YOUTH BRIGADE - Sound & Fury 1983

Now a masterpiece, the sun is gone and it seems rain is coming soon. Youth Brigade is an L.A. institution of awesome Punk music and established in 1980 and going strong ever since! Formed as a trio by brothers Shawn (vocals/guitar), Adam (bass) and Mark Stern (drums) in 1980, the band subsequently founded the great BYO (Better Youth Organization) label and they released five studio albums (counting one released as The Brigade), of which the last was released in 1996. Almost each album was recorded with the original lineup of the Stern brothers; bassist Bob Gnarly replaced Adam in 1985 during the recording of The Dividing Line, which was released as the Brigade. Adam returned in 1991 (when the band reunited) and contributed to the band's 1992 Come Again EP and their next two albums (Happy Hour & To Sell The Truth) before leaving once again in 2007. Youth Brigade continues to tour to this day, although, other than six new tracks on the 1999 split album BYO Split Series Volume II, they have not released a full-length studio album since To Sell The Truth in 1996. Youth Brigade's first and most influential album is the classic Sound & Fury record. Thirteen blasts, including tracks "We'll Sink With California" and "What Will The Revolution Change?", the latter being an introspective critique about the punk movement itself. Two very different versions of this album exist, with the rare first edition containing many different songs from the second edition. The first edition is now available on CD and is entitled "Out Of Print". Represented on relevant compilations, a few I have and coming soon.

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V/A - Underground Hits 2 1983

Another classic Punk Compilation is this record and I found a good review so I can save any useless words: "In the early to mid 1980s, hardcore punk was on the rise and in some cases the records were selling in the thousands, especially the LPs. There was a whole slew of independent record distributors stocking this new exciting music and the records were finding their way into more and more stores. During this time, the German label Aggressive Rock Produktionen had the idea to start licensing some US hardcore records for release overseas in their home country in an effort to have the records available locally, and not as pricey imports. The label also did a pair of compilations called Underground Hits. Volume One had a pretty equal mix of US and German bands while this one, Volume Two, featured mostly US bands. What was unique about this one was that some of the tracks on here were exclusive to this comp and would be that way for years." - Thanks for this!

1.Hot Cars - ANGRY SAMOANS

2.Inside - ANGRY SAMOANS

3.Full Force - YOUTH BRIGADE

4.Care - YOUTH BRIGADE

5.Meat Crimes - MEATMEN

6.Mr. Tapeworm - MEATMEN

7.Daisy Chain - FU'S

8.FU - FU'S

9.Chaot? - CANAL TERROR

10.Roter Sand - CANAL TERROR

11.Hasenjagd - SPUX

12.Letzte Generation - SPUX

13.Teenager In A Box - GOVERNMENT ISSUE

14.GI - GOVERNMENT ISSUE

15.Twisted Views - GOVERNMENT ISSUE

16.Deadly Skies - HÜSKER DÜ

17.Lifeline - HÜSKER DÜ

18.Hijack - ADRENALIN O.D.

19.White Hassle - ADRENALIN O.D.

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YOUTH BRIGADE - Come Again 12'' 1992

Good news first, my turntable is working again and I'm excited. Was thinking of buying a new one but there is a repair shop in my town that solved my problem within two days. And for a blogger or ripper there is nothing more terrifying than a broken turntable, believe me. A positive intro which leads me seamlessly to the next post and it's the splendid comeback mini album by Youth Brigade on BYO Records after the split up in 1987. And these six Nuggets have it all, melodic fast and catchy songs, and if sounding great isn't enough, these brothers are pioneers and legends of the independent record label society and one of the finest Hardcore combos to emerge from Los Angeles during the Punk era. Still active as far as I know, even though the last album (the split record with Swingin' Utters) came out over twenty years ago. Now enjoy this little triumph at breakfast!

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CHAIN REACTION - Gabbie EP 1985

Chain Reaction was a group formed in 1982 in Bari and after some changes & some concerts the formation is stabilized with the arrival of Nicola De Marinis (guitar) & Guido De Stisi (drums). Between 1983 and 1984 they toured in many Italian cities, with the Youth Brigade for example, proposing nice hardcore beat and it was extremely successful; kollettivo in assets that had been created in the city, the group members were among the occupants of the space called 'Giungla' and unfortunately their only output is this record in 1985, released by Belfagor Records that contains six really angry pieces, voice screamed and fast-paced and relentless. The band disbanded in 1985.

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TZN XENNA - 1981-2011 EP 2012

Exotic punk now while watching the soccer match vs Denmark and I have much info about the When, Where + Whys: TZN Xenna is a punk combo from Warsaw and one of the earliest in Poland. The band was founded in August 1981 by vocalist Krzysztof "Zygzak" Chojnacki, guitarist Marek "Markus" Kucharski, drummer Tomasz "Gogo Szulc" Kożuchowski and bassist Piotr "Czomby" Dubiel, who was soon replaced by Jacek "Sydney" Zientała (as Dubiel became the guitarist for Deuter). Initially, the band used the name Kamash And The Ekers. Their rehearsals took place in the "Skarpa" Community Center, where the musicians played their first concert on September 9, 1981. In autumn 1982 the band played the "Rock Galicja" tour with Dezerter and Deuter in the southern part of Poland, performing in, among other places, Rzeszów and Krosno. In August, they won the qualifying rounds at the "Open Rock" festival in Krakow's "Rotunda", performing alongside groups such as Turbo and Stalowy Bagaż, which allowed them to perform at the festival in Jarocin. However, the musicians declined to do so, describing it as a "militia festival". At that time, the group appeared in a report by Telewizja Polska on subcultures ("The Way of Life" by Ewa Skurczyńska), as well as in a program about Polish punks produced by the West German television ARD. In 1983, Zygzak was replaced by Falkonetti, as new singer. Not much later, the musicians stopped their activities. Gogo Szulc left to join Tilt, while Sydney, in the second half of the 1980s, started a short collaboration with Robert Gawliński (then ex-Madame) in the form of the band The Didet Bidet.

In 1984, TZN Xenna returned with a line-up of Zygzak, Markus, Falkonetti (bass guitar) and new drummer Dariusz "Dynia" Dynowski. With this line-up the band performed in October in the Warsaw club "Stodoła", playing alongside with Siekiera and Youth Brigade. The following year, the musicians performed, among others at the "Róbrege" festival, and recorded four songs in the Tonpress studio.

In 1986 Robert "Mionek" Micorek joined the band as a second guitarist. This five-member TZN Xenna line-up played concerts until mid-1987, when the musicians decided to quit. Zygzak later continued playing in the bands Lumpers and The Klaszcz. Dynowski joined Deuter between 2000 - 2003 as a drummer. 2011 they played an concert as part of the 2nd edition of the Rock na Bagnie festival in Strękowa Góra and the year ended with the release of their second EP, TZN Xenna 1981-2011. In April 2012 the band entered the studio and recorded material for their third EP, Ścierwo and performed at the Jarocin Rock Festival for the first time in its history. On September 1, 2012 they played their first foreign gig in history in Berlin and in November, the first studio album Pogo Girls saw the light of day

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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V/A - KPNK Punk Radio 1997

I open March with this amusing compilation from Countdown Records and its full of ’80s covers played by renowned punk bands which are partly ingenious, sometimes desolate, but all in all not bad. At least the sound brings a lightly brisk sunshine into my veins, to that a delicious morning coffee and the day can begin, only the question remains: bike or train... or back to bed? Always making decisions is exhausting but nothing can go wrong with this entertaining record. A philosophical conclusion or...

1.I Only Want To Be With You - AGENT ORANGE

2.Leavin' On A Jet Plane - ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES

3.Amy - WESLEY WILLIS FIASCO

4.Relax - DON KNOTTS OVERDRIVE

5.99 Red Balloons - 7 SECONDS

6.Volare - YOUTH BRIGADE

7.I'm A Believer - NINA HAGEN

8.Impulsive - POOLE

9.The Candyman - SLOOPY SECONDS

10.Baby Hold On To Me - THE TV TV's

11.I Think I Love You - ISM

12.Good Girls Don't - THE CHUBBIES

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UPRIGHT CITIZENS - Kiss Me Now 1986

💥 Extraordinary, fantastic music which always turns me on is the sound of the Upright Citizens from Bottrop (in the north-west of the Ruhr area), founded 1979, but it wasn't until 1982 that they started to attract attention - and they differed from many other German bands of those years through their (almost entirely) English lyrics and their clear orientation towards American hardcore. This was evident with their debut Make The Future Mine & Yours, which was released in 1983 and also made the band known internationally (Jello Biafra had noticed the band early on). Two songs securing them a spot on the legendary Keine Experimente! compilation on Weird System (1983), in 1984 they were featured on the We Don't Want Your Fucking Law slab on Mortarhate and on the hugely influential Peace/War double album on R-Radical Records, the label of Dave Dictor of MDC. So it happened, very unusual for a German band, that their second album Open Eyes, Open Ears, Brains To Think & A Mouth To Speak has been published in the USA via B.Y.O., the label operated by the Stern Brothers (Youth Brigade). With the Kiss Me Now (1986) and Farewell EP (1988) followed two more records of the "classic" side of the band, which had a few other releases until the mid-nineties and also played live - but the air was out, and in 2003 the band played their last concert, and a reunion, so the clear announcement, is ruled out. Well, this mini-album sounds a bit different from the previous records and is sometimes a bit too metallic for my taste, but I still like it and after hearing it several times, it penetrates well; they have long since earned this bonus from me. A fit short review: "Despite the uninspiring cover art and the Led Zeppelin-like intro to the title song, this new release has all the bands trademarks: tight, imaginative instrumental arrangements, plaintive lead vocals, memorable hooks, and generally on-target lyrics." (Jeff Bale, MMR #44, January 1987) - Always a pleasure the four, and I love Fridays 💥

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MISCAST - s/t EP 1990

Miscast were Lothar (vocals), Thomas (guitars), Didi (bass), Stefan (drums) and formed around September 1983 by people in and around Olten, at a time when American hardcore swept into Switzerland. Back then I was working with Felix Fischer at Jamming Distribution and we were probably the first in Switzerland who were trying to sell stuff like This Is Boston Not L.A. & Flex Your Head comps, 7Inches and 12Inches by SS Decontrol, Negative Approach, Minutemen, White Cross, Minor Threat and the like. Miscast played somewhere around thirteen shows in Switzerland, among them one supporting Toxic Reasons and another playing after Die Toten Hosen. There were several smaller gigs too, one of them we did along with Haine Brigade at an anarchist meeting in Lamastre (France) on July 13th, 1984. It was a time bereft of enthusiasm (the "Youth Movements" had been crushed), various gangs of fascist scums kept attacking gigs, Punks beat up on each other, and so forth. There wasn't very much happening in the way of bands either, most of them were musically and ideologically still rooted in '77, except for a few... GKH for example, from Baden, who were very young (average age: 15) and therefore had quite a devil-may-care approach (meaning guitars with strings missing etc.). Still, they managed to get one song on the second Flipside compilation.

One of them also published the first Swiss hardcore fanzine before he changed sides and became a nazi-skin (with all but the drummer and their later bassplayer doing likewise... The drummer is now in Jaywalker). Brutal Menekken, Decontrol, Attax and Kosili too were early, moderate (and tame!) attempts at hardcore. None of them, however, were quite as fast, original and hard as Miscast. But sometime in Autumn 1984 the story had already come to an end, about half a year after the Miscast demotape was released on Stechapfel-Vertrieb. (words by Simon and translated from the liner notes.) - Cool Eighties Stuff!

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