BoemTikFest - October 8th - Goes

Often the shows you expect nothing from, turn out to be the best. Namur, Belgium with Cracks In The Wall was such a show and our set at the BoemTikFest may be added to that hall of fame as well.

Take two small bars next to eachother, set up a show with some of the best punkbands around in The Netherlands (The Real Danger and Antillectual), make sure lots of local people drop by and you have one hell of an evening.

Due to circumstances I only saw Hard Rain perform. I like their swing at traditional hardcore.

And as for State Of Affairs, we had fun, we had bruises, we have hoarse throats.





All pics by Nous. See way more here.

Good times ahead

So you went to This Is Hardcore fest and saw Kid Dynamite and Hands Tied or enjoyed the mayhem at React! Fest? Big deal. Tonight and tomorrow Europe will have the best fests and I'm going.

Right Idea + Rearranged - July 30 - Tilburg

Finally the day was there, almost a year after putting up my first hardcore show with The Effort and Teenage Lust, the time was right for number 2. Despite Incarnation cancelling it was a nice show after all.

Right Idea was already hanging out at the venue when I arrived so I quickly brought the food in I made for them and Rearranged and took the time to catch up with Robert Refuse Records.

The first time I met Robert was when I was driving Reaching Forward all over Europe. Robert released a Reaching Forward tape and got the band a show in Warsaw. He also accompanied us on some shows of that tour. Got us out of the hands of some corrupted cops and was one of the many in the van who suffered from food poisoning. The last time I met Robert was in 2002 so we had some catching up to do.

I also talked a bit with Nate from Right Idea about their tour so far and then the van full of Russian and Ukranian guys pulled up the curb. Rearrange had arrived and it was time to set up gear and do some soundchecking.

Eventually people from Birds x Of A Feather, Johnny Forward and more old and new hardcorekids showed up at the venue. Right in time to see Rearranged play a long but solid set of Uniform Choice, Dag Nasty inspired hardcore. I always love seeing a band on stage who got something to say. Vic from Rearranged was no let down on that part. I quickly picked up the band's new record 'New Forms'. I personally think the limited summer tour sleeve is better than the original artwork.



After our set (which went pretty okay considering State Of Affairs once again didn't practice for months) it was time for Right Idea to give Tilburg the Right Idea. These Cleveland guys played a solid set including songs from the 'Our World' record and the new 7" which I picked up as well.





The guys from Right Idea slept at the Shield house and the next morning my whole family got on the bike, went over to the Shield house and together with Jelle we bought them some breakfast and other stuff before they left for the next show in Belgium.

Though I met many bands throughout my years and heard a lot more stories about bands I can truly say I never encountered such a well mannered band as Right Idea. Before leaving they did the dishes, checked if everything was tidy. That band truly has the right idea.

Our show!

Breda: There's smoke in the bar

What is there to say about the show in Breda:

Well, the soundsystem couldn't handle the amount of noise of the bands. And I think smoking should be prohibited in all bars. Just when I got used to the cleaner air at shows, bars seem to allow everyone to smoke inside again. YUK!

Despite speculation on the way to the show Malfunction doesn't sound like a Cro-Mags band. They rather have a Trash Talk, early Ceremony thing going.

State Of Affairs guitarplayer Rowan is pretty good on the drums as well, though guitarplay Wilco really should get more knowlegde of his amplifier.

Cracks In The Wall do sick covers of Infest and Black Flag which makes people mosh and they have their demotape available in all the colours of the world. Yet vocalist Theun shouldn't listen to Deep Purple in the car when I'm going along, because I can't stand long songs with boring solos.

Static Radio are from New Jersey, play a great Saves The Day cover and do have quite some memorable songs of themselves as well. I'm glad I have finally seen this band and think everyone into Lifetime should pick up their record.

This Routine Is Hell is probably one of the better Dutch hardcore bands around at the moment. They ripped the bar apart and had lots of people dancing, singingalong and whatnot. Despite all that they're also nice fellows and great neighbours at the merchtable. Best thing is that the bassplayer is a Dr.Pepper fanatic.

Some pics taken by Iris van Turnhout:
Malfunction



State Of Affairs:



Static Radio NJ:



This Routine Is Hell:



More pics can be found here.

New State Of Affairs shirts!

As said yesterday we have new shirts stating May 7. The four youth crew guys known from our earlier design are no superhumans and like everyone else got in contact with the poison that's infecting Mother Earth. Being it greed, money, toxisms, apathy we're all victims and only we can make a change. When will we learn we gotta act now?

Sunday matinees will never be the same

Sunday matinees have never seemed the same

Since you turned our hardcore shows into a football game.

But you're not the only one to blame, Because we sat back for so many years And watched you play all your stupid tough-guy games

We took your shit and now we're lying in it.It's time to make a change... MAKE IT FUCKIN' CHANGE

If there's 200 kids and only there total dicks, Which of us do you think should get to say

I WILL STAY 

Battery - Go Back To The Gym

To be honest the above lyrics to one of the better Battery songs have nothing to do with playing the sunday matinee in Aarle-Rixtel. If anything there was no macho behaviour just a diverse group of people having a good time.

