NO TREND: HOLLYWOOD, CA 11.19.83. SOUNDBOARD RECORDING.

No Trend are easily one of my favorite bands of the hardcore era. They were rejects in a scene comprised of so-called misfits. Defining themselves in opposition to the narrow hardcore acts of their day, No Trend seemed to despise everything in their path. For example, they didn’t make many friends when they were crammed flyers that read: “No Trend, No Scene, No Movement” into all the Coke machines that the Georgetown/Washington DC straight edge types bought soda from. Ultimately, the goal of No Trend was to turn the hardcore scene inside out in an effort to expunge the narrow-minded types from ever turning up. This dialectical approach served to alienate the insular factions within the scene while finding smarter people who were still into the dictates of aggressive music.

Their approach to music was more akin to Flipper or the Butthole Surfers. The first demo, the “Teen Love” 7”, and the “Too Many Humans” 12” are all superb examples of abrasive and sardonic deviations from the dim-witted hardcore norm. These records probably confused a great deal of people at the time, but those who liked it understood what it was all about.

Taking the road in a damaged ’76 Ford ambulance, they played all of the major venues on the hardcore map in 1983.This live recording is a great soundboard of a show played in Hollywood on November 11, 1983. This soundboard recording is crisp and clear. From what I recall, this recording is better than the live tracks on the official No Trend CD. Unfortunately this set is not complete as there are only 4 songs included here. It’s highly probable that a complete recording of this show exists. If you have a complete recording of this show, please get in touch.

Track List:

1. Do As You're Told

2. Fashion Tips For the 80's.

3. Mindless Little Insects

4. Mass Sterilization Caused By Venereal Disease

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?mlynynmwdhm

BAD BRAINS: CBGB, NEW YORK, NY 12.25.81 SOUNDBOARD RECORDING.

Now that hardcore is at the ripe age of approximately 30 years old, it’s effortless to conclude that the Bad Brains were the leading pioneers of the entire genre. This is quite ironic considering the fact that group objected that the term “hardcore” be used to describe the characteristics of their music. Critics of the band often cite them as being homophobic based on 1982 interviews in both Flipside (#31) and Forced Exposure (#2) where singer HR refers to shooting homosexuals. And then there’s the well-documented incident in Texas during the same year that involved members of the Big Boys and MDC that had homosexual leanings. These incidents of folly would permanently damage the reputation of any other band that was less talented and innovative than the Bad Brains. If anything this stands as an extraordinary testament to their greatness: stating unambiguously dodgy ideologies to a politically correct audience and still being respected by them.

This post will be the first of numerous entries devoted to the documentation of live Bad Brains material. This Christmas ’81 gig is not the preeminent Bad Brains live bootleg in circulation but it’s nothing to scoff at either. (In my opinion, if you’re a fan of the Bad Brains almost any soundboard live recording before 1987 or so is worth owing). Maybe this recording isn’t the most flawless soundboard recording by these guys in circulation, but you get thirteen and a half minutes of music that will melt your face. HR's custom introduction to "Supertouch" is awe-inspiring enough to induce goose bumps before the song even begins!

I've seen this recording listed on various trade lists as being 20 minutes in length. If anyone has the 20 minute version (or the full show for that matter), please contact me through the site.

Setlist:

1. 12XU (Wire)

2. Don't Need It

3. Supertouch/Shitfit

4. Big Takeover

5. Riot Squad

6. I

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?tgnkjomyz22

RODNEY ON THE ROQ RADIO SHOW:106.7 FM, PASADENA, CA 1.24.81 FM BROADCAST.

The emergence of the "Rodney on the ROQ" radio show should never be underestimated when considering the growth of the Los Angeles punk rock scene. Hosted by taste maker Rodney Bingenheimer, the radio show began in August 1976 on the relatively unknown KROQ radio station then based in Pasadena, California. Within a short time, the "Rodney on the ROQ" radio program stood in stark contrast to the West Coast country rock sound that was dominating mainstream radio at the time. Bingenheimer himself builds on this idea:"I was always anti-Eagles, anti-beards. Within a few months, I was playing four solid hours of punk rock." Because Bingenheimer had such autonomy over what he played as a DJ,

Tracks by the Damned, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, Stimulators, Black Flag, Wall of Voodoo, Adam and the Ants, Plasmatics, Go-Go's, Eddie and the Subtitles, Dead Kennedys, and many more are all featured on the episode.

Wendy O. Williams from the Plasmatics phones in from New York to discuss the scuffle that had just occurred at their show in Milwaukee. She talks about the incident in which she brutalized by the local police, the concept of censorship, her recent infamous performance on the Friday's television show, etc.

