Sidetracked - Dead Radical Split

As a 2008 release I believe this is the second newest in the works of Sidetracked. The keen ear will take notice that the track "Stand For" contains "Is It" from the Hustle Tape; a nice touch indeed. Further mentionables include a Prong and Minutemen cover. The Minutemen cover is logical but the Prong one is less expected, nevertheless, coming out great.





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Black Bagged - Demo

Black Bagged played a few shows, did one tour and then broke up. From the stories I've heard of the tour it seems to be one of the driving reasons for their disbanding. I think their demo is fucking great. Travis recorded it himself for a school project and it sounds awesome. The band features Travis from Sixes and Matt from Outlook but sounds like neither. The band itself has more of a crust melodic drive to it, but don't worry, it's not pretty melody... I used 'drive' because it's the only word I could think of to describe it. Disregard what I just said actually, just listen to it. It's intense. Also read the lyrics; great lyrical content that demonstrates deep social awareness pertaining to the America's and colonialism. Also two subject matters relating directly to Olympia's current political events/protests. The package deal is a great listen.



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Sunset Riders - S/T

A great follow up to the release of the demo tape, this 7" shows a little more musical maturity - the recordings are much tighter. Priceless Times, Get A Grip and Get Real are re-recorded and the new tracks deal with life pressures, growing up, and calling out straight-edgers and posers. I love it.





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Sidetracked/In Disgust - Split

Sidetracked split with In Disgust, 2007. Check out the ridiculous artwork.



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Owen Hart - Discography

I just remembered I had this; seeing as I never had a copy of the demo, this would be the best way to get all of Owen Hart's stuff up here. After having been a band for seven years these eight calculated tracks are all you get. Whether the lack of song writing bulk could be ascribed to goofiness or the fact that they seem to be carefully constructed is up to you to deduce. Rumors of a cover album and a new record are afloat. Although the lyrics are unintelligible by merely listening, Timm speaks, albeit a bit too idealistically and forcefully, of important issues involving rape, religious dogmas, racism, sexism, etc. Timm helped me through a difficult transition from remaining reserved to continuing to push forward with Sixes. I was having a difficult time continuing with the band because some of the issues I spoke about were a bit to close to home. We discussed the issue of rape and how it feels when we speak about it onstage and others jeer. Needless to say Timm is in part responsible for keeping Sixes alive so thanks a lot my friend. Tacoma Heavy Metal. Funny side note: On the Pantera cover, the rain noises were created with everyone's mouths. Upon listening to it knowing this information, it sounds pretty fucking gross... yet convincing.





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Owen Hart - 5"

Owen Hart 5" from the sole proprietors of the Tacoma metal-based hardcore. Two tracks, enjoy.

Lyrics
Lyrics
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Poseidon - S/T 7"*

Seriously honest and passionate. This record basically epitomizes everything I could ever want from a release. I have nothing negative to say about this record aside from maybe the goofy artwork. Musically this is seriously powerful. If it resonates even half as well with you as it does me, you won't be disappointed. I feel like my relationship with them as friends was strengthened through the vehicle of music. Poseidon and Sixes did a tour together and it was one of the most fun trips of my life. It was a strange mixture composed of the fun of the time Benn Evan and I stole a forklift and the seriousness of communicating heartfelt issues. I have to say I feel for Benn and respect what he has to say about issues. Without further ado; get ready for some chaotic drumming and compelling lyrics.



Lyrics
Insert
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Fever - SES 7"

Brian Skiffington is involved in an incredible amount of projects from the Tacoma music scene. What is being showcased now is his band Fever. This band demonstrates, what I believe to be, complete control by Brian i.e. he is the mastermind and calls all the shots; as a direct consequence there's some seriously silly stuff contained. Musically, I feel people who like another local area act Iron Lung will like this. The two bands could be likened but Brian's flare is quite unique. They played what I believe was their first show at the Weiner Shack in 2007 where Brian passed out informative pamphlets with lyrics for the 'performance'. The 7" contains an instrumental track entitled "SES" where he gives a very thuggish shout out to Tacoma, 16OH records and his coined term, 'South End Style' [not yet recognizing that Olympia is the true south end of the Puget Sound]. Has Brian gone totally crazy with his south end style rhetoric? You be the judge.





