When we first started nobody gave a shit, there was like no Straight Edge kids around or kids that liked the kind of hardcore we played. We would crash metalcore shows, play birthday parties, just be as obnoxious as possible. Real early on we actually played a show with Drew's old band On Course in NJ with have heart, way before they were huge. I remember we somehow got on some awful Doylestown day outside show, and the back of the first 7 inch is me giving the finger at that, because the people told us not to curse. So we played an ihateyou cover and I just said fuck as loud as I could. The teen center was cool while it lasted, our "video shoot" show I remember being insane, but looking back now it was nothing all that special. I probably destroyed myself more than it got destroyed at most shows, the one time an ambulance had to come cuz I was bleeding so bad. Watching bands like Depression and No Joke was always fun, kids went nuts. If we played there now I think it would be awesome but that'll probably never happen.

Let Down "We're In This Alone" on Six Feet Under Records

SOY: How was your recent European and US tours? Best show? Worst show? Any interesting stories?

Bob: Europe was a huge steaming pile of shit. I was real stoked to go over, not cuz I like to see historic things or something I just thought every show would be nuts and it would be real cool. It was the longest fucking 35 days of my life. Fuck vegan food where you trash pick a bunch of god damn different food, put it in a pot full of boiling water and serve it. Cool that they feed you, but jesus christ dude just give me a burger or something. I hated every single thing about the tour, the shows sucked because this tall faggot from the earth did an awful job promoting it I guess and no one knew who we were, which I usually don't care about, but coupled with the fact I can barely communicate with Americans let alone Euro freaks I wanted to kill myself. Faggots got in my face about how I "disgraced my country" and I should be ashamed and all this other bull shit, suck my fucking dick. We met less than 15 cool people the whole time I think, fuck coaltion records, fuck the time we spent there, USA is number 1. The US tour was ok, some cool shows, Nebraska in particular was somehow awesome. Reign Supreme attracts the most random kids ever in the middle of the country, shit blew my mind. The way back was actually cool too, War Hungry and Swamp Thing are both good bands and better dudes. We never ever get along with other bands so finding people we could actually wanna hang out with was a shock.

SOY: What is Mother of Mercy? Is it more of a side project or are Let Down and Mother of Mercy equally as important?

Bob: MOM was just something that came up when me and Kyle were getting bored and talked about how we wanted to do something different, something heavy that we could play between times when Let Down wasn't active. The other dudes in the band I knew would write some cool shit, and I think it's not as important as Let Down but I definitely wanna play out with MOM as much as possible.

SOY: What your favorite thing you've ever said on stage?
(see Not Normal fanzine #2. Let Down Tour Journal for Bob Wilson quotes)

Bob: I don't really talk that much when either band plays, because a very select few group of people have the ability to not sound like a complete retard when they talk between songs (Hoodrack, George). I don't wanna sit up there and talk about a bunch of shit you don't wanna hear, I fucking hate that shit. My lyrics are pretty self explanatory, and if you don't get it, that sucks but I'm not too worried about other people. My favorites I guess are either "fuck all you heavy metal parking lot motherfuckers outside, suck my dick" at this is for you fest in Florida, or "fuck 26 year olds who get 14 year old girls drunk and high and then fuck them, fuck you skarm" the latter was said while the scumbag was in the room, so that was fun.

P: Robert Schuerman

SOY: What can we expect from Let Down / Mother of Mercy in the future?

Bob: Let Down is going on a ridiculous tour this fall, Blacklisted, us, Have Heart, and Ceremony. Should be insane. There was a point where I didn't think we'd ever record anything again, cuz I thought I put everything into the lp to make it the most Straight Edge thing ever, but lately I've been seeing so much bullshit I really want to get some shit off my chest about assholes I have to see and deal with and other stuff, so hopefully we at least do one more EP. MOM is recording an LP this winter, out on Six Feet Under records, and I wanna do at least a week in January or something.

SOY: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any last words/ shout outs?

Bob: Wilkes-Barre has so many good bands it makes me jealous as fuck, Doylestown kids get too cool too fast and wanna move on or make things that are different. Early Birds, Bad Seed, Title Fight, tons of awesome stuff. Force Fed are done already that sucks. Keep an eye out for the MOM LP it's gonna be awesome. Fuck people that are friends because they smoke weed together, fuck saying you still like hardcore but are too cool to travel outside your town to go see some shit. Stay Straight Edge, don't be a pussy, it's not really that hard. Fuck track bikes. Fuck fishtown hipsters. Fuck folk punk retards that just wanna drink 2 dollar pbrs and have a good time. Fuck surroundings, suck a dick Gavin. Drinking is bullshit. Oh yeah don't stagedive unless you know how, that shit sucks. I love the Russins. Fuck the world cuz the world fucked me.

Matt Hoodrack of War Hungry

2008-09-08T14:32:00.000-04:00

P: Katie Dance

Matt Hoodrack is a simple man from Olpyhant, PA. He enjoys a good slice of pizza, a nice WarZone hat, and other simple pleasures any other man would enjoy. Hoodrack sings for War Hungry. War Hungry has been hitting Wilkes-Barre hard with down tuned riffs since around 2004. They have put out the "Divine/Demonic" 7" on Brain Grenade, and last summer put out a 7" entitled "Return to Earth" last summer on 1917 records. Hoodrack is one of the best frontman in hardcore going. He always has awesome gear, awesome mosh, and funny things to say. I talked with Hoodrack about the core, the edge, and War Hungry recently. Here is what he had to say:

Spirit of Youth: How did you find hardcore?

Hoodrack: When I was young punk was just coming into the mainstream.Like really blowing up,Rancid and Green Day on the billboard charts style.I thought that was good music along hip hop.That's what I was into. I would go to the gallery of sound and get those sea-seas flyers with the whole months worth of shows listed on them and beg my mom to take me down.That place was a shit hole I didn't make it too often.The few times I was there (was) what what made me fall in love with punk and hardcore.

SOY:How did you find the edge?

Hoodrack: I was such a bad kid when I was younger.I eventually ended up in foster care because I was out of control.The only things I had with me besides my clothes were my cd's.YOUTH OF TODAY-CAN'T CLOSE MY EYES ON REPEAT FOR 6 MONTHS .

SOY: How did War Hungry form? What was Torpedo Tackle Records all about?

Hoodrack: HA.War Hungry started because I wanted to do a band.I discovered Kevin Mook just like any two teenagers find each other,the internet.4 years later we have a solid line up.Torpedo Tackle Records wasn't much.I can say I booked a good show once.Torpedo Tackle Jamboree.Good Gig at the Zoo.

SOY: How was your tour this summer? Is the War Hungry LP ever going to come out?

Hoodrack: Tour this summer was so much fun.Everyday was a blast.Some might measure success with money. If that's the case it was a complete disaster.The LP will without a doubt come out one day.I can not put a time limit on that.

P: Eric Davs

SOY: What do you think of the current Straight Edge scene, especially in Wilkes-Barre?

Hoodrack: Current Edge scene is not that great but I do think its growing.I'd rather have 10 kids super into hardcore and being straight edge than 100 kids just doing it as an easy way to make friends.I think the straight edge is coming back around again.

SOY: Top 5 favorite shirts/gear (hc related)

Hoodrack: Always a hard question.

in no order and subject to change.
warzone superbowl shirt
breakdown alien ringer
agnostic front eliminator tour shirt
release pain inside
judge skiz

SOY: Thanks a lot for the interview. Any last words/shout outs?

Hoodrack: Thanks for asking me these questions.Our area has the best bands. We gotta get a venue.

Every Soul Serves Their Time...

2008-09-06T18:01:00.000-04:00

P: Robert Schuerman

Bad Seed is the newest hardcore band from Wilkes-Barre. They play NYHC styled hardcore ala Merauder. Bad Seed is made up fellow edgemen Shane Moran, Andy Saba, Adam Rifkin, and Jamie Rhoden. They put out a demo entitled "Demo II" at the end of this summer that is available for download for free on their myspace and is available on cassette. Hoodrack from War Hungry put out the cassette and is going to be doing a 7" for Bad Seed sometime in the near future, and there are some other releases coming up of for Bad Seed as well as some tours in the winter and scattered shows before hand. If you enjoy heavy music and getting in the pit, listen to Bad Seed.

