New Rebel Time Record Reviews From RIOT 77 Zine

From the latest issue of RIOT 77, a great punk rock zine out of Ireland…

The Brat Attack
Those Who Sow Sorrow Shall Reap Rage
Some well-informed hardcore here from Canada’s The Brat Attack. In what may be a collection of recent works, this disc gathers together fourteen tracks recorded over the space of six months. Undoubtedly from the same political (and at times musical) stable as fellow Canucks Propaghandi and earlier the Subhumans, this band are vegan torch-bearers out to put an end to the capitalist agenda of conservative world leaders and call for a leveling of the playing field. Truthfully, The Brat Attack can back themselves up pretty well in the booklet that accompanies this release and their politics are ones of inclusion rather than alienation, which makes a refreshing change from being spoken down to, as if often the case with bands as militant as this. A lot of effort has clearly gone into getting their message across correctly, inspiring and informing instead of aggravating the listener. With plenty of info and food for thought to be found here, the ideas expressed are well thought-out and avoid any dogma.

Broadcast Zero
Yesterday, You Could Change The World
Like Youth Brigade on speed, Broadcast Zero are a tight unit, playing no-nonsense Street Punk and Hardcore. Singer Nick Shrubsole has a pair of lungs on him that casts my mind back to hearing Mike Marsden of The Ducky Boys for the first time. Yup, those pipes are about to blow at any given second. The onslaught of Broadcast Zero is rich in the traditions of Punk Rock’s past, but there’s a spirit in here that makes me realize we’ve lost something along the way that this band is eager to put back. Choppy riffs that plough the hooks into your brain with brute force instead of sweetness. Pointing the finger at the outside world whilst maintaining a degree of warmth and affection for the listener, this connected with me on a level I expect from Punk Rock but unfortunately don’t always get.

The Class War Kids
Reflection! Rage! Rebellion!
The Class War Kids from Canada are a heavily politicized bunch of Street Punk miscreants. Musically this reminds me of some of the crossover stuff No Idea has invested in, where Street Punk and Midwestern Hardcore influences don’t seem all that far apart. Both favour singalongs, screeching guitars and pounding drum rhythms. Layer some hoarse vocals over the top and you’ve got a recipe for some very fine music indeed. The added bonus with The Class War Kids is of course their social conscience. The band shows no inhibitions in laying out it’s stall and calling out all those they feel responsible for the current state of trans-global relations. What really tips this record in my favour though is simply the kick-ass songs, that remind me of how good the old Punk Rock can be without all the trimmings. The beefy two-guitar attack lays waste to all in it’s path. Well played.

The Rotten
Enemy Of The State
From Canada, The Rotten are signed to an offshoot label of Insurgence and though no press info accompanied any of the releases from Rebel Time, its safe to say this band operate within the North American Street Punk circuit. With an emphasis placed on rhythm and pace, The Rotten are well aware they aren’t re-inventing the wheel here, but could care less and keep the focus on the good times. The upsurge in bands like this in the 90’s kicked the sheen right off Punk Rock at a time when it needed it most and brought back a sense of fun to the genre that had almost given way to PC histrionics. The Rotten make their point and share their love of a well-constructed Punk tune with the listener. Sometimes all it takes is a guitar lick and a snarl to bring a smile to my face and The Rotten occupy that slot on the stereo today.

Deep Thoughts by Nick Handy of Broadcast Zero

From the Broadcast Zero Myspace Blog…

The Ontario Crossroads

So we’ve got like seven shows coming up to close out this month. After sweating to death for the past few days I am reminded why we typically do not play shows in August…we don’t fancy dying on stage Judge Dread style or any style for that matter. But there is a good reason for these shows…

It appears that all of our favourite bands felt the urge to converge on Ontario at the exact same fucking time. So what did we do, well not much. Hmmm..that story sucks.

No, we actually made sure as hell that we’d be playing a number of shows with our favourite people form East to West.

Obviously THE rebel spell is Canada’s finest punk rock band from Vancouver….and they’re good kissers, especially that Todd fellow. They’re playing like 15 shows in Ontario so make sur eyou check them out regardless of whether or not we’re playing.

Class War Kids….whatever….only one of the best pure political punk bands I know of. Some of you may wonder what I mean by pure…well, read their lyrics sheet….these guys are chalked full of message and no fluff: specific and to the point, a sign that they know what they’re talking about. Not like those cheezy quasi-politpunks that sing about stuff like “Someone start a revolution, we’ve got four but we need more” kind of non-specific slogan chanting like you find in some bands. If you didn’t catch them the first time through Ontario, catch them on their way back to Newfoundland.

Jesse Lebourdais from the band Cambridge (Vancouver) is touring his solo acoustic act which is some real wicked shit. He’s a super talented guy who is frightened of me when I’m drunk and bowling but he put together an excellent solo project and you shoudl all check it out….immediately.

Noelle from Chaos, Disorder and Panic is a longtime show promoter out in Chilliwack, BC and she’s put on countless shows for countless bands and does it because she loves exactly what we love: building and supporting a scene that stretches across the entire country. She’s been an important contributor to that development and she’s making her first trip across Canada with her friends in GSTS marketing her specific brand of spoken-word experimental message-filled songs.

Also bands that aren’t touring but are playing shows during this time period include good friends and also people committed to building a scene are End Program from Toronto who are affiliated with the collective High Art for the Low Down who also put on countless shows in whatever venues they can find to support touring and local acts.

Subsistence from Montreal will also be heading down here for a show. There was no better moment that watching Phil from Subsistence get dragged out of one of our many local pubs screaming, “I don’t speak English!! They don’t understand!!” He was absolutely bombed but I think he was getting dragged out bombed or sober so at least he was the funner of the two. Those guys are wicked though so check them out.

And of course Final Four are playing the Hamilton show and they’ve always been one of my favourite bands except I don’t actually know them beyond the brief time we spent at the last Hamilton show we played together but they’re awesome so check them out.

The who point of the story is that four years ago none of these bands knew each other and now we get the opportunity to set up shows and play shows across the entire country and it just goes to show that a scene for this kind of punk rock exists across the country and its held together by touring bands and promoters who love the music.

nick

punk rock matinee – july 11th

Check out the PUNK ROCK MATINEE MYSPACE for more info, songs from the bands, pics from previous Matinees, etc…

BROADCAST ZERO- DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT #2

The second installment of the BROADCAST ZERO “Crisis Management Tour ‘09″ diary (the band is currently making it’s way across Western Canada)…see below for Dispatch #1…

After posting the “Team Building Exercise” that outlines some of the unfortunate mishaps and severe disasters that have forced themselves upon us over the first few days of this tour, it feels like some additional stories might be in order.

Mike in Thunder Bay is one of the best promoters in Canada and I”m sure a lot of bands would agree with me. We’ve never met a guy as dedicated to 80s Hair Metal as Mike and he is certainly in competition for being one of the nicest guys we know.
Kilroy’s is a great bar and we got a chance to play a good number of the new songs we’re touring with this time around (songs we hadn’t played before this date) so it was both productive and fun.
And for the girl who spent an hour at our merch table trying on shirts: Yes, you looked good in all the shirts and no you’re not fat. Please come back on June 4th and we can go through all the shirts again with you until you find something you like. Oh, and “I don’t like wearing black” is a difficult request at a punk band’s table.

