another pointless update...

just another song I've been listening to a lot lately. 

"New Slang"

Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth. 
Only, i don't know how they got out, dear. 
Turn me back into the pet that i was when we met. 
I was happier then with no mind-set. 

And if you'd 'a took to me like 
A gull takes to the wind. 
Well, i'd 'a jumped from my tree 
And i'd a danced like the king of the eyesores 
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well. 

New slang when you notice the stripes, the dirt in your fries. 
Hope it's right when you die, old and bony. 
Dawn breaks like a bull through the hall, 
Never should have called 
But my head's to the wall and i'm lonely. 

And if you'd 'a took to me like 
A gull takes to the wind. 
Well, i'd 'a jumped from my tree 
And i'd a danced like the king of the eyesores 
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well. 

God speed all the bakers at dawn may they all cut their thumbs, 
And bleed into their buns 'till they melt away. 

I'm looking in on the good life i might be doomed never to find. 
Without a trust or flaming fields am i too dumb to refine? 
And if you'd 'a took to me like 
Well i'd a danced like the queen of the eyesores 
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.

There seems to be a few official filmclips for this song floating around, but this is the one I like the best, watch it if you want.

I'm off to NSW for a few days tomorrow. I guess it's really just a 'see both sides of the family' for my birthday type occasion. I guess it's kind of ironic that we'll probably have 2 big, meat filled dinners to celebrate the birthday of yours truly, the only vegetarian in the family. I don't really know how I feel about that haha, but I guess it's not really a big deal... they'd all eat meat regardless of what they were celebrating. It seems to be what people do.

I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday when I get back and I guess that scares me a bit. It's not the going to the doctor bit that scares me I guess, it's what happens after. I'm going their primarily for two things: to get a referral to see a hearing specialist again because I was told to return in 6 months or so if none of my hearing problems had improved and they haven't, so I guess there's not much more I can do except try again and two, the scarier of the two, to get a referral to a pyscholigist. After an incident last weekend where I almost punched one of my housemate's in the head over something stupid, hit myself in the head about 8 times to try and calm myself down and then immediately burst into tears, I guess I decided that enough was enough and maybe I can't deal with everything in my life alone. It's weird, I sit here now and I feel fine, not great, but fine, like I don't think the person sitting here right now needs professional help, but then something bad happens and everything just seems to fall apart and I guess while the thought of paying someone to try and deal with your problems is scary as fuck, maybe it's all I can do.

I guess I'll let this one stew while I'm gone... 

to the one or two people who actually read my blog, good night.

blah pt2.

I think I've half lost my voice (well at least I always seem to sound like a retard lately anyway haha), is it kind of bad that I kind of wish it was completely gone for a while? I swear sometimes I can't go one day without my words getting me into some kind of trouble. 

In other news, life has been alright. I just had pizza for dinner because I'm a slack cunt. I'm going to NSW for a few days tomorrow, then it's my birthday when I come home. I guess I'm not looking forward to my birthday that much, but I'm going out to dinner with friends so that should be alright. I've been listening to the Shins a lot this week, but I guess not much different to every other week at the moment haha. I'm about to leave now to go a show in Woolongabba, a friend of mines band is playing and since I manage to miss them every other time they play, I guess this is a good time to go see them. Sometimes they cover Black Flag. That can't be a bad thing.

good CD

I used to hate on this band all the time, but now I love this CD, the best Cure worship band around. Is 7894789327894237984 times better than DOC's last EP.

For fans of Dan Smith and the Cure... Probably not for fans of DSM and Day of Contempt haha.

Give Blood Zine RIP

I guess I've been sitting on this one for a while, I was originally planning to announce this in the next issue of Sick of Goodbyes, but since I don't know when that will be either, I thought maybe I should say it while it's still fresh. Give Blood Zine is over.

After a couple of years, 3 big issues that I was proud of and a lot of generally good times, circumstances in my life have left me in a position where I can't really continue. I guess it's kind of funny, I spend 2 years having a love/hate relationship with the zine, contemplating throwning in the towel after every issue because I thought no one cared or that the work was a waste of time and money but now that it's over, it feels like I lost something I didn't really want to let go. I may do a more in depth post in the near future about the reasons why the zine is over but I don't know. Anyone who read the second issue of Sick of Goodbyes could probably take a guess at the reason why.

I would have really loved to do a final issue and originally, that was what I was hoping to do, but I guess as time went on I realised I probably wouldn't be able to pull something off like GB#2 or 3, I was really proud of those zines and I guess I don't want to do them an injustice by releasing something I didn't really care for.

Doing this zine gave me so much and I guess it's a pity to see that ending. I have friends in Brisbane hardcore, friends interstates, friends in bands and running labels and places to stay a lot of places in Australia mainly because of doing this zine so I guess I owe it a lot. There's a lot of people to thank for their support over the time this zine ran but I think that can wait for another day. I hope to do a fairly comprehensive list in SOG#3

As I mentioned earlier, I still plan on doing another issue of Sick of Goodbyes because I have some loose ends to tie up, a couple more bands I want to interview and some final things to say, but I'd say it's doubtful that it will continue past the third issue.

I guess nothing gold can stay.

Chris

Blah

I had a bit of an epiphany today as I was walking back to my car after one of my exams:

You feel just as lonely in two hundred dollar jeans as you used to feel in thirty dollar ones.

Here's some pictures of the sunset in Byron Bay that I said I'd put up on here like 39348344 years ago. There's even a picture with Scrad and Jimmy in it (!!). That was a good day.

Gone Sour

After making a post about how amazing the lyrics are on the album below, I thought I should probably give you an example, here's the closing song 'Gone Sour':

Dead at the gate, inspiration cut short. All there is jaded kids, no heart, no core, it's sad to see the shine go dull, to what you wear, to who you know, let go, let go, what the fuck happened ? where did it go ? when did we change ? it doesn't have to be any certain way. Speak your mind, give your heart, no fame to gain, battles lost, all bonds undone. Now, it's all gone, I won't let it go sour. I'll stay until the fight is won. Enough problems, we want answers. It's not lost, it's just begun. It's just begun.

PITY FOR NONE, HATE FOR ALL.

I don't have much to say today, I guess I don't think I have the time to do an in depth analysis of this album anyway, but I thought it was worth a mention, if only to just remind me to give this album some more time in the future. 

For me, the Promise's 'Believer', along with Judge's 'Bringin' it Down', are probably the two quintessential straight edge albums,  two albums that have so much more depth than just some stupid 'fuck you, we're edge' sentiment. Where 'Bringin' it Down' dealt with anger, frustration, mental illness, 'Believer' dealt with a hatred of what hardcore was becoming: Spinelessness and kids in it to get big, but it also had hope. They were frustrated, but they wanted to be proved wrong. It also seemed to be underpinned by a strong feeling of not fitting in with the rest of the world. Two amazing straight edge albums that mean just as much, whether you're edge or not.

It stands out on the musical level too, tough, heavy hardcore but without relying on sounding tough or heavy in the 'usual' way. There's a really metallic vibe, a lot of cool melodic runs and thick, heavy riffs but without resorting to overused chugging. I think it's at it's most powerful when they're not just being a traditional heavy hardcore band. 

'Believer' was released in 2002 on California's Indecision Records, the label that released early material by bands like Throwdown, Bleeding Through and Death by Stereo, and also the label that was behind the re-issue's of Unbroken's discography that were down a few years back. 

If you're interested, you can get yourself a copy of the album here, here or here. You can get an MP3 from their label site here, or you can get a few other songs off myspace here. (Where you can check out an unreleased track too).

As they said themselves, 'words are just words... without heart.'

Oh yeah, anyone wondering where the name 'Trust Comes Tough' comes from? Just listen to opening track on this album and you'll soon know where...

Bane interview

I was looking over some of my old interviews trying to find something cool to put up and I guess this is probably the place to start, this is the first interview I ever did for my first ever zine, the first issue of Give Blood zine (whose name was of course taken from the bane album). Looking back on it over 2 years later, I still think it's one of the best interviews I've ever done and I still think that the interviewee (Aaron Bedard, vocalist of Bane) is one of my most respected people in the hardcore scene. He was such a rad dude to talk to when they toured, shit, I asked him what they were going to play one of the nights and he literally said 'what do you wanna hear man?', I was so dumbfounded that I just said the 2 most stereotypical Bane songs I could think of haha.

