185 Miles South
A hardcore punk podcast.
185 Miles South
238. August 2024
We're back and talking hardcore.
1. Trivia: Dan vs. Clevo
2. Newerish Stuff: Gefyr/Rat Cage, Missing Link, Problems
3. Old School: Poison Idea - War All The Time
4. Interview: Paul Cripple (Reagan Youth)
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SPEAKER_08:smash that patreon
SPEAKER_05:button 185 miles south a hardcore punk rock podcast.
SPEAKER_04:Introducing first, The Challenger, fighting out of the hard corner. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he now makes Cleveland, Ohio, his home. You can plead your case, but you're going home blood-red. He is here tonight for victory, through Harmony. It is the man known as Clevo! And his opponent, fighting out of the core corner, from parts unknown, weight unknown. Reason he didn't pick Minor Threat in the Straight Edge Super 7, unknown. It is the reigning, defending, undisputed 185 miles south trivia champion of the world, Daniel. These questions are too easy. Sant.
SPEAKER_05:All right. And the first question goes to Clevo. Clevo, what is the greatest hardcore song of all time? Sant.
SPEAKER_06:Oh my God. It's, it's, it's blind justice into, into last warning. A point to Clevo. I almost, I almost said victim in pain again.
SPEAKER_05:That would be up there, but not the best. Okay, Dan, let's go to you for your number one. Dan, what is the worst punk song of all time? Wow. We can do a clue animal related.
SPEAKER_03:Animal Relief. Oh, it's Chicken. It's something chicken by MDC, right? We got
SPEAKER_05:to go to the referee here. What do you think, Ben? We need the full title of the song. Chicken Fuck? Chicken squawk. Point to the champ. Got it there. MDC chicken squawk. How many
SPEAKER_06:chances was he going to have to get that right? You
SPEAKER_03:got planned justice into last warning. I
SPEAKER_05:got the chicken squawk. Dude, for saying MDC chicken, that's pretty good. Okay, here we go for a timely one. Now, the Olympics just ended yesterday, so we are going to do this related to that. Clevo, true or false, the number of games you need to win the match in singles table tennis are the same as the number of bars in the black flag logo. False. We go to Dan for the potential steal. Dan, true or false, the number of games you need to win the match in singles table tennis are the same as the number of bars in the black flag logo.
SPEAKER_03:Well, everyone knows that's true. All you have to do is watch Forrest Gump once to learn that.
SPEAKER_05:It is true. It is the best of seven. All right, and let's go to Dan for his round number two. Dan, which came first, the Mindforce LP Excalibur or Rugby's return to the Olympics for the first time since 1924? Mindforce's
SPEAKER_03:LP Excalibur.
SPEAKER_05:We go to Clevo for the potential steal. Clevo, which came first, the Mindforce LP Excalibur or Rugby's return to the Olympics for the first time since 1924? I believe that would be Rugby. A point to Clevo. Rugby returned in the year 2016 and Mindforce put out their classic LP Excalibur in 2019. Dan, I didn't do them a year apart just for you. How about that? Appreciate it. You got it, bud. Okay, we go to Clevo for his round number three. This is a multiple choice question. Clevo, what nerd word appears in the chorus of the Abuse song Just Another Fool? Is it A, more so, B, henceforth, C, consequently, or D, subsequently? I'm going to say C. We go to Dan for the potential steal. Dan, what nerd word appears in the chorus of the Abuse song Just Another Fool? Is it A, more so, B, henceworth, C, consequently, or D, subsequently?
SPEAKER_03:Well, henceworth is just cracking me up. But I think it's A, more so.
SPEAKER_05:A point to the champ. He says, well, I can think too, maybe more so than you. All right, and we go to Dan for his round number three. Dan, on the first Poison Idea 7-inch Pick Your King, how many songs do they have about thinking? I'm going to say three. We go to Clevo for the potential steal. Clevo, on the first Poison Idea 7-inch Pick Your King, how many songs do they have about thinking? Two? A point to Clevo and Epic Steel. It is Think Twice and also the song Think Fast. And we go to Clevo for his round number four. Clevo, the SSD 12-inch Get It Away has seven songs. Which one of them is a cover? No reply. A point to Clevo. It is No Reply by the Buzzcocks. And we are firing right back to Dan. Dan, What band put out a 12-inch debut in 1983 that they titled after Mad Punks and Themselves? What? I don't understand. Okay. A band put out their debut 12-inch in 1983, and the title of it is Mad Punks and Themselves. Oh, English Dogs? A point to the champ. It is called Mad Punks and English Dogs. A point to the champ.
SPEAKER_03:All right. Because it's based off an English title. saying of mad dogs and Englishmen.
SPEAKER_05:There you go. No extra point, but much appreciated. Okay, we go to Clevo for his round number five. Clevo, again, multiple choice. Confront had a song that shared a name with which pro wrestler? Is it A, The Bruiser, B, The Crusher, C, Macho Man, or D, Nature Boy? I
SPEAKER_06:was going to do it like Steve does on that live CD, but it's Macho Man. A point to Clevo. All right.
SPEAKER_05:Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Snap into it. Okay, we go to Dan for his round number five. Dan, it's a UK all day. What's up? True or false? On the first GBH 12-inch, before any music starts, the singer Colin yells, go. True. Point to the champ. All right. Clevo, we go to you. Another multiple choice, dude, because I don't know how anyone would know this. So I guess it's a guess. But it is like, it's a fun fact and a sign of the times. How many copies of Madball's Droppin' Many Suckas 7-inch were made in the first press? Is it A, 1,000, B, 2,500, C, 6,500, or D, 10,000? B, 2,500. We go to Dan for the potential steal. Dan, how many copies of Madball's Drop in Many Suckas 7 inches were made in the first press? Is it A, 1,000, B, 2,500, C, 6,500, or D, 10,000? Okay,
SPEAKER_03:it's really weird that 6,500 is just... a weird unit. So I'm going to say 6,500.
SPEAKER_05:An epic steal by the champ. And God damn, they were making a lot of records back then, huh? For a hardcore seven inch? 250 on maroon for the true ones out there. Not me, unfortunately. You don't have it? No, I have it on black. I'm one of the 6,250 that got it on black. Me
SPEAKER_02:too.
SPEAKER_05:Me too. Yeah. So if anyone out there has a maroon one, hooking up your boy. Okay. Let's go to Dan for his number six. Dan, another multiple choice. And this one, we're going to test what you're all about, dude. So here we go. Multiple choice. Okay, let's assume that you're a true punk. You want some studs for your jacket. In 2024, a bag of 100 standard pyramid studs goes for approximately what? Is it A,$8? B,$12? C,$16? Or D,$20? Okay. Can you repeat that? Because does it depend on where you're getting them from? Angry and Poor, whatever that website is, is what I looked at. All right. Give me
SPEAKER_03:the totals again.
SPEAKER_05:Okay. And realize we are giving this to you because you are the best dressed man in the pod, our fashionista. This is a bag of 100 standard pyramid studs. And is it approximately$8 a bag? B,$12, C,$16, or D,$20? Well,$100,
SPEAKER_03:I would have to say, oh, God. And if I do get these studs, I'm definitely doing a discharge studs pattern from the first 7-inch on the jacket. They have to go with that. in that exact same pad. I'm going to guess$16.
SPEAKER_05:We go to Clevo for the potential steal. Clevo, let's assume that you're a true punk. You want some studs for your jacket. In 2024, a bag of 100 standard pyramid studs goes for approximately what? A,$8, B,$12, C,$16, or D,$20? I'm going to
SPEAKER_06:say$20.
