Make Do And Mend – Bodies Of Water – Panic Records #015 – 2009

Make Do And Mend hail from West Hartford, Connecticut. Normally, when I discuss bands from CT, you would expect to hear me talk about Mosh Metal, Ground Zero, or Connecticut Brotherhood. That’s not going to be the case today. In fact, I can’t really imagine anyone kick boxing, let alone mosh, to this band. It has a very post hardcore vibe. Think a mixture of Quicksand, Hot Water Music and All Chrome. Honestly, I was pretty damn surprised when I put it in the old cd player. Real surprised. Thankfully, it is the good kind of surprise.

The one thing I really know about West Hartford is that it’s a stones throw from Farmington. Which is the home of the China Pan. Oh man, those citrus spare ribs are for me. No idea why they would dump those from the entree menu. Dumb move. Now if you don’t hang out at China Pan or in West Hartford, you may want to peep ebay for all the hard to find gear and merch. Feel free to head over to panicrecords.net for the latest releases.

Lions Lions Signs to Panic Records

Timm’s always keeping me up to date on his great label. Here’s another news item for you all to check out.

Panic Records signs Bostons’ Lions Lions.

www.myspace.com/lionslions

Breaking out of the Boston scene, Lions Lions have grown more in their first year of existence than most bands do in their entire careers. Since forming in 2008, Lions Lions have kept themselves busy with playing any and every show that comes their way. In just one year, the band has played well over 100 shows in support of their 2008 debut EP “Direction”, every audience giving them incredible response and support.

Although Lions Lions are a new band, the members are veterans of the local music community. Growing up in a scene that has fostered their growth, the members of Lions Lions have spent time in other notable Boston bands such as Vanna, Therefore I Am and A Loss For Words.

Lions Lions are not about being some sort of super band, they are a band that takes what they’ve already created and expand on it. Each member draws influence from the musically diverse background that Boston is and melds it into a sound that appeals to fans of many genres of music.

Having accomplished so much in such a short amount of time, Lions Lions are ready to take on the next step and have signed with Panic Records to release their debut LP.

Entitled “From What We Believe”, Lions Lions will be entering Webster Lake Studios in MA (Four Year Strong, Energy, Therefore I Am) with Chris Curran to lay down 10 new tracks that will be produced by Dan O’Conner and Alan Day (Four Year Strong).

The results should be nothing short of incredible considering the hands on the project and the band backing it up, Lions Lions.

Good stuff.

Making Gator Bait and Mental Proud …

The other day Justin Thunderlizard hooked me up with a Gator Bait shirt. He couldn’t sell it because it had a small dryer burn on the shoulder. It was pretty apparent on that bright white shirt. I thought the shirt was cool and wanted to sport it. I too was having a hard time looking past that burn. So I went ahead with a little craft project. Turns out I also had a dope Mental tee that went through the wash with a pen. The pen exploded. Sadness ensued. So check the pics. This was maybe 2 hours of work. And most of that work was waiting.

Pretty sweet, right? I was very pleased with the Gator Bait tee. The Mental tee was lime green initially so the difference isn’t super apparent. Also, I think that GIANT X on the Gator Bait tee flecked and washed off onto the both tees. An interesting side effect.

Good luck finding either of these on eBay. If I can make them, so can you.

Ebay Wrap Up: March 2009 Edition

Is it just me, or has Ebay been extremely slow on the shirt sales? I would assume the tough economic times would provide an environment for more sellers to sell more items. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, people are ducking their heads and stocking away all their gear. Strange, right? A few gems and interesting items were sold. Lets check them out.

Click here for more tees …

Is it just me, or has Ebay been extremely slow on the shirt sales? I would assume the tough economic times would provide an environment for more sellers to sell more items. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead, people are ducking their heads and stocking away all their gear. Strange, right? A few gems and interesting items were sold. Lets check them out.


Mental Crew Camo – $59

This one was on Ebay before. It caused a stir then and caused a stir now. This time around, the bidder flaked, and it was put back up. I expected it to end for more than $59 considering there are less than 18 out there. But what do I know?


Chain Of Strength – True Till Death Used bootleg – $20

This is a used bootleg, but it still sold for $20 bucks, plus shipping from Italy. That just proves how awesome a design this is. Classic, no doubt.


