Besides Asides

Keep It Up were a Youth Crew influenced hardcore punk band from St. Catharines, Ontario that operated from somewhere around 2004-2006 (don't quote me on those dates). In that time they released one self-titled CD, one self-titled 7" and a split 7" with Proven (who I believe went onto form Vicious Cycle). They played this style better than almost any other band at the time and are still missed by a lot of Southern Ontario punks today. Anyways I got my hands on an EPs worth of otherwise unreleased songs so I thought I'd share them even though no one probably has any idea who they were. I think these were recorded around the same time as their split with Proven. Enjoy!

Peace Be Still are a midwestern style emo band from Mississauga, Ontario. Early next year they will be releasing their debut LP , 64, on Sometimes I Get Drunk Records. For now they've put it up on their bandcamp for A Pay What You Can price. Rather than some of the more noodly or twinkly bands that are associated with the the "twinkle daddy" movement they sound kind of like a more aggressive early Promise Ring, with shouted vocals and some great songwriting chops. So head on over to their bandcamp and give the album a listen (particularly "Give Me All Your Karma") and if you like it download it and pre-order the record!

http://peacebestill.bandcamp.com/

Joyride was the brainchild of bassist/vocalist Steve Soto who has spent time in respected punk acts like Agent Orange, Adolescents and 22 Jacks. Joyride were a pop-punk band, that in terms of his previous work, had more in common with 22 Jacks. Joyride play classic guitar pop with a punk edge rather than punk with melodic overtones. I hear a lot of Moving Targets and The Nils in their sound if that means anything to anyone. They only released two LPs as far as I know, 1992's Johnny Bravo and 1994's Another Month of Mondays, I'm posting the first one as it is my favourite of the two. "24 Hours" and "Sleep A Little Longer" are perfect 3 minute pop-punk gems and "Asking For More" channels the dark melody and guitar flare of the Adolescents, these are songs that you can't go any longer without hearing. Enjoy!

Warren G is a really underrated producer and in part I think it hasa lot  to do with  some bad luck. Starting out with the original Death Row Records crew with his childhood friends Snoop Doggy Dogg and Nate Dogg, Warren was one of the many producers that helped pick samples and program beats for Dr. Dre to go to work when constructing instrumentals for his classic album The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle. However, like many of those younger producers, didn't get any credit since it was felt that Dre is the one who really made "the magic" and the one with the rep and the name. Furthermore, while Snoop and Nate were given contracts by Death Row Records, Warren was not. He was the one that got Snoop and Nate there in the first place! According to Warren Suge didn't really like him. This was probably one of the reasons that Warren's raps were taken off of Tha Dogg Pound's classic single "Let's Play House". Being featured on "Let's Play House" would have worked wonders for keeping him in the public eye during the long wait between Regulate and Take A Look Over Your Shoulder. Label politics continued to get in the way as certain songs he did were left off albums during the 90s as Def Jam didn't want the negativity to surround their artists. His earliest recorded hit was "Indo Smoke" with Mista Grimm which generated considerably buzz but unfortunately Mr. Grimm's album was shelved and Warren couldn't capitalize on another potentially helpful association. Another problem for Warren is he tended to not produce for other artists. Aside from notable songs for 2Pac's Thug life and MC Breed, Warren mostly kept his beats to himself or his unsuccessful proteges. The final nail in Warren G's career as a top name in hip-hop came when he was sued by Garth Brooks in 1998 which likely lead to him being dropped from Def Jam records and him having to release I Want It All to little promotion in 1999, the album had a freaking amazing Dr. Dre produced single and it still did nothing. So these are probably some factors as to why even though Warren G is an extremely talented producer and has released 6 very solid and consistent albums most people only know his music from the song "Regulate". So as a tribute to Warren I've gone and collected all the remixes, freestyles, compilation and unreleased tracks that exist from 1993 to 1999. Enjoy!

• 1 is from the Poetic Justice OST. 1993. Epic Records.
• 2 & 5 are from This DJ 12". 1994. Rush Associated Labels.
• 3 is from Do You See UK 12". 1995. Rush Associated Labels.
• 4 is from the Bad Boys OST. 1995. Work Records.
• 6 is from St. Ides '94. 1994.
• 7, 9 & 12 are not commercially available.
• 8 is from The Show OST. 1995. Def Jam Recordings.
• 10 is from The Nutty Professor OST. 1996. Def Jam Recordings.
• 11 is from Vinyl Kombat. 1996.
• 13 is from I Shot The Sheriff (EPMD Remixes). 1997. Def Jam Recordings.
• 14 is from the Supercop OST. 1996. Interscope Records.
• 15 is from The Rapsody 12". 1997. Def Jam Recordings.
• 16 is from the Good Burger OST. 1997. Capitol Records.
• 17 is from the Game Don't Wait 12". Restless Records.

Recently Samiam had to cancel a number of shows in support of their latest album Trips so I missed them but lucky for me and anyone else that did I found this pretty decent quality live recording from their Krazy Fest set earlier this year. It was one large file so I went and cut up the songs in a way I feel retains the flo of the set. My only real complaint is that the setlist heavily favours You Are Freaking Me Out and Astray. Don't get me wrong I love those albums and get that they are fan favourites but in a roughly half our set it would be nice if they could atleast have a one song from each of their albums but Samiam, Soar and Billy are completely ignored. Heck considering it was their last proper album I expected more than one song from Whatever's Got You Down. Enough of my complaining, it is a good boot, enjoy!

Download

The first set of demos here I got it from a great french blog:

http://radpartyonlignebis.blogspot.com/

1995 Demos

Astray Demo

Okay so I don't really have any free legal downloads for anything Samiam related. Instead I thought I'd point you towards another early 90s punk/posy-hardcore band that often got lumped in with "emo" but like Samiam, Garden Variety, Texas Is The Reason and many others had not much to do with it: Dahlia Seed. They had a distinctly East Coast flavour about them, chunky guitars and these powerful vocals from lead singer Tracy that could really flip your wig but at the same time are really beautiful. You can download their entire discography at their website. You still might want to track down hard copies as the bitrate isn't the greatest but still this is some really great stuff. I suggest starting with their second 12" Survived By:

"Remember when the Doughboys played Gilman and they broke up on your lawn?"

For some reason East Bay vets Samiam's career seems to have had more legs in Europe than at home in North America. I couldn't even begin to fathom why because other than Jawbreaker they are probably the most talented band to come out of that scene while bands that have been peddling mediocrity for some time like Rancid and Green Day can pack in clubs and stadiums across the continent. No justice I tells ya. So I've decided my next few uploads are going to focus on them in honor of American Thanksgiving. I give thanks for Samiam.

When I originally posted this last year Samiam had just announced their own official rarities collection Orphan Works but there was no tracklist yet. When I found out I removed the blog post but when it finally came out there turned out there wasn't a great deal of overlap. So I've re-uploaded it removing some stuff and actually adding a few things. Since the band is still releasing music they may have more b-sides to come but those will have to go on a collection of the next two decades. Enjoy:

The problem with posting things in a certain update order is that if something for a feature isn't working out I won't post again until it does or I can find something else to fill that slot. The most difficult slot to fill is the Get In Where You Fit In feature. I have lots of out of print albums, live bootlegs and b-side material in my collection but the unreleased stuff is few and far between. I had a super rare unreleased album in the form of a copy of the master however when I went to view the sound files I discovered that the last four or so songs existed only in silence and their wave forms seemed to be messed up. I won't say what it is less I get peoples hopes up that I'll post it but I couldn't post it incomplete and it very well may not exist in any other form. This is it's replacement and I think it is a worthy one.

A lot of the time when I post things here from a broken up band there is always a chance that the band will release something else after the fact. They get back together record some new songs or unearth some lost gems. This is one of those sad times where that can't happen as Jamie passed away in 2008. These 5 songs represent the last things Bent Outta Shape ever recorded, I believe they were all recorded in the same sessions as the songs that were used on the split with Snuggle. The likelihood of these ever being released is pretty slim which is sad because "Fourth of July" is amongst some of BOS best tunes and the cover of the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden" is simply fantastic. The quality I received these in wasn't the greatest so I've done my best to clean them up and liven the sound quality. So here they are, the final chapter of an under-appreciated band:

In 2001, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label signed New York transplant producer/MC Focus.... Never heard of him? Well Focus... put in work on projects like The Wash soundtrack and albums by Truth Hurts and The Game but he never released so much as a single with the label and after hearing his 2011 mixtape/album Music of the Misinterpreted it is easy to see why.