SPEAKER_05:No points this round. It is$8. Inflation hasn't hit the punks that hard yet. Respect. I know. Shout out for that. Okay, let's hit this shit.
SPEAKER_07:Okay,
SPEAKER_05:and we go to Ben for the subtotals.
SPEAKER_06:All right. Dan has six points
SPEAKER_05:and Clevo has five. All right. We did a coin flip due to the gamesmanship that Dan's displayed last time against Ben. We are now determining who goes first or second by coin flip. Dan won the flip because he always wins. And he chose that Clevo goes first. Clevo, how many points would you like to wager? Go big or go home. All five. Oh, my God. Clevo's going all in. Dan, how many points would you like to wager? All six, you know. Oh, my God. Here we go. Okay, Clevo, this is for you.
SPEAKER_06:Here, one more time.
UNKNOWN:You got it.
SPEAKER_06:I feel like the second half he says there's no way out or no way back. Let me hear it again.
SPEAKER_07:Clevo,
SPEAKER_05:this is a classic. You may have moshed to this one.
SPEAKER_06:Possibly. It's not catching for me. It sounds like it says you've been evicted, but I don't think he's a landlord. Let me hear it one more time.
SPEAKER_05:You got it. Here we go.
UNKNOWN:Okay.
SPEAKER_06:It's something, something, addiction, there's no way back. I can't get the beginning of it, though. Let me hear it one more time, and then I'll give my final.
SPEAKER_05:You got it. Here we go.
SPEAKER_06:Yeah, I'm going to say addiction, there's no way back.
SPEAKER_05:No points. And Dan, we're not going to say what it is because yours is pretty similar. Here we go.
SPEAKER_03:It almost sounds the same, but I do know the last part of this. Can I hear it five times in a row, please?
SPEAKER_05:Okay, here we go.
SPEAKER_07:No points.
SPEAKER_03:I know it. You got it? I know it. And yeah, Clevo definitely is moshed to this.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, let's hear it. I
SPEAKER_03:think it's, will you accept it?
SPEAKER_05:He's the champ for a reason, people. He's the champ for a reason, people. Dan doubling his points to 12. Clevo shaming his former self that used to dance the 25 to life. His was, will you accept it? What's going down? Dan finishing off. Will you accept it? The low down. Everyone come up front and sing along.
SPEAKER_03:I will, in Clevo's defense, I will say the will you accept it on my line is way more audible than it is on Clevo's.
SPEAKER_06:From here on in, I'm just assuming Rick's a landlord, evicting people left and
SPEAKER_05:right. You know, there might have been a granny flat in the back of his mom's spot in New Jersey. You never know. Okay, Dan, congratulations.
SPEAKER_07:Way to go, dude.
SPEAKER_05:What's up, everyone? We are back and talking hardcore. Helping out. You know him. You love him. It is the best dressed man on the pod. It is Daniel Sant. What's up, Dan?
SPEAKER_03:With the world's fate resting on your shoulders, you're going to need somebody on your side.
SPEAKER_05:There you go. Dropping that deep shit out the gate. You know him. You do love him. What's up? All right. We're just going to dive right in this week. But Dan, good job on trivia. You got a 25 to life one right. How are you feeling?
SPEAKER_03:I mean... Get me a horse. My kingdom for a horse. I need to be riding a horse right now.
SPEAKER_05:Dude, you need a horse and a crown. That's what's up. Okay, let's jump into it. All right, first off, I got a shout out to Shine Life Press. They just put out their catalog number 59, which is a fanzine compilation. It's 132 pages, full-sized. And what they did was they had a bunch of people submit two-page contributions. It is so sick. I can't wait to get mine in the mail. And you know... 185 is up in there, so everyone needs to buy it. You can go to shininglifepress.com and handle business. Also, straight out of Maui, it is Ikeika. If I said that wrong... Dude, don't lump me up. I know you Island boys are hard as fuck. But they just put out a new demo called A Demonstration of Pacific Fury. This is Gavin, friend of the pod. It's been one year since the fires in Lahaina on Maui. So check out that demo. Give them your support. It's spelled I-K-A-I-K-A. Ikaika, what's up? All right. Also got a shout out to friend of the podcast, Kevin, not fair to flare. And, uh, dude, those mosh styles of this is hardcore off the chain. Dan, you saw that video, right? That one arm style.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:The human lasso. I love that shit. All right. Other stuff. Uh, that I have liked in the last month or so. That band Armor, they put out a great 12-inch EP called Afraid of What's to Come. Brand new. There's a band called X-Com. They put out an EP called Westside Punks. I saw them featured on No Echo. That thing rips. Sergio also sent it to me. Shout out, Sergio. The band Trail of Lies put out a new LP, and I was stoked on this, dude. I love that last two-song EP. I thought they might have been a band that was like a COVID casualty, but they came back with an LP. It brings the heat. I love that shit. Hell yeah. Also, we have been blessed with a bunch of new singles recently. So Hi-Viz dropped the second single off their upcoming LP. It's called Minds Alive. This thing's great. Dan, what do you think about this song?
SPEAKER_03:I think it's incredible. I've been slowly but surely waiting for this one to drop because I'd heard a demo version of it. before and i just love the creativity and and roping in like almost like low-key house music into their you know when ski comes in on the drums and is matching the like actual like drum beat that was preceding it oh my god so good i really i really love that song
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I think this is killer. I also think it's interesting that the two singles that they've put out aren't really the high-vis that we know and love. So that third single, you know they're going to drop that jingle-jangle and come with it, dude. I got faith. It's sick, though, because the two songs, they seem like they would be ancillary songs on the record. But if I'm being honest, the first one was a little too alt-rock for my liking. I know you loved it, Dan, but the second one I think is fabulous. So I'm stoked. I can't wait for this record. Okay. Also, we got a new Reek single. So hell yeah. Anytime Reeks puts out music, you know, it's a good day. Also got a shout out. Chubby and the gang has put out three singles now for their upcoming LP and two of the singles they've put out. might be my favorite Chubby songs there are. That The Bonnie Banks song is so good. And that song To Be Young, so good. I think that's the newest one. Dan, have you checked these out at all yet?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah, very good.
SPEAKER_05:And you love the first two Chubby LPs. You and Chris loved them more than I did. How do you feel these are stacking up?
SPEAKER_03:I loved the first LP. I liked the second, but I don't go back to it that often. Although there are a couple standout songs on it, but the first LP destroyed. And then this is tapping into more of that. It's taking the breakneck speed that they used to have, and it's kind of slowing that down and giving you glam, but still being punk as fuck. I don't know. It's really good.
SPEAKER_05:It's a little more pubby, right? Like it slides right in with like that Melbourne shit that I love.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, it's definitely like pub rock glam rock influenced to the hilt. Like, I mean, almost bordering on a little bit of rose tattoo there a bit,
SPEAKER_05:you know? Yeah. I mean, there you go. Straight back to Australia, huh? Dude, I got a confession to make. I had no idea that Chubby was the long hair dude in the chisel. Oh, really? You didn't know? No, no, no. Cause I, when I saw the chisel, they opened for GBH at a house of blues down here and I saw him walking around and yeah, I didn't go say hi. I wish I would have, you know?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. And you're like, you're not that chubby.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, he's not chubby. He's a long hair. Generally, I don't go up and talk to long hairs because I always get worried I'm going to get stuck in some sort of punishing conversation about how they're telling me that Dokken is really better than they were. But it is what it is. Dude, I love these new songs, so shout out to Chubby and the gang. Hell yeah. All right, let's jump right into it. The first thing that we're going to talk is... a split seven inch. It came out between the band Gephyr and Rat Cage on Bunker Discs and Tapes in June of 2024. Rat Cage straight out of Sheffield in the UK. And Gephyr is out of a town that I can't pronounce in Sweden, but it's the same town that Totalitar is from. Thank you, Sorry State, for putting that in the write up for the record. Dan, how do you want to do this? You want to break it up or you want to just go?
SPEAKER_03:I want to hear your pronunciation of the Swedish town or city.
SPEAKER_05:Hudiksvall, or for Staffan, Hudiksvall.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, cool. It is now, you know, mid-year, a little bit after we've gone past. This is the split of the year. Like, we'll see this pop back up at the 185 Awards in December. Guarantee it. Because this thing absolutely rips. both sides both bands so good giving you that like two variations on db um i think the um geffer side is a lot more um recorded higher in the in the more trebly style recording and a leaning that way with the with the uh The feedback slash tonality on the guitars is very just high in the attack. But God, it's brutal. It's so good. The songs are amazing. And then you flip it and you get Rat Cage. And these are, I mean, I love Rat Cage, like everything they've done, especially the Jump Off a Building record. These songs are so good, and the final song, Thatcher's Back, what an epic journey through it being a mid-tempo into being fast, into being catchy. That song has everything. I mean, I love all six songs on this release so much. It... i think it's it's gonna i hope a lot of people get to hear this because this is top tier db hardcore like for the masses
SPEAKER_05:yeah this thing rips basically just what i want to say about it is it's two bands and six songs and everything kicks ass so i'm trying to not buy seven inches anymore because i don't listen to them at home that much but There's a record that we're going to talk later. The problem seven inch that I had to buy and sorry, state got it in the distro. So I ordered it. And then this is a perfect little record to tack on. You know what I mean? Like you got to pay that uncle slam tax, you know, the USPS. And it's like, I'm not trying to buy one little seven inch. So it's like, I'm going to do a couple of add ons. Right. And it's like, well, here's another thing came out. I checked it real quick. I was like, God damn, it sounds like all this kicks ass, toss it in the bag. You know what I mean? so oh you did you ordered it yeah yeah i ordered it because i had to have that problems dude it might be my favorite seven inch of the year we'll get to it so here's what i think about gefer this is just it's modern db and it's like they're from the same town as totalitar and dude my ear is not seasoned to any sort of like db beyond discharge and the clones really so i it's like anything faster than that in the pocket DB just sounds like totalitar to me. So these guys just kind of sound like totalitar and they do have that nice blown out sound, but they do also have that deep ass snare tone that cuts through, which is so important, right? It's like, if you're going to have that blown out guitar, I want to at least be able to hear that snare snapping through, keeping that tempo. And also the, Dude, they do a three minute song on here, which is almost sacrilegious, you know, but I don't know, dude, it still kicks ass. So it's just like three songs that rip. Hell yeah. You know what I mean? Like sometimes that's just what you're looking for. You want new hardcore punk songs that kick ass. And here is Guffer. with three songs that kick ass. Just want to say they put out an LP in 2022, and I believe these are their first new songs since. Okay, to the Rat Cage side. Dan has always loved and written for this band. We've talked to him on the pod a bunch. They put out an LP last year called Savage Visions, and it was one of those awkward moments on the pod when Dan loves something and I didn't love it. It was like a disappointing record to me because I thought it kicked ass the whole way through. Also, Staffan gave me a ton of shit for not riding for it. But to me, it just sounded like it was produced in the lab. And so much of like the rawness of the drum sound that needs to come through for music like this just wasn't there. Also, I would just want to say they also put out some songs last year on a compilation called Screaming Death, and those songs were really good. So They kind of put out a mix of stuff for me last year. But I still have that Savage Visions impression on my head of not liking how the drums sounded at all. And so it's sick when this record comes on and that first song, Bow to None, starts with a bunch of drum fills that sound great. The singer just goes, listen. And it switches to the hi-hat. And that hi-hat, it sounds so perfect, dude. The recording he got on the drums this time around, especially that crisp-ass hi-hat sound, it sounds so clean and so nice. And all three of these songs, just like the Guffer, they fucking kick ass. So it's like two bands, six songs, all rippers. the last thing on the rat cage, that second song has a real nice chorus. I'd love to see when a raw punk bands are trying to write choruses that sick. You want to sing along, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, this is a great effort. Those weird, like kind of like frail woes on the Thatcher's back song too. So good. Like, against the other vocal it's it just it sounds so sick and the thing about geffa it is that faster db thing but i can totally hear a lot of verrucas in it too
SPEAKER_05:for sure
SPEAKER_03:they're really like channeling like that style and it is it's It's just, I don't know what they're saying because it's in Swedish and I love that, you know, that we're from Sweden, we're going to sing in Swedish and our songs are in Swedish, et cetera. And I should take the time to actually see what they're talking about. But you can just hear the politics happening. in the music you know the lyrics are political
SPEAKER_05:okay let's go on to the next thing we're going to talk the band missing link out of new york they just put out an lp called watch me bleed on triple b came out in june of 2024 it's been a long time since we talked a mosh core record so i wanted to talk that style a little bit you know we could have easily talked the uh the trail of lies record i think that's killer too but this missing link lp it just sounds savage if you're looking for a mosh record that's just riffs stacked on riffs with a great singer, here it is for you. You know what I mean? The guitar sounds savage. That snare tone is nice, cuts through. You can really hear it. everything. The recording is just fabulous for this style. And again, I got to shout out the singer's voice. He just sounds absolutely gnarly, and it's just the perfect voice for this style. And this is a record where you can listen to that first song and know if you're going to like the record or not. You know what I mean? If you like that first song, you're going to like the record. If you don't like the first song, throw in the towel, dude. It's not for you, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's Modern Moshcore. It's kind of what you'd expect. It's a mashup of the bands that are very influential right now, like Marauder, All Out War, Hunter Demons. But it's just done really well. And another thing that I wanted to call out of this that I think is great is a lot of mosh bands aren't trying to write catchy choruses right now. But this band does have some stuff that's pretty great. Like on that Scraps for the Dog song, that song is hard as fuck. And that is a great song. mosh hardcore chorus you know i mean also i just want to call out some other moments here uh the song another cross that guitar break into the hard ass verse riff and then into the fast part that's sick for my personal preference i'd love more fast parts on here satisfaction is the death of desire is like the goat mosh record you know i mean and i think that sometimes bands they lean on the mosh part of it and not on the fast part which is setting up the moshes so this band does a fast part it's great i wish there was some more of it also just want to call out the song i want to kill you part two that dive bomb over the mosh riff part of the beginning so sick and then whatever is going on in the verses is just absolutely crazy i can't really tell what's going on but it sounds sick And this song is a minute 46. So for that style to be busting out sub two minute songs, that's what I want to see you do. That's so ill. And then lastly, that song, see you later. The lyrics, they kind of sound like a, like a story, you know, like almost like you're listening to a big L song or something. So I love that. And again, mixing in the fast, that's killer. I wish I could see the lyrics for this record. You know, I wish the bands would take the time to, uh, Put him up on Bandcamp, you know, because like this dude on top of his voice sounding savage, it sounds like a lot of the lyrics on this record are pretty well thought out and that can make a band of this style stand out. But. you know, we're living in the digital era. And so like, I'm not seeing where they put the lyrics on like the Spotify thing on my desktop. And so I go to the band camp a lot for bands and it's an option. You can upload the lyrics there. And I'd like to see that so I can see what you're singing about. Cause like, especially a song like this, see you later. The lyrics sound sick. I want to know what they are. Dan, what do you think?
SPEAKER_03:So in preparation for these episodes, here's a little peek behind the, uh, one 85 curtain is that we'll make a playlist and, you know, so it's all in one spot so we can listen to these records and, um, then go so it comes out of the rat cage and then goes into this and the first song i was like okay you know it's a it's all right it wasn't there was nothing like stunning and i was like okay this is like a good moshcore band and then you get to the next song new york minute and then just the catchiness and charisma of looking at the window that part who's that looking in my window like that's so great and then from there you get that scraps of the dog song which is just incredible and there's just really amazing creativity within this genre which a lot of uh kind of alluding to what you just talked about that a lot of people will be just satisfied with just having hard as fuck riffs and basically ignorant as fuck lyrics to just really emphasize the Neanderthal caveman aspect of this music. And this band is reaching for so much more lyrically, song structurally, and really putting in hooks, like lyrical hooks, putting in musical hooks. And then the song that they collab on with Gridiron, that part where it's like, g-r-i-d-l-i-n-k like the grid link like that's so cool like i was like all right that's fucking sick like that that got me like really hyped because it just was like it's a link up of two you know two bands two styles like doing it but then incorporating the band names and don't know i just thought obviously that's what they were going for and it was really good um and before you know it this record is over and you you're putting it straight back to track one and going again and then the second time you listen to track one because it's not coming out of like rat cage it's hitting in its own right a little bit harder and it is a great song and i do like the two different voices on track one going against each other really good i i think this is a top tier hard as fuck record
SPEAKER_05:yeah dan i'm glad that you called out like the charisma like that new york minute song has a ton of it and there's a lot of it sprinkled all across the record i don't love that gridiron collaboration song like if i never hear another guest vocal spot i could die happy you know i mean like it kind of cuts up and there is that guest vocal spot on the first song at the end like i get it like You know, if you're in a band of this style, like having the first thing or a hundred demons, like do a guest spot on your record is like a dream come true. And that dude has one of the sickest voices ever for this genre. But so does the singer of this band, dude. And we got to go back to Nas, right? My first album had no famous guest appearances. What next? I'm proving the best lyricist. Like sometimes he's got us, you know, it's like sicker when you stand on your own. You know what I mean? And this dude's got the voice to back it up. So, yeah, I mean, I could lose all the guest vocal spots, although he got some big names on here. So it's hard to turn that away because I get it. It's fun to like have friends on your record. But you know me, I don't like fun music. So it is what it is. Also, there's a six minute song on the end of the record and I just never listened to it. So I, I appreciate like, if you're going to go for it and do something like that, like have a six minute song, putting it as the last track on the record, that's the move. So much respect. Right. Cause like, dude, if that was like the fifth song on the record, there's zero chance I'm ever buying this on vinyl.
SPEAKER_03:You know what I mean? It's almost like you consult it.
SPEAKER_05:there you go but everyone that's that missing link watch me bleed came out on triple b june 2024
SPEAKER_03:sick artwork too
SPEAKER_05:hell yeah okay let's go on and talk the band is problems out of oslo norway they put out a seven inch called beg for release it came out on adult crash records in june of 2024 god Damn, Dan, I was listening to this thing and I was like, this has got to be my favorite seven inch of the year. And so I pulled up what our favorites were and I have a few extras that weren't on our list from last month. My favorite seven inches of this year, the echo chamber, that collateral in La Muerte, the massacred and night feeder. This is right there. If not my favorite, I don't know, dude, this thing rips. What do you think?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, this is, blazing like minor threat-esque I mean it's taken it to the next level but like on the speed and the ferocity but the way that the singer can do these like hold out like it almost sounds like what happened to you like it's got that same like delivery but my song is the is the title track that beg for release how it comes in with the just like the toms and the just the stomp of that song oh my god the way it comes in stomping and then it just like picks up and then it has almost like a restraining order like vibe to it where it's tapping into the edges of of more like you know street music like street punk-ish but it's still 100% like blazing hardcore I mean I would like to hear a couple more like that but I love that when you get this one it's standing out because everything else is just so impactful around it but then you get this little twist where you're like oh can i get one more like that please but i mean this is this is a phenomenal seven inch
SPEAKER_05:you do get those breakdowns on the end of the first song of the last song so that's a mid-tempo shit but you're right i mean but it is a it's a seven inch, you know what I mean? And they did, they did kind of sequence this thing. Like it is an LP. Like the sequencing is pretty fucking brilliant. One of the things I love about this band is the first 15 seconds of this record is just like a complete mission statement. You know, like the fast drum fills into that yell and then the guitar riff and then the fast drumming and singing come in. Like you just know what this band is in the first 15 seconds. And there's like really something to that. And the singer is just an absolute wild man. You know, he sprinkles those as all over the record. And it's like it's not him trying to do like a dynamic. It feels like like it's like poison idea or something and he's like melting into madness
SPEAKER_03:it's interesting that you talk about that first 15 seconds because I swear like imagine you and I were like just stage potato in this band comes out we didn't know what they're like they launch into that drums and with the we'd have to dive
SPEAKER_05:we'd have to it's one of those parts it's one of those parts yeah the breakdown on repetitive stress is It's so good. It's like they add like an extra note that makes it seem a little weird, but it works. And then repeating that repetitive stress of the end over and over. Very anthemic. It's fucking great. That second song, Slash. If you guys remember on the 1981 Super 7, I was talking about if your singer is boring, just lock them in a room and make them listen to Lost Cause by Naked Approach 20 times in a row. This song sounds like the end result. If a band did that. And it's also like the critical missing link, this 30 second blazer. It's so good. You know, every band does like the token mid tempo song, but like, do they do the 30 second blazer? You know, obviously the apex of that seven seconds, the song straight on, but yeah, this is right there. Love it. Third song, that song body burden. This is one where he drops that blah instead of like part of like the The words on the verses, it is so good, dude. It's like peak YOLO. You know what I mean? Like this singer is just a madman. Okay, Dan, I knew you were going to like Big Fur Release the most. That's a mid-tempo banger of the record. It's right where it should be. Cuts up the record perfectly. Fifth song, Wanna Watch. this is again, you just hear the singer loses absolute mind. It's like a descent into madness. This song is like the punk equivalent of apocalypse. Now, like the dude's mind is just slipping as the fucking song goes on, you know, just like that, that movie, the further you get down the river, the further you like slip into madness. Yeah, dude, this thing rips. You know what I mean? Like I don't have much more to say about it, except like it just rages the whole way through. The pedal never comes off the metal. And it's probably my favorite hardcore punk seven inch of the year. What do you think, dude?
SPEAKER_03:How great is that riff that starts out, Absence of Choice, the last song? It just does that really cool riff, and then boom, the song just explodes and goes.
SPEAKER_05:It might be the best song on the record. I don't know. It is so perfect. It is almost like you get a bonus breakdown on it. You think it's going to rap, and it goes to a different bonus mosh. And you don't... you don't think a band like this is going to toss that at you like, Oh, we're going to extend the breakdown, but they do. So
SPEAKER_03:the break and the breakdown on this with it, it's just pure stomp with, and he does deliver another. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:So, Hey dude. This guy listens to Rick to Life just like we do. So what's up?
SPEAKER_08:I'm taking it back to the old school because I'm an old fool. I'm taking it back to the old school because I'm an old fool.