Winnipeg: As if by fate, we could not find the venue and pulled into a very shady street on a very shady side of Winnipeg only to relaize that we had accidently pulled up in front of our friend Dustin’s house (where we would be staying that evening). So, we went in for a few drinks before the show.
As we made our way to the venue, navigating Winnipeg’s oneway streets, we circled the venue a few times searching for a beer store. And, as if by fate, as we pulled up to the beer store our car started to smoke. “Well, we’re pretty fucked, we mise well pick up a 2-4.” Turned out our engine didn’t feel like registering oil on its dip stick or retaining any coolant. You’ll have to stay tuned for the disagnosis.
Trying to keep a positive and determined outlook on things we made our way over one block to The Cavern, a wicked little punk rock club beneath the Frog. We had the pleasure of playing with Winnipeg’s The Afterbeats, a great ska band and a good bunch of guys. Admittedly it was difficult to fill a 50 minute slot as a punk band but we’ve got more than enough material this year so it managed to go off without a hitch. The place was packed (because the Afterbeats are awesome) and we met a shitload of great people. Special shout outs to Rhode Island, the girl who spelled her name slightly different than how it sounded, and the Ambient Rock guy who hates punk rock but told me my “Don’t Be An Asshole” shirt was the best he’d seen since 1990. Oh, and to the friends of Grave Maker who was sexually harassing me all night, I have a picture of John from Grave Maker grabbing me as well so it would appear birds of the same something flock together…I don’t know the saying. Great show, commence the aftershow.
It’s 430am and I still haven’t slept because we’re eating “sketchbag pizza” and some dude fell through the bannister on the front porch. The cat was “more of a bitch than a bitch” and it turns out Candy loves Dustin more than I do.

Thank God we made it to Kenora. It was looking bleak but we managed to be offered a car in WInnipeg (awesome) and Hennessy said we could borrow their equipment (and their van, awesome!). So we pulled up around 8pm and decided to head next door to the venue for some glow-in-the-dark bowling. Phil destoryed us all on the first game and our second game was atrocious, none of us scored over 100 (in 5 pin). Thanks to WIllow behind the counter at the bowling alley who actually showed up to the show after and provided us with show deoderizer (we’ll see you in Ottawa and maybe Kitchener). Although this comes later in the story, thanks to Bailey, the manager of the bowling alley who was working the merch table beside us and had offered to open the lanes up at 2am for some afterhours bowling if we had been able to stay in town.
The show was surreal. It was a big building, the Lake of the Woods Hotel, that held two bars, a gym, and a hotel where I am sure GG Allin ODed (if I didn’t know where he actually died); the rooms had suicide written all over them, that’s all I can say — very creepy.
In the actual big bar we played, there was a pool tournament going on, punk bands and a dance club inbetween sets. You think the night would be a bust but it was fucking epic. Since we liked it so much the night before, we decided to play for about 45 minutes. Punk bands probalby shouldn’t play for that long but whatever, we don’t get to Kenora too often although it has become clear that we should. Thanks for everything Sean from Hennessy!

Kamloops to Prince George stories to come.

Nick

Crisis Management Tour ‘09: Entry 1
After posting the “Team Building Exercise” that outlines some of the unfortunate mishaps and severe disasters that have forced themselves upon us over the first few days of this tour, it feels like some additional stories might be in order.

Mike in Thunder Bay is one of the best promoters in Canada and I”m sure a lot of bands would agree with me. We’ve never met a guy as dedicated to 80s Hair Metal as Mike and he is certainly in competition for being one of the nicest guys we know.
Kilroy’s is a great bar and we got a chance to play a good number of the new songs we’re touring with this time around (songs we hadn’t played before this date) so it was both productive and fun.
And for the girl who spent an hour at our merch table trying on shirts: Yes, you looked good in all the shirts and no you’re not fat. Please come back on June 4th and we can go through all the shirts again with you until you find something you like. Oh, and “I don’t like wearing black” is a difficult request at a punk band’s table.

Winnipeg: As if by fate, we could not find the venue and pulled into a very shady street on a very shady side of Winnipeg only to relaize that we had accidently pulled up in front of our friend Dustin’s house (where we would be staying that evening). So, we went in for a few drinks before the show.
As we made our way to the venue, navigating Winnipeg’s oneway streets, we circled the venue a few times searching for a beer store. And, as if by fate, as we pulled up to the beer store our car started to smoke. “Well, we’re pretty fucked, we mise well pick up a 2-4.” Turned out our engine didn’t feel like registering oil on its dip stick or retaining any coolant. You’ll have to stay tuned for the disagnosis.
Trying to keep a positive and determined outlook on things we made our way over one block to The Cavern, a wicked little punk rock club beneath the Frog. We had the pleasure of playing with Winnipeg’s The Afterbeats, a great ska band and a good bunch of guys. Admittedly it was difficult to fill a 50 minute slot as a punk band but we’ve got more than enough material this year so it managed to go off without a hitch. The place was packed (because the Afterbeats are awesome) and we met a shitload of great people. Special shout outs to Rhode Island, the girl who spelled her name slightly different than how it sounded, and the Ambient Rock guy who hates punk rock but told me my “Don’t Be An Asshole” shirt was the best he’d seen since 1990. Oh, and to the friends of Grave Maker who was sexually harassing me all night, I have a picture of John from Grave Maker grabbing me as well so it would appear birds of the same something flock together…I don’t know the saying. Great show, commence the aftershow.
It’s 430am and I still haven’t slept because we’re eating “sketchbag pizza” and some dude fell through the bannister on the front porch. The cat was “more of a bitch than a bitch” and it turns out Candy loves Dustin more than I do.

Thank God we made it to Kenora. It was looking bleak but we managed to be offered a car in WInnipeg (awesome) and Hennessy said we could borrow their equipment (and their van, awesome!). So we pulled up around 8pm and decided to head next door to the venue for some glow-in-the-dark bowling. Phil destoryed us all on the first game and our second game was atrocious, none of us scored over 100 (in 5 pin). Thanks to WIllow behind the counter at the bowling alley who actually showed up to the show after and provided us with show deoderizer (we’ll see you in Ottawa and maybe Kitchener). Although this comes later in the story, thanks to Bailey, the manager of the bowling alley who was working the merch table beside us and had offered to open the lanes up at 2am for some afterhours bowling if we had been able to stay in town.
The show was surreal. It was a big building, the Lake of the Woods Hotel, that held two bars, a gym, and a hotel where I am sure GG Allin ODed (if I didn’t know where he actually died); the rooms had suicide written all over them, that’s all I can say — very creepy.
In the actual big bar we played, there was a pool tournament going on, punk bands and a dance club inbetween sets. You think the night would be a bust but it was fucking epic. Since we liked it so much the night before, we decided to play for about 45 minutes. Punk bands probalby shouldn’t play for that long but whatever, we don’t get to Kenora too often although it has become clear that we should. Thanks for everything Sean from Hennessy!

Kamloops to Prince George stories to come.

Nick

BROADCAST ZERO – DISPATCH FROM THE FRONT #1

I’ll be posting updates from BROADCAST ZERO as they criss-cross Canada on what is now officially their “Crisis Management Tour ‘09.” Read on to find out why!

Sunday, May 17, 2009 Broadcast Zero’s Corporate Team Building Exercise If your looking for that much needed cohesion that your small business is missing you can follow these simple steps to create bonds that will surely endure in these trying economic times. 1. Get a minivan with 350 000 clicks on it and buy a trailer from Roy who does War of 1812 re-enactments. 2. Book countless shows across your country. Let’s say 17 will do for the first leg. 3. Don’t leave any sleeping room in your van for that 18 hour haul to Thunder Bay and eventually make your way to Winnipeg. 4. Do a few laps around the venue looking for a “beer vendor” only to arrive at the beer store as your engine decides to set itself on fire. Let the team-building exercise begin. Your objective is to make it to Kenora the following day and eventually make it to Kamloops within 5 days. Your overall mission is to not miss ANY shows. Additional factors: 1. Some of your equipment will be stolen the night your van breaks down. Check. 2. Your trailer leaks and those monster thunderstorms you drive through will soak your gear. Check. 3. You only have 2 licenced drivers in the band. Check. 4. You must drink every night. Check. You’ll come to realize that this team-building exercise is IMPOSSIBLE without the support of new friends who would no doubt sacrifice themselves to help you — a true sign of the good that exists within people. We are happy to report that while we’re not in Kamloops yet, we will be there on time come Thursday evening. Our list of thank yous is long but here they are: Sean and Hennessey (Kenora, On): This motherfucking guy GAVE US HIS VAN to get out West. If there is a person more committed to a thriving punk rock community in this country, I have yet to meet them. He will always hold a place in our hearts for being wicked cool. As I write this blog entry, Sean and Phil are no doubt drinking and bowling with the fine people in Kenora. Dustin (from the Afterbeats and the Brat Attack) and his entire crew. Dustin houses us, looked at our van, told us we were pretty fucked, found a mechanic for us and stored our gear for us. His friends bought us food, drinks and even lent us their car. Who the fuck are these people!!! I mean, seriously, the willingness to aid other people is unbelievable. Our van blew us, shit got stolen, our trailer leaked and we were without a credit card essentially yet the past 3 days have been the best of this band’s career so far and some of the best times of our lives. Take that shitty luck, we’ve got friends and booze. And we love them all.

PUNK ROCK MATINEE – MARCH 14TH – HAMILTON

Poster, as usual, by the Graphic Design Gods at Death Rattle Industries:

Death Rattle Industries


LINE-UP

6:30 – 7:00 * HOSTAGE LIFE: “Honest, gritty old school punk rock.” “Street punk along the same lines as Street Dogs or the less-corny, less-Irish Dropkick Murphys tracks. Luckily, Hostage Life forgoes the typical lyrical content of the aforementioned bands and their contemporaries in favor of intelligent socio-political commentary with an earnest, personal slant.”

5:45 – 6:15 * BROADCAST ZERO: “…classic tofu-and-two-veg punk rock, the kind that creates an instant feeling of comfort and familiarity as it floods into every synapse you possess. Brick-solid riffs, razor-sharp bass, muscle-punching rhythms and vox that demand attention RIGHT FUCKIN’ NOW blend effortlessly together. It’s a solid no-nonsense balls-out streetpunk n’ roll beat.”

5:00 – 5:30 * THE ROTTEN:”gritty, gruff, fast and furious 77-style punk rock n’ roll. It’s raw, it’s raging and it’s rocket-fueled. You get songs about love, hate, beer, smashing the state, fast cars and capitalist pigs. It’s snotty, it’s snide, it’s raucous and rockin and it’ll hit you harder than a bullet-belt to the head.”

4:15 – 4:45 * THE STEELTOWN SPOILERS: “The Hamilton Kid & The Steeltown Spoilers have been around for years in different projects: Sam Lawrence 5 / The Mickey DeSadist Show / Thunderfuck & The Deadly Romantics / HorrorBiz / The Vapids / The Lorrainas / Slander / Columbian Necktie, and The Chico Maki Punk Rock Experience to name but a few, and have joined forces to give a new voice to street punk rock & roll.”

3:30 – 4:00 * THE LET DOWNS: (“Pat) Havoc and former Wet Spots Ian ‘Mo De Lon’ Hassel (guitar) and Pete ‘Second’ Best (drums) as well as former Problem Children bassist Barney Rebel, decided to get together and learn some Clash songs and for the last few years have expanded their catalogue and christened themselves The Let Downs.” “It ain’t easy listening” – Mo De Lon.

PUNK ROCK MATINEE – MARCH 14TH

BROADCAST ZERO: “SOLID NO-NONSENSE BALLS-OUT STREETPUNK N ROLL”

From the highly recommended OLD PUNKS NEVER DIE blog…

Broadcast Zero – Yesterday, You Could Change The World
Rebel Time Records

So here’s part deux of my triple bill review of some rather marvellous Canadian punk rock. It’s a little delayed, owing to other stuff going on in the real world, but don’t let my slackness put you off of buying this disc as soon as is humanly possible.