If you've ever listened to Lucero (alt. country band, not the Spanish singer) chances are you've heard their cover of Jawbreaker's "Kiss The Bottle". While there is some pretty bad Jawbreaker covers out there this is one of the better ones in my opinion. However, if you looked to Lucero's music for any influence you probably wouldn't find much. Imagine if they were though? Well you don't really have to because between 1994 and 1996, Lucero front-man Ben Nichols played in the Jawbreaker influenced pop punk band Red Forty (sometimes written as Red 40).

I don't think there is enough hyperbole in the english language to get across how much I absolutely love Dag Nasty. More than The Replacements, more than Hüsker Dü, more than even Descendents. My story with the band is kind of weird in that Can I Say was one of the first pieces of vinyl I bought when I was about 17 or 18 before I was a collector. I was straight edge and wanted to listen to more straight edge bands (lol). At the time I remember spinning Can I Say, and not really digging it that much and I don't think I did too many after that for a long time. Fast-foward a few years and I was record shopping when I stumbled upon Field Day in the used bin for a few dollars at a local record shop and although I hadn't really liked Can I Say that much I had never seen it in stores before so I thought I'd pick it up. When I got home and threw it on the record player I was amazed at how different Field Day was and how much I enjoyed it. The album was still punk but it had mature exploration of pop music in ways that few bands I knew had approached. From that point on I went out and bought everything I could by the band.

Remember a few years ago when noise pop was the coolest kid on the block? I'd be extremely surprised if members of those band's didn't cut their teeth on Henry's Dress' self-titled 10". What made Henry's Dress special though is they balanced the perfect amount of melody and fuzz. You think with all the noise making and rocking going on the sweet parts might get lost in a muddy mess but not at all. I can't say the same for this recording exactly, but this is a live show if you want excellent quality pick up the studio stuff. This is pretty darn good for what is likely an audience recording. Even more so than the records you really see how the trio rocked out, playing songs mostly from the then forthcoming Bust 'em Green LP. It would be nice to have seen a bit more of an even mix of songs from the Henry's Dress in here and maybe one of the songs from the split with Rocketship but hey beggar can't be choosers. This bootleg does the job of making you wish you could have been there but also makes you wish the band had some kind of proper live album. Oh well, this will have to do. Enjoy!

Remember in the mid-90s when everyone and their grandma had a ska revival band or at least ska-punk song or two on their album? Hell even American Steel's first LP had ska elements. Well the mid-2000s were like that for midwest-style emo. A lot of of forgettable bands have since come and gone milking the style for all it was worth but there were a couple of bands right at the beginning before it became a huge trend that I still hold a candle for. One of those bands is Street Smart Cyclist, who broke broke up some time in 2007 or 2008. They only released a self-titled EP/demo on cd-r and then vinyl and an acoustic cd-r, but before they packed it in they recorded two more songs. Those two songs are what I bring you today. You used to be able to get their discography from a link they posted on their MySpace by MySpace blocks the band's link for some reason. You can still pick up the self-titled on iTunes but to me this is their best shit so peep it and then go back and listen to everything else. Enjoy!

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Columbus, Ohio's Highschool sounds like the last vestige of youth, to me anyways. Remember around the turn of the last decade when there was a group of bands playing pop punk influenced by 90's hardcore that didn't sound like the latest popcore trend? early Saves The Day, Fairweather, The Movielife etc.? That is exactly what Highschool's You Already Know sounds like. The EP came out last year and they've also released another album early this year for a minimum of 2 dollars but you can check out You Already Know for as little as zero dollars at their bandcamp page so if you like it support the band!

Today you wouldn't think that being Asian in hip-hop would be a big deal but apparently it was in the early/mid 90s as Philadelphia's Mountain Brothers experienced a lot of discrimination back then trying to break on the national scene. Luckily, their obvious talent trumped anything else as they won a contest sponsored by Sprite called Rhymes From The Mind and were soon signed by Ruffhouse Records. However, that relationship soured as they faced more racism from executives at the label. Finally in 1999, the group put out their first full-length Self: Volume 1 on their own Pimpstrut Records. Self: Volume 1 is one of the freshest hip-hop debuts I've ever heard. The production is all handled in-house by Chops who provides a funky and smooth backdrop for the fluid rhymes of the MCs laying waste to whack rappers. Mountain Brothers style will be familiar to anyone who enjoys People Under The Stairs or Jurassic 5 but these guys were doing it first. The band's follow-up in 2003, Triple Crown follows a similar style with some surprises thrown in but isn't nearly as consistent but definitely worth checking out. Unlike, Triple Crown though, Self: Volume 1 seems to be out-of-print so I'm bringing it to you but unlike all the rips I've seen floating around this is a high quality rip from my own collection. Enjoy!

You know your music is good when Leatherface decides to cover you, and Northumberland's China Drum have that distinction. For those of you that know China Drum you are already stoked hopefully. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to them, China Drum released their debut LP, Goosefair in 1996. It remains one of my all-time favourite British punk albums with a sound that to me fit snuggly somewhere between Leatherface and Idlewild. The sad part is they seemed to kind of blow their load with that album as their follow up while still anchored by solid songwriting seemed to shift into what can only be described as "alternative". Slower tempos and longer running times doesn't always mean worse but in this case it did. Eventually they changed their name to The Drum and by their third LP they were hardly recognizable as the band who had released Goosefair.

Attack in Black are one of my favourite bands because they sound like a band that came of age with hardcore punk but went back and discovered all the great 90s Canadian indie bands like Eric's Trip, Rheostatics and Thrush Hermit and tossed all that influence into a blender with some Neil Young. Now for some reason, Canadians often seem at a loss to define themselves culturally but if someone asked me what a Canadian band sounded like I'd show them Attack in Black.

Canada, Canada, Canada. You know another great thing about Canada? CBC Radio. What I have for you today combines my love for the CBC and Attack in Black with a lovely set the band recorded for CBC Radio 3. It features a song a piece from each of the band's three LPs but the they are played with just the right amounts of intensity and restraint reminiscent of their early Widows EP, for something really special. There is also two songs that have yet to see the light of day in any official capacity which is fantastic because between other projects and ventures and a completed fourth album that seems to be sitting on the shelf the chances of hearing new AiB seems slimmer by the day. Now this set has been floating around on semi-dead torrents around the web for a few years but in a shitty rip with two of the songs missing. So here it is, complete with some nifty coverage. Enjoy!

I've come to realize all the Get In Where You Fit In feature is unreleased albums and it's made me sort of want to change the name but meh. Anywho, today I'm bringing you an album by Seattle's Best Kissers In The World. BKITW were a Seattle based band in the early 90s and released their first EP on Sub Pop Records in 1991. This means they play what could broadly be defined as grunge however there is a strong power pop and country influence for a heavier debt to The Replacements than traditionally found in the genre. Story goes they sign to major label MCA and release and EP and the Been There LP in 1993 to moderate collage radio success. After a rather significant gap between albums the band recorded a follow up album Yellow Brick Roadkill to be released in 1996, however it ended up being shelved since the band fell apart or the band fell apart because it got shelved - I'm not quite sure. A few promotional copies of that unreleased album made it out there and today I'm giving it to you in a nice high quality rip from my own collection. Here is Yellow Brick Roadkill. Enjoy!

Richmond Virginia's Hold Tight! have recently put up their new EP Call The Zoo for PWYC download on their bandcamp page. If you are a fan of pop punk/melodic hardcore I seriously suggest you check these guys out. They describe themselves as a mixture between Lifetime and Latterman, and you certainly get the upbeat feeling from Latterman mixed with some Lifetime/Kid Dynamite style riffs and vocal delivery. There is more melody than hardcore but not quite as much as the recent popcore trend. Go download Call The Zoo and if you like it their other stuff too! (and toss 'em a couple of bucks if you can).