SPEAKER_05:All right, we are going old school and we are continuing Dan's journey down the poison idea catalog. This time we are in 1987. They put out their LP, War, all the time. It came out on Alchemy Records. There is also a new press of this on TKO Records. It is beautiful, so handle business. Grab it if it's not in your collection. Dan, how's this stack up in your journey?
SPEAKER_03:Well, shout out, Mark, TKO, for hooking us up yet again with a couple more records, just making sure that we have everything and everything. maximum respect. This one is so good. I mean, is this going to be just a generic segment now where I say, wow, Poison Idea is really good. I
SPEAKER_07:never knew.
SPEAKER_03:But yeah, this is so good. The tone of this band at this point in time is so perfect. The bass tone especially like at the start of their Motorhead cover. Oh my God. I used to think like Craig's bass tone on Scratch the Surface might be the most epic bass tone of all time, but the bass tone on this is so good. And the playing on this coupled with Jerry's ability to be nonchalant at a precision level. Do you know what I mean? When he's doing the, almost the chatty style vocal on a couple of the songs where it's like, yeah, I don't really... It's done with absolute precision because when it changes gear to just Hammer, it just makes the other vocal, when it raises the game on that song, so good. His voice sounds amazing on this LP. And I like the slightly darker tone that is allowed to... come out a little bit more as this recording is so good and the fact that they're not i mean the drumming is still unbelievable it's still so like you know the most top tier it can be but the speed compared to what we've already had in the catalog has just tempered slightly to where you can hear a lot more of a I would say like a melancholy tone or more just like a negative twist to a tone. Like it's absolutely just great. And I'm never really a fan of soloing that much. But this band, I could listen to every single solo all the time because they're not done to... There's no wanking. It's just like, oh, I've got the perfect 15 seconds. Get ready. Favorite songs. I really like Push the Button. I really love Ritual Chicken. That sounds like someone's playing Phantom of the Opera in the dead room. in the Deadwood Saloon, almost. You know, that piano that breaks it up. The Motörhead cover is so good. I think my favorite track on the LP is Steel Rule. I really like the looping of the sample that almost gets you into a... You're just anticipating what's coming next, and then the song Steel Rule that comes in. is just so good, and the lyrics to it, absolutely great. The lyrics all over this LP are incredible, but the ability to talk about, well, the first line says it all, there's no cooperation in the me generation, greed-fueled self-dictation, downfall of the nation, and this was 87. Look at what we're dealing with now.
SPEAKER_05:Jesus. Gary A., a prophet, dude. Yeah. 100%
SPEAKER_03:because look what we're doing now when okay I rode Bart to work today and everyone like I looked up because I was listening to this song on Bart and I looked up every single person bar maybe two in a packed packed packed train thing everybody face down in their own phones and then so I'm you know looking up and I'm going oh This is exactly what this song is saying, but tenfold. And then there was a little old lady that had got on, and she was getting up to get off at the next stop, and the train jerked a little bit, and her heavy as fuck shopping cart, one of those ones that old ladies pull down the road, fell and smashed me right in the kneecap. And I was like... And I was like, because I'm not part of the me generation, I'm not going to yell at you. But,
SPEAKER_05:you
SPEAKER_03:know, what an incredible achievement that this band can just evolve and put out great records. And I wonder, how was this one received at the time, do you think?
SPEAKER_05:I was seven years old, so I don't know. We'll have to ask Jerry. But yeah, I loved it. I'm glad you say that, dude, because I don't love this one. So this is, you know, the second proper LP, I guess, because I mean, Pick Your King has enough songs to be an LP, but it's on a seven inch record collectors is a 12 inch EP. Kings of Punk is a proper LP. And this is a follow up. And I think this is a sophomore slump kind of I still think it kicks ass. And I think that. Maybe I'm being unfair to it. Like it's being graded on a curve, you know, just because everything leading up to this, including the comp tracks have been like totally perfect. So in that aspect, like it's, it's unfair to look at this so critically because like, If this was the second Circle 1 LP, I'd be like, God damn, Circle 1 second LP is way better than the first. You know what I mean? But it's following up Kings of Punk, and I know what's to come. You know what I mean? I know that the next EPs they do are some of the best Poison Idea stuff, and I know that Feel the Darkness is still coming. That's insane. So this sitting between Kings of Punk and that stuff, I can't look at it without that I don't know, without grading on a curve. And it's just, it's not as good as the other ones. Dan, you called out that darker tone. You're 100% right. And again, I'm glad you love that. I think that just crossovers in the air, and even though they're still 100% hardcore punk, it's just... So prevalent in 85 and 86. And then this is like their 87 record. And if you listen to it, sometimes it almost sounds like pig champion is speed picking a little bit, but not palm muting it. And so I think that a little of that is bleeding in. Also, they get a new drummer. So Dean Johnson's gone. The Slayer hippie is in. And I kind of wonder if maybe technically this dude is a better drummer. And maybe pig champion is like transcending being a great hardcore punk guitarist. And now he's just like a great guitarist. And so you kind of, you get two super, super talented dudes in a room and maybe they just try to fancy some of this stuff up too much. Almost everything I think could be cut down a little bit. Like everything's just, it's getting a little longer. And then there's just a fair amount of filler on this thing. So again, I, Dan, you're loving the stuff that I'm not loving. So that's great. It goes to show that maybe I'm just being too much of a negative Nancy on this. But dude, that minute-long sample on that steel rule is like needles on a chalkboard to me. I fucking hate it.
SPEAKER_03:But it's brand new to me. I think that's the beauty of this thing is that I'm just going in blind. And then the other thing... How about that lead that comes in 10 seconds into Hot Time?
SPEAKER_05:It's great. It's so good. There's moments all over this record. It's Poison Idea, dude. They are maybe the best hardcore punk band of all time. You know, when you're looking at the complete catalog. But there's no giant hit on this record that I need to go back to. And almost every song has something where it's like, ah, they could have trimmed that. And the record just has so much that i'd trim too like i talked about that sample motorhead cover totally pointless plus it's so good i don't know they play it too fast and like poison idea you're talking about an ultimate in the pocket band motorhead ultimate in the pocket band and it just it's too fast it loses like that feeling of like what that song is and then that ritual chicken again like another minute waste it's terrible dude it's fucking terrible Let people express themselves. That's true. That's true. Like I said, I'm being a negative Nancy here. So that is what it is. Also, the last thing that I'll complain about, and I will say this made sense at the time. So in 87, they rerecord that song. Typical. That was on the 1984 compilation cleanse of bacteria. So if that comes out of print at this time, that's, That song is like a thing in their set list. They re-recorded it for this. So that's cool. But it gets put on like the later presses of the record collectors are pretentious assholes. But I believe the first time that it gets put on that is in 89. So this is two years before that. But, you know, listen, this record is just there's a handful of things that I want to skip. And I'm that has never happened in the poison idea catalog up to this point. So that's that. The last thing I want to say is just Jerry A's vocals on this are so good. So like lyrically and his delivery is out of this world. Like he is at the top of his game still. I mean, he was on the first seven inch dude. He like never loses it, but there's some moments on here. You know, I was talking about the problem stuff before, like Jerry has like a, full descent into madness on some of the songs here like the verses on that song murderer that's probably my favorite song on the record and the verses are just out of control it's like what the fuck is going on here this is insane music it's the most insane music on the planet and sign me up i absolutely love it you know i mean so again there's moments on this record that are out of this world But as a whole, I don't know. It's my least favorite of the 80s for them, for sure. Dan, final thoughts on this and final thoughts on the stuff we talked about today.
