CROSSED WIRES

The Long Island Hardcore scene is definitely a scene of its own and is a huge chapter in the lives of everyone involved within it — from its inception to its current state. Like every scene, it's had its peaks and lulls but through it all, it's always remained a favorite place for many bands and people to visit and revisit... with good reason. Check out the video below, donate what you can and help make this documentary on LIHC come to fruition.  SOMETHING IN THE WATER : A Film About The LIHC Music Scene

This record might be close to the top of the album of the year list for me. These Amherst natives stick to the traditions of 80’s Western Mass punk and 90’s garage pop sensations. Thick layers of fuzz driven guitars, rumbling bass undertones, and vocals whirling with long hair and flannel. This eight song LP was recorded in MA by Justin Pizzoferrato, who has collaborated in the past with such bands as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. I must say their sound doesn't stray too far from those bands either as they could be contemporaries, had they been around at the same time. However, they are are leaving their own unique mark in their hometown’s punk history with a fresh new dynamic in which they will stand amongst their own. Tracks such as Sucker and Curse the Knightmare bring promising, straightforward riffs doused in thick, heavy sludge. When you listen to this LP it will feel as if the band is rumbling below you as you sit at home at your parents house wondering what to do wit...

It’s the biggest news in guitar effects in decades: HARMAN’s DigiTech today announced the rebirth of DOD, one of the world’s most legendary guitar pedal lines. DOD is returning with a vengeance, reintroducing two of the most revered pedals of all time – the DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 and Phasor 201. Both models retain all the sonic magic of the originals while incorporating improvements like true bypass, 9V power adapter jack and other refinements. “Legions of musicians worldwide still treasure their DOD pedals and still use them regularly. Now, guitar players everywhere will be able to enjoy DOD pedals once again and hear why some players won’t part with their DOD pedals for any reason,” said Scott Klimt, Marketing Manager, DigiTech. “These pedals are not strict re-issues,” Klimt continued. “We’re redefining what each pedal should be, and building those pedals. The paint jobs, graphics, functionality and naturally the sounds pay homage to the vintage pieces but with improveme...

So, for this weeks dig I'm pulling out a rare and unreleased Cave In song, Inflatable Dream . I hate being that guy but I would have to say that this is my favorite Cave In song.  I believe this song was recorded around the Creative Eclipses EP sessions. These guys are a band that has covered many genres in their time together. From the metalcore masterpiece  Until Your Heart Stops , to the major label alt rock debut,  Antenna. You can find all of those elements that they are known for in this song. If you ask any Cave In fan, they will probably tell you that this is their favorite song as well. This song starts off with a very eerie melody, backed up by a clicking guitar noise to fill in the void (almost like he is taping the guitar pots with his fingers). Just as you think it will build off of that, they hit right in with fast, laser gun guitar riffs, and pummeling drums. Thats right...laser, phaser guns. I remember reading an old interview with the guitar player...

Well, after more than 30 years the Fender Starcaster and Coronado models are finally back in production. This will make many hipsters mustaches fall off, and many kids whose parents bought them a Starcaster starter pack at Guitar Center very confused. If you have attended a Lollapalooza festival, chances are you've seen someone play one of these guitars. Alright thats enough of the terrible jokes. I will admit the guitar geek in me couldn't stop from smiling when I saw that they were putting these back into production. I was especially gleaming when I took a glance at the photos that were released. To add to the joy, these guitars come at a very reasonable price. In my opinion. the Coronado and Starcaster are two of the most unique and sophisticated semi hollow guitars to ever hit the market. For anyone who has been on the quest for one of these, now is the time to get your hands on one of these while it's easy on the good ol' wallet. Fender intr...

I initially wanted to skip right through this song when it first came on shuffle. So I hit next and then hit back and came to my senses and realized how much fun it would be to talk about this song. I am not a fan of the Linkin Park era No Warning. However, a lot of my friends are, and think its the greatest hardcore record to come out since Damaged . I respect and love No Warning, but I can just not get behind this record. The only good thing about this song is that if you hit play and sing the words "CRAWLING IN MY SKIN" over the chorus it sounds really fucking sweet. I have no idea why they just didn't sing that over and over again. It could have potentially gone over much better for them, had they done it four years prior. Buy Ill Blood via Bridge 9 (it's better).