I sat down with Andy to discuss Bad Seed, the core, and the edge. Check it:

Spirit of Youth: How did you get into hardcore?

Andy: Well it's pretty well known I actually started out as a huge metal head. I actually started as a huge fan of punk (my first proper "show" was a Misfits reunion). I had a friend named Kaius Garber who was into punk like I was. He gave me a Minor Threat cd (which I lumped into the punk genre) and Master Of Puppets, I knew Metallica did Misfits covers so I gave it a shot. Long story short, metal was all I listened for a couple years until a friend of mine played me Hatebreed. I was ignorant like alot of metal-heads, and hearing Hatebreed was almost like a shock. It took the best ideas of metal and basically put some purpose in it. I had warmed up to the idea of hardcore by the time I met Ned Russin of Title Fight/ Positive Approach. He gave me the complete Judge discography. I was immediately floored. The fact that it was incredibly heavy appealed to me, but what got me hooked was the lyrics. I hadn't really listened to bands with lyrics that where about reality, what I saw everyday shit I could relate it. After that he gave me The Age Of Quarrel, and the rest you can figure out.

SOY: How did you find the edge?

Andy:I left home for the first time last year to work in Philadelphia. I couldn't relate to people I worked with, and although a couple good friends went to school in Philly, my 50 hour work week didn't leave me with a lot of time, other than to go to a handful of shows. The beginning part of my year there i spent a lot of my free time by myself listening to a lot of music (and writing Bad Seed songs), and I ended up listening to a lot of Youth Of Today. I started identifying with the lyrics. It just made sense to me that there was more to life than going to work or school and then going to a party and getting fucked up. I kept hearing stories from my friends in college, about how fucked up "party culture" can be. I just said to myself that it was a shitty thing to let your life be defined by getting fucked up all the time. I looked at a lot of the effects that drugs and alcohol have on the world, and made up my mind that it wasn't something I wanted in my life. So I claimed edge.

SOY: How did Bad Seed form?

Andy: Last year around October/ November, I had written these two songs that where definitely Hardcore but had a very metallic sound to them. I really didn't know what I had written them for, they just popped into my head. I started thinking about making a band that played this kind of music, basically trying to sound like a combination of my favorite hardcore bands (Cro-Mags, Merauder, Life Of Agony etc). The second I started thinking about a singer, I knew immediately it had to be Shane Moran from Title Fight. I was in a local band called The Gnarlies with him, and I already knew I loved his vocal style and lyrics. I had wanted to start a band with him for some time so there really were no other considerations. That's basically the idea behind the beginning of Bad Seed.

Chicken Fuckin' Hawk
P: Robert Schuerman

SOY: What does Bad Seed have lined up for the future?

Andy: Lots of shit where do I start. Hoodrack from War Hungry put out our demo on tape. Message us on myspace and get in on that ASAP. We're going to have a new song on the Reaper Records compilation. Very lucky to get be on that comp, there's going to be a lot of talent on there. We're finishing 6 new songs that will be out on a 7" from "Hoodrack Records". A lot more info on that coming really soon. We're playing Sept. 13th at a benefit show in Taylor, Pennsylvania. Cold World, Label The Traitor reunion, and alot more on that. If you are able, please come out, there are a lot of good bands, and you'll be doing a real good thing by helping out Paul's family. Sept. 14th, we're at the Moose Lodge in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with Cold World, Mongoloids, Mother Of Mercy, War Pigs and Layin' Waste. Incredible show, everyone in the Philly area definitely shouldn't miss that. We're in the process of setting up a weekend in october, and a winter stint of 2 or so weeks with some friends of ours. And I'm pretty sure we got new t-shirts coming in any day now. Don't sleep on em', they got the Original "Bad Seed" on the back. www.myspace.com/badseedpa for all the info on those shows, tapes, t-shirts and our upcoming releases.

SOY: What is the difference between Demo and Demo II?

Andy: The first demo was recorded with a different lineup. After listening to that it became pretty apparent that there was a lot of things I wanted to change. We got a new drummer and a new bass player, and we basically went back over and "fixed" everything on the first demo that we think didn't come off very well. Demo II is the end result of that fixing process. It's more focused, and fine-tuned. It's just a better representation of what we sound like.

SOY: Finally, tell us about "zombie mommy" and "zombie daddy".

Andy: When I was a little kid I used to get super pissed at people and draw their faces on a punching bag I had. I would kick them in the face or hit them with a baseball bat and that would cool me down. One day I was extremely mad at my parents so of course I went to draw their faces, but I couldn't bring myself to hit my parents with a bat, so I decided that if they where zombies and already dead it wouldn't matter. The punching bag is still in my garage.

SOY: Alright, thanks for the interview. Any last words or shout outs?

Andy: Shout out to Pennsylvania Hardcore. Not a state people think of when they think of hardcore but there are tons of incredible bands from all over the state worth checking out. Shout out to all my lost Wilkes-Barre Straight Edge boys who are holding it down even though I'm gay and went to college in Reading. Thanks to Jah Almighty and SOY for keeping the Edge strong.

ps - new Metallica is hard as shit

Paul D Benefit Show

2008-09-06T00:19:00.001-04:00

Paul D was a hardcore kid just like the rest of us. He was a regular at shows and a supporter of the Wilkes-Barre and Nanticoke scenes. Paul D passed away from a tragic accident in July 2008. This a tragic time for all of hardcore in Wilkes-Barre and Nanticoke, but it is a time for us to band together.

There have already been two successful shows to raise money for Paul's family. A show at the Black Lodge in Kingston with The Menzingers, Title Fight, Tigers Jaw, and Make Do and Mend raised over $400 with a simple basement show.

Karl from Strength For A Reason set up a show at Underwood Skatepark at the end of August with Not Til Death, War Hungry, No Turning Back, Strength For A Reason, and Wisdom In Chains that brought over 200 kids and over $2,000. That was the most packed I've ever seen Underwood and everyone was going off. It was truly the best hardcore show that this area has seen in a long time.

P: Forever True Photography.
Crew Shot after Paul D Benefit Show.

There is another show coming up September 13th at Underwood again featuring Bad Seed, Dead and Buried, Not Without Resistance, Label The Traitor (reunion), and Cold World. Hopefully there will be as many kids as there at the last one. Please come out to these shows, donate, and mosh in memory of Paul.

Magnus "Nothing Means More"

2008-09-05T00:25:00.000-04:00

This is the only official Magnus release to ever come out. This is the "Nothing Means More" 7" put out by D&A Records from Kingston, PA. The record is 6 songs of (positive numbers) youth crew style hardcore, and probably the best Wilkes-Barre has ever seen. Magnus features member Posidan Mills and Nick Woj who are now members of critically acclaimed WB band Cold World.

This record came out in 1998. Magnus was around for a little bit, but besides a demo (that SOY is trying to locate), they only released a song for a compilation entitled "Nothing Left". I put the track "Where Did They Go?" and the NMM 7" in a file for download. The tracks were given directly to me from Posidan so they are studio quality (however the quality of 'Stick Together' is worse than the rest of the tracks). The tracks are in a different order from the actual 7". I got another unreleased Magnus demo with these songs that I will probably put up sometime in the near future, but I wanted to just put these up now.

Magnus- "Nothing Means More" and "Where Did They Go?"
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?n3ggwtnurh4

Here is a video from Magnus' reunion in 2005 at Club 77 in Luzerne, PA. They played "Where Did They Go?" and "New Direction" by GB with 4/5 the original lineup.

Check the matrix! "Think Positive"

Everybody, Everywhere...

2008-09-04T23:34:00.000-04:00

This is the first entry on the blog for the Wilkes-Barre Straight Edge. We here at SOY are trying to bring back the straight edge and hopefully some updates on local shows, bands, and maybe get an interview or two up with some real OG Wyoming Valley edgemen. So before any updates get started, enjoy this classic video of the best straight edge band of all time at CBGB's in '88.