‘Yesterday, You Could Change The World’ is the debut release on Rebel Time Records, and it sets a mighty high benchmark for those that are to follow. Broadcast Zero are classic tofu-and-two-veg punk rock, the kind that creates an instant feeling of comfort and familiarity as it floods into every synapse you possess. Brick-solid riffs, razor-sharp bass, muscle-punching rhythms and vox that demand attention RIGHT FUCKIN’ NOW blend effortlessly together. It’s a solid no-nonsense balls-out streetpunk n’ roll beat. The sound is the perfect foil for the words, the socially-aware-but-don’t-forget-the-fun kind of punk intelligence that shows Rancid up for the playschool fakers they are. I’m not dissing the band by saying there’s a definite Rancid flavour (ha ha) to the sound – I love that old-school style but I fuckin’ hate the whole corporate bollocks that they’ve bought into, and to hear a band like BZ bring it back to the real punks puts a shit-eating grin on my face.

There’s not a duff track on this, every one is a classic. If I had to pick a favourite, it would have to be ‘My Body’. I’ve never heard a song that addresses sexual abuse in such an upfront no-bullshit way. ‘Self-defence is no offence’ is more than just a slogan in BZ’s worldview.

I challenge any one of you to get through this CD without punching the air lots, contorting your face into a vein-popping diabolic shade of red, hollering along with the band in a brothers-and-sisters-in-arms kinda way and resolving to revolt at every opportunity that crosses your path.

OP’s opinion: @@@@@

NEW BROADCAST ZERO WEBSITE!!

Sean from Broadcast Zero has designed a brand new BROADCAST ZERO website…check it out at BROADCAST ZERO. It’s all Broadcast Zero, all the time!

BROADCAST ZERO CD REVIEW – “FU*KING BRILLIANT”

Review of the new BROADCAST ZERO disc from Canada’s ‘Exclaim Magazine’:

Broadcast Zero
Yesterday, You Could Change The World
By Keith Carman

West coast politi-punks the Rebel Spell just met their East coast equivalent. Proof positive that the political opinions most crusty/street punk bands strive to instil in their fans don’t go unnoticed, agitated quartet Broadcast Zero blaze forth with their inspired take on the state of the world. Infusing many personal and anecdotal elements into the fold though, they escape the trappings that weigh down their contemporaries, resulting in tunes that are equal parts sincere and informative. More importantly though, the fervour with which Yesterday, You Could Change The World is delivered seems unparalleled. Every track attacks as if it were the last moment these boys will have on the face of the Earth, relegating the aggression acts such as the Casualties or Total Chaos affect somewhat like, well, bullshit. This is the new breed of street-wise punks and their enthusiasm, vigour and dominance are fucking brilliant. (Rebel Time)

Pics by Hailey Edge and taken at the Punk Rock Matinee/June 21, 2008

BROADCAST ZERO: Review Of The New CD

A review from the fine folks at EQUALIZING X DISTORT RADIO/ZINE:

Broadcast Zero “Yesterday, You Could Change the World” CD

BROADCAST ZERO fall in a long line of bands that marry a message with melodic three chord punk. It’s infectious and it’s substance oriented. They remind me of a modern day MARILYN’s VITAMINS which is to say something like DILLINGER 4. And they keep good company with bands like the FALLOUT and the REBEL SPELL who come from the same school of punk. This is the debut release by this new fledgling label that cut their teeth as part of Insurgence. And it’s a dandy for both label and band as a debut release. Fans of HOSTAGE LIFE and BLACK JACKET should check out BROADCAST ZERO for their tales of hardship and disappointment all to a racing pace that has gang chorus sing-a-longs.

(Rebel Time Records / 2-558 Upper Gage Avenue, Suite 162 / Hamilton, ON / L8V 4J6 / Canada / www. rebeltimerecords. com) – SP