Bane has been a part of the hardcore scene for a long time, you’ve seen the rise and fall of a lot of great bands but you guys have stood the test of time. (You’ve been going for 10 years or so now I think?) What do you think has made Bane last as long as it has? And how do you feel about the changes in the hardcore scene that have happened since you started doing Bane? 
I think the reason we've lasted as long as we have is that we've just managed to have enough other things going on in our lives that it never became like a job or the one thing we were all focusing on...we've just tried to keep it fun for ourselves and just stay creative and excited about things...never really loosing sight of why we started the band to begin with 
As for the changes there have been so many, the scene and the kids are changing all the time which is totally natural with a scene that is made up primarily of younger kids who are always changing themselves... some of the bigger changes are just how popular and marketable this sound has become...people can play really aggressive/heavy music these days and headline big tours and make a lot of money so that’s sort of strange...to see kids we know, kids who are basically HC kids on Mtv or in magazines...and another thing is just the popularity of message boards and sites like Myspace where it is so much easier for the masses to get information around...which can be both good as far as a great way to hear new bands/find out about shows and whats going on but can also be bad because its so easy to talk shit and spread rumors and just tear things down 

Carrying on from the last question, I read in an interview with you in Australia’s Blunt magazine 
that you struggle with the idea that Bane is closer to the end than the start and you know its going to have to end sometime, does this mean that you feel Bane wont be around much longer or that you just know the band can’t be active forever? 
well there is no definite end in sight right now...we leave for a tour to Europe tomorrow and will tour this summer with Modern life is War, outbreak and This is Hell early this summer...we are already discussing what we'll do in the fall and have talked a little bit about possibly trying to write some new songs next year..we are all still excited to be in Bane and love playing shows and being on the road and hanging out with new people...but the reality is that we're all getting a little older, 3 of the members are married and have houses and it just feels obvious to me that its going to have to end sooner rather than later...but we haven’t spent much time discussing that and the way it looks now we should still be a band into 2007 and we'll see where it goes from there 

I have heard that Bane has a very active stance against violence at shows, what does this involve? And what do you guys do if kids start dancing too violently or a fight breaks out at one of your shows? 
its tricky because there is a rumor spreading that Bane is anti-dancing which actually couldn’t be further from the truth we love when kids go crazy at our shows and dance hard and dive and sing-along..that is all such a big part of why we still love doing it is that energy and aggression and release... we just have a problem with people intentionally hurting one another...people who come out just to felx how tough they are or intimidate younger, smaller kids...just that whole meatheat mentality that has become so acceptable at shows today...that has nothing to do with dancing or relating to the band in anyway, its just macho bullshit that we do try to stay outspoken against while onstage..we just want to create an environment where EVERYONE can have fun..not just the select few who are the biggest or kick the hardest 
As for fights, we just stop playing and warn everyone that we're not gonna put up with that bullshit and will walk off stage before being the soundtrack for a bunch of idiots beating on kids...it always shocks me that people are surprised or impressed that we do that because honestly it just seems so fucking obvious and like something every band who cares about hardcore or the kids who come to their shows should be doing 

I know Bane touring Australia has been rumored for a long time and you mentioned in the reply to my original interview request that you hope to get down here sometime this year, anymore specific details on when us Aussie kids can expect to see Bane? And also if you can, what has kept Bane away from Australia all these years? 
still no real details on that we keep getting different information and it keeps getting moved around...i know the booking agency is just trying to find the time that will best for us...but yes we are very excited to come there and see for ourselves what its like, every band that goes there goes back with nothing but the most amazing things to say and we really would like to see it all for ourselves...none of us have ever been...right now the rumor is maybe in September, but we've been hearing different things for so long that i'm not gonna believe anything until i see our name on some fliers down there.. but I’ve got my fingers crossed 


Also another last comment about the Australian tour, can we expect to see ‘Can We Start Again’ in your set list if you come over? Cause I know its old but I can’t be the only person wanting to be able to help you sing that singalong! 
yeah we'll definitely play that..its one of 3 or 4 songs that we play pretty much every night and is just so unbelievable to all of us that we have this song that kids seem to connect with and enjoy singing everytime we play it...we are very lucky to have a song like that and still enjoy the hell out of playing it wherever we go (you should hear em in japan!) 

Bane spends a lot of time on the road, how does this life contrast to normal life? And when a tour ends and you get a break are you glad its over or are you eager to get back out there? Also any good tour stories you can share with us? 
the tour story question is always so hard to answer cuz there are so many of them and they are either really long or don’t translate that well on paper but yeah through the years of touring we have had our fair share of cool/crazy/scary/unbelievable things occur...one that leaps to mind is in 2002 we went to Europe and played a squat in Hamburg Germany and Billie Joe and Tre from Green Day just showed up...Green Day was in town promoting some album and they read in the paper that a US hardcore band was playing at this squat where they used to play when they were first starting out so they decided to come check it out...it was a surreal thing seeing Billy Joe just out there in a crowd of about 75 Germans and totally rocking out to us.. afterwards he hung out and was real down 
to earth and had some very nice things to say about our band...that Tre guy was pretty fuckin crazy though 
As for getting off tour you are always happy to be home and with your girlfriend and friends and sleep in a real bed and eat your favorite foods and do all the shit you missed when you were on tour...but for me that lasts about 2 weeks before i start to get restless again and anxious to leave it all behind to get back out there and tour..i guess it must be pretty much the same for all the other guys cuz it seems like every time a tour comes around we're all pretty much ready to crawl back in the van and go...we'll see how much longer that will last

I know that your bass player Pete came up with the concept (and colored in the illustrations) for the artwork for your latest album the note, do you know how he came up with the concept? Cause I have to say I love it, the contrast of the 2 sides, one with the destruction and the other with everything perfect.
yeah he's an incredible artist and we're so lucky to have him and not have to go to any outside sources for our graphics. he and i knew we wanted it to be a very visual layout  
real different from Give Blood but just as ambitious...so we kicked around different ideas trying to find some sort of simple little ominous story we could tell through a series of pictures...we came up with that dark little tale and had our buddy Dave Maganero come up with the drawings and then pete went to work doing his magic with computers and colors and all the subtle things he does and i think it really came out better than i ever imagined...for another great layout of petes check out his other band Silent Drive...their lp Love is Worth It is absolutely breath taking to look at as well as listen to...one of my favorite records of the last 10 years

The artwork for your album before that (Give Blood) was done completely by you guys. Were there any reasons why you wanted to move away from having a separate design company do the artwork for your albums? 
yeah the guy who did the layout for It All Comes Down to This completely fucked it up and ripped us off and it was a complete nightmare that ultimately ended up severing old friendships...the thing just came out looking like a disaster and it still makes me sad every time i look at it because it could have been a really powerful layout if the fuckin idiot had just listened to our instructions...so after that tragedy we just sort of made a pact to not put ourselves through that shit again...to keep the graphics in house and anything we did or failed to do would be on us..we would have no one else to blame or congratulate and i would recommend more bands take the same route and just do things themselves...the tools are out there and its such a sad time when soooo many records look exactly alike because the same 2 or 3 guys are doing all the art work...its really not that hard to just come up with an original idea and execute it...i feel like if i see another skull or blood stain i'm going to throw up 

You entered Bane when the other Aaron (Aaron Dalbec of at the time Converge) had already been playing around with the idea for some time, what made you become so interested in Bane to start off with? And did you ever think it would take off like it did? 
we just wanted to make a hardcore band...Aaron wasn’t too thrilled with the amount of creative input he was given in converge and he was a very talented kid who had a lot to say musically and was looking for an outlet, something that would be a little more hardcore and free form and fun so when he layed that concept out for me and played me the batch of songs he had been working on naturally i got very excited i was excited to see what we could make of it. I honestly had no idea that we would ever be around for as long as we have or had the great fortune to tour as heavily as we have or make the amount of great and lasting relationships we've made simply because of this band...somedays i still have to just stop and shake my head when i think of how it has all turned out 

Speaking of Aaron Dalbec and Converge, I noticed that he was in the credits for Converges Jane Doe album as one of the guitarists. When did he leave Converge to focus on Bane? And how did it work when he did both bands? 
well when he was doing both bands we just toured a little less and sort of always knew that Converge was his main priority and when they needed him he had to go but fortunately they didn’t tour all that much back then and his being in both bands never really posed much of a problem at all...im really not sure what records he played on or didn’t i stopped keeping up with that band after Halo in a Haystack 

On The Note Bane seemed to move in a more experimental direction in some ways (spoken parts, a singing section, and even a piano section) did you guys intentionally try and steer away from just straight up hardcore on the record or did the songs just turn out that way? 
well i dont think we've ever been a typical HC band who played by the rules and did things in a very A-B-C style...as far back as our demo it feels like we've been taking a few chances melodically and just sort of following our instincts as opposed to doing what we thought the scene expected from us...with Give Blood we did a lot of untypical things and Brian Mcternan our producer really brought that out in us and just made us feel comfortable doing whatever the fuck the song needed to be its best...and seeing that record come out as good as it did and people being as impressed with it as they were when it was time to do another record we just had a little bit more of a fearlessness or sense of adventure to how the songs would come out...we were definitely excited to try some new things and just push ourselves in different directions...while at the same time still staying a hardcore band and not trying to get on the radio or sell a bunch more records or anything...we really have always just done what feels right to us when it comes to song writing and never once worried about what 
anyone else would think or say or expect... it always felt like if we were just honest with ourselves then people would see that and respect it 

Banes lyrics have always inspired me in many ways, the themes you touch on in your lyrics are great and written in a really honest way without many metaphors to get in road of the message, how do you manage to write lyrics like that? What inspires you? And what do you try and cover as far as your lyrics go? 
i really just try to work out issues that i'm wrestling with...demons or fears or disappointments...all this stuff starts to build up inside me as i'm sure it does in everyone and i sort of just know i need to work it out somehow...find a way to articulate what’s going on deep in my brain and in doing that it sort helps me to sort all kinds of stuff out...gets me to a better place... its a lot like the way we write songs...i just try very hard to be honest with myself and let it all out on the page...not holding things back or hiding behind some safe image or say a bunch of shit that’s been said a million times before.. 

Any bands in the hardcore scene at the moment that really have you really interested in what they will create in the future? (or even just bands you think are great now?) 
fuck yes...there are so many young bands i'm hyped on right now...it feels like a very exciting time for hardcore with so many cool young bands who seem really passionate about what they are doing...it feels like the phase of looking pretty up there and singing about heartbreak and suicide is finally passing and we're getting back to a place where we are not afraid to stand up and speak out and fight for something other than the cost of fucking hair dye 
i will forget a bunch but heres a short list of bands i'd encourage anyone who loves hardcore to check out: Have Heart, Guns Up, Verse, Sinking Ships, Cold World, Justice, Ruiner, FC5, Down to Nothing... I also got a listen to the new Terror lp the other day and that sounds amazing also 

Lastly before we go I wanted to ask something that I have always wondered since I got a copy of the Give Blood album, who does the full on screamed and almost indecipherable vocals present on a couple of tracks (the big gun down is one of them) on the album? 
thats Zachy J...he's been doing screams on pretty much all our releases and then he went and shocked everyone by actually having this amazing singing voice as you can see on the Silent Drive album (also some great screams) and the verse he sings in Swan Song 

Thanks so much for your time man! Any last comments/thanks/shoutouts? 
nah man, thanks for the interview, sorry it took so long, i hope the answers aren’t too long and that don’t have too many type-o's hopefully we'll see you under very very soon 
peace

Trapped Under Ice

I know it's probably already been said about 405088080 times by various hardcore blogs/zines in the last 6 months, but I'm going to say it myself too: Trapped Under Ice are a fucking great band. Definitely a shining light of hope for modern hardcore. One of the hardest bands getting around these days.

Their 'Stay Cold' 7" of April this year is easily one of the best releases of2008 so far. 10 minutes of  pure anger and hatred, NYHC the way it's meant to be played. Short, violent and with a lot of groove. The intro to the last track sounds like the bastard child of the Murdario Stomp, what more needs to be said?

Please do not sleep on this band. They have a split coming out with a great UK band called Dirty Money in the very near future, check it out.

In other news, life is alright. In the middle of all my uni exams so I guess life is a little bit hectic, but them the breaks. Today has been a pretty generic day really and I doubt it'll get that much better but hey. Gonna sit around and listen to a couple of 7"'s I still haven't listened to now, read over some more maths work and then I might head into the city to buy shit a bit later, not sure if I can be fucked. It just started raining too, good life.