Issue No. 2

Descendents – myage...A rock solid musical group with an interesting front man. Milo wore thick black rimmed glasses and didn’t really look the part of a punker. He sang with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and power. It was kind of funny but when “ Milo goes to College “ came out it was as though he was moving to another planet and not simply headed off to school….perceptions are interesting to look back on.
Faith - aware …Everyone knew that the singer of this band was the younger brother of Ian Mackaye ( Minor Threat, Dischord Records…etc. ), but I really liked their unique sound. I’m sure Alec must have grown tired of the natural comparisons, but man I’ll tell you I really liked this effort. It stands on its own and was a pleasure to listen to…still is. The vinyl was blue which always adds to the intrigue.
Government Issue – man in a trap…Long before I was fortunate enough to see these guys live I was a huge fan. They had a rock band feel to their music and still a raw, wide open energy. John Stabb was the singer and possessed the three essential front man features…..dark, mysterious and strange. Oh and it helped that he could flat out wail. Simply a fantastic band.
Marginal Man – identity …My band ( Unity ) opened up for these guys at the old Cathay de Grande in Hollywood when they were on tour and they were amazing. It always helps when you meet the members and they turn out to be great guys. I had listened to “ Identity” so often that I knew all the words to all the songs on the album so it was a thrill to see them in such a tiny setting. If you had ever seen a show at this venue to say that there wasn’t much stage space would be the understatement of the century. The sound man was the old drummer for the Germs, Don Bolles, and was worth the price of admission himself….very interesting man….soft spoken but intense and always looked like he just rolled out of his coffin in time for work.
Meatmen – tooling for anus…Wow, how do I describe the Meatmen? A thick skin and a good sense of humor were essential when listening to their records. Tesco Vee was an outrageous character. I still bust up laughing when I listen to the intro to this song. The Meatmen were refreshingly hilarious…plain and simple they made me laugh. The lame term “ Politically Incorrect “ hadn’t been invented yet, but it would pretty much sum up their lyrical content…..times ten.
Sin 34 – America American…Women were very prevalent at hardcore shows in the 80’s and Julie headed a cool band that I saw on many occasions. Sin 34 was a musically tight and lyrically thoughtful band that was fun to watch. The scene was made up of numerous bands like Sin 34 that had something to say and had the guts to stand up in front of a crowd and say it.
SNFU – cannibal café…This is how cool the singer Chi was….Uniform Choice was on tour at the same time SNFU was and we were playing a show in his home town of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Chi insisted that we stay at his house while we were in town even though he wouldn’t be there in person. That typified the sense of brotherhood that was throughout the hardcore scene at the time. Oh…by the way SNFU were phenomenal. I loved “…and no one else wanted to play”. It was filled with great songs and hooky riffs.
Unity – Explanation for Action…This was my first attempt at an actual band. The original singer was Rob Lynch and he and his little brother Peter were real cool guys. We played a bunch of fun shows but never were able to get in the studio to record. Later I joined Uniform Choice and together with the singer Pat Dubar , Jon Lowry ( misspelled on the single as John Low ) and Joe D. Foster ( his actual name ) recorded the “ you are one “ single which became Wishingwell Records’ first release. We recorded the music live and during the session my cymbal stand broke. As I was duct taping it back together so we could continue recording, the tape snapped and the cymbal smacked me right between the eyes at the bridge of my nose, slicing it wide open….damn thing nearly knocked me out. When everyone stopped laughing, we finished up. I still have the scar.
CH3 – manzanar…These guys were a staple for many years. Manzanar was about a Japanese internment camp in California during WWII. I thought this topic, which was personal to one of the band members ( either Mike or Kimm ) as his Grandparents were forced to live there, was very interesting and heartfelt. CH3 were more of a pop punk outfit, but were tight and energetic and wrote very catchy music. Solid band.
True Sounds Of Liberty – Dance with me…Great band and dynamic front man in Jack. He would have fit in nicely as a carnival barker. He was a true showman. The biggest pit I ever witnessed was at the T-bird Rollerdrome for a TSOL show where from the stage I could see three monstrous pits going all at once….it looked like three spiraling hurricanes….true story….my parents went away for the weekend so I had my band play in the garage. Jack from TSOL came to hang out and true to form broke in to my parent’s liquor cabinet. He proceeded to walk around the house with a bottle of booze in one hand and one of my Mother’s napkin rings around his cock….not a good front man…a great one.
Negative Approach – fair warning/ready to fight…NA was a Midwestern band that I always liked. The singer John Brannon reminded me of a Choke from Boston’s Slapshot. I never saw them in person, but I bought their records and enjoyed listening to their music.
Vic Bondi – heat lighting…This music was about as far from hardcore punk rock as you could get. Vic Bondi played in the fantastic Chicago based band Articles of Faith. He became a professor at the University of Massachusetts and wrote “ the Ghost Dance “. Wishingwell Records decided to put it out because we genuinely thought it to be quality music. We took some shit for it from the faithful, but I never regret giving Vic a broader voice…..I distinctly remember thinking how hypocritical I would be by not releasing it simply because some people may be turned off.