Ah, the Veg Break List

Back when I was running the Edgebreak list, some kid contacted me about doing a Vegan Break list. This was probably in 2004. To me, his concept was the lamest idea around. No only was it lame, but I found it to be a little stupid. I don’t recall Minor Threat writing lyrics about the “rules” of veganism. In fact, I could have sworn the concept of vegansim is hundreds of years old. Who is this kid to say who is and isn’t vegan. Or even list them.

Now in hindsight, the edgebreak list was on that juvenile tip too. Regardless, I ended up telling the kid I thought his idea was not good. He then got real mad at me and said he was going to add me to the Vegan break list. At the time, there were 7-8 names on this list. Mine was never added. Believe me, I looked for it.

Fast forward to yesterday. Some dude his sending me these random instant messages. He’s going on and on about how “masturbation = sxe.” It literally made no sense to me, but I let him go with it. He then starts asking me about the Veg break list. It all flooded back and I went out and found it.

Turns out, it still exist. You can read all the glorious details here, on The Veg Break List. Notice, it’s now the Veg break list. Apparently not enough people were listing Vegans so he decided to expand his membership. As of today, there are 20 names on that list. One of them is the Dalai Llama. 2 years, 14 names later, mission accomplished.

Ps. One parting shot. Please notice his online form is an exact copy/paste of my old Edgebreak list form.

Pps.

Vegetarian or Vegan, just do it. I’ve been eating vegan since 1997. Think about that.

Airing Dirty Laundry

(Since the LWR sucks, I figured I would repost it here for all to marvel at.)

Here’s how it all started.

Orhun tells me that Bill screwed him on ebay. Bill stopped using Paypal, and forces an international money order. By the time Orhun catches wise to being scammed, he can’t stop payment, can’t get his money back. And figures good luck getting mail fraud charges to stick internationally. Orhun also tells me that Bill screwed over Gaasland too. So Bill is added to the shady trader list and his trade list (which hadn’t been updated since Oct 2005) is changed to read,

BOOOOO! Bill’s back to ripping off dudes again. WEAK.

This was done on January 2nd. Get ready for the email barrage.

Email One
(Note: the bottome message is an attached myspace message
from some shirt dude wanting gear from Bill)
Subject: HYE HERE’S SOME FUCKIN’ FYI
Date: Mon, January 8, 2007 1:33 pm

Pretty cute motherfuckers. I guess next time I see you it won’t be all smiles and handjobs…

John A. Gaasland didn’t get ripped by me, he got ripped by Paypal. So until I get the fucking money back from them, he gets no shirt. Just as I told him personally.

Orhun, got his shit a month or so ago. I’ve got the USPS cash receipt and part of the customs declaration thanks to my favorite postal worker at my box. I knew that guy was gonna start his shit like the very next day per usual, so I was prepared this time. Too bad I lost the email Casali sent me saying “You know how Euro’s are…” in reference to them being paranoid about getting ripped off. I like how he turned that shit around to make it sound like I fucking said those words (Orhun was kinda upset about that comment, Chris should be ashamed, but fuck it. It came back on me, so no sweat off his ass, right?), so he could get some extra nut biting before years end or what ever that was about.

Like I said fuck his boy, and pretty much fuck him too. Come talkin’ crazy, you get shit from me. Be it a simple tracking number, an even simpler email, or even a god damn pic of the shit I have on file from the post office. Tough shit. Disrespect works both ways and I ain’t about to budge.

You want to play internet slander games, cool. See you on the flip.

-Bill

PS- Since I’m up to shady shit again why do I have fuckers still trying to trade or buy shit off me from HYE? Take me off the motherfucker or keep up the bitch shit and see where that takes you.

Jan 7 2007 8:15 PM
Subject: yo
Body: i was wondering what you thought about the offers? actually these are the only shirts i really need. i know you got shit from howsyouredge or whatever but dude i nneeeed these.

AGNOSTIC FRONT “Blind Justice Tour 90” black large SS $135.00

AGNOSTIC FRONT early design has soldier with gas mask/gun (has a tiny/old Screen Stars tag) grey xl SS $100.00 (i could score this shirt for cheaper but man i suck at waiting)

KILLING TIME Raw Deal shirt green xl LS $75.00

let me know what you think about these offers.

-john

My response:
Date: Mon, January 8, 2007 3:45 pm

Are you high? Smiles and handjobs? When the fuck was that? I have no reason to believe Orhun would be lying and considering your checkered past, every reason to believe those who speak out against you. Sending me an email full of threats isn’t a good way of proving your innocence, now is it? Disrespecting Casali is the nail in the coffin on your shady shit.

PEACE!

Email Two
Date: Mon, January 8, 2007 5:03 pm

Nail in the coffin? Who the fuck do you two think you are? What are you gonna do but get your scrawny ass beat over shit like this?

What the fuck is Casali gonna do other than suck my dick? Come out here? Attack me on the internet to show off to all his “boys”? How come you bad motherfuckers always run your shit on the nerd, but when I’m in any of you shit mouthed bastard’s presence, not a single dude steps? Jason Wallace got confronted after he ran his bitch mouth on Livewire, didn’t do shit. I was there in his HOMETOWN, motherfucker didn’t do shit. Didn’t do shit at Posi Numbers 03, YOT Reunions, and still doesn’t do shit, like when I waived at him like an asshole the other night at the Bitter End show in Nashville. Fucking bitch ass Tim Kriependorf didn’t have shit to say at Posi Numbers when I’m sittin’ there chillin’ with McMahon off and on at the TT table or when I was at any of those Insted shows. Now you fucking dorks, come with it. It won’t happen. Fuck you. Keep typin’.

What you gonna do? Fucking mock and insult me on a public forum? I’m sure it’s internet pussy work of some sort. Oh no! Life will come to a screaching halt, won’t it? You’ll teach us shady motherfuckers not to fuck with you and yours, huh? Real hardcore dudes, keepin’ it really hardcore. Fuckin’ pussies.

High? I’m not the one acting like Casali’s got superhero ability. Stop sucking that guy’s dick long enough to realize that I don’t give a fuck about you dudes. His dick’s got you trippin’ hard, must have turned you out real good by the sound of it.

Fuck you, Orhun, Gaasland, Casali, and anyone else that runs their pussy ass mouth on this internet shit. I’ll be out there again, take it up with me in person. Keep this bitch ass ho shit to yourself and your lover, Casali. Talk is cheap. Pass that along to Casali and the rest.

Threats? No threats on that first email, now for sure. You can bet I’ll step the fuck up when I see you two and you can bet I’ll have the fuckin’ back up on hold. Not fucked up in the least bit.

Keep it up.

PS- I got a website too…Uh oh… fuckin’ faggots…

And a quick one.

Email Three
Date: Mon, January 8, 2007 9:28 pm

While I’m at it…

Take every god damn thing to do with me and my name off your site. It won’t be shit for me to drop the ends to get an attorney just to fuck with you and your wonderful website. Call my bluff, please. I got other dudes selling shit for ME on the internet. Money really does grow on fucking trees in this shady motherfucker’s neck of the woods, a grand or two will be all it takes…

I love this shit.

Bill’s latest myspace campaign:
Bill KEEPITCORE
Jan 8 2007 10:11P

So there you have it. Does that sound like the voice of an innocent, honest trader trying to keep up his good rep? Give him a hand please. It seems like he could use it. Needless to say, his collection and swap list were removed from HYE. However, his name is still listed as a shady trader for obvious reasons. I will not be replying to any more of Bill’s emails after I email him a link to this thread. However, I will feel free to post any responses from him on the internet. Heck, who knows? Maybe this will prod an apology out of him. Or maybe dudes will start getting their shirts. If that happens, I’ll see to it that this thread is immediately deleted.

Peace!

