Big Nurse - 1989 Demo

One of my fave (mostly) unknown New Jersey bands, Big Nurse w/ their 1989 self titled demo. These guys should have rode the Seattle "grunge" wave to superstardom but.... you know, the best laid plans and all that. "Hey Hey" & "Tied Up" from this demo tape only release were released on Heat Blast Records (HB 002) and "Love You Tomorrow" was released on the 7 inch compilation "Holier Than Seattle" also on heat Blast Records HB003.

I've already written a small little piece on the band over at my other blog "The Devils Music" take a peek if you feel the need...

Big Nurse - 1989 Demo

SIVLE - Live @ T-Birds Cafe Asbury Park, N.J. 6-13-94 & The Brighton Bar Long Branch N.J. 4-23-94

The King Is Dead! Long Live The King? Rock & Roll suicide.... I just got this tape in the mail from an old friend. Wow.... memories. Some live jamming shenanigans by a bunch of stinky acid taking hippes deconstructing rock & roll. They all lived in one house and it was actually dubbed "The Hippy House". Lots of jams & drugs and drinking and what not.... I promise you, you will not hear this anywhere on the web but here. And probably for good cause... Dose up maaaaaaaaaan.....

SIVLE - Live @ T-Birds Cafe Asbury Park, N.J. 6-13-94

SIVLE - Live @ The Brighton Bar Long Branch N.J. 4-23-94

Gigantic - Gigantic Demo 1990 or 1991?

I just pulled this out of a box a few days ago and posted it up for the boys in the band who i am still in touch with via the facebook. awesome little tool.... i asked the boys what year and they weren't sure. They said 1990 or 1991. anyway i did a post on Gigantic HERE: already so i won't bore u with details. If you dig some early 90's alternative post punk indie pop rocks dig in! if not, go in peace....

Gigantic - Gigantic Demo 1990 or 1991?

Penance - Bridges To Burn

Killer Doom Metal from Pittsburg from Long standing doomers Penance. Bridges To Burn from 1998. I've been lucky enough to see these guys (and girl) a few times and actually call them friends.

This shit rules. DOOM ON!

Wiki info:

Penance was an American doom metal band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

PENANCE began in 1989 with the members of Pittsburgh area band DREAM DEATH moving more solely in a classic Doom direction. Drummer Mike Smail, guitarist Terry Weston, and bassist Rich Freund (who had replaced original bass player Ted Williams in Dream Death, following Williams' departure to another local band, EVICTION) recorded the "LIVING TRUTH" demo, with Brian (Lawrence) Goodbread originally a guest member. One of these demo tracks, "Contemplation", was on the RISE ABOVE RECORDS compilation: "DARK PASSAGES", and Mike Smail would later record with Rise Above owner and ex-NAPALM DEATH vocalist Lee Dorrian, on CATHEDRAL's debut album "FOREST OF EQUILIBRIUM".

With Brian Goodbread (himself a founding member of Dream Death) handling vocals and rhythm guitar, PENANCE recorded and released "THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED" on Rise Above Records in 1992, and would go on and tour Europe in support of the album the following year, alongside fellow doom titans SLEEP and CATHEDRAL. Goodbread left the band before the tour, and Lee Smith became the group's singer, with Weston being backed by CATHEDRAL'S Gaz Jennings on rhythm guitar for the tour.
After returning to the states, Penance were free to sign with another label and would do so with CENTURY MEDIA, who had expressed interest in the group before Penance released "The Road Less Travelled", with Rise Above. New members Lee Smith and Frank Miller were on board following the departures of Goodbread and later Freund, and this line-up recorded 1994's "PARALLEL CORNERS". With better production and a broader release, the album helped the band to gain more fans worldwide. "Parallel Corners" was later hailed by Martin Popoff in "The Guide to Heavy Metal" as one of the top five "post-Sabbath" albums ever released.

Sometime after Miller left the group, and Lee Smith ran into visa issues, subsequently having to return to England, Weston and Smail would eventually begin working with vocalist Brian "Butch" Balich. In 1998 the band recorded and released the "BRIDGES TO BURN" demo, with a little help from Brian Goodbread, who played bass on the recording. The demo let fans and record labels know Penance was still active and working on new material. With new bassist Ron Leard on board, the band would release their next full length album, 1999's "PROVING GROUND", themselves. This same line-up would also record the "TURN FOR THE WORSE" demo in 2000, which featured songs later released on "ALPHA AND OMEGA". The band's eventual new label, MARTYR MUSIC, would remix, remaster and re-release "PROVING GROUND" in 2001.

2001 would also see a new Penance offering released by Martyr Music, with a new line-up as well. Ex-NOVEMBERS DOOM and MYTHIC bassist Mary Bielich, and guitarist Matt Tuite, formerly of WICKER MAN and MUSTACHE, joined Smail, Weston, and Balich for "ALPHA AND OMEGA". The arrival of the two new members brought in fresh viewpoints and influences to the band, and a bit of a positive shift in mood can be heard on the album.

