I really don't know shit about Kerli, except that she's Estonian, kind of scene looking in some photos, and kind of annoying musically. Clearly she's a pop industry puppet using the Alice in Wonderland movie to breakout in America, but she comes off as a cutrate Pink or Gaga. I guess the real appeal here is that dudes would want to eff (would), a strategy which I'm not sure sells records. The song is unbelievably bad and kind of detracting from my desire to eff, see below for aural evidence. Not sure what else to say except that Kerli sounds like a good name for a clown or a pet pubic hair.
I'm not sure why it's more appealing to me than Kerli, but I'm kind of digging this Romance on A Rocketship fgt. Dude's rollin solo, but he's from Missouri and probably couldn't find anyone ghey enough to play in his band. I am inadvertently going to see him play in May with the homies Fight Fair and the bros City Lights.
Is that a fucking beauty mark? Naturally, all the merch is hella paedo, note the black tee featuring a red truck with a 4 year old girl driving it- I really hope to see some creeper just hanging outside Build-A-Bear at Easton Town Center wearing that.
C'mon browe, you're getting pussy? Looking like this? How things have changed...
I'm feeling this song though, mad chilled out for the upcoming summer.
Swimming right along in the sea of bullshit, we have the female version of Never Shout Never, Cady Groves. She is also from one of those indiscernable states in the breadbasket full of picked on kids, Oklahoma this time around. Meg White's younger sister with steroid injected hair?
I think the best thing Cady could do for her career is punch Miley Cyrus backstage at a festival to gain notoriety (ala that chick from Bikini Kill vs. Courtney Love). To be honest the video bored me, but kids across the country that say things like "Skiddamarinky-doo. I love you :]" will probably eat this up in the coming months.
In the realm of easycore I'm seeing alot of really unimpressive Four Year Strong knockoffs, but the pick of the litter is Chunk, No Captain Chunk! Yes the name is horrible, even if it is a goonies reference, but I'm lifting my international easycore ban for these Frenchman. I'm not a huge fan of foreign accents in easycore, but the snippet of synth infused, double bass/double-time vocal filled pop-punk below has me salivating for the album, which is currently in the mixing stages.
Lastly but surely not least, is Sleeping With Sirens, on Rise Records whose album I took a listen to and enjoy quite a bit. The least painful way is to check em out is the video for the album track below....a pretty standard v-neck and scene hair affair.
But if you are a sucker for pain, then try and sit through an acoustic version full of awkward faces and studio-lacking missed notes.
My apologies for not going super in-depth with any of these finds, but I hope you found something new you like, or hate for that matter.
I'm a big fan of Christian easycore in general, but nobody moshes 4 christ like A Day To Remember! "Homesick" is probably my favorite record of 2009, so I was super stoked to see that they have a new video/single from it.
Great fucking song, right?? In case you were too busy two-stepping for the Lord, here are some memorable elements to note:
1. Preroll ad [via 'some shitty band who will prolly play at a church near u']
Never ones to miss a chance at cross-promotion, Victory has a full 30 seconds of ads for some band called Close Your Eyes who I've never heard of. Nonetheless, I am sure their album is full of screaming, breakdowns, Truth drums, and heavyhanded lyrics they will try to downplay as soon as they turn 21 and grow out of moshing 4 christ.
This guy does the moonwalk when he gets up to bat [via songs that came out several years before he was born]
Novelty headwear makes easycore videos 35% more bloggable/less threatening to parents who find it on their daughter's iPod Touch [via Victory Records market research]
2. "Zany/viral-ready concept" [via Blink-182] When I was a teen, we watched videos on TRL and talked about the funny ones the next day at school while we worried about current events like the Sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway and checked out alt.music.hardcore via AOL newsgroups. I haven't actually used them myself, but from what I hear on the news, teens these days share music on Facebook, Twitters, and their iPhones, especially when they have "zany" stuff in them like in this video where the guys in ADTR play kickball with a bunch of little kids.
3. Naked fat guy [via New Found Glory]
Apparently ADTR are equally big fans of NFG, borrowing their trademark "hay guise look at the naked fattie lol" move. It's still not funny, but I guess if I was fat I would take whatever attention I could get so I can't fault this lumpy bro for making himself a laughingstock in hopes of "being the guy who will do anything 2 make u laff." It's a little embarrassing, but better than shoplifting a pint of Ben & Jerry's and "eating your feelings" yet again.
4. 182 jersey
In case you couldn't tell, these guys like Blink-182. I like it when bands wear their influences on their sleeve like that. For easycore bands, it is important to make fans feel like you "respect your elders/know ur roots," so they usually go out of their way to tell you what their favorite bands are, even when it's kind of weird and forced like this. For example, if I was in a band, I would make a Fury of Five custom jersey and have a part in our video where I wore a Nautica puffy vest and windmilled like in the "Do Or Die" video.
5. Rockstar product placement
Victory might not have a perfect track record when it comes to picking which bands to sign (cough Hi-Fi & The Roadburners cough), but they know how to capitalize on every opportunity to generate some revenue. For example, they probably got tens of dollars in exchange for the Hooters waitresses/video sluts wearing Rockstar-branded tops. Also, I like the Victory logo in the bottom left-- you can never have too many logos on screen at once. Shrewd move, Brummel!
6. G-rated bros who are too young to have beards/potbellies
It wouldn't be an easycore band without some flabby bros with beards who have never had a drop of alcohol, "said the f-word," or touched a naked boobie. I have not crunched the numbers but I think that at least one quarter of the pixels in this video are devoted to either beardz or paunchy little easycore bellies.
7. The Devil Wears Prada cameo
You can say what you want about TDWP, but they didn't get popular for their looks, as you can see from the unpleasant appearance of their singer, Mike Hranica (above). Also, does anybody else think he looks like Harley Flanagan from NYHC legends Cro-Mags??
8. Synchronized crabbing (feat. mesh shorts)
Is this an affectionate nod to crabcore pioneers Attack Attack or a desperate attempt at playing catch-up?? I am not sure, but either way, they have added something new to the crabcore formula that instantly made me think of ShawnYouWillHate: MESH SHORTS! I haven't seen so many pairs of black mesh shorts (or as we call them in the industry "active bottoms" [srsly]) since I went to a Winds of Plague show!
"I can't decide which is my favorite book of the Old Testament, Leviticus or Deutoronomy!!!"
What is your favorite part of this music video?? Does ADTR make you want to two-step all the way to church? Do u like Blink-182/NFG as much as these bros do? If u made a video, what custom jersey would u make??
I will begin this piece with a question. Who, if anyone, is worthy of the title of standard bearer for this generation? Who's artistic, political or philosophical endeavours puts them on par with the heroes of yesteryear, immortalised to eternally smile down on future generations. Most people, without a shadow of a doubt, would most likely bestow this accolade upon Kanye West, who is widely regarded as the Genius of the Generation. I would challenge this view though, and put forward my own personal hero as the voice of youth. I am of course referring to Spanky, or, Spankyfuck, of Dot Dot Curve :) and my newly found adoration comes mostly from the discovery of the pure genius that is Dot Dot Curve :) TV!
I am a massive fan of Dot Dot Curve and have regarded it's main propagator, Spanky, in the highest artistic regard possible since I discovered him and the wealth of wit, introspection and intelligence nestled into his many writings. Indeed, I feel that my job as a blogger, and by extension Stuff You Will Hate, will never reach it's Apex until the "about me" on Dot Dot Curve's myspace is snugly nestled in Vern Mclellan's "Wise Words and Quotes".
"About Spanky..... he is a BAMF who just dont give a flying fuck what you think! why is he all inked up in funny shit? cuz he dont give a fuck. why does he have fucked up hair? cuz he just dont give a fuck. he does what he wants. if he likes it he does it and dont give a fuck if anyone else does. he doesnt care or want your approval. only thing spanky cares about is music."
This may seem at first glance like a flash in the pan stroke of genius that is pretty hard to beat, however if you happen upon some Dot Dot Curve Lyrics you will find that he's doing this kind of thing all the time. For example, just look at the critically acclaimed prose on the modern masterpiece "Rocket Ship to the Moon"
"Oh my god, it's like when the see me all they see is my freakish hair and my freakish lip rings And they're like what the fuck kid you're a fucking freak! And it's like I can't wear some tight jeans and a tight t with some high tops and some shutta shades Without them being like what the fuck kid you're a fuckin freak A freak you're a fucking freak freak freak freak Freakish tat's freakish dat freakish this freakish shizz Like what the fuck, kid you're a fucking freak!" (the rest is pretty much just "Imma take my Rocket Ship To The Moon!" ad infinum)
Here we see that Spanky has cleverly reduced himself to the clothes he wears, his accessories and his "Freakish Tats", and by listing these in obsessively meticulous detail has highlighted to his "Haters", that all they are in fact "hating on" are these superficial items, and that beneath these he is merely a "kid", as oppose to a "fucking freak".
Anyway, having already conquered the realms of both music and poetry, I was delighted to discover that now Spanky has begun to venture into the medium of television. Well, actually just youtube, but it's called Dot Dot Curve TV, so presumably this is just a ruse until VH1 picks them up as a full time reality show.
Anyway, DDCTV is essentially the look into the warped and extremely childlike minds of DDC we've all been waiting for, and kind of a mix of both standard "fuckin' aboot" footage, and 2-3 grown men making embarrassing shorts (complete with choppy cutting and acting) of the type you probably made when you were about 10 and found a video camera for the first time.
In episode 1, the "Pilot", I think Spanky was still getting to grips with this new artistic medium. It features the band in some kind of self imposed interview setting, mumbling about inane shit for a while, in some kind of indecipherable American drawl. To be honest, Spanky is reasonably unspectacular, while Jayreck (the fat one) is the one who makes the biggest manchild of himself. All through this one I couldn't shake the thought that this guy has a fucking kid.
There is also some of that wonderful new trend we see used by youtube comedians the world over, where when someone says something weird and not funny they replay it several times in slow motion, so their voice gets all slow and sounds like some kind of morbidly obese abortion. Go to 1:28 to see what I mean.
Episode 2 is when things start getting a little bit David Lynch, while seemingly unrelated and unplanned events unfold with zero narrative, but if you dig deeper, ones that are actually hiding some quite potent cryptic metaphors. The band are fucking around in a toyshop, then suddenly eating nachos in black and white with an ominous ambient drone, then Jayreck turns Spanky into chocolate with axe bodyspray, then the duo try and raise Spizzy (aka, the guy from Dropping A Popped Locket) for a 3-way call, only for Spizzy to suddenly turn into a vegetable. We end on Jayreck shouting "Spizzy!!!" into the camera, before once again using that fucking slow-mo effect, and then fading into black, before the by now iconic shot of Spizzy saying "word" rolls, and the credits commence. I believe this could be Spanky trying to highlight that instead of bringing us together, technological advances such as the mobile phone, and social networking sites, are infact simply amplifying our loneliness. A powerful ending indeed, that one day will be up there with Casablanca.
The third episode is widely considered the best by most film and tv critics, due in part to the parallels with pulp fiction and reservoir dogs, and its method of tackling sensitive issues such as paedophilia. In the aftermath of a botched robbery, Spanky and Jayreck find themselves taken hostage by a pair of sexually deviant pre-pubescent boys. They are then made to undergo a series of trials, each more depraved than the next. Eventually, after bringing one of the captors to climax in an intense battle of wits, they are allowed to leave, although the price of the freedom is heavily emphasised. Famously cited as the Scene "Salo and the 120 days of Sodom".
Episode 4 saw, with the increased budget after the success of the first 3, a much larger supporting cast, as well as being able to secure rights to film at some zoo, creating a much more visually rich piece than previously possible. Some however, argued that the original flair of Spanky's earlier work was compromised by this, and the debate rages to this day.
We also learn that Jayreck lives with his fucking grandmother.
Episode 5 features, in quite a heartwarming send off for season 1, a series of some of Dot Dot Curve's best performances. I learnt that they have a live guitarist, who randomly solos at parts, which rather surprised me (4:36). It also features one of the most underwhelming signing sessions in the history of man, featuring several tween girls being told to say for the camera "dot dot curve is awesome".
Did anyone else want to bite of their own penor in cringe when this ugo awkwardly squeezed out "I want them to be my best friends..."? She also looks exactly like Austin Carlile
The message boards are already going wild in speculation for season 2, and many theories are being flung: Will Spizz return, will Jayreck ever rise to the challenge of parenting, what has Spanky been doing in preparation for directing and staring next time.......
As I have said many times before, I am old. I am a firm believer in getting information straight from the horse's mouth, so when it comes to learning more about what teens these days are into, what better source than an actual upper-middle class, suburban teenage girl?? On that note, please welcome our newest contributor, YeahYouKnowIt's 16 year-old little sister Calleiente! We are stoked to have her on board and hope to see more from her in the future!
And for anybody who thinks I am ghost-writing these posts, that couldn't be less accurate. I wish I could take credit for the work of YYKI and company, but it's 100% theirs and theirs alone. Can't deal with the fact that two sisters who aren't even old enough to buy light beer are funnier than you?? Tough break, go listen to Outspoken and cry yourself to sleep. - Sgt D
Back in 2k7, when it was cool/normal/healthy to be scene, I got rly into it. With my downward angle Myspace photos and colored extensions, you could say the scene and I were in a committed relationship; I still got the Hot Topic Rewards Cards to prove it. Now, my mnstrm friends have become less accepting of the scene (as Charlie Scene said, “it ain’t east being scene-y”), and morphed into those classic A&F kewl kids that I never really wanted to be. I followed, but still kept my musical/style roots in the scene, which led me to this horrifying discovery.
Back in the day, before the inflated hair of Melissa Millionaire (luv u bby), one scene queen dominated Myspace; Taylor Bebop. Anybody who was anybody on Myspace got their layout from this adorable chick, who was also the genius behind the ever-popular-in-2k6/7/8 Myspace contest site Tuff Kids -- a place for scene pretties to show off their siq hair and too legit threads, so other ppl can assure them they look kyoot enough to bear the title of scene. Taylor Bebop was my gurl, and I wanted to grow up to be just as Myspace famous as her… Then this happened:
I dunno what it means 2 hav a 'Stanky Leg,' but I'm pretty sure it happened to my cousin's horse b4 they put it down.
When I first came across this video a couple months ago, I thought it was a joke. Okay, so Bebop is friends with some OTWs, who thought it would be funny to park their white 2004 Chrysler Sebring outside school on a Saturday and do the Stanky Leg. I see the humor.
DAMN, Taylor Bebop picked up her copy of Southern Swagger 9?! The only way I could cop that shit was sneakin into the Media Play while my mom was tryin on vests at the Dress Barn.
Now this video is a little harder to interpret from a scene point of view. I love rap and throwing around 'racial obscenities' just as much as any other white kid, but there isn’t one scene band in here. You’d expect any respectable scene queen to put something along the lines of Breathe Carolina or 3OH!3 before Bone Thugz N Harmony, right?!
Curious about the future of this OG Scenester, I snooped around on Myspace, and found some disturbing photos… As much as it pains me to say this, Taylor Bebop, my scene idol, is a member of her high school step team. For those of you who are unfamiliar with 'steppin’, imagine the Negro version of tap dance, without the cute outfits. This activity is reserved almost solely for OTWs, the most prominent demographic being blk ppl, with some cholos thrown in every once and a while. Movies like “Stomp The Yard” and “Drumline” have taught me that good 'steppas' have to be members of fraternities, and have experienced some sort of emotional turmoil that makes them express their brooding feelings through moves akin to afrikan tribal shit. White ppl are generally excluded from this activity, unless a talented wigger wants to rly ‘fit into the urban culture’ and ‘be fly,’ and can demonstrate their skillz in some sort of all out battle at a house party.
I guess steppin' is lyke the 'special olympics' of school spirit activities? You can tell by the like, three spectators that no one really cares, but they feel 'all guilty inside' not cheering.. GO BEBOP! YAYYYYY!!!
Just as I thought I’d lost Bebop for good, her Myspace album “THE WHIP,” shed some light on my otherwise 'sad/lonely/confused existence.' Bebop has a black Scion XB, decked out with rainbow glitter, diamond A/C knobs, purple LED lights, and to top off any respectable scene chariot, a chrome Hello Kitty decal.
Since I'm the only chick here at SYWH, I though it was my responsibility to do something 'mushy and sentimental' for one of our very own on his special day. Turning 21 is a big deal here in the states becuz u can finally throw awake that fake ID that says you're 35 and makes u look like the love child of Vanilla Ice and Frida Kahlo. Although he's European, and thus been steadily shwasted since abt the age of 6, his bday still falls on St. Patty's Day, so here's to you getting sloppy drunskt and dipping into some lovely scene tail.
I took the liberty of picking out little YouTube presents to give to you from Sergeant D and ShawnYouWillHate -- I'm sure that later they'll awkwardly pretend to know what the gift had been all along, like that shower radio u 'bought' for ur dad when u were in kindergarten.
From Sergeant D: Happy Birthday from THE BEEBZ! With SYWH's new found luv 4 all things tween, what better gift to give a newly adult bro than a bit of Justin Bieber? Pretend ur name is Cheyenne nd let that sweet, prepubescent Canadian voice serenade you.
From ShawnYouWillHate: Happy Birthday Moro Mou This is pretty sentimental and yet artsy at the same time -- all from sum azn named CrunkChrizz. I'd like to see more from this bro, cuz as he says, he's "just freestylin around...^^ I got a lil rusty hahahah nvm" At the top of his game I bet this boy pops locks AND drops it.... daaayummm! P.S. The Hallmark quotes in the beginning r a real nice touch. I think they accurately convey how we feel abt u, Eyelicker! Plz watch the whole thing.
From YeahYouKnowIt: Birthday Sex - To Kill The King/Screamo cover Since I'm a girl I'm allowed to give u a song called 'Birthday Sex' without it being ghey. It sorta reminds me of being young again, when sex was a gift. I still remember my 8th grade bf asking for a mexican kiss for his bday (south of the border, get it?). Needless to say I told him I preferred burritos over taquitos.. Anyways, I hope u like this screamo cover of some R+B attempt at feigned sentimentality. If the thought of a screamo cover of this song doesn't completely terrify you, the uncomfortably commanding chorus sure as fuck will. Mad luv bbz! xoxox
And from the whole crew at SYWH, here's the adorable/closeted/techy/recently chubby Mitchell Davis in what is quite possibly my fave bday vid 'of all time'!
Deny it all they want, but girls luv looking eff-able. Not d2f, but pleasantly doable and desired enough to elicit double takes from the hottie working the fitting room at Hollister and to earn free Malibu-pineapples at their college bar. This o4b status (Open For Business, for those that have been living in their mom’s basement for the past 10 yrs) isn’t as hard to achieve as New York City girls would have you think.
While we rock a LBD and hooker heels better than any tranny this side of Melrose Blvd., we have a notoriously hard time achieving the o4b daytime look perfected by OSU co-eds and strippers-turned-MILFs/rich cougars on the prowl 4 young dick/other older chicks u secretly want 2 eff. I dunno why – maybe it’s bcuz most of us are so srs when it cums 2 fashion that we can’t just ‘have fun with it.'
pink cheetah print: WANT... 'full coverage': DO NOT WANT
Victoria’s Secret must have heard our boyfriends’ complaints because this weekend they finally opened the much-anticipated Pink store in Soho. If you’ve checked out SYWH’s Spring 2K10 Lookbook you already know we all love Pink – and for good reason! As a girl, I heart knowing I can be comfy and still have guys give my ass the once-over. Respectively, guys like a girl who can throw their hair in a ponytail nd hit the mall with them on a Sunday morning, looking cute even after a night of SoCo shots and shitty blow. Pink grants all these wishes and throws it in a sparkly bag with a lil stuffed doggie – can you really think of anything better?
some super keut/bright tees and bikinis
The selection at Pink Soho – the first Pink-exclusive store in NYC – isn’t as well stocked as the website (and the undies are like, all briefs......barf) but I did manage to get some awesome stuff – a lot of which isn’t available online but scene as fuck! While I doubt Pink will be stealing any customers away from Kiki De Montparnasse anytime soon, the uptight NFC chicks of NYC should def hit up Pink for a taste of the young, fun side of fashunnn.
almost bought this..
P.S. Working in the fashion industry taught me that thanks to Google Alerts for 'nyc pink soho store grand opening' some PR chick from Pink will def be reading this article – so when u do, feel free 2 send me sum free stuff girl (sz small, neon colorways – you know the drill) and I'll post about it! Hit me up at yeahyouknowitbaby@gmail.com ;)
any1 that know me knows that hearts r my jam! luved this entrance!
Hope u lyked the pics I took, all stealth-like, during their grand opening! What do u think of the new Pink? Will you be hitting up Pink for ur self/gf/wifey/fuckbuddy? Any suggestions of things I should get on my next trip?
A few weeks ago, I woke up and saw an email I never imagined I would receive: "MIKE CHEESE has sent you a message." "Mike Cheese is on Facebook?!" I asked myself, "WTF. And why in the world would he email me??" For those who don't know, Mike is the singer for the legendary West Coast hardcore band Gehenna. I interviewed him about 15 years ago for my old zine, and he wrote to thank me for it. Weird, right?? Yes, but also pretty thoughtful for the guy who would stab his mother in the face, according to the hardcore rumor mill.
If you haven't heard of Gehenna, I don't blame you. There are some bands who never sell a lot of records, play many shows, or make a lot of merch, yet somehow have a legacy much more lasting than you would think. Like Von, Havohej, Antidote, or Straight Ahead, Gehenna is one of those bands. I got their demo in 1995 or so and have listened to it consistently ever since. It's a masterpiece of pissed off, grimy, brutal hardcore that has stood the test of time in way that almost no other releases of the 90s did, but for some reason most people don't talk about that.
When you hear about Gehenna, it's usually some herbs on a messageboard trading third-hand stories about singer Mike Cheese and how "crazy" he is. "Dude I heard Mike Cheese stabbed some dude" - "No he ran him over with a bulldozer" - "Nah man, he was the guy who released the nerve gas on the subway in Japan back in the day" and so forth. My guess is that he made up half of them for a joke, and the other half are from movies or something. I am sure some of them are true, but I am old and I'm not that interested in stories about how tough or crazy people in hardcore bands are, so I wanted to talk to Mike about something different.
Thanks to Mike for answering my dumb questions in 1996, and for taking the time to answer a new set of dumb questions in 2010!
--
A newish Gehenna studio track, "Seven Crowns" (newish meaning less than 10 years old)
I first interviewed you about 15 years ago for my high school hardcore zine. Please introduce yourself and tell me what you have been up to since then. Do you remember what you thought of my stupid questions, aside from "Who is this fucking 16 year-old gaywad and why am I wasting my time on this?", and why did you email me a few weeks ago? It has been quite a while, and some things have changed, but only a few. I’m Mike. I have been involved pretty heavily in a few different musical subcultures, playing in bands, releasing records, booking shows, and working in both the wholesale and retail sides of the music industry. I been given nick names like “Cheese”, “Mike Apocalypse”, “Big Lil City”, “The Disappointer”, “Michelada Mike”, and a bunch more for reasons that evade me. But they all stick and I like ‘em so I keep using them. When you sent me a copy of your ‘zine in 1995 there was an interview next to the letter. The zine had a photo of GEHENNA on the cover, and a full page with 6 different GEHENNA pictures, that were all taken by my friend Andrew from Phoenix, yet you were from Lakewood Ohio.
One of the finest 90s hardcore records, sadly it's fucking impossible to find. You can probably download it somewhere though.
I didn’t know what to think (later that day I was told that a thing called “the internet” existed and that was how you got those flix from Andrew). I was amazed. I thought things like “A kid from Ohio who likes my band has a computer?” and “Who would use a computer to do anything but math?” “This guy must have some sort of fucking alien technology if he can send pictures and do shit like that.” I was stunned. The ‘zine was full of cool stuff like graffiti flix, and interviews with some good bands. When I read the questions I thought “awesome. Lets get everyone together after band practice and do this interview.”
When we looked at it after it was done we thought it was a good interview and it should be printed with great response. The unfortunate truth was that it may have been a little too sarcastic. It was possibly the funniest thing in the world for me to see things like “420 + 40 = Fucked Up” And “I would like to thank pot and fire and the creator of pot on fire”. We were all straight edge but that was all stuff that we laughed about. Anyhow time passed and a friend of mine that I work with asked me about that interview and who did it. I told him it was a fellow named [Sergeant D]. He asked if you were Irish and I thought I should look it up on the internet and find out (I sort of understand computers a bit better now). Then lo and behold who do I see on facebook: [Sergeant D].
THE OLD INTERVIEW (FROM 1996)
I interviewed Mike Cheese from Gehenna. He wasn’t very nice, but since I went to the trouble of writing him I guess I might as well print this anyway... I don’t think it turned out very well, but interviews aren’t very interesting to begin with so whatever.
What’s up in San Diego? It seems like the stereotype is that they’re all screamo Gravity type bands... It’s really hard to say cause we all live in different parts of the West. One in San Diego, two in Orange County, and 2 in Reno, Nevada. As far as the “scene” in general everywhere in the US sucks shit pretty much. And Southern California is no different. Stupid ass people and crumby ass motherfucking chump bands everywhere you look. Fashion rules while any real threat takes a back seat. Hardcore is shit!
How would you say the band has changed since it started? The demo is pretty straightforward HC, while the split w/ Apt. 213 is more grindy. Gehenna is a band with a sort of “revolving door” line up. Members come and go, each adding or subtracting a bit of an influence or another. But it seems to always move to a more extreme form of music every time.
How many people in the band write? (I meant write graffiti...) None of us are illiterate. But when it comes to writing letters to friends or what not, you’d think so!
What records do you still have available? I couldn’t help ya there. Sorry.
I heard you got in a fight or something in San Francisco when you played with Spazz and Fall Silent. What’s up with that? I got Terrets Syndrom and sometimes shit just goes wrong and I’ll freak the fuck out and just start doing wild shit. I don’t remember exactly but you can ask the nerd who does Monkydickbite zine. He was at our show to pretend he was punk but went outside to fag off and suck some cock to get an interview or scene points for his gay ass zine. Or maybe ask the vegan Monster Crew fag, who thought he was tough and wound up layed on his sissy vegan ass. I don’t fuckin’ know though.
What bands / records / people are you into right now? We like a ton of stuff here’s the rundown: Bands: GG Allin, The Motherfucking Titty Suckers, Avalanche Master, Fall Silent, Unruh, Apeshit, DEA, Schellar, DRI, Chain of Strength, Enewetak, the Chiefs, Catharsis, Sleep, the Police, The whole Rap-A-Lot Records family, Gehenna (us of course!), Herb Alpert and the TJ Brass, and 3 Stoned Men! Records: 7”, 12”, and misdemeanors. Felony’s (sic) are to (sic) hard to shake. People: “The 3-D’s”: Dice, Dangerfield, and el Duce.
When you hear about people in bands like Nirvana, Pennywise, etc. dying from overdoses, what’s your reaction? I hope our band end’s up like that. I couldn’t give a flyin’ fuck. Suicide is the only answer anyway’s. Just do it. Kill everybody.
Anything you want to add / thank / talk shit about? I would like to thank: Everyone who is dead for not bothering me, the inventor of pot and the inventor of fire, the inventor of pot on fire, and all the bad words that make people mad. I would like to talk shit to: Everyone alive for bothering me. I want to add: 420 + 40oz = fucked up’ 420 + 69 = party! Shout outs: “Check me out.” “That’s what men’s do.” “Sometimes I just loose my mind when I play drums.” ‘Blow me.”
Most people are going to read this hoping for some OUTRAGEOUS MIKE CHEESE STORIES. That would be a boring and entry-level angle, but what's up with that? Why are people so fascinated with telling outrageous and probably half-true stories about you, especially Euros? I mean, I'm sure you ARE fucking crazy at times, but what's so interesting about that, you know?? If you are/were friends with Levi Watson you must not be a total dickhead and you're not in prison... There are a few reasons I end up in peoples stories.
A.) My nick names. It’s a lot easier to remember something like “then this guy named CHEESE walks in the room...” rather than “then this guy who i cant remember... wait was it Tom... no... Mark.....no...”. I’m sure you understand this cause your name is [SERGEANT D]. People like names and labels for things which leads us to...
B.) Communication. I talk to all kinds of people, because I’m interested in different things (travel, film, music, art, humor, food, sports, history, fashion etc.) So folks from different backgrounds will all say things “Dude, I heard him talking to a guy about Nike’s, and then talking to a girl about death metal, and then cooking with this old lady...” This confuses people so they get upset. Our society makes us stick to the group of people we are supposed to run with.
C.) Fear. Nothing is interesting or outrageous about me, most people are just really fucking lame. They never say anything funny or smart about anything because they’re afraid they might look bad. They never fight anybody or love anybody because they are afraid to get hurt. They just don’t fucking care about life because they are afraid. I’m not. I don’t care what people think about me. I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll die, so I’m gonna do and say what I want until then. So people like myself become a focal point of stories.
Levi is a great friend and a good guy. He’s married and has a couple of real smart kids and a cool house now.. He teaches high school and won the teacher of the year award in Reno a couple of years straight. He’s a great dude and I have tons of respect and love for him.
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My favorite Gehenna song, from the [fucking great] demo
From reading your blog, it's obvious that you are a genuine fan of music. What keeps people like us interested in music for so long, as opposed to a phase like it is for a lot of people? Not that there's anything wrong with it being a phase, I'm not pulling the gay "I'M OLD/DOWN 4 LIFE YOU POSERS!!" card-- I'm just looking for your thoughts on why you, me, and many other people we know have chosen to spend so much of our lives on this thing? I realized I went to and loved hardcore shows in 1989, 1999 and still do in 2009... I think it goes back to what I wrote in the last question...“most people are just really fucking lame.” They think of everything in life as a prop, or an additive. Music is background rather than something to be passionate about. The record store I worked at made this brutally obvious to me. There were the drones, that were coming in to buy the latest fad record from a “cool” band, and then there were the outsiders who were curious about life. Some of these outsiders were young kids who couldn’t relate to society because of it’s shallowness. Others were grown people who had spent there lives doing what they love and seeking out new inspiration. These were the people like you and I who didn’t give a fuck what people thought.
Being passionate about things has nothing to do with age. It is all based on how perceptive your senses are. I’ve seen 40 year olds rip on skateboards, and 16 year old kids praise the righteous name of THIN LIZZY. To me it seems the more passionate and perceptive a person is the more likely they are to be involved in the things that inspire them through out their lives. Weather it is cooking, or turning wrenches, or art, or music, or reading, it isn’t a phase if you love it.
Let's play What's In The Background: some girl in a 90s-style babydoll dress who appears to be trying not to fart, several dudes in giant Droors jeans, fat kid in punk vest, token semi-hot raver girl. Yep, it's a 90s hardcore show!
It's also clear that you have really eclectic tastes. I remember when I first interviewed you, I was real stoked that you were in what I thought of as a hardcore band but were also into GG Allin, Rap-A-Lot Records, and other stuff that was pretty unexpected (especially for back then when people had much narrower tastes). You also did a split with Apartment 213, which was surprising for people like me who thought of Gehenna as an Unbroken splinter band (see Javier's interview with Steven from Unbroken for details on why I thought this). What makes you appreciate such a wide variety of music? Why do some people have shitty taste and only get into 1 genre? Myself and all the guys in GEHENNA have always been into tons of different stuff. That is why we sound the way we do. We’ve never tried to have any one kind of sound. It’s more like we just incorporate all of our favorite music together and use it as a vehicle for our aggression. We never fit one type of genre because we don’t fit in any specific scene. We never have and never will. We just play the music we want to hear because we aren’t content making music for anyone but ourselves. I think we appreciate tons of different music because we are diverse and multidimensional people.
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A classic from the Rap-A-Lot vaults: Geto Boys "My Mind Playin Tricks On Me"
When a person only likes one type of music it is usually because that genre or scene is where that boring and mediocre person has found some sort of acceptance. They use it as a sort of weapon against living. Unfortunately when they have to deal with life, they lay down their weapon and surrender and become another robot. This is when they look back at their “life before life” as a passing phase. And again...”Most people are fucking lame.”
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Some live footage. I have no idea when this is from or who is in the band at this point other than Mike, but it's pretty good.