Earlier this year BL’AST! guitarist, Mike Neider contacted Southern Lord with news that he had found some mysterious old BL’AST! master tapes in a abandoned storage locker. Greg Anderson, fanatical about BL’AST!, wasted no time in sending the tapes to a studio to be baked. Needless to say, after 25 years gathering dust, the quality had deteriorated. Even when the tapes had been baked, nobody could have anticipated what would follow. With the tapes baked and audio digitised, Southern Lord contacted long time BL’AST! fiend, Dave Grohl about mixing this recording, his response was an enthusiastic “FUCK YEAH!, LETS DO THIS”! Whilst inside Grohl’s famous 606 Studios (and with the Neve console as featured in the recent Grohl produced documentary ’Sound City’) a remarkable discovery was made – a completely unheard, unreleased BL’AST! recording session from the mid–80s. The lineup of the band at the time of the recording included second guitarist William Duvall (from Neon Christ ...

Colin Frangicetto has always been a personal inspiration for me. It was right around my freshman year in high school when I first heard of him. It was at the beginning of the band Circa Survive’s life, a now thriving force in the music scene. Colin was regularly posting entries on the band’s website, which was more of a tour diary it seemed. I remember feeling really connected to him and the band. I can recall him writing about life on tour, it was my first look into the “on the road” lifestyle and it enthralled me. It was the personal, in depth, honest writing that he and the rest of the band did that really made me fall in love with music. Eight years later I was lucky enough to get Colin on the phone and ask him what has been itching at me for years. This interview took place in March of 2012. Colin was juggling his successful art career, his solo music ventures under the moniker “Psychic Babble”, and at the time of the call had taken a break from tracking the now popular Circa...

You can now pre order our new record Death Chorus that will be out 11/19/13 via Rise Records. Also we announced today that we will be hitting the road this fall to support the record with Citizen, Diamond Youth, and Sainthood Reps. Ticket are now on sale, get them now and come out to a show!

I couldn't have asked for a better first Random Start than Sunny Day. I should come out and say that this segment is not originally my idea. I was reading through Riley Breckenridge of Thrice's blog , and stumbled upon this segment that he does. Basically the idea is to hit shuffle on iTunes and write about the first song that comes up. It's a nice way to start off my mornings just right. What can I really say about Sunny Day Real Estate that people don't already know? They have probably the best rhythm section in rock during this era. Good enough for Dave Grohl to ask them to join him in the Foo Fighters later on. This song is up there as one of my favorites by them, it really encompasses the band overall. I never was able to see them a few years back when they did their Reunion tour, but I believe people when they say it was nothing short of incredible. Buy  How It Feels To Be Something On via Sub Pop.

I'm very grateful that I got to see them play finally. They are one of the few bands that I actually cared about doing a reunion. Rumors have been surfacing recently of them doing another record, not too sure how I feel about that. Needless to say they put out one of the best records of the 90's and in (post) hardcore in general. No one has come close to reproducing that sound since. Buy  the reissue of  Slip  on Vinyl via Shopradiocast .

Premier Guitar just recently put together a Rig Rundown of Troy Van Leeuwen's guitar rig. Troy is a huge part of their sound a very influential guitarist. He's one of my personal favorites. His unique style has been a very integral part of the band's sound since he joined the band. Not only does he play guitar but he also uses a lapsteel in a non traditional sense for noises and other effects, as well as percussion. Unlike Troy, Josh Homme is never one to publicly talk about what he uses on stage. Troy's rig consists of three main guitars - an Echopark T- style, his signature Fender Jazzmaster with a Mastery Bridge, and a Burns 12 string (not shown.) He plays through two Vox AC30s, a combo and a head driving Vox and Marshall cabs. Effects: Van Leeuwen's main QOTSA pedalboard has a Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro MIDI controller, a Custom Audio Electronics tap-tempo switch (for his Axe-Fx II, which is primarily used for reverb and delay), a Mo...

Human Engine (2006-2009) by FEED FEED   was (is?) a band from San Antonio Texas that I believe is comprised of members from local metal/hardcore bands like Iron Age (and possibly a few others from that scene). However, I am not 100% sure on the band's origins. There is not too much info about these guys that I can find anymore. I was turned onto FEED by a buddy of mine. Being into a lot of the bands coming out of Texas at the time (i.e. Iron Age, Power Trip, Bitter End, Mammoth Grinder etc..) it was pretty certain that this record would be up my alley, and surely it was. FEED is not a crossover metal/hardcore band. However, more or so in the vein of Helmet, Alice in Chains, and Failure. When I first received this release it was only a 4 song EP with tracks 7-10 on it. Above is a collection of demo tracks and the 4 song Human Engine EP. The EP is some of my personal favorites. However, I have been into a lot of the demo songs lately as they remi...