Save Me From Ordinary: Three Decades of Hardcore Punk Rock in Iowa

"SAVE ME FROM ORDINARY
 Three Decades of Hardcore Punk Rock in Iowa

Curated by:
Joseph William Clark Milik, esq.

A brief look at the bright but, for the most part, unsung past and present of hardcore punk rock from the state of Iowa.  The songs here-in are the products of different strange scenes spread out across the years and the state, or, often times, the product of absolutely no scene at all.  By no means an exhaustive list, this compilation represents only a tiny portion of Iowa's bands ranging from the early days on the verge of being lost to time to more modern and current bands making their own noise.  A curious history to say the least, and one that I believe deserves a second look and more recognition than it receives.  The music speaks for itself.  Go start your own band."

"Save Me From Ordinary: Three Decades of Hardcore Punk Rock in Iowa" is a CDr of some of my favorite IAHC tunes that I compiled to give away on the most recent NERV tour we did out east, down to the tip of Florida, back across the south, then up through the Midwest.  I didn't ask any of the band's permission to use these tracks so I handed out copies of the CDr for free. By the end of the tour I ran out of copies, but you can download the compilation below:

1. Abscess - Home
2. Preachers - You Don't Understand
3. Pent-Up Aggression - Wake Up (And Smell The Coffee)
4. Human Error - Mig21
5. Stiff Legged Sheep - Drunk With A Gun
6. Coldsore - Out Of Line
7. Forced Expression - Forced Expression
8. The Kinship - Still Life
9. Song of Zarathustra - One Strike At Romance
10. Captain 3 Leg - Untitled
11. Eclipse of Eden - Envy The Ignorant
12. In Loving Memory.. - This Is Ours
13. Black Market Fetus - Stagnation
14. The Creepy Kids - Curb Stomp
15. Swing By Seven - The First Taste
16. Ten Grand - I Will Seriously Pay You To Shut Up
17. Modern Life Is War - War
18. Meth And Goats - Dope Tantrum
19. Too Pure To Die - We Are A Weapon
20. Patrick Swayze's Ghost - Plan 9
21. Through Hard Times - Moving On
22. Quick Fix - Material Bullshit
23. These Needles - When Consumption Assumes Disposition
24. Approaching Nain - Made With Forealsie
25. Los Voltage - Rock N Roll Summer
26. Agress - Personal Poison
27. Omens - Disgust
28. Supersonic Piss - Bag Of Apologies
29. Big Box - $5 Gummy Bear
30. NERV - Zits

Click to download.


Recently I have burned more copies of this CDr to give away for free at shows and at record stores in my area, Iowa City.  I will try and get them to other places in the state.  Each copy comes with a cool map and information on each individual band and track like where the band was from, when they were from, and what recording the song comes from.  If you're interested in a physical copy of this compilation, e-mail me at eatapes@gmail.com.  Otherwise, enjoy the download.

For those wanting to know, the cover image is of Supersonic Piss playing a Mission Bleak show in Iowa City at the Tobacco Bowl on March 31st, 2011.  The photo was taken by Erik Bandy.  It was one of the most fun and wild shows I've been to, completely packed with people diving off the coffee bar.  If you look close, you'll spot the "author" in the crowd.

Omens

Omens is a hardcore punk band from Des Moines.  From Metallica to Nine Inch Nails to Cursed, the band takes influence from many bands across the spectrum of heavy and aggressive music to make their own dour and joyless sound.  Luke Rauch is the riffmaster along with his brother Drew Rauch, Aaron Hollander slams the bass, Nick Steinick is responsible for the d-beats and crushing hits, and Mike Watson spouts off at the mouth.

Omens came together in November of 2010 shortly after Mike and Luke both moved to Des Moines from Cedar Rapids and Pella, respectively.  The two had known each other and had been playing shows together in past bands for years and it was only natural that they would talk about playing in a band together now that they were both in the same place.  Mike had talked to Aaron separately about starting up a similiar sounding band, so he was first choice when it came to filling in the bass player roll.  Mike only knew Nick loosely at the time but was hoping to get him to drum for the band based off seeing him drum in bands he was playing in currently and bands he had done in the past, so when Aaron recommended that Nick play drums in the new band it was a total no-brainer.

The members of the band each had a similar mindset when it came to writing music and, after it's inception, Omens wasted no time writing songs.  Within a few months time and after a few shows, the band had enough material written to be able to record and release a demo.  In early 2011, the band headed to Marshalltown, a small town 45 minutes north east of Des Moines, where they had their friend Bo Becker record them in a basement.  Six tracks were recorded showing off the bands dire and pounding sound, and the demo was distributed at local shows.  In keeping with the stark hopelessness aesthetic of the music, the demo was distributed on white CDrs in black sleeves, a logo stamped onto the disc and a simple black label on the corner of the sleeve.

Omens - Demo

1. Deeper
2. Bleak
3. Revelations
4. Drag
5. Disgust
6. Ruin

Click to download.


The demo trudges through a mishmash of slow and fast, wallowing in the sludge and ripping through the nasty punk parts, Mike ripping his throat raw the entire time.  Enough flourishing guitar weirdness in the background keeps it interesting, and hints of black metal poke through the darkness at times.  After the release of this demo, the band stuck to playing mostly local shows in Des Moines and in the towns surrounding the city.  It was around this time that I first saw the band play live at a show my band NERV played with them at All Play in Des Moines in April of 2011.  They started their set off with a weirdly somber and eerie intro with sparse drum hits before blasting off with some headbanging riffage over kick ass d-beats.  It was mean sounding, not in any fake tough way, but more in the way of plodding despair.  It was loud and I loved it.