When I got the answers back from our first interview, I was real bummed that you were obviously not straightedge or in the Revelation/Victory, YOT/Snapcase hardcore kid mold, because that's how I pictured Gehenna based on the Unbroken connection. Why did people care so much about things like that back in the 90s? It seems like now nobody gives a fuck?? The funny thing is that we were all straight edge at the time, though you are right we were not the typical hardcore dudes. The UNBROKEN connection (which you mentioned twice now for some reason I don’t understand) was an obvious mistake on your part. Even though Steve played drums in GEHENNA briefly, there really was no direct link. We were, are and always will be a far better band, because we make music for ourselves not for people involved in a scene. I think when people need to feel accepted they do odd things. They wont say things that are deemed offensive for fear of rejection. I think it is the same now but in a different and much worse way. No one is worried about what you eat or weather or not you smoke or drink or do drugs. Now all anyone cares about is why you don’t have a twitter account, or why you don’t follow their twitter page, or why you haven’t posted a youtube video response to something no one will care about in 2 months.
I think the writing on this flyer is Mike's? Pretty tight.
I tried to ask you about graffiti back in that old interview but you didn't want to talk about it. You had some real nice 90s San Diego-style tags, what's up with that? Were you a writer or what? I still follow graffiti pretty closely, do you? I always avoid questions about legal issues. I’ve never painted with a Montana can and I never will. I still like Pilots. I never was an artist. I ruin property, and lives.
Do you listen to any newer bands? If so, who? Just curious if/how your tastes have evolved over the years. Yeah I like a ton of stuff. THE FARLEY OVERDOSE is fucking awesome! NIFELHEIM. GIVING TREE. BLIND TO FAITH. VIOLENT RULER. UN PACINO. DER BLUTHARSCH. OVERVERT. BIG KUNTRY KING. AUTOLUX. CRYSTAL ANTLERS. RASTHOF DACHAU. RUSTEE JUXX. REPROACH. MDDL FNGZ. GUILTY SIMPSON. Of course the one and only SEAN PRICE.
I don’t know about evolving taste, because I’ve always had great taste. It doesn’t get much more evolved than that. I know that sounds odd but it is true. Most of the stuff I like and most of the stuff I’ve been into for years are things that seem to challenge the listener, as well as the musician.
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Thanks to Mike for the thoughtful and interesting responses! If you aren't already into Gehenna, definitely do yourself a favor and buy whatever you can get your hands on (or download anything that's out of print).
In the most significant development since NPR used SYWH as a source for their crunkcore article, television comedy show Saturday Night Live aired a humorous crunkcore song last night (via famous Jew/comedian Andy Samberg).
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What do u think this means for the genre?? Has it 'jumped the shart' or is it going 2 be more popular than ever? Will Breathe Carolina or BrokeNCYDE ever do cameos in a 'digital short' that becomes the next 'campus viral sensation'??
Have u ever wondered how they make horsies/ponies??? I never really thought about it until I saw this commercial for Bella Sara on TV when I was at the gym the other day. I don't really know what Bella Sara is, but I endorse it!
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The horsies rub their necks together, then a pretty baby horsey comes out! She's so pretty!!!
I liked this commercial so much I decided to have a tea party in my backyard with all my favorite cute animals. I made some cookies, biscuits, tea and invited all of my best animal friends: bear, deer, bunny, kitty, puppy, and turtle (he was late though lol). It was so fun, and I felt so pretty in my new dress!!
Who would you invite to your animal tea party?? What is your favorite kind of horsey? Do you ever call them "clip-clops" like I do??
Much in the same way that shirtless tweens like to do Screamo covers of "The Biebz", I have recently discovered another trend amoung bored middle class white kids. As we all know from the seemingly endless stream of Mills related content recently, nothing soaks underage scene panties like that dude, and now we have another disturbing manifestation of this.
The "Patient Zero", of awkward T Mills covers. Note how the cat really wishes he wasn't there.
heart the annoying chick in the Whitechapel tee
"At the ennnnnd, I say he gives my vagina an erection and if I had a penis, he'd give it one to :)" - Wut?!?!?
Obviously a big thing with the OTWs
The last one is the most worrying to me, as they appear to be in some kind of shop/gallery/public space. Who knows quite what overtook them here, that they absolutely had to whip out their Macbook and do it right there, instead of in the safety of their own homes, free from the confused creepy azn guy behind them. Love how whenever the lyrics get particularly raunchy they hastily glance over their shoulder, presumably in case their parents (who probably own said macbook) hear them, although they definately dont seem to give a shit about azn dude.
One last thing, before I go, In addition to Monday's post, I would also like to add that animal cruelty is neither cool nor scene, and that you take a moment to remember John.......
The whole emo/scene crowd has thus far evaded any kind of mega tragedy beyond the odd dead brit tween, untill now! Finally we have some kind of fucked up happening to make the world fear and respect us, like Burzum did for black metal!
This is kind of old news I guess in internet time (as in it occured last month), but most of you oldz will no doubt have let it pass you by.
The lowdown is this; Picture of decapitated dog's head surfaces on the internets, on the 4chan animal board of all places, thus spuring a huge fucking detective game to track down those responsible. Within only a few days, and an impressive effort on 4chan's behalf, involving phone calls to suspects, myspace stalking, and even one dude (under the pseudonym "Niggertroll") traveling to all the suspects houses to personally question them and report back, a fucked up circle of emo (scene 1.0) kids with a twighlight obsession was uncovered, and this "Wolfie" chick deduced to be the one who actually killed the dog, with everyone else in the circle eventually blaming her.
Whether or not she actually killed the dog or not is still under debate. The dog turned out to be an ex stray called Rigsby that was adopted by some family, before going missing, next to be seen on the internet, sans body. Wolfie claimed the dog was roadkill she decapitated as part of her taxidermy interest.
Erm...not sure if want
Anyways, the ED article has pretty much everything that ever happened involving the messy event, including complete dox on all involved (as well as a frankly disturbing pic of Wolfie giving some dude head). It essentially involves a circle of emo tweens, some kind of Dawson's Creek esque relationship drama, and some aleged animal cruelty to top it off. It pretty much reads like an episode of CSI. Whevs.
