Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one scorcher of a playlist curated by influential artists, musicians, and institutions.
As you slide through your weekend maneuver, let the playlist of NYHC legends Sheer Terror take you on an unexpected musical voyage which is sure to give you enough soul to battle any of those lingering night-time doubts.
Get amongst it, world.
Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond
L’Amour was one of the first punk bands to come out of Richmond, Virginia. Now, nearly forty years later, a collection of the band’s recordings is being released on local label Beach Impediment Records.
Look to the Artist: 1978 – 1981 is an anthology that includes the band’s 1979 single as well as recordings from the same studio session and exclusive demo tracks. The B-side of the record is a complete live set from 1980, and features never-before-heard songs that didn’t make it onto a studio recording.
Two of the band’s members, Tom Applegate and Dave Stover, still live in Richmond. The two met in high school and bonded over their shared love of Rolling Stones and Kinks records.
“You walk in his room and he’s playing [Rolling Stones 1968 live album] Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out on the record player,” Applegate said, “And then on his wall, ceiling-to-floor, there were black and white photographs of surfers, and the record collection matched mine exactly. That was a moment.”
The pair attended Virginia Commonwealth University in the mid- to late-70s at the beginning of the punk explosion. The Clash, Patti Smith, and The Heartbreakers had a huge impact on them, as did rock and roll magazines like Creem and New York Rocker.
Applegate and Stover founded L’Amour in 1978 and helped create Richmond’s first punk scene, ushering in a cultural movement that still exists in the city today.
The band released their sole single in 1979. It was the first release on Applegate’s Zero Degree imprint, which went on to issue now legendary records by early Richmond punk bands like White Cross, Beex, and The Prevaricators.
“It was wild being a first generation punk band,” Applegate said. “It wasn’t just us, there were so many people working on the scene in so many different ways, and that’s how it grew. All of a sudden, it became a community.”
In addition to playing locally, the band also toured throughout the region between 1978 and 1980, but they were never signed to a major label. After a few lineup changes, L’Amour broke up and the members moved on to new projects.
Mark Shubert, owner and operator of Beach Impediment Records, came across a sleeveless copy of L’Amour’s single in 2010. Shubert is a longtime fan of Zero Degree Records, and cites White Cross’s 1982 EP Fascist as one of the best U.S. hardcore records of all time.
“I randomly discovered the single,” he said. “I’ve had it for years now, and I just thought it was really cool.”
Beach Impediment is well-known in the world of DIY punk and hardcore, and has been involved in several archival projects since the label started in 2011. It’s inaugural release was a reissue of an EP by Front Line, an early 80s hardcore punk band from Virginia Beach.
Shubert said he met Applegate by chance at a monster truck rally several years ago, and broached the idea of an archival collection. It turned out that Applegate and Stover had held on to the original tape reels from L’Amour’s recording sessions, as well as a sizable stash of live recordings, photographs, and flyers from the era.
“I was really excited with how it all came together because, you know, not only am I a fanatic for punk music, but as a person who works in the public history field, it was such a thrill going through their archives,” said Shubert.
Look to the Artist: 1978 – 1981 provides a rare glimpse of the early years of Richmond punk rock, as first-wave bands laid the foundation for the DIY punk and metal scenes that were to come. It’s as much an anthology of the band as it is an artifact of the era.
After L’Amour, Applegate went on to join Beex with his future wife, Christine Gibson, and Stover started The Prevaricators. Though Gibson has since passed away, Beex is active in the punk scene in Richmond today, and sporadically releases new music.
Applegate still speaks nostalgically about his formative years playing in L’Amour, and the early days of DIY punk.
“It was a gift to have the opportunity to play rock and roll,” he said. “And that’s about as much religion as I have. It’s my mantra.”
Physical copies of Look to the Artist: 1978 – 1981 will be available this Friday via Beach Impediment’s webstore.
Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond
Vinyl Conflict record shop has unveiled plans for a locals-only hip hop label. Bobby Egger, owner and operator of Vinyl Conflict, debuted Fantastic Damage Records in early October following several successful hip-hop releases on the shop label.
The first two releases on Fantastic Damage will be cassette reissues of “Vices” (2013) and “Triflin” (2015) by local hip-hop artist Nickelus F, and will be available in time for Nickelus F’s upcoming tour with Tommy Wright III.
Vinyl Conflict specializes in punk, metal, and hardcore records, but the label’s roster has recently expanded to include several local hip-hop artists. Egger said that the success of those releases encouraged him to start the new label.
“People have been really excited about it,” he said. “It’s been really pushing me to look into future releases.”
Earlier this year, Vinyl Conflict Records released a vinyl edition of Nickelus F’s 2018 album “Stuck,” and a cassette version of “Flick your tongue against your teeth” by Bedwetter, alias of Richmond artist Lil Ugly Mane.
“Obviously the first couple releases I had the privilege of putting out had really strong reactions,” Egger said.
Fantastic Damage will function much like Vinyl Conflict records. It’s a DIY label, meaning that the record label and artist work together to promote the record and set up tour dates. The DIY model has been the modus operandi for punk and hardcore labels since the 80s, but it’s a relatively new idea in the world of hip-hop.
“I’m kinda showing them how the DIY label works and I’m actually finding out that a lot of these dudes have released records for themselves but they didn’t have the network to distribute it,” Egger said. “I think the DIY deal is very good deal for artists, especially if you’re not on that next level yet.”
The combination of hardcore and hip-hop has had sporadic success at both the national and underground level, but that hasn’t necessarily been the case in Richmond. Yet both scenes have up-and-coming, well-known artists in their ranks.
“The two scenes aren’t very aware of each other,” said Egger, “but I think that there’s a certain level of interest on both sides that hasn’t been tapped into.”
Several mixed bill concerts featuring local Richmond hardcore bands playing alongside hip-hop artists like Lil Ugly Mane, Nickelus F, and Mutant Academy have created some crossover buzz in the city.
Egger, a long-time fan of hip hop, said that the energy and enthusiasm of those shows were pivotal in his decision to start the new label.
“I just want to work with artists who I find interesting that don’t have a deal yet,” he said. “I think bringing stuff to the physical format is only going to make Richmond seem bigger on the music map.”
Catch up with Vinyl Conflict and follow more
Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one scorcher of a playlist curated by influential artists, musicians, and institutions. This weekend as you scour the four corners of the Commonwealth for the perfect dark congregation, let metallic hardcore legends Converge be your Northstar with a play list that is as powerful as it is manifold; a masterwork of musical overtures that is perfect for any weekend requirements.
Get to work Virginia.
*Cover photo by Reid Haithcock
Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond
NYCHC legends Sheer Terror have just taken the Proud Boys founder, Gavin McInnes, down a proverbial notch. In a Facebook post from Monday, Sheer Terror singer Paul Bearer wrote on the band’s page:
“It’s been brought to our attention that Gavin McInnes was speaking favorably about us on his podcast… Just to make things as clear as possible so there is no mistaking where we stand: ‘PROUD BOYS’ ARE NOT WELCOME HERE, OR ANYWHERE WE MIGHT BE.’”
McInnes, a former founder of VICE, has been an influential figure in the alt-right community. His brand of western identity politics and chauvinism has been on the forefront of a contemporary white nationalist movement that uses coded language to mask an agenda, which according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “maintain[s] affiliations with known extremists.” This includes known anti-Muslim and anti-immigration groups.
McInnes was quoted in June of this year saying, “It’s such a rape culture with these immigrants, I don’t even think these women see it as rape. They see it as just like having a teeth [sic] pulled. ‘It’s a Monday. I don’t really enjoy it,’ but that’s what you do. I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t have the same trauma as it would for a middle-class white girl in the suburbs because it’s so entrenched into their culture.”
His group, known simply as the Proud Boys, proclaim that they are “proud Western chauvinists” and were present in support of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017. The organizer of Unite the Right, Jason Kessler, was seen in a Periscope video being jumped into a Proud Boys group in June of the same year. The are identifiable by their black and yellow Fred Perry shirts and have chapters in the UK, Australia, and Canada.
Sheer Terror, a staple of New York City Hardcore in the 80s and 90s, has maintained a consistent following since then with its brand of tough guy hardcore, also known for its humor, irony, and a pervasive sarcasm. The band’s Ugly and Proud remains one of the staples of hardcore music 21 years after its release.
RVA Mag caught up with singer Paul Bearer about the band’s post and how white nationalist groups have been touting their love for punk and hardcore bands.
