Sunday, October 31, 2010

Anniversary/Halloween

Six years of marriage in the bag. Happy Halloween, hosers.





3D Ultrasound

We had a 3D ultrasound done of our little boy.




Also in an unsurprising turn of events, he worships Satan from within the womb.





Ride

I went for a great ride the other day out to the plains east of Denver.










Salem and I





Monday, September 27, 2010

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Graduate

In the last two days I put about 25 miles on this beast in a parking lot in West Aurora:




After I did that, I got this:




Saturday, August 28, 2010

Goodbye Pontiac

I left this little time capsule under the stairs on Pontiac Street.





Envision Vids

Here's some videos that just surfaced of Envision. I'm drumming in all of these.

From 2000, in Halifax. Chain Of Strength song. If you look close you can see most of the members from Good Clean Fun in the audience as this was one of a handful of dates we did with them in Atlantic Canada.



From 2000, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.



From 2001, in Halifax, opening up for Propagandhi. The sound guy really knew how to make my snare drum the focal point of the performance. And apparently I've gained some weight since then.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

BBQ

One of the only things I like about Summer.





Uneasy Rider Show

Saw some awesome bikes last weekend. The ones that impressed me the most were the home builds out on the sidewalk.





























I didn't win the Panhead though. Bummer.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Flea Market Finds

...I wish. Found the tent set up by Speed Metal Cycles at the Mile High Flea Market and got my raffle ticket for the vintage chopper show next weekend.









Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Rat Bike (and Sammy)






Back?

Okay, so I haven't really posted here since my last bought of unemployment, which basically just found me ripping old shitty cassettes to mp3s and posting them for everyone (read: no one) to listen to. My short lived enthusiasm for it could only be matched, in quantity, by most other people's unenthusiasm.

I digress.

I'm going to start posting here more. Sometimes, I feel wordy...but moreso lazy. I figure I'll take advantage of the technology I spend lots of money on and at least post pictures from my phone in quick, easy to swallow glimpses into my life.

My life is about to radically change and I figure I should have some sort of steadfast, albeit lazy, record of it.

I'm going to be a Dad come the new year.

Also, I've developed a healthy obsession with motorcycles, which I will also be touching on heavily.

So less music. More fatherdom, motorbikes, and badassery.

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Juveniles - Brand X Sucka

I had nothing to do with this band or recording, but it was a great tape in '97, and it is now too. 15 songs, only 4 or which are over a minute. Fast punk, straddling the line between hardcore and "skate" punk. I always liked this more than their first tape because it has an awesome blown out recording. This band was amazing live, led by a little guy singing named Khanhthuan (pronounced "can-toon"). They were one of the first bands I saw who would do song after song with no breaks in between.

http://www.mediafire.com/?xzdg0omwxwd

Mr. Bread (?)...

...or otherwise known as the Selwyn, Lachie, Lionel and Morgan project.

This was another sub-one off project, but which had more potential than 90% of all the bands I've ever been in.

I believe it was somewhere around 1997 or 1998 that it started. It was Selwyn Sharples on drums, Lionel Stanley and Lachlan MacDonald on guitar, and myself on bass. The plan was, that since all of us had alot of experience as frontmen, we would all sing and essentially lead the band at different times. It was Selwyn's brainchild as he wrote the skeleton of all the songs, but each of us added to our own parts.

What made things so difficult was that even though Selwyn lived in Halifax, Lachie still lived in Cape Breton, Lionel still in Charlottetown, and me (being 15/16 years old) still lived with my parents a half an hour outside of Halifax. Selwyn and I had brainstormed alot about the band - planning on breaking the mold of the average hardcore band at the time in many aspects (lyrically, musically, and how an audience would watch a band). Now saying that, it sounds awfully conceited, but that was the plan. I spent many evenings on his living room floor learning the songs so when Lachie and Lionel would come into town, we would be ready to go.

These four songs were the only output to exist out of the band. It was recorded on a boombox in the corner of the room at one of two practices we had with all of us there. It was recorded on a Saturday morning around 3 or 4 am (don't ask how I remember this) in the community practice space we had shared.