If you dont have the time, peep this much more consise news article here.
:(
What do you think? Is animal cruelty scene? or more of an emo thing? Will patron saint of PETA Oli Sykes be getting involved?
P.S If you want cheering up after that downer, click here.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if Mr. Clean fronted a Judge cover band? By now any oldz reading this already know that I'm talking about Southern California's kings of generic hardcore, STRIFE. To be fair, they started in 1990, which is perhaps the single worst year in the history of hardcore-- when your peers are Billingsgate, Mean Season, and post-Soulforce Revolution 7 Seconds, it's understandable for you to do some questionable things. In the case of Strife, not only did they put out some incredibly dull records, but singer Rick Rodney also appeared in a dreadful movie entitled GODMONEY.
But first, a bit about Strife...
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Rick Rodney today: MY GOD THIS ORANGE MUSTACHE
In addition to having what might be the very most generic name ever, Strife basically sounded like an even-less-interesting version of the Judge LP, with almost all of the songs featuring exceedingly drawn-out, melodramatic intros with Rick Rodney screaming about some unidentified, "deep" topic. Imagine a band who created several albums of "The Storm." Early 90s hardcore bands liked to do this kind of thing a lot: bad Metallica copy riffs with the singer talking about how their soul was on fire or something. Quick, fetch the soulfire extinguisher! [Credit to Andy Goat for that joke]
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A "good" Strife song
Anyhow, Strife were very popular back in the day, up there with Earth Crisis, Snapcase, and Integrity, although as far as I can tell they're mostly forgotten these days. It's probably just as well, as you can tell from the song above, but they do have a certain special place in my heart as perhaps the since least interesting band in hardcore (the aforementioned Mean Season are in the running too).
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This later Strife video combines a variety of tired, overused imagery so clumsily that it gives Jake Bannon a run for his money in the hack dept
Southern California was also home to Darren Doane, an up-and-coming music video director who you might know from his work with Christian ska legends Supertones, Christian pop punk legends MXPX and Christian metalcore legends As I Lay Dying. Unwilling to rest on his laurels as the king of videos moderately popular Christian rock bands, he teamed up with the singer of Strife to produce GODMONEY, an independent film about the dangers of drug use.
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Christian ska: Exhibit A in the trial against the white race
From the back of the box:
"Godmoney" is a story of urban survival and set in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Nathan leaves New York and tries to leave his past of crime, drug addiction and life on the streets behind. Once in California he tries to put his life together, but is befriended by Matthew, a small time dealer who recruits Nathan to work for him. Nathan's life is turned upside down when Matthew offers him twenty thousand dollars to kill a rival dealer. Nathan must decide if everyone, including himself, has a price.
One interesting twist is that Christian Bale was originally cast as the lead, but Doane ran out of money and swapped him out for Rick Rodney. That must have hurt, kind of like trading in your M5 for a Ford Fiesta. Bale's part is still in the film, but it's only the first 5 minutes or so.
Here's a few parts of the movie:
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Part 1
I wish Rick would have sported this look in Godmoney
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Part 2
Being a young mosher, I was super stoked for this film as soon as I heard that Rick Rodney was in it. I saw it in theater and thought it was fucking awesome-- so EDGY and POWERFUL! That feeling stayed with me until I bought it for $1 the other day at Walmart. While I loved the film when I was 17, suffice to say that Father Time has not been kind to Godmoney. Not even a little bit. This movie is positively wretched, as you already know if you watched more than 4 seconds of the clips above.
Groups of ppl you would like to spray with AIDS: XDoaneX kicking it with the singer of Buck Cherry.
To be clear, I'm not trying to hate on Rick Rodney. He was real nice the few times I ran into him, and you can't fault him for playing the role he was asked to. When it comes to Strife, I kid because I love. I place the blame for this turd on Darren Doane. What else would you expect from the guy who has made videos for the likes of Underoath, Nile, Norma Jean, and Uncle Kracker? The guy sounds like the punchline for a joke I would have made while waiting to see Unashamed.
The only thing interesting about this movie was the Jane's Addiction poster in the main character's bedroom.
I had a hard time sitting through the whole movie. I expected a lot and got zip. Any other movie in this genre would likely be better.
I usually can think of something good to say about a film, but I am at a loss for this one. What is even more disturbing is the director actually believes his actors were great in the film.
Darren Doane is the best is movie and music videos.
I agree with all of these, especially the last one. And remember, THERE IS ONLY ONE TRUTH!
What do u think of Godmoney? Which is a bigger lolfactory, Rick Rodney's acting or his mustache?? What would this movie have been like with Karl Beuchner or Justin Pearson in the lead role?
I am old and I grew up listening to hardcore and metal. Here is what my friends at Something Awful said about this blog. I like it:
The meaning of "Stuff You Will Hate" changes depending on the installment, and often during the course of a single column. It can mean "stuff I love, but that you, the reader, will dislike." Sometimes it means "stuff you will hate, and I hate it as well." And sometimes, it means "stuff you like, and I might actually like it, too, but I'm going to pretend to hate it in a way that will infuriate you because it will be written as a parody of a typical idiot hating something great, and you'll quote the fake blurb to your friends and say 'what an ignorant dick' when in reality it's intentional and now we're laughing at you, you gullible fuck."
Is that a fucking beauty mark? 
Naturally, all the merch is hella paedo, note the black tee featuring a red truck with a 4 year old girl driving it- I really hope to see some creeper just hanging outside Build-A-Bear at Easton Town Center wearing that.
Meg White's younger sister with steroid injected hair?
