American homocore band Limp Wrist accents the “hard” in hardcore
by JOHNSON CUMMINS Taken from the Montreal Mirror
One of the granddaddies of hardcore punk rock, the late Darby Crash of L.A.’s the Germs, was forced to hide the fact he was gay from the homophobic and brutally violent Huntington Beach crowd. Things were even worse for the queer punk in the macho, street-thug New York crowd or the jock-oriented straight-edge scene in Boston.
Perhaps the rampant homophobia was a product of utter denial— consider hardcore’s almost entirely male audience of shirtless, sweaty skinheads all pig-piling on top of each other or moshing arm and arm, which of course looked gayer then Rip Taylor holding a leather picnic basket.
One of my favorite bands lately has been Against Me!The Onion AV Club has posted a great interview with Tom Gabel from Against Me! where he discusses everything from fan pressure, their major label, and Butch Vig. I think Tom Gabel is pretty cute too.
AVC: Was there any pressure from Sire to make things sound a certain way?
TG: None whatsoever. Really, one of the benefits of working with Butch was getting that pressure off us. Who’s going to question Butch Vig? They’re not going to come in and tell him, “Hey, you have to do this.” He’s fucking Butch Vig. [Laughs.]
I’ve opened up commenting to anyone who visits the site, not just registered users. After many e-mails from users who DON’T want to register but want leave their two cents.
So you better leave comments or I’ll close it up in a month to keep out the spammers.
Organizers send out save-the-date e-mail messages and announce the location one day before an event to catch the site and its patrons off guard. Sometimes there is a parting of the sea, with all the gay men on one side and the straight patrons on the other. Sometimes the patrons look annoyed; sometimes they offer warm welcomes.
“They’re very welcome here,” said Sarah Stebbings, a bartender at Cock ’n Bull Pub, a British bar in Santa Monica, which was invaded by the group last January. “They packed the place out.”
Jorge Castillo, 36, an arts professor, said that the guerrilla concept is not for everyone. Mr. Castillo said it challenges gay men who suffer from “heterophobia.”
“A lot of gay guys are scared” to get out of their comfort zone, he said. “They think people are going to judge them.”
Check out the aritcle here. Unfortunately you’ll have to go through the free sign-up process, but it’s not too painful.
Alright, I’ll be honest. When I saw the name ‘Tough Tough Skin’ and actually heard the music they play I was totally thrown off. It’s not your bottle to the head oi-punk, but instead a mix of boarderline pop-punk and lo-fi garage rock. But I’ve got to say, I’m totally into this!
This queercore quartet hails from Minnieapolis and say they want to take queercore in a new direction. I’m not sure that they’re doing that exactly, but they’re definately putting a sick twist on what they’ve got. And I full heartedly recommend everyone check these cats out.
There are times that I’ve heard so much about a band and how great they are that I have develop a resistance to them. Not their music, but my willingness to give them a shot. And it’s not for any good reason either, I just have an apprehension that the music won’t be able to match the hype and I get put off. i did this to Wilco, I did it with AFI, and I did it to Mika Miko.
AfterElton.com has an interesting interview with Ed Droste of current buzz worthy indie rockers Grizzly Bear.
Along with Grizzly Bear, artists such as Chris Garneau, Joel Gibb of The Hidden Cameras and Antony of Antony and the Johnsons are breaking the gay male musician mold.
ED : I’m surprised you didn’t mention Final Fantasy or Patrick Wolf, and the lead singer from Deerhunter, Bradford Cox.
Those are other good examples. But you’re all essentially breaking the mold, or reinventing it, if you will.
ED : What is the mold? Are you going to use Rufus [Wainwright] as an example? [laughs]
Check out AfterElton.com for an interesting article on musicians who straddle and cross over the fence of sexual ambiguity.
Pop/punk band Imperial Teen offers fans numerous gay-themed songs and includes two gay members: keyboardist/singer Roddy Bottum and vocalist Will Schwartz. Bottum came out publicly way back in 1993. At the time he was the only gay member in the artsy, eccentric Faith No More, a funk/rock band noted for button-pushing and outlandish behavior. “I think the fact that the keyboard player was gay played into that nicely,” Bottum told Decibal Magazine. “The gay/straight issue wasn’t so important.”
In 1994 Bob Mould was outed, rather unceremoniously, by several gay publications. It adversely affected some of his core fan base. “ Professionally, I felt it immediately,” he told Harp Magazine in 2005. “Radio stations in the South reacted poorly.”
There’s nothing I love more then the somewhat recent trend in rock where it’s acceptable for men to again sport facial hair. Below I’ve compiled a list of my Top Five Furry Faces In Rock (today).
5. Eugene Hütz - Gogol Bordello
This Ukraine-to-US import may sport a mustache that makes him look like a pedophile, but don’t let his bushy upper-lip put you off. If you ever see him perform you’ll get taken in by his strange sex appeal and energy. It’s as if you’re witnessing a 70s porn star coked out of his mind flail about on stage to a live band. So basically in a word: hot.
4. Scott Ian - Anthrax
This heavy metal playing VH1-pop-culture-guru sports a massive goatee you rarely get to see (unless you have one yourself). Accented by his shaved head, this chin bush looks as if it can grow out to about a foot. Talk about a mouthful.
3. Jesse Hughes - Eagles Of Death Metal
Alright, this guy has major sex appeal for me (nevermind he used to be a speechwriter for the Republican Party). Usually sporting a ’stache, he looks like that kind of guy that you’d see at a bar. You know, you’d eye each other at first then at the right moment he’d come up and offer to buy you a beer. Next thing you know you’re in the backseat of his car trying to get your pants back on. He says he’ll give you a call, but you know he won’t. You’re just glad you had a night with the ’stache.
2. Zakk Wylde - Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne
Like a biker fantasy come to life, this leather-clad long-haired full-beard donning mammoth of a man is more than brawn, he’s a musical genius. His recent tribute to “Dimebag” Darrel proved that metal men have feelings too, and that playing a piano concerto can still be pretty rocking.
1. Andrew Seward - Against Me
Okay, I’ll be honest. I just have a big fan-crush on this guy. I mean, if I were the creepy sort of guy I’d say things like we were practically the same person. Like, he plays bass and I play bass. He has a beard, and I have a beard. He has tattoos and I love tattoos. He’s in a national touring band with a new album out in stores, and I don’t have that album yet. I’m just saying.
Nancy Fullforce is a relatively new band. When did you form?
The band came together after the last band I was in, KILLRADIO, disbanded a year or so ago. The drummer, Duke, and I always got along really well and had very similar interests in music. We both fans of bands like THE BRONX, MURDER CITY DEVILS, ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, etc… so when I started writing new songs and coming up with the idea of a new band, he was the first person that came to mind to ask about working on it all with. The other guys in the band, JAKE CHAOS and ARMAND, have been friends of mine for years so they came to mind right away when looking for musicians to do the shows with.
Previously, you were involved in the bands KillRadio and The Confused. What was your background in music before those bands?
I have grown up playing guitar and being involved in music since a kid. I had played in the school band in middle school. It didn’t last long though cause I was using a flying V guitar and playing through the keyboardist’s amp whom I’d drown out in volume constantly. So I ended up leaving that to start a band and play for friends after school while in high school. It wasn’t until I moved to San Diego as a teenager that I joined a couple bands and started doing real gigs. Other than playing music, I’ve been involved in music photography and journalism in the past. I’ve done work for SKRATCH, BIG WHEEL, VICE and other random web press. I never thought I was that great at any of that though, it was all just an excuse to get into shows for free and meet the bands I enjoyed.
One of the granddaddies of hardcore punk rock, the late Darby Crash of L.A.’s the Germs, was forced to hide the fact he was gay from the homophobic and brutally violent Huntington Beach crowd. Things were even worse for the queer punk in the macho, street-thug New York crowd or the jock-oriented straight-edge scene in Boston.
Alright, I’ll be honest. When I saw the name ‘Tough Tough Skin’ and actually heard the music they play I was totally thrown off. It’s not your bottle to the head oi-punk, but instead a mix of boarderline pop-punk and lo-fi garage rock. But I’ve got to say, I’m totally into this!
There are times that I’ve heard so much about a band and how great they are that I have develop a resistance to them. Not their music, but my willingness to give them a shot. And it’s not for any good reason either, I just have an apprehension that the music won’t be able to match the hype and I get put off. i did this to Wilco, I did it with AFI, and I did it to Mika Miko.
5. Eugene Hütz - 
4. Scott Ian - 
3. Jesse Hughes - 
2. Zakk Wylde - 
1. Andrew Seward - 
By Devin Tait of Shitting Glitter
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