Fighting, Shit, and Belonging The (Non ) Redemption of a Miserable Punk Kid Alera nasty tint of depression, I thought I was gelting heer. Muybe Pd be able to integrate, bea socially acceptable, semi-ondinary person. Maybe I could get a better job, pechaps even a giltiend of some sort. 1 ‘thought this miserable punk: kid might be redeemed... 1 was not so- I'm a socal fiek up, an oddball who does nol mix well in any culture. 1am a pat of these cultures‘ subcultures but Tam not “in” any, a8 they do not speak as to who and what Lam. The partcrs (Grinker, drug users, stoners, ct.) hipsters, nonmics (hormel people with Monday to Friday jobs, home in the suburbs, and so om), hurdebre kids, the straight edge brood, erustes! travelers, focused students, ockabilly fuckers, skinheads, chauviniss, feminists, anti-feshion setivists, the fashion-conscions.... am all ofthese and none of thesc; even though Teun cx-exist with them in (relative) hurmony, I filo itn. Reagun Youth's ‘No | Class" isa yond indication of how I feel about how I fit into sociery and the subcultures within it, {tseems no matter how hard Try or don't ry, Tdon't fucking belong. Tsee couples, sexual partners, drunken (Giguratively und literully) pieves of shit, and I fee] nothing but contempt and hatred. I'd bea liar to say V've rot been one such person before, bul I hate the person that I become. My psychological burden has no left rme- drug-free exislence is not what I desire. Being suber most of the time anyways, it woulda’L do me much ood. It seems thatthe only eure to my burdensome weight isto be like them, and then I hate myself all the _more for stooping go lows, Thelieve I understand what Nietzsche meant when be spoke ofthe ease of the philosupher- u husden that cannot be thrown off nor tolerated. ‘This is my unrelenting Hife experience- shit followed with and preceded by shi: uny ulusmpt ta make a change and try a different path will still lead to the sarc end, [seem to be caked in i neither my sternal nor extemal shit is tolenible «me. No matter how Jong T endure, PIL inevitably slip, because there's no allevisim lo slow the endless conveyor belt filing my life with sit that would alloweme w regain my composure, ‘There iy no redemption for this miserable, hateful, contemptuous, misanthropic, lonely punk Ki Pethapé one day, FUL be able to throw off this bind, or he strong enough to bear or conquer it Undl then, PUL fight and smryiye as long us Teun- life is a continunus battle. For me, it seems that there is no reprieve, {Postscript notes: ‘Though this somewhat whiny column about my felings isn’t exactly in fine with the coritent ofthe rest ofthe magazine, stil feel iLrslevanl uo publish, because it seems thatthe world has taken a speetal tum forthe worse Intely [humerous marriages, pregnancies. NDAA, end of Oveupy protests, ete.) ty Sovial FRACTURED DRED AT THE BeaRcava, 3/25/12 ‘Rat Storm sounds as if Witch TTunt were playing fas, blistering hurdcore ukin wo Slup-A-Harm cra powerviolence bunds; Nuthalie (dhe singer) speaks | more quickly and with more shriliness ia her voice than does Witeh Hunt. This FP goes by like a fleeting jet playing ut ewo speeds: fast punk and faster powerviolence. There isan inevitable compatison to Nausea, despite the two bunds being ‘vory nonpaallel; Rat Storm is more meatund- ‘bones soug-wise,a band that gets straight lo the point (uot only a song title on this record, but also ‘hat’s at heat in 80s hardoore and powerviolencs), ‘while Nausea is heavier and slower. This 7” as ‘pot one moment where one is not pusmeled with, Fast-paeed, crust-based powerviolence-y hurdvore, I.yries are typical awesome crusty material: nothing | bud lo say here. Guitars aren’t heavy, focusing instead on the speed rather than the power behind it, Tass and drums pummel away, the later being somewhat cymbal-heavy for most of the songs, ‘There's a new flux of rat-ased bards in the ‘Midwest, this being Indiana’s offering. Thiv is one fuckin’ rad EP- crusties, take heed; powerviolence -punks, take note; hardcore fans... keep breaking down the walls in the kids” eyes, and buy this record ifand when you see it. Not to be missed, | Nu-KLe-#R Brast Suntan- BLor Our |THE WORTHLESS Sun LP REVIEW Frantic. Ambient. Gnarly, Angry. Vast. Heavy, I you're all about short reviews, the above wards are the best description of “Tot Out the Worthless Sun” inthe ‘fewest words one ean concoct. However, this slbum is SO much more than that. | The distinguishing actor his rtrd possesses dferentitng itfkom Nol Blast Suntan’ crus colleagues | is the psychedelic, mind-bending guitar work prosent in most ofthe songs: there's plenty of room for traditional hardcore rls, and here, they're spliced with these unique sounds to create a truly original recon, Singer Ami is everything a punk singer should fe: Furious, spitting, anti-authority, poctic, and encrestc, Some female singers suffer from being overly sill, Ami docs not have this problem, being fairly pitched and having a balanced sound to hee voios. The drums und buss are cleur, the drums pumumeling andthe bass punishing (my two | adjectives of highest praise tor these corresponding instruments), and the lyrics are yood “ole values-rejevting | apocalyptic erust punk, Words are much easisr to swap around than sound (ales, my eyes). Though the theme is the same, ibe words ure very different, and it's a new twist on an esscatially working formula, ‘This recoed fucking rules; one of most phenomenal, unique crust bands of te last decade. To paraphrase Will | ‘Smith, “Ob, and uh... Td go to arecord store und buy this one up real quick eause... DABEN. INTERVIEW ABOUT NUDISM WITH HILLARY TAMM When you begin to look at clothing xs an abstract concept, 18 opposed to taking for granted, aay most of soviely docs? Did you have an experience ‘that opened your eyes to this, or was ita natural progression from deconstructing social propaganda? Honestly it pubsbly started with seeping naked, te was | a mare of “Gosh, this is way more comfortable when it’s hot ou” andi didn't even eur to me that my brody was something f could use as... tol (inthe least, vbjectfving manner, | suppose) against socictal standards or as # pol jcaVanti-politial statement until sort of recently, 1s there a comfort factor in one’s decision to shed clothing, be it someone else’s or your own? H ‘While nudism happens fora lot of ressons, offen itbeils | down to a “fuck you guys,” whether people mean for it | to or not. A hit of research eauses me to believe a very large portion of “nudists” are actually in their 50°s and (607s, which Think is pretty awesome, given a's ‘considered to he the “conservative” age, ut that's what Trnean: these people probably aren't yourhardeore | political activists (though perhaps they once were, or sill te, fighting the power and sticking ito the man, ‘They're the people who have reached a cern point in “Why did you decide to forego clothing? Why do you think other people do? The decision to reject clothing wasn't really a deliberate one; [just do whal seems right for me, 1 ‘guess I've always been a bt ofa social retard in that sense: the concepts of “right” and “wrong” don’t oecur to me the sume way they occur to others, so T struggle sometimes with comprehension when something I view as harmless is intensely heralded as “wrong” their lives where walking around naked seems more appcaling, so... “Fuck you guys.” ‘BEARIOOT AT THE Bearcavg, 3/25/12 ‘What do you think keeps society at large from Tetting go of their layers, so to speak? ‘There are many comfort issues that surround nudism, both in tems of the nudist hiny/het/zrself and those surrounding. More than comfort, though loosely related, I think it's also a judgment issue. I'm sure there are ‘many people who keep themselves as clothed as possible in ordcr fo hide those bits with which they feel ‘uncomfortable, and to keep them from the harsh opinions of others Is there a tie between nudism and any kind of left-wing political activity (not necessarily | radical)? If so, what is ie? Here's a mouthful for you, and beur with me: Society as a whole is mainly held back by two ‘things: religious influence and simply put, “self= cstecn,” Tsay religions inluence beeause even those who are not cligious are still privy to the stngetures and socially enforced dogma that are the eonsequence of living in our retigion-based culture. Religion speaks more negatively of sox ‘than it does of our bodies themselves, but we have inextricably, albeit incorrect. linked the ‘human body- unclothed, untouched, in its simplest forme with sox. As a result, We are taught from very young age (chrough media, ‘the social interactions we witness, and even inadvertently rough things as simple as the separation of genders in health class) that our Inodies axe indcoont, dirty things. Not to be explored, on our owe oF with oters- and cerainly not before manage. Granted, ithas gotten much hetier since my paren were my ‘ge, but there are still remnants of those thought processes and vcachingssubliminully reinforeed daily. Think of when Iwas litle and had to cover my eyes when Rose was naked in Titanic, [Not even sexually engage, simply naked It was a ution so ingrained in me tac oven when I ‘wasn't with my parents, I was sil eormpelied to cover my eyes in similar eircumstances. I was ‘not rsised religiously, hut its impossible to deny ‘he implications religion has on our society and showy we bchave on a day-to-day basis, As for the “selFestecm” issue, Tknow thut usa woman- and | am biased here, so {apologize- am continuously bombarded with things thae tell me how Pm “supposed” lo look Television ads, bilboerds, online banners, movies, even the people who know and love us subily influence how others ew us, and more importantly how we view ourselves. An ‘with the on-going debate on whether art reflects life or life reflects ar its ificult to say if modiareflests society, or vice versa-if't can even be simplified to one or the other. “What Ido know is tha media portays a senso of “nomnaley that people attach themselves to- whether it's wetually normal ox simply fition bused enlertzinment. Because we are 50 riven by our physical appearances, and because media isso prevalent in our lives tok it has yreserimpct than ever hefie. So when we accept that rhetoric, ou pereeption changes and we begin to formula an image of what we're ‘supposed to Took like, who we're supposed tobe: flawless creatures at an unattainable level of perfection thet exnnot even he met by those on whom we base our comparisons. Needless to say, we all fall short. Even F- despite having just <isgosted the construct thal motivates us- am victim. When | ‘prepare myself forthe day, 1 often stop and ask why I fee the ced to look ents forthe people on the fen minute bus ride vo work, When T muke the realization that | dont, 1 throw on besketball shorts snd « Gikely dirty) lank top. 1's at realization that allows me to both dress without care for how 1 Jook, or simply not be dressed, There is lack of understanding shout the difference between thinking of oneself as having met te ideal, and knowing tha the ideal is sendy ut of each snd coming teens with the reality that {is one's body. There isan incredible number of women whom 1 consider humilistingly more attractive than mysel; yet they catinue to bide behind things lke make up and flttecing clothing when lbave long shed thesc things. Ihave crossed ‘ridge whon most don’ realize there is even a river. My ability to be naked doesn’t make me more beautifulto others ‘or myself, it simply means lam aware of who and what T am- ‘which is something that my various states of dress and ‘undress will never change, (Continued fhom the question on ‘he previous page) In \erms of politics, itis un easy generalization lo make dat most nudists are likely lo identify with modem left-wing policies and beliefs, as they tend to bbe more lenient in regards to sexuality and all things related Personally, 1 don't identify with ‘much of anything polities, and Find ital! to hea rather unsavory meal asa whole, [ve always wondered this since seeing that one Seinfeld episode: Is uaked crouching bad ‘unattractive? Why or why not? A hilarious but legitimate inquiry, Pd say that it depends cutrely on the person and the erouch. ‘Consider how uncomfortable it makes the average person just 10 see someone purtilly undressed. ‘Now consider a person crouching ina manner that reveals certain parts of the body that one is not necessarily interested in seeing. On the flipside, if t's a person the viewer finds highly attmctive, then | t's unlikely fo be thought of as a negative thing 1s there a reason that Europe is considerably more tolerant of nudist | practices (France even has nude beaches!) than the United States? yds Spnitgaymtiaicescctareneeee | governments, As mentioned before liberal stances tend to lean more ‘towards acceptance of things pertaining to the body. This stands true with regards lo the aceplanee of nudism, While the US has its share of nudist ‘resort und laws that allow things Tike toplewsness, there sa self perpetuating stigma around such things that assigns lewd and perverse ‘connotations to the paticipation in and acceptance of them. While we set the example of democratic rule, as other nations followed suit, we went <down diferent sides ofthe societal fork inthe road and ended up with ‘wo vory differnt social structures: which s fin for some, depending ‘which freedoms you value more. | ‘What are some of the ground rules (if any) for practicing nudists to apply (Ke. the given everyone understands, don"t stare)? would imagine that nndist ground rules are essentially the same as non- ‘nudist ground rules. It seems ru, i probably i, so it's important to “understand and observe personal boundaries whether a person ix clothed ‘or not. Thote are also rules that people don’t always follow in “clothed” life tht are important when unclothed, For example, if you find yourself ‘around someane you find sexually appealing, that’s fine- there are attractive people everywhere, but de nof assume the combination of | attractiveness and nakedness isan invitation of any kind, However it's | also important to recognize thal there are ereeps everywhere you go. snd ‘that just because everyone else around is naked doesn’t automatieully ‘mean you're safe ‘Have you found strength in uumbers of strength from within wher comes to practicing and sticking to nudist practices? Personally, 'm intrinsically motivated, bul dheré are plenty of people | ‘who find strength in numbers. Isa lot easier to embrace something out of your comfort zone when you have people agseving with and supporting you. Is there ay network of nudists, local or regional? Tso, do you have any sort of information on them? “What Tknow is not so much a network as much asa ‘handful of parks and clubs that are clothing optional, | Some qualify as family friendly, others are clearly ‘adult in nature due to sexnal themes, but most of them. have the same kinds of rules. Drinking (when legal) is often allowed in moderation and eameras are prohibited. Interestingly, most of the rules are standard oF any park or campground, pertaining to peneral safety and courteous behavior, like “quiet hours.” A listof clothing optional places in Michigan (and elsewhere) can he found hese: _itp:wwwr-nndist- resorts.org/ll-listresorts-clubs htm#Michigan Musoatz at Uit’s House oF Rock, 12/02/11 Ts there anything additional you wish to add regarding nudism or anything else you would like (a say? Nudism isa difficult concept to practie, not only due to personal reasons, bur due to extemal factors as wel ‘Asa young girl who spends a fair amount of time in publi, lam subject to being harassed and hit on, as well 1s any other number of seemingly innocuous interactions thal may make me fel unsafe in my surroundings, even when La filly clothed and covered. Itis understandable that those who may otherwise be interested in rsdism shy awny from it hecanse they fear they might not be safe Iti that fear that makes nudism such an ‘import idea to embrace. By making the body so forbidden, we lo make it an object of mystery and alfure, ‘Unforrunately, there ar un ularning number of people who opt out of using seltcontrl wien presented with something they find tantalizing, and the social norm is to blame the victim involved. For Far too long, the solution has been to cover up the parts of ourselves thal could cause offense or “instigate” assault, instcad of teaching people proper respect for others and correcting their harmfbl behaviors. ‘There was atime when a ‘lush of ankle was considered obscene, and now such a thought scoms ludicrous, even though all we've done is change which body parts we're supposed to cover. Nudism goes heyond just eing “more comfortable.” It's the beginning ofa chunge in the social structure that not only perpetuates the sexism that generates sextal ‘and other kinds of abuse, but dictates the insecurities and motivations of men, women und everyane else in between or outside the binary who are obsessed from the lengh of their aenails to the split ends in their hair. ‘Nudism literally cradicales u barrier thai, once removed, forces people to really see each other and incvitably conclude that, my god! There really are more important things than what our bodics look like und what we 6a or ith ther, ‘T've been pumped for this release fora while. Since discovering this band about a year ago, I've been digging the fuek out oF them, and have made iL point to ctempt to make ito thee shows, because they ure ALWAYS hype ashell. The only complain could ever raise isthe shortage of songs fom th band. Finally, 1 found a temporary alleviation for cis sickness- the new sel-itled LP from Youngblood. cords, After trading afew things withthe singer in der nab the record, made my way ham, turned ‘on my record player, and lumed up the volume, | | 1 dare to say, after eareful consideration and many ‘broken down walls in the eyes of many kids. that this is Folding On, seed, Brotherhood, | Ten Yard Fight, No Tolerance bit the dust. ven the | likes of Bold, Chain of Strength, and the mighty Youth of Today can't touch this. Never have T came weross an album so icing. quotable, and deviant enough ‘rom the scene in which the band participates. ‘These songs remind me of what it’s Tike to bea passionate, energetic, idealistic punk kid, and that still something swe can all be. These songs trigger an itching impulse within, compelling me cast fT Hife's burden, change for the better, and take a step forward. For those who hate reading or enjoy summaries, this band i ll I (or youth crew bend, Tthus the mash, the words, the riffs, the ‘breaksowns, the speed, the trah... everything. Fast anyone elsc) could ever want out of @ hardcore! steady drums; "Thick, crunching guitars; galloping bass lines, and youthful shouts tat can be understood. even, without lyric shect. Lyries are meaningful (and not 1s genevie ns oiher youth ere), non-judgmental, and intensely personal; the schizoid within is pleased, T | don’t car if you subscribe to the edge or nat; f'you listen to grindcore, powerviolenee, Us hardeore, ‘metalcore, "77 punk, 80s hardcore, erust punk, or anarcho punk, DO.NOT sleep on this record. This is one of, if not THE best releases youlh erew bas seen in times past or present, Flawless viewory for Face Re Interview with Nick Tape from Coke Bust ‘When did the band begin to take form? Tow did ‘you come up with the name of the band? Did you {ake a Mrs, Doubifire- like approach to the name? | What hands inspired you to play the sound that youdu? ‘The band started in 2006 when my friend Parsons and 1 wanted to sound a hand that sounded lke SUICIDAL TENDENCIES | the addition of Chris on crus really sped things up. ‘That dida’t work out, but All of us (except Chia a that time) loved youth crew. ie was more into grindcore, fastvore, whatever, The mixing of preferences made a somewhat unique blend, ‘think, ‘The band name is stupid, Our friend joking! eae va a ecco | nef ld xt (oer ereay, and Ripeord were the three main influences. ‘Where do you get your lyrical inspiration? ‘Where do you guys stand, philasophically and politically? Why did you become (and remain) straight edge? Tyries come from whatever I'm feeling atthe moment. Every once in a while, something will ‘come to mind and TH feel strongly about it. ‘whether is personal, political, social, whatever, Tih write it down. When it comes time to write lyrics, [just use that stuff. There's no real contrived ‘motivation behind the Tries; I keep it watral. 1 think that's the best way to go. Politically, we are more or less the same, Tauess. Anti war, pro- legalization, pro-choice, anti imperialist, cte, We probably disagree on some economic issues, but socially we ane all 10096 on the same page. Fuck <druge- they ruin people's lives. guys from, into the day-to-day aspects of the band? Have you guys been in bands before this? What were thes, itany? ‘We are all from D.C. The band right now is me (Nicktape), Chris (drums -lgo in SICK FIX / MAGRUDERGRIND / D.C.) James- guitar, and Jubert- bass (also in MISLED YOUTH), Talso play in SECTARIAN VIOLENCR. 1 was in the following hands: NO MINION (guitat), RATIONS (bass), BAIL OUT! (vocals), and GRIPLAPE (vocals). ‘What are some of the better bands you've gotten to play with? Where have you toured to and from? Do you hive any upcoming plans for tour or anew record? Can you discuss any of ‘those possible details? We have played with too many great bands to keep ‘rack of and name! We have toured all over the United States from Portland lo Miami to Vermont to LA. Done a few shows in Canada. We've played all over the UK and Europe. We have a split with “Vaceine coming out und were doing an INSANT: Puropean tour this summer :) corresponding contact information. | Want to contribute wo Criminal Behavior (Le. submit review material, design, take pictures, distribute, write, interview, etc)? Getin touch! Is hard being a one-man operation! See the back of the magazine for all