My little hometown isn’t exactly the best place for record shopping. Usually, I save my cash and wait to get back to school to blow all of it on records. But, thanks to a savvy punk and one metal as all hell pizza place, I ended up flying home with 4 EPs in my carry on.
I am a weak person.
The Store:
A friend and I decided to attend a tiny show at a Cape Coral, FL pizza joint (this pizza joint to be exact) where, after forgetting what being punk is, I had to kill the time between door time and the real start time an hour and a half later. The obvious choice was to waste time by digging through the distro racks in the back of the show space. $10 and 20 minutes later, I had 4 7Ûs in my car and a new idea for a column.
If you’ve ever been to a punk show, you know that distros are an integral part of the small show experience. Local showgoers will collect records from touring bands and sell them out of a cardboard box to their friends at shows, some more legitimate than others, all a great way to find records you would otherwise have to hunt down on merchswap. The best part of distros? Bartering, and the ability to ask the seller what it sounds like/if the record is actually any good. No need for the internet’s nonsense opinions here, just a trusted personal music advisor to guide you through your purchases. In this case the advising came from little white stickers in the corner of the records in addition to the distro boy i was haggling prices with.
The Finds:
They Eat Their Own God: Untitled
Sticker Description: “Atmospheric Crust Influenced Emo- Really GoodÛ
Usually “Atmospheric” isn’t a word that makes me wanna check something out, but “crust influenced emo” pretty much sums up all of my interests so this was one giant score. Best record of this haul, hands down.
I’m not sure if this one breaks the “In The Bin” rules, but it’s way too good for meto care. This band is a side project of one of the bands playing the pizza place show and both the distro man and my friend looked at me and said “You’re gonna love it.” Lesson learned. Always trust the distro man (and your friends, of course). This band rullleeessssssssss.
Cheap Art : Desocialized
Sticker Description: “Fastcore/Grind Mayhem w/ Female vox – Rips”
Do I need to say more? A+ lady punk that is absolutely necessary for all ears.
Captive Bolt/Gary Francione Split
Sticker Description: “Pissed Left for Dead style HC w/Animal rights spoken word.Û
I vaguely remember listening to this band for like 10 seconds on the metro once via the bandcamp mobile site. I’m pretty sure this one is cheating, but I didn’t remember what they sounded like so I’m taking that as still within the never-heard-before requirement. As expected, this band is real angry. Like “Most Likely to Bleed from Hitting Themselves in the Head with Their Instruments” hardcore superlative kind of angry. In a good way.
Sticker Description: “Important old FL HC – Excellent”
Excellent? Well that meant I had to know what it sounded like. And for only $3? No brainer. Florida hardcore has never failed me, and even when its bad I’m still happy with it. The only place I could find this band on the internet was on a weird old hardcore forum no one has ever heard of and last.fm, bviously OG Florida Hardcore.
Overall Verdict?
Distros rule. Florida shows rule. Hardcore lives.