When We Fall – A Cry In Despair – Panic Records #007 – 2006

Here’s some new hardcore from Sweden. Nothing like Refused or At the Gates. So you can either breath a sigh of relief or shake your fist in misery. This particular album is 5 song EP. Plenty of driving core and yelly vocals. Actually, I’m not super psyched on the yelly vocals or the last songs “whiny goodbye” sound. Raw, scratchy throats should be something that is left in 2006. 2007 needs to be the year of generic hardcore. 10 years after the beginnings of Floorpunch, In My Eyes, Fastbreak, Ten Yard Fight … Let’s bring it back. The music on this cd is pretty catchy though.

You can find When We Fall on myspace. They have 4 tracks up. 2 are from A Cry In Despair, the other 2 are from their new album. Look into it.

Ps. the other thing that should come back in 2007 are haircuts. Whatever happened to the fade? Or a shaved head? Eff, I’ll even take a flat top if it’s done correctly.

How bootleg Jnco’s almost got me severely punished …

Growing up, my parents were not super rich. In fact, they were basically just getting by. 3 kids to feed, a mortgage, car payments; it was hard. But as a child, I never really wanted for anything I couldn’t live without. I always had a full stomach and shoes on my feet. It’s not like I was from the projects or ghetto at all. Just your average middle class family, I guess.

That isn’t to say there weren’t times when I was deeply frustrated with my lack of “fresh gear.” In middle school, my clothes lacked cool name brands and I was always a season or two behind what was cool. You know. In 7th grade, I got boat shoes. The same boat shoes everyone had in 6th grade, and had gotten rid of before summer hit. Yeap, one season behind. Then freshman or sophomore year, it was all about JNCO’s.

I recall being fascinated by them. I wasn’t a big fan of the goofy ass pockets, but was amazed by the intricate, skate referencing embroideries (ps. this was before I got my first CCS catalog and found World Industries, Acme, …). Of course, my parents couldn’t afford those jeans.

“$75 for jeans? I don’t think so.”

I can’t even remember if they cost that much. All I can remember is that I couldn’t have them. So I would end up getting pants that were oversized. That gave me the baggy look. I was still missing the crazy embroidery, though.

I figured, I could take care of that easy enough. I was pretty handy with a sewing needle. I decided to sew up my own graphic above the coin pocket. It actually came out looking pretty cool. There were two concentric circles. The outer one was blue, the inner one was white. And inside these circles, I sewed the uppercase letter ‘N.’ At least, that’s what it looked like. The first upstroke was green, and the other two strokes where white. I was pretty impressed with my efforts.

Of course, wearing pants with a giant XL shirt, I was the only one who ever saw the embroidery. Or so I assumed.

One day, I came home and found my mom at the door with a very upset look on her face. It was a mixture of anger, disappointment and more anger. She was holding the jeans in her hand waiting for me.

“What is this!?!” as she pointed at the embroidery.

“Oh that’s just something I whipped up.”

“Is it marijuana? Are you smoking marijuana?”

Haha. Oh man. It was rough going. For the next half hour, my mom and I had a drug talk and I had to convince her I wasn’t doing drugs, which was true. Looking at the embroidery again, I can see how she thought it was a burning joint. Ah, yes.

Needless to say, I removed the embroidery later and never added embroidery to another pair of jeans again.

Catching up with old friends

Last night, I hung out with a friend from high school. It’s crazy. I haven’t seen this girl since 1997, but it felt like the good old days. Back in high school, we were great friends. College came along, and we both went our separate ways. She went down to Florida, I went to Worcester (she won on that one). She did her thing, I did mine — totally different lives. It didn’t matter last night, though. It was basically the good old days. Best topic of the night: the strange characters that go to the gym (worthy of its own post). Another good topic: what the hell ever happened to ____?

If anyone knows what happened to the following people, let me know.

  • Andrew Beebe
  • Kevin Himes
  • Chris Kingsley
  • Rachel Russo
  • George Colby Jr

This time I promised Kim it wouldn’t take 9 years to hang out again. Joan, if you are reading this, we should hang too. Ah, Gray New Gloucester High School, class of 1997. Good times. 10th anniversary coming soon. Wow.

A record collector request

Earlier today, I received an email from a student who was putting together a paper on record collectors. He asked me if I would contribute and this is what he got.

how long have you been collecting and what got you initially started?

I’ve been collecting records since the late 90s. Probably 98 or 99. I initially started collecting shirts. Just buying a shirt every show. Back then, I didn’t care about records. I didn’t even own a record player so they didn’t matter to me. Then at some point, I realized, “whoa records are cool” and started collecting them.

why do you feel this has become such a big deal in the hardcore scene…basically why are people willing to pay tons of money on ebay for records?

Here’s my take on the matter, it may get a little philosophical.

Hardcore is an experience. It isn’t just music for music’s sake. It’s an experience that is enjoyed in VFW halls and basements and clubs all over the world. Records are snapshots of that experience that individuals can enjoy from the comfort of their bedroom or home, whether it be learning all the words for the next show, or perfecting the bed stage dive. But it’s more than that. When I started listening to hardcore, it was the early 90s. This was AFTER all my favorite bands had broken up: Gorilla Biscuits, Youth Of Today, Side By Side, Crippled Youth, … So in essence, by owning one of these records, I own an artifact from that time, as if I was there.

As far as ridiculous ebay prices go, hey, that’s just supply vs. demand. Basic economics. Sure, I’d love a chung king. But there are only 75 in circulation and there are WAY more than 75 other people who also want one.

how big of a role has this played in your life…money, time, etc?

I probably surf ebay every day. But I barely ever look at vinyl anymore. Right now, I’m only interested in getting a few old Rev releases or presses from bands that I’m friends with. At times, I have spent an inordinate amount on records. 2 stories for you.

a) Back in the fall/winter of 99, I run into a older hardcore dude. Actually, it was real weird. I ended up driving by his house and seeing him wearing an old shirt. Somehow we got to talking and he said he wanted to sell his record collection. This was my prime time of record collecting so I was psyched. Also, I had just taken down a hold em tournament at Foxwoods so I had a ton of cash burning a hole in my pocket. He let me into his apartment and I felt like the first 49er, “there’s gold in dem der hills.” We worked out a sale for a stack of early rev color vinyl (gb lp on purple, gb ep on yellow, sick of it all on red, 1st press together comp, …), the first press of the straight ahead LP and a CHAIN CREW. I handed him $400 and walked away. Yeah, $400. HAHAH, wow. The thing is, I left a ton of valuable records behind. He told me to call him again if I wanted more vinyl. I called him the next week, trying to pressure him into selling me his Together comp on orange. Finally, I just showed up at his house, handed him $1k in cash and took EVERY SINGLE RECORD he had left. Going through them all, I found more gold. Judge lp on green, shelter lp on maroon, cro-mags age of quarrel, … and SIXTEEN Converge Halo In A Haystack first press lps. I ended up selling or trading 15 of those lps over time and netted more than $1k from those sales. So yeah, I was stoked. He was psyched to get that $1k, I was psyched to get all that vinyl. My girlfriend wasn’t so psyched. She hates the smell of record stores, and these were a little worse off. For a week or two, they stank like cigs. Wack.

