So, back when Cave In's Until Your Heart Stops dropped on the hardcore masses several years back, I had the chance of catching the band at Middlesex County Community College. Those who live in or went to shows in Jersey know about this place. Anyway, being the music nerd that I am, I asked Steve Brodsky about Kid Kilowatt (which was just featured in a news byte in Second Nature fanzine mentioning the band changing its name from Ester of Wood Rosin); he said if I mailed him a tape he would send it back to me with their demos on it.
So I did just that and waited a while before it popped in my mailbox. I listened to this tape for years hoping to see a full album from the band (remember, Cave In had not gone all Space Rock or Indie Rock on us all yet so Kid Kilowatt was kind of their softer alter ego except with guys from Piebald and Converge helping out at times). I got teased with a version of the Scope on the first Hydra Head sampler.
Finally several years after the fact...the Hit Single 7" record came out. And I played the hell out of that as well. It had 2 songs not on the demo so it was the closest to new I thought I would ever see from the band. A couple of years following that the LP version of the record came out. I played the hell out of this record until the CD came out. I was psyched about this because it finally had "Tug of War" on it which was one of my favorite songs from the demos.
I still love Kid Kilowatt to this day.
check out their only CD Guitar Method if you ever get the chance...it's good stuff
In Remembrance of Kid Kilowatt
Posted by Bob • January 29, 2008
Bob • January 29, 2008
Oh Gehenna...how you make me smile
Posted by Bob • January 8, 2008
I broke out my CD for the Gehenna- The War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness and saw something that always made me smile. Allow me first to preface who this Gehenna is. These guys were a desperate batch of dudes who were rumored to be homeless vagabonds that made some of the most ragged and ruthless bands to ever play the hardcore/ punk scene. There recorded music is incredibly raw sounding but worth checking out.
The following is a tract that came with the CD, I do not endorse these activities and am posting this because it is funny to me
These Activities will enhance your enjoyment of Gehenna's music:
- Being paraded before press photographers by the FBI after a 10 week standoff at your Montana bunker
- Saving your urine in bottles to defend your squat when the pigs come
- Stealing a car to rush your girlfriend to the hospital after she has been shot in the head
- Finishing your root beer before attempting to set your broken nose bar-handed
- Spending an evening walking up and down the street looking for a place to shoplift dinner
- Shaking the roaches out of your clothes in the morning
- Smoking your last cigarette
These Activities may interfere with your appreciation of Gehenna's music:
- Taking communion
- Consulting a Lawyer
- Trimming your lawn
- Balancing your checkbook
- Shampooing and conditioning your hair
- Joining a video buyers club
- Becoming an officer of the peace
- Eating
Bob • January 8, 2008
Issue 2 of my print zine "I'm A Pretender" - available now!
Posted by Matt • December 7, 2007
Hello. Some of you might remember (or have participated in) my experiment over the summer collecting people's wishes on this page. I got over 160 entries and published them all in my print zine, "I'M A PRETENDER" (named after an Exploding Hearts song). This is what issue 2 looks like, and you can see the cover here.
The zine is a 24 page black and white A5-sized booklet that I write and design myself. Issue #1 was mainly 'creative writing' stuff (mostly short fiction and poetry); issue #2 has a wider mix of stuff and is hopefully a little funnier and more entertaining to read. The centrepoint of the issue is the Wishes project and the results, but as well as that there are such features as "My top 5 biggest social anxieties", "4 people you have never heard of", a modern-day retelling of the Viking armageddon story (Ragnarok) and perhaps the only zine columnist who happens to be an eagle. "How can I get my hands on this zine, Matt?!" I hear you cry. "Well", I answer confidently, "Pick an option from the list below:"
UK people
* Message me your address and I'll mail you a copy. Simple!
* If you fancy posting me a self-addressed envelope with a stamp on it, that would be nice, since I don't charge for the zine and don't include any ads, so I make a loss printing it.
Non-UK people
* Paypal me around $4 USD (or whatever your currency is). That's steeper than usual due to the crappy exchange rate and the pricey £2 I have to pay for international delivery, but I can't afford to mail it out myself (see above!).
* [email protected] is my Paypal address.
* Alternatively, if you wanna do a zine trade or something I'd be down for this. Email me, same address as above.
Some useful links:
- my deviantART page (with content from issue #1)
- I'M A PRETENDER Myspace Profile
Matt • December 7, 2007
Most Awkward Interview Ever?
Posted by Michael • November 7, 2007
Imagine being in this kid's place...
Michael • November 7, 2007
Colbert '08
Posted by Michael • October 17, 2007
Even though it is just a joke, I'd still vote for Stephen Colbert for president before I'd vote for anyone else for running, outside of the longshots that have no change in hell of getting more than a fraction of one percent of a the vote.
For those out of the loop, head here.
Michael • October 17, 2007
Latest news stories
SPB featured stream: The Dumpies - Lub Dub
Posted in Records on March 1, 2026
Following up 2024’s near-perfect Gay Boredom comes Lub Dub by Oregon’s The Dumpies. Recorded in Austin TX at the BBQ Shack by Jason Morales and Mike Vasquez, this is their second release on Dirt Cult Records. Bassist Tim Janchar, whose long running label Hovercraft Records is co-releasing the LP says … Read more
Super Atomic Aggrolites
Posted in Records on March 14, 2026
Dirty reggae band The Aggrolites have a full-length Super Atomic record on the way, with the band sharing "Till the Wheels Fall Off!" yesterday. The new record is still a few months away, out June 5 via Pirates Press Records. The group last released Reggae Now! in 2019. Read more Read more
Burned Up Bled Dry Next Stop.. Dead Stop..
Posted in Records on March 14, 2026
Burned Up Bled Dry just announced a new 26-song, 25-minute LP, out on March 27 via Prank Records. It's the first album from the Fayetteville, AR based band, rooted in 1980s hardcore and 1990s power violence. While it's their first full-length, the band formed 30 years ago and has released … Read more
Something different from Steve Austin
Posted in Records on March 14, 2026
Steve Austin, longtime vocalist of Today Is The Day, has announced a new outlaw country album set for release on May 1. The record will be titled Marked Cards And Loaded Dice, out on SuperNova Records. While the record is a turn from his long-running band, Austin was raised in … Read more
From the Lair of the Minotaur
Posted in Records on March 13, 2026
Chicago, IL trio Lair of the Minotaur just shared "I Hail I," the title track from what will be the band's first new album in 16 years. I Hail I is scheduled to release on May 1 on The Grind-House Records, a follow-up to Evil Power (2010). The lineup on … Read more
Doing another Belushi Speed Bacll
Posted in Records on March 13, 2026
Punky thrash band Belushi Speed Ball will release their fourth album on June 5, Toxic Waste Was Everywhere, out via The first single is "You Oughta Know," of which vocalist Vinny Castellano says: Allegedly, this is the song Dave Coulier would have wrote (if he liked Pizza, Thrash, and had … Read more
TDoV Compilation 2 releases March 31
Posted in Records on March 13, 2026
Set to release on March 31, also known as Transgender Day of Visibility, She/Her Records will release the label's second comptilation, TDoV Compilation 2. The 17-track collection brings artists from across the world together in a single transfeminine collection, listed in full below. Read more Tracklist: 01. Fashiongore - Home … Read more
Sun Spots spotting
Posted in Records on March 12, 2026
Alt-rock band Sun Spots has just announced their second EP, the 4-song Dog Is Calling, out March 13 via Den Tapes. The band features members of Criminal Code, Nudes, and Bricklayer, shifting gears from those punk/hardcore bands to a more melodic but still guitar-driven sound in Sun Spots. Their first … Read more
What's new, Modest Mouse?
