January 22nd, 1999: Boy Sets Fire, Zao, the Jazz June, Inside, Atom & His Package, Tear It Down @ the Chop Shop, Baltimore, MD

This was the final show held at the Chop Shop. We had had issues with the owner of a strip club down the street from us who complained that his customers had nowhere to park when we had bigger shows, and this was by far the biggest show we had done at the space. About 3 or 4 songs into Boy Sets Fire's set the fire marshal showed up with a bunch of cops and shut us down. They had received a complaint that there was a party going on in a condemned building. The building was not condemned, however we were not a legal venue and we were definitely over capacity. Still, the show was a lot of fun and a great way to go out. Tear It Down were a local hardcore band featuring Gene M. (Lion of Judah, Give, No Justice, etc.) on drums, Doug Fresh (Stout, Slumlords, etc.) on bass and I forget who the other members were. I think I still have their demo. Atom & His Package opened his set with a song about black metal and smeared fake blood all over his face. Inside were a pretty good indie/emo band from Long Island. The Jazz June were an indie/rock band from PA featuring members of Atari. They definitely had a bunch of really good songs. Zao were boring Christian metalcore. It was sad to see the place end but none of us were in a financial position at the time to get the place legal so we all scrambled to find venues for the remaining shows and moved on from there.

Notice a young Alex Dimattesa in that Boy Sets Fire photo and a young Jason Hamacher and Mike Dubin in that first Atom photo.

SIDE NOTE: Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Between the World Cup, being short-staffed at work for the next month, taking care of wedding stuff, and going to Costa Rica for our honeymoon my days are pretty busy for a while and new posts may not happen on a daily basis. Come August everything will be back to normal. GO USA!

January 16th, 1999: Floorpunch, Vision, Onesidedwar, Time Flies, Where Fear and Weapons Meet, Fast Times @ First Congressional Church, Washington, DC

This was a Malfunction show set up by Tru Pray, Eric Mann, Steve Schott (sp ?), and Linas Garsys. I can't remember who the "plus one more" was. The only sets I remember from this show were from Time Flies and Floorpunch, probably cuz they were the only bands on the bill I was excited to see. I liked Fast Times OK, but wasn't crazy about them, and I'd seen Vision a bunch around this time at this point so it was nothing special. Time Flies were almost always great live. Solid band, good energy. Floorpunch's set was great but not as much mayhem as I was expecting. It was a decent sized crowd too, but people were just having a good time and not trying to kill each other. I can't remember if Carlos Guillen and I did sound for this show or not. I know we did for the In My Eyes/Ann Beretta show at this place a few months later. Linas Garsys did the flyer.

January 15th, 1999: Kill the Man Who Questions, Page 99, Forthright, Seven Ages, Mad Cap @ the Chop Shop, Baltimore, MD

Just over a week after their last visit Page 99 return to the Chop Shop, this time with Philadelphia's Kill the Man Who Questions headlining. As you can see in that bottom photo, Orchid also hopped on this show. I don't remember the circumstances behind that. Not sure anymore who Forthright was. Seven Ages were a metallic hardcore band from Blacksburg, VA featuring a young Bryan Flowers (Looks Like Rain, Bail Out, Tiny Bombs, etc.) on drums. I also don't recall anything about Mad Cap or if any of the members went on to do anything else of note. I made the flyer and took the photos. Be sure to notice Tony Pence standing behind Mike 99 in that middle pic.

January 13th, 1999: Saves the Day, Purpose, FSJM (Chernobyl Kids), Paris, Texas, the Cotton Weary @ the Chop Shop, Baltimore, MD

Is that a young David Goldberg in the front of the crowd in that Saves the Day pic? I quite enjoyed this show. I don't know anything about what the members of the Cotton Weary went on to do after that band but they were a decent emo/pop band from New York. I think I still have their demo in a box in the basement. I never cared much for Paris, Texas, or most Polyvinyl bands for that matter, but I think they went on to release records of some modest acclaim a few years later on into the early 00's. This was Chernobyl Kids' first show but they didn't have a name yet so I listed them as FSJM (Funny, Steve, John, Matt) on the flyer. For those unaware, this was a solid supergroup featuring members of the Pee Tanks, Longshot, Mendoza, and SQUID (and future members of No Justice, Longshot, Set To Explode, the Aftermath, etc.). They released a demo, a split 7" with my old band, Looks Like Rain, on my old label, Emogeddon Records, and an incredible self-released CD full-length. If you're into bands like Dag Nasty, 7 Seconds, and Circle Jerks then you really should check that album out if you've never heard it. Easily one of Maryland's best hardcore/punk bands ever. I was a big fan of the Purpose and everything they released. That picture shows a young Fid (currently of the Measure [SA]) playing guitar for them, as well as a young Chris Oliver on bass. This is still "Can't Slow Down" era Saves the Day, so of course their set was great. I made the small flyer and I'm pretty sure Steve Clark made the big one.

January 6th, 1999: the Exploder, Majority Rule, Bulletholes & Bloodstains, Daybreak, Page 99, InSpite @ the Chop Shop, Baltimore, MD

This was a very last minute show set up when the Exploder and Majority Rule were touring together and had a show fall through. I think it was booked on maybe ten day's notice or so. This was the first time that I saw Page 99 that they really blew me away. I know they had the demo out. I can't remember if either of those first two split 7"s were out at this show or not. I remember hanging out at Reptilian Records later that week and Tony and I both telling Chris that they were a band he needed to work with. Bulletholes & Bloodstains was a grind band featuring the one and only Joe Mitra. I can't remember who else played in the band. This was pre-"Interviews with David Frost" Majority Rule. They were a solid band then but I think they really matured and came into their own with that record. The Exploder were awesome as always.

January 1st, 1999: Reinforce, Until Today, the Bolshevics, No Dice, Born Under Saturn, Bull Roarer, Hovel, more @ the Chop Shop, Baltimore, MD

I've got the flyer for the Jan 13 show ready for posting, so we'll elaborate on that one next week. This post will solely concern the New Year's Day 1999 show. I don't remember much about how this one came together. I didn't know any of the bands except for Reinforce and Until Today (both featuring future The First Step members Aaron and Steve), but I also don't think those two bands were the first booked for the date. I think I just wanted to put a New Year's Day show together and a bunch of those NY punk bands were touring together and looking for a show. Then Reinforce and Until Today hit me up looking for a show that day. Followed by the NC punk bands and the FL bands. I don't recall hearing anything about any of those other bands after the show so I couldn't tell you if the members went on to do anything else. If anyone is familiar with any of them, please let us know.

December 17th, 1998: Abstain, De Nada, Page 99, Churner, the Falsies, Angle Eyes @ the Chop Shop, Baltimore, MD

If I remember correctly it was Keeve or Blake from Daybreak that approached me about doing this show. Abstain from LA were coming through on tour and they wanted to put something together for them. I can't remember if I had anything to do with the line-up at all. Angel Eyes were a Gravity Records-type band from northern Virginia featuring Matt Bidwell of the Greenhouse on drums. The Falsies are one of Maryland's most underrated punk bands. Their "Theory and Motion" album is fantastic, but unfortunately they did one US tour right after it came out and then broke up shortly afterwards. I still listen to it quite often to this day. If you're into bands like Dillinger Four, Hot Water Music, Rivethead, etc. I highly recommend seeking a copy of it. This may have been the first time I saw Page 99 play. I remember not being super impressed with them the first time, but I would see them again a week later and their set was way tighter and floored me. Abstain were pretty brutal for a two-piece. I also think they were the first band I saw where the drummer sang. That was impressive to me in and of itself, but doing it at the speeds they played was kinda mind-blowing.

Ink & Dagger and Kid Dynamite reuniting for This Is Hardcore 2010

Those of you that keep up with this blog will be aware of my love of two of Philadelphia's finest bands, Ink & Dagger and Kid Dynamite. Both bands will be reuniting for this year's This Is Hardcore fest on the Sunday. Pulling Teeth is playing on the same day. I couldn't be more excited...

"Ink & Dagger is playing This Is Hardcore to benefit Maks & Zielanski family. (http://miraclesformaks.com)
Ed Zielanski (Crud Is A Cult / Flagman)'s son Maks was diagnosed with rare childhood cancer. Ed & Kim Zielanski moved across country to get Maks treated at CHOPs.
Maks has made a full recovery but the family is still under a huge financial burden. Ink & Dagger is donating all show and merch profits to their family.
The Lineup is Don Devore-guitar Josh Brown-bass Terry Yerves-drums Chris Tropea-lights Geoff Rickly (Thursday) - Vocals."

For more info on the entire fest line up visit: http://joehardcore.net/thisishardcore/