b) There was a record store in Boston called Second Coming run by this old punk/core dude affectionately known as King Mike. At least, that’s what I called him. Anyway, the store would always have a gem or two from random boston dudes selling stuff back. One rainy day, I was in the store with my wife. She was anxious to leave (recall, she hates the smell of musty record stores. The extra rain smell wasn’t helping either). However, there was a sign on the wall, “Punk and Hardcore EPs coming soon. Ask for more info.” I’m discussing the sign with my wife when King Mike overhears and asks me what I’m looking for. “Oh, you know, Judge, gorilla biscuits, chain of strength, …” After each band, he would say, “yeah, I have some of that.” He then says, “hey, I’m leaving for my lunch break, do you want to come back to my house and look for those records? I have that GB todd youth b-side at my house.” My eyes nearly burst out of my face; I knew this would be my second potential gold mine. I conned my girlfriend into making the trek to his house. Walking through the rain for 4-5 blocks wasn’t fun, but we got there and got down to business. “ok, the records are in here. [to my gf] you can watch some tv if you want.” and turned on the tv for her. Him and I entered a den sized room converted into a record store, basically. There were white EP boxes EVERYWHERE. And to my chagrin, “these aren’t alphabetically at all. Sorry.” For the next 4 hours, we went through record box after record box. At the end of hour 3, we had gone through all of them, but hadn’t found the chain ttd on CLEAR vinyl. “Oh we must have missed it. Oh well.” HELL NO, I went back through the boxes until I found it. I recall walking away from his house a very happy person. The major find was the Chain of Strength EP on clear. After we left the ATM kiosk and Mike with a nice sum of money, my girlfriend began telling me horror stories about her 4 hour sit. “The tv remote was messed up. It didn’t work. I had to watch a family ties reunion. 4 hours worth!! Also, the couches were COVERED in cat hair and now I’m feeling sneezy and scratchy. Also, the cats were deranged. They kept climbing on the counter top and dive bombing me. I think they hated me …” Ah, good times.

what does this all mean to you as an individual…why is hardcore and vinyl an important part of your life?

Check my philosophical answer on that one.

As for vinyl currently, it doesn’t mean as much anymore. I haven’t bought any vinyl in quite some time. I’d rather get back to my main focus; t-shirts. It also doesn’t help that I’m now addicted to Nikes. I went from one expensive collection to another. Luckily, I’ve found some rad dudes that will trade vinyl for kicks. To me, records don’t hold the same joy anymore. I can’t wear a GB ep to the local show. I can’t stage dive with a floorpunch on gold. Shirts and sneakers are way more accessible to me now. That’s where my head is currently. It could change in 3-4 years and I could regret selling/trading my records.

One last note: one of my favorite pieces in my collection is my Project X EP. I scored it off of ebay before kids got insane. It may have been badly listed too. I recall it only sold for $75 but was 100% legit. When I got it in the mail, I was doubly surprised. I knew it had hand written labels, but the message on them psyched me out. “Screw Skrewdriver” Perfect sentiment.

Diggity dope.

MXPX – Let It Happen (Deluxe Edition) – Tooth And Nail – 2006

MXPX Let It Happen

The year was 1996. I was probably a senior in high school. I was sitting in band with a friend of mine. He was down with hardcore, punk and ska so we always had something to talk about. One day, he starts telling me about this new record label he found. It was called Tooth And Nail. I expected something in the vein of Rev or Victory. But I forget, he had just “found GOD.” And when I say found, I mean, he had just dove head first into loving church, talking about god, and wearing a cross outside of his shirt collar. I still thought he was awesome, but he definitely got weirder.

Anyway, he hands me, the unsuspecting core dude, a stack of CDs. Here’s what I can recall, Starflyer 69, Strongarm (holy crap. Do you recall this chorus? “G-O-D, he is the one for me.”), O.C. Supertones (oy vey) and MXPX. I probably ended up listening to them in that order too. I can recall being very “blah” about Starflyer, grinning/grimacing while head banging to Strongarm, and nodding off to the O.C. Supertones. So you can imagine I wasn’t too psyched to listen to MXPX. But it looked punk and since I had been all about Social Distortion for the last few months, I gave it a spin.

My initial reaction was shock. “Hey, this is good. It’s not bad.” I was expecting some pushy preaching but was welcomed by songs about girls and the usual high school crap. C’mon, Swing Set Girl. That screams pre “Blink calling themselves Blink-182.” The “oldies” cover song swayed me too. I was big on those tunes, and finding a punk rock band covering one clinched it for me. It wasn’t until further inspection of lyrics that I came across the “inspirational” songs. I wasn’t put off that much though. The songs still pretty much rocked.

I gave the cds back to my friend the next week and surprisingly, I haven’t listened to this album since those days. But putting this album in the cd player, I can still recall my first reaction, where I was and what I was doing. That seems like the hallmark of good album.

If you are interested, you can hit up their Myspace page and listen to a few tracks. It’ll probably bring you back too.