Former owner of the Masque, Brenden Mullen also joins Rodney in the KROQ studio and speaks about his then new magazine, Slush.

The quality of this recording is excellent. It is a first generation recording taped right off the radio when this was originally broadcasted. Unfortunately this is the entire 4 hours broadcast and does not contain the Circle Jerks in-studio interview. If anyone has a recording of this, please write me through this website.

This recording was obtained from the excellent "From the Garage" blog. This blog has numerous KROQ-FM radio shows from the mid to late 1970s. This blog can be visited at: http://fromthegarage.blogspot.com/

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?eujudzimwzi

A QUICK FIX FOR THE KIDS

I am pleased to say that all of the download links for the recordings on this blog are now in proper working order. Instead of using totally inconsistent free upload sites, I have switched over to a reliable upload site that I am paying to use. It's a very small price to pay when considering how much time I wasting reparing broken download links and re-uploading certain recordings for people.

All patrons of the archive can now download whatever recordings they like with no troubles. If you notice any problem, please let me know if you run into any problems downloading.

STATE OF ALERT: WASHINGTON DC 12.18.80. AUDIENCE RECORDING.

When asked about the live performance history of State of Alert, Henry Rollins once claimed that the group's performances "were eleven to fourteen minutes in duration because the songs were all like forty seconds... and the rest of the time we were going, 'Are you ready? Are you ready?' Those gigs were poorly played songs in between 'Are you readys?" Henry did have a point since these guys never showed much instrumental or song writing prowess, but they certainly can be regarded as one of the purveyors of American hardcore by serving as a launching pad for later bands like Negative Approach and Agnostic Front.

It seems Rollins was also correct about this recording because the total length is just over 12 minutes and the playing certainly isn't virtuosic. Regardless, this is an enjoyable audience recording of a historic group that documents their teenage vitriol. The sound quality is decent considering the time and place this performance was recorded.

Track 9 seems to consist of an unreleased song not found on the "No Policy" 7", "Flex Your Head" compilation LP, or even the 1980 SOA demo cassette. Any information regarding this track would be appreciated.

Setlist:
1) Gonna Have To Fight
2) Riot
3) I Hate the Kids
4) Gang Fight
5) Public Defender
6) Draw Blank
7) Disease
8) Warzone
9) Unreleased song (???)
10) Stepping Stone

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QVV5FIHA

MEAT PUPPETS: MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, PHOENIX, AZ 11/28/81. SOUNDBOARD RECORDING.

Before the Meat Puppets began releasing records showcasing their sun damaged style of country punk, they were experts at constructing wild-eyed, art damaged hardcore. Their debut EP "In a Car" ranks as one of my favorite hardcore records of all time because of its courageous and reckless spirit. The five tracks on their debut 7" EP speed along at a face-melting velocity but seem to move in multi-modal directions depending on the track that you're listening to. The lyrics are often totally incomprehensible and when they were printed they were even more baffling. When considering all of this, it makes total sense that your average hardcore lunkhead wanted to spit all over them when they opened for label mates Black Flag.

This soundboard recording documents the Meat Puppets tearing through a total of 33 songs from their first 7", first LP, and features a whole smattering of oddball covers ranging from the Grateful Dead to Black Flag. It is pretty amazing to think that a hardcore band could even muster the patience to perform a set that is an hour in length. This recording clocks in at just under one hour and the band uses the cover song piss takes to regain their energy to shred on the faster paced songs. Like their records from this time period, the overall performance on this recording is sloppy but highly engaging.

Setlist:

1) Saturday Morning

2) Our Friends

3) Playing Dead

4) Electromud

5) Unjust

6) Reward

7) Milo, Sorghum & Maize

8) H Elenore

9) Blue-Green God

10) Melons Rising

11) Dolphin Field

12) In A Car

13) Tumbling Tumbleweeds (Bob Nolan)

14) Love Offering

15) Litter Box

16) Meat Puppets

17) Teenagers

18) Hearts

19) Foreign Lawns

20) The Gold Mine

21) Walking Boss

22) No Values (Black Flag)

23) Big House

24) Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf)

25) Reach Out (Iíll Be There) (Four Tops)

26) Rabbit Fighter (T-Rex)

27) Down on the Corner (CCR)

28) Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (Funkadelic)

29) I Know You Rider (Grateful Dead)

30) I Am A Child

31) Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix)

32) Out in the Gardener

33) 1970 (Stooges)

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4UMVX2QM