Metropoulos Forum

Anyone into old school Hardcore? Stuff like Discharge, GBH, The Exploited, Minor Threat, etc.?

Ohhhhh, I thought you meant old porn stars from the 70s & 80s like Seka......

I've always been real big on Bad Brains.

Oh yeah, had it all on vinyl. Unfortunately, it's been about 15 years since I really listened to any and I really don't remember many song titles. I liked stuff from both sides of the Atlantic and dug on lots of different styles like punk, Oi!, hardcore, etc. Hell, the first few bands I was in played some kind of punk.

The Detroit scene was a blast until the skinhead phenomenom caught on. Things got weird and violent when the scene was at the mercy of a few gangs. Some key bars closed up but a handful of real punks kept it going.

Whatever happened to "Maximum Rock and Roll"? Is it still around?

Yes that zine is still around. I've been listening to a lot of hardcore lately, funny how back then there was no way I would have been able to go to a show due to my not fitting in with the punk/HC crowd. I had long hair. But always dug the music and the few shows that I did go to were really full of energy.

I hear ya on the skins down turn. I had long hair and walked through the pit at a Tool show at the State Theater in the mid 90's. Then they proceeded to throw me down and stomp me with Doc Martins.
I crawled through the crowd until my head hit the barrier in front of the stage.
Definately puts a negative association on the scene. I do recall a lot of clubs closing during that time too. I was playing heavy stuff, more from a metal origin. But we all played the same clubs so I got to see lots of great groups.

George

Yeah there were loads of fights back in the day until DRI released Crossover, then the attitude started changing a bit. That and JFA were into metal. Luckily I had a couple of punk friends who were in bands so they acted as sort of a buffer for a couple of metalhead beatdowns that were planned for me.

Listening to this stuff now, I never understood how politically charged this stuff was. I was always under the impression that it was a lot of youth angst built up and released through the music. Essentially a lot of teenage pissing and moaning. I do not agree with any of the political lyrics nowadays but the aggression of the music is still fun.

Probably my favorite band from that era was/is The Accused.

Yikes. I haven't heard DRI in years. I can't think of the LP's title, but I do remember pulling the album out of the sleeve and seeing like 20 songs per side. Made me feel like I got my money's worth, even if the average song length was under two minutes.

As far as favorite bands, I gotta go with the big names like Minor Threat and the Misfits. I liked their stripped down hardcore sound without resorting to thrash for aggression.

How about Negative Approach? Remember them?

Nope can't say I have.

Gotta say, I grew up on it and metal (of course). It's been a good while... years... since I've listened to any of it. I always hated the scene - the violence, politics and fools who fight at the drop of a hat. Last year, I was asked to play drums on a BLITZ reunion tour (a joke, really). It was pretty cool to pack out CBGB's and play alongside and drink the guys from Agnostic Front. -James

I don't remember much else about Blitz, but I played the crap out their tune that had a chorus something like "The boys are out tonight". Sweet tune. What is it? How was the tour?

I seem to remember Agnostic Front as being pretty good players. No?

Yes they were. They are still around, bashing out cd's. The latest one isn't half bad either.

I used to go to CBGB's "Hardcore Matinee" every Sunday afternoon back in the '80s.

I used to stand right in the P.A. with ear plugs in, no matter how bad-ass those guys were they wouldn't get too close to that!

Ludichrist and The Crumb Suckers are two names that stick in my mind. Ludichrist's "Most People are Dicks" is an anthem to live by!

There used to be some 155 pound black guy who would drop in and thrash his ass off so the skinhead asshole thing apparently hadn't taken off yet.

Some Hispanic chick did sound during the week, she did a punchy live mix, meters tagged the red on the beat. The guy who did the hardcore mix looked like Dio's furball guitar player, his philosophy was to never get the meters OUT of the red! Held it right up against the compressors apparently.

Now that you mention it Agnostic Front rings a bell. They used to plaster their posters all over the Lower East side, didn't they?

Right about that time some guy stage-dived over at Roseland, the pit parted like Moses parting the Red Sea and the guy did a floor kiss on the hardwood floor. Hey, that was another band, Floor Kiss! Anyway, he broke his neck, his parents sued Roseland. A couple weeks later there was no more stage diving in NYC, CBGB had a couple goons perched on the stage, they'd HURL your ass back in the pit if you tried to stage dive!

Early Metallica copped a lot of what was happenin' in hardcore back in the '80s. Type O Negative is to my mind a late '80s -early '90s New York hardcore scion. Rob Zombie is whatcha get when ya combine rockabilly with a hardcore mentality!

Ahhhh, CBGB's. Played there once on a bill with Blondie (when she had dark hair!) and Johnny Thunders. I ws a pie eyed kid not knowin' what the hell is was getting into. Johnny Ramone offered me a sniff off his tube of model glue in the bathroom

Funny tales of CBGB's. Lot of fun playing there. Funny, it was Vinnie Stigma's (the 'lead' guitarist - for what THAT'S worth) birthday. We played the same song 3 times - I was piss drunk by the end and broke 2 kick pedal mallets. A.F ("One Voice" is my favorite), I believe their stuff really got Metallica going in the early 80's. A lot of bands began to cross over to a more metal sound - Cro-Mags, DRI... while still maintaining the thrash element. Enter: Black Metal -James