Romania - Timisoara

From what I know I can tell you that there was a strong punk and also an alternative scene, punk not being the only one, so there was diversity. One festival that is in it’s 13th edition this year and can prove this diversity is the Underground Festival which is one of the most important and biggest events of this kind from the central and east of Europe. With lots of bands of different genres.

Moving on to an important place that shaped the scene here in Timisoara and I’m gonna talk about that is the cultural center INCA (International Network of Contemporary Artisans). This place started of in 2002 and has hosted 170 shows and other cultural actions.

Bands like:

Vitamin x (Netherlands)
The Tangled Lines (Germany)
Aktivna Propaganda (Slovenia)
The Spectacle (Norway)
Czoglosz (USA)
Determination (Austria)
Daughters of Reality (Germany)
Zegota (USA)
Leadershit (Spain)
No Rest (Brazil)
See You in Hell (Czech Rep)
Tackleberry (Germany)
Questions (Brazil)

...and many more.

But INCA was also the place where the Romanian d.i.y. bands got to sing. Some of them are gone, but some of them still live.

Bands like:

Pavilionul 32

Aku



Seeds of Liberation RIP

Nihilistic



Calibru’49



Repugna ( no myspace, keepin it tru)

The Mohawks RIP



Noman'sband



Los Pogos



Dance Trauma



In 2007, sadly this place was closed because the rental contract expired. But this wasn’t the end of things...



Gluga Negara aka Black Hood Society was still active in putting up shows, but everything was done in different venues. So festivals like these didn't stop:

Independent Voices



Trash Fest



No Border Fest


Underground Fest




After some time of changing venues, there came a time when we got sick and tired of having to deal with shitty owners and other problems that came along. So everybody needed a new INCA. After some heavy searching, there was a place found in a ex factory. Yeah, everything comes with a price here, so there was a price for the rent set up and after that we found it a name, we named it Atelier D.I.Y.( D.I.Y. Workshop).


Actually this place was set out to be rehearsal room for the band Pavilionul 32 , but since you have a place why not do stuff in it, like shows and other d.i.y. cultural activities. But of course with new places come new responsibilities. So there where some set of do’s and don’ts. We also put up our distro with a lot merch for sale. Some vinyls, cds, t-shirts, patches, also we made a small library with books from every domain and a freeshop. And with all the crew on board we started off the big “adventure” aaaarrrrgggh!!! Ha ha!!!

To name some bands that have played here at Atelier D.I.Y. :

Katma (Serbia)
Rivers Run Dry (Hungary)
Boredom (Austria)
This Routine is Hell (Netherlands)
Nihil Baxter (Germany)
Reflections of internal Rain (Serbia)
Bob Rooney (Germany)
Despite Everything (Greece)
Drip of Lies (Poland)

...and others.

To note and very important, is the fact that the so called new hope of the Romanian scene now, the band Stuck in Rut performed their very first show here.



And we are waiting for another hope of our scene , the band Mediocracy to perform their first show here at Atelier D.I.Y.



So as I said some bands are long gone but some still live on or just get born, full with anger, passion and pain of this everyday fucked up life.

Also check out bands like:

Haos



Coins As Portraits



The Bad Days Will End



Semiosis


Artwork: twilight13media

So this would be it about the scene here in Timisoara. And if you are wondering why I don’t know so much about the background of the of the Timisoara scene, it’s because of the simple fact that I’m not from here. I moved here for more or less personal reasons but I always liked the scene here and why not the city. So for me getting involved in this scene was like no question about it.

Hcmorethanmusic?! We say :”FUCK YEAH!!!”

Peace out
x

US - Northern California

I'm from the San Francisco Bay Area. The hardcore scene in the Bay seems to be on fire right now. There are so many good bands coming out of here. Shows are a common thing and there's a few really good venues that I've never had a problem with. I go to a lot of shows, but I don't know many people in the scene, but I do feel a sense of community when everyone is singing along to whoever is on stage that night. The Bay Area is definitely producing some good quality hardcore and it doesn't seem like it's slowing down one bit. :)

Bands that represent the area well? Hmm... I'm going to have to say:

Ceremony



Sabertooth Zombie



Comadre



Grace Alley



Trash Talk



Killing The Dream


...for bands that are still playing.

There's many more though, but I'll just leave it at that for now. :) Although Killing The Dream and Trash Talk are more Sacramento area, it's still Northern California. :)

Zine - Keep It Real

Cover art: Peio

Editorial: "The times are crucial and this entire financial crisis is getting on our nerves, but hardcore/punk music is undoubtedly a really strong outlet, an umbrella that keeps us dry despite the rain.

I may sound poetic but I won't stop shouting that I feel blessed to have found this alternative lifestyle and state of mind. It's an ark in the modern times' cataclysm. A medium to unfold my feelings, filter my frustration and expose my energy. Hardcore has nothing to do with cliches. Positive reinforcement is a useful tool to build a future, don't you think?

I am pessimistic and negative enough so the search for positiveness makes me stronger and wiser every day."


Art: Mitsos Antiviosi

blog
bigcartel
twitter
lastfm

UK copies are available (£2.80 + pp), email me - hcmorethanmusic@googlemail.com

Art - Nabbe

Nabbe myspace


"My artwork is a creative outlet. So no bullshit hidden agenda or subliminal messages for chin-stroking artsy dorks.



Art enhances the product (LP, CD, shirt, whatever...).

When I was a kid growing up, I used to spent hours looking at album-sleeves while listening to the music. To me artwork is an essential aspect to any record. It tells the story, it sucks you in. That's why I despise downloading music.
That's like a microwave dinner. A quick fix. I hate that shit. I need the full package to fully enjoy and experience a record.


My art is about negativity, nihilism and pure violence........And some dolphins and flowers.


The time it takes can range from an hour to a couple of days or even weeks. It all depends on my mood and the time and effort I have to put into it.


Inspiration and ideas? Look around you. Turn on the news. Look over your shoulder and most importantly, look in the fucking mirror."

Art - Joneh

"I'm an art school dropout, and I also play bass in a band called Final Attack.


I've been doing artwork for the past 6-7 years, mostly for local bands. It's only for the past 3 years that I've been doing this stuff internationally...getting my stuff noticed. At first it was because I was promoting my band and it turns out most of the people I come in contact with are interested in the artwork.


One of the first bands I did something for was Ruiner. I made the Raven t-shirt design. I came in contact with them through myspace. They asked me if i could do designs for them. I made the design but they were not really satisfied with the one i made, so they were going to juggle between my design and another artist's design. Knowing this situation, I sacrificed my band's design and submitted it for Ruiner, and turns out that they love it!


Later on I kept doing stuff for overseas bands, such as; Pulling Teeth, Vanguard, Everybody's Enemy, Grave Maker, Nation Afire, Hang The Bastard just to name a few, also still doing artwork for my band and any other local band from my hometown.


As for my artwork style, I use a range of media, such as photography, photoshop, but I also do hand-drawn illustration. Most of them are depending on my mood or depending on the request of the bands. My artworks are inspired by Jacob Bannon, Linas Garsys, Barf, and the all mighty Pushead."


Links :
This is where i post random stuff that interests me - Deprived of Life tumblr
I post some of my artwork here - Congkakulasflickr
Get in touch with me here - www.myspace.com/congkakculas or jonehgood@gmail.com
This is where I post stuff related to me, my band, and local shows - Deprived of Life blogspot
Artwork post - Congkakulas Deviantart
--
Joneh

Czech Republic - Brno (Part 3)

As far as concerts are concerned, there are only few of them in winter-time, but spring/fall is always full, even a few gigs in one week. There ain’t no squats or any similar centre in Brno (but some plans to start an autonomous diy centre here are slowly being made). Most gigs take place in Yacht-club (don’t worry – it’s just a name), which is partly being run by two really nice and open-minded guys. In other cases, various smaller venues and bars are being used, sometimes it works good, sometimes not.


Occasionally there are also small private butchery-gigs in SYIH’s rehearsal room.

Events are being organised here by various “crews” of people. It can be said, that people here are already kind of divided by the “kind of punk/hc” that they prefer, which is not really a happy situation I’d say, unfortunately…

“United Crusties”, that’s people from SEE YOU IN HELL. Shitloads of great and (organization-wise) perfectly managed concerts of bands from both Czech/Slovakia and the whole world – almost exclusively raw and fast hardcore/punk/crust/grind... (at random: 9 SHOCKS TERROR, CONFUSIONE, MIGRA VIOLENTA, VIIMEINEN KOLONNA, FLYBLOWN, TRAGEDY, SICK TERROR, SEVERED HEAD OF STATE, CATHETER, BORN/DEAD, SOCIAL CHAOS, DISTRESS, FxPxOx, HELLSHOCK, THIS HOME IS PREPARED, FRAMTID, CAPITALIST CASUALTIES, MOB 47, HELLBASTARD...).

They also organise the annual “Killed by Brno” festival with only bands from Czech playing. Great event, the 7th year took place last December.



“Loser crew” are partly running more in the musical spheres that I don’t enjoy so much (various melodic punkrocks, indie-emo-HC...), but they have also put on many concerts I really enjoyed (REMAINS OF THE DAY, REQUIEM, RATOS DE PORAO, CHILDREN OF FALL, TOTUUS, ENDSTAND, POISON IDEA...)

We, from F.D. also sometimes do something. So far we have done shows for REIGN OF BOMBS, BLACK STAR RISING and SVARTENBRANDT from Sweden, BOMBENALARM from Germany, DOG SOLDIER and SANCTUM from the USA, KOMATOZ and TED KACZYNSKI from Russia, TOTALICKERS from Spain, JACK, HUMAN ERROR, DOZER.HU and GYALAZAT from Hungary, VASELINE CHILDREN and MLADINA KINA from Croatia/Slovenia, some bands from Finland etc. Recently it’s been just me organising the shows, but they were nice ones – PAVILIONUL 32 from Romania, DISTRESS (Russia), DISKELMÄ (Finland) or AKTIVNA PROPAGANDA (Slovenia).


Also people from MAD PIGS – “Friday Night Kids” (www.fridaynightkids.wz.cz) – are very active in organising shows over here, putting on mostly punk bands like KRUM BUMS, MONSTER SQUAD, OBTRUSIVE, MOUTH SEWN SHUT, WHISKEY REBELS, ANGRY YOUTH, GEWAPEND BETON, ENGLISH DOGS, SICK ON THE BUS, VARUKERS, ANTIDOTE, UNIT 21, NO NAME, TOTAL CHAOS, DESTRUCT or SS-KALIERT. A few weeks ago I went to a show of DRÖMDEAD from Venezuela and it was amazing!


Other groups are “Radiobufera” (radiobufera@sendmail.cz) (mostly melodic punkrock, antifascist oi!, dub…) or “Noise Mafia” (noise, grind, crust, gore…). For shows you might also contact Mirek from Ultima Ratio or Johan from PRUMYSLOVA SMRT, who just moved here from Jihlava (shitrecords@seznam.cz). Oh and a brand new crew are Gatastrofa – an all female crew that started organising DIY shows of various genres - punk, reggae, hip-hop, drum'n'bass, crust, hardcore, electronic music...


As I mentioned before – Brno is no megapolis at all, but that satiety with concerts – syndrome of bigger cities – sometimes occurs here too... great bands, weekend night, huge propagation and still very few people come – but fortunately this is not the rule (you can get a show with 20 people as well as 200, it depends on many factors…). However, thanx to a friendly atmosphere, the fun is usually going on all the time and many bands have already been talking in superlatives after their Brno gigs heh... so there probably is a piece of truth about it.

For most people it is taken for granted that they try their best to give the bands enough money for petrol, to treat them well, to give them (vegan) food, warm sleeping place... Some are also trying to keep the concert-places non-smoking. There are also occasional shows in the villages on the south (contact Adam from EVIDENCE SMRTI through adam.lang@seznam.cz). Recently there have also been occasional shows in Blansko, a small town 20 km North from Brno – get in touch with Radim through brad182@centrum.cz.

Kodl of AGE OF DEATH was doing a nice photo-webzine called Pivo Misto Zbrani (Beer not bombs) with lots of pictures from the local shows. The old website is here. Lots of other photos can be found on the website of SEE YOU IN HELL.

Just recently, several crews organising DIY events in Brno (not only punk/HC, but also other genres) have started a weekly show at the Internet radio of the local university. The show’s called “Dojezd”, it broadcasts each Sunday evening, but it’s only in Czech.

UK - Yorkshire

I only really know about the Leeds and Sheffield scene, so apologies for not writing about other parts of Yorkshire.

In Yorkshire there’s a pretty vibrant scene at the moment. No corny crucial core, just a lot of angry bands. As always, Leeds is the place to be for shows and bands. I’d say the biggest bands from the Leeds area are:

Deal With It the cro-magnon quintet


Rot in Hell the angry old men


Art: Nabbe the Bastard

Other notable bands, all of which play super fast, super angry and super good hardcore. And quite a few of these bands seem to share the same members:

Closure


Art: Sam Layzell

Bonestorm


Mouth


Art: Sam Layzell

SICK-fuckin-O



Moloch



Torn Apart



As far as promoters go in Leeds there’s...



LSHC and Off the Turnbuckle for the true diy shows, along with people just putting on their own things.



For bigger shows there’s...

Slowmotion Promotions



Before Sunrise



There’s also a bunch of people running record labels and stuff:

Grot Records



Thirty Days of Night have started releasing some good stuff lately too.



It’s also probably worth mentioning that ¾ of Fast Point are living in Leeds these days.



40 minutes or so down the road there’s Sheffield, which also has a very vibrant scene, although a very different one to Leeds. As 2009 saw the demise of The Legacy and Cop Out, there aren’t really too many hardcore punk bands around Sheffield other than:

Sports Day who play energetic garage punk in the same vain as Pissed Jeans



Death Job who play fast, thrashy hardcore punk



Grazes who play sort of 90’s influenced hardcore.



Crust punk is a big part of the Sheffield scene with bands such as:

Skiplickers (ex Cop Out)


Art: Jord

Warcrimes


Art: Steve

Cry Havoc


Art: Jen

Jew-Dis



Since the Cricketers Arms closed down, there was a big drought for diy shows in Sheffield and they’ve only just started getting put on again regularly. The main people putting on shows are...

Not Shy of the Diy

Punk innit

Values Here

Ian Capleton

Dead Leg put stuff on occasionally too.

Ian Wiles runs Dead and Gone Records, probably the biggest UK hardcore label at the moment. Although as of May 29th he’s stopping running the label.



Kamikaze Collective also put out good records, although fairly infrequently.

It’s also worth mentioning that AVT Promotions are trying to make Barnsley a hot bed for DIY hardcore punk. So anyone wanting a show, get in touch with them.