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Zint opens the vaults...Black Flag 1984,Circle Jerks 1985


Zint

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i wonder how many people were actually Flag fans at that gig and how many were going to check em out for the first time and how many ended up as fans. i guess you never know these things but...i always find watching these early videos (or earlier i should say) videos of punk gigs the audiences are generally more interesting..

I can tell you a LOT of those people were already Flag fans. Many of us had already seen Flag when they hit town in 1982 (wish we had the camera then!!).

Now THAT was a scary intense motherfucker of a punk show.I was actually scared at times...I seriously thought someone was going to die at some point.I'd never experienced intensity on that level in a mob environment before.

Fucking crazy show.I remember at the '82 show it ended with this fucking primal screaming.Chuck Dukowski was just screaming his fucking lungs out...turning purple.He eventually blacked out...rolled off the stage onto the floor in front.A bunch of us stood there looking down at him...my friend leaned over him and said "hey man,you alright?".Chuck opened his eyes and coldcocked him right in the face. :lol:

It was THAT kind of night!

Fast forward to this gig and the intensity was not the same...it was a different vibe.

A lot of people were looking at Henry in his gym shorts sporting his rock and roll hair do...as he kept turning around to show off his search and destroy tattoo across his back...and felt he'd turned kinda rock star-ish.(that was mainly old school people who really weren't sure what was going on with hardcore anyway).

Some came away thinking Flag sucked.(I haven't posted it yet...but Ginn would break into these bizarre ten minute noodling jams that to some people seemed never ending).

Some people came away as fans of Saint Vitus moreso than Flag.Some people came out thinking EVERYTHING about the show blew.

But the majority of people came out blown away.As you can see by the videos it was pretty fucking cool!

I had a great time and thought Flag was pretty damn good!But nowhere near as intense as '82...that was a way better gig.

So...audience-wise...it was a mixed bag of opinions after the fact.

One cool little tidbit about the videos...you can't see her because she's really short...at the front and centre of the crowd,right in front of Henry is a good friend of mine,we're still good friends to this day (in fact,she's still the bass player in our screw-around band...and she's a fucking wicked bass player!).

She's a tough little cookie and she was getting absolutely crushed but she stood her ground and stayed right there front and centre all night long...all 5 feet 4 inches of her.

You DON'T wanna fuck with this lady!

She still talks about that gig!

Edited by zint61
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Jesus Christ man, thats something else. thats what i find so intriguing about those early gigs is that its sort of like...its almost a gestation going on, its really something...you get a feel of something really serious and intense going on...not to mention fucking fun :):) theres always like little landmine bunches of people that you can see have just been converted for want of a less creepy way of putting it.

so whats next up?!?!?! :):):):)

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Alright...the Circle Jerks uploads are under way....from Dec. 17 1985.

For those who may not know,Keith Morris was the original singer of Black Flag..he cofounded the band with Greg Ginn.

He started Circle Jerks after leaving Black Flag.

Bad Religion fans might recognize guitarist Greg Hetson here.Greg currently is still active with Bad Religion and Circle Jerks.

Zander Schloss is on bass (he's currently still playing with the Jerks and early LA band The Weirdos)..he can also be seen in the American Hardcore documentary.

Edited by zint61
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ohmigod...you were really in the mix with this one :shocked::shocked: wish you'd've got more crowd shots in there...although prolly not a good idea to be stickin' cameras in motherfuckers faces like that if you wanna be taking it home when the nights out :lol: i almost regret that comment, y'give people a fuckin gold nugget and they want a fuckin diamond, typical huh? nah though, thats really funky...i kinda like it better in a way than the Flag one cuz you're really knee deep here. tell me, is that you on the camera?? fucking gold though man...somethin else. check out the moon in Killing For Jesus :lol:

thats it though, thats the shit man, eyeball to eyeball...i've always thought that as a band when you're playing that sort of gig its like....fighting with your back to the wall almost...brings the best out of bands. fucking incredible though man, it really is...you're something for not sellin em up the river with this footage...thousands would've..

Edited by ffrankwhite
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ohmigod...you were really in the mix with this one :shocked::shocked: wish you'd've got more crowd shots in there...

nah...the crowd was more about experiencing the band than ripping each other's head off.It took a while for some action to get cooking down front.Keith was a far more interesting topic to concentrate on.

He got pretty buzzed,he was drinking Canadian beer like he just crawled out of the desert...he LOVED Labatt's 50.He even paid tribute to our beer (I'm going to upload it).

There is some audience footage at times.Problem with youtube is,it tends to make stuff look a lot darker...and since the audience really isn't illuminated ,that part of the footage doesn't appear.

tell me, is that you on the camera??

For the most part it's me. (why??)

There was always someone close by to bail me out for a piss break...or more importantly a beer break.I also like to experience the show for a couple of songs down front..out from behind the camera eye.Plus that camera got heavy as hell after a while,my arm would start to go numb.Not to mention this was all filmed (Flag too) standing on a fucking chair!And the camera wasn't run on a battery,it was wired to the deck that sat on the table...the deck held the video tape (not the camera)...and the deck was plugged into the wall...you were stuck,it wasn't mobile at all.

I can always tell when someone else was filming...silly zooms,jerky camera moves etc.And at this show my backup guy was the drummer of the opening band...hence extended footage of the Jerk's drummer.

fucking incredible though man, it really is...you're something for not sellin em up the river with this footage...thousands would've..

That was never the intention anyway.

The goal was always perserving for the archives.For just the right moment...such as (unbeknownst) Youtube to share it with people.

And there was the unplanned unexpected bonus of being able to say "THAT was punk rock..fuck Good Charlotte".

Edited by zint61
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For the most part it's me. (why??)

was just wondering cuz it'd mean you were right fucking there, right onstage, right next to em, right in the fuckin mix..wild. also was wondering how much you actually got to enjoy the gig but you answered that. How in the fuck did you stand on the chair that long?!?! :lol: crazy though, you've no idea what i'd give to've been there..

Edited by ffrankwhite
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I kinda thought that's what it was... :tongue2:

Anyway...Since we've been talking about the C-Jerks...here's a little head's up for ya.

*Circle Jerks 2008 TOUR DATES*

July

7/11 Philadelphia, PA @ The Starlight Ballroom

7/12 New York, NY @ The HighLine Ballroom

7/13 Brooklyn, NY @ Club Exit

...just might be all ages too

...and it's a Saturday

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  • 9 months later...

Just realized today that I hadn't added these ones..

The band is called Tupelo Chain Sex...they were from L.A.

They were bloody amamzing live,these videos don't do them true justice (sonically at least).

They had so many different flavours and influences,they just floored everyone who had the good fortune to be there to witness it.

It was like Frank Zappa meets the Exploited meets the Specials.

In fact,the singer and violin player in this particular song is Don "Sugercane" Harris...he has an illustrious past in the music industry...including playing for Zappa.

The guy was one cool motherfucker...would hang after the show and have a drink and loved to talk music.

(R.I.P. Sugercane)

Here's the first song...

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