Besides Asides

The Ergs! were a lot of things to a lot of people. To me they were a passionate and nerdy punk band that moved between standard pop punk, 80's hardcore punk, country and back again. Like J Church and Sicko before them they gave the listener a glimpse inside the complex framework of American Underground music. A few years ago they called it quits leaving behind a couple of LPs, several EPs and one odds and ends collection: Hindsight is 20/20, My Friend. A little "Vol. 1" was tacked on to the end but we've yet to see a second volume surface commercially. I decided I wouldn't sit on my butt and I'd make one myself.Only 10 of these 36 songs was released in some commercial nature. A good chunk of these songs come from a demo/bootleg called The Milwilly Tape which was is alternate recordings of songs that would eventually end up on Upstairs/Downstairs and singles from around the same time. Another big chunk of these songs are unreleased songs recorded for abandoned projects. A few of the songs - the demos - aren't Ergs! songs exactly but the band released material like it under the Ergs! name before so why not? The rest of the songs are made up of 7" and comp appearances the band had after the release of the first Hindsight. So at this point this seems to contain the final word on the band.

Hope you enjoy this:

Listen

This is a great quality recording of Tom Gabel of Against Me! playing solo at Generation Records in New York. Even if you don't care for his solo material you will still probably dig this set, it is floating around out there but this is likely the best bitrate/version you are going to find. Both the vocals and music are at a good volume, and there is also decent crowd participation. Enjoy:

I went back and fixed a few of the things that weren't working around the site and added additional material as well. I fixed the links to the Leatherface collection, Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle II and the Fucked Up collection. I amended material in the Fucked Up, Dillinger Four & Tegan and Sara collections adding a few songs here and there. I've also removed the Ergs! compilation and will be reposting with lots more unreleased goodies.

To me the Descendents were the essential punk band. They knew how to have fun, they knew their way around a good pop song and can crank out a short and fast hardcore tune should the need arise. There is so much more I can't even put into words. I only wished their was more of their music to listen to, well I guess there is always ALL. Anyhow I went and collected all of b-sides and rarities I know to exist all in one place. Some of these songs have been floating around on bootlegs for awhile but they were bootleg quality. I on the otherhad took these songs from their original compilation and single sources. I also went and cleaned up the audio on the demos/unreleased stuff as best I could for an added bonus. Here is Rareage!, enjoy:

During the 90's major labels seemed to be signing bands who came from the punk and general American Underground left and right. These bands took their indie spirit and married it to bigger budgets, wider promotion and better production. These bands became what is wildly known "alternative" bands, over time bands in the mainstream started to copy these bands watering down their sound more and more and therefore what was the "alternative" became the mainstream.

While technically still on an indie The Gaslight Anthem's blend of Springsteen roots rock, 80's new wave and college rock and 90's New Jersey punk rock reminds me a lot of what those so-called alternative bands were doing in the 90's. Along with Against Me! they could be spearheading a push for credible rock bands gaining a more prominent presence in the mainstream market. I for one am all for it if it means more people get exposed to better music than Nickelback or Three Days Grace or whatever the fuck they play on alternative radio nowadays. In honour of Gaslight's new album American Slang being released this past week I went and collected songs from all the band's acoustic radio sessions and the like that they made while supporting their last album The '59 Sound. I went for the best sounding version of each song as they did a lot of sessions those two years and certain songs had plenty of versions. Sadly, the band didn't record every song from the album acoustically so there is 8 songs from that album, a slew of covers and a few songs from other projects. So, here is The '59 Sound Acoustic Sessions:

It is common knowledge that before John K. Samson formed The Weakerthans he was in the socially conscious punk rock band Propagandhi. The few songs he performed vocals on in that band as well as his solo demo tape were good indications of what The Weakerthans were to sound like on their debut. Prior to the release of Fallow, Samson had also released a split CD with fellow Winnipegers Painted Thin. Painted Thin at this time also featured future Weakerthans guitarist Stephen Caroll and drummer Jason Tait. Painted Thin's sound that combined elements of the melodic punk rock of Fifteen and Propagandhi with the sounds of contemporary Canadian indie rock was an even better indication of where the Weakerthans were headed.

Rightfully or wrongfully I've always viewed ska punk as thing of youth. Go to any random ska punk show today and you will likely see the fresh acne filled faces of 14 - 19 year olds, and not much else. It is fun music to sing along and dance to with generally positive vibes. When i was 16 or so I was first getting into punk, street punk and ska punk were my gateways. Over the years I've sort of grew out of listening to it and a lot of the local bands that played that style of music have either broke up or changed their sound. One of the bands that falls into the latter category is current Fat Wreck Chords band The Flatliners. Their shows were some of the first I went to and any knowledge I had of a Southern Ontario punk scene came from those early slam and skank sessions. While the Flats have been able to admirably progress their sound to a sophisticated mix of melodic punk with slight hints of ska, there is something that still draws me to the blistering ska punk of their debut full-length, Destroy To Create. That, Suicide Machines' Destruction By Definition and Operation Ivy's discography are the three ska punk albums that hold up best against the test of time.

Feeling nostalgic I went and collected all the band's odds and ends into a single collection, Rebuild. A good chunk of this is pre-Destroy To Create and maintains the band's nervous ska punk fury. Anyways, enjoy: