The Jabbers - Insult and Injury (by Jimmy Reject)

By some strange cosmic coincidence, it was nearly 50 years ago that GG Allin, the now deceased rock star admired and abhorred for the most violent stage act and lewd lyrical content ever, was born to a dysfunctional family in the wilds of northern New Hampshire. It was also 50 years ago almost to the day that Elvis Presley gyrated his hips on stage, creating a catalyst that ignited GG’s heights and depths of rock ’n’ roll subversion.

Between then and now, the tradition has been kept. Sweaty, drunken rock shows have met on those dingy surfaces where the law is bent, reality is skewed and the whole room steals the carte blanche to soar like a rocket ship into the unknown. Since 1977, the sweaty and drunk contingency has matriculated into increasingly smaller rooms, urging with clenched fists that their three-chord heroes jet even faster to nowhere. Known for starting a career that attracted both talk show hosts and FBI agents, GG Allin and the Jabbers were among the first to answer the call.

Brandishing a Stiv Bators/Iggy Pop-ish contempt for the audience, the pre-shit stained GG would hit the stage wearing only fishnet stockings or egg — no pun intended — the crowd to pelt him with an assortment of grocery items that would leave any early Germs show in the dust. On their classic 1980 debut LP, Always Was, Is and Always Shall Be, one can hear streaming punk guitars, blistering leads and harmonies worthy of any pop aficionado’s sweetest dreams. Live, the band provided a muddier derivation of just that, but to some, records are merely promotional tools for the live experience and they exist strictly as a memoir of the time they performed. In their moment they gleam like the sun but before too long, the flame dies out, the band goes on to their respective day jobs and the moths flee to another flame. That’s when the worn vinyl spins through the melancholy chasm of time, oozing its sugary lament; a sonic snapshot saying “You wish you were here.” Until recently, that was the status of the Jabber’s oft-reissued debut album.

Far From Finished - Web Exclusive Interview Content (by Jay Hale)

Six pages was not enough to contain Far From Finished's hilarity. Here is a transcript from the harrowing quest by vocalist Steve Neary and drummer Marc Cannata to track down a touring van Steve bought over eBay. It's somewhat less funny now that the band almost died in a horrible van rollover last month but ... just read it anyway ....

Jay: So tell me about this trolley you bought off of eBay. Will this be your new touring machine or what?

Steve: I just got a response back from that guy. Oh my gosh, that was a fucking nightmare. Ebay. Oh shit. The struggle with this band is to find a fucking van.

Paul (Christian, Far From Finished second guitarist): Its our unicorn; our albatross.

Toxic Narcotic - Full Transcription from our Issue #8 Interview (by Jay Hale)

Q: If someone told you 15 years ago that Toxic Narcotic would be playing hardcore punk in the year 2004, would you have believed them? What’s it like being in a band that’s been putting out music for a decade and a half?

Bill: I didn’t expect to be alive right now! Most of my friends that have known me that long are surprised too! I only drink after dark or on weekends now! Also when Toxic Narcotic started we were not very good at playing our instruments, but we were playing big shows and a lot of people thought that we sucked. You have to understand that everyone was in a shitty high school band at some point in their life. We are in that same band just fifteen years later. When we started we were playing shows in front of huge audiences with barely six original songs and no idea what the hell we were doing. Plus we were all raging alcoholics and/or drug addicts. I have met a lot of people in Boston who say, “I heard your band sucks” but have never seen us play or heard our records. This is because years ago they heard about us. But a lot has changed since the early years. Most other musicians get to leave behind there past but were stuck with it. That’s one of the setbacks with being in the same band for so long. Most other musicians’ present bands’ are not being judged by the quality of their high school band. A lot people that used to see us back then are shocked when they see us now and they cant believe it’s the same band! When we started the band, punk was not very popular in Boston, especially anything brutal or political. The word “crust” still referred to the edge of your pizza. It was not the cheesy catch phrase later applied to brutal thrash influenced punk bands that usually had political lyrics! Between the fact that we were not playing the music that everyone was into and we weren’t very good at playing either, most people thought we sucked and talked shit about us. This made us angrier than anything else so we worked harder. Our hatred for some people in Boston kept us going for all these years. And we thank you!

Will: It just seems natural. Playing this kind of music is a release that I think everyone needs in their life, venting, and a way to spray the poison inside out all over everyone. Playing in this scene is great too. I’ve met people and been places that I would probably never have been just because I play music. And when we come to town, people know they’re going to have a good agro time and sing along, everyone has a blast, we leave, then come back and hurt shit again. What’s it like for fifteen years? Whew, has it been that long? It’s like life. Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever been a drug addict, but I got my ass kicked by a bottle of scotch one time.

Horrorpops - Total Chaos! (by Jay Hale)

Christiania, the self governing Freetown nestled in the center of Copenhagen, Denmark, is unlike anyplace most Americans will ever see in their lifetime. Part hippie commune, part dissident’s utopia, nearly anything goes within this plot of land snatched up from the Ministry of Defence over three decades ago by a group of citizens looking for greener pastures.

When you step through the gates of Christiania, not only are you bidding adieu to Copenhagen, you’re leaving the European Union behind as well. Since the Freetown’s inception the Christianites have been struggling to provide their residents with as much freedom and as much power as possible. Each time the question of joining the EU arises, it is quickly squashed. But that doesn’t mean anarchy reigns supreme. As you travel deeper into Christiania, you are greeted by a number of signs, including one which explicitly outlines the area’s major tenets - no hard drugs, no guns, no gang insignias and no weapons.

Continuing further down the road you encounter Pusherstreet, Christiania’s notorious homebase for marijuana dealers and hash bars. Once you pass through there you cast your eyes on a host of peculiar buildings built years ago by hippies that conjure up images of a place more familiar - Venice Beach, California. Only cooler. Here it is commonplace to see dogs running to and fro, guys with mohawks drinking coffee in quaint cafes with strangers who look their polar opposite, sporting long hair and flared jeans. It’s unassuming. It’s diverse. It’s Christiania and it’s the perfect place for Hellcat’s latest signing, Horrorpops, to record their debut album, Hell Yeah.

Transplants (by Jay Hale)

When it was announced that Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong was going to start a side project, a lot fans were on edge with anticipation. But the day the Transplants’ self-titled debut hit shelves, there was a public outcry. An album that mixes punk rock and hip-hop, two polar opposites on the musical spectrum? “Tim, how could you do it?” was the question on messageboards across the nation and even from yours truly. It was impossible to get past rapper “Skinhead Rob” Aston’s often hokey lyrics “from the street.” This wasn’t the Rancid we all fell in love with when punk rebroke, it wasn’t even its bastard child and after that initial listen, the CD was either cast away to used record bins or put on the shelf to collect dust. A funny thing happened when I went to see the Transplants on tour. They fucking floored me. They played with such an undeniable youthful energy that reminded you of a band cut loose from the tether with nothing to lose. It was powerful. It was an awakening that made me rush home to give that neglected CD another shot. I realized there was much more to this band than I thought. The Transplants don’t write music for us, they write it for themselves. If you can’t deal with that, well, as Aston will tell you repeatedly, he just doesn’t give a fuck.

MXPX (by Jay Hale)

In the world of pop punk, there are pretenders to the throne and bands that can go out night after night armed with great tunes that are both catchy and memorable. MXPX are one of the latter. For a decade, the band has been penning emotional punk songs with terrific melodies and hook-laden harmonies. Ten years in the business may not make them the longest running punk band eating the asphalt, but its definitely nothing to sneeze at.

The Damaged (by Paffy)

Background on the band: Colin and Kevin Moran, brothers, founded The Damaged in 1999. Colin is the lead singer; Kevin is the guitarist; Alan Taylor is the bassist; and Mark Jagiello plays drums. The Damaged has played extensively along the East Coast of America at venues like the world famous punk rock club CBGB's in New York City. The Damaged have recorded two albums: "Small Town Hell" (2000) and "Victim of Circumstance" (2001).

Cheetah Chrome (by Robyn Hale)

Cheetah Chrome is one of the quintessential figures of punk rock. This former Dead Boy guitar god who's behind such classics as "Sonic Reducer," "Ain't Nothin' To Do" and "Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth," Chrome has seen it all - the good, the bad and the ugly. With the recent release of the Rocket From The Tombs recording, last year's Alive in Detroit record and the numerous projects he dips his paws in - everything has been coming up Cheetah.

Here are some excerpts from the conversation we shared. Sorry, you don't get to read all of it, some things are just none of your damn business. But pay attention kiddies - you may learn something from one of the true heroes of rock. (click here for more …)

Avoid One Thing – Annual Report (by Jay Hale)

Approximately 400 days ago, I ran into Mighty Mighty Bosstones bassist Joe Gittleman backstage at the band's annual Hometown Throwdown. Although he was concentrating on the task at hand - playing five straight sold-out shows at Boston's Axis nightclub - he managed to drop word that he was starting a new band and wanted some photos taken. More than happy to oblige, Joe gave me the time and the place and I checked out one of the very first Avoid One Thing full-band practices.

The Dictators (by Mike Mindless)

Let me tell you something, daddy-o, I’ve seen lots of rock and punk bands but none with the heart of The Dictators. These guys play music with a fervor usually reserved for teengenerate garage bands, not a band in its third decade of kicking ass. The Dictators are better than ever and have not mellowed with age, as the twisted lyrics of "Burn Baby Burn" and its politically incorrect stance on eating meat, or their latest tribute to NYC, "Avenue A," attest. These are men on a mission, and even as they ask the musical question who will save rock and roll, the answer becomes clear. The Dictators will.

Beetle Juice

Fat City - Hi Beetle Juice.
Beetle Juice - Yeah?
Fat City - This is Robyn, from Fat City Magazine. We're doing a story on you.
Beetle Juice - Yeah, what kind of story?
Fat City - Whatever kind of story you want.
Beetle Juice - I'm pretty sure about it.
Fat City - You're pretty sure about it?
Beetle Juice - I am.

Darkbuster

“Hey, you got any beer in that bag?” vocalist/guitarist Lenny Lashley asks a scruffy gent as we exit the local punk rock hot spot, The Cambridgeport Saloon. The haggard man shakes his head and picks up his sluggish pace, Lashley continues: “C’mon, I know you’ve got beer in there.”

Cock Sparrer

Throughout life, the events that stand out the most usually tend to be a series of firsts. Your first fist-fight. Your first kiss. Your first beer. But for a host of punk rockers who were foaming at the mouth for nearly two decades, there’s another first to log into that fuzzy gray matter - the first time Cock Sparrer came to America.

Face to Face

Face to Face is like that baseball team you fell in love with as a kid. Every year, you get psyched up to watch them even though you’re not quite sure who they might cart out onto the field to play alongside their franchise starter. One thing is always guaranteed, however - a gutsy performance with lots of heart to send the kids home happy. Because, after all, that’s the fuel that primes Face to Face’s engine - the fans.

Lars Fredrickson

In the year 2002, punk rock credibility is often hard to come by. Many bands come out of the box like a cookie-cutter copy of their peers. But not Rancid. Since their early days in the Bay Area, the band has ate, slept and sweated the music they love.