The real crime isn't that you haven't heard Streetside Prophet before, the real crime is that there isn't much to hear. The Scottsdale, Arizona trio only released this sole EP and a track on a J Church tribute before fading away in into the annals of pop punk history. They also recorded an LP before they broke up but since they split the album was put on the shelf. There was talk of Tortilla Chip Records putting it out last year but I haven't seen anything about it and this EP remains out of print. It is a damn shame too because this is some of the best Lawrence Arms/Alkaline Trio/Honor System style music around. The only good thing to come out of the band breaking up is Wes and Ryan went on to form the mighty Rumspringer (Ryan has since left that band). Enjoy!

About a year ago I posted the complete discography of short-lived Toronto punk/power pop band the Bayonettes. They were only around for a couple years but when they broke up a few of the members went on to form another power pop/punk band called Dangerloves with members of other renowned Toronto punk/hardcore bands such as Terminal State. Sadly, Dangerloves only lasted through one demo and three 7" records between 2006 and 2008. So I've gone and collected their four releases, their three compilation appearances, all the live material I could get my hands on and 5 unreleased songs recorded in the same session that produced the songs for their 7"s. Enjoy!

If you've never heard Armchair Martian before they were Jon Snodgrass' band before Drag The River and they rested somewhere between Social Distortion and 2000's Americana influenced punk rock - both musically and chronologically. This is a live set they did for a college radio station in 2001, perhaps because it was for something other than commercial radio the set is actually pretty decent in length, with a dozen songs running about half an hour. As a radio show the sound quality is pretty good for a live set, I'd give it a solid B+. The song choices are from all over Armchair Martian's career but there is a a strong focus on their split with Bad Astronaut as it had just come out that year. For me the real highlight is having a recording of their cover of George Jones' "She Thinks I Still Care". Enjoy!

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A few years ago I picked up a great EP by the local Toronto indie band Chang-A-Lang but hadn't heard anything from them since. So I googled them last week and found out they were releasing their debut full-length and first piece of new music since the 2009 EP. In honour of their new album they put up Fauxbot for pay what you can download on their bandcamp page.

You think if there was a highly influential band with a tiny discography someone would do their best to keep all of it in print. At the very least the major releases right? Well somehow K Records (or whomever owns the rights to these songs) didn't get that memo. Tiger Trap had a huge impact on indie guitar pop but other than a few 7" records, the Sour Grass EP is the only other release the band had aside from their self-titled LP and it is way out of print. I've seen both the CD and the 10" go for some ridiculous prices but you can usually get one for couple of bucks on Ebay if you are lucky. You can find rips of this floating around other places on the internet but they are usually rubbish quality or even vinyl rips so here is a high quality CD rip. This is some super catchy stuff. Enjoy!

This is a long overdue post, it was meant to go up back when we posted all those Hot Water Music related updates. Pants did most of the work on this one so thanks go to her. Anyways this is a b-side and rarities collection by the Draft who were basically Hot Water Music without Chuck Ragan during HWM's hiatus. If you've never heard the band they continue the Epitaph Records-era Hot Water Music more straight up rocking approach but also toss in some roots rock and 90's alternative. If you like what Against Me! has been doing since signing to Sire this is very much in a similar vein except without lyrics that are pure cheese.

The Draft didn't release much as a band and now that Hot Water Music is back I'm not sure we're gonna get much more. This collects the band's three 7", a handful of demos that came out prior to the In A Million Pieces LP, a compilation track and some rare live songs. Enjoy!

Although the most noted band in Toronto punk and hardcore of the 2000's has to be Fucked Up, I have to say Career Suicide is my personal favourite. Mixing 80's hardcore with tinges 60's garage doesn't sound highly original today but unlike the legions of bands you could apply that genre distinction to after the Bronx blew up, Career Suicide doesn't sound much like them at all. Sure there is speed, swagger and sing along but is completely unique.

Today I've combined two radio sets that CS has done, one is a quite easy to find but not often circulated set they did for the Equalizing Distort radio show for CIUT in Toronto and the other which was recorded for CJLO in Montreal is not as easy to find. The EXD set list is mainly focusing on stuff that can be found on their Anthology of Releases and conveniently the CJLO set list mainly focuses on material from Anthology of Releases Vol. 2 and their Attempted Suicide LP. Therefore, if you've never heard the band before this is as good an intro as any. The sound quality is good as far as a live set go since they are from studio sessions and I've tried to clean them up as best I could. Enjoy!