I've neglected this blog long enough. I went to India for a month and a half with Brendan Wells and Mickey Shaw and I promised myself that when I got back to the United States I'd remain active and productive. I've worked on a few activities since returning to the States including publishing a zine surveying all the weirdo graffiti and advertisements I came across in India and mailing that out to people, but now it's time to focus on this blog. First thing is first: I'm going to spruce up all the old articles that are on here with some new information and the newer releases that have came out since the publishing of the articles. I've been working all day today, ripping cassette tapes and vinyl and scanning cover art, so... here goes nothing:
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AGRESS
Unfortunately, Agress has disbanded since I first published their write-up on this blog. They were definitely a sick band and left us with some pretty sick tunes before their demise. Their self titled 7" came out in October of 2010. I remember I was driving to Minneapolis with These Needles to either play a show or record or something the day of the record release show for the 7" at the 1108 House in Cedar Falls (with Nails and Bent Life, if you must know), so we stopped at the show to grab the 7". Below is the record release cover, but Tom Parkinson of Lord Green designed the normal cover. It was released by Volatile Recordings.
1. Conversion Therapy
2. Tongue Blood
3. Touched By A Demon
4. Kingdom
5. Traitor
Click to download.
In a little over a year after this 7" was released, Agress was no more. They did go on a few tours inbetween this time, like an August 2011 tour with Homewrecker to the east coast, but the most important thing they did before breaking up was record the "Darksided" record. I don't know the personnel involved in making this record happen outside of the band members themselves, but I do know that it's such a shame, criminal even, that this record never made it on to wax as it is Agress at their best. So nasty, so moshy, so dark, such a headbanger. I love the catchy metallic licks thrown in, the franticness of the vocals. The s/t 7" was good, but this demolishes that record in every way imaginable. "Darksided" is a fantastic, crushing swansong.
1. The Storm
2. Personal Poison
3. Gone
4. Goodbye
5. Dying Breed
6. Knowing Death
Click to download.
After the demise of Agress, members went on to form the even tougher Black Ice and the poppy Lover's Speed. Check them both out if you can. I haven't caught Black Ice yet, but have played a show with Lover's Speed in Cedar Falls at The Space. Good shit. Black Ice has a demo out and is on tour now.
BIG BOX
Big Box has gone through quite a change. Adam Havlin left the band and yours truly, Joe Milik, took up the responsibility of playing drums. The first show with this new line-up was day two of the Firecrack 500 Festival at the Blue Moose in Iowa City in July of 2011. After playing a few more shows like this, I think maybe just two including one at 109 N. Dodge with god knows who, Andy Buch was added on second guitar. The addition of a second guitar player allowed for a much fuller sound as well as some pretty sick guitar soloing between the two guitars. It's sick, trust me, I have first hand experience.
We played some shows with this lineup, a memorably moshy one being with Night People's Lantern at the Breast Imagining Center, and wrote a ton of new songs that we went in to Flat Black Studios in January 2012 to record. The songs on this recording came out sounding a lot fuller and a lot harder than the demo, but of course it would with Mr. Luke Tweedy working his studio magic. Outside of a small internet release (or whatever you want to call it), this recording remains "unreleased", but I'm sure you're gonna see it on wax sometime in the near future. Thanks to Donnie Bandy, again, for the amazing art.
1. Disease is Crawling
2. Cut Up
3. When It's Easy
4. Burn Victim
5. Eat Something
6. Camera Shy
7. Like Another Drink
8. Brat Mouth
9. $5 Gummy Bear
10. Stagger On, Unleashed
Click to download.
Any big time $$$ label$$$ should get in contact about releasing this on waxx. adamluksetich AT gmail DOT com or eatapes AT gmail DOT com. Since this recording session, however, Andy moved back to Des Moines. Currently Big Box is working out who is going to play guitar in his place and working on playing some out of town shows in the near future. Deal.
SOLID ATTITUDE
Solid Attitude has been a pretty god damn active band, playing shows and going on tours whenever possible. At the end of last year the band headed north from their home in Iowa City to Cedar Rapids (what a long trek) to record all of the new songs they had been working on with a guy that plays in the Wheelers if that means anything to you. His name slips my mind. Sorry. The tracks they recorded were put to tape and released on Brendan Records with artwork done by me.
1. 3D
2. Part 1
3. Part 2
4. PCP
5. Slow Surf
6. Solid Ettiquette
7. Punk Beer
8. 2nd Newest
9. 3rd Newest
10. Volume
11. Newest
Click to download.
How punk. Obviously the names of these songs area all just placeholders and I'm sure they'll have them all truly named by the time Rotted Tooth Records re-releases these songs onto 12" in time for a tour the band is planning to the west coast this coming July and August.
SUPERSONIC PISS
Ooookay. Supersonic Piss, here's a band that's done some stuff since I first put up their page. We last saw Supersonic Piss getting ready to go on tour to the east coast with my old band These Needles in late May and early June of 2010. In order to have some shit to slang on this tour, Supersonic Piss and These Needles recorded a split tape. This tape was released as Brendan Records 02 and the art was done by Joe Heuermann.
Supersonic Piss Side
1. Toilet Death
2. Father Bother
3. Buck Angel of Death
4. Rape Farm
5. Skate
6. Oh, the Nut Sack
These Needles Side
1. Six Pack
2. I Have the Power... To Change the Channel
3. Protoculture Ooze
4. Old & Die Phase
5. When Consumption Assumes Disposition
6. Gutted
7. Indeed I Am My Brother's Keeper
8. Overripe
9. Sleepwalk
Click to download.
This was a great tour. I had a lot of fun and played some fun shows. I really started to appreciate Supersonic Piss at this point in time. Not that I didn't like them before, but seeing them play every night was a treat for sure. The kick off show at 109 N. Dodge in Iowa City, known as the Mold Nugget at the point in time, was a fun time (Cruciform played as well), and Jason Salek of the Old Scratch Revival Singers and Iowa City hardcore band Los Voltage recorded the show on tape player. Jason Miller, drummer of Supersonic Piss, took this recording and released the Supersonic Piss set as a live tape. I didn't bother to split the tracks up as it's sort of all a blurry, warbly mess, but I'm of the belief that any and all physical releases need to be electronically documented in one way or another, so, here you go, in all it's shittily dubbed glory:
1. Live at Mold Nugget Side A
2. Live at Mold Nugget Side B
Click to download.
So, Jason released this live tape when we got back from the tour, and then eventually left the band itself to move back to Lincoln, Nebraska. Joe Ross, then guitar player of These Needles, took over as the drummer. They wrote an entirely new set (though later adding the "fan favorite" Rape Farm back into the fold) and this lineup first played with AIDS Wold and These Needles at the White Lightning Warehouse in Iowa City. After polishing the new songs off, the band traveled to the Quad Cities to record with Ray Malone of Meth and Goats at Sound and Vision Studios in Rock Island. I remember coming home from my first trip to India in February and going to this recording session. Brendan Wells and I got a guest vocal spot at the end of the song "Spit in Your Face" (seriously, let me sing in your hardcore band) and I play drums on "Joe Milik 2010". It was fun. This self titled (it is NOT called "Umbilical Noose" no matter what the internet says) record was released on wax by Rotted Tooth Recordings in April of 2011.
1. Go Home Dad, You're Drunk Pt. 1
2. Go Home Dad, You're Drunk Pt. 2
3. P-U-N-K-S-I-C-K
4. Factory
5. Baby Doll
6. Time To Leave the Party
7. Girls' Night Out
8. Not Today
9. Say It Ain't So
10. Less of Me
11. Spit In Your Face
12. Joe Milik 2010
Click to download.
The band did a few tours on this record, including an entire (well, almost) one month US tour called the Spread Eagle tour, and numerous tours out to the coasts and back. The LP was eventually repressed. The new songs written after this LP were kinda cool to watch develop. Joe Ross had really gotten into death metal at that point in time, so the new songs, at least as far as drumming goes, were a weird hybrid of fucked up heavy hardcore drumming and technical and blasty death metal drumming. Me likey. Soon enough, in October of 2011, Supersonic Piss hooked up with Minneapolis plodding heavy punk psychers The Liz (of whose guitar player Eddie Kijowski used to play all the time with the "old" Supersonic Piss in his punk band Permanent Vacation) and released a split tape that both bands toured on out to the east coast and back in November. Supersonic Piss' side was titled "Garbage Life" and The Liz went with "Flowers From the North". Art by Donnie Bandy, recording done by Ray Malone and Sound and Vision.
Supersonic Piss side.
1. Chicks With Dicks
2. Secret Hideaway
3. Choke Yourself Awake
4. Took Pills
5. Pitchin
6. Piece of Meat
7. Rape Farm
8. Untitled
The Liz side.
1. Untitled
2. Untitled
3. Untitled
4. Untitled
Click to download.
Supersonic Piss has recorded for a 7" to be released sometime in the near future, within the next few months. I can't wait.
THE TANKS
Even though they still play shows every once in awhile, The Tanks have seemed to slow down, what with Joe Ross playing in two other bands, Slut River and Supersonic Piss, and Adam Luksetich playing in Big Box and touring Canadian super indie folk act Little Scream. That didn't stop them from recording their new LP called "Epic Loads" at Flat Black Studio with Luke Tweedy over the course of 2011. And guess what? Brendan Wells and I got guest spots doing vocals on this record too! Self released by the band in February of 2012.
1. 24-Hour Revenge Fantasy
2. Dandruff Genius
3. Triple Deathless
4. I Can't Believe I Broke Edge Again
5. Black Vise
6. Stop Taking Pictures
7. Seductive In Camo
8. Slung
9. Thanks But No Thanks
10. Natural Man Vs. Unnatural Boy
11. The Quiet Song
Click to download.
It's finally out and Epic Loads is definitely a sick album. It took forever, demo after demo and tour after tour, but it's finally out. What a good record. Crushing fuzz, one footed blasters, and just an all around awesome catchiness makes Epic Loads totally worth the wait. Even after hearing these songs a million times live, they're totally fresh on wax. If you'd like to get a copy for yourself, get at Adam, adamluksetich AT gmail DOT com.
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Well, there we go. I have nothing else to say now. Newer updates very SOON.
Peace.
