Tampa Calling

It was ridiculously hot. It took me 15 minutes to realize that my white wife beater would become my face towel for the day. It was loud. It was colorful. It was my first time at Vinoy Park. And finally, at the age of 24, it was my first time experiencing Warped Tour.

It’s been three years since I attended a music festival and as I walked through the ticket line into a field filled with tents, stages, beer stands and even a slip n’ slide, I instantly recalled why I love outdoor fests; passing through the gates meant entering a world of the unpredictable and the unexpected. I didn’t know what kind of crazies I’d come across (there were bound to be some amidst the 10,000 attendees), what kind of new music I’d hear, or how pleased I’d be with the bands I was there to support. Read the rest of this entry »

A rainy evening in Tampa couldn’t put out the metal fire at the Brass Mug on Wednesday, July 1. I caught the last two bands of the evening, Seventh Rule Records labelmates Light Yourself on Fire (Tampa) and Wetnurse (NYC).

Light Yourself on Fire Read the rest of this entry »

Frodus Conglomerate International (1993-1999) resurrected on June 18, 2009 at Redlight Redlight, Orlando, FL, continuing what has been an outstanding ’90s hardcore reunion year (most recently the unbroken/split lip reunion at burning fight). Supporting the resurrection was Tampa’s Guiltmaker and Orlando’s Hurrah.

Frodus Read the rest of this entry »

Ed Lowery and friends (which includes the Tampa Two Stroke Scooter Club) threw a benefit concert in support of Mike Formato, a friend injured in a serious scooter accident, at New World Brewery this past Saturday May 30. It was a eclectic evening of music featuring sets by Magadog, Light Yourself on Fire and The Boozers.

Magadog

Magadog is the band that introduced me to ska at the tender age of 16, opening up a parallel universe to the SXE/hardcore scene. When I moved to DC for college, I was surprised to find that the hardcore and ska scenes didn’t interact in any purposeful way like they do here in Tampa. When Magadog broke up, it was very sad … my friends and I had so much fun through the years with them at shows with Checkered Cabs, Skavoovie and The Epitones, The Toasters, The Pietasters and many others. When Magadog reformed in 2007, we were psyched to have them back and so far, we haven’t been disappointed! With one new record out, Sunrise…, and another on the way, Ybor City, Magadog is firmly back in the skank of things. Saturday evening’s performance had the crowd skanking the night away… who doesn’t love a little skaerobics? Read the rest of this entry »

Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that drives you to do things like spend hours looking up people you haven’t spoken to for 20 years on Facebook, or periodically dust off your yearbook to page through notations ranging from sentimental to inane. For those of us growing up in the hardcore straightedge music scene, nostalgia makes us do things like fly to Chicago for an Unbroken reunion.

The Unbroken reunion was the main event of the Burning Fight music fest held in Chicago at The Metro, May 2-3, featuring 22 hardcore bands as well as a pre-show at the Subterranean on May 1. Burning Fight was first conceived as a celebration of the publishing of Brian Peterson’s new book, Burning Fight: The Nineties Hardcore Revolution in Ethics, Politics, Spirit, and Sound. Norm Arenas had a similar concept when he published his own book, Anti-Matter Anthology, and hosted two Snapcase reunion shows in New York (also featuring 108, Triple Threat and Supertouch). A testament to how hardcore/straightedge scenes work, both shows were benefits: the Anti-Matter shows raised funds for Cal Robbins, the sick son of rock artist J. Robbins, while the Burning Fight shows benefited Rock for Reading and PAWS Chicago. Read the rest of this entry »

Where to begin? Last Thursday seems like so long ago, the start of a very long weekend of incredible music. With the Harvest Of Hope festival bringing bands by the boatload to Florida, many of them played shows throughout the state before and after the weekend. I (with my girlfriend and a few other friends) went to four shows in six days across the state. I did my best to document all of this with pictures and video; and even managed to score a short video interview with Bryce Dessner of The National. Read the rest of this entry »

Hankshaw & Friends

The annual New Granada Christmas Show at New World Brewery featuring King of Spain, Davey von Bohlen, Hankshaw and Jarvik 7 was a splendid night of reunions with a grand soundtrack.  The show has a reputation for unique elements (including in past years the reunions of Scrog, Pohgoh and appearances by elusive bands like The Blackwoods Orchestra) and it’s a place to meet up with friends from near and far.

King of Spain… Read the rest of this entry »