SPEAKER_03:I love that you picked out Murderer because I think those lyrics are top tier too. And I think the way that the guitars, like the way the song comes in, like the first five seconds, it sounds like it could be Maiden, like on Killers or Iron Maiden self-titled, like straight up. so good um i really enjoy doing this project because i i have steered clear until we're ready to do a record and then i go for it just fresh you know so um although you know everyone once this project started everyone was reaching out to me going oh it's all about you know feel the darkness wait to you know feel the dark i'm like I'll take it when it comes. No spoilers, no spoilers, you know? So I'm really enjoying it. So I think that's why we, I mean, we also have different tastes, but still very similar tastes. So that's why I think this doing this, project the way it is is really interesting and fun
SPEAKER_05:we got a shout out mark again because it's nice for you to be diving into these records the first time and being able to just sit there and listen to them on vinyl right so i know you're listening to them on bart and shit but to really take it in dropping the needle and like focusing on the record it's a great way to take things in especially when you know like these are mostly universally loved records so like they're worth your time drop that needle listen the whole thing right
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and sitting on the couch while the record plays with the lyric sheet in hand, you know, what an experience. It's the way it's meant to be.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, and this is one that is great to read the lyrics to. All of Jerry's stuff is just out of this world. Also, just on the murder thing before you wrap up, Dan, did you see that there was a dude in Mississippi arrested for three murders that he did in Oxnard in 1977? No. Yeah, so... No shout out to that murderer who murdered some ladies in Oxnard in 77, but that's insane that he got caught just now. Did
SPEAKER_03:Fred Hammer crack the case?
SPEAKER_05:Possibly. Possibly. You know what I mean? They pulled his DNA off an It's Alive fanzine.
SPEAKER_03:This has been great to talk all this music.
SPEAKER_05:Where can the people find you, Dan?
SPEAKER_03:I DJ every 4th Friday in San Francisco at the cat club for club leisure, which is a Brit pop night. And I DJ every third Friday at the whistle stop for fucking in the bushes. And then on Saturday for all you olds out there, all you people who always go, Oh, it's too late, blah, blah, blah. I'll be doing a Northern soul night, but it's actually starting at 4 PM. So it's going to be an evening dance party at the whistle stop on Saturday, the 17th, of August and I'm going to be playing all Northern soul and upbeat Motown all 45s. Everyone come out all San Diegans, all Southern Californians listening to this. Come on out. It's going to be really fun. Bring your talcum powder, throw it on the dance floor and do some spins.
SPEAKER_05:Oh yeah. Everyone. There's a playlist for every episode, 185 miles south.com. Click that playlist link at the top of the page, or just find us on Spotify.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, S-H-A-T-E, hey!
SPEAKER_05:All right. I'm joined with Paul Bakia, a.k.a. Paul Cripple of Reagan Youth. What's up, dude? How are you? How's everything? Dude, I'm doing pretty good. Thank you. What year did you get into punk and what was the first band that you connected with?
SPEAKER_01:The late 70s is when I got into punk. A few of my school friends got into it along with me. We made trips from the outer boroughs into Manhattan to go to clubs. And that was like the late 70s, like 78, 79.
SPEAKER_05:What clubs would you go into? And like, what were the main bands that you guys were excited about seeing?
SPEAKER_01:CBGB, Max's Kansas City. And I remember seeing the first band I saw was this band called Shrapnel. I was just happy to be able to go out to a club.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. What was the scene like in New York City in like 79? Like, can you, can you kind of paint the picture as best as you can?
SPEAKER_01:It was, it was nice. It was, it seemed like it, there were a bunch of people who didn't want to hang out in their schoolyard, which show up to go to a club in Manhattan. That's what you were kind of looking for. Like people who just weren't into staying at home, but wanting to go out and basically chase some adventure out there, you know? And, uh, See some new things and not just, you know, going to Madison Square Garden and seeing Queen and Kiss, but actually going to a place that, you know, was more endearing, I think, at that time for people to like frequent as opposed to like some humongous venue, you know, some stadium or, you know, Madison Square Garden, places like that. And I remember going to see bands like Aerosmith and Ted Nugent and Journey and Metalance. And that shit was just too big, too impersonal. They just seemed so tiny and so far away. It was kind of strange.
SPEAKER_05:Do you have a specific memory of an early show that you went to at CB's or Max's?
SPEAKER_01:I really don't because after a while it seemed like I was there every weekend. That's what it seemed like after a certain amount of time. And I've seen a lot of interesting things and, you know, a lot of interesting bands that happen. I can't really pick anything out, you know, as, you know, something amazing. It's great seeing, you know, the Beastie Boys or, you know, Murphy's Law when they first started and the Gnostic Front. And there's a bunch of bands that, you know, you could just... bring up, but they all kind of blur into one, one big sameness because of the, the, the venue and the scene and everything like that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Can you talk about like that transitional time period kind of between that original New York city punk scene? And then when hardcore takes over, there's kind of like that, there's a transition, right? With the bands, like the stimulators and kraut and the mad, and then Reagan youth started in 1981.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I think, Back then, I think you wanted something more raw, something faster, something dirtier, something grungier. I don't know what adjectives I could use, but definitely something louder and faster is a good description. You've got to hand it to me, to the stimulators. It's a good description. way of uh approaching your music making it louder and faster than somebody else's you know and uh and that's what um hardcore became it became a louder faster version of punk rock and uh i'm glad my band you know abided by that and i definitely felt that that was the way to go when you're doing your music make it louder make it faster My drummer wasn't sounding so good on like one of my last tours. And I yelled at him, please play louder and faster. And he shook out the cobwebs from his, you know, from his antidepressants or whatever. And he played louder and faster, made everything better.
SPEAKER_05:Well, that was nice of you to say, please, you know, so. Got to do what you got to do. That's right. How does Reagan Youth get together?
SPEAKER_01:We were little kids, and we always talked about being in a band. We were kids, and we liked albums, and we liked music. It was the 70s. There were a lot of... There was a lot going on musically, especially for white boy rock, when you're talking about all these rock bands that were out at the time. I remember Dave was definitely... It'd be paper mache class, and he would make Emerson Lake and Palmer's Tarkus, that armadillo tank. He made an armadillo tank in paper mache class. He definitely had that on his mind, and I loved that, that he knew so much about music, and it seemed like he knew more than my older sister did, and she was always pushing... you know, how I should know music. And I guess it was, you know, if you wanted to be considered cool or not, you should definitely know what was up with that day's music, you know, with the times, you know, what kids thought was cool and what kids thought wasn't cool. I definitely was with the clique of kids that thought punk rock was cool. And I felt it was... It was definitely something that I had a lot of fun getting involved with a bunch of my friends and playing in a band. It was very students in school, wanted to do something besides go to school all the time. So we asked that guy from that other junior high school that we're in high school now with, hey, you want to play drums with us? And we just became more and more serious with it. And we practiced for about a year. We'd go to studios and just spend money and just practice until we sound, well, I guess until David thought we sounded tight enough or good enough to go perform live. So yeah, we were taking it serious. We didn't just show up one day and we're like, poof, we were good like that. We practiced at it for a good year or so before we started performing live. We went to Forest Hills High School and we knew the Ramones had gone there too. And we were like, hey, if they could fucking accomplish that shit, then why can't we? Why can't we just fucking... strum guitars and come up with fucking catchy songs and you know what maybe we could fucking go out there and play some fucking clubs and uh it was it was nice knowing that it happened before you know in my school and before that Simon and Garfunkel went there you know so I guess it's always had some kind of musical fucking connotations my high school and um I kind of never really thought about it, but it was just nice that I was able to connect with Andy, the bass player. He was always practicing with me and showing me stuff and introducing me to better guitar players in our neighborhood and stuff like that. We definitely took it seriously. is what I'm trying to say.
SPEAKER_05:What was your practice space like at that time?
SPEAKER_01:Sometimes we'd take the amps from Andy's apartment and put them in his parking garage and just set up the amps there. And you had a lot more room in the parking garage, obviously, even though there were cars everywhere. But you could get loud. You could get really loud there. And we would practice how we'd look on stage and We just, like, you know, have amps loud and look at each other and practice the set. I mean, that's what we did sometimes. Or our friends who had a house, we'd go to their garage and, you know, set up the drums, the guitar, the bass, and, you know, probably put the mic through a bass amp or some shit like that. I doubt we even had a PA in the very beginning. But we... We definitely liked to go to studios. It was very convenient. And, you know, we'd go from Queens into Manhattan or sometimes even Brooklyn to like rent a studio space for like two or three hours. And it was nice. You know, you had a room to yourselves and you could drink a quart of beer and smoke weed and just, you know, go over to sets. until it sounded tight enough.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, you do a few demos. You do a 1981 demo and you do an 82 demo. You said you demoed before you played a show. So what's the order here? I guess I should ask, when was the first Reign Youth show?
SPEAKER_01:Back in the day when we used to go to 171A, that was a studio where Jerry Williams was running the studio. And he'd allow us to make recordings there and he'd give them to like NYU noise to show and shit like that. He would give those recordings to radio programs and stuff like that. Sometimes Jerry Williams is also a sound man at CBs whenever we played CBs. So it was like kind of having your personal sound man. You already knew what you sounded like. He was like the engineer on your record. I mean, you know, he's going to know what you sound like when you play live. And he's the sound man, you know, at Seabees. And Dave used to ask him to come over to Great Gildersleeves because it was across the street from Seabees so he could do sound for us there. You know, he liked having that person that knew our material and knew where everything went. So, you know, it's nice having everything come together at that time when we were playing shows.
SPEAKER_05:Why does it take so long for the 12-inch to come out?
SPEAKER_01:It was like a real stickler for, you know, he wanted everything to be perfect. We got a new drummer and a new bass player and that took some time. and then when we finally released it he only released it as a seven song ep in the beginning and then when it got re-released he released it with three extra songs and it became an album that came out right before the second album came out um they were put out by the same label and they kind of were supposed to come out you know um at the same time, but it just didn't work out that way. Sometimes the best ideas, the best intentions don't work out, unfortunately. And unfortunately, it could be such mundane things like drugs and other things that just lead to something just not working out. the way you hoped it would have worked out one day. Yeah, but I guess that's like, you know what? You know, that's just life. That's just how things work out. You know what I mean? At least the band was able to put out a couple of records in its lifetime. And it's two records in like eight years of being in the band isn't a good fucking track record. But it's all we could have mustered, I guess. And that's, you know... You got whatever we were able to come up with in an eight-year period.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, but most bands don't put out a 12-inch as good as that first one that you guys do, right? So it doesn't kind of matter anything else you guys do. You put out one of the greatest punk records of all time. Ah, thank you. So that record was a split release. It was self-released, and it was... split with R-Radical Records, which is Dave Dichter from MDC. How did you meet him and how did that all come about?
SPEAKER_01:We met them when they came to New York and then when we went out to California, that's where we got our advance from R-Radical and it was through Dave Dichter. They're very sweet and they took care of business. Dave Dichter and the bass player. Oh, my God, I can't believe I can't. Franco, I think I forgot his name. And the drummer is very sweet. I ran into him recently. And that was just such a long time ago. And it's nice that you had that kind of, you know, East Coast, West Coast connection that we were able to. come out on a record and it was based on the West Coast. Because I always liked the West Coast and it's just as important as the East Coast, the coast I'm from.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. So in 84, you come out and you do a tour on that record. You play a bunch of NorCal shows. But when you come down south, you play the Olympic Auditorium with Dead Kennedy's BGK Raw Power. Do you remember anything about that show? Because those Olympic shows are really famous.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, they were humongous. I remember seeing eight pits going on simultaneously on the floor. They didn't have an orchestra. There were no seats. They were just one humongous slam band smosh pit. Guys would get up on stage and jump off the stage and land on someone and just pummel the living crap out of them. I've seen a lot of Pretty insane, violent acts when that show was going on. And it was nice that I got to play one of those shows. And they even made a videotape of us playing it. So it was nice that we got to play that Olympic Auditorium venue. And that... that we got to play that international night with Reistat from Finland, also played Solution Mortel. I didn't say that right, from Mexico. I remember they played right after us. And yeah, BGK, there were, you know, Dead Kennedys. It was... It was a nice lineup, and I'm glad we were part of it.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, you called out the stage diving. Was that not a thing in New York by 84?
SPEAKER_01:Wait, say that one more time.
SPEAKER_05:You called out the people jumping off the stage. Was that not a thing in New York in 1984? That
SPEAKER_01:was, but I never saw a venue as big as the Olympic Auditorium on the East Coast. Like that was definitely when, when I got out West in 84, I got to see how much bigger, you know, and the live shows were just definitely more exciting on the West coast than I had seen up in the tri-state area. And I got down as far as like Virginia beach and stuff like that. You know, um, it never equaled what I was seeing on the West coast. I thought that was like, you know, um, a bigger and better version of where I was from.
SPEAKER_05:The guitar tone that you have on the 12-inch is one of the greatest punk tones ever. Do you remember what gear you were playing? And really, what do you attribute to that recording coming out so good? I
SPEAKER_01:think it was Dave being a stickler for how it should sound. He would ask me to play it again and again. At this time, it'd be mic placement or moving the Marshall somewhere or having it go directly from the board to give it a metallic distortion. We were just trying a million and one things until we got the most filthiest thing. sound possible. And Jerry Williams was a big part of it. The engineer, he, you know, came up with a lot of ideas because it's not like me and Dave actually had ideas. We just knew it didn't, it could have sounded dirtier. No, it could sound dirtier. It could, let's see if he could get it sounding even dirtier than that, you know? And, um, I always thought the tone, the setting, that you set your amp and the volume and the knobs on your guitar and on your amp, those are very important when you want to go out and make music. Whether you're playing live or recording, you want as filthy and dirty as the sound as possible. I always thought that was important.
SPEAKER_05:What else do you remember about that recording session?
SPEAKER_01:I know there was a lot of arguing with the bass player, Al Pike, and Dave. Steve was a real trooper. He was a great drummer. He was just very straightforward. And his playing is immaculate on that record. Al's recording, his bass gets kind of lost at times. He would stop playing in the middle of a song. He would do things like that that used to drive Dave crazy. Like, can't you just play? entire song without stopping and like you know making a you know a bass or whatever or complaints and i mean that's sometimes people do that and it didn't seem like you had any rhyme or reasons doing it and um it was very disheartening that you couldn't have like all four members clicking together as one, but we did the best we could.
SPEAKER_05:How was the 12 inch received at the time when it came out, like amongst your friends and amongst fans of the band?
SPEAKER_01:Um, I, I remember, um, wondering what people thought about it. And Dave, um, showed me some reviews that he found and they seem to be positive. They all seem to be very, uh, Very receptive to the recording and people were definitely digging it. And some of them actually thought of the recording as being essential. So I was like, ooh, good work to have associated with your recording.
SPEAKER_05:But did you see a difference on the ground before and after the record came out? Do you feel like your popularity as a band swelled at all?
SPEAKER_01:I think... our audience actually became more familiar with lyrics, especially. And I started noticing people when you brought up my band, they didn't just repeat the band's name, but they actually would say lyric to a song, you know, that's, that's how they would respond like Reagan youth. Oh, shit. We are the sons of Reagan. Ah, we must get a little big and tall, you know, like they actually knew, uh, the, the words to the songs now. And, uh, I thought that was, uh, uh, a big difference that people were actually getting a hold of Dave's, um, lyrics. Cause he was a great lyricist. I, I always thought a
SPEAKER_05:hundred percent. There's so many classic New York hardcore 7-inches that come out in this time. Why do you guys decide to do a 12-inch instead?
SPEAKER_01:Because I guess we were able to, and that's where we were at musically at that time, I would imagine. And it just all kind of... at what we were trying to do at that moment.
SPEAKER_05:So there's a prestige associated with it. Like a 7-inch is kind of a single stepping stone to an LP and you felt like you were an LP band at the time.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I guess that. You could look at it that way, yep.
SPEAKER_05:What was the scene in New York like in 84 and how do you feel it was different from, let's say, 81 to 84? It
SPEAKER_01:seemed like it was a bit older and definitely a bit bigger and a little bit more with a metal scene melding into it, coming into the punk scene. So that's the difference in 84 from the beginnings of 1981. You definitely had a lot more people showing up and people from a different musical scene that that never seemed to mix and match with the punk scene, but now seemed to have gotten a good hold of it and became part of it after a while.
SPEAKER_05:Because Agnostic Front's crossover record is 86 and the Crumbsuckers as well, but you feel like metal was already there in 84?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and it just took bands a couple of years to put out records that were their metal records.
SPEAKER_05:What happens with Reagan Youth in the years between the 12-inch in 84 and the Volume 2 cassette that came out in 88?
SPEAKER_01:You know what? We were still playing, not as much. But we were playing, and then we did go to California one more time in like 87, and that was a lot of fun. And Dave and I, we were going to do a new band, a band afterwards called House of God, and we weren't going to be kids taking on... politics but grown-ups taking on religion and it was going to be like Jimmy Falwell fronting Led Zeppelin and we had a lot of grandiose ideas and it would have been fun if we were able to have gotten done it but um that's where our head was at at that time and when volume two came uh it came time to record those songs uh Dave and I were like let's just take every song we ever did as reagan youth that didn't show up on the first record to show up on this one and so all those songs were once uh played by us at you know clubs and venues uh at uh hardcore punk shows even like one holy bible that song was like uh we played that at our very first show at a7 like we got i remember um the bass player from the mad uh screaming matt george came up to me and told me how much he liked that descending bass line from One Holy Bible. So it's like, yeah, all those songs were definitely Reggae Neats songs that we played for the kids in the hardcore scene.
SPEAKER_05:What was Dave Insurgent like as a person?
SPEAKER_01:He was very intense. He was very smart. I looked up to him. I thought he was something brilliant about him. He could be very, very, very intense to the point where it could overwhelm you at times. And, you know, he overwhelmed me at moments. But I always appreciated having him around. He was a great teacher. He was a great friend. He was a great person that I looked up to and loved. I'm glad I got to know him the way I did.
SPEAKER_05:Do you think he's like a Darby crash type figure, like highly intelligent, but you know, has a
SPEAKER_01:just highly intelligent, but unfortunately flawed in some way. And yeah, I remember someone told me that they, they talked to someone that knew Darby crash and they had like similar things to what I had to say about Dave that, yeah, they were very brilliant. But unfortunately, they had that, you know, shortcoming of falling in with drugs and not being able to negotiate a life through that, which is very sad. But it happened to a lot of people. Drugs have made better people than you and I, like, you know, buckle and buck up and all these things. And I pray that I never... never, you know, ever have to experience anything like that.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Yeah. Also they were both great poets, right? Great with their lyrics.
SPEAKER_01:Amazing with their words. Amazing with their words. My God, their, their lyrics, their lyrics were incredible. I thought both of them.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. Paul, are you comfortable telling the story leading up to Dave's untimely death? Because it's a pretty crazy story.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. It's kind of crazy. david um uh when he went in to record the final uh you know lyrics volume two and he sang every song like twice that night you know so we'd have uh a version of him you know on on that record because he'd been blowing off so many um so many uh um recording uh And we had to pay for it. It was very embarrassing at the time. So Dave came in and did that. And when he went home, a drug dealer he owed money to was waiting for him and fucked him up to the point where Dave ended up in a hospital and had to get a frontal lobotomy. And this is according to Dave. That's what Dave told me. It's only a frontal lobotomy. Okay. It's like, okay, Dave, it's only a frontal lobotomy. So he was never the same after that. And then when he did drugs and having that brain operation, that just made him weaker and not in good form at all. And he just kept slipping away until he ended up having a relationship with this prostitute who ended up going off with a serial killer who ended up dismembering his girlfriend's body. And around the same time, his father backs out of the garage and hits his mom, and his mom ends up dying of internal bleeding. It was just very sad the way everything happened. And I remember him coming over to my place and telling me, about his dad and about Joel Rifkin and his girlfriend. And he ended up eating, I think, something like 40 Ella bills. And he wrote a suicide note that his father ended up having the police give to his lawyer and his lawyer put it away and stuff like that. I never got to hear or see what Dave wrote on a suicide note. note or anything like that. But it definitely was suicide. And that's just a hell of a way for things to end. And it was very depressing for me. I don't know how else to put it, but it was very depressing.
SPEAKER_05:Did you ever speak with his father?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but his father was always weirded out by me thinking I ruined his son by bringing that punk rock and roll to his son, and if it wasn't for me, David would never be in a stupid band, blah, blah, blah. It's all my fault, blah, blah. Why did Paul have to be here and ruin my son? My son, why is he listening to this guy? That's how his father viewed me. And it was very frustrating trying to have a normal conversation with the guy. from my point of view.
SPEAKER_05:What do you think the legacy of Reagan Youth is?
SPEAKER_01:I think it's, we kind of like, you know, pointed out that fascism can and will indeed happen. And it's a lot closer to home than, you know, a lot of people like to admit. And I think it's becoming rather apparent, especially in these days and the times we're living in. So, yeah, it's kind of, It's kind of something like, you know what, beware. If you don't keep an eye out on evil, evil will come and make its presence known. And then you're stuck with a fucking evil lifestyle. So good luck to mankind, humankind, may I say. Good luck to mankind and womankind alike.
SPEAKER_05:Paul, where can the people find you if they want to follow you or get in touch?
SPEAKER_01:I'm going to have someone answer that. Her name is Beatrice. Here, Beatrice, answer that.
SPEAKER_02:You can just email us, breakingnewfinyc at gmail.com.
SPEAKER_01:We have a website, too. Perfect. We have a website. Either way. We make it easy for people. We make it easy for people. Message us on Instagram or email from the website's email.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, it's reagan-youth.com.
SPEAKER_02:Yes.
SPEAKER_05:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:I know. It's the dash.
SPEAKER_05:I love a dash. I love a dash.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah,
SPEAKER_01:someone took that domain name. So what can you do? What can you do? Just add Dash, that's all.
SPEAKER_05:Paul, thanks so much for your time. Anything else you want to add before we get out
SPEAKER_01:of here? No, but I want to thank you for spending time. And I do have some new music that I have coming out. And hopefully you guys will get to hear it rather soon. Like within... maybe six months or so.
SPEAKER_05:Awesome. Looking forward to it. Thank you so much for your time.
SPEAKER_01:All right. Thank you.