Stylistically, it's hard to classify. I-Spy was a big influence in the songs, but I think it ended up alot more melodic than that. We hadn't worked out vocals when this was recorded, so it's only instrumental, which is a shame. Following this, we played one show. At one of Ian Hart's basement shows at his parents house, we played our four songs, but only as a three piece - Lionel couldn't make it into town. After that, the idea dissolved and was never touched again.

We had never decided on a name, and I don't know how "Mr. Bread" was attached. I'm guessing that it was said during that one live show and was easier to say than "the Selwyn, Lachie, Morgan and Lionel band". It's a stupid name, but the only one anyone remembered us by, apparently.

This will be of little interest to anyone besides the band members and maybe a few people who saw that one-off show.

It's a real shame that nothing else happened with the band, because listening to these songs again, it's very creative and could have been something really special.

http://www.mediafire.com/?a4jwgyiggzm

Friday, April 30, 2010

The Incoherent Comp

In 1996 Gerry Hubley, Steve Mannette and myself started a local fanzine in Halifax called Incoherent Crap. It was a black and white photocopied 8.5x11 folded over format. Though the first issue or two was mainly the three of us writing show and record reviews, Gerry did most of the leg work on organization, layout, and spearheaded the editor's notes.

By issue #3 it had become a Halifax collective. We started getting reviews, editorials, comics, ads and rants from all kinds of people in our tiny, secluded scene. Most, if not all, focused on local happenings with bands and eventually branched out into politics and subsequent arguing. The amazing thing was that, in this pre-internet savvy punk world, so many people began to use IC as a means to air out dirty laundry in both a positive and negative way, we all still managed to get along. Maybe it was the fact that we were all teenagers stuck in a city right on the Canadian coast line hours and hours from anything resembling a "big city", we knew we had to keep the peace and be progressive about our little punk scene.

With IC quickly becoming the essential scene report for most of Maritime Canada, by issue #4 it was time to do more. Gerry began putting the word out to any and all local bands that we'd be taking submissions for a compilation to accompany the new issue. Using a basic cassette 4-track, we got an immense amount of help from Derrick Hiltz in recording several bands who would have otherwise not been able to be included on the comp. The result was 28 songs from 15 bands from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The cassette came free with IC #4, which I believe was sold for just a dollar. Due to Derrick's volunteering his time to record bands, and several people donating old tapes to be dubbed over, costs were kept low enough so that everyone was able to get a copy of it this cheap.

Because all the copies were dubbed over existing tapes (most were intentionally left with the label of what was once on it - mine has Sarah McLachlan: Solace on it with a single line crossing it out) the quality ranged from decent to shitty, depending on the age of the tape and how many times it had originally been dubbed. But the quality didn't matter. This was the humblest of efforts just to give small bands from a small town a voice, even if for just a fleeting moment.

At the time, we had never dated anything with a year. Though proud with our efforts in all of our ventures, I think we assumed that all we did had a shelf life - that we wouldn't look back on it past short term memory.

The Incoherent Comp came out in late 1997 or early 1998. Upon listening to it, I'd be dumbfounded to find someone who would love listening to it who wasn't there to experience it. There's some real stinker bands (and I should know - I was in two of them), and some great bands with just poor recordings.

But nonetheless, this was a snap shot of punk rock in Eastern Canada in the mid to late 90's. It's truely a piece of history that could remain one of the best kept secrets Halifax ever produced. And looking back, now 13 years later, I can honestly say it's one of my proudest moments in punk rock to have been a part of it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?tjtyy3t5ztd

In an attempt to maintain the grit that was our time and place, all of the songs are mostly a direct rip without much EQing at all. I wanted to keep the same quality as an indicator of the honesty of the recordings - a time before digital recording, before any of us had the money to produce anything the least bit "slick" sounding. I wanted to maintain that undeniable indicator that this was truely by the punks, for the punks.

Shrine Of American Martyr

Shrine Of American Martyr was one of the best bands I have ever been in. This was recorded in 2000 on analog 8 track by Mike Catano (from North Of America, The Plan, Thrush Hermit, The Holy Shroud, etc) in his parents basement. We were writing stuff while the "screamo" wave of the late 90's and early 00's was still really strong. Bands like Orchid and Majority Rule were good beginnings for comparison, and then throw in alot of post-punk/hardcore influence.

These songs were a great collaboration between our four minds. If I could reunite one band from my past it would be The Shrine, for the mere fact that we burned so hot for a short period of time, and then broke up too soon in my opinion. One day I will have this released on vinyl.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zyaynjmhi00

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Persist - 15 Songs

This was my first dabbling in "side projects" - Persist. I played guitar, drums and sang and Steve Mannette played bass and recorded on a rented 4-track. The whole thing was written and recorded in an afternoon in my bedroom at my parents house in 1997.

It's pretty hard to listen to as I was still cutting my teeth at song writing and playing instruments, but in hindsight it's not so bad. My pubescent vocal chords couldn't quite pull off the gutteral screaming I wanted, but it was a good effort. I'm surprised my drumming is as decent as it is seeing as how I was doing blast beats with a single pedal only about a year after starting drumming. Albeit, not very well, but still...the effort is there.

This was recorded and became absolutely nothing. I'm sure my copy is the only one that exist.

http://www.mediafire.com/?imnwnl2o2yx

Useless Solution - March

This was the second tape released by my main band during the late 90's, Useless Solution. The band consisted of basically two eras, each with a different sound and lineup. This marked the tail end of the first era.

HeartattaCk zine reviewed this and said it sounded alot like His Hero Is Gone, which is 100% accurate. We had a bit more melody and metal influence on this recording, but that "dark hardcore" sound from the late 90's is still definitely there.

This was recorded in 1999 by Jon Hutt and was release #46 on Ant Records only on cassette.

http://www.mediafire.com/?dygmngemigy

Snot Party - 627 Days

Here's a link to download the second tape by my old band Snot Party.

Snot Party existed for 627 Days (what a coincidence!) and played fast thrashy punk in the vein of bands like Heresy, Charles Bronson, etc., but very stripped down. Lyrically/conceptually it was the stupidest thing I've ever had a hand in. Basically a band based on a dick and fart joke. And yet, I was the lyrical mastermind. I'd like to remember myself in an Andy Kaufman sort of way, but I actually thought it was hilarious. We were well liked and put on a live show never to be forgotten.

This was recorded in mid 1998 by Ian Dares in our 6'x10' practice space.

http://www.mediafire.com/?ukyidmnlbtm

Friday, February 5, 2010

RECORD WANT LIST

Here's my vinyl pipe-dream of a want list. It'll be an ongoing thing.

There are a few titles on here I once had but sold or traded out in a moment of youthful, misguided stupidity that I want to recapture, but most are things I was just never able to get my hands on in the secluded frozen shores of Eastern Canada.

I don't have anything to offer in the way of trades (I hold onto most everything). So, monetary gain is all I have to offer you. If you're a friend or a stranger with something on here that you'd let go of, email me at callitwhatitis [@] gmail [dot] com

Thank you!

A

Abandoned Hearts Club - The Initial Confessions Of 7"
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Honky Reduction 10" (original, not LP + 7" reissue)
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope LP
American Nightmare - Background Music LP (only the NIGHTMARE copies, no other names)
As The Sun Sets - Each Individual Voice Is Dead In The Silence LP
Assfactor 4 - Sports LP
Assuck - Anticapital LP
Assuck - Blingspot 7"
Atom And His Package - A Society Of People Named Elihu LP
At The Drive In - Relationship Of Command LP
Avail - 4AM Friday (Lookout!)

B

Black Flag - Damaged LP (original pressings on MCA/SST with the Unicorn Dist. logo and "Anti-parent" sticker)
Backstabbers Inc - Kamikazee Missions LP (preferably w/ the handscreened cover)
Backstabbers Inc - Theory/History 7"
Bikini Kill - Pussywhipped LP
Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! - The Record 7" (compilation - Slap A Ham)
Son Of Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! 7" (compilation - Slap A Ham)
Blood Brothers - This Adultry Is Ripe LP
Bongzilla - Gateway LP (Modus Operandi)
Born Against - ALL (except The Rebel Sound Of Shit And Failure)
Botch - We Are The Romans LP
Boy Sets Fire - The Day The Sun Went Out LP
Braid - Frame And Canvas LP
Brutal Truth - Machine Parts 7"
Brutal Truth - Kill Trend Suicide 10" or LP
Buried At Sea - Indignation LP
Burned Up Bled Dry - Kill The Body, Kill The Soul 7"
Burning Witch - Towers LP (Slap A Ham)

C

Capitalist Casualties - Disassembly Line LP
Capitalist Casualties - Raised Ignorant 7"
Capitalist Casualties / Slight Slappers - split 7"
Capitalist Casualties / Man Is The Bastard - split LP
Carcass - Heartwork LP
Catharsis - Samsara LP
Cattlepress - Hordes To Abolish The Divine LP
Cattlepress / Agoraphobic Nosebleed - split LP
Cave In - Beyond Hypothermia LP
Cave In - Until Your Heart Stops 2xLP
Charles Bronson - Youth Attack LP (clear vinyl w/ metal cover)
Chixdiggit! - s/t LP
Chokehold - Prison Of Hope LP
Coalesce - 0:12 Revolution In Just Listening LP
Copyrights - Mutiny Pop LP
Copyrights - Nowhere Near Chicago 7"
Corrupted - Se Hace Por Los Suenos Aesinos LP
Cursed - Two LP (Canada pressing on Goodfellow)
Creation Is Crucifixion - In_Silico LP
Crossed Out - s/t 7" (Slap A Ham pressing only with long gaps between songs)
Crossed Out - Discography LP
Crossed Out / Dropdead - split 5"

D

Dag Nasty - Can I Say LP (original press)
Dahmer / Suppression - split 7"
Danzig - I LP
Darkest Hour - Mark Of The Judas LP (Southern Lord)
Dead Kennedys - Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death LP (orig. press on Alt. Tenacles, preferably with the extra flexi!)
Deadguy - Fixation On A Coworker LP
Death From Above 1979 - You're A Woman, I'm A Machine LP
Deathspell Omega - Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice LP
Devoid Of Faith / Counterblast - split 7"
Dillinger Four - The Kids Are All Dead 7"
Dillinger Four - Higher Aspirations: Tempered and Dismantled 7"
Dillinger Four - More Songs About Girlfriends and Bubblegum 7"
Dillinger Four / The Strike - split 7"
Dillinger Four / Pinhead Gunpowder - split 7"
Discharge - Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing LP (orig. press on Clay Rec.)
Discordance Axis - The Inalienable Dreamless LP
Discordance Axis / Capitalist Casualties - split 7"
Disembodied - Diablerie LP (on Lifeforce, not the Ferret reissue)
Disembodied - If God Only Knew The Rest Were Dead 10"
Doom - Fuck Peaceville LP
Dropkick Murphys - Do Or Die LP
Doughnuts - Age Of The Circle LP
Dropdead - ALL (except the 1994 discography LP)
Dystopia - Human = Garbage LP

E

Econochrist - Skewed 7"
Econochrist - Ruination LP
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone LP
Elliott Smith - Either/Or LP
Entombed - Wolverine Blues LP
Entombed - DCLXVI: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth LP
Excruciating Terror - Expression Of Pain LP
Eyehategod - In The Name Of Suffering LP (orig. press on Intellectual Convulsion)
Eyehategod - Dopesick (orig. press on Century Media)
Enemy Soil / Reversal Of Man - split 7"
Enemy Soil - The Ruins Of Eden 10"
Enemy Soil / Agoraphobic Nosebleed - split 7"

F

Face To Face - Big Choice LP
Fiesta Comes Alive! - compilation LP (Slap A Ham)
Fifteen - The Choice Of A New Generation LP
Floor - s/t LP (on either grey, clear or dark red vinyl)
Frail - ALL
From Ashes Rise - ALL (Nightmares only on color)
Funeral Mist - Salvation LP

G

G.I.S.M. - Detestation LP
Gasp - Gnome Triler Of Puzzle Zoo People LP
Gayrilla Biscuits - Hung Queens Can Suck It 7"
GO! - ALL
Godbelow - Painted Images With The Blood Of LP
Good Clean Fun - Shopping For A Crew 7"
Good Clean Fun - Who Shares Wins 7"
Grindcrusher - compilation LP (Earache)
Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today LP (orig. press w/ the embossed cover)

H

Harvest - Living With A God Complex LP
Haymaker - ALL
Hi-Fives - Welcome To My Mind LP
Hickey / Fuckface - split 7"
High On Fire - The Art Of Self Defense LP
His Hero Is Gone / (Union Of) Uranus - split LP
Hope Conspiracy - Cold Blue LP

I

Ice Nine - Psychology And Extreme Violence 7"
Infest - ALL (except the Mankind 7")
Ink And Dagger - The Fine Art Of Original Sin LP
Ink And Dagger / Le Shok - split 7"
Integrity - Humanity is The Devil 10"
Integrity - Septic Death Karaoke 7"
Isis - Mosquito Control LP (original mix - first 3 pressings)
Iron Lung - Life. Iron Lung. Death. LP

J

Jesuit - ALL (except the 7" on Hydra Head)
Jud Jud - No Tolerance For Instruments 7"

K

Khanate - Things Vital LP
Kylesa / Memento Mori - split 7"

L

Lack Of Interest / Slave State - split 7"
Leatherface - Mush LP
Lagwagon - Hoss LP
Left For Dead - Live LP
Left For Dead / Chokehold - split LP
Left For Dead / Ochre - split 7"
Less Than Jake - Hello Rockview LP (either pic disc or seven 7" set)
Less Than Jake - Slayer 7"
Leviathan - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life 2xLP
Limbonic Art - Ad Noctem Dynasty Of Death LP
Lifetime - Jersey's Best Dancers LP
Lifetime - Hello Bastards LP
Locust - s/t LP (on purple swirl vinyl)
Los Crudos / Reversal Of Man - split LP (mistake pressing, ROM side with Spitboy label)
Los Crudos - Canciones Para Liberar Nuestras Fronteras LP
Lucero - The Attic Tapes LP (with silk screen/watercolor cover)

M

Marduk - World Funeral LP
Man Afraid - Uphill Struggle 7"
Man Is The Bastard - ALL (except Uncivilized Live 7", Cap Cas/Bleeding Rectum split sides, and splits with Agathocles and Locust)
Mars Volta - De-Loused In The Comatorium LP (on silver)
Mars Volta - Televators 10"
Matt Skiba / Kevin Seconds - split LP
Melt Banana / Three Studies For A Crucifixion split 7"
Mental - Planet Mental LP
Merzbow - Pulse Demon LP
Millencolin - Life On A Plate LP
Mine - Tetanus LP
Minor Threat - First Demo Tape 7"
Minor Threat - Out Of Step LP (orig. presses)
Misfits - ALL (pre-Graves era, orig. presses except Legacy Of Brutality, Evilive, and Earth AD)
Monster X / Human Greed - split 7"
Morning Again - As Tradition Dies Slowly LP
Mr. T Experience - Love Is Dead LP
Mr. T Experience / Goober Patrol - split 7"
Murder City Devils - Empty Bottles Broken Hearts LP (orig. press on pink)
Murder City Devils / Botch - split 7"
Murder City Devils / At The Drive In - split 7"

N

Nasum - ALL
Napalm Death - Scum LP
Napalm Death - From Enslavement To Obliteration LP
Neanderthal - Fighting Music 7"
No Use For A Name - Let Em Out 7"
No Comment - ALL
Negative Approach - Tied Down LP
Negative Approach - s/t 7"
Neurosis - Times Of Grace LP
Neurosis - Through Silver In Blood LP
Nirvana - Nevermind LP (UK pressing)
NOFX - ALL (except Punk In Drublic, War On Errorism, Heavy Petting Zoo, They've Actually Gotten Worse Live, and Coaster)
Noothgrush / Corrupted - split 7"
Nothing's Quiet On The Eastern Front - compilation LP (Reservoir)

O

Off With Their Heads - Hi Five For The Rapture 7"
Off With Their Heads - To Hell With This And All Of You 7"
Off With Their Heads - Fine Tuning The Bender 7"
Offspring - Smash LP (orange vinyl)
One Eyed God Prophecy - s/t LP
Operation Ivy - Energy LP (orig. press)

P

Pig Destroyer - ALL (except Orchid split)
Pinhead Gunpowder / Dillinger Four - split 7"
Pinhead Gunpowder - Fahizah 7"
Panic - Dying For It 7"
Portraits Of Past - 01001011101000111001 LP
Propagandhi / FYP - split 7"

Q

Queers - Move Back Home LP
Queers - Grow Up LP

R

Radiohead - The Bends LP
Rancid - ...And Out Come The Wolves LP (first pressings w/ old Epitaph logo on back)
Rancid - Let's Go 2x10"
Rancid / NOFX - split LP (on orange or green vinyl)
Rise Above - compilation LP
Reversal Of Man - s/t 7"
Riverdales - Storm The Streets LP
Ruination - Dead Horse 7"
Ruination / They Live - split 7"

S

SOA - No Policy 7" (preferably green)
Screeching Weasel / Born Against - split 7"
Saves The Day - I'm Sorry I'm Leaving 7"
Septic Death - ALL (except for "Now That I Have Your Attention What Do I Do With It LP)
Severed Head Of State - one-sided LP (on Lengua Armada)
Slapshot - 16 Valve Hate LP
Slayer - Reign In Blood LP
Song Of Zarathustra / Spread The Disease - split 7"
Spitboy - True Self Revealed LP
Spread The Disease - We Bleed From Many Wounds LP
Spread The Disease - Sheer Force Of Inertia LP
SunnO))) - The Grimm Robe Demos 2xLP
Spazz - s/t 7"
Spazz - The jeb 7"
Spazz / Toast - split 7"
Spazz / Charles Bronson - split 7"
Spazz / Slobber - split 7"
Spazz / Floor - split 7"
Spazz / Rupture - split 7"
Spazz / CFDL - split 7"
Spazz / Subversion - split 7"
Swingin' Utters - A Juvenile Product Of The Working Class LP

T

Teenage Bottlerocket - Warning Device LP
Teengenerate - Audio Recording LP
Teengenerate - Get Action LP
Tiger Army - II: Power Of Moonlite LP (yellow)
Today Is The Day - In The Eyes Of God LP
Tragedy - s/t LP (orig. press on Tragedy Rec, black and white cover)
Tragedy - Can We Call This Life? 7"
Tragedy / Desobediencia Civil - split 7"
Tragedy - 2004 UK Tour 7"
Tragedy - To The Dogs 7"
Trap Them - Cunt Heir To The Throne 7"
Twilight - s/t LP (black/white swirl)

U

Unearthly Trance - Season of Seance, Science Of Silence LP
Unearthly Trance - Eleven Are The Voices 10"
Undying - Whispered Lies Of Angels LP
Undying - This Day All Gods Die LP
Union Of Uranus - Disaster by Design LP/2x7"
Union Of Uranus / His Hero Is Gone - split LP

V

Venom - Black Metal LP
Venom - Welcome To Hell LP

W

Weekend Nachos - s/t 8"
Weekend Nachos - Torture 7"
Weekend Nachos / Chronic Bleeding Syndrome - split 7"
Weakerthans - Fallow LP
Weakerthans - Left And Leaving LP
What Happens Next? - Standfast Armageddon Justice Fighter LP
What Happens Next? / Life's Halt - split LP
What Happens Next? - Hollow Victory 10"
Wolfpack - A New Dawn Fades LP
Wolfpack / Skitsystem - split 7"
Wolfpack - Allday Hell LP
Wolfbrigade - In Darkness You Feel No Regret LP

Y

Yacopsae - Tanz Grosny Tanz LP
Yacopsae - Fuck Punk Rock...This Is Turbo Speed Violence! 10"

Z

Zozobra - Bird Of Prey LP

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Cadillacula Video / French Regrets

Upon watching the masterpiece of Inglorious Basterds, I'm overwhelmed with regrets that I hadn't stuck with my french studies in high school.

Here's some videos of a Cadillacula show from the start of this month. The second and third turn into a spotlight on my drumming after a power failure.