CBGB FEST NYC 2012

Make way for the CBGB Festival running from July 5th through July 8th in NYC. 300 bands, 30 venues, a free concert in Central Park, film screenings, a “spirits fest” (alcohol) and more. The festival is being launched by a group of investors who purchased CB’s assets earlier this year. After looking over the website for the festival I still have not found any info about what the plan is other than this 4 day festival. There were rumors earlier this year of a possible new home for the club. Hardcore music is front and center on Friday July 6th at Webster Hall with a concert in conjunction with the fest featuring Sick Of It All, the Cro-Mags, Vision Of Disorder, Absolution, and SaiNam. The 16 and over show is $20.00. Agnostic Front and Madball will be at Webster Hall on July 5th with more bands to be announced. For more info check out: http://cbgb.com/.

TRAPPED UNDER ICE 

Baltimore’s Trapped Under Ice will be heading over to Europe in mid-July through early August  to play the following shows which were announced recently through MAD Tour Booking… 07/19. Berlin - Magnet (Germany) 07/20. Lappeenranta - LPRHC Fest (Finland)  07/21. Copenhagen - HC Showdown (Denmark)  07/22. Rokycany - Fluff Festival (Czech Republic) 07/23. Budapest - Dürer Kert (Hungary) 07/24. Wien - Aera (Austria)  07/25. Würzburg - Café Kairo (Germany)  07/26. Karlsruhe - Stattmitte (Germany)  07/27. Aschaffenburg - Katakombe (Germany)  07/29. Gdansk - Tattoo Fest (Poland)  07/31. Köln - MTC (Germany)  08/01. Osnabrück - Bastard Club (Germany)  08/02. Hengelo - Innocent (Netherlands)  08/03. Kent - Hevy Musiv Festival (Great Britian)  08/04. Motala - HC Festival (Sweden)  08/05. St. Petersburg - Raketafest (Russia)08/09. Saarlois - JUZ (Germany)08/10. Torgau - Endless Summer (Germany) 08/11. Ieper - Ieperfest (Belgium).  

Go to the M.A.D. website for more info: http://www.mad-tourbooking.de/.

Trapped Under Ice/Down To Nothing  bassist Jared is behind Solid Bond Records which has 7” releases by Down To Nothing and Friend Or Foe available on their website. Next up for Solid Bond is a 7” from Richmond VA’s Break Away titled “The Few That Remain” which will be out in the early summer. http://www.solidbondrecords.com/

Trapped Under Ice photo by: Georgia Sassenfeld: http://www.facebook.com/georgiasassenfeldphotodesign

DISTRICT 9

District 9 is making a comeback for the summer of 2012. The lineup will be Cesar Ramirez guitar, “Puerto Rican” Myke Rivera singing, Todd Hamilton on bass, Lenny Bednarz (Fahrenheit 451) guitar and Lou Medina on drums who is also currently playing with Sai Nam. Recording for an EP is slated for July at Frankensound in New Jersey with the material being released by Dignified Bastard. Still in the early stages at the moment with new song ideas being kicked around, the plan is to get back to playing shows which could be a big hurdle with both Myke (Colorado) and Todd (Arizona) living outside of NY. The last time we heard from D9 was at the This Is Hardcore Fest in Philadelphia last summer. Like ‘em on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/District-9-NYHC/233891619962328.

KNUCKLEDUST

London's Knuckledust just completed recording their latest album, "Bluffs, Lies, and Alibis" with Igor Wouters from Backfire, and Born From Pain (and who was last spotted drumming for Madball on their recent European tours). The band entered London's Mill Hill Studios on May 15th and the album is set to feature guest spots from Nick Diction, Fat Tom from Ninebar, and Kartel/Injury Time's DBS. Knuckledust played shows in mainland Europe for the last part of May and will be returning to London to play the Damage Control Fest on June 4th. "Bluffs, Lies, and Alibis" features 12 tracks and will be released through GSR on August 10th to coincide with the band's appearance at Ieper Fest, Belgium. Knuckledust’s singer Pierre appears on the cover of the new Ian Glasper paperback book “Armed With Anger, How UK Punk Survived The Nineties”  (out June 11th) and their drummer Ray appears in the hardcover book titled “Balance, European Hardcore” by Tom Barry which is out now with Mark Batty Publisher. 

Ear One Productions is proud to announce their next project. This summer will see the release of Connecticut hardcore / punk band Voice Of Reason's entire discography. Voice of Reason disbanded in 2001, but throughout their existence managed to release a slew of EPs, compilation tracks, and ultimately a full length album via Triple Crown. "Looking Back To The Way Things Were: Voice of Reason 1995 - 2001" is a re-mastered collection of the band’s 22 + song discography. "Looking Back to The Way Things Were: Voice of Reason 1995 - 2001" will be available as a limited edition CD and free digital download. Voice of Reason was a popular melodic hardcore band formed in the mid-90’s. Founding members, guitarist Mike Sabia and vocalist Jay Reason, launched the band from the local Connecticut hardcore scene. An array of flyers from the mid-90’s to early 00’s boasts Voice of Reason on eclectic bills – ranging from Hatebreed and Warzone to New Found Glory and Saves The Day. "Voice Of Reason was one of the realest hardcore/punk bands of my youth. No matter what style of music they were playing, Jay taught, and inspired me to push my own music, and a DIY ethic that I would take with me for the past 15 years. True hustlers, true friends, and a time in my life I could never replace. True Connecticut Hardcore." - Wes Fortier, Death Threat / Crowns Of Kings. 

For more info visit:

Ear One on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/earoneproductions  OR…

Voice Of Reason on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/voiceofreasoncthc.

DYS caught my attention in the mid to early stages, as did old school heads The Mob. Outburst had their original singer Brian back out just a few weeks leading up to the show, but Backtrack’s Vitalo came to the rescue filling in quite well on short notice. Mike Dijan from Sai Nam took guitarist JR’s spot, and although on paper it didn’t have the “feel” of an authentic re-union, the set Outburst put on was second to just one, and just oozing with raw energy. Youth Of Today rocked the house and look like they will live to be 100. But the show stopping, highlight of the night was without a doubt the Raybeez Warzone tribute. A great idea going in turned out to be one of the best sets I have ever witnessed, filled with high energy and emotion to honor Ray Barbieri (Raybeez) who passed away back in 1997, and with that ended Warzone. 

Guy in the pit sporting the construction style gloves that Raybeez used to rock on stage… nice touch, and fitting. Todd Youth serving as the MC in a way announced Tommy Rat (Rejuvenate) was up next to take on “Crazy But Not Insane.” No Redeeming Social Value frontman Dean Miller shared the mic next with fellow ex-bandmate/singer Mike Dixon on “The Sound Of Revolution.” Dean also did the construction glove tribute during his time in the spotlight. Not to be outdone by ANYONE Vinnie Stigma comes out as only he can and asks the bezerk crowd “where are the Warzone women” before kicking into “Skinhead Youth” followed by Token Entry drummer and Grey Area singer/guitarist Ernie with “In The Mirror.” Ernie flip flops with drummer Vinnie Value for “As One” and it all comes to an end with the 7 Seconds cover of “Young Until I Die” sang again by Ernie… a staple of many Warzone sets during their heyday. Pit HUGE, crowd NUTS, enough said. The machine marched on and less than 15 minutes later at 9:04pm Sheer Terror was on the stage playing “Blue Shadows Will Fall” off of their last EP and about 30 minutes more of their “I Don’t Like You” brand of hardcore complete with Paul Bearer insults, insights, and sarcasm. Did you expect him NOT TO? Sheer Terror really stepped up in this big setting with the band behind Paul sounding VERY tight as it looked and sounded like a band that has been together for 10 plus years. Rancid is a nice band, I really like “And Out Come The Wolves” but called it a night after 8 bands. Shout out to Royce for the respect. Bring on 2013!

-CW

NEW RELEASES/RE-ISSUES ANNOUNCED FROM BRIDGE NINE RECORDS

Bridge Nine Records announced that they will be re-releasing Agnostic Front’s “Live At CBGB” LP album on July 17th. This re-release is part of the bands 30th anniversary tour where they have been playing the album in it’s entirety. The re-release will feature an embossed LP cover with the original artwork. The label will also be pressing the album on limited edition red, white, and blue striped vinyl with multiple other colors available as well. Originally released in 1989 the “Live At CBGB” album contains 19 tracks that were recorded at the famed NYC club in August of 1988. AF kicks off a short Northeast stint on June 22nd at Dingbatz in Clifton NJ and runs through July 1st at the Boneyard in Atlantic City, NJ.

Next up from Bridge Nine is a live acoustic collection from Virginia’s Strike Anywhere. Titled “In Defiance Of Empty Times” this release has a street date of August 14th. Two of the bands live sets were recorded in 2011 for this release including Rochester (July) and Richmond (September) and merged together for this release which will be available on CD/LP and digital download. Strike Anywhere’s last studio full length was back in 2009 with their “Iron Front” release also on Bridge Nine. They are currently gearing up for an 8 show tour of Australia alongside Anti-Flag and The Flatliners which runs from May 24th through June 2nd.

Rhode Island’s Verse who reformed late last year are set to release their brand new 13 song full length titled “Bitter Clarity, Uncommon Grace” on July 17th on Bridge Nine Records. A record release show at the Fete Ballroom in Providence on July 14th is also set alongside label mates Soul Control. Verse plays the Barbary in Philadelphia, PA on June 16th with Blacklisted and a month later head over to Europe for a little over 2 weeks with shows that kick off in Belgium on July 21st (again with Soul Control as well as Ritual) and run through August 5th where they play the “Hevy Music Fest” (Kent UK) which is a 4 day event that features 70 plus bands including H2O and Madball.

A389 Recordings Releases FREE 2012 Digital Mixtape

Baltimore's A389 Recordings have just posted their 2012 label sampler online via a streaming/downloadable digital mixtape.  Clocking in at 52 tracks (and well over two hours of music) the digital mixtape showcases a plethora of new and unreleased music from A389's impressive and eclectic upcoming release schedule (as well as some classics from the label's current/back catalog).
Featured artists include: Seven Sisters Of Sleep, Countdown To Oblivion, Ilsa, Ringworm, Homewrecker, Like Rats, Children Of God, The Guilt Of..., Anne, Pulling Teeth, Young And In The Way, Junior Bruce, God's America, Hatewaves, The Love Below, Empire Of Rats, Shin To Shin, Sick Fix, Kill Life, Enforcers, Pleasant Living, Gravehill, Cynarae, Triac, Thee High Priestess, Nothing, Rot In Hell, Unholy Majesty, Integrity, Gehenna, Low Places, Pharaoh (NJ), Full Of Hell, Vilipend, Ancient Shores, Pale Creation, Chapelle Des Morts, Virgin Witch, Pick Your Side, Eddie Brock, Penetration Panthers, Day Of Mourning, Withdrawal, Trapped Under Ice, In Cold Blood, Mindsnare, Astronomer, Masakari, Wisdom In Chains, Mighty Sphincter, Earthride and Vermapyre. The Wisdom In Chains track “Snakes” was originally released by A389 in 2006 as part of the “Vigilante Saint” 7” which will re re-issued by A389 this June.  The Trapped Under Ice song “Death Clock Ticking” was part of a split 7” released in 2008 with Dirty Money which will be re-issued also in June. To stream or download the A389 MMXII Digital Mixtape/Sampler visit:
http://www.a389digitalmixtape.com

Exclusive Fire & Ice + Sai Nam Streams and Giveaways from Reaper Records

Stereokiller.com and Reaper Records have teamed up to give away some band merchandise as well as premiere two songs from new albums by Reaper's two up and coming bands - Fire & Ice and Sai Nam. One grand prize winner will receive a shirt and album from both bands, while two runners up will receive the albums.

Join the contest easily here: http://www.stereokiller.com/giveaway.cfm - there are links to listen to the exclusive tracks for each band there as well.

Both albums will be released 5/8/2012 and can be pre-ordered here: http://reaperrecords.bigcartel.com

GREAT REVERSALS

Much like NY’s The Last Stand, Michigan’s Great Reversals were also a band greatly impacted by the sudden collapse/closure of their record label American Enemy Records. Here is what drummer Eric Scobie had to say about their new EP…

“After a ton of absolute insanity with American Enemy Records, our new EP, "To The Ends of the Earth" is out now on 10" vinyl.....as a D.I.Y. release. Long story short, after being assured by American Enemy that our record was paid for and all set, we got a call from the plant 4 days before our record release show saying that it was NOT paid for. We refused to be the band without their record at their record release show, so we took care of it ourselves. Now we are a couple grand in debt."
 

You can order the ten inch for $12 postpaid via www.greatrev.bigcartel.com. A CD version will be out next month on Indelirium Records from Italy (www.indeliriumrecords.com). It will feature the 4 songs on the 10", two songs from a previous split 7", and an Unbroken cover.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Great-Reversals/181229925291552
www.greatreversals.blogspot.com
www.gr8rev.bandcamp.com
http://www.toxicbreedsfunhouse.blogspot.com/2012/04/stream-great-reversals-to-ends-of-earth.html    (full stream of the new EP)

THE MOB

The Mob just received the test pressing for the "Back to Queens" 7”. This contains the title track and another track called "That's It” on side B. This will be released on WeatherMaker Records in a couple of weeks and will also be available on I-Tunes with a bonus track if both tunes are purchased. The vinyl will be a limited release of 1000.  This will be nicely packaged and signed by the band on black vinyl. It should be available no later than July 1st. Check out the new shirts they have available with the new 7” artwork at the link below and be sure to catch them at the BNB Bowl May 19 in NYC. http://weathermakermusic.com/

DEMO-LITION!

Freddy Alva from Wardance Records and Eric Wielander from the late/great Village Noize Fanzine fame bring us DEMO-LITION which explores the artwork of demo tape/cassette releases from the Hardcore/Punk/Metal music scenes circa 1980s - early 90s. A variety of covers and full-sleeve art will be on display, along with anecdotes from a selection of bands and artists. This NYC exhibit will be featured at L'asso EV Restaurant in the month of June/July, with a preview party held on the night of Thursday May 31st, where requests can be made for special guest DJ's (John Woods from Hell No & Michael Scondotto from Inhuman/The Last Stand) to play the demos displayed. Baldy Longhair Records will also be having a demo tape trivia quiz with giveaways. L’Asso is located at 107 1^st Ave in NYC and the May 31^st exhibit starts at 8pm.

Wardance released the debut 10 song Johatsu demo back in March which was only available on cassette at the time but now has been released as a digital download for $5 at this link: http://johatsu.bandcamp.com/

BLACKOUT RECORDS

Blackout Records has just put some of their old releases out as digital downloads including “NYHC Where The Wild Things Are” on I-Tunes. The 1989 release featured 19 songs from then up and coming and soon to be hardcore icons Breakdown, Raw Deal, Outburst, Sheer Terror, Maximum Penalty and more. Blackout is also working on a special edition multi-touch interactive book for the comp as well. Crawlpappy’s 6 song EP and the Outburst “Miles To Go” 7” were also put up on I-Tunes this week. The 1989 “Miles To Go” release totals 14 songs with the added demo versions. There are also plans to have Blackout’s back catalog of Sheer Terror releases to be re-issued on limited edition vinyl.  http://www.facebook.com/blackoutrecords

PUNK ROCK BOWLING LAS VEGAS, NV 2012

The 14th Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival will be taking place this year May 25th through the 28th in Las Vegas Nevada. As you might guess there will be a ton of bands AND a bowling tournament with over 250 teams. Bands scheduled to play include Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise, Youth Of Today, 7 Seconds and more including BroLoaf who made a special You Tube clip to announce their show on the 28th in conjunction with the festival. Click on the photo above to watch the video and view the official festival flyer on the flyers page of this site. For more info visit: www.punkrockbowling.com

MADBALL NEW EP

Madball just finished up the recording process for a new EP down in Florida which they hope to have out around June and will feature 4 new songs. The band worked again with Erik Rutan who produced 2010’s “Empire” release and they are also looking at a fall time period to start work on a new full length. Saturday April 14th sees them in Puerto Rico playing one show with Bajo Presion and Down & Out. June 16th kicks off a 2 week stretch of European shows starting with the Reload Fest in Germany. Madball heads back to Europe in August with even more festivals booked starting August 3rd and they are working on East Coast US dates in the near future as well. Freddy and Hoya from Madball are playing with Hazen Street who have shows lined up on April 26th (Dusseldorf, Germany), April 27th (Berlin), and April 28th (Groezrock Festival, Belgium). Follow Madball’s Facebook page for updates.

STRENGTH APPROACH

Italy’s Strength Approach are back with a new album titled “With Or Without You”. The CD version features 10 originals plus a cover of Warzone’s “Dance Hard Or Die” and is out on GSR Music. (http://gsrmusic.com/). The limited edition vinyl version which is limited to 500 copies will be released on Demons Run Amok Entertainment.(http://www.demonsrunamok.de/). The band which has been around since 1996 played the Rebellion Tour alongside Madball and H2O this past March and have a video on the way for “Do Or Die” within the next few days. SA is also working on two additional videos for the tracks “With Or Without You” and “In The Belly Of The Beast”. ALSO FROM GSR…Born From Pain will be releasing “The New Future” on April 20th as a free online album and GSR has plans to release it on limited edition vinyl and CD in a few months. GSR also signed Holland’s Tech 9 and will be releasing “Bite The Bullet” this September with 14 new songs and a yet to be announced cover song.

THE LAST STAND

A new track from The Last Stand's forth coming debut album "The Time Is Now" called "Where Were You?" will be coming out on a limited split 7" with Germany's Suffer Survive on Contra Records, also based in Germany. A second track for the split is a cover of Youth of Today's "Choose To Be", which will be available only on the split 7" dropping this summer. "The Time Is Now" will be released sometime in 2012, label to be announced as recently formed American Enemy Records who were scheduled to release the TLS album have closed up shop only after a few months. The vinyl version of the upcoming album is still scheduled to be released with 1124 Records. The Last Stand did an interview with In Effect a couple of months ago, click on the band photo in case you haven’t checked it out yet.

VISION OF DISORDER

Vision Of Disorder are back in the studio and signed to Candlelight Records out of the UK. The band is working on an 11 or 12 song still untitled full length which could be out by summer 2012. The original lineup that started out back in 1992 is intact. When asked if the band would be going back more towards their hardcore origins singer Tim Williams described the new material as “progressive, innovative and flat out fuckin’ furious”, and went on to say that they are “not approaching song writing to a specific genre, we write what we are feeling. We kinda get into a dirty, grungy, cheap studio and shit and puke our ideas all over each other and we build from there”. Tim also thanks their dedicated fan base and thinks fans of VOD will get a lot of satisfaction when getting a chance to hear the new songs. The bands Facebook page is updated frequently with a lot of info, photos, and video clips covering the whole recording process for the new album. You can also catch them on Twitter: @VOD_band.

ANIMAL INSTINCT

Take It Back Records is now taking pre-orders for the debut of Zurich Switzerland’s Animal Instinct who feature ex and current members of such bands as Solid Ground, Vale Tudo, Play To Destroy, and Liferide. Similar to the band’s 7” EP the 11 songs on “Unfinished Business” are heavily influenced by NY hardcore bands like Outburst, Straight Ahead, and Warzone. A cover of Killing Time’s “Wall Of Hate” is also on the album. As with most new releases these days there are limited color versions offered on white, black, and blue vinyl limited to 500 copies which include a digital download code as well. This is Take It Back’s 10th release and they are offering their back catalog at discounted prices during the pre-sale. You can preview Animal Instinct on their band camp page here: http://animalinstinct.bandcamp.com/ and follow them on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/AnimalInstincthc . Order info for Take It Back Records is here: http://takeitbackrec.bigcartel.com.

EXPIRE

The cover art for Expire’s Bridge 9 Records debut album “Pendulum Swings” was released a few days ago with the album itself hitting stores on May 22nd. Expire heads out on the road starting April 16th in Summerville SC and plays over 40 shows within the US and Canada up till June 11th. Key dates are April 21st at the New England Metal and Hardcore Fest, April 28th at The Rumble in Chicago, and May 5th at Heart Fest in Quebec. The last half of this tour sees Cold World, Backtrack and Dead End Path join in. Bridge 9 recently posted pre-orders for their new 7” “Sink With Me”. The 7” is a pre-cursor to the “Pendulum Swings” full length and features the tracks “Abyss” and “The Pain Strikes” (Sick Of It All cover exclusive to the 7” release). http://www.bridge9.com.

Kill Your Scene (http://killyourscene.com/)

is an online webzine formed in 2011 focused on promoting alternative unsigned bands in the Australian music industry plus major bands from Australia, the United States, and Europe via Q&A and Album/EP reviews. Genres include punk, rock, hardcore, and metal. Kill Your Promotions is focused on running shows in the Sydney region and supporting local music. Past interviews include Strength Approach and a more recent one with Lou from Sick of It All which you can read here: http://killyourscene.info/sick-of-it-all/ . Bands get in touch with Nick to have your music reviewed.

RECORD STORE DAY 2012

Record Store Day which started in 2007 will be on Saturday April 21st this year. The original idea for Record Store Day was conceived by Chris Brown, and was founded in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner as a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally.

This is the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day and hundreds of artists in the United States and in various countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades, DJ’s spinning records and on and on. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008 and Record Store Day is now celebrated the third Saturday every April.

NYC’s Generation Records (210 Thompson Street) is part of the festivities and will feature in store live performances by: The Paul Collins Beat, Supertouch, Night Birds, and Joyce Manor as well as a few DJ’s. Supertouch will have a limited edition version (60 copies) of their last EP available at Generation Records.

Record Store Day is currently managed by Michael Kurtz, and Carrie Colliton. Folks wanting to contact Record Store Day are encouraged to email us at information@recordstoreday.com.  

H2O to play FREE ACOUSTIC set in NYC!

H2O will be playing a FREE acoustic set on Tuesday April 17th between 5pm and 7pm in NYC at Franks Chop Shop (19 Essex Street). Later that night H2O will be heading over to Irving Plaza to open up for the Bad Brains. Toby’s OLOC project will be releasing very limited fitted baseball hats in collaboration with Famous Stars and Straps AND New Era. The hats will be available in NY, LA and online for a limited time. Keep up to date with everything H2O on the bands Facebook page which is: http://www.facebook.com/#!/H2Ogo    and at Toby’s twitter account which is: @TOBYH2O

HELLGATE INDUSTRIES limited edition posters

For those of you going to the Bad Brains shows in NY on April 17th (NYC-Irving Plaza) and April 18th (Brooklyn-Music Hall Of Williamsburg) be on the lookout for Grey Area’s Ernie Parada (the guy holding all 4 posters in the photo above) who will be behind the merch table selling the amazing Bad Brains poster he created for these 2 NY area shows. There are only 100 of these 4 color and signed prints available and whatever is not sold will go on sale at his website (www.hellgateindustries.com) after the shows. Ernie also did The Bronx poster (pictured far right) for shows they will be doing on May 23rd and 24th which is part of the Rocks Off Concert Cruises…. Yes kids, a concert of a friggin’ boat! The posters Ernie did for The Bronx are giveaways by Rocks Off and will be given to the first 100 people who buy tickets to both cruises and this particular one will be signed by the band as well. Look for Ernie’s band Grey Area on Day 2 of the “Stay Sweet” Fest in Richmond Va which is on the weekend of April 13th-15th.

New BULLET TREATMENT release on Think Fast!

May 15th sees the latest release from Bullet Treatment, quite possibly hardcore's most unconventional act. The new 6 song EP is titled "Designated Vol 2" and will be put out by Think Fast! Records on limited color vinyl and through digital retailers. The band features a revolving door of members on every release. Brainchild behind the LA based project Chuck Dietrich has had a wide cast of members over the years including (relatively) consistent members Matt Caughthran from The Bronx on vocals and Dave Hidalgo from Social Distortion on drums. This was the lineup for the bands first full length "The Mistake" released back in 2006. In 2009 BT released "Designated" on Fat Wreck Chords. The idea behind "Designated" in 2009 was very unconventional featuring 6 tracks of exactly the same music with a different singer putting their own vocals and lyrics over the song, without hearing any of the other vocalists renditions prior to recording their own. Confused yet? "Designated Vol 2" track listing and vocalists look like this: 1: "Insomnia" (Andrew and Scott from Comeback Kid), 2: "Young Bodies-Slut Church" (Jordan from Vultures United), 3: "Rally Cry" (Ryan and Billy from Outbreak), 4: "God's Plan" (Matt from The Bronx), 5: "Confessions Of A Hopeless Romantic" (Liam from, Cancer Bats), 6: "Vox Populi" (Nuno from A Wilhelm Scream). First press will be limited to 500 copies.

New SCORPION RECORDS website is up now

Make sure to stop on by to the new Scorpion Records website which just revamped and re-started this past week. www.scorpionrecords.com Originally created in 1999 the current Scorpion roster includes Silence Equals Death, State, Turn It Up, and they are in the final stages of working out a deal with NJ’s Ripface Invasion. Over the past 13 years the New Jersey based label has had 13 releases with 15 bands.  Some notables include: Blood Stands Still, In Search Of, Colin Of Arabia, 25 Ta Life and Flat Earth Society.  The label is also doing “Stinger Distro” which is a great way for bands to get their name AND music to more people. You can listen to some of the stuff the label distros via their online media player at the Scorpion Records website. Taking a page from distro's of old where you would sell your CD/records on consignment thru your local guy who would lug boxes of CD's to shows, Stinger aims to achieve the same goal but online. Unlike simply staring at the cover artwork, you can now hear the bands before you buy the release. Physical CD/records will also be offered by bands who have them.

The label has always worked closely with its bands keeping a more personal family feel to what it does. The same motto has been used since it's inception, we don't ask "what can you do for me" we ask "how can we help each other".

BRIDGE 9 to release TERROR DVD/CD/LP on bands early days

“No Regrets, No Shame: The Bridge Nine Days” release captures modern hardcore band TERROR in their beginning stages with never-before-seen interviews and performances from one of their most popular albums, “Lowest Of The Low”. Filmed back in January of 2003, Terror performed at the Showcase Theater in Corona, CA and the footage was captured by then-new filmmaker Ian McFarland (now of the established Killswitch Productions). This amazing footage has been sitting in a vault at Bridge Nine for the last nine years and is finally assembled to see the light of day. With stagedives, sing-a-longs, and unparalleled energy from the band, “No Regrets, No Shame” captures Terror in their most raw and nascent form. Bonus features like the "Push It Away" music video and a full set from Terror's Headline Records in-store performance from the same timeframe are also included, and this CD/DVD (& LP with all re-mastered Showcase Theater audio tracks) release hits stores on April 24th, 2012.

UNITED RIOT RECORDS and FED UP! video contest

Check out the Fed Up! Video contest… brought to you by the fine folks at United Riot Records. Dennis breaks it down like this: Make a You Tube video using any song from the Fed Up! CD/LP “Sheer Poetry”. You can use Fed Up! photos, live footage, or even your own video. You just have to use at least one Fed Up! pic and one of their songs from “Sheer Poetry”. The contest runs from now until 9/16/2012. Contest is available to everyone except for the current members of Fed Up! You must subscribe to http://www.youtube.com/user/UNITEDRIOTRECORDS to post your video and also email: FEDUPNYC@AOL.COM before the deadline to qualify. Grand Prize winner gets the super Fed Up! package and $69 in cold hard cash. There will also be prizes for 2nd and 3rd place. The first entry is already posted on the You Tube page mentioned above. Dennis also adds to “Have fun and FUCK YOUR LIFE”….

HR and HUMAN RIGHTS to play FREE show in NJ

Randy Now’s Man Cave and Consignment Shop is sponsoring a free concert event on Sunday April 29th inside the Man Cave Garage. Show time is 3pm and HR & Human Rights will be the special guest band performing this free concert in support for Randy’s store. Randy was the driving force behind Trenton’s City Gardens club and featured in the upcoming documentary “Riot On The Dance Floor” . To attend this event you will need a ticket and on April 1st starting at 3pm inside Randy’s store they will give away 50 tickets (2 per person) for anyone who just asks. The store is located at 15 Park Street in Bordentown NJ (www.mancavenj.com) and carries everything from CD’s and vinyl records, to bobbleheads, post-cards, magnets, unique sodas and gums to Beatles/Ramones and Misfits items. Members of the “Riot On The Dance Floor” documentary staff will be on hand for the April 29th show so make your way down to Bordentown.

Sam McPheeters, ex BORN AGAINST frontman releases novel

Sam McPheeters who used to front NY’s Born Against has released a novel titled “The Loom Of Ruin” with Mugger Books. Sam hits the road starting April 1st with a reading from his book at NYC’s Generation Records (210 Thompson St, NYC) @4pm. Later that day he will be in Brooklyn for another reading followed by a cross country reading and spoken word tour that ends in LA on May 30th. You can buy a physical or downloaded copy of Sam’s new book at his website which is: www.SamMcPheeters.com.