I had never been in the OJA before. And was surprised to find such a great venue in The Netherlands. Belgium is known for these kind of places but to find a small club in the middle of a small village in The Netherlands where local kids come and see bands, it's still great

The matinee started with Belgium newcomers Accept The Change. They remind me a lot of Have Heart and the singer has a great stage presence, really focusing on the music and withdrawn to the extent that as an outsider you get into it as well. They played a good set and set the tone for the rest of the day.

You know those show with lots of bands playing, taking their time to set-up and do another soundcheck? Those shows that go on and on forever and really get behind schedule. Well this was not one of them. In fact To The Test were already done playing their mix of Madball metalcore and our drummer and guitarplayer still had too arrive. Fortunately they walked in just in time to set up their gear and get focused. Ray brought one of his sons, which made me want to bring my kids to a show someday as well.

Our set went way better than last week. And we even sold our demos, compilation 7" and stuff. There's only one shirt left so we're going to try and have a new design ready for the next show on May 7.

Aarle-Rixtel was Dutch hardcore history in the making since after five years MM returned on stage, with a new singer. They weren't as rusty as expected and their songs inspired by 7 Seconds were still enjoyable. It was somewhat strange to see our drummer from the other side of the stage as he is also in MM.

What other band could close off the day then Said and Done. Everytime I see this band they are just one step better. They ripped it again. Beforehand Pim told me he was not sure his voice would hold, but it did. Everyone was grooving, singing along and enjoying one of the better bands in the Netherlands right now.

After that it was time to head back in the Shieldrecordings van and go back to Tilburg.

I WILL STAY

State of Affairs - March 27 - Eindhoven - show

Out of step at this show!!!

You ever had that feeling of alienation, of not belonging, of not fitting in with the crowd. I sure felt that way last saturday when we played the Dynamo in Eindhoven with Bodyshot and Tech 9.

Originally meant as a show in smalltown Brabant, that one got cancelled but the nice people of Dynamo offered to put up the whole package in their club.

We had to do the soundcheck (which wasn't a big succes) and then waited backstage for the doors to open. Quickly the place filled up with very big, bald guys sporting. This sure wasn't your regular youth crew or hardcore crowd. This crowd bared more resemblance to the people who go see bands like Cock Sparrer and Sham 69. Great bands but not a crowd for us to play with our '88 harcore sound.

Despite all this we gave our best shot, making fun on stage and looking forward to the next show on April 2 with This Routine Is Hell. Hope to see you there.

Some pics from backstage:

Cracks In The Wall/ State Of Affairs -february 26 -Namurs - show

When we were asked to play in Namurs, Belgium with Cracks In The Wall I honestly didn't know what to expect. I'd never been in Namurs and also never heard other bands talking out the city in south of Belgium. 

Well the show was great. It was full of young and older punks who couldn't speak a word English but were having a good time moshing, drinking, screaming along. There was so much energy in the room incredible.  

So bands when you get asked to play Namurs, don't hesitate just do it.

More pics can be found at shootmeagain.com

Still going strong

Youth Crew 010 compilation 7"

A new '88 in 2010? I don't think so but ever since '88 Youth Crew bands have been popping up. After the nineties youth crew revival with Mainstrike, Hands Tied, Reaching Forward, Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, Eyeball and Sportswear amongst others there were bands like Champion, The First Step and nowadays True Colors keeping the sound alive.

True Colors is breaking up but fortunately all over the world bands still keep going on in true Youth Crew spirit. On this compilation from Positive and Focused, Monument and Youth Crew records ten bands show what they're capable of.

The record starts with Alert who deliver a song mixing Youth Of Today's No More with an Insted vibe. Portugals' Pressure doesn't have the most unique bandname in the world, but they do have that aggressive youth crew Carry On sound I loved so much on the Roll With The Punches ep. The Italians from Fumbles In Life don't convince me. Somehow I get the feeling something is off with this record, the vocals are way too highpitched. Next band on side A is State Of Affairs, my own band. For the lack of anything better we decided to put a track from the demosessions we recorded ourselves on this compilation and I must say we don't sound out of style productionwise with the other bands. Swedish kids Forever Young are the last band on side A. They have that aggressive Swedish sound we all love.

Side B brings five more bands. Reveal The Truth deliver a short angry song. But it is Half The Battle all the way from the Phillipines who surprise me the most by a song that mixes Plagued with Rage with early Fastbreak. If this was a band from the US kids would be drooling over their ebaymerchandise in no time. Residents of Moscow Rearranged deliver a track that was already on their demo. Still a very good song however. The other band from the Phillipines Staid also come through with an outstanding track leaving place for the Americans in Outlast to really end this compilation in style with a song that shows they're the next best thing after Mindset.

This 7" probably will not reach the legendary level as the Time Is Now compilation or the Growing Stronger compilation did. However it shows there are still people who believe in the combination of aggressive music and a positive outlook. As long as that continues and bands with a youth crew sound pop up, I'm interested.

