Michael Hawkins's Blog

My YouTube channel.

Over the past few months I've been uploading a lot of old video footage to my YouTube channel. I have material from almost every band I've ever been in, plus a lot of other Florida bands and Florida shows. Check out some of the videos below and please subscribe to my channel if you like what you see.

Part one of the last Meantime show in 2010. You can watch parts two and three on my channel.

Some early footage of Axis playing in Daytona back in 2010 or 2011 when I was still the bassist and Josh was still the vocalist.

 

My very first band, Every Waking Moment, playing the State Theater in St. Pete circa 2002.

A skate video I made with my friends for a TV production class back in high school.

Axis - Show Your Greed album stream.

Show Your Greed - full album stream @ Metal Injection
I've talked at great length about Axis a few times on this blog (and even interviewed Pat recently) so I won't retread old ground. Suffice to say, the band's first full-length (after an EP and two splits), is an absolute beast. Mix The Process of... with a just hint of Buried Alive and some off-the-wall '90s metalcore weirdness, and you've got this band. Show Your Greed is fucking crushing. It's one of the heaviest things I've heard in years and puts every other current hardcore band in the southeast (maybe even the US) to shame. Prepare to get your ears beaten to death. This band is unstoppable. Order this shit here. Now.

Harbinger.

Harbinger @ Bandcamp
I've posted about Harbinger before, but since I just talked to Dylan yesterday and it's Dan's birthday today, I figured I should remind everyone that they were a great band. The first time I saw them play I was still playing bass for Axis, back in 2012, or 2013. We were on a show at the Talent Farm and I remember thinking that everyone in the band, except Jared and Tyler, were in their forties. Turns out, the three Downey brothers were all younger than me. They just have really manly genes. Anyway, they were awesome, like a cross between Hatebreed and Hatebreed. And even though Dan seemed extremely scary, those dudes have never been anything but great friends to me and my old band mates. I don't get to see them nearly enough anymore. Although I saw Dan in April and he ate a Krispy Kream donut burger. Fucking crazy. Also, one year at Florida Rules Fest in Tampa, I sang a Ringworm cover with them. You can download Harbinger's two EPs, Slumgullian and Opinion Nation, for free on their Bandcamp. I don't know if they ever officially broke up, but if not they're on an extended hiatus. Members went on to Axis, Shovelhead, Prayer Chain, Beastplague, One To Blame, and Deflect.

Guilty Conscience interview.

