Poison Idea - "The Fatal Erection Years (Pick Your Kings)" CD Review (Southern Lord)

Portland hardcore stalwarts Poison Idea are the beast that will never die. While guitarist “Pig Champion” died in 2006 and one-time drummer Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford was arrested for a string of pharmacy robberies in 2008, the band continues to soldier on under the leadership of vocalist Jerry A. Poison Idea made their recorded debut in 1983 with “Pick Your King”, a 7” (which was issued with a two-sided cover showing Elvis on one side and Jesus on the other) that blasts through thirteen song of hardcore fury in sixteen minutes.

As part of Southern Lord’s reissue program, the second in a series of Poison Idea titles, The Fatal Erection Years (Pick Your Kings), comes out on August 14th. This new 45-track disc contains the “Pick Your King” EP, the band’s 1984 follow-up Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes 12”, “Laughing Boy” (from the "Drinking Is Great" compilation 7”), “Typical”, “Die on Your Knees” and “I Got a Right” from the impossible to find 1985 Cleanse the Bacteria compilation LP. The disc winds up with a 19-track live set that was recorded for a previously unreleased live album at The Met in Portland, OR circa 1983. The audio has been remastered and restored by Jack Control (World Burns to Death, Severed Head of State), and the poster/booklet contains liner notes from Poison Idea vocalist Jerry A, and tons of photos, flyers and more from the band’s early days.

The thirteen tracks on “Pick Your Kings” are predominately old-school hardcore numbers that are dominated by Jerry’s hoarse bellow and Pig Champion’s speed/thrash riffs. Beneath all of this – the drums pound away but there is no sign of a bass in the mix. The only track that breaks from the full-out hardcore assault is “I Hate Reggae”. The band seems to have more of a metal edge on the Record Collectors are Pretentious Assholes tracks. Pig Champion’s riffs are more ‘metallic’ and Jerry’s voice is more balanced and his vocals are more controlled. On these tracks, the bass is audible and an integral part of the band’s attack (check out “The Rich Get Richer”). Songs like “Time to Go” and “Thorn in My Side” show how the band’s songwriting abilities has grown by leaps and bounds. Taking things one step further, the four compilation tracks show the band moving into Black Flag territory.



The 19-track live show captures the sound of the punk sound of the early 80’s perfectly. The recording is reasonable and supposed to be from the soundboard but one has to remember that many soundboards at punk venues were held together by string and bubblegum. (I remember a Husker Du show that had to be stopped when the band blew out the board.) The band reminds me of Black Flag’s live show – and they do a similar deconstruction of “Louie Louie” along with scathingly funny “My Hard-On Withers in Your Face”. There isn’t a lot of dialogue between Jerry and the audience but Jerry introduced the punk-rock putdown “Slam Dance Jam” by saying “By the way, we are Adam Ant”.

While the video that follows is a different show than the bonus live show - it is a good representation of how Poison Idea sounded live in 1983.



Poison Idea is back on the East Coast (I think this is the band’s first NYC show in 10 years) to play the Power of the Riff Festival at Warsaw on September 1st. Fans of old-school hardcore (like Negative Approach, who is also playing the Power of the Riff East show) owe it to themselves to give this disc a listen.

Links:
Poison Idea

Poison Idea - "Darby Crash Rides Again - The Early Years" CD Review (Southern Lord)

"We were going to write some self-righteous diatribe about the 'good old day' - but those days weren't good - we were pissed off then and we are pissed off now - go die. Positive = Boring"
- from "Darby Crash Rides Again" 7" inner-sleeve

Portland hardcore stalwarts Poison Idea are the beast that will never die. While guitarist “Pig Champion” died in 2006 and one-time drummer Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford was arrested for a string of pharmacy robberies in 2008, the band continues to soldier on under the leadership of vocalist Jerry A. Poison Idea made their recorded debut in 1983 with “Pick Your King”, a 7” (which was issued with a two-sided cover showing Elvis on one side and Jesus on the other) that blasts through thirteen song of hardcore fury in sixteen minutes. While this was one h*ll of a debut, Poison Idea reached further back in their catalog in 1989 and released a 7” of 1982 demos entitled “Darby Crash Rides Again” (American Leather Records) which was clearly influenced by The Germs in both sound and lyrical outlook.

Southern Lord will be reissuing a number of Poison Idea titles this year on CD and the first of these, Darby Crash Rides Again: The Early Years, comes out on January 30th. This disc contains twenty-nine tracks (53 minutes) from the band’s earliest days, the 100% previously unreleased Boner’s Kitchen demo from 1981, the complete "Darby Crash Rides Again" demo from 1982, the complete uncut live-on-the-air set from the 1983 KBOO radio benefit, and outtakes from the Record Collectors Are Pretentious Assholes recording session. Much of this material has either been out-of-print or never before officially released! All the recordings have been meticulously restored and mastered by Jack Control at Enormous Door Mastering. The booklet contains liner notes, old flyers and tons of previously unpublished photos from the band’s beginnings.

The Boner’s Kitchen demos are similar to The Germs’ "What We Do Is Secret" EP as the band careens through six lo-fi hardcore blasts like a runaway freight train that is consistently on the verge on derailing. The tape is continuously rolling during this demo session so you can hear both bum notes and band dialogue between the songs. Prior to "Poser" kicking in, you can hear Jerry A., in a faux-British accent (similar to Darby's) say "Don't erase that, keep that". The eleven songs on "Darby Crash Rides Again" are similar blasts of hardcore fury that all clock in around the one minute mark. This recording has better sound quality and production (production is cheekily credited to Joan Jett, producer of The Germs' (GI)) than the 1981 demos but that doesn’t take away from or diminish the intensity of the band’s attack. The KBOO radio benefit is hilarious as the band plays a solidly sloppy set while alternatively threatening to stop playing if more pledges don’t come in and following that by threatening “if you don’t call in, we are going to keep playing this f@cking noise until it drives you crazy”.

Some songs are repeated between the four different recordings on this disc but that should be of little worry as I don’t think the band played any song the same way more than once. What is particularly enjoyable is the band’s deconstruction of the Lemmy-penned Hawkwind tune “Motorhead” which shows up in live in the KBOO benefit set and as an outtake from the Record Collectors session.





As Poison Idea seems to have fallen off the radar in recent years (due to infrequent touring and most of their discs going out of print at various times), this disc is essentially listening for fans of old school hardcore. After listening to this, I’m going to see if I can find my tape of the band’s 2002 CBGB show and ‘re-live’ the Poison Idea live experience.

Note: The CD reissues are coming out Southern Lord while TKO Records is handling the vinyl reissues.

Links:
Poison Idea

Early Graves: "Goner" Interview + Live Performance from Union Pool, Brooklyn 7-17-10

I had the opportunity to spend some time with Early Grave prior to their show at Union Pool last month but got delayed editing and posting this video due to a recent move. The morning after I finished this video, I read about singer Makh Daniels' passing in a van accident in Oregeon. I only met Makh Daniels once but his death really threw me. Out of respect for Makh and the other members of Early Graves, I decided to 'sit' on this video for a while.



Please consider making a PayPal donation to help Makh's family. The email account for donations is ripMakhDaniels@gmail.com.

There will also be a memorial show for Makh on August 29th at the Rickshaw Stop (155 Fell Street) in San Francisco. The band will be selling memorial shirts for Makh with all proceeds going to his family to get them through this tough time.

Links:
Early Graves
Early Graves - Goner CD Review

Early Graves - Goner CD Review // Show at Union Pool on July 17th

San Francisco's Early Graves just released Goner (Ironclad Recordings / Metal Blade) as the follow-up to their 2008 debut We: The Guillotine. The band comes across like a runaway freight train as they thunder through ten tracks in twenty-six minutes with a sound that combines noise rock (Halo of Flies), hardcore (Poison Idea, Black Flag) and crust (Discharge). As such, it goes without saying that these guys are angry and pissed off. Tim Green's analog production adds to the grime and squalor of the disc, bringing both the dissonant guitar work and Makh Daniels’ hoarse growl to the front of the mix.

Lyrically, this is a rather dark album. Here is a quote from Makh Daniels on the new disc: "The last couple years have been kinda rough and for most of us, you hit times in your life when shit is basically spiraling out of control and you try to reign it in but it just doesn't ever seem to work so you drink it away. Basically you dig yourself further in the hole because you don't know any other way. A lot of the lyrics, while not being a concept record, have a lot of the same themes of loneliness and depression and substance abuse running through each song. I think us as a band getting together and writing these songs and writing these lyrics got out a lot of bad dark shit that has been under the surface for all of us. Like an exorcism of sorts. I hope maybe this record will connect with some people who are goin' through the same kinda shit."



Early Graves is touring throughout July with The Funeral Pyre and the tour stops at Union Pool on July 17th.

Here is the full set of tour dates:
July 1 – Dallas, TX @ Renos Chop Shop
July 2 – San Antonio, TX @ Zombies!!!
July 3 – Austin, TX @ Red 7
July 5 – Memphis, TN @ TBA
July 6 – Nashville, TN @ The Black Church
July 7 – Louisville, KY @ Skull Alley
July 8 – Columbus, OH @ 15th House (369 e. 15th ave)
July 9 – Columbus, OH @ the Cara Bar
July 10 – Gloversville, NY @ Limbos
July 11 – Jamaica Plain, MA @ The Midway Cafe
July 12 – Boston, MA @ Church Of Boston. 69 Killmarnock St.
July 13 – Dover, New Hampshire @ Dover Brickhouse
July 14 – Haverhill, MA @ Anchors Up
July 15 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
July 16 – Philadelphia, PA @ TBA
July 17 – Brooklyn, NY @The Union Pool
July 18 – Pittsburgh, PA @Belvedere’s
July 19 -Toledo, OH @ The Black Cherry
July 20 – Milwaukee WI @ the borg ward
July 21 – St Louis, MO @ Fubar
July 22 – Kansas City, MO @ Aftershock
July 23 – Lincoln, NE @The Manor
July 24 – Denver, CO @ Blastomat
July 25 – Cheyenne, WY @ Ernie November
July 26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Outer Rim
July 27 – Garden City, ID @ Brawl Studios
July 28 – Spokane, WA @ Mootsy’s
July 29 – Seattle, Wa @ The Morgue
July 30 – Portland, OR @ Plan B
July 31 – Bellingham, WA @ JINX artspace
August 1 – Salem, OR @ TBA
August 2 – Reno, NV @ Ryans Saloon
August 3 – San Francisco, CA @ Submission Gallery

Links:
Early Graves

Black Breath Announce US Tour in May with Converge (Southern Lord)

Seattle hardcore punk band Black Breath is releasing their first full length, Heavy Breathing, March 30th on Southern Lord and the band is heading off on a full US tour with Converge & Lewd Acts. The tour kicks off in NYC on May 6th at Santos Party House. Tickets are $16 and go on sale on Feb. 17th.

Heavy Breathing was recorded last year at Kurt Ballou's God City Studios (Converge, Trap Them, Disfear) and this new 10-track disc picks up where Razor to Oblivion left off. This disc is more brutal though than Razor to Oblivion and is described as a "a fired-up blend of Poison Idea on a whiskey-soaked Dismember bender".



Here are the upcoming tour dates:

5/06/2010 -- Santos Party House - NYC w/ Touche Amore, Lewd Acts
5/07/2010 -- Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH w/ Lewd Acts
5/08/2010 -- Magic Stick - Detroit, MI w/ Lewd Acts
5/09/2010 -- Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL w/ Lewd Acts
5/10/2010 -- Bottleneck - Lawrence, KS w/ Coalesce, Lewd Acts
5/11/2010 -- Marquis Theatre - Denver, CO w/ Coalesce, Lewd Acts
5/13/2010 -- Neumo's - Seattle, WA w/ Coalesce, Lewd Acts
5/14/2010 -- Satyricon - Portland, OR w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/15/2010 -- Slim's - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's w/ Coalesce, Lewd Acts
5/16/2010 -- Downtown Brew - San Luis Obispo, CA w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/17/2010 -- Chain Reaction - Anaheim, CA w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/18/2010 -- El Rey Theatre - Los Angeles, CA w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/19/2010 -- The Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/21/2010 -- Emo's - Austin, TX w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/22/2010 -- Trees, Dallas, TX w/ Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/23/2010 -- The Marquee - Tulsa, OK w/ Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/25/2010 -- The Hi Tone - Memphis, TN w/ Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/26/2010 -- Headliners - Louisville, KY w/ Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/27/2010 -- Rockettown - Nashville, TN w/ Harvey Milk, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/28/2010 -- The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA w/ Harvey Milk, Gaza, Lewd Acts
5/29/2010 *TBA - North Carolina w/ Harvey Milk, Gaza, Lewd Acts

Links:
Black Breath

Black Breath - Razor to Oblivion CD EP Review (Southern Lord)

Black Breath has played some well received shows here in NYC over the past few years with the last being a show at The Charleston last June. The band released their debut 12" EP, Razor to Oblivion, in 2008 (on their own Hot Mass Records label) and have recently signed to Southern Lord who has reissued the band's debut EP on CD.

This 4-track EP clocks in around the 15 minute mark and it is a solid slab of hardcore punk. There are immediate comparisons to 80's punk bands like Discharge, Minor Threat and early Poison Idea but Black Breath blends this all together with a solid metal overlay which brings in elements of Motorhead, Venom and Entombed. The disc hits with an immediate angry intensity as guitarists Zach "F. Funds" Muljat and Eric Wallace kick off the disc ("Razor to Oblivion") with some shredding riffs which is followed by N. MacAdams' raw, hardcore bark and some d-beat pounding drums. There are all the elements of classic hardcore on this EP which range from breakdowns ("Fatal Error") to violence inciting thrash ("Beneath the Crust") to chugging groove metal ("Murder"). Aside for the brevity of the disc, there is not a thing to complain about.

Black Breath have a full-length coming up early next year (also on Southern Lord) that was recorded in June 2009 with Kurt Ballou (of Converge) at GodCity studios. "A much darker beast than previous efforts, the record features equal regiments of Swedish death metal, American heavy metal and sheer blasphemy. Their roadshow will hit the pavement in 2010."

Links:
Black Breath's MySpace Profile