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White Wards - Demo

This is the first demo tape from White Wards released this year. These tracks feature the band as a four piece, Lawson was later replace by Ian S. on bass and Ian J. was added on second guitar. As far as this demo goes, I really enjoy it. It's much cleaner sounding than the new tracks; by this I mean less noisy, less feedback. The tracks are more bass heavy and just gnarly sounding in general. If you're a fan of blisteringly fast hardcore check it out. Peep the latest happenings of White Wards at OURSOUND





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Red And Black Music Video

If you haven't seen it yet, now you have. Just finished recording an 11 song cassette EP at much better quality. Be ready to Taste The Rat.



Also, new Sixes song recorded. Check it out on OURSOUND

HPP - New Tape

The newest HPP tape, just in time for rumors of breaking up. Damn, the new tape is sweet, way more hardcore punk influenced than the previous. Noisy and fast. Unfortunately, in true HPP fashion there are no lyrics or song titles. Check out track 7, it's fucking awesome.

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Board Youth - 2008 Tape

Board Youth just broke up recently. They played their last show at a borderline frat party - it was fucking crazy. Right before the show we were skating at Lacey park and I got hit by a titan on a bike while doing a backside air. After I fell to flat my ankle folded and his bike and body weight landed on top of it. Needless to say I had a softball for an ankle so I had to watch the show from the side. The show was at some dude's house in Hawk's Prairie and it was a party for a bunch of guys going off to Iraq. They were all absolutely plastered and socially confused. I honestly felt sad for them, they were border-line crying on the mic. When we first got there we expected a fight for sure [Robert had fought one of the juggernaughts there before], we were a bunch of visibly dirty goofy punk kids and they were all well-dressed abercrombie or hot-topic clad, cologne wearing army dudes with judging eyes. After they got a good deal drunk they started warming up to us. Board Youth played and it was fucking wild, people were circle pitting, skanking, and moshing up a storm, after the set there were a few odd encounters but most of the dudes there were stoked on it. Most of them had the same comments; "how old are you guys?", "I've never heard music like that before!". Then the army dude's band played and holy shit was it hilarious. They covered screeching weasel, jane's addiction, green day, and, after a warning for us 'youngins' that we might not know the song, a black sabbath song that they called ozzy osbourne. Regardless, fucking awesome last show. Board Youth has received quite a bit of shit over the years. As retort to this I say, how good of a band were you in when you were 15? All these kids started the band at 15, are super young, and fucking rip! They skate hard and well and play awesome hardcore punk! Board Youth is, and always will be, sick. For fans of the Adolescents, Ill Repute, RKL, and Wasted Youth, you won't be disappointed. Peep the lyrics because they're awesome. They also demonstrate a social awareness most don't have at that age. I'll try and put up their earlier tape later, at this moment I can't find it.



Lyrics
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Sidetracked - Just A Front

I have no negative words for sidetracked and this 7" is my second favorite release. Nine songs clocking in barely under four minutes. Awesome record, also mention-worthy that it is 16OH's first release.



Lyrics
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Dichotomy - Demo

Dichotomy is some dark hardcore. I enjoy it because there are some serious overlaying existentialist themes. The tape as a whole [artwork, music, lyrics] is dark and depressive. Lyrics pertain to fear, paranoia, stolen human rights, psychology, self recognition; all major themes to existentialist thought. There is a direct reference to Kafka and Orwell as well as allusions to what might be Dostoevsky and Nietzsche. On top of awesome personal-philosophical themes the music is ripping [and somehow groovy] and the vocals are super harsh and gnarly. On top of it everyone in the band seems awesome. We played with them at the HCC and the bass player showed me how to stick your arm up a vending machine to pull out soda. Chad who previously sang for In Stride also plays guitar for the band, so of course he and Nick [the bassist] skated with us. Skate to live, live to skate.

Lyrics
Insert
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Sex Vid - Live At QB

Sex Vid Live at QB (A burrito place in Oly open at heinous hours). I just can't stand their fans. Tape contains songs from the Lp, second and third 7"s, and a GBH cover.



