Vinyl XXX Edge

We had been waiting for this 7″ since we reviewed the Sink Or Swim demo tape few months ago. And it proved to be even bigger than our expectations. Thanks to Start A Fire and Epidemic Records everyone who got a copy (from the very limited edition of 1000 vinyls) can now enjoy a great peace of modern European hardcore. On side A are placed two brand new songs by our German favourites Sink Or Swim. This time they reveal another side of their music. The tracks are slower but full of energy, full of emotions and full of meaning. The lyrics concern religion, beliefs, faith, they are personal and are a direct statement full of determination, not a casual bitching about shit. In only two songs Sink Or Swim put such an obsessing impulse that can make all contemporary bands playing the same boring and pointlessly negative beatdown shit put a bullet in their creativeless heads. However it is a fact Sink Or Swim for a second time proved they are one of the most promissing European vegan straight edge bands, they are different, they keep developing their style and we only hope they’ll keep doing what they do best - spreading the right message on stage and on vinyl. Now let’s look at Side B where In One Piece are placed. Formed in 2008 and coming from Finland we have to admit they are a new name for us but it is a fact that they caught our attention. After the awesome first side of the vinyl these mates really contributed for the great overall impression the record made. In One Piece are fast and have really specific sound with the bass sounding powerful and the drummer not sparing the kickdrum powerful blasts from time to time. As huge Chokehold fans hearing a familiar quotation in the lyrics in one of the songs made us really happy that there are still new bands who play awesome hardcore because they obviously find inspiration in the RIGHT hardcore. And yeah you can download In One Piece first demo from their myspace page, otherwise you’ll just have to play Side B over and over again… you can actually do both! You can also download the Sink Or Swim demo tape, but after you’re done clicking for free shit go and purchase their split because soon (after we publish this review) there won’t be any copies left.

Before start talking about records I want to ask you to buy my doubled records. I have those more than once and I need money so I decided to let them go. Bid hard mates!!

Commitment records presents
We got few Commitment Records releases, they are not so new but as you already know we’re not publishing stuff only about new records but about everything we have and find worthy writing about. So let’s start in chronological order.

‘Drug Free Zone‘ is a 7″ by Cross Me. It was released in 2001 and it is A 100% straight edge release. Nikes, crosses on the hands of the members, everything is the way it should be. The band sound as they are really big Project X fans which is not a surprise having in mind the name they chose. The tracks are fast, short, the vocals are rough. The lyrics are suitable and are concerning social and everyday matters like homophobia and straight edge of course. Not a bad record and band at all, but nothing that will change your life and you’ve never heard before.

In 2002 Commitment released a 7″ by another straight edge band, this time they are from Faro, Portugal. Poiting Finger’s ‘Transcend’ is actually our favourite vinyl from this Commitment Records pack. They are also straight edge as hell, and our favourite thing about them is they really, really sound young. And this is how youth crew hardcore should sound - like a product of the minds of pissed kids full with desire to make things better. The music is European hardcore as its finest which will satisfy fans of Hoods Up, Sportswear and their American mates from The First Step and Insted. The last thing that makes this release so nice are the lyrics and the explanations for each songs, this is the final touch that makes of ‘Transcend’ a complete release both from musical, lyrical and conceptual point of view! And sadly such a good band is not playing anymore. What a surprise…

The last thing we’ll shortly present was released in 2006. It is ‘Time Will Tell Us’ 7″ by When Seasons Change. This is the debut release for the Italian veg(etari)an straight edge band. A stylish artwork, intelligent lyrics (again with explanations) and nothing more than hardcore music. Quite a nice record, it is followed by another 7″ release which is a split with Miles To Go and a DIY release of the band’s last mcd as guess what… they broke up in 2008. Anyway thanks to Commitment records they will remain in the hardcore history for everyone interested in checking them.