“They must not be listening to the lyrics to some of these bands. I can’t speak for all of them,” Bearer said. “The whole ‘Conservatism Is The New Punk’ thought is a fucking travesty, and a sad joke. I don’t want to hear about how you’ve ‘grown up, and have kids and a mortgage.’ You don’t eat shit just because the toilet’s closer than the fridge.”
And it is precisely Bearer’s humor and sarcasm that was on display in the heated Facebook exchange, which has now been shared 278 times with over 385 comments. More so, since self-identified members of the Proud Boys have been quick to defend their eponymous leader on the thread. One commenter attempted to call out Bearer for “virtue signaling,” while simultaneously referring to the Proud Boys as a “multi-racial men’s club.” Another commenter said, “Sheer Terror, I suppose you support Socialism and the destruction of American principles and family values too? That’s pretty American these days.”
As the back and forth picked up momentum, Bearer finally said what everyone knows, “…they imply racism. Without actually calling it ‘racism’.”
He then went on to tell the Proud Boy defenders, “Fuck you where you breathe [sic] with your smarmy comebacks. You want nothing to do with me? Then, walk son.”
The response was a classic retort, which echoes one of their classic songs, “I Spoiler (Bulldog Edition),” where mid-song, he tells someone to fuck off by saying,”Why don’t you hightail your ass back to Toronto, you lousy Canadian scumbag.”
Not long after he changed tactics, he offered to put Proud Boys and their defenders on the guest list to their next show. “I take it all back. Proud Boys are VERY welcome to come see us play,” Bearer said. “Let’s see how that works out for you,OK? Is that fair? Come run your mouths. Please. I’ll even put you on the guest list. OK? Is that cool? I personally invite you to any show that we’re playing. Don’t disappoint me, now…”
While Bearer makes it clear that he is not necessarily down with “AntiFA,” he supports anti-fascism overall, saying, “I stand with and for the working men & women, the downtrodden, the voiceless, the underdog, the AMERICAN PEOPLE, no matter what color, creed, or religion,” proving once and for all, old hardcore dudes can still kick it with the best of them.
Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond
Last Friday and Saturday nights saw the 12th Annual United Blood Festival take over The Canal Club in Shockoe Bottom. United Blood is a hardcore fest, showcasing an offshoot of punk rock known as hardcore due to its heavier, more metallic sound, its tough, no-frills presentation, and its street-level lyrical realism. Beginning in various American cities at the dawn of the 80s, hardcore has established a strong tradition in the intervening decades, and this year’s edition of United Blood celebrated that tradition with performances from established legends of the scene, while also presenting many of the scene’s best new bands.
The big attraction for many this year was the thrill of reunion sets from two celebrated bands from the early 2000s. While people were excited about reunions from bands that were formed nearly 20 years after the dawn of this underground subgenre; hardcore remains a very youth-oriented movement even today, and it’s no surprise that many attendees would be seeing both Count Me Out and Shark Attack for the first time.
Richmond locals Count Me Out were a particularly powerful draw for locals of all ages, whether they wanted to relive their teenage years or get a dose of the sounds of their hometown that they’d been born too late to catch the first time. The two 12-hour days of music had a lot of other inducements to offer, from NYHC legends Madball and Connecticut vets Death Threat to current bands putting new twists on the genre, including Turnstile and Twitching Tongues, among others.
The website where tickets were available for purchase warned buyers to “ENTER AT OWN RISK” in bold capital letters, and one glance at the frenetic dance-floor antics on display throughout the festival was enough to demonstrate the aptness of such a warning. As befits the music, hardcore dancing is an aggressive, intense display of controlled violence — fists and feet fly as some audience members go charging through the crowd at full speed and others dive from the stage onto the upraised arms of the crowd.
However, despite the intensity of this physical expression, there’s a sense of togetherness and unity that unites the audience, which can be seen in the way those who trip and fall in the pit are immediately picked up and placed back on their feet by those around them. It’s also on display in front of the stage, where fans singing along to the choruses of their favorite songs are often given a chance to sing along into the mic by band members who see themselves not as rock stars but as peers.
While it may be inscrutable to outsiders, the initiated tend to think of the hardcore scene as a family — one that feels more open and accepting than mainstream society and even their biological families. When they’re here and this music plays, they are at home; they are together as one. United Blood.
Here are some of the best photos from United Blood XII:
Photos by Branden Wilson. Words by Marilyn Drew Necci
Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond
