To any given carpenter, nails are good for one thing: getting hammered on. Southern California’s hardcore grind outfit Nails aren’t your typical stainless steel variety because they hammer right back. Nails are a band that knows how dish out abuse and they don’t mess around. Unsilent Death‘s 10 songs have only three that clock in [...]

“We are the old graves digging the new.” The lyrical conclusion of the third song from Trap Them’s latest musical assault, the 12″ EP Filth Rations is an apt insight to Trap Them’s overall sound: Swedish death metal, Manchester grind, Cross-over thrash, pissed-off punk and abrasive hardcore. Trap Them are a summation of old styles [...]

I have a few ideas for several blogs. And not just individual blogs, but blog serieses. Or series’. Or is it series’s? Anyway. First and foremost I am finally going to respond to Dr. J’s original Facebook note about the “Top 15 Albums that have changed my life.” I will do this by giving each [...]

There’s a pretty good blog on music and culture I’ve been reading lately that posted some interesting thoughts on Straight Edge called Late Night Wallflower. In 1998 the straight edge lifestyle was about 15 years old, and it was no longer what it originally was no matter who you are, or what you were doing [...]

It’s a Converge day today in the office. Nothing like a little Jane Doe to get me stoked about calling students!

I’m in jonesin’ for two pedals right now. Since I have an Ampeg V-4 which has two inputs, each with their own gain controls, I have the ability to do some cool dynamic things. Turn one input down for a “cleaner” sound, and the other up for the “dirty” sound. All I need is a [...]

I uploaded a new song to my band’s myspace page.  I think it’s cool.  Definitely the most fun to play.  Go listen if you please.

I want to simply know where I’m going I want to have it all laid out Not so that it won’t be a surprise, but more like I’m content and assured of where I am I feel a moment of peace amidst the begrudge–the day-in-day-out, humdrum, worker bee routine I need some punk ethic I [...]

Okay, okay. Brandon Ross is apparently the only person who wants to know, but he’s enough… We’re gonna go back to Greenville in two weeks and records 4 new songs, and do some more overdubs on Terror, and send them to be mixed by Atlanta’s Matt Goldman.  Matt produced such great sounding records including Copeland’s [...]

A paper I wrote for Rock Music History about Converge. Converge Paper for Rock Music History Prof. Andrea Johnson May 5th, 2005 Converge is arguable one of the most important hardcore bands since Black Flag, Minor Threat, Agnostic Front and Sick of It All.  Converge, along with a few other bands in the early nineties, [...]