Soul Control Demo 7″ by Rivalry Records

Right after seeing the artwork of the selftitled vinyl of Soul Control we knew there will be something special and different about this band. No live shots, members in band t-shirts and Nikes or pissed off crowd. And there really is something different about the music these mates from Providence are playing. They incorporated little pieces of bands like Bane, Strife even Bad Brains. In the same time they have something you cannot hear in every modern hardcore band. They are rhythmic in a specific way, the vocals are strictly following the rhythmics of the tracks, every word from the inspiring lyrics is pronounced well and understandable. The guitars are sometimes so twisted that you start wondering if the songs are not going to grow into even more complex composition that will perfectly suit the post-hardcore genre. So if you’ve made our mistake, to learn about this band so late, don’t waste anymore time just listen. In the same time we’ll make sure to get all other Soul Control releases because this is a band that has a lot to say and surely it is a piece of fresh air in the polluted by negativism contemporary hardcore atmosphere!

Down To Nothing / On Thin Ice - Split 7″by Grave Mistake Records

This is a split that we’ve been waiting to review for a long god damn time. It is quite a polar release from one side we’ve got Down To Nothing. Which as we’ve mentioned already on VinylEdge quite progressive and gaining popularity American straight edge band. Their music is not something which is fast and aggressive, definitely cannot be be described as strictly positive hardcore but compared to what On Thin Ice are playing they are like Gorilla Biscuits standing next to Integrity. So let’s take a look to On Thin Ice. From the first second of the tracks of these UK mates we see we’re dealing with some rough and fast hardcore with INSANE vocals. A quick check for the status of the band and yeah, they are no longer playing, actually they existed only an year an a half but they succeeded in publishing two releases on 7″ vinyls and broke up right before releasing their demo. There are stories about their destructive shows and fans, and seriously with such powerful and aggressive music it just cannot be other way. And by the way a word should be said about their lyrics, ‘The Ides Of March’ consists of one of the most sincere and impressive words we’ve ever read in a hardcore songs. So tie the rope called Down To Nothing / On Thin Ice split on your neck and choke upon the amazing hardcore that is on that vinyl.

MINDSET - REALPOWER 7″ by React Records

React Records surely know how to make a release that you will feel is somehow special and unique. We placed enough pre-orders for Mindset’s ‘Realpower’ 7″ to be assured we’ll get all colours of the vinyl and despite the fact we didn’t actually get any of the rare ones we are glad that what we received is a 100% real, straight edge record! From the artwork, sticker and booklet with the lyrics, through the great and sensible message from Sean O’Donnel (Youngblood Records) to the very last note of all Mindset songs everything smells like dedication! We are looking forward to getting more React releases and we hope they will be kept them coming in such a great form. So let’s talk about Mindet now. We’ve got four tracks in little less than 8 minutes. The tracks are aggressive in a specific way, with nice, measured melodes and even guitar solos from time to time. Slow and fast parts make them suitable for both the two steppers and the mates in the circle pits. The vocals are aggressive, understandable and in no way monotonous or banal. Just a little more sing-alongs and the songs would be perfect. However Mindset’s music is inspiring and powerful enough, especially when presented by React Records in such a professional way, so we are sure there will be enough sing-alongs on their shows.

So let me give it a banal begining.. Could you present you and your band in few words?
Ok. It’s me, Magnus - vocals, Tobias on guitar, his brother John on drums and Andreas who’s our new bassplayer, we’ve just madee 1 practice with him so far, but we know him pretty good before

How did everything start?
Hmm, we started Angers Curse as a project at first. Me, Tobias and John were in another band called Break Me, but me and John quit but Tobias and the rest of the other members continued playing but under another name and in Swedish, with Swedish lyrics. They are called Stick & Brinn (something like fuck off and burn in hell). Then we just got thogether and started playing again, because me and Tobias had talked about doing a band like this. And Tobias, John and the old bassplayer had another band before called Blacked Out. So the idea first was just to continue that band with me on vocals, but we wanted something else, not to just play the oldschool songs they had, but to start from the beggining. So we started writing songs, recorded a demo and then everything just kept on rolling.

What made you enter the hardcore scene not only as fans but as musicians also?
I can only speak for myself I have always wanted to play in a band. I started with some friends in highschool then I just kept on playing in diffrent bands with diffrent people. I wanted more than just listening to and looking at bands. I wanted to be on stage, to write songs, to record and release records, and go on tours. I think its pretty much the same with Tobias but his brother on the other hand doesn’t listen to hardcore. He´s listening to Bring Me The Horizon and black metal. Andreas has been into hardcore for a long time, he puts up shows and runs a label. Doing much in his town, he lives in örebro andthe rest of us lives in Västerås.
im making you write so much stuff

Can you point any specific bands that influenced you?
Right Brigade, Judge, Blood For Blood and Cro-mags are really big influences.

Read the rest of this entry »

…ON, Sportswear and Angers Curse. Some records that we got soon. And lets start from Sweden, Europe.

Angres Curse - s/t 7″ - Death Rhythm Records

It is a rough thing to be a vinyl collector even if a band decides to help you get a copy of their record. This was proved by our most recent experience with Angers Curse’s self-titled vinyl. We like to give our mates from Sweden big thanks for sending us the vinyl twice as obviously the first copy they sent got lost somewhere on its road to Bulgaria. However we finally had the chance to hear it and it would really be a loss if we didn’t. Inside the dark, stylish cover there’s a vinyl who carries some of the most aggressive and powerful contemporary hardcore songs we’ve heard recently. We’ve already said how important are the oldschool Sweden hardcore bands for the scene worldwide. It seems the currently active bands in Sweden are not wasting their time either. Angers Curse are direct and deadly as a bullet in the head of a traitor. These four people are really pissed of but not in the modern and fake way. Just the opposite - they know what are they standing for, they know what they represent and want and are not afraid to say it. The lyrics are personal and are concerning all shits we face every day. The seven songs might not represent the seven sins but what they picture is quite similar. Angers Curse show the sicknesses of our weak, modern societies - betrayal, lies, hypocrisy, underestimation, abandonment, lack of confidence and will. But what these songs left in us was quite different from pointless negativism and despair, actually in less than 10 minutes Angers Curse made us more determined than ever to stand and cope with everything standing in our way. What else do you want to hear? Go and find their music!

Sportswear - Keep It Together 7″ Crucial Response Records 1997

We’ll stay in the North for this review too. It will not only take us a decade back but it will take us to Oslo, Norway. After writing Sportswear in few search enginges and some quick browsing through the results most of what you’ll find will contain the sentences “Probably the best Norwegian hardcore band” or even “The best European straight edge band”. We won’t accept or deny this as every band is the greatest for their fans. However Sportswear are good enough to deserve the attention of every person pretending to be interested in European Straight Edge hardcore. Listening to this release 12 years after it was recorded doesn’t change the things at all. On the contrary it sounds quite actual having in mind the growing number of new bands turning back to oldschool hardcore nowadays. And Sportswear really have something from the past with a little taste of the the 90s. The lyrics and the songs in general are not something revolutionery and innovative that you’ll never have heard before, especially if you are playing this record for a first time today, but they are from the heart and for sure this is the most important! We hope we will find all other Sportswear releases soon because after such a dedicated, sincere start it will be interesting to follow and write here what the band actually achieved.

ON - Control EP 7″ - Legitimatebros - 2009

Two years of existense and two releases which sound as if the band has been around for like… 10 years. Yeah, we are talking about ON! The same band whose debut EP ‘Vital Times’ turned into one of the hardest to find vinyls only a year after it was released. But this time we were fast and put our pre-orders on time and now we are finally able to hear what ON recorded this time. And the result is amazing… again. In a little less than ten minutes you’ll be able to check four new songs. And if in the review of the previous ON we said a little piece of each band from which the ON members came could be sensed, we feel ‘Control’ is nothing more than an ON record with its own unique sound. The songs are very different from each other and they are full of various and great ideas. It’s like you’re listening to a full length, not a short EP on 7″. The lyrics are explicit and integral. They are not a generic and catchy lines written to assure sing-alongs at shows but consist of meaningful messages to everyone willing to accept music as not just a product for consumption but as something to think about or just feel! So what’s left for now is to wait for the another ON release which will hopefully be a full-length one. During this time make sure you’ve got all presses because ‘Control’ is going to be a legendary record soon too! And yeah, keep playing that thing again and again, vinyls are mainly for listening, god damn fetishists.

Hey mates, we’d like to announce that our friend Alex from UK started his DIY label called Youth Crew Alex Records. His goal is to release as many demo tapes as possible and despite the name of his label Alex will not just be bringing out youth crew bands tapes.

YCAR’s first release will be the fantastic IN THIS FOR FUN tape. Details are still being worked out but it will be a double sided tape with artwork by the band’s drummer Crab.

YCAR will be looking overseas for future releases. Hoping to bring some of the fantastic 08/09 youth crew revival bands music to a wider european audience. 

As a collector myself I know how fun it is when you recieve a release that has something special with it or is packaged in a special way so I will be trying my best to make each release as stand out as possible! Each run of tapes will be limited to 50 and will be repressed only if demand is huge!

xDanchox about the shows in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria:

I thought after the mini tour with BANE I’ll need a rest. I’m listening to them quite too often and too much and I thought I’ll feel like stopping for a while. It happened just the opposite, after the third and last live on my BANE tour I’m a completely different person. I don’t feel like listening to hardcore anymore, I don’t feel like playing, I don’t feel like going to hardcore gigs if BANE are not playing. Man, these guys have great attitude, great music and they create perfect atmosphere live. I’ve never seen this on another show or from another band and I’ll probably never feel this way again. Sounds exaggerated but I’m writing this one week after the events so be sure it isn’t temporary excitement but an objective interpretation of what happened.

In the morning of April 6 we left Sofia and headed for Budapest where was the first show. We arrived early in the afternoon full with energy despite the long and tiring trip. We took a walk in the center of the town and no matter all the beauty, calmness and nice girls there, our hearts were leading us to Durer Kert Club. We got there one hour earlier to get used to the ambience and relax a little bit. We immediately realized the show will have over an hour delay. During this time we had the chance to meet few people we were expecting - Bence & Meli, our host Csontee and the great dudes from I Drink Milk. Big ups for them and for the rest of the positive kids we met. So about the show. The local band Zero Mentality played really well but I couldn’t pay them the deserved attention as I was thinking only about the fact I’m going to see BANE. To Kill got on the stage with a guest second guitarist because the original player was in the hospital with his girlfriend who was recovering after a road accident. We hope she’s fine now! To Kill made a great show, good music, good attitude and good words. They are a band completely dedicated to the attitude towards animals, animal rights, liberation and of course against people’s primitive feeding habits.

“This is my therapy. You breath life into me. My only sanity. Within these walls is where I’m free.” These words marked the beginning of the BANE set. After these first words everyone were on the stage singing with Bedard! A true 100% hardcore show. The atmosphere changed right after the first chord. The kids in the club became more, the smiles wouldn’t fall off their faces. Every track was boiling the audience until its limits. Endless stagediving, headwalking and circle pit. No beatdown shits, no pseudo aggressive attitude of fat and complexed pussies, no fucking ridiculous pseudo violence. Bane played some of our favourite songs - Swan Song, My Therapy, Ali, Superhero, Can We etc. Without exaggerating I can tell this was the greatest show in my life! For the kids from Budapest it may sound too much but they are seeing BANE two times a year and the big cities with lots of shows (where BANE also play) are close and easy to travel to. After the show we went to Csontee’s home to have a rest and on the next morning we started the tough trip to Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

And hell it was really a tough trip. Instead of four hours, we traveled ten! Fortunately we easily found the place and we took a walk around. In front of the club a crowd had already started to gather, this is why we decided to join it. The show was arranged by the local DIY promoter Paul. He was a great dude. Thanks for the vegan food and the attention! It was awesome!

The gig started without the previously announced two English bands which had an accident with their car and couldn’t come. However the local crust punks Pavillion 32 played for the insane audience and were enjoying solid support. I’m not much of a crust fan, this is why I can’t neither deeply analyze or appreciate their performance. If they had played only a few songs I’d like them more but I was quickly bored. And here comes the surprise. To Kill had quite a lot of fans here in Romania. Everyone knew their lyrics and were totally enjoying their set. I actually started to appreciate and enjoy their style too. However we all had gathered for BANE. They played quite a different set which didn’t include some of their most powerful songs. The experience was darkened somehow by technical issues. Bedard’s mic was not working 60% of the time. It was really annoying. Another problem were the drums… Despite all problems it was still a great show with a bunch of psychos on stage totally making music from their hearts!

A quick goodbye and again in the car. Heading towards Sofia there were 800kms of almost no highways, only Balkan roads with a lot of goddamn trucks.

xAngelx about the show in Bulgaria:

I’m a huge fan of metallic, vegan hardcore bands so I went to the To Kill/BANE live thinking I was mostly a To Kill fan. This is an important remark to show you I’m really objective in my evaluation of what happened on that Wednesday in Swingin Hall Club, Sofia, Bulgaria. The night started with the usual friend gatherings and meetings in front of the club. We were not more than thirty people waiting in front of the place. We were all psyched if we were going to be all of the audience, not that we wouldn’t be able to make the place as it had been devastated by an horde of orcs. But still what kind of fucked up country we are if people are paying crazy money to see paralyzed dinosaurs like Agnostic Front or Biohazard and are not coming to see one of the most powerful hardcore bands ever! Fortunately the show was delayed and completely in Bulgarian style people started arriving with 30, 40 minutes delay. In the end let’s say we were enough to make this place hardcore enough! So BANE and To Kill finally arrived, unpacked their equipment and merch and after an hour we entered the club to see probably the greatest gig Swinging Hall Club will ever witness!

The show started with Brothers In Blood, tight and fast they usually make the audience boil but this time being the first band didn’t save even them from playing in front of one, two people who were really enjoying and singing with them. Now I understand what the words “I couldn’t appreciate their performance because I was waiting for BANE” mean. Then To Kill got on stage. I think there weren’t any people familiar with their songs, however it was really nice seeing a band so dedicated to the vegan straight edge lifestyle. And their music is really not a cliche so I think next time when they are in Bulgaria more people will be moshing with To Kill! AND THEN THEY CAME…

BANE were filling the stage as none of the other hardcore bands I’ve ever seen. A quick adjustment of the instruments and they started. The ambience completely changed. Right after the start of the first song Swinging Hall turned into HELL! Stagediving, pile ups and on every mouth I could see the words Bedard was singing, on every face I could see the smile provoked by the positive message BANE’s music is caring and spreading! I remember clearly what was happening until I heard the first words of “Can We Start Again” after it everything that is in my mind are images of blurry, happy faces and the sound of music coming right from the hearts of the people from BANE. One thing I can tell for sure. If you haven’t seen BANE live you can’t actually know what the words hardcore and straight edge stand for!

xDanchox:

The best show ever in Bulgaria!!!!

First of all who are the people behind Kingdom, how, when and why all this began?
Davin: Kingdom started in spring of 2006, with myself, Ben (our original drummer), and a couple other kids who have since left the band. We’re gone through a lot of member changes and I won’t bore you with the details, so I’ll just say that the current line up is myself, Dave (my best friend/our crucial guitar player), and Pierce (another great friend and wicked bassist). Ben left the band last year and now plays in a band called Brave Young, but still helps out with Kingdom (he helped write the new record and also recorded drums)

The reason we started Kingdom was because when Ben and I met like 5 or 6 years ago, we got talking about how while we were both vegan and straight edge kids, we didn’t like the sound of most modern vegan straight edge bands. We wanted to start a band with “mid 90’s” ideals (veganism, straight edge, a strong lean toward radical politics) that didn’t sound like it was out of the mid 90’s. So we took influence of course from old bands (Warzone, Buried Alive, early Hatebreed) but also more modern bands like Madball, No warning, and Nile.

What is the result of your presence in the sxe scene for these 2, 3 years? Do you feel all sacrifices are worth the effort, do you meet support of the kids? Do you feel you’re are changing something?
Davin: We have definitely been supported well both here and in Europe since we’ve been around, and we appreciate the shit out of that. And of course it’s worth it! Even just for the fun we have- playing the music we love and saying the things we want to say, it’s worth it. But I do think that we’ve been able to reach a few people here and there, and inspire people to make positive changes in their lives (whether it be to stop doing drugs, or stop eating meat, or just have a little more self confidence) and that, to me, has made every bowl of ramen and hard, cold floor we sleep on more than worth it.

Your new records is scheduled for 31 of March, what people should expect from it?
Dave: It’s still the same band, as Davin already said Ben helped us write songs for it, however it was my first time writing songs with the band so I brought in some heavier more Crowbar or Sepultura influenced stuff. It’s not metal, by any means, it’s still hardcore. Lyrically, there’s a lot of great topics that Davin has touched on, aside from of course being Straight Edge or going Vegan: the evils of consumerism, double standards concerning women and sex in society, how humans are a plague to the earth and should stop breeding, and triumphant songs about being exiled from a stale society! The vocals are also much heavier, deeper, and more intense. Also there’s a wide range of voices she uses. Pierce brought in some great punk rock style bass lines to some of the songs, as well. Overall, I think fans of Kingdom will still like it, and people who like hardcore of all kinds will have something to like here and hopefully we gain some new supporters.

You’ve scheduled a god damn great tour from March to August, and you’re playing almost all the time and almost everyday! Is this the first time you’re doing such an immense tour because damn it’s gonna be a good and rough one!
Davin: Hahaha yeah we like to keep busy. We’ve actually been touring like this since we’ve been a band. Staying put is boring and playing is fun, so it only makes sense that we live on the road. We had booked a 2 month full US tour before we had even played a single show, had a demo out, OR had a bass player. We’re real excited for our 2 month European tour this summer (with Dead Vows in July, and Rhinoceros in August), hopefully we’ll see you there!

So thanks in advance for the attention! We hope on Jul 20 we’ll meet you and see your live in Bulgaria and in full force!!! And we also hope will see a Kingdom release on a vinyl soon

I finally got my I Drink Milk package which includes Rearranged Demo 2008, Clearsight Demo 2008 and I Drink Milk Fanzine #3. I’m so psyched that I can’t wait to listen to the tapes and I will review them right now. I have the songs in mp3 so I won’t lose more time to write about these releases. Let’s start with Clearsight.

To our regret this amazing band from Kiev doesn’t exist anymore. Due to some personal reasons the guys from Clearsight decided not to play. But for our luck there are Still (Odessa) with members of Clearsight and some other projects which will be announced soon. Let’s focuse on this release. This is the remixed version of demo CD with a bonus Alone In A Crowd cover song. Very nice printed insert and fully ripped off Straight Ahead cover design. The tape is colored in green and it looks rad. Personally when I listen to Clearsight I can hear a lot of Ten Yard Fight and Straight Ahead influence. This is 100% youth crew style with short and fast songs and powerful singalongs. And although the quality of the sound is not very good this is one of the best bands coming from Ukraine. Give it a try.

Rearranged comes from Moscow, Russia. This great country is known with its powerful neo-nazi armies and good hardcore bands. And red square of course. Rearranged is one of the newest and one of the best bands (together with Ray, Cut’n'Run and What We Feel) from this part of the world. This tape has two versions. IDM version is hand-numbered out of 100. And my copy comes with IDM Fanzine#3 and obviously is one of the last. Numbered 91/100. So don’t think much, get a copy right now.

The sound of this tape is with good quality and the songs in it are killer. Real blast. These pals play music such as my favorite Uniform Choice and Youth of Today. They sing in english and play fast core with melodic parts and great lyrics.

This is the same tape but out of 150. It is Brainwreck Records release. My copy is 76/150. The same band, the same tape, the same sound. Blast.

And because of the fact that we are called Vinyl Edge we must finish with something released on vinyl. This is released on Positive and Focused Records and is out of 250 black copies. This is ninth P&F release. More pressing info: 30 pieces on black wax with pre-order cover. This version only comes with cd. And one very cool decision which we can call “friend press” is this box-set limited to 10. It includes: 

1 x testpress 7inch with yellow cover /10
1 x pre-order 7inch + cd
1 x Regular 7inch
1 x limited cd /10
1 x limited tape /10
1 x limited USB-card /10

Box-sets are handnumbered and stamped.

Golden X are an Austrian youth crew band and damn they’re really carrying that thing from back in the days in their music. These mates sent us their EP but all the problems that could happen to zine makers actually happened. From broken gramophones to absolute lack of time for writing the detailed review this INSANE vinyl deserves. First of all we like to mention that the artwork is awesome, oldschool enough, symbolic enough and what’s most important a great fun! And this goes for the music too. All tracks Golden X recorded are a god damn punch in the face of everything bad and an anthem to everyone that care about their lives and want to have a meaningful existense. Lyrics with not even a piece of pointless, fake and modern hatred, only a true message for you to think about. We don’t want to spoil the pleasure of listening and discovering all amazing things about the record but there’s something really special about it! It is under track number 6 and under the name of ‘Wizards and Warriors’. After all these times we’ve listened to the vinyl we still don’t have enough words to describe how great this track is. We won’t reveal anything more, just buy the record, we really can’t think of a better end of an album than this. We hope we’ll be hearing a lot more about Golden X in the near future! We hope their music will really stay FOREVER YOUNG!

Here is an announcement for the upcoming The First Step - What We Know Sessions 7″ pre-orders:

I just got off the phone with the pressing plant. The First Step- What We Know Sessions 7” should be pressed sometime this week, which means I should have the records next week. I’m still waiting on covers, so it might be another 2 weeks before they ship. I have a ton of orders waiting to go out, so it will take me a little time to pack and mail everyone’s records. If you were part of the first 100 orders, you will get the most limited color. I printed the orders out as they came in, and I have the first 100 in a separate pile. If you don’t get that, the rest of the press is still pretty limited, and the music is the same on all copies. Again, it will take me a little time to send everything out, please be patient!!! I’ve been doing the label for years; no one is getting ripped off.

In other news, the RIGHT IDEA record is on its way to the plant. This was originally released as a 12” on REACT! Records, and quickly sold out. REACT! only does one press of 1000 records, so Bottled Up was asked to repress it. I am stoked to have the chance to put this out. I will not begin taking pre-orders for this until after I have started to ship the TFS records. I will be posting a mp3 from this record on the Bottled Up myspace this week.

I still have copies of the IN STRIDE, CRUMBLER, EFFORTS MADE, and LEARN records available. Questions, comments, concerns feel free to email me starttodayzineA​ThotmailDOTcom.​

I ordered one of the copies in the first day of the pre-orders so I must have the most limited EP! The other copy I ordered later so everything should be ok. Can’t wait!

P.S. Two important facts about ON and CONTROL 7″ pre-orders:

Pre-Orders should ship in the next 2-3 weeks.

We are going to be in Europe in September.

I’m a loser. Mike got his package and there were three copies - one on black, one on white and one on red. Marcus didn’t have such great success with his three copies. He didn’t get red copy, but he is now owner of one very limited “transition” white version of this EP. Even Brian who picked up only one copy of this record received it on white. And what about me? I ordered four copies and I was almost sure I will have all of the colors. But finally when I got my package I saw two “normal” black and two “normal” white. No red, no “transition” white or black. Nothing!

But actually this is not a big deal. I will try to live with it. I won’t give up. The main thing is that MINDSET rules hard and I truly believe it will have a great future and success.

Ok, lets finish with one nice picture that I made a few months ago. The difference between CANON Rebel XTi (on the last photo) and CANON Powershot A400 (first two photos) is obvious. Enjoy.