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HPP - Demo Tape

Want some feel good skate jammers? HPP is for you. Adding to the extreme diversity Olympia's music scene embodies, HPP enters. Somewhere between garage-punk and hardcore punk; HPP incorporates some melody to create music I have an extremely hard time finding comparisons to. If I had to think of something maybe more aggressive sonic youth songs? The closest they come to the abrasive hardcore-punk edge are tracks 4 and 7 which are bit more rough and quick. The rest of the tracks have a bit of a dancy melody with a serious piss-punk vibe. Dillon's vocals really pull it off. Unfortunately I have no track names or lyrics, I've never actually talked to Dillon about what his songs are about but I have asked him for lyrics. The two sides of the tape are labeled Maggot Mind and Capt. Trips Ballsington: The A side is 9 ripping punk anthems and the B side is a live set. HPP shows are always wild and fun, they have a new tape out that I'll put up as soon as I rip the tracks. Enjoy!

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Power - Demo Tape

Before I had ever seen Power play a show, Evan gave me a copy of this demo. Although the tracks were difficult to find at first seeing as it was recorded on a spray-painted value village tape, the digging was worth the find. The most recent to date Tiki-House affiliate project; Power as a band shows a move toward a much more heavy hardcore formula. Some notable mentions are some strong back-ups by the man Silima, a guest spot by Red & Black's own Adam Barnes, yet to be identified goofy into-outro music and a hilarious Stone Cold Steve Austin sound sample at the end of The Bottom Line; one of the first ripping straight edge anthems of Power. I remember Evan showing off a wrestling DVD he had gotten that I believe the sound clip came from. The songs on the demo tape are very different from the 7" recordings although they share two tracks. The tape tracks have a different feel to them and incorporate some fast drumming whereas the 7" record is more groovy and a lot heavier/more full sounding. At first I thought the 7" was way better and the tape was harder to listen to but I've begun to enjoy the tape more and more and find myself listening to it way more often. Give a listen for yourself, I'll put the 7" up another day. Oh, one more note; I asked Benn if they named their band after the Agnostic Front song. He told me they named it after the haphazardly compiled SS Decontrol discography Al Barile put together in 1991. Pretty goofy.

Lyrics
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Sidetracked - Hustle

Sidetracked - 2006 Hustle Tape

Tacoma's Sidetracked has come a long way since the xsidetrackedx days and I find this tape to be the cream of the crop. The team that is Jay and Brian as Sidetracked has always been one of my favorite northwest acts. Blasts of intensity, and upon first experience, seemingly discordant parts are strung together to create the succinct sound that is "Hustle". Eight songs total, clocking in at one minute; holy shit. More releases to come from Sidetracked.

Hustle Tape Cover
Lyrics
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Media Mind - Prescriptions

The full length from Media Mind is awesome, and it’s incredibly rare that I find myself enjoying and identifying with something from Seattle. The lyrics are politically poignant, yet carry out a philosophical distinction that I find incredibly important for synthesizing political activism to the emotions of the listener. By incorporating rational thought and honest opinion the lyrics become generally more motivating and heartfelt. Musically, it’s a style that fits my taste; Fast and aggressive early 80s influenced hardcore punk with a bit of melody here and there, but not to say it’s melodic, just to say it has some unique catchiness to it. All the recordings were done live on what I believe the insert to say, on one mic, “the way it was supposed to be”. I can’t wait to see more from these guys in the future, but for now this and the demo are on constant rotation for me.



Lyrics 1
Lyrics 2


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Media Mind - Demo

Media Mind Demo 2009. Totally great, no complaints. Six songs from Seattle, WA, two of which they no longer play unfortunately. Demographic scum is fucking great. Ruck ruck ruck ruck ruck, are you ready to ruck?.

Insert
Lyrics


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Barricade - 2004 Demo

I was rifling through my demos and came across this. I'm not entirely sure why but the Barricade demo was one that I never got rid of. I listened to it a lot and the tracks seem to be burned into my brain, seeing as I remembered everything about it as soon as it started playing just now. I enjoy it quite a bit aside from the triggered drums and weird lyrics. Brian is in a new band now that is old barricade songs with him singing. He calls it sojourner and it's way wilder and gnarly. A lot more originality (crazy song structures, poetic lyrics and whatnot), I'll probably put that up soon. For now, enjoy.

Barricade Demo

The Crazies - 2004 Demo + Bonus tracks

Demo dropped on the NW hardcore board, silly times. Extremely enjoyable. Awesome movie samples whose quality was insanely reduced to put on the demo (ear-piercingly awesome), plus some really silly stories to accompany the band (such as covering gorilla biscuits new direction seven times in a row to piss people off and because of the excessive amount of other bands covering it, some younger band from Olympia covering 'get me the president' thinking it was an 80s hardcore song, and much other pizza and candy motivated tomfoolery). Long story short, Olympia at its finest. Included is the demo, three covers and five originals, plus two unreleased tracks. Enjoy.

Crazies Demo
Bonus Tracks

Wish I had some artwork or something; here are the lyrics to dead days. Notice the soda cracking open in the song.

All the lies that we're fed, how we were mistreated
we believed every word that you said
those days are dead
all this shit through my head, all this shit I'm seeing red
we believed every word that you said
those days are dead

HIV

What is there to say about HIV? Damn, I would have to say, from my experience, they are the best band I have ever encountered. Sure, this may sound like melodrama to those who didn’t connect with the people or the music and especially to those who haven’t heard them, but for me, HIV was a monument in time in my young adult life. The overall feel of an HIV show more deeply embodied a sense of snotty hardcore-punk distaste for mainstream culture [and hardcore culture alike] than any band I have ever witnessed. There was so much truth behind the lyrics you could feel it in the music. It was so absolutely honest. Generally, the songs concerned a laughable disdain toward societal pressures that so many hold dear; including but not limited to, getting a job, relationships, making yourself look cool, making something of yourself… the basic groundwork of feeling like you need to act a certain way to be appreciated; that you as an individual are not good enough on your own. I used to have such amazingly enriching experiences with Sam, walking around the streets of Bremerton just talking about life. He was such a humble, charismatic person. Just talking would lift my spirits so much. We both came from extremely crummy life backgrounds and just related on the purely human level of feeling slighted in some way by forces we couldn’t control. Confiding in each other produced so much strength for me and for many others in the passion behind his lyrics and live performances… absolutely wild; seriously some of the craziest and most genuine hardcore-punk shows. I’ve had great interpersonal interactions and shared so many fun moments with Sam, Benn, Dewey and Mike that it just puts me in the best mood any time I ever listen to the music. I remember once, I believe it was Sam Robert and I, went up to Port Townsend, spent the day skating the park, and then ate pizza out on the water and watched the sun go down. All memories linked to HIV, but I digress.
From the humble and albeit, sketchy, beginnings in the summer of 2004, HIV made their first release the “Nature is Gay” EP. Now, some serious slack was cut on my behalf considering that these kids were all 14-15 when they started the band; what rose from each subsequent release was a catalogue of teenage to young adult counter-culture ideals. From the EP, s/t demo, summer fun demo, full length and s/t 7” each release was better and better. Below are all the releases but the EP which I unfortunately do not have (looks like skater-fags will be omitted from the discography). Below are links to the S/T demo, Summer Fun tape, and the 7" session recordings including the songs that weren't put on the record.

Summer Fun Tape
Summer Fun Tape Lyrics
HIV 7" Sleeve
HIV 7" Sleeve 2
7" Lyrics
7" Lyrics 2
7" Label
7" Label

Download Demo
Download Summer Fun Tape
HIV 2007 Recordings

I have nothing negative to say about this band... then again, I don't plan on posting things I don't like.

Tape Lyrics (they're relatively unreadable on the insert):

Nothing Left: I remember when I was told
about golden brick roads and flowers that would always grow
this is the land of opportunity
well my parents lied to me, there's nothing left
Waves of concrete, sky of smog
take a look at your land of god
everywhere I turn I get more mad
slit my wrists wish I was dead

No Sir: I'm stuck and I'm bored, I gotta believe there's something more
I'm trapped, and I did it to myself, I'm trapped, I've got nothing else
No sir I won't be like you
I won't fall into their trap, of going to work and never looking back
work, death and taxes, bikini lines and full body waxes
No sir I won't be like you, you can't fucking make me

Blind Actions: Who do you think you are?
All your hate what is it for? Forgot where you're from
forgot how to have some fucking fun
you've got nothing good to say we need you out of our way
when will this fucking get through we don't need your attitude
it's blind actions
yeah this goes out to you, the dude with the piece of shit crew
yeah this goes out to you, the dude who can't get a clue
with you in our way there's no satisfaction
all I fucking see are blind fucking actions

No Problems: Not planning ahead, don't want a job.
Teachers call me a fuckup, dad thinks I'm a slob.
While you're at church I'll skate the curbs.
Heat on my neck, there's not much school left.
No Problems; unemployed out of school
No problems; air is hot water's cool

Sick of your attitude: Who are you to put me down?
Do you know what this is about? All you do is fucking laugh.
Boosting up your self esteem go back to your boring high school scene.

Work sucks: 4 to 12 is killing me. Just wanna fucking sleep.
Getting fucking pissed. Wanna slit my wrists. Work sucks.

Radical: I don't care, don't talk to me. I know jesus is radical.
Don't care about the stories you tell, just wanna be my fucking self.

Over the Years: You've taken this way out of hand, just have as much fun as you can.
Every time you go to a show, every time your ego grows.
Over the years you've lost your sight, forgot what being a kid is like
my skin, my hair may grow with age, but in my head I'll stay the same.

Poseidon - Live on Dead Air

Poseidon - KGRG Set




Poseidon and Sixes played on Dead Air radio KGRG together sometime this year, I honestly can't remember when. It was after tour while we were still brother bands before Poseidon's difficulties due to Mike's ear problems. The beginning of the set has some technical difficulties but the guitar comes through about midway through the song. There are a few unreleased tracks, most of the 7" songs and some tape songs. Poseidon's set was so fun. Dead Air is a college campus radio show that showcases local bands playing live on the air. During Poseidon's set we were running around, circle pitting, stage-diving on the couches, etc. Following we got kicked off campus for skateboarding. All in all an awesome day.
DEAD AIR
Wednesday Nights 7-10 PM
89.9 FM KGRG
www.kgrg.com to stream online
Contact:
KGRG ATTN: DEAD AIR
c/o Green River Community College
12401 SE 320th St.
Auburn WA 98092
http://www.myspace.com/dead_air

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Poseidon - Tape Demo

Poseidon 2008 Demo



I was skating with Adam and Robert at the Fred Meyer in Bremerton one night and I ran into Benn Silima coming out of the adjacent subway. Benn told me to listen to his new band and I seriously thought he was joking when I heard it. It was so different from anything I had heard him do and I hadn't heard his vocals aside from his joke band he did, Bonesaw. I heard it and thought it was way too good to be real. I was amazed. The music is incredibly powerful, Benn is a riff machine. Mike's drumming is blistering and Alex pulls the trio together to form what is possibly the most intense band to come out of Bremerton. The lyrics on the demo at this point are relatively vague, yet still very personal; I had heard Benn express distaste with these early tracks. I think they're fucking awesome, the Johnny Cash cover at the end was an awesome idea and came out great.



Lyrics
Tape Insert

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Outlook - Demo 2008

Outlook 2008 Demo



The first thing I heard about this demo before the inception of Outlook was that it was Stop At Nothing songs James had never used. After receiving the demo, I had found that it had taken a life of its own far outside the realms of stop at nothing. The music is characterized by a youth crew hardcore feel [some parts are seriously side by side-esque and there is a riff that is pretty noticeable Antidote inspired] with its own flare of driving intros and some surf influence; "Break the Silence". The recording quality is poor, which takes away a bit from the energy which is so present at live performances, but what is the real driving force behind Outlook is the lyrical content. Lyrics pertain to taking responsibility for choices and actions, the dilution of hardcore punk into a marketable product, economics, taking an active stance against social equalities, re-evaluating social behaviors, and sexual discrimination. The voice behind the lyrics is direct, thoughtful and at times sardonic. If a contemporary band deserves to have its views heard, this is the one.

Lyrics!

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