The Witzard

Above, you'll see a flyer for an infamous mixed-genre show at CBGB's billed as HARDCORE 1997. Said flyer for a June 29, 1997 gig explains, "This IS the actual band order, so be there early! CB's... usually START ON TIME!!!" and lists the night's performers/genres: "SPAZZ (West Bay HARDCORE Mayhem, first tour ever!) Braid (A damned EMO band on tour from somewhere?) MONSTER X (Ebullition's only real HARDCORE band.) The Get Up Kids (Another wretched EMO band on tour.) HEMLOCK (HARDCORE? DEATH METAL? At least it's not EMO!) 97a (New Jersey HARDCORE, with a brand new record, too!) Ethel Meserve (Hmm... More EMO still?)" It's crazy to think bands as different as SPAZZ, Braid, and The Get Up Kids were all featured on the same bill for a 3:00pm gig at CGBG's, but, I guess, times were different and it's an awesome piece of Punk/Hardcore-adjacent to see nearly 24 years later. Last week, amidst The COVID-19/Coronavirus global pandemic, Japa...

Jade Hairpins quietly released a 12-inch/digital single on Merge Records back in October 2018 consisting of two 7+ minute-long tracks, "Mother Man" & "Gracefully." Discogs list their Genre/Style as Electronic, Rock, Pop, Synth-Pop, and Indie Rock and Jade Hairpins themselves label their genre as "Alternative" on Bandcamp. I'm, personally, reminded a bit of the bleeps and blips of The Bravery, The Cure, Four Tet, LCD Soundsystem, and New Order. Seemingly, out of nowhere, Monday afternoon, Merge Records (@mergerecords) mysteriously Tweeted , "~ t o m o r r o w ~," along with a 9-second video and a glowing Jade Hairpins logo. As promised, the following day, Tuesday, February 4, 2020, @mergerecords Tweeted, "Hhhhhaayyyyyeeeeelllllloooo! Back in 2018, Jade Hairpins emerged mysteriously like a pair of cranes from a tall grove, shared their immediately danceable debut 12-inch single, "Mother Man" B/W "Gracefully,...

Ghoul / Ill Bill by Ill Bill Tankcrimes is an Oakland, California -based Hardcore/Punk Rock/Heavy Metal label, who, for the past 14 years, has been releasing a constant stream of projects from a bunch of awesomely-named bands, such as: John The Baker & The Malnourished , Instant A$$hole, Population Reduction , Face The Rail, Annihilation Time , F**ktard, Cannabis Corpse , Final Conflict, Victims , and my personal favorite, F**ked Up. Along with Violation Wound & Cliterati 's Cliterati / Violation Wound 12-inch split and Brainoil 's forthcoming Singularity to Extinction , one of Tankcrimes' latest and most critically-acclaimed releases is ILL BILL / Ghoul 's self-titled 7-inch split. Although, it was released this past March/May on 200 Splatter, 250 Half/Half, 550 Blood Red, and 1,000 Silver 45's, only the Silver ILL BILL / Ghoul 7-inches—as well as digital downloads/streams—currently remain available in stock from Tankcrimes and ILL BILL 's own ...