Guilty Conscience - Negative Attention
Guilty Conscience is a great, new(er) hardcore band out of South Florida. Here’s a short conversation I had with front man, promoter to the stars, and consummate word smith John McHale.
1. Introduce yourself: name, band, position, etc. All that stuff.
My name is John. I do vocals in Guilty Conscience. I’m really only in this band to come up with new ways to be a thorn in Garrett’s side.
2. How did Guilty Conscience come together? What are some of the members former bands, when did you put the band together, any funny stories?
Dre and Garrett started the band in late 2012. Then Kyle Writt, Ian Dolan, and myself were brought into the fold. First show March 2013. Ian was crazy busy, then Doug Posner jumped in. Andre used to be in Clean Cut. Garrett was in Low Cool.  Both of them were in Said & Done. Kyle was the drummer for Losin’ It. I once lost my shoe during a set. I don’t know.
3. Tell me about the writing and recording of the Negative Attention EP.
Well, we hated the demo. It wasn’t even supposed to be the demo. We jumped the gun and released our practice recording. Instantly realized how much we don’t like it. So we took our time writing the “Negative Attention” EP. Music was done for a minute, but I took a long time to write the lyrics. This fool, Andre, did everything shy of holding a gun to my head to finish the lyrics. We sat on the dock of an abandoned mansion in Islamorada while the sun was going down. Sharks and blue fish swimming under my feet. I nailed them out and he helped me wrap them to the music. I’m a real motherfucker for ambiance and shit. You see. Next recording, we’re going to write it on top of the empire state building.
4. You guys have a very traditional, but tight sound. Is that sort of back to basics type of sound something you feel strongly about? It reminds me a lot of Hands Tied, which is awesome.  Do you think it’s something lacking in the current world of hardcore?
We’re pretty much all into everything under the umbrella of hardcore and punk. We just really wanted to do a band that was reminiscent of that ‘97 revival era. That Hands Tied EP is great. Definitely were one of the bands we had in mind when starting Guilty Conscience up. Don’t think it’s lacking, just certain styles more popular right now. The newer hardcore bands on the come-up have been killing it.
5. Is there a prevailing message/theme that goes along with the band? Something you think is important, something you’d like to be remembered for?
Probably that I’m a complete derelict.
6. To my knowledge, you’d never really done a band (aside from Street Judge, who I never saw). What is it about Guilty Conscience that made you want to do it?
I sang for a band called Temper years ago. Are we broken up? Or only present when no one is paying attention. Hmm? The idea of being in a band with Andre and Garrett was enough to count me in. Didn’t think Kyle was going to stay past the first practice. Kyle and Doug hold Guilty Conscience down musically.
7. Also, Street Judge. What’s up with that?
“My life has taken another turn again. The days move along with regularity over and over, one day indistinguishable from the next. A long continuous chain. Then suddenly, there is a change.”
8. In my eyes, you were basically the go to guy for Miami shows. How’s things down there since the Talent Farm and Churchill’s shut their doors/came under new management? Are there other, equally-great venues? Are you still booking a lot?            Things are cool. Everyone is feeling the loss of the Talent Farm. As far as all ages venues go, nothing will be able to replace it. Kevin let me do whatever the fuck I wanted in there. It worked out great for the both of us. Everyone else did the rest. By showing up or starting bands. I’m still stoked about what was cultivated out of that small room out in the Everglades.
Churchill’s is still kicking. The new management has been pretty accommodating so far. They’re doing a great job with the place. Obviously, things are going to be different now. But fuck it. Everyone fears change. When the fuck did that get us anywhere? It’s like, hey at least we still have a fucking place to go for music. At least it’s not someone’s endgame in some gentrification process by turning it into a corporate drug store or swank yuppie restaurant. There’s still things happening there. Fucking crazy to think we thought we almost lost both places at the same time.
O’Malley’s, Propaganda, & Space Mountain (RIP) have also been great places to play other than Churchill’s since the demise of The Talent Farm. But yeah, still booking. Trying to stay on top of it.
9. What are some of your favorite memories of the Talent Farm and/or Churchill’s?             Man, everything. There were some shit moments. Some beyond stressful moments.  I’ve been doing hardcore shows for 12 years at this point. For almost five years, I did pretty much everything exclusively at The Talent Farm. It’s all a blur, but everyone who was around can agree, those were some of the best times. Everyone hanging. Countless wild shows. I even lived in one of the back rooms for an extended amount of time. I hate that I’m drawing a blank on this question. Every moment there was a favorite memory.
Churchill’s was my “go to” spot before, during, and after The Talent Farm. If I didn’t still have Churchill’s I’d really have no place to be. Shout out to Shawn Perkins chucking the stuffed Marlin off the bar-room wall. Nicky riding his motorcycle through the bar. I don’t know. Same as mentioned before, almost every memory there is a favorite.
10. You tell some of the wildest stories/make some of the funniest observations on Facebook. I think you’ve got a book in you, man. What do you think?             Ha ha, thanks. A lot of people tell me to write a book. It took me like 4 months (I’m being generous to myself here) to finish lyrics for “Negative Attention.” We could expect the book to be out sometime between the next eight to twenty years.
I wanted to write a book titled “Break-dancing for War Veterans.” I have no clue how to explain what my interests and life is like to people on the outside of it. It’s like explaining break-dancing to old war veterans.
That was the concept I was running with, but I’ll probably just stick to humorously scathing Facebook posts.
11. Closing comments, etc.?             More shit to come from Guilty Conscience & Eighty-Sixed Records. Shout out to South Florida Hardcore. All the bands and friends from the rest of the state too. When the hell you moving down here?!? M.I.A.M.I. - Mikey Is A Major Issue. Oh yeah can I add “Thank you for the interview, Mikey” at the end?

Strife - "Incision."

Strife - "Incision"
Strife are back with a brand new EP called Incision. The title track is available for streaming at Noisey and features guest vocals from Ringworm's Human Furnace and a guitar solo from Integrity/In Cold Blood's Aaron Melnick. P.S. That's the most out of control song collaboration since Terror did "Spit My Rage" with Jamey Jasta and Ezec.

Grudgeholder - In Grudge We Hold.

My band Grudgeholder has a new 9 song recording available on Bandcamp for free, or pay what you want. For fans of No Warning, Madball, Biohazard, and Hatebreed.
In Grudge We Hold @ Bandcamp

We've also got two cool shows coming up this month. If you're in the Jacksonville area on Saturday 8/22, or Melbourne on 8/30, come check us out.

Records For Jake.

My friend Jake doesn’t really like hardcore. Which is odd because he helped me start Grudgeholder and played drums on our demo. Then our vocalist, Derrick, kicked him out because Jake’s other band Bad Luck was getting too famous. And we can’t have anyone successful around us making us feel inadequate. But back when we started the band Jake asked me for some musical recommendations. So I assembled a list for him. It consists of mostly my favorite heavy bands that we try to emulate, but also some other decent stuff just so he could get a broader picture of what I meant when I said “hardcore.” What follows is that list, descriptions and all.
Now, before you read on, just know that No Warning is on this list. Black Flag is not. I said heavy hardcore. I like Black Flag, but I was thinking about the metallic bands I like while making it. So get all your tears out now. You finished? Okay.

Strife – In This DefianceThe heaviest band to ever play in standard tuning. Rick Rodney’s voice sounds like a chainsaw punching through a side of beef. No Warning – Ill BloodThese Canadian dickheads made the best NYHC record since Set It Off and then played grabass with Chester from Linkin Park until they turned themselves into scarf-wearing clowns. Terror – One With the Underdogs“Put this record on and drive your car into a fucking wall.” – Scott Vogel. Madball – Hold It DownFor me, this was their perfect record. Unprecedented hardness and Freddy hadn’t even gone to jail yet. Carnivore – RetaliationBlood feast crossover war metal for dickheads and anti-vegans.
Sick of It All – Blood, Sweat, and No Tears / Scratch the SurfaceThis shit will get your parents wind milling at Christmas dinner. Kings of the live show: they make bands half their age look like Alzheimer’s patients. Cro Mags – Age of QuarrelBehold, the pit bible. Everyone playing hardcore owes these savage bastards a check, or a couple of appendages. Integrity – Systems Overload / Humanity Is the DevilAny hardcore band trying to be “evil” is really just pretending to be Integrity. Beyond time and space and meaning. Aliens will hear “Hollow” and erect monuments of bones in unspeakable veneration of these witchy bastards. Ringworm – Birth Is PainThrash punk blasphemy for bald men who punch holes in their families. You cannot handle this. Blacklisted – Our Youth Is WastedBlacklisted was so ridiculous they made people like Life of Agony just by covering them. Nobody gave a shit about Life of Agony until 2005, even when they were a band in the ‘90s. No one. Blacklisted completely changed things. Then in 2010 they got sick of being gods and they started making music that sounds like flamingos being force-fed iron ingots. I guess the joke’s on us. 100 Demons – In the Eyes of the LordConstruction worker metal for lapsed Catholics who are ashamed of their children. In Control – The Truth HurtsNo room for bullshit. Get out of the way, or watch in horror as your bones get feeble grinded into dust. Buried Alive – The Death of Your Perfect WorldPre-Terror apocalyptic beatdown symphonies. Hatebreed – Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire / Perseverance / The Rise of BrutalityThe first three. It doesn’t matter what any spaghetti-limbed, weakling naysayer says. Only the primal survive. Merauder – Master KillerO.G. ninja thug ass-beater metal fueled by wanton criminality. Disembodied – HereticThe darkest, heaviest record of all time was released in 1999. So you can stop debating it. Satan listens to this when he needs time alone. Cut the Shit – Harmed and DangerousThis record can make a nun crack a skateboard over a cop’s head. All go, everyone dies. Bad Brains – ROIR Sessions / I Against IThey’ve all smoked themselves retarded now, but the influence of these two records is indescribable. Breakneck punk rock insanity. Now H.R. crawls out onstage and reads the paper because his skull is full of resin. Skarhead – Kings At CrimeEzec got stabbed in the chest with a screwdriver and then had someone tattoo over the scar. That’s what Skarhead sounds like. Most Precious Blood – Our Lady of Annihilation / MercilessLike the Cure if they played hardcore and had a wolf for a singer. Fury of Five – This Time It’s Personal Banned from Earth. Jersey beatdown insanity for animals. Agnostic Front – Victim In Pain / Cause For Alarm / Something’s Gotta Give / Another VoiceOne of the first and most influential. Thirty-five years in and Stigma is still the Martin Scorsese of hardcore. This shit will turn you into a warrior. Arkangel – Dead Man WalkingVegan hate metal from the forest.
Well, it’s not Damaged, but…
Henry Rollins – Get In the Van

Much like Evolution of A Cro-Mag, I prefer the audio book. When Rollins describes having to fight Flag’s actual fans during their shows because shit was just too wild in the ‘80s, you want to hear him tell the story. Punk rock used to be war and now even the hardest dudes are big, blubbery idiots in comparison.

Eliot Mayo interview.

Like the Axis interview I posted the other day, this e-mail conversation with Eliot was slated to be in a zine I was doing.
Stand-up comedy is way harder than playing in a band. Believe me – I know firsthand. It’s incredibly difficult to make crowds of angry drunks laugh and see your point of view. And even when you do succeed, it’s hard to keep it up, show after show. I’ve got a lot of respect for Eliot for keeping at it and even doing sets between bands at hardcore shows. That is amazingly ballsy. I’d feel more capable of making a room full of bikers crack up than a bunch of snotty, cynical hardcore kids. This was a conversation I had with Eliot about the craft of comedy and some of his experiences as a young stand-up.
1. Give a little of your personal backstory and tell me about some of the bands you’ve been in.
My name is Eliot Mayo and at 29 I’ve now been heavily into punk/hardcore and music in general for over half my life, it’s been an almost all consuming thing for me. I’ve only been in three bands, which ranged from metalcore starting out to d-beat/tragedy worship with some added mosh to my last band Escapist who played fast grind/powerviolence influenced hardcore, so basically the same exact thing in varying degrees unless you want to split hairs ha ha. I’ve now decided to pursue yet another pipe dream (aren’t they all) and give stand up comedy a try.
2. What made you decide to shift from music to comedy? Is it a total shift, or are you going to do both?
I am working on starting a few other bands currently, but as of right now my main focus is comedy. I wouldn’t say it’s a total shift, but I do agree that it is hard to focus my creative energy on both things. Burning the candle at both ends has kind of always been my style, so we’ll see how it goes and hopefully I won’t spread myself too thin.
3. Who are the comedians you emulate and why?
I am a pretty weird person in general, and I sort of have my own style that borders between straight up rambling and on point observations. Regardless, I take a ton of influence from Bill Hicks who is one of my personal heroes and in my opinion one of the greatest comedians to ever live. I also have a fondness for Louis CK, his ability to bring the most humor out of even the darkest subjects is something I am incredibly attracted to.


4. What was the very first stand-up special you can recall seeing/hearing? What was it about it that connected with you?
The first one I really recall effecting me was when I saw Bill Hick’s one night stand special on HBO when I was around 14. Hicks had a razor sharp criticism of consumerism and the general ignorance of most of the population that still resonates with me to this day. I imagine he was a very angry person much of the time like I find myself to be at times but he managed to take that anger and turn it into laughter inducing creativity that was not only a gift to the entire world, but really made people stop and think. I’d be lying if I said I’ve honestly seen that many other comedy specials aside from a few specific comedians I enjoy: Hicks, George Carlin, Chris Rock and Louis CK all come to mind. I suppose that’s strange but again, I’m not exactly conventional in how I do my sets or how I approach things.
5. What’s doing comedy between sets at punk and hardcore shows like? I assume it’s a much different crowd than at a bar or an open mic. Do you ever do scene-centric jokes?
Doing sets at shows has been an interesting experience, on the one hand it’s an atmosphere that I am completely at home and comfortable in and on the other hand, punks and especially hardcore kids don’t really seem like they are into jokes so much sometimes. I consider it a pretty large victory when my sets go over well, and surprisingly most of them have.



6. Describe the feeling of bombing and/or killing. Can you relate it back to playing music?
I’ve bombed a few times, or at least had my fair share of momentum killing awkward pauses. The worst was when I drank 8 cups of coffee because I wasn’t going on until around 12/1 and I had to be at work in the morning at 6 AM. My girlfriend has just gotten me into coffee recently and being the sloth of 0 moderation that I am I didn’t realize that drinking that much coffee would completely impair my ability to put together thoughts in my head in any way that was either cognitive or worth any kind of a shit. Needless to say my jokes didn’t really go anywhere and the timing was incredibly off. It was a learning experience, and what I learned was that I shouldn’t drink so much fucking coffee. I’ve had a few sets including a recent one last Saturday (March 28th, I’ll link you to a video of the set if you wanna post it on the blog with the interview by the way) where I did quite well, had a great flow going, went for over 20 minutes and got quite a few hard laughs and a good amount of praise afterwards. The difference between music and comedy for me mostly is the pressure is increased tenfold with comedy. When you’re in a band, if your set sucks you have other people to fall back on and everybody takes the hit, “we played shitty tonight” etc. With comedy it’s only you, and if you aren’t making anyone laugh then you’re a true failure. Its soul crushing at times but ultimately the times I haven’t done well have taught me enough to where I don’t really regret the way it all panned out.
7. If you could bring one dead comedian back to life, who would it be and why?
It’s an obvious answer given my previous ones, but I would bring back Bill Hicks. The world needs him more than it ever has, and I can’t imagine the things he’d be saying right now if he could see the world in its admittedly awful current state.
8. Can you describe some of the similarities and differences between punk and stand-up?
Punk and stand up have similarities in that there are communities where likeminded people support each other, but the way everything goes can feel pretty different, which is why I love doing sets at punk shows. It disrupts the flow of things and it feels like something refreshing and different. Most of the time people aren’t expecting me or prepared for what I have to say, so they pay quite a bit more attention than if I was to go to an open mic night where everybody is lounging and drinking things that are probably way too expensive (and not PBR, and THAT’S NOT PUNK).
9. Do you see yourself really pursuing comedy and touring?
I’ll pursue this as far as I can because I find myself becoming more enthralled by it and more passionate by the day. As long as I can maintain a roof over my head I will use whatever creative energy I have towards making people laugh and hopefully to an extent making them think. I have my own struggles much as everyone does and this is the best outlet I’ve ever had for myself, and that honestly includes music. I definitely plan on touring when the opportunity arises, so long as I can convince people in other towns that I’m something they can convince people in their town to see... and maybe even if not.


10. Lastly, what are your thoughts on the Bill Cosby scandal? Are we allowed to enjoy his comedy, or is it forever tainted?
As far as the Bill Cosby thing goes, it’s a real hard thing to pinpoint. I was honestly never a fan of Cosby so the recent accusations against him putting his supposed transgressions even more into focus didn’t affect my enjoyment of his material. However, I think there is definitely something to be said for not supporting someone who’s evidence at this point seems rather damning, regardless of the fact that actual proof is still very hard to come up with. I think the outpouring of people and also fellow comedians and Hollywood figures points to a very grim direction as far as his guilt does, and it’s honestly just a very sad situation. It depends on the type of person you are I suppose. I don’t think anyone is a bad person if they still love the Cosby Show, I think in a way art is separate from our deeds and obviously those were not done in any sort of context that the horrible actions he’s accused of are, but I couldn’t say I’d ever find myself paying for a ticket to one of his shows now even if I enjoyed his material, as it’s hard for me to support someone who’s apparently caused so much harm to others. I do think that it definitely hurts whatever legacy he’s created and will take enjoyment away from his material for many who think he’s an awful person, and I can’t say I blame them for that either.
11. Anything else you want to add? Upcoming appearances, etc.
Thanks a ton for being interested enough to interview me and for supporting my artistic endeavors. I have a few sets coming up, including the scene unity show at Epic Problem April 11th, a set during record store day at mojo books and music April 18th, and hopefully some more that will be announced soon. I would highly recommend doing any and all “soft” drugs you can find, definitely weed, definitely acid, definitely mushrooms, maybe not glue or whippets though, those are pretty Juggalo status (what’s up Gainesville? just kidding it’s all love).

Ten Hip Hop Artists You (Probably) Have Never Heard Of.

I hate commercial rap. But I love hip hop. And if you don’t know the difference between the two, then I really don’t know what to say. I’ve put together this list because I don’t hear about these guys enough. And I think all the rappers you like are terrible. Drake is a clown, Kanye isn’t even human anymore, Wayne and Gucci and Wiz and whoever the fuck ever these people are, they’re fucking terrible. Kendrick is literally the only rapper on the radio who doesn’t completely suck shit.* One guy. I remember when you could see Wu-Tang and Biggie on MTV.
*I wrote this sentence before To Pimp A Butterfly came out. And I’m seriously: that is some of the corniest shit I’ve ever heard.
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Diabolic(Long Island)
You remember the first time you heard Immortal Technique’s “Dance With the Devil”? You remember the hidden song that came on after Billy’s blood-curdling, crime tragedy abruptly ended? It’s next to impossible to follow something that hits that hard. But Technique just said fuck it, let’s put a sequel at the end, and told Diabolic to just rip it the fuck off. And that’s what he did. After “Dance With the Devil,” Diabolic’s is the first verse you hear. And he kills it (“Go ahead and grip Glocks / I’ll snap your trigger finger in six spots / you’ll have to lip lock with hypodermic needles to lick shots”). That was the first time I heard him rhyme, but the guy apparently already had a fierce reputation as a battle rapper even before this. Since that “holy shit” moment following “Dance With the Devil,” Bolic’s released two LPs (2010’s A Liar and A Thief and 2014’s Fightin’ Words) along with a laundry list of mixtapes, EPs, and guest spots. The dude just stomps the shit out of every track he’s on. When Tyler the Creator took a shot at Technique on Goblin, Bolic slammed him with a diss over the “Yonkers” beat (“Jesus called, he said it’s sad seeing Tyler starving / Stop eating roaches off the carpet at Kreayshawn's apartment...” and then later, “Tell those girls I'll run in your circle head first / Choke Tyler with the draw strings on Earl's Sweatshirt...”) And on the Foul Play mixtape he literally rips everyone in the industry – Puffy, Em, Benzino, Jay, and Eve (why) – a new asshole on (naturally) “Dissin’ the Industry.” The guy wants to fight everyone and I appreciate that kind of aggressiveness in an emcee.
diabolichiphop.com
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Q-Unique(Brooklyn)
Q’s been at it since ‘93, which is insane if you think about it. He was one of the five emcees who comprised the Arsonists (who garnered a lot of underground acclaim for their debut As the World Burns), but he’s also had a pretty prolific career as a solo artist. As of this writing he’s signed to Psycho+Logical/Uncle Howie Records (Necro and Ill Bill’s respective labels), which might lead a lot of people to think that he’s some kind of a horrorcore-type rapper. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though he does occasionally guest on some darker tracks (“Killer Collage” with Mr. Hyde and Ill Bill comes to mind), Q is without a doubt a true, dyed-in-the-wool New York emcee. The guy is a phenomenal poet and word smith, spinning all manner of heart breaking and inspirational morality tales in his songs (“Man of God,” “Dead Roses,” “Mr. Lopez”). And when I say “his” songs, I mean his songs: Q produces a huge chunk of his own beats. Just check out that Gangs of New York sample on the intro to Between Heaven and Hell. If that doesn’t move something in you, nothing will. And in a world where people think the south is king, Q still reps NYC to the fullest. “BK, BK, BK” is a great example: “We older now / we supposed to throw the toasters down / Biggie’s ghost floats around / roll your smoke / hold it now / no sleep ‘til Brooklyn so stay awake / all my dogs in Bushwick who made ya cake, could raise the stakes / a New York state of mind, with the heart of BK / I walk the roughest path like the Gowanus Freeway / it’s Brooklyn, BK, Crooklyn, Brooknam / legends off the street and the whole world looks on / it’s the god borough, the greatest place ever made / I be showin’ my love in the spotlight, center stage.”
q-unique.com
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Lord Lhus(South Carolina)
Lhus seems like he beefs with just about every artist around him. Maybe he’s a dick in real life, I don’t know. But his catalog speaks for itself: one album with the Scykotiks, a defunct SC-based hardcore group featuring emcees who went on to Planet X and Wyze Mindz; two albums with NYC horrorcore legends Bloodline; two more with fellow South Carolina emcees the Savage Brothers over the illustrious production of the Snowgoons; a solo LP completely produced by French hip hop mastermind Al’Tarba; and countless more EPs, bootlegs, mixtapes, and guest spots (my favorite is on Psych Ward’s “Smuthered In Brains”). Judging by the stuff he posts on Facebook, the guy’s made a lot of enemies in the hip hop underground (I guess Vinnie Paz knocked him out once) so now he lives somewhere in Europe. Regardless, he’s still killing it. His latest record is a collab with Eastgarden Music entitled International RhymZ KonnecT, which was released in 2014.
facebook.com/LordLhussoundcloud.com/lordlhus
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Psych Ward(Canada)
Kid Fade. Of Psych Ward’s three members (the other two being Shallow Pockets and Jnyce), Fade’s verse is the one I always find myself waiting for. The guy’s got that super-aggressive, gravel-throated delivery like Sticky Fingaz or Billy Danze. That’s not to take away from the rest of the group: Nyce’s flow is similar to Fade’s and Pockets balances things out in a more laid-back, ambling way. The group’s finest moments can be found on their second and third LPs: 2007’s Decrepid Methods and 2008’s Rulers of the Damned. Despite the Halloween-ish vibe, these dudes are skilled emcees. This isn’t some Juggalo shit. The production is top-notch too with tracks by Nyce, Al’Tarba, and Sutter Kain, among many others. Psych Ward hasn’t put out a record since 2012’s Street Slime (a good effort, but not their best) though Pockets and Nyce have guested on a lot of other artists’ tracks since then. Fade hasn’t really been in the spotlight since he released his first solo album, War Machine, in 2013. Apparently he has a two-disc solo effort slated for release in 2015, entitled Messenger. He talks a lot about getting sober on the last half of War Machine (and becoming Muslim, naturally, derp) so it looks like his new material might be a bit less dark. Pockets was supposed to release his own solo record, Shallowpacalypto, which was announced in 2011, but it hasn’t seen the light of day yet. Nyce just put out a collab with Eskr One (yeah, I don’t know who he is either) called Creepshow (it’s terrible). If you like hardcore hip hop, stick with War Machineand Psych Ward’s middle two albums and you won’t be disappointed.
last.fm/music/Psych+Wardkidfade.com
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Planet X(South Carolina)
A now-defunct rap duo who had the distinction of Al’Tarba handling most of their production. Subsequently, Planet X had a hardcore, grimy sound akin to Al’Tarba’s work with Lord Lhus. The group never had a proper LP release, but I managed to track down a bootleg entitled The Final Hour. The members Eternal and Apacalypze went on to form Wyze Mindz with Unkn?wn. It sucks that these guys never really jumped off. They had the lyrical skill and a beat-making powerhouse in their corner. Aside from The Final Hour, you can hear them on Psych Ward’s “Organ Donors,” as well as a handful of tracks with the Grindhouse Gang and ArchNME.
facebook.com/wyzemindz*
*Seriously, there’s nothing on Planet X anywhere.If you give a shit, add me on Soulseek to download The Final Hour: mjhawks).
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Al’Tarba(Paris)
French beat mastermind who produces for a great many incredible underground artists. I especially dig his work with his own group, the Droogz Brigade. Blood Out Connections and Lullabies For Insomniacs are two of the best producer albums I've ever heard, next to Port Authority. Specifically, track two on Blood Out is one of the hardest bangers ever conceived: "Walk With the Beast" featuring Qualm of South Carolina's the Savage Brothers. Check out the insanity here.
altarba.bandcamp.com
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Sean Strange(Queens)
A relentless emcee and producer from Queens. His banger 2010 LP Street Urchin is only overshadowed by the collab he did with PMD (yes, Parrish Smith from fucking EPMD) and the Snowgoons called Welcome To the Goondox.
facebook.com/SeanStrangeMusic
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Blodsport(Copenhagen, Denmark)
Yeah, that’s how it’s spelled. Blodsport is a Denmark-based trio with a dark sound and aggressive rhymes. Kid Fade drops a hell of a verse on “Ser Rødt” from their debut LP Blodtørstig.
blodsport.bandcamp.com
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Sicknature(Copenhagen, Denmark)
Danish emcee and producer who comprises one fourth of the Snowgoons team. His latest LP Nature of the Contaminatedhas a nu-metal song at the end, but otherwise it’s all super-hard beats and lyricism, in the same vein as Jedi Mind and AoTP.
facebook.com/sicknaturemusic
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Matt Maddox (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) /Buke the Jurke (Philadelphia)
Two separate emcees, one entry. Why? Matt and Burke are both big ass white (ish?) dudes and I'm tired of typing entries for this list. Both kill it with an aggressive, burly style unanimously backed up by dope production. Quality-wise, Burke’s Ear Responsibleand Maddox’s Asylum Artistry are right up there with Violent By Design and The Future Is Now.
redphonerecords.net/mattmaddoxfacebook.com/TheJurke

Axis interview.

Check out the title track, streaming here.

I've had this interview laying around since about March. I was going to use it for a 'zine that never materialized because I don't give a shit about shit anymore.

Playing bass for Axis was one of the best times I’ve ever had in a band. That made it all the more hard when I had to quit after a three year tenure so I wouldn’t lose my job. Regardless, before I joined and after I quit, I still think they’re one of the greatest hardcore bands to ever come out of my state and the southeast as a whole. This is a conversation I had with Pat, my good, seldom-seen friend and founding member/guitarist of Axis. I should try to see him more often because he's a great friend. He’s still dumb though.
1. Let’s have the history of Axis, past to present.
I used to play in a band from Daytona Beach called Meantime (with you, wassup Mikey?), it sounded somewhere between Integrity and Strife kind of. When that band had run its course, Meantime’s drummer and I started the first incarnation of Axis in around 2010. We wanted to sound like Buried Alive. We were a 4 piece, we recorded a pretty bad demo, played a lot around Daytona and Orlando.
A couple of lineup changes occurred then we played out regionally, released the Rites of Passage EP in 2011 and a split 7” with one of my all-time favorite Florida bands, Weight of the World in 2012. Somewhere after that we shuffled a few members around, got a new singer and gained our second guitarist Dylan. At that time we started to tour more and played some cool fests.
In 2013, we got our third and current singer Rafael, toured a lot more and released a couple of tape and spilt 7”with Self Defense Family. Since then, for the past couple of years we done some pretty cool tours, been almost everywhere in the country a few times. Our debut LP is finished and about to be out in next few months, we’re taking a break from touring until then.
2. The new record’s finally done. Tell me about the writing/recording process.
We had been sitting on a couple of the songs for a while. When we decided to do the LP progress was pretty slow at first, I remember we all took a week off work and had practice all fucking day every day. It was kind of grueling but we ended up getting most of it done surprisingly. The last track we came up with very last minute but it ended up being one of my favorite. Dylan’s writing is a lot more prevalent in it all and you can absolutely tell, well I can at least.
We tracked everything in about 3 days in south Florida with the most backwards thinking engineer, got through that. Then Taylor Young at the Pit and Brad Boatright at Audiosiege mixed and mastered it, respectively. They both killed it and the LP ended up being something we’re all really stoked on. It’s like the recording I always wish we had ha ha.
3. Why the title Show Your Greed?
If you want something in life, take it. (Within reason of course.)


4. How’d you get hooked up with Mayfly? What’re they like? A lot better than a certain defunct label from Tennessee that shall remain nameless?
We reached out to Bob after doing some demos for Show Your Greed. It turned out he was a really big fan of ours to begin with so it didn’t take much convincing on our part. He’s got some cool releases under belt and is a great dude for sure. An actual real label that sends people what they buy.
But that’s funny you ask about that second part, one of those guys actually books us every time we play Memphis and really hooks it up. It was weird at first but I’ve got nothing against him anymore. He’s actually pretty cool. You live and you learn.
5. After the record comes out, what’s the plan? Tour the U.S. again? Europe? Japan?
Do a release show or two around FL, Full U.S. (even if it’s in chunks), definitely want to try for Europe. I don’t think we’re Japan level yet ha ha. We’ve got some stuff in the works.
6. I know it took a long time for this LP to come to fruition. Do you think the band has another full-length in it?
If you’d have asked me this a while ago, I’d have said no. It took us awhile to really gain traction in the writing process and honestly we took our time. We wanted to make it as special as we could. We have gotten really good at writing stuff that works for us after doing Show Your Greed, everything just comes together so much easier. We’re faster and better at getting what we want out of each song. I think we’ll be able to pump another one out for sure.
7. Have you achieved everything you’ve wanted for Axis so far? Is there anything you still feel the band needs to do?
If Axis ended today, I’d be mostly satisfied with it. But there’s definitely a list of shit I’d love to accomplish. Another LP or EP at least, Europe (finally), Mexico, Rainfest.
8. Tell me about the Florida Underground wiki and how people can view it/contribute.
It’s an idea I had whilst trying to brainstorm web development projects. The past 7 months or so I’ve really been into learning development and programming. I think I might do it for the long haul, it ain’t easy but I fucking love it. I’m up to my head learning JavaScript right now. So I’m trying to come up with cool shit to create.
The site won’t exactly be a wiki itself, but it’ll look pretty similar to one. With the help of my friend John Park, we’re trying to build everything up from scratch and it be legit. There will be band profiles with all kinds of info about them, forms for anyone to submit content on shit they know enough about. Label profiles, show calendar, articles. Hopefully in the next 2 or 3 months we’ll have something up for people to check out.
9. Axis seems to get a predominately insane reaction almost anywhere in Florida. What about out of state? What are some of the best cities you’ve gotten to play around the country?
We always do really well in Long Island, I love playing there. Atlanta, Savannah, Laredo, Nashville, Dallas, Kansas City, SLC and Detroit are almost always a great show for us.


10. Any side-projects in the works? New bands? Tommy playing with anybody of note?
Evan from Blistered and I are always talking about doing something. Maybe one day we’ll actually do it.
Dylan, Tyler and Tommy are doing a Sludge band with two drummers, I think Tyler and Tommy are doing a different band that’s really pretty emo stuff. Then of course there’s Shovelhead and Prayer Chain.
11. Tom Significant keeps bringing up a Meantime reunion. Would you ever do it?
I’d love to play the songs again one day but I doubt I’d do it at this point. I also doubt very many people would care unfortunately. That ship has sailed.
12. I know you have a love for obscure ‘90s hardcore and also ‘90s R&B. Gimmie your top five records/artists in each category and why.Aaliyah - One in a Million: Baby gurl was the coolest of cool. RIPTLC - Crazy Sexy Cool: The first cassette I ever bought. So smooth and full of bangers.Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill: So smart and talented on a lot of different levels.Mariah Carey - Daydream: In between R&B and pop. My first real crush.Tie between Blackstreet - Blackstreet and Boyz II Men - II: Come On.
Mostly late 90’s metal core stuff, but hey THAT is my shit.Acme - To Reduce the Choir To One Soloist: Super influential, Widely underrated. Nothing gets me more pumped.From the Dying Sky - Truth's Last Horizon: Came out in like 2000, but whatever. It’s like Arkangel but better.Breach - It’s Me God: Really creative song writing. Heavy Euro shit.From Here On - Hope For A Bleeding Sky: Jesus Christ, these riffs. Incredible. Affiliated with BTBAM.Dragbody - Flip the Killswitch: They were a truly great band out of central Florida. This album has the coolest feel to it. Bummed I missed the reunion.
13. I know Axis has always sort of been your brainchild/baby. Why did you start the band and what does it mean to you?
When it started, I really wanted to be in a fast band again. Meantime was a real mid-paced/slower kind of thing. I was really into Buried Alive and older Walls of Jericho, I admired what Foundation was doing at the time. I wanted to do my version of that 90’s influenced stuff.
Axis is the most special to me.  I love what we’re about and what we do. We aren’t the biggest band by any means, but we’ve accomplished way more than I would have ever imagined. We’ve done some great tours, had so much fun. The LP I am especially proud of, I can’t wait for people to hear it.
14. Do you love Florida and why?
I don’t see myself living here forever. But generally I truly do love Florida, I love the heat and the beaches. It’s beautiful. I love our scene. We’ve got one of the best ones in the country right now. I’ve thought that for the past few years but touring a lot recently has really cemented that notion. We’ve got a constant influx of young, stoked kids and our local bands crush most local bands everywhere else. It makes it really special to say I’m from here.
15. Closing comments? Anything I left out?
Thanks for being interested enough in what I’ve got to say to interview me ha ha. Shout out to FLHC, un-fuck-withable.

Snap of the old crew: OG Axis, Captive Bolt homies, and Maron Dorino front and center. Couldn't resist. However, Axis is a lot better now.