Mental – Be True To Your School Long Sleeve – $7.01

I love this long sleeve. It has chill graphics and isn’t in your face. Just a real old school look. And the bleach stains ADD to it’s quality feel. I did my part and bid on it, but obviously I didn’t bid enough. I keep looking for those cheap deals, trying to keep my money close to home, really.


Mental – One Off B9 Design – $20.50

Same seller, similarly awesome tee. This was a one off. The seller happened to have an in at B9 and helped print up a few weirdo shirts. This was one of them. Something about this design just catches me. It really works. Others must have felt the same because they worked it up over $20.


Gorilla Biscuits – Old Rev Design – $71.00

Nuff said on this shirt. So amazing.


Ten Yard Fight – Hood – $21.50

Now, I’ve never seen this sweatshirt before. Not sure how or where it came from. It has quality colors and a classic look. Just top notch looking. Not sure how I’ve never come across one before. Looks great.


Bane – Fall Tour Misprint – $0.00 (no bidders)

Here’s one that snuck under the wire. It appears to be a Fall Tour shirt from WAAAY back to 1999. And that’s what it is. But it’s more. This is actually one of the misprint shirts that somehow got produced. The regular shirt has two screens on the back.

There are probably less than 2 dozen with one screen on the back making this one of the most rare Bane shirts ever produced. Hopefully the seller decides to relist and someone scores a great tee.


American Straight Edge – Judge Hammers – $1.20

And last, I can’t decide if this shirt is the coolest thing ever, or the worst thing ever. I just can’t decide. Judge Hammers = Cool. US Straight Edge = Cool. But the combo and screen sizes. I just can’t decide. What do you think?

So that was March. Hopefully April has more gems and oddities. We’ll see. Peace.

Justin Thunder Lizard is NOT a rip off …

Justin Thunder Lizard posted some pics of a few new shirts they had in stock. I ordered two shirts from Thunder-Lizard and received so much more. Great dude.
He threw in a bunch of extras because he knows I love shirts. He even threw in the Mindset “acetate” (is that what it is? I’m never sure) for the pocket print of their tshirt. Very cool.
Support Thunder Lizard. This crew is doing it right.

React Records Update!

Aram coming through with some more info.

I just want to remind everyone that orders for the Gone But Not Forgotten demo and Effort Fanzine #2 are up now.

We only have about 100 of each left so make sure to stop by our myspace and get your order in! Beyond the demo or zine, we have some new shirt designs and are offering 3 great package deals:

PACKAGE #1: GBNF demo and GBNF shirt

PACKAGE #2: Effort fanzine and a REACT! shirt of your choice

PACKAGE #3: GBNF demo and shirt, Effort fanzine, and a REACT! shirt of your choice

If you aren’t familiar with GBNF or Effort Fanzine then flex your head on this:

GBNF: In 2008 long time friends Face (Get the Most), Paul DC (Sinking Ships), and Jamie King (giant dude) decided to start a new bad that focused on writing fast HARDcore in the vein of Floorpunch, No For An Answer, and Brotherhood. Rounding out the line-up with Kyle (Get the Most) and Garret (The Answer, Vanguard) GBNF entered the studio and recorded the 8 song, “Seattle Crew” demo. The demo is available for free on-line but due to the serious awesomeness of it we’ve decided to do a one time only TAPE pressing of it. Both the demo art and the song UNFORGIVEN have been posted on our myspace so check it out.

If you have yet to hear GBNF then check them out http://www.myspace.com/gonebutnotforgottenhc.

EFFORT FANZINE: Taking cues from classics like Boiling Point and Schism, as well as current mainstays like Start Today, long time friends Kalle (Go for Broke, Send in the Clones fanzine) and Ulf (Balance, Go for Broke, Changes fanzine) teamed up to create Effort fanzine. Setting the bar high in regards to both content and aesthetics, Effort delivers thoughtful and insightful documentation of our scene and our ideas. A lot of people missed out on the first issue due to the high cost of postage from Europe so I’m excited to announce that REACT! has partnered up with Effort to release issue #2 here in North America. Issue #2 is 76 pages and includes interviews with Mindset, Anthony Pappalardo, The First Step, and Justice as well as articles, reviews, opinions, and tons of great shots.

http://www.myspace.com/itstimetoreact. Check it.

Since You’ve Been Gone …

Actually, it’s more accurate to say “since I’ve been gone.” I’m sure you all missed me. I was off in Albuquerque for the week. Here’s my week in pictures.

Leaving Providence. Lovely weather, of course.

Sadly, I did not stay at this hotel. Yes, I said HOTEL. I stayed next door. This is sticking out the side of the Radisson Hotel and Waterpark. Yes, Hotel AND Waterpark. Wild.

ABQ has a dry, non salty climate so all those old cars stick around. I saw many amazing classics …

And then some cars that just BLEW my mind.

I had the opportunity to eat at some awesome restaurants this go around. I arrived a little early on my first day and got to walk all over the Central St area. Annapurna’s World Vegetarian Cafe was my obvious highlight. I was hoping to hit up 20 Carrots for a PB + Banana shake, but they were closed. Here’s my meal from Annapurna’s.

While enjoying my meal, I kept amused by reading I Drink Milk Fanzine #3. These kids do it right. Review coming soon. Peep that pic with Casali. All the way from Wilkes-Barre to Hungary and back.

ABQ has a lot of houses that all look the same. This one isn’t one of them. It’s located on Monte Vista, and I believe I caught it featured in a segment on the Travel Channel. Needless to say, it was a little over the top.

My last full day in ABQ was Friday the 13th. I’m not a superstitious fellow so I wasn’t worried at all. However, my morning free buffet was ruined by a leaky cranberry juice cup. I filled my drink and walked away from the cart without realizing the cup was severely cracked. Here’s the terrible, terrible outcome.

One last shot. I’ve never seen this before. And despite hating Dr. Pepper, I would have gladly used my free Guns N Roses coupon on this beverage. Anyone ever had one?

So that was my trip. Other highlights not pictured: gelatin free skittle, many iced lattes, Rudy’s BBQ (I heard someone accurately describe it as “vegetarian hell.” Very accurate. My co-worker at “brisquet, ribs, sausage AND chicken.” It was either 1 full pound of meat, or 1lb 4oz. I can’t recall if he got a quarter pound of chicken or half a pound. Either way, it was a ridiculous amount of food. Ridiculous), long days spent in windowless warehouse sized rooms, longer evenings and other fun stuff.

This will probably be my last trip to ABQ. See ya, dudes. I’ll miss your ayurvedic meals.

React Records Does It Again!

Aram is on the fast track to hardcore success. His record label, React Records works with all the hot, upcoming bands. The products that flow from his HQ are flawless. You can tell every release is given his utmost attention. And to top it all off, he’s one hell of a nice guy.

Check out the latest package for the MINDSET EP.

Just check out the quality gear here. An EP on white vinyl with a super glossy insert, a rad React Records poster, a React Records tshirt and a React Records crewneck sweatshirt. Nothing is more pos than a white crewneck sweatshirt!

And check the “throwaway EP packer!” Hand screened goodness. Aram has really gone above and beyond on this one. Plus, the letter from Sean Youngblood seems to cut to the core of Aram’s goals. “Take a break, appreciate before this lifetime slips away.”

At this point, if you aren’t fully supporting Aram and React Records, I’m going to have to reconsider being your friend. Get into it.

Support the Bands + Trade Item …

I hit up Anchor’s Up last week to see The Effort, Alert, Mindset (and Give). Good show. Supported some bands!

I also traded a Bane test press to a friend in London for these bad boys.

There is obviously WAY more to the story, but I’ll let you figure that out.

My next pick up should probably be a photography class or a class where they teach you how to NOT take a blurry picture. That’d be nice.

Wait In Vain are Searching for a Permanent Drummer…

If you live in the Northwest and know your way around a drum kit, this is something that should make you go hmmm …

Up until now, the band has been flying long time friend Keith Sidorowicz (Ambitions, Energy) from NY to Seattle for tours and one off shows. Keith is now the permanent drummer for Energy and is unable to do the touring that Wait In Vain has planned for the rest of the year. Rather than find a fill in for each tour, Wait In Vain is looking to add a permanent drummer that is willing to tour throughout the rest of 2009 and beyond. Email edge@waitinvain.com for details if interested.

Wait In Vain features members of Trial, Champion and Sinking Ships and released their debut LP “Seasons” on Think Fast! Records /Panic Records in July. www.waitinvain.com

Get into it!