Omens played more shows throughout the course of 2011 and continued writing more songs.  By the end of the year they were ready to record a new batch of tunes.  In November of 2011 and with the help of Bo Becker once again, the band recorded four tracks in Mike's basement.  These songs are more refined and even more bleak and dismal than the demo, venturing into some weird fucked up almost stoner sound for bits of it.  The second track breaks into some sick thrash and the last track ends it all by sludging it out.  The band dubbed these songs to a tape they called "No Dawn" and embarked on their first and only tour thus far in December, playing basements across the midwest.  I'm glad I got to book them a show and play with them in Iowa City on this tour, it was a good one!

Omens - No Dawn

1. Faithbreak
2. Misery Addict
3. Attention Scars
4. Dark Depths

Click to download.

This idea behind Omens was never to focus on playing out and touring much at all and not to be a full time band, but to write music and to hone in on the product the band was releasing.  After playing a few memorable shows in 2012 including one pro wrestling themed show where someone was hit with a chair and someone else was put in a figure four leglock during the band's set, the band decided it needed to switch a few things up.  After playing their last show for awhile in September, the band ceased playing live for the time being and scrapped practicing and playing any previously written material to focus on writing new songs.  Coming into the fold to help with the writing of these new tracks is a new fifth member, Drew Rauch, on second guitar which will no doubt make the band even meaner sounding than before.

Omens plans to start playing live shows again within the next few months in same direction just with a keener sense of focus.  Coinciding with the return of live shows will be the self release of their as-of-yet untitled LP of brand new and unheard songs with art done by yours truly, me, Joe Milik.  I personally haven't heard any recordings of any new songs yet, but you can expect them to be even more downcast than the songs on the demo and on No Dawn.  This band is good, and I can't wait for them to start playing shows again.  New tunes and a new member, keep an ear down and your eyes peeled.

Contact the band at RefuseTheRightHand@gmail.com.  Maybe there are some copies of the demo and No Dawn left.

Updates

A few updates on some bands already posted on this blog before I update with some new bands:

BIG BOX
 
The "unreleased" Big Box LP finally came out on wax thanks to Radio Is Down records out of Olympia, Washington.  After multiple long and drawn out sessions where we tried to come up with a name for the record including "Fucked At The Dump", we finally settled on Die Now.  I'm really stoked on how it came out.  It's a perverted, dirty sounding record.  Music you should listen to while applying corpse paint then rubbing your face in the dirt covering a filthy basement floor.  It's tough, full of stompers and a few rippers, and I would mosh to this live if I wasn't in the band.  Donnie Bandy is responsible for the cover art and Joe Milik, me, did the art for the back cover.  You can pick it up from us at a show or from the label!

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, Leashed

Click to download.


We went on a two week midwest and top of the south tour in October in support of this LP.  Recently we have been writing new songs alongside playing local shows and may soon be releasing a tape on Hurts To Hear, although nothing is solid at this point in time.

SOLID ATTITUDE

So, Solid Attitude's LP on Rotted Tooth came out on schedule and they went on tour to promote it.  Even though Maximum Rocknroll bagged the final artwork for the record as "shitgaze bullshit" (or something similar, stay in California forever and get mugged by a junkie in Oakland please), the art done by Justin Thye of Goldendust and Wet Hair is actually fantastic and it was definitely my favorite record cover art from last year.  The record itself, finally ending up being called BB Gun Picnic, is one of my favorites of last year, too.  Noisy and very, very catchy frantic punk rock with the stream of consciousness vocal thoughts of a mad man on top of it all.  It's poppy, but it's not pop punk.  Slight hints of snotty hardcore pokes it head through every so often.  It rules.  The last track, Smoking Sheets, is the best ender for a record I've heard in awhile.  Oh yeah, let's get this straightened out once in for all: this record was recorded by Tucker Burns at his studio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Buy the LP from Rotted Tooth!

1. Black Wall
2. Shit Business Pt 1
3. Shit Business Pt 2
4. (Cool) With Me
5. Black Pocket
6. Solid Ettiquette
7. Punk Beer
8. Can't Chill Out
9. Disco Nap
10. Volume
11. Smoking Sheets

Click to download. 


Solid Attitude has a few records planned for the future, with a 7" on Sweet Rot out next month.  It's gonna be good.  The band is planning a two week east coast tour in April, so be on the lookout for that. 

SUPERSONIC PISS

Supersonic Piss, still killing it live, still disturbed, still down with the sickness.  The band has been playing mostly local shows only lately with a few out of town dates here and there, but that didn't stop them from releasing a new 7" in the meantime.  Recorded in the basement of 109 N. Dodge in Iowa City by John Hopkins (the sound guy for Corrosion of Conformity or something?) at the end of February 2012, this self titled EP was released on Youth Camp Records in September of the same year.  It's a mean and foul piece of wax, totally crushing trashcore, the best the band has sounded recorded as far as I'm concerned.  The drums sound awesome and you can hear every hit when those nasty hammer blasts kick in.  There's a lot of weird shit going on here, like the goofy backup singing on the second track, New Bruises.  Paige was responsible for the awesome cootie catcher insert that comes with the record.  Download it below but make sure to pick up a copy from the Youth Camp website.
 

1. Choke Yourself Awake
2. New Bruises
3. Slather Me Up
4. Bag of Apologies
5. Good Housewife

Click to download.


As far as future touring plans for the band go, I personally could not say.  They should tour a bit on this new 7" since it is sick, but don't ask me.