Wide Awake - CT Hardcore 7"

Wide Awake were a ridiculously young straight edge hardcore band whose claim to fame was opening for a lot of the top Rev/Schism bands of the late 80's like Bold and Youth of Today at the legendary Anthrax club in Connecticut. They were a local CT band that became very popular locally and were able to gain the respect and adoration from the scene and the bands they opened for. Unfortunately in the end, that's what they stayed, an opening band.

Still, whatever good fortune they had went all the way to becoming the first (and last) band to have a release on Schism Records that didn't have Porcell in the band. That alone makes them legendary for sxe hardcore record collectors.

I would love to say I had all the variations for this record, but hey, sometimes one is good enough. Especially when it comes to this record.

All pressings of CT Hardcore were on black vinyl. The differences came down to the label and cover.

The first press were on white labels with some also on red labels. (some people call the red labels a second press) I got the red labels version.

The 2nd press (or 3rd) has a different cover showing Sammy Siegler playing live with a Wide Awake t-shirt on. There were some red label vinyl with this pressing as well as a new silver/grey label as well. The silver and grey labels may be the same label or two different ones. The combinations seem endless. Just get the record. You will be happy.

Push comes to shove I would put the first track, "Last Straw" up against anything that came out at the time. The song absolutely rages. Plenty of awesome hooks and breakdowns and captures the spirit of the straight edge revival movement lyrically as well as anything Cappo ever wrote.

Word.

Wrecking Crew - s/t 7"

To tell you all the truth, I have very little coming in as far as rare or new records go. The stuff I am waiting on doesn't really warrant a post as I'm pretty sure either Mike or Marcus will be getting the same records and will have them up faster and post better stories than I could possibly do anyways. Plus, Spring is coming and I would rather be outside hanging out than taking pictures of records. Sorry. You don't know what Canadian winters are like!

All that leaves me with is posting on some of my collection I think people will like to see. Maybe.


That brings us to the first Wrecking Crew 7" put out on Vortex Records.
Wrecking Crew seem to catch a lot of shit from the hardcore community, but for the life of me I can't figure out why.
Wrecking Crew were part of the second wave of Boston hardcore. The band had what I thought was a really cool Agnostic Front vibe.
Throw some metal in the sound, a long hair metal dude in the band, and a singer who at times is a dead ringer for Roger Miret, and they got tagged as an AF clone band. Shocker.
It's not like hardcore was ever that original, I'm not sure why they got the brunt of it.

This record has a few variations out there, mainly in cover color. As far as vinyl goes, there were black and green pressed. Black was out of 500. Green was a later press. The black vinyl had a grey color cover out of 300, and the rest on the more common red cover.

When I got this record in the mail I found something that wasn't in the description of the record when I bid on it.



Apparently, there were 50 of these with yellow inner sleeves. I can't find anything on the internet about this at all. If anyone has any insight, please leave feedback. In the end, I don't think anyone is clamoring for this variation! I just thought it was interesting.

Record also comes with a decent insert.


In the end, this is a pretty damn good record and is worth tracking down if you have a few extra bucks. I think time has been kind to them as their material was reissued on cd by Bridge Nine and their lp on Hawker, "Balance of Terror" has become quite a collectors item.

Sinking Ships - Disconnecting

Maybe it was the sheer number of records I was buying a few years ago, but I really missed the boat on how awesome Sinking Ships was as a band.
While they have a number of really good 7"s, for me nothing beats their "Disconnecting" album. Funny thing is, it took listening to it on my ipod years later for me to realize it.

I bought the album from Revelation when it came out. I already had the "Meridian" 7 inch and thought it was good. Their main claim to fame I guess was that the singer was brothers with the singer from Champion. I love Champion, this is out on Rev...must be good. Unfortunately, I ordered it back when I used to make large Rev orders. I would order 5-10 records at a time, listen once and file.
That just isn't cool. I should have known better!

This album is straight up modern hardcore with lots of layers and a real emotional/melancholy feel. Full of great hooks and Danny's voice tops it off as a perfect fit for what is going on musically. I hope in time it gets the attention and respect it deserves as one of the best records of the era.

As far as collecting goes, I initially ended up with the opaque green press. Once I discovered how much I loved this album, I started tracking down the rest.

First up is Blue/99. This is the rarest and hardest to come by. I ended up buying this directly from the singer Danny Hesketh. Sometimes you have to go to the souce to get things done. Also, he never gouged me like this one goes on ebay. Very cool score and very limited when it comes to Revelation pressings.


Next is my aforementioned first copy, opaque green/317.


Next is clear/609. This was the most common color out of the first press and the last one for me to pick up. I bought it off Aram in one of my big purchases from him. Got a good deal as it really isn't rare or anything.


There is an identical second and third press on clear green that is readily available out there. I haven't bothered to pick it up yet, but I'm sure I will sometime. I see it is still available at RevHq, so maybe next week now that I have it in mind.
There is also a record release and Euro tour press on half green/half clear with black splatter. I have missed out on those a couple times, but I will get there.

Time to go listen to "Auburn".

Token Entry - Ready or Not...Here We Come!!!

Every once in a while, I am reminded why I do this in the first place.
Today I was flipping through my 7"s and I literally forgot I owned this early hardcore classic.
Token Entry - "Ready Or Not...Here We Come!!!" 7".

I guess one of the reasons I don't pull this one out too often is the absolute pain in the ass it is to get out of the two protective outer sleeves I have for this. This 7" has a weird oversize wide sleeve. Like 7 1/2" wide and 7" tall. I have to put two sleeves on sideways. Anyway...

This record has a real early punk (almost rock and roll) vibe on the songs. Amateur guitar fills all over the place. Not too fast and actually really catchy. The lead song, "Antidote" is a classic early hardcore tune.

The songs were later re-recorded (much faster) and released on "From Beneath the Streets" with their more recognized singer, Timmy Chunks.

This recording has Anthony Comunale on vocals who later left the band and ended up singing for Raw Deal/Killing Time.

As far as collecting goes, this is one record that was heavily bootlegged. There are up to three different colors out there for bootlegs, white/450, blue/100 and maybe a black vinyl as well.
One sure sign to see if it is legit is that all original copies are on black vinyl with green labels and have the wide, heavy stock sleeve that is almost like cardboard. What makes it even more difficult is that the record was self released, so there is no label to easily identify it with.

As always, this is definitely a tough one to buy sight unseen on ebay as it has sold for as much as $125.

I think this record is worth tracking down, as these songs were never re-released elsewhere. Well that and this is some excellent NYHC.

Another Breath - The God Complex

Four months in the making with plenty of problems along the way, the new Another Breath album is finally out on vinyl. I can safely say it was worth the wait.

I have been a big fan of Another Breath and have been so since I first heard them on the "Locked and Loaded 3" sampler way back. Their first album "Not Now, Not Ever" was absolutely awesome and I have loyally followed them since.

When Panic Records first announced back in November they would be releasing their new album I was stoked and of course ordered the full meal deal package.
The first 100 preorders would get a special press on black with a screened cover.

Looks like it ended up 108. Good number. (better band!)


The regular press of the album is on the small side. Panic ended up with just over 500 total pressed. I can't see them hanging around in their webstore for too long.

Grey/Black marble out of 200.

Brown out of 200.


The artwork is also on the awesome side. Really beautifully done package.


As you may or may not know the record was delayed in December when the vinyl they got back from the pressing plant was all mixed down to mono. I actually thought that was pretty cool, but the band and label had other ideas and ordered a new pressing, delaying the release a couple of months.
Fortunately, they offered the reject press to anyone who pre-ordered the album for $13. Hell I love the Rolling Stones and Beatles in mono, why not this?


There were a total of 100 sold of the reject press. I jumped quick.

I know a lot of people slept on this band early on, I just hope they get their due now. This really is a great record.

Killing Time - Brightside

Let's see what happened today to me shall we?
I'm on day 5 of the worst head cold and cough of my life. I had two different kiss ass client meetings at work. I lost my fucking wallet at lunch!!!! Spent an hour canceling credit cards and all that shit. To top it off, I took the bus home after resorting to panhandling for change - in a shirt and tie. Did I mention I lost my wallet?

Yeah, I think Killing Time - "Brightside" will do the trick.


This record is angry. Really angry. Loud and angry. I consider RawDeal/Killing Time one of the great underrated NYHC bands. They should be right alongside Sick of It All, The Cro-Mags and AF as pioneers of the sound.

I was enamored with the whole "In Effect" hardcore imprint label back in the late 80's. After the interviews with Howie Abrams over at Double Cross, I had to pull this record out for old time's sake.

I'm glad I did because it really came in handy today.