Me, You... Youth Crew 2009

Show of the year? Who knows. It's nice to play with some of the best youth crew bands around though.

Hangin in the air

Yesterdays's show with Black Friday 29 and Betrayed was awesome. More on the show later. For now I'll share this picture with you. I always wanted to have my own the standard youth crew vocalist in air picture and here it is:



More pics of the show can be found here: Moshzone

State of Affairs update: Seize the moment

Hi all. Rumors are true, we're still alive and rehearsing ;-)

So far we have finished 8 songs for an upcoming ep. We will be demoing them soon, to send out to labels that might be interested in releasing our stuff.

Getting shows isn't the most easy thing at the moment. The kind of hardcore we play seems pretty dead in The Netherlands with only Birds X Of A Feather still keeping the flame burning.

So if you like youth crew inspired hardcore please drop us a line, we love to play your show.

Bye for now.

Take care, Live aware

xRoldx

Tonight

First time playing news songs and Count Me Out cover. Siked!

State Of Affairs interview

At the Verse show in Hengelo me and Rowan were interviewed for Asice. You can read the result here.

First State Of Affairs review

While browsing through the internet I stumbled upon this review of the State Of Affairs demotapen on this blog:



State Of Affairs is a brand new hardcore band straight out of Tilburg / Utrecht, The Netherlands. This tape that contains 4 songs is their first release ever and it's limited to 99 copies, so I doubt if you can find any spare copy left...
Anyway...
The style of State Of Affairs is fast old school hardcore punk with a strong youth crew reference and some Boston scene, era 1988, influences. They manage to maintain a unique sound with a modern touch that some times brings in mind Verse and Carry On, while some others is more harsh and "ol' school" reminding me of In My Eyes, Turning Point & the legendary Youth Of Today.
All the songs are fueled with melodic & catchy riffs and some nice personal lyrics.
State Of Affairs feature current or ex-members of Dutch bands like Permanent Mark, Heartfelt, MM, Operation Phoenix and Press For Go.
I really like this tape and I wish there were more than just 4 songs in it.
Go on and check out State Of Affairs, they rule hard.

Verse, I Rise, xAnchorx, State of Affairs @ Innocent, Hengelo

Sometimes talking to another person for only 15 minutes can be so inspiring. I feel that way after talking with Sean Murphy from Verse yesterday. You can read all about it soon on this blog.

xAnchorx, nov 19-08, Hengelo
Originally uploaded by xroldx

But I want to take this moment to let you all know how awesome xAnchorx is. I saw them last night when they played after us and they rocked.

I've seen Refused Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent-era and yesterday was a somewhat similar experience, a band that rocked with so much passion it's hard not to get enthused.


I didn't see I Rise and Verse unfortunately because Asice wanted to do a State of Affairs interview and I had the interview with Sean Murphy. When that was finished I headed to my car for the lonely 2 hours drive back home. And work early this morning eventually.

Our show did go very well I think. People said it was tight and aggressive and they were positively surprised by us. Which is always a good thing to hear.

New shirts coming (Youth Crew Alert!)

So besides working on new songs, State of Affairs will also have new shirts for sale. The design is done by our bassplayer Marijn. I really like the look of it because it reminds me of the Youngblood -Memories of Tomorrow compilationlp and the Knockdown 7".

The shirt will be for sale at the show we play in Hengelo with Verse, I Rise and Anchor. Don't ask me about postage rates because I don't have them yet.

Now I really feel like a dad

Jelle, Birthday, 4-10-08
Originally uploaded by xroldx

Wow that was a hectic weekend with the celebration of the second birthday of my son and playing the Short Fast and Loud festival in Tilburg.

Last Saturday afternoon family and friends came by with presents to celebrate Jelles' second birthday. While my wife and me asked people to come at different times in the end almost everyone showed up at the same time. Making things very hectic. Well at least Jelle was enjoying himself unwrapping his gifts and running through the room.

When everyone was gone, the kids in bed and the place tidied up, I got on my bike to the Hall of Fame skatepark. Frankie Deny did a great job organizing the whole fest. The whole idea behind it is brilliant. All bands play over the same backline, and are only allowed to play for 10 minutes. The organizer walks round with a stopwatch clocking each set.
I really wanted to see Cracks In The Wall, Citizens Patrol, Reproach, Seein Red and more. Unfortunately is was way to tired from all celebrations. So I only checked Shredder and then played with my own band. We were the odd ones on the line-up being the only youth crew band between all fastcore, grindcore and other fast punkbands. I finally managed to pick up a Seein Red shirt though. I always wanted one ever since seeing the band play in '97. But they never had one with them. Now I have a Seein Red Japan tour shirt!

Then it was back on my bike heading home. Jelle got the garage from Fisher Price so I found myself in the living room putting it together with my screwdriver. 'Now I really feel like a dad' I said to my wife.
But it's all worth it when you get a reaction like this early the next morning: