Cast Iron Hike


With their formation in 1996 that resulted from the breakup of the Boston hardcore act Backbone, drummer Dave Green and guitarist Christian Pupecki got together Cast Iron Hike that same year with Jacob Brennen (vocals), Michael Gallager (guitar), and Peter Degraff (bass). Continuing the short, fast, and loud formula of their prior band, Cat Iron Hike immediately played a series of shows throughout the East Coast before their debut EP The Salmon Drive came out in 1996. The following year, Victory Records released the album Watch It Burn while Trustkill Records put out a self-titled EP in 1998.

Self-Titled EP
Watch It Burn


Kieltolaki


Kick ass hardcore in the best traditions of 80s finish hardcore-like a tighty wound early Riistetyt. This hos somewhat richer production with thrilling originality in the guitar changes of pace it boasts loads of power while making for distinctive, original compositions. All song a well under two minutes, and makes you ache for an albums worth of this stuff.Strongly recomended



Reagan Youth




David Rubinstein was born in 1964. He formed "Reagan Youth" with guitarist Paul Bakija when both were in high school in Rego Park, Queens. While they were still in high school, the band played the punk clubs of Manhattan. In fact, David's science teacher became a roadie for the band (That high school teacher was so into the punk scene that he shaved his head and as a result almost go fired by the school administration).

As the members graduated from high school, Reagan Youth was performing regularly at C.B.G.B.'s and an established band on the country's budding punk rock scene. They recorded a single, then an album. They toured cross-country many times, performing with all of the great hard-core punk bands of that era. At the "Rock Against Racism" shows in the early 1980s, Reagan Youth shared the bill with the Dead Kennedys, the Bad Brains, and others.

Reagan Youth recorded its first album and signed a simple contract, hand-written on the back of a poster for a gig. That album sold over forty thousand (40,000) copies. The band also appeared on several compilations albums, including Live at C.B.G.B.'s. They were a mainstay at C.B.G.B.'s Sunday afternoon hard-core matinee concerts.

Reagan Youth's music was ironic and political. They preached the gospel of "peace punk." David was known as "Dave Insurgent." The name "Reagan Youth" was ironic, given David's family background as holocaust survivors. The cover of their 2nd LP featured a photo of Hitler shaking hands with an emissary of the Pope. Their song titles included "Jesus Was A Communist" and "New Aryans."

By the late 1980s, the members of Reagan Youth were frustrated and worn out from years of touring and drug abuse. They had never made any money in the music industry. When Ronald Reagan left the White House, they officially disbanded. David and several other band members continued to play music together, although their new group never achieved the same success or momentum as Reagan Youth.

By this time as well, David had developed a serious heroin addition. He was also dealing drugs, although he was not very shrewd at it. David had the bad habit of consuming the drugs he was supposed to be selling. He was a loudmouth. When a supplier would ask him for money that was owed, David would sometimes reply, "You'll get you money when I say you get it."

In a drug deal gone bad, another drug dealer violently beat up David with a baseball bat. He was hospitalized for weeks. When he got out, he returned to his parents' home. There, he continued to use drugs, smoking pot in his bedroom as his parents tried to help him recover. Eventually David left his parents' home and moved back to the lower East Side. By now, between the violent assault and his continued drug use, he was no longer an energetic anarchist. He had become a bit disheveled, and many of his friends from the punk scene no longer associated with him.

David began dating Tiffany B., a prostitute who worked on Houston Street. David had told his parents that she was a dancer. Tiffany supported the couple and their drug habit by turning tricks. David would often hang out on the street with Tiffany, waiting while she serviced a customer, and then going with her to score drugs.

Around this time, David's mother died in a freak car accident. One night, David and Tiffany were waiting on Houston Street when a familiar customer pulled up in a pick-up truck. Tiffany got in, telling David that she would return in twenty minutes. She never came back. David called the police with a description of the truck and went to all the hospital emergency rooms in the city searching for Tiffany. A few days later, on Long Island, the police pulled over a truck and found Tiffany's body in the bank. They arrested the driver, Joel Rifkin, Long Island's most famous serial killer, who was later linked to killing numerous prostitutes.

Depressed and alone, after the unexpected losses of his girlfriend and his mother, David headed into a downward spiral. One month later, David Rubenstein p/k/a "Dave Insurgent" committed suicide.



Dottie Danger



Dottie Danger is St.Petersburg (Russia) indie rock / surf punk / post-hardcore band.

Myspace

Demo
Self-titled
Uyt Ruin (Comfort of Ruins)


Insted


1986 - 1991

Insted was created in the spring of 1986. After writing a handful of songs they began playing backyard parties and garage gigs. By the end of the yearthey had developed a following in Anaheim and decided it was time to record a demo. In 1987 they caught the attention of local hardcore label Wishingwell Records, ran by Pat Dubar and Pat Longrie of Uniform Choice. They signed a deal with them later that year, wrote more songs, and began opening for some of the bigger bands at venues all across Southern California. By the time they finished the recording of what would become the "Bonds of Friendship" album, they had opened shows for national acts and expanded their following throughout Orange County. Before their first record was released, the band line up was solidified and they we’re ready to take their show out on the road. This would bring us to the summer of 1988, in a time when the straight edge-hardcore movement was growing. Insted embarked on their 1st national tour and began their system of touring, coming home and writing new songs, playing locally, recording, and then going back out on tour.

These were the key ingredients that defined Insted and would earn them an important spot in the hardcore punk scene. In the spring of 1989 they flew to New York to do some dates with Vision and strengthen their relationship with the East Coast. That summer they released the "We’ll Make the Difference" 7" on Nemesis records and were back in the van for another full U.S assault.

That summer they shared the stage with bands like Gorilla Biscuits, Bold, Uniform Choice, Slapshot and Reason to Believe. Upon returning home, they were offered a record deal from Epitaph Records in which they accepted. Insted’s following had steadily grown and they were now headlining 1000 seat venues and drawing massive crowds. During the recording of "What We Believe" they made plans to expand their borders and tour Europe. But at the end of 1990, shortly after "What We Believe" was released, America went to war with the Middle East. Due to the circumstances they were unable to ship equipment over seas and decided to stay in their homeland. In the spring of 1991 they did another national tour. They were now sharing the stage with bands like Judge, Snapcase, and the Cro-mags. The hardcore sound of the early 80’s that they were so familiar with was changing. It was turning into a hard metal edge sound and the attitude of the scene reflected it. Bands that they looked up to like Uniform Choice and Youth of Today were broken up and their old time favorites Minor Threat and 7 Seconds were long gone.

When they returned from tour they began working on new material but felt out of place. The band had built its reputation on respect and integrity. In July of 1991 they decided to do a final show and bow out gracefully. Spanky’s Cafe in Riverside was one of their favorite spots and a perfect host for their humble grand finale. They made sure to include on the bill a few of the promising up and coming local bands.

Over the years Insted traveled throughout the country making friends and building a legacy that ingrained them into hardcore history. To this day the friendships they built are still in tact and their legacy lives on.


Flagman



Flagman was a PA/NJ area band that existed from 1991-1994. They are slowly becoming one of those “obscure” hardcore bands, and I don’t want that to happen.

Alec, the drummer of Flagman, gave me a very detailed history on the band. Thanks to Alec for being so supportive of this!

“Flagman originally started out in 1989 as a band called Loud and Clear, in Bensalem PA. At the time, the band consisted of myself, Sean McCabe, Sam Pinola and John Shearstone. We had started playing music together for a pure and simple reason. We were 4 of about 10 straight edge kids in out entire town. We figured it was our job to get Bensalem on the SxE music map. So we bought some equipment, and that was that. Cutting school in favor of band practice, and playing a show or two at peoples houses that was about all we did with Loud and Clear.

Guys in the band started not getting along, and my brother (Dave) had gotten a pretty nice bass set up (peavey bandit amp, and a no-name basssweet!). Plus he knew a kid named Ed Zielanski that was supposedly pretty good on guitar (and had a Fender Strat no less!) so Sam left the band, and in came Ed and Dave. John our former guitarist was moved onto the microphone. We changed our name to Flagman at that point, because we felt we had changed the band around and were heading in a new direction (This btw was the name of our demo that we recorded at Jake Hains Unisound studio, in Reading PA under the new band name) Plus we had seen a Flagman sign on the way down the shore one day. It all seemed to make sense (or at least then it did)

WellI am sure you never heard the demo. There is a reason for that: It SUCKEDReally bad. So we didnt release too many of those. We should have known when we saw the Unisound studio set up was a bunch of microphones from the 1930s, rubber banded to cymbal hardware.

If anything good came out of that recording, it was that: A: we were able to get some shows at the Unisound. And B: We realized that we didnt like John singing. So we got Sean McCabe to start singing for us. It was much better this way, because everyone was much better friends with Sean anyhow. Our first show as Flagman had us opening for 4 Walls Falling and Burn, at the Unisound. After that, we had gotten a couple more shows, however Sean at this point decided to take a jaunt down to North Carolina with some girl we all went to high school with. We had 2 shows booked that weekend he left, and we wound up having to cancel them. Also, Seans commitment towards the band was kind of questionable. When playing shows up at the Unisound, we had befriended this kid that sported glasses, and always wore a Celtics Larry Bird jersey. We went up to the Unisound that weekend to the one show we had to cancel, and saw the Celtics jersey kid. later found out his name was AJ Edminston, and we asked him if he wanted to be in our band. Later that week, we practiced with him, and he played an Earth Day concert at our High School as a test run. Everything went well. We played our first real show with AJ up at the Unisound with Mouthpiece, Lifetime, and Ressurection. The show was awesome, and halfway through our set, the band got asked if we wanted to release something on Watermark records. This is the way things got done at the UnisoundYou are halfway though playing your set, one of the Jordan brothers pulls your singer aside to ask if you want to put out a 7. Well, of course we were like FUCK YEA. And that was that. Signing with Watermark, did not only include a luxurious record deal, but also came along with the services of Joel Jordan. We needed a 2nd guitarist, and he was funny as hell and fit right in.

We recorded the Restraint 7 at Dome Studios in Royersford PA in 1991. Our 7 did not actually come out until 1993. We had many, MANY problems with Watermark, and had actually even started recording our 2nd 7 with Consequence Records, at Why Me studios during the Watermark hiatus. Before we started recording the Consequence 7 we kicked Joel out of the band, Dave moved over to guitar, and we got Josh Brown playing bass for us. He was a great addition to the band, and turned out to be an even better friend. This is the lineup that would remain until the end of Flagman.

Many shows, and stories later, we recorded our final 7 on Low Orbit records (which was owned by friend Eric Zimmerman), At Why Me. We played our last show in Massachusetts, with a ton of other bands at a HC fest. To be honest, playing this show as our last was one of the most regrettable things with the band, at least for me. The whole existence of Flagman was very personal, and this last show just did not have that feel to it. Luckily the band was all about great memories of growing up together

…Everyone is a child of their past - To Reflect “Its for Life Comp”

Members of Flagman were/are also members of following bands: Crud is a Cult, Mouthpiece, Savanah, Mandella Strikeforce, Ink and Dagger, Ruby Keeler, Laurel, Battery, Lenola, Like a Fox, Favourite Sons, Hamsicle, The Series…And more that I am probably forgetting

When Flagman was not playing shows they could be seen: At Taco Bell with the Grease, playing CRUD shows, shooting BBs into imitation Les Pauls, making crank calls, running scams, cruising around suburban Allentown for girls, saying MIEW, hanging out in Ocean City, and pissing off truckers and Virginian rednecks on the CB. ”

Statue


Alex & Chris from Chain Of Strength put forward a project that leans much closer to the Dischord sound of the mid 80's as opposed to the Minor Threat influenced Chain. The presence of early post hardcore DC bands' influence doesn't stifle their own energy. Track down the "Something To Say" demo, later released on Ambassador Records under the name Statue, this demo predates Filter The Infection and is the bridge between that release and their days in Chain Of Strength.

Filter The Infection

Strongarm


South Florida hardcore unit Strongarm formed in the early '90s out of the ashes of various loud and local outfits. It featured guitarists Nick Dominguez and Joshua Colbert, vocalist Jason Berggren, drummer Chris Carbonell, and bassist Chad Neptune. With only a few demos and a self-released EP to its name, the band was snapped up by Seattle indie Tooth & Nail, and the Atonement LP appeared in 1995. The album featured a more expansive sound and vision than the typical hardcore bluster, incorporating odd time signatures, unpredictable chord progressions, and the band's Christian beliefs into the music's usual stomp and aggression. The Advent of a Miracle LP followed in 1997, and solidified Strongarm's reputation (alongside South Florida compatriots Shai Hulud) as a driving force not only in the straight-edge and Christian music communities, but in the larger hardcore scene. Unfortunately, the realities and complicated logistics of being in a band got in the way, and Strongarm disbanded soon after its release. Colbert and Neptune went on to form the emo-ish Further Seems Forever with vocalist Chris Carrabba, but Strongarm did reunite every now and again for reunion shows.