Posted in Bands on March 12, 2026
Modest Mouse just shared "Look How Far" yesterday, the band's first new music in five years. The song preludes a North American tour this summer. 2026 marks the band's thirtieth anniversary and the band teases that more new songs are forthcoming. They last released The Golden Casket in 2021. Read … Read more
Get "Cooler" with Sincere Engineer
Posted in Bands on March 11, 2026
Hopeless Records artist/band Sincere Engineer is back, sharing a new song called "Cooler" today. The band, led by Deanna Belos, just completed a tour with Say Anything and Motion City Soundtrack. While we're sure the tour was a blast, the song is about slowing down life for a moment and … Read more
Barren Womb and HYLKO
Posted in Records on March 11, 2026
Norway's Barren Womb has announced a new split EP with Tokyo's HYLKO, coming out in between international tours -- the duo heads to the UK later this month, then the EP releases, and then the band will embark on a Japanese tour. The single “The Perils of Self-Improvement” debuted today. … Read more
Miami Lice
Posted in Records on March 10, 2026
The Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman collaboration Lice is back, with a new 8-track EP called Miami Lice: Season 4, out today digitally, with phusical copies available April 24. The project began with a joint tour in 2015, followed by the first official Lice EP that same year. Read more
Jello Biafra health update
Posted in Music News on March 9, 2026
Jello Biafra, original vocalist of Dead Kennedys, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke on Saturday, March 7. In a prepared statement from Biafra, issued via Alternative Tentacles, Biafra says: I hopped out of my bed because I needed to pee, and my left leg just collapsed under me and I fell to … Read more
Frank Turner Announces Support for Lost Evenings IX
Posted in Shows on March 9, 2026
Frank Turner has finally revealed the line-up for his 9th Lost Evenings Fest, taking place in Dallas, Texas at the South Side Ballroom from September 24th to the 27th. The first night will have The Menzingers and Florida-punk legends, Hot Water Music with Koo Koo opening. Ben Kweller and Laura … Read more
dälek explores contemporary America on new recordf
Posted in Records on March 7, 2026
Experimental rapper dälek returns with a new concept record, Brilliance of a Falling Moon, inspired in part by the 2011 Erik Larson novel The Garden of Beasts, and taking on a theme of fascism and resistance in America (sound familiar?). The record will release on March 27 via Ipecac Recordings. Read more
50 minutes of Fucked Up (so far)
Posted in Records on March 7, 2026
Fucked Up continues to wrap up their Zodiac series with Year of Monkey, out officially on June 5 via Tankcrimes. While that's still a good two months away, the band shared two songs this week -- embed below. Among the guest stars are John Brannon (Negative Approach, Laughing Hyenas), Carson … Read more
KO-MA from France
Posted in Records on March 7, 2026
French trio KO-MA has announced their debut full-length, Anthropolis. The post-hardcore band previously released Trencadis EP in 2023, now returning with Anthropolis on March 6 -- a joint release by Kinsfolk, Ma Saret, Tout Doux, Coeur sur Toi, and No Need Name labels. Read more Listen to the first single … Read more
Throwing Bricks and Ontaard have Something To Lose now
Posted in Records on March 7, 2026
After playing a collaborative set together at Roadburn 2025, Dutch groups Throwing Bricks and Ontaard will now release a live recording of their set titled Something To Lose -- out April 10 via Tartarus Records. The 13-member collective blends a number of heavy styles, sharing "Acid For Fascists" today. Read more
Human Issue at Smartpunk
Posted in Labels on March 7, 2026
Southern California hardcore band Human Issue just announced they've joined forces with Smartpunk Records, sharing the brand new video for "Waking" at the same time. The band formed in 2021 and released Faceless.Nameless a year later. The current lineup is: Hunter Martinez (vocals), Matthew Watkins -(vocals), Sam Mankinen (drums), Ryan … Read more
Box Elder was a Chucklefuck
Posted in Records on March 7, 2026
Box Elder, which began as a solo project from Chris Archuleta during COVID, later growing into a full band, has announced their debut self-titled album, out April 10 on Steadfast Records and Sweet Cheetah Records The first single, below, if "Chucklefuck." “This is one of the more self-reflective tracks on … Read more
