Skip to content
What’s up Sorry Staters?
Life can be exhausting, don’t ya think? I don’t know how many of you newsletter subscribers out there even read my (more or less) weekly entries very closely. I feel bad sometimes that I’m always complaining about how tired I am. Wah, cry baby. It’s always for good reason. Last week, we didn’t even do our own personal write-ups for the newsletter. So here’s what I’ve been up to the last couple weeks:
A couple of weekends ago, I flew out to Salt Lake City for this punk fest that Meat House and Shaved Ape played. I’d visited SLC before, but I must have not ventured very far or otherwise had totally forgotten what the city actually looked like. I was blown away by how beautiful the landscape of the city was, sat within a valley with amazing mountainous views in every direction. Also, I didn’t realize that the neighborhood where the fest took place was in a big Mexican/Latino community, so there were bangin’ taquerias on just about every corner. Ate killer food, and probably had a few too many margaritas. Conrad and his partner Vaenka, who put the fest together, did a really great job and took good care of us. Hardcore bands should go play SLC.
This past Saturday (the 26th), I spent a collective 10 hours of that day in a car. Drove to Richmond to go practice with Public Acid. Then drove to Norfolk to go play a gig with Scarecrow. Then drove home to Raleigh after the gig that same night in order to work at Sorry State on Sunday morning. Totally psycho. But I do these things to myself. But needless to say, burning that candle at multiple angles has me feelin’ burnt. Then this Friday, I’m taking the train to Washington DC to go see The Damned at the 9:30 Club. Can’t fucking wait.
One of the bands that played the gig in Norfolk was this band Inverted Cross. Inverted Cross has a few of the dudes from Homemade Speed, and the first time I saw them, it was just guitar, drums and vocals—no bass player. But more recently, Felix from Cicada has joined the band on bass. Inverted Cross opened the gig, and I was just smiling ear to ear watching these young dudes tear it the fuck up. A new crop of young (or at least younger than me) bands has been popping up in the NC/VA region. It seems like the dominant mentality of these bands is that raw, fast as fuck hardcore is the coolest shit that there is. This literally brings a tear to my eye. Gives me hope. I’m exaggerating for dramatic effect, of course. But several of these bands are what I’m most excited about in the current landscape of punk and hardcore. Whether we’re talking the scene of bands in Norfolk, like Inverted Cross who I mentioned above, or bands in Charlotte like Corrupt Faith, for example. To me, what’s bridging the gap between these few different cities and helping me keep track of this new group of bands is this label Sex Fiend Abomination, which has been just putting out great stuff.
Speaking of Sex Fiend Abomination, the latest release on the label is this debut tape by Richmond’s No Victim. I saw this band a few times in Richmond before the tape came out. And as much as I thought they totally ripped live, I just think they nailed this recording. It’s one of those things that when I first heard it, I was like, “Holy shit.” The hair on my arms just stood up on end. It sounds oldschool 80s hardcore in a way that I’m sure thousands of bands WISH they could have captured. Pounding fast drums. Immediate and explosive. Baylan, the singer, has this somewhat groaning and detached vocal delivery that reminds me a lot of the vocals on Anti’s I Don’t Wanna Die In Your War. Intense, yet also careless and unhinged. But there’s also these chanted along gang vocals at random moments. I wish I knew the lyrics so I could shout along. I hear earnestly delivered yet also aggressively barked lyrics like, “I don’t wanna live in this fucked up world. Every day just makes me sick.” Probably my favorite song on the tape is called “Short Haired Rednecks”. I don’t know exactly what’s being sung about, but I’m sure it’s a criticism of the southern experience that I’m all too familiar with. “Speed, speed, speed! That’s all I need!” I think that’s what they’re saying? Hell yeah.
I remember first meeting the guitar player Chester before he moved to Richmond, while he was playing in a band from Texas called Stunted Youth. To me, his guitar playing is the star of the show. He plays non-stop, ripping fast with this total furious tenacity that reminds a lot of the chaotic strumming in like the early Gang Green recordings. (They also sneak in a hidden Gang Green cover right at the end.). That said, there’s also so much attitude in Chester’s playing. Like, I just love that the band is ripping so fast, that he just can’t even be bothered to make sure he’s in tune on every song. Who fuckin’ cares? It just makes the recording sound so much more intense and gnarly. Even so, the catchiness of his riff-writing comes through.
So yeah, that’s what I’ve been stoked about lately. Hardcore rules. Hopefully Sorry State will stock a few more tapes by them. Can’t wait to see what they do next. Hope they at least record a 7” before they break up. Also hope they don’t fuck it up by getting too slick and perfect on their next recording. Chances are that won’t happen.
That’s all I’ve got. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff