Happy Birthday To Me...Good Mail Day!!!

Happy birthday to me. Today Im 29...still the same guy, just a few more gray hairs, no biggie. I went to check my PO box and this is what was waiting for me. The Battery design I received in a tshirt and a hoodie. Both (as well as the Earth Crisis hoodie) were brand new. I got them off someone on Ebay who you used to run a wholesale and just had them sitting around. Pretty damn good and Im pretty stoked because I didnt have that particular Earth Crisis design. Ive got more stuff coming...its the waiting I hate.

Chokehold

Easily in my top 3 hardcore bands of all time. Chokehold were always very confrontational, and that coupled with the fact that they were a straight edge band that didn't dwell on lyrics about straight edge, solidified them as one of my favorites.

Content With Dying

I was always annoyed with the way that the entire LP is one track on the cd, so I uploaded it into Adobe Audition, trimmed out some of the bass, made it a whole lot louder and separated all the songs into separate tracks.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/3zxcpk

Instilled
I did the exact same thing with Instilled, as I did with the Content With Dying tracks.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/b6tz8p

Tooth And Nail
I was never happy with the sound quality of the mp3s that have been floating around the internet for years now, so I finally decided to rip one of my numerous copies, and I think this definitely sounds more true to the actual sound of the vinyl. This was Chokehold's final release.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ff95vg

Comp Tracks
I've also assembled all of the Chokehold compilation tracks that I'm aware of and own. The folder contains the following songs:
Anchor - What Still Holds True comp
Kill Me - Soundtrack To The Revolution comp
We're Not Gonna Take It [Twisted Sister cover] - Sleepless Nights comp
Kickback [Breakdown cover] - Sound And The Fury comp
Nothing [Negative Approach cover] - Reproach comp
http://www.mediafire.com/?njmedqmntwu

Tension - South Florida Straight Edge

From 1993-1996, Tension was South Florida Straight Edge. They put out 2 great 7 inches and a not so great full length (courtesy of recording). The second 7 inch "The Sickness of Our Age" really reflected the emotion they were feeling at the time. When they went to record, supposedly one of their girlfriends had broken up with them and one of them had been thrown out of their home. You can really feel the power and the frustration...Mike's vocals come off so pissed off something that just didnt carry over to the full length. Unfortunate...anyway, this shirt was printed while they were were on Endless Fight records who originally released the "Sickness of Our Age" before it was re-released on Uprising. I got this off a friend of mine who'd had it for a long time just sitting around. Good score for me. Check out Tension's myspace
Http://www.myspace.com/tensionsfhc

More Cabal 315

Cabal 315

Cabal was a clothing company based out of Syracuse, NY in the 90s. Run by DJ Rose and Guav, they were the IT company for straight edge and vegan kids. Long before the scene was saturated by thousands of clothing companies, DJ and Guav were making these and doing quite well. If you look at almost straight edge or vegan band from the early to late 90s, chances are they were wearing a Cabal shirt. Earth Crisis, being good friends with DJ and Guav, were "sponsored" by Cabal and you can see them wearing their shirts and jerseys in numerous pictures. Its sad to say it...but they dont make em like they used to.

Snapcase - Steps Summer Tour

When they stepped on stage and hit the opening notes on the bass, you knew what was coming. The build up..."INCARNATION"!!!! Yes I do love Snapcase. Not so much a fan of their later stuff but everything up to and including Progressions Through Unlearning rules. This particular shirt I actually received yesterday in the mail from a fine gentleman from Germany and he took very good care of it. This was bought on the Steps tour. Id been looking for this one for a bit so I was able to knock it off my Want list finally.

Harvest - Last Show

Harvest is one of those bands I never got to see but I would have done (do) anything to have seen. Both times they came close to me they canceled. This shirt was made for their last show in Minneapolis. I know alot of bands from that era are getting back together and doing reunions...this is the one Im waiting for. The moment they announce a reunion Ill be booking my ticket to Minnesota.

Culture - Judge Ripoff

Culture was another band from Florida that I was fortunate enough to have seen. Never knew the guys except for Damien but they were awesome. Later in their career they re-recorded songs from their only full length "Born Of You" to be released on Toybox Records. The release was to be called "Re-Born Of You" and included a Judge cover of "Fed Up". Anyway, the release never materialized. If you hunt around on Soulseek you can track it down...Im assuming the shirt was made for that release. The story behind this particular shirt is that my friends band had just signed to Victory Records and were told they could go through the warehouse and take a few things. Well my friend found this and hooked me up. It was brand new...just sitting in a corner. Toybox Records was distributed by Victory so Im sure there has to be more laying around in there...

Despair - One Thousand Cries

I love everything Scott Vogel has done...from Fadeaway to Terror and everything in between and before. Despair I only got to see 1 time but they were amazing. It blows my mind that Scott Vogel doesn't have ulcers (shit, maybe he does) because he is one pissed off dude. This was one of their first designs when they were on Treadwater Records before they signed to Trustkill. From what I understand their back catalog is out of print now so hit Amazon and the Trustkill sale bin and order them before they are gone.

Strife - Life My Mind, My Body, My Soul

Heres another shirt I had to really search out. To be honest, I dont even know why I put so much effort into finding this design...maybe its because its an old design from the One Truth era or maybe its because there is a picture of the drummer on the back. Seriously, how often do you see a picture of the drummer on a tshirt?