2003 saw the release of "SPIRITUALNATURAL", again with Martyr Music. Founding member Terry Weston would leave at some point during the production of the album, but co-wrote and played on a few of the songs heard here, while Matt Tuite contributed a good portion of the music to this very vital final album. HUMBUCKER guitarist Dave Roman was recruited to join the band and contributed to the songwriting as well. This line-up would see Penance's return to Europe that same year. Penance would later disband, with its members heading in different directions. In 2004 drummer Mike Smail recorded albums with INTERNAL VOID, the legendary PENTAGRAM, and now operates his own drum shop in Kittanning, PA. Butch Balich fronts the metal bands ARGUS and MOLASSES BARGE in the Pittsburgh area, while Mary Bielich and Matt Tuite joined BEHIND ENEMY LINES, an Anarcho-Crust punk band, also based in Pittsburgh. Matt Tuite has since played with THE EVIL MACHINE as well, and both Tuite and Bielich are members of DEL RIOS and THE MUD CITY MANGLERS.

In April 2007 PENANCE played the DOOM OR BE DOOMED festival in Baltimore, Maryland, with Smail, Weston, and Balich being joined by Dave Roman on bass. Smail and Roman would go to record the UNDER THE SUN album "MAN OF SORROW" with Dennis Cornelius in 2010.


Penance - Bridges To Burn

Various - People Are Hungry Compilation Volume 1#

People Are Hungry Compilation Volume 1# from 1986 on Inward Visions Records. Carl Casanova from Psycho Sin was the man behind IVR and put out a bunch of comps back in the day. This was done with all local bands from the NY & NJ area and was supposed to help open up a soup kitchen in Jersey City New Jersey. I doubt that ever happened as i can't image these sold all that well...!? Anyway this is a fun romp and brings me back to those days. The quality is a bit dubious, as these i'm sure were all hand done by Carl is his bedroom. These early School of Violence tracks kick ass! Also: Beware seems to be Psycho Sin in disguise????

1 Beware – Riot In The City
2 Beware – The Livin' Dead
3 Mechanical Bride – No Destination
4 Chronic Fear – Discrimination
5 Chronic Fear – No Fear
6 Social Decay – Too Young To Die
7 Social Decay – Open You Eyes
8 Psycho Sin – Life's Gettin' Ridiculous
9 Psycho Sin – Ronald Reagan Must Die
10 Psycho Sin – Now
11 Psycho Sin – Bonzo Fucked Reagan
12 School Of Violence – Nightmare In Paradise
13 School Of Violence – Dark Design
14 School Of Violence – From Attitude To Action

Various - People Are Hungry Compilation Volume 1#

Gigantic - Tommy Southard Delux Edition

Back in the early 90's there were a ton of cool bands happening in and around NJ. Gigantic were one of my faves. Even though i was in a straight up metal punk band i loved these hard rocking indie guys. They were raucous and noisy and rocking. They always played their asses off and it really looked like they were having the best time on stage. When my shit band got signed i tried to help them out and get them in touch with some folks who could help them. Not sure what ever happened, if they made contact not not, those days are fuzzy at best now but i know they broke up not too soon after due to some personal strife. Another one for the, shoulda, coulda, woulda file.... I'm pretty sure they made me this rehearsal tape of newer stuff to check out in hopes i could get it to some ears that would listen. Anyhow, this tape rules, 3 dudes down in the basement ripping it up, playing their asses off, and having fun. Done live and in 1 take each even the boom box quality doesn't matter, at least to me. This throws me back in a time machine. I don't know how many people will be into this or will give a shit about a small piece of New Jersey time/history but i love it. Gigantic should have been GIGANTIC!

Gigantic - Half Hour

Gigantic - First Names

Gigantic - Multiply

Gigantic - Great Big Man

Gigantic - Last Song

Gigantic - I Invented The Wheel

Gigantic - I Never Expected Anything

Gigantic - Ambulance

Gigantic - Cross My Fingers

Gigantic - What Does He Mean?

Slag - Demo (1985?)

Slag were hardcore punk from Coral Springs Florida from the mid/late 80's. This is a pretty rare little demo and i only have it because the drummer Timmy (Gitlan) Scheoleber is one of my best friends on this planet, and we have been for over 30 years. Back in the early 80's we started our first bands together and jammed in Timmy's garage. We sucked. But we were kids. Timmy was only 12 at the time, i think i was 14. We went by various lame names such as "The Mud Shuttle Band" & "The Never You Mind Band" & later when we thought we were metal "Destroyer". We would steal crap liquor from my Grand Ma's house and go get drunk and play. Anyway, not too soon after we started our Rock N' Roll careers together in the Garbage state of New Jersey, Timmy moved away to Florida. But we stayed in touch and wrote each other via real snail mail.

Fast forward a few years later and i started my own Hardcore band called Social Decay here in NJ and Timmy was in a Hardcore punk band called Slag in Florida. We traded tapes. And here is it some 27 or so years later. I'm pretty sure this was 1985. No later than 1986 and no earlier than 1984... The tape starts out a bit wobbly but hey, this this has been around for longer than most people reading this....

Timmy tells me stories of being completely fucked up on acid and crack and a lot of drinking w/ these miscreants. Punk rock life. The band consisted of Genny Slag on Vocals. Way Cool Jr. Larry on guitar. Black Troy on Bass & Timmy on drums. They played around the Coral Springs area and played with Florida bands like The Belching Penguins & Nuclear Beer and opened for big band s like The Dead Kennedy's, GBH & BGK.

Timmy and I are still friends and we have been jamming ever since he moved back to NJ in the early 90's... Even playing in a band called "Godspeed" that did some cool things like opening for Black Sabbath & Dio on tours in 1994.

I wish i had some more pics but it doesn't seem like any more exist from this time. Bummer. Just this little one you can hardley see....

If anyone is searching for Slag and finds this and has anymore info PLEASE drop it!

I will update with more info as/if i get it!

Slag - Demo (1985?)