THAT MACHINE KILLED FASCISTS BEFORE YOU GOT THE SHIRT

THIS IS NOT A PUNK ROCK SHOW

DSR55 - DAN YEMIN OF PAINT IT BLACK

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DOPE SICK RADIO EPISODE #55 - TUESDAY, AUGUST 4 @ 7PM (CST) - W/ SPECIAL GUEST DAN YEMIN OF PAINT IT BLACK/ LIFETIME/ KID DYNAMITE/ ARMALITE

Philly-based hardcore outfit Paint It Black is doin something a little bit different with their brand new release(s). We'll be talkin to frontman Dan Yemin about the reasoning behind it as well as his contributions to the punk and hardcore communities with his numerous past musical endeavors.

We'll be spinnin tracks by all his bands and we'll be jivin bout war, Obama, healthcare, Philly violence, and their upcoming UK tour with long-time friends Ceremony. This ones gonna be good. Tune in.

DSR55 PLAYLIST

1. Kid Dynamite - Shiner
2. Bullet Treatment – Already Dead
3. Paint It Black – Short Change
4. Paint It Black – Missionary Position
5. Paint It Black – So Much for Honor Among Thieves
6. Paint It Black – Watered Down
7. Shot Baker – Lost Today
8. 88 Fingers Louie – Joe Pesci
9. Ensign – Fade into Years
10. Minor Threat – Guilty of Being White

RANCID: LET THE DOMINOES FALL - REVIEW BY BRIAN JAMES

I walked away from "DOMINOS" with the same first impression I've had of every new Rancid record to come before it. I hated it. And like every new Rancid record to come before it, I was eventually drawn back in. And with every fresh listen, I found myself falling so much in love with the new material that it eventually replaced everything else in my 6 disc CD exchange player.

This strange and inexplicable pattern of initial un-acceptance for new Rancid records goes back to 1994's LETS GO. Perhaps I'm just hesitant to accept new material from a band whose past material has already become such an important part to the soundtrack of my life. Perhaps I dive into the first listen with a pre-conceived notion that there's no way the new record can top the last. Or maybe I'm just jealous because they create the music, and I'm just the douche bag writing the fuckin review. Whatever the case may be, it's impossible for me to deny the passion of the music and the genius and talent of the members that make up this band.

Strangely enough though, for the first time in 15 years I actually have a tangible reason to doubt the sincerity of a new Rancid release. This ain't the same Rancid the world has always known. Founding member Brett Read, and the only drummer Rancid has ever known, left the band in 2006 citing "personal reasons" and has been replaced by former USED drummer Brandon Steineckert. The long-lasting and original line-up is no longer. It's a huge change and a hard pill for die-hard fans to swallow. But with that being said, the core of Rancid is still made up of Tim Armstrong, Lars Frederiksen, and Matt Freeman. And although I hate to say it, Brandon Steineckert does a fine job of keeping the drumming style of Brett Reed alive.

The bottom line is that despite the ever-evolving musical styles on each and every Rancid release, the sound remains the same and the material on "DOMINOS" is equally as relevant as the material on any record to come before it. It's fuckin Rancid man! Shit.

DSR54 - JAY PEPITO OF REIGN SUPREME

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DOPE SICK RADIO EPISODE #54 - TUESDAY, JULY 28 @ 7PM (CST) - W/ SPECIAL GUEST JAY PEPITO OF REIGN SUPREME

Philly-based hardcore outfit Reign Supreme has two weeks left of their U.S. tour w/ Shai Hulud and The Carrier. They're on the road tourin out their new release Testing the Limits of Infinite out on Deathwish Inc. Pick it up and buy a shirt.

We'll be gettin a tour update from vocalist Jay Pepito and talkin all things Supreme. We'll be spinnin tracks by Blacklisted, Reign Supreme, The Carrier, Shai Hulud and more. Throw a head kick and check it.

DSR54 PLAYLIST

1. Bullet Treatment – A Reason for Violence
2. Shai Halud - Anesthesia
3. Lewd Acts – Drifters Sole
4. Reign Supreme – Mother Superior
5. Reign Supreme – Crushed by the Weight
6. Reign Supreme – And Come What Way
7. Blacklisted – Life Moves On
8. Louis Prima – Zooma Zomma
9. Converge – Locust Reign
10. Shai Halud - Linoleum
11. Golliwog – Planet Xanax
12. Peaceful Meadows – Piste 01
13. Union 13 – Symptoms of Humanity

TONIGHTS THE NIGHT WE SET THE DYNOMITE

AMERICA IS A FAILING INSTITUTION by BRIAN JAMES

I wanna talk about Social Class and Misappropriation of Wealth for a minute here. There is absolutely NO fucking reason why one person in this country is taking in 2 Billion Dollars a year and millions of people are earning less than $20,000 a year. I don't give a FUCK what good or service that person is providing in this country or for this country.

With the exception of individuals taking advantage of the welfare state, the lower classes are working just as hard as the bloated, rich upper 10%, if not harder. You don't see corporate execs working 3 jobs to feed his loved ones do you? I sure as fuck don't. What I see are criminals in over-priced suits and ties sitting behind desks with shit-eating grins on their faces reaping the benefits of the working class.

The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and the middle class is being smashed to pieces. The oil prices are criminal, the sick are being raped by the Health Care System, and people are being starved by the skyrocketing food prices. The sales tax in Chicago is now the highest in any city throughout the nation at 10.5%. The answer is NOT tax adjustments. THE ANSWER IS PROFIT ADJUSTMENT.

Capitalism needs to reformed and restructured and if that means incorporating Socialistic theories and ideals then that's what needs to be done. Social Status is not a race, a sex, or a cultural issue. It's a greed issue. I'm talking about restructuring profit margins for the citizens of this country. Capitalism was a great idea for the formation of this country. It worked in the beginning. But the building has been completed and the same idea that helped shape this country is now dividing it in dangerous proportions. Capitalism is no longer working. PERIOD. - Brian James/ Dope Sick Radio

DOPE SICK RADIO PROMO VIDEO

NEW DSR PROMO ADS CAUSE UPROAR FROM "PUNX"

 

I was surprised to wake up to a number of different emails from a number of different opinonators in regard to the new DSR promo ads featuring a women suckin off the former "Sears Tower" from behind the Chicago City Skyline. Cries of misogyny and sexual exploitation still glossing over my eyes. I feel obliged to solicit more opinions from a community who single-handedly sells out venue after venue for the Blink-182 reunion shows. Or am I just generalizing what punk rock has become? P.S. Lets do an acoustic album with a touch of country twang.What pops into your head when viewing the new DSR ads? - Brian James/ Dope Sick Radio

DSR51 - THE CHUCK MANSON EPISODE

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DOPE SICK RADIO EPISODE #51 - TUESDAY, JULY 7 - THE CHUCK MANSON EPISODE

Hardcore + Manson = DSR51. Shoulda saved this one for a Holloween show cuz this episode is garanteed to creep the fuck out.

DSR51 PLAYLIST

1. Bleeding Through – For Love and Failing
2. Norma Jean - Murderotica
3. Charles Manson – People Say I’m No Good
4. 18 Visions – She Looks Great in Velvet
5. Charles Manson – Sick City
6. Between the Buried and Me – Croakies and Boatshoes
7. Charles Manson – Look at Your Game Girl
8. Terror – Better Off Without You
9. Charles Manson - Arkansas
10. Remembering Never - Incisions
11. The Family Jams – No Wrong/ Come Along
12. Converge - Hellbound
13. The Family Jams – The Fires are Burning
14. Darkest Hour – Killer 3

INTERVIEW W/ JAKE BANNON OF CONVERGE - BY BRIAN JAMES FOR LAYERS MAG

The following interview was conducted late 2004 at the old Bottom Lounge in Chicago. It was the first time I experienced the onslaught of CONVERGE live and I haven't experienced anything like it since.

This is by no means the "definitive" Jake Bannon interview but it should provide a little historic insight into what was goin on in his head at the time of writing, recording, and touring out what I consider to be the greatest Converge record to date - YOU FAIL ME.

This interview appeared as the ninth in the series of the Layers Magazine Pocket Books.

__________________________________________________________

BRIAN JAMES: What was your state of mind during the writing and recording of the new record (YOU FAIL ME)?

JACOB BANNON: I was at a point in my life where I was battling my depression and really trying to get to the core of what my personal anger and issues were. After we did the last record (JANE DOE) I thought I had come to peace with most of the stuff I was going through and I hadn't. I realized that I had a lot of issues that were still un-addresses and alot deeper and that I thought and so I just continued the process of working on them. I took a good hard look at the people around me. I looked at the failures in my life and the failure in my friends and loved ones and I tried to take responsibility for what I could in order to start healing and start becoming a better person.

BJ: How do you deal with all the common pressures of life?

JACOB: This whole punk and hardcore community and what we do is all about survival and thats what we do. We just survive.

BJ: Where'd you grow up and what was your childhood like?

JACOB: I went to middle school and highschool in Andover, Massachusetts. Its a little suburb about a 1/2 hour from Boston. And I spent my weekends in East Boston with my father. My childhood was a typical lower middle class childhood complete with all the hardships of divorce, family life, and other issues that we all face in some form or another.

BJ: Talk a little about your art and print work.

JACOB: I do a lot of design work. It's basically what I do for a day job. It's what I do to pay my rent. I do a lot of design work for independent labels and clients and bands and I just try to create interesting art for people who want and need it.

BJ: What's the process of writing a song in Converge?

JACOB: It's always different. Sometimes someone will bring a song to the table musically and we'll define it individually from that point on and then come together with what we've got. Other times we work on stuff collectively as a band and share the process completely from beginning to end.

BJ: What role, if any, do social issues or politics play in your work both musically and artistically?

JACOB: I try not to involve political issues in anything that I do. I have more personal demons that I've got to face in life than worrying about politics. I think that everyone should be hyper aware of what's goin on around them but we just don't use Converge as an outlet for political expression.

BJ: Talk a little bit about Supermachiner.

JACOB: Supermachiner was a project I did for a few years. They were songs I wrote between 1994 and 1998 and at the time that stuff was fairly "avant garde" and it was really hard to get people to be able to play and do that kind of music. It took a lot of musical growth to be able to put it together. It took a while and I had some time off from Converge and I managed to get into the studio with all those old four-track demos and we re-recorded some stuff and and we just put the thing together.

BJ: How did Deathwish Inc. come to be?

JACOB: We just wanted to create a label that was ethically responsible and that promoted quality music. That was our goal pure and simple.

BJ: Talk about Dear Lover.

JACOB: Much like Supermachiner, Dear Lover is also my solo project. But it's more refined and with the invention of programs like Protools it's a lot easier to create a more polished, final product.

BJ: When can we expect a release of some of that Dear Lover material?

JACOB: Hopefully by the middle of 2005.

BJ: Is there anything in life that you haven't yet accomplished that you still plan on doing?

JACOB: I just want to continue with a forward movement. I don't look back on anything and I've never set out to accomplish anything. I just wanna play music and create art and have a positive impact doing it.

BJ: What kind of legacy would you like to leave if any at all?

JACOB: No legacy. I'm not interested. All I'm interested in is being relevant to myself and others and creating heartfelt material.

BJ: Are you familiar with the BOSTON BEATDOWN DVD's and what's your opinion about the material contained on it?

JACOB: Alot of those kids are my friends that I've grown up with who are involved with that stuff and I think that maybe it's a bit extreme...

BJ: ...I just watched it so it's fresh in my head. Do you think that it portrays the hardcore scene in a negative light?

JACOB: I don't think that it's a negative thing. Friendship and community is not a negative thing. But what I think happens when you see a video like that is that people who don't know anything about the scene think those friendships and those bands are all built around violence and there's alot more to it than that. Just like any aspect of this community, kids go to shows for a variety of reasons, but more often than not, those kids call this community their homes because a lot of them feel like they have nothing else in life. They hold their scene very dearly and very close to their hearts. I also find it really ironic that that kind of behavior and activity is "championed" and/ or condoned in other more mainstream cultures and the media has the nerve to condemn and criticize it in ours. A kid can listen to an EMINEM record or a DMX record that blatantly promotes violence and it's totally accepted.  It's just a part of life. And I'm not condoning it but I do understand it and I understand the history and the culture and the reasons why it exists.

DSR PRESS

DOPE SICK RADIO CELEBRATES 1 YEAR OF GUESTS NOT FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE - BY DAVE HOFER 06/29/09

Indiana-based Punk N Beans Radio has embraced the niche-friendliness of Internet radio, bringing listeners a handful of punk-related shows every week as podcasts. Chicago’s Brian Bush, host of the station’s Dope Sick Radio show, initially started it as an extension of his now defunct magazine, Layers. Carrying Layers' coverage of punk rock, politics, and off-the-wall interviews to the web, Bush celebrated his first year of successful shows last month. With a few hundred loyal weekly listeners in his pocket, Bush discussed some of his most uncomfortable interview moments—fitting for a show that doesn’t shy away from ex-cons and porn stars—and explains how he turned the tables on the subjects. Dope Sick Radio airs Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. on punkandbeansradio.com.

Subject: Justin Pearson, bassist and vocalist for San Diego-based grindcore band The Locust

Why it was uncomfortable: Pearson related, in graphic detail, a story about The Locust bombing while opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in Europe—involving vomit and a pint glass. "Someone had hit the drummer of The Locust with this pint glass," Bush says, "which he then puked into and dumped over his own head instead of throwing back into the crowd—which he threatened to do—of little girls that were just there to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I was so grossed out. I forgot my next question."

Escape plan: "I've never really been at a loss for words during an interview before this," Bush explains. It took Pearson's initiative and interview experience to get back on track after a 45-second bout of every radio host's worst nightmare: dead air.

Lesson learned: "Don't approach an interview on a full stomach."

An unnamed former Gangster Disciple, fresh out of jail and on probation after a 10-year murder sentence. Also, an old family friend.
 

Why it was uncomfortable: Keeping in mind his journalistic duties, Bush decided to probe with hard questions before his subject changed his mind about the interview. "I was asking him about gang-banging and murdering people," he says. "He told me that the murder was drug-related, and that he shot the victim in the back."

Escape plan: Bush pushed through it. "He got more and more squirrely as the interview went on, but I just said 'Fuck it,' and kept going. He told me that 75 percent of the drugs that make it into prison came in through the guards, and afterward had this look like, 'Maybe I shouldn't be talking about this!'"

Lesson learned: "Even if you get your ass kicked or a hit put out on you, at least you got the story."

Davida Kelley, former Children Of God cult member

Why it was uncomfortable: Speaking to a former member of a cult most infamous for adult-on-child sexual abuse is difficult enough, but discussing Kelley's friend Ricky Rodriguez was especially nerve-wracking. "He tried to track down and kill his mom in 2005 after he left 'The Family' in 2001, but failed to get in touch with her. Instead, he killed another Family member—a close friend of his mother's—and then committed suicide."

Escape plan: Bush had to be on his toes. "There were a couple of times where I'd ask her a question about some of her tougher life experiences, like drug addiction and Ricky, and she'd start to cry; I had to move on, quickly."

Lesson learned: "No matter the off-the-wall nature of your subject, always approach them with the utmost sensitivity and respect."

Debi Diamond, adult-film star; IMDB lists 377 movies, including Sex Lives Of Clowns

Why it was uncomfortable: Aside from having starred in one of the first porn films he saw, Bush elaborates, "She turned the tables on me and started asking me about my sex life. We covered everything from anal sex to squirting, and as raunchy as I like to be on my show, I found myself blushing."

Escape plan: "I tried not to name partners, because the last thing I need is an ex calling me all pissed off."

Lesson learned: "If you're going to ask tough questions, be prepared to have them tossed back in your face. It was gnarly."