Submit to Satan With Metal Thom

The SUBMIT TO SATAN PLAYLIST. Listen to this shit whilst reading this interview.

As you may have heard through the grapevine, my friend Thom Smith, (artist, former drummer of Haunted Castle, metal race organizer, possible felon) recently moved from NYC to Tokyo. He just put out an awesome fucking zine and mixtape called "Submit to Satan" featuring a ton of metal inspired art from a bunch of great artists. I took a few minutes to ask him some questions yesterday. All work has been posted with Thom's permission. This interview, as many of mine are, was conducted over instant message.

No Gods, No Vegetables: So how's Japan?

Thom Smith: Good. I've been trying to do more artwork and less sleeping.

NGNV: Sounds sick. What kinda shit?

TS: Things have gotten waaay easier since i got a bike.

NGNV: Some zany keirin number I presume?

TS: A new block print. the rest are up on fb [facebook]. This one's probably the darkest theme-wise so far.

NGNV: Sounds brutal. Are they up anywhere else where people can see them without having to join some FBI backed international spy site?

TS: A few are on my website. www.thomsmithart.com

NGNV: So you're mostly doing block prints now? is that what you've always done?

TS: i'm working on updating that shit. The more recent ones aren't there yet. Actually the newest is in the zine! duh!

NGNV: And I thought drummers were good for nothing layabouts... Tell me more about this "zine"

TS: I guess i got into the current series a couple of years ago.

NGNV: You sent me some pictures a few days ago, they're pretty stark, gnarly shit. Just lots of black and white.

TS: Well some of the work was color but it all translated pretty well to b/w. I wanted to basically take everyone i could think of who I knew was into metal and did art and put it together. That turned out to be a little harder than i thought. As you said, metalheads are lousy layabouts. wait no that was drummers...

NGNV: Ha, I think it applies to both... I mean, have you seen my website? Anyways, how long did it take you to put this issue together?

TS: I asked some friends if they knew other people so a couple people are friends of friends.

NGNV: And how long have you been doing this zine period?

TS: Waaaay too long. this is the first time i ever have attempted a zine and getting a bunch of artists together is like wrangling kittens. Especially if you try to take a lax approach like I did. But live and learn.

NGNV: Sounds like my day job... bummer. But this project didn't come out of thin air though right? It wasn't like one day, "Fuck the world, I'ma make a zine?"

TS: No. i'd been doing Metal Race for 2 years and then the time for Metal Race 3 came around and I was like, why don't i do something a little more productive?

NGNV: Ha, bullshit. As a former [Metal Race} champ, I can officially say that nothing is more productive than Metal Race.

TS: I mean alleycats are fun n all, but I thought about combining metal with art instead. I'm not dismissing the race at all. In fact I still want to continue doing it.

NGNV: Alright fair nuff... As long as there's more mayhem planned for the future.

TS: But I wanted to help my artist friends out a little and maybe form a few alliances. Dont worry, the novelty of getting people to pay to cut themselves hasn't worn out

NGNV: Hahahaha! Tell me about it. Dick... [editors note: ask me about the scar on my left arm... If you buy me a beer I might tell ya about it.] So tell me about the artists then? How'd you find them?

TS: Well I knew over half of them, but i needed more. I asked those people if they knew anybody. The most helpful person was Natalie from stairwell gallery in providence. Wait im finding a link... http://www.glaciersofnice.com/gallery/

NGNV: How so? just in getting other people to contribute?

TS: I had done a show at the gallery a couple years ago that was metal themed called "Dark Age." I don't know Natalie too well, but judging by her picks for the [playlist] she is a hesher thru and thru and knows the Providence metal scene.

NGNV: Badass. So what are some of your favorite entries and why?

TS: I'd have to say Pippi Zornoza's drawing is my favorite [Page 14]

NGNV: Which one is that?

TS: It's called hex, and it really looks like she means it. it's very geometric and meticulous looking. Like i can imagine her listening to some dark shit while she did it thinking about someone she hates.

NGNV: Hahaha, evil man.

TS: Then opposite her is Matt Jones's and I think they really work together. I also really like tetsunori's drawing [Page 3). I've been hanging out with him a bunch here in Japan. He showed me his new zine where it had this weird twisted story. It was about these prisoners who were getting the ultimate punishment, which was getting a pod put on your head. After a while the pod opens and the head is mutated into some weird shit.

NGNV: Oh... I thought you were going to say being forced to listen to Hall and Oates records or something.

TS: He explained the whole story to me but it gets really complicated and the drawings are all of weird mutant shit. but i'd have to say having one of those pods on your head is worse than any punishment I can think of.

NGNV: You've obviously never been forced to spend a winter in Maine with prep school grads.

TS: That's a close second, but at least you get your head back... sort of...

NGNV: Yeah... I'm still waiting for mine...

TS: Time to pour me another whiskey! it's the drinking hour in my time.

NGNV: Ha, what time is it over there anyways? like 2?

TS: It's Past 1 here.

NGNV: Ha shit. Evil never sleeps. Suntory Time motherfuckers!

TS: You guessed it! liquor is cheaper than beer here if you can believe it!

NGNV: So how'd you make this playlist?

TS: I told each artist to pick their favorite metal jams or stuff that they'd been listening to recently.

NGNV: How many tracks for each?

TS: 5 tracks each. So I just put them in the order that each person gave them to me and then sequenced them with the best transitions I could get. The [zine] artists run the full range of metal, from dabbling to probably cutting themselves so the tracklist is all over the place. I wanted whoever picked up the zine to get turned onto new (visual) artists and some new music.
there's a bunch of shit in there that I had never heard of. Each track has the name of the person who chose it if you click on the info page.

NGNV: Yeah there's mad weird japanese 70's psyche and like disturbing bleak ass norse black metal and just about everything in between. Who put on sweating bullets? That shit is the best!

TS: That was Matt Jones. Mark Gibson who is his friend coincidentally tried to pick the same song! Probably the best thing i got turned onto is Master's Hammer. That shit is weird, but euro weird so it's okay.

NGNV: Yeah that song was pretty fucking funny. And the fucking Tight Bros... Man, throwback right there

TS: But the best has to be the troll metal song

NGNV: Troll metal? What the fuck are you talking about. Now you're just making shit up!

TS: Urskog! Dude listen to it! You hear the genre name and then it all makes sense. It's the most sub of sub genres. Kalle Runeson picked that one

NGNV: So it is true that black metalers are the biggest dorks of all metallers. Even italian power metal bows to the loserdom of the troll metal.

TS: The guy who did the Disclose "Fuck the Police" drawing...

NGNV: Best damn thing in the whole mag...

TS: He told me his picks were "young swedes."

NGNV: Sounds... perverse...

TS: I think maybe more specifically "folk black metallers" are the dorkiest. I think he meant up-and-coming swedish shit.

NGNV: Who would win in a larp fight? Rhapsody fans or Urskog fans?

TS: Urskog for sure!

NGNV: Well, Rhapsody fans would totally win in like bocce ball or some shit then. Alright this shit is too fucking long already, say something mean about someone.

TS: Rhapsody fans just wear animal pelt skirts, urskog fans probably all own maces!

NGNV: If their mom's will let them...

TS: They don't tell thier moms and they make their weapons themselves. Lemme see, I just want everyone to know that I hate the fuck out of The Sword and all those bands that use Mucha-inspired cover art [ed. note: John Baizley's stuff], but I put it on the comp cause Mark is a stand up guy.

NGNV: Alright fair enough, so any last thoughts?

TS: I'd like to thank everyone who helped me out on this magazine. Hit me up if you want a copy. also hit me up if you're reading this and you want to submit art for the next one. Whenever that is...

NGNV: What's the best way to get a copy or get in touch with you?

TS: Email- thom.e.smith@gmail.com $6 a copy. Sorry dudes, I'm in Tokyo and have to cover shipping.

NGNV: And on that profit motivated corporate whoring note, much love from the states. Keep killing it in Tokyo hombre.

TS: Non profit by the way. i'd be lucky if i broke even.

NGNV: I'll break you

TS: Thanks dude. I'm holding it down here with Godzilla

NGNV: Adios man.

A Few Minutes With Samantha Marble: Photographer

NOTE: HOW THE FUCK DO YOU DO A GODDAMN FORCED BREAK ON BLOGGER? ANYBODY?


In this line of (not really) work you get to meet a lot of kick ass people. Mostly just by being at the same fucking shows all the goddamn time. In the tiny world of Brooklyn metal and punk there are only so many people, even fewer people who are taking pictures, and way, way fewer girls. So when you meet a girl, who comes to pretty much every show, is taking pictures, and more than that is charging the fucking front row it tends to grab your attention. This was how I met Samantha Marble. Sam was kind enough to spare a few minutes of her time to shoot the shit about her photos, music, and whatever other inane crap came to mind. You can find a bunch more of her work on her website.

No Gods, No Vegetables: So, let's start with the boring shit. How long you been shooting?

Samatha Marble: I've been shooting since I was 16. That's 14 years

NGNV: Aha cool. And what made you want to start taking photos?

SM: Well, actually I started taking photos at 14 of local bands and skateboarders in Philly when I had a zine. I didn't really get into it until I was 16 because my photo teacher thought I was good. He let me take his camera to go shoot Snapcase and that was the first real thing I shot.

NGNV: Ha, no way, fucking snapcase? Tell me you brought the camera back in one fucking piece.

SM: Hahaha, yes.

NGNV: Lucky man, woulda sucked to fail photo cause of fucking Snapcase... So why metal? Do you have no sense of smell or something? I don't really have one. It comes in handy a lot. Especially when living with myself.

SM: Sometimes I wish I didn't. The Magrudergrind show smelled like a gigantic fart by the end of it. The whole metal thing came to me kind of by accident. I went to go see Rorschach at the Charleston and was going to shoot a project w someone else after the show. I took a couple of photos at the show. I sent them to the metal editor at Brooklyn Vegan because I wasn't sure if they covered it and it was such an important show to me personally. Anyway, they wrote back and asked me if I wanted to do this more often. I'm really happy to have the opportunity to shoot the bands that inspire my life.

NGNV: Ha, damn man. Right in to your lap. You know, 'cept for the you sending shit part... When you say inspire your life, should that concern us considering that you listen to bands that scream about death and gore and disembowelment and shit?

SM: Ha, no. If anything just know I'm a serious fucking person. I was never the girl in the back of the room holding a boyfriend's coat. If anything, it's been the other way around. But metal isn't the only thing I listen to.

NGNV: Badass. That's refreshing to hear. So, if not just metal than what? Neil fucking Diamond? Tell me it's Neil Diamond.

SM: Hahaha, I can't say that it is but I do have a block print of him hanging on my refrigerator. I listen to a lot of 60's garage, soul, hiphop and 60's and 70's classic rock....I seriously though could go on and on....

NGNV: Shit, I just got showed up man! Can I have your fridge picture?

SM: These days it's been a lot of Eyehategod, Earthless, Wetnurse, Gospel and Ink & Dagger is a constant.

NGNV: Sounds like a pretty solid lineup and roughly inline with the Sacred Doctrine of NGNV listening...

SM: Excellent. I was nervous.

NGNV: You should still be. If you could beat the shit out of any one band, who would it be?

SM: I love this question. The Acacia Strain hands down. It's bands like that that made me wanna stop going to hardcore shows.
I hate meatheads

NGNV: Christ, that's an awful band name. Did they seriously agree to that moniker? Fucking BOCES.

SM: They're terrible

NGNV: Bummer. So who's the best in the biz then? Band, photographer, axe murderer? Whatever?

SM: Whoa, this is hard. Gimme a minute.

NGNV: Pause... I mean yeah, go ahead, take a minute

SM: There are so many bands that I'm stoked on right now that it's hard to say. I can say one thing though Psychic Limb is gonna come up like wildfire this year. That will be my favorite band in the biz very soon. As far as photographers go Justina V and Paul Birman take great live shots. I really dig them.

NGNV: Yeah the Limb is pretty fucking legit. Shamus tears it up in Ramps too.

SM: Shamus is the man. Brian Montuori is like my twin brother that I never had.

NGNV: Back in a minute. I need a fucking coffee break.

SM: right on. I'll be here. Actually, I'll go do the same!

***This is the part where I went and got coffee***

NGNV: OK coffee break's over. So what's lamer? Wizards worshipping doom metal or Brooklyn black metal?

SM: Wizard worshiping doom metal.

NGNV: Damn, so much for my new band... So then what's your favorite black metal band out of Brooklyn then?

SM: I have noooo idea. Liturgy I guess... They're the only one that I know out of here.

NGNV: My friend said that he'd rather fuck a toaster than see Liturgy a 2nd time. How do you feel about that?

SM: To be completely honest I'm talking out of my ass because I've never heard them. I might feel the same as your friend.

NGNV: Ha, fucking busted on air!

SM: *laughter*

NGNV: what's your favorite meat restaurant in NYC?

SM: Lil Frankies! I had a pizza sandwich with proccutio on it on Friday. If you would have reached even close to my plate I would have bit your hand off.

NGNV: Fuck yeah. I've been there before. Don't fuck with a pun'x pizza.

NGNV: And watering hole?

SM: Favorite watering hole would be The Woods in Brooklyn.

NGNV: The new joint?

SM: Yeah

NGNV: Why's that?

SM: Or Arrows bar actually in the city. I just went there for happy hour on Friday and it was a lot of fun. Rich Hall DJ'ed and killed it as usual. Saturday nights at the woods they do a metal set and my friends and I act like assholes on the dance floor.
Like we clear people out.

NGNV: Sounds pretty fucking epic, call me next time damnit!

SM: When I say Saturdays it happens like once a month. I'm pretty much a hermit.

NGNV: Who'd win in a fight, Samuel L Jackson or Nicholas Cage circa that fucked up vampire movie?

SM: Samuel L Jackson hands down. He would make Nicholas his bitch. I'm really tired of that dude.

NGNV: Dude, ease the fuck back. What about that one part in that vampire movie where he just starts yelling the alphabet for no real reason at that chick? That shit was zany!

SM: Sorry too much coffee today. I don't know what movie you speak of.

NGNV: Ha, yeah... never mind, I'm in the same boat apparently... Well, i ran out of shit to say after the 2nd question. You ask me something now.

SM: Ok, what new projects have you been working on lately?

NGNV: Jack fucking squat mostly. I spend a shit ton of time making coffee, sitting in a frozen ocean, farting, or drinking beers watching gerry lopez movies from the 70's mostly.

SM: Not true, your band is playing tomorrow night, right?

NGNV: Oh yeah, we're doing that, that ain't new though. That's just fucking rad. Rats in the Walls is playing the Charleston tonight at 9 with Concussions and some other people.

SM: What do you think about Steely Dan?

NGNV: I'd fucking stab them if I had the chance. Fuck that shit.

SM: Good answer!

NGNV: And the Doobie Brothers and Journey and all of that limp dick AOR crap. It's not cool now. It never was. It never will be. Eat a dick yacht rockers

SM: Thank fucking god.

NGNV: and on that note Final words?

SM Ok so Jay Leno, Oprah and David Letterman. You had to fuck one, kill one and marry one....go

NGNV: I'd fuck Letterman just to watch him squirt jizz out of the gap in his teeth, I'd kill Leno just because fuck it, why not. I'd marry Oprah cause fuck yeah, I wanna hit that shit all the time for the rest of my life. Also, she could probably front the cash for more records

SM: Hahahaa! Excellent Smithers!

OM interview and show from Amoeba

Late pass I know but fuck, if I just found it maybe other people live in deep dark holes too.

http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/videos/om.html

Apparently the embed doesn't work, sorry.

An Interview with Chris Hakius of Sleep & OM... as remembered long after the fact.

During the Sunday of ATP I was lucky enough to grab a drink with the legendary Chris Hakius, drummer of Sleep, AsbestosDeath, and OM. Unlucky for my everything I had to record the conversation was out of batteries at the time so I went in with pen in hand, convinced I'd be able to jot notes down. After about 15 seconds with the guy that plan went to hell so I just went with it and took notes after. Anyways, here's the long and short.

The first thing that comes across when you meet Chris is the phrase, "down to Earth." The dude has that oh-so-rare quality of being chilled out but with it. Cool but not a space case. You can feel this quality radiating from him in not just conversation but in his drumming too. A straight, natural vibe that drives any band he's in without ever letting it drop. The 2nd thing you notice, is that even though he's basically pulled out of the whole touring/recording game the fire's still there. Dude's now 37, has a wife, a 2 year old kid, and a job driving trucks so his priorities are a little shifted but it's not like homie got hooked on skag and lives in a dumpster. Instead of touring he's now pretty into the whole dad/husband thing, more power to him if that makes him happy.

After talking about his actual family and his current state of affairs for a long amount of time things moved in to the obvious discussion of what it was like being back with Matt and Al and playing with Sleep again. The one quote I managed to get down was that, "it feels like no time has passed" since they last played together. According to Chris, even though there have been issues in the past, he, Matt, and Al are all brothers til the end. Fuckin' Al has a Chris tattoo for god's sakes. Even though they never intended to get back together, it just kind of naturally happened (along with a shit ton of nagging from the ATP promoter...). Happily, instead of "sleeping under bridges" and being flat broke, this time they get to play with a little cash in their pockets and a gushing public dying to hear them after a decade of absence started right after the recording of Dopesmoker.

Oh, on that topic, HERE'S THE OFFICIAL DOPESMOKER STORY ACCORDING TO CHRIS:
So apparently Sleep didn't bullshit their label, hide what they were doing and just turn in this 63minute Magnum (d)Opus as a blindside. Apparently they pitched the idea to London Records straight up front that they wanted to do one massive hour long track. The showed the label the layout of the sections on paper, invited the brass to practices, showed them more written layouts (I'd kill to see those man), GOT THE OK and then stepped in to the studio. That's when shit went awry. Apparently it was during the recording stage when London decided that an hour long, uncut, indivisible, paean to a fictitious tribe of ancient, bonged out, religious, nomads descending upon the holy land wasn't such a hot idea... Anyways, long and short, not their fault, sorry for the delay, glad the fans like it. PS: Allmusic is wrong on their take apparently.

From there we got talking about other holy men of note, specifically Justin Marler (who also played with Chris in the Sabians). Justin was the 4th member of Sleep during the Volume One days and replaced Tom Choi when he left AsbestosDeath (which facilitated the name change to Sleep). Apparently, Justin, who couldn't make it to the UK for the reunion, is also doing well and living in Texas(? could be wrong but I know it's some south and west state). And for the record yes he was a monk after he left Sleep but you know... he uhhh got better.

Anyways, I could write about this shit for hours but instead I'm just going to leave it with my favorite anecdote of the conversation, one I think sums up how they played back in the day and a few weeks ago. AsbestosDeath's first show was a high school talent show. Though they were the total crowd favorite (you know, according to Chris), they still came in 3rd place. Apparently the judges, some of whom were employed by the school, didn't take kindly to kids stage diving off the piano...

And that about says it all.

Fist Fokkin' the Neighbors

This interview was conducted on possibly the most foul smelling block in the fucking universe. The bands are the Neighbours and the Fist Fokkers out of Iceland. Shit was the most fun night ever.

Fist Fokkin' with the Neighbors from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

5 Minutes with Nick of Krallice

Interview with Nick of Krallice, May 26, 2009 @ Webster Hall from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

Fuck yeah! 15 minutes with the Accüsed!

Spent all afternoon listening to the Accüsed again and came across this madness. Fucking sweet dude! The Accüsed in their youthest of youth.

Turn it up, I can't hear, more chicks, more beer!

Massidioci with Masshysteri 4/6/2009

Just because foreigners don't look down on us quite enough, I gave Robert and Erik from Masshysteri a few more good reasons to be glad they were born in Sweden. Hylariti ensues... sorta.

PS: Thanks for the time dudes, have a good flight back.

Masshysteri's Myspace


Massidiocy with Masshysteri 4/6/2009 from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

5 Minutes of Pleasure with NJ's The Measure

Last night Brooklyn's brand new venue, Bruar Falls (where the old Lucky Cat used to be) played host to NJ's The Measure and Sweden's Masshysteri. Super fucking fun times. Everyone in the bands were cool enough to spare a couple of minutes to answer the most inane questions I could think of on the spot. Here's 5 minutes with the Measure. Who are a blast.

The measure's myspace: NGNV WARNING this may be too much "fun" for the doom crowd. The Measure's Myspace


The Measure 4/06/2009 from Jack Crank on Vimeo.

20 Moronic Questions with Junior from We Are All Savages + Their First Album

In response to my extreme laziness this week I've decided to end the week on a high note. Today Junior from the Brooklyn based We Are All Savages took the time out of his busy day as a librarian (no joke, he works that the NYC College of Technology library in Brooklyn somewhere. Go ask him if he has Twilight. He fucking loves that shit.) to shoot the shit with me (online... more specifically over instant message because I can't be fucked to transcribe taped interviews) about the band, life, nuclear war and the mysterious "Jersey Stranger."

Here's our very special version of 20 questions.

Jack Crank: Uh ok I'm going to ask you questions about WAAS

Junior “Boobs” Tidal: sure

JC: Answer as you see fit
Who are you?

JBT: I'm Junior. I run the guns in this outfit. I play the chainsaw and yell a whole lot.

JC: Do you always lie to make friends or just this time?

JBT: I never tell the truth, but that's also a lie.

JC: Good answer. So your band is called We Are All Savages. Why didn't you call it We Are Super Savage or something so you could spell your acronym right? You wass.

JBT: Well, we think that everyone is savage in one way or another. Plus we named it after this legend about these french fur traders who joined a group of native americans to be brutal and awesome. I guess being native american is more metal than being french? Also, WAAS just looks rad.

JC: I still think you're a wass. You know, like in that Manic Hispanic song where the dude comes out to his friend and he's like, "No dude, I'm in to the wass!" Yeah like that.

Anyways, about your look, your logo looks like the sped metal version of the Nausea logo. Is that your schtick? Are you like the sped metal bastard sons of Nausea? YOU THINK YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH TO COP NAUSEA? IN THIS TOWN?!

JBT: Ha! Totally. Maybe we'll write a song about wass

JC: You definitely should

JBT: Even if we all had dreads, didn't take a shower for six months and have a lady singer, we still wouldn't be as good as Nausea. That band is fucking siiiiick.
Yeaaaaah dude, Nausea is fucking sick. So if you don't sound like the sped metal, showering, not as good version of Nausea what do you sound like?
Well, we take our influences from a wide range of places.

Riff, our drummer is from Seattle so he's got that Pacific NW metal sound. Like Melvins influence and stuff. Adam and Brendan are from the midwest and their type of hardcore is totally different from the coasts. I was raised on southern crust like His Hero and Buzzoven.

It's hard to say what we sound like. Maybe if someone threw up in a blender after too many shots of whiskey and beer we'd sound like the sounds the blender would make.

JC: Ha, truth. Especially with your guitar's ehh... "reliability" issues.

JBT: We fight our equipment every day. It can't handle the savagery.

JC: Wow... that's... savage. So do you actually write your own lyrics or do you just have one of those random spam generators pick headlines out of the news from the last couple of years?

JBT: We usually just use Mad Libs and a Portuguese dictionary. Right before the show, we try and memorize them and throw in some radical politics for good measure.

JC: Sounds about right. I mean seriously dude, who the fuck is writing about slavers anymore anyways? How long have you been a band?

JBT: We've been a band for almost two years. It takes a long time to figure out what kind of sound we wanted to go for.

We don't just write about slavers though.
We also also write about nuclear war and jersey strangers

JC: This is true, some times you write about zombies and media control. Jersey strangers, is that like the Boston strangler?

JBT: The jersey stranger is a special technique. I think you can look it up on urban dictionary.

JC: Remind me to do that after work. So nuclear war is pretty bogus, what else bums you out?

JBT: The current economy is a big let down. That's totally weak sauce. CEOs getting big bailouts and using them for bonuses is really lame.
We're also bummed out on weak mixed drinks and hang/bangovers

JC: How bout meat? That get you stoked? What's your best story about beef?

JBT: Ha! I'm not down with meat and I don't have any good stories about beef. I think I've forgotten what it tastes like...

JC: Why the hell am I talking to you again? Is everyone in your band a wuss? I mean veg?

JBT: Nope, Riff rocks the carcass, but he's the only one. I'm vegan cause I really hate plants. Harvest 'em all and fry 'em up! The other kids eat eggs and diary.

JC: Excellent. So what's next for WAAS? You jut put out this CD thing, vinyl? Touring? When will we see the We Are All Savages: INTENSITY IN 10 CITIES!?

JBT: Let's see, we're going to record soon with Brendan Tobin at Sterling Audio. We're trying to talk to some friends on the west coast about a split, but you know punk rockers. We have a tour scheduled for the 3rd week of June where we'll hit the east coast! Then there's going to be that awesome show with Haunted Castle and Nanda Devi before all of that on April 16th, so we're totally psyched.

JC: You say that like you don't already live on the east coast. Cheater. Fuck yeah, that show's where it's gonna be at. I hear you have some other bands that are better than WAAS, is that true? Do your band mates know about this?

JBT: Ha ha! Yeah, I think we get reminded about this at shows. I'm also the drummer for Rats in the Walls. I'm pretty sure the other WAAS dudes know this.
I'm not sure which is better. I'm usually tanked at both practices

JC: Yeah that's a good point, you were pretty wasted last night. Are the rumors of WAAS covering Ginuwine's Pony true?

JBT: They are in fact. We're also going to cover R. Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly and a Hall and Oates cover.

JC: Dude Hall and Oates? Step up your game sally. So we're at something like 17 questions and my snark is running thin. Why don't you ask me a question?

JBT: Okay this is a rather personal question, so I understand if you don't want to answer but Reign in Blood or Kill 'em All?

JC: Oh fuck dude
Shit

JBT: Yeah, right?

JC: The nuances of that question are just too deep. I guess the short answer would be how many beers in?

JBT: Let's say a sixer

JC: Dag, got me on that one. It's a coin toss. I'd say Kill 'Em All for the bedroom, Reign in Blood for the bathroom. How's that?

JBT: Whoa, I'd totally do the opposite, Reign in Blood all the way.

JC: You should probably consult a doctor. Aight last question. God?

JBT: Lemmy is god

JC: Truth told. Aight man thanks for playing "20 Retarded Questions" Any last words?

JBT: Check out our shows! You'll get free buttons and earaches

JC: Würd

So that about does it for that. Bummer you'll never get those 7 minutes back. Ha.
Sucker. Anyways, here's the album. Listen to it.

We Are All Savages - We Are All Savages

Nomos - Demo Tape and interview

So there's a new band in NYC that doesn't suck at all. This band is called Nomos. In fact they don't suck to the point where I might even call them good. You know, for some fucking rookies. This being said, I haven't seen them live and had the chance to heckle and throw shit at them yet so I'm still not sold. Anyways, I had a chance to talk to their drummer Chris Bowman about their first release. Here's what he said.

Jack: Yo

Chris: Hey dude

J: I'm gonna post that nomos shit up on no gods that cool?

C: That would be cool, yeah

J: Nice, wanna answer a few questions about it?

C:sure

J: Word, why the fuck are you called the nomos? Is that like no homo or no more or something?

C: Nomos is greek for law- we basically thought that it sounded cool. yeah, not the no homo thing

J: Ha, nice that's cooler. Who's in the band?

C: It's me, Garrett McGrath on vox/bass and Michael Gorup on guitar

J: How do you guys know each other?

C: Garrett and I know each other through NYU, theres not alot of kids who listen to hardcore punk stuff so I think I met him at a show. And Garrett and mike are friends from high school

J: Nice, you all in NYC now?

C: Yep

J: So if you're all in school, how come all you listen to is 90's crust and 80's hardcore. You can't fuck to it and it's hard as shit to write if you're headbanging

C: Haha, um lemme see... Well its fast and has energy and makes people move
fuck boring music

J: Excellent response. What's your favorite flavor of punk rock?

C: Anything that sounds like early black flag and a couple later songs

J: What's your favorite flavor of meat?

C: Bloody

J: What's your favorite flavor of beer?

C: Steel Reserve

J: What's your favorite flavor of god?

C: N/A

J: Correct. Any last words?

C: Mosh

J: Fair nuff.

So there it is folks. That's Nomos in about 3 minutes on instant messager. Download it, listen to it, gimme your feedback. For reference, it doesn't sound shit like early Black Flag but it's still alright by me.


Click Pic for DL

H.R. With a High Dive In To The Deepest of Ends

Stunning man... Just stunning.

Watch more The DL videos on AOL Video

How the fuck did we get there from here?