Friday, September 28, 2007

Young And Dangerous interview (Malaysia hardcore punk)

ok, first question my friend, what is your name? and what do you do in the band?

hey. thanks francis. i'm Timmy and i do vocals for Young And Dangerous. the others in the band are xAdx on guitar, Kerk on drums and Kuchai on bass. we've been around since november of 2004 and we got some EPs, a split, and full length out. many upcoming releases too!

now, how did the band start? and how did you guys meet?

i actually had a band with Kerk called GAMPANG. we played thrashy violence. after a while, our band progress drastically slowed down because our guitarist stayed 5 hours away from town. after that, Kerk and I became very eager to play in another band. so we started Young And Dangerous.

i met xAdx in early 2004 through the internet. after i found out Ad played guitar, we decided to ask him to play for us. before kuchai came, we had Azam as our original bassist. he left us in middle 2006 when we were recording for our full length cd. eventually, we asked Kuchai to replace Azam.

i noticed some of you are edge, is Young And Dangerous an all sXe band? how long have you been edge?

nope. YAD is not a straight-edge band. only xAdx and I are sxe. Kerk used to be edge, but he isn't now. i claimed edge in early 2000.

what kind of music does your band play? and who are your influences?

haha. in the early days of YAD, we played straight thrashcore. heavily influenced by What Happens Next?, Lifes Halt, Vitamin X, Betercore, Rambo. before recording our material for the full length , we decided to add some other influences like punk rock, rock n roll, and youthcrew to it. now, we're more like a japanese hardcore band. kind of like Razors Edge, Jellyroll Rockheads, and Tomorrow.

as for lyrics and live shows, what do you usually sing about? and do you talk about issues like politics or others at shows in between songs?

yeah. we explain a lot about our lyrics at our shows because we still believe in spreading messages. our lyrics deal with sociopolitical issues in malaysian society. how crazy things get when we play small shows, how we love touring, messageboard punks, backstabber assholes, corrupt politicians, etc.

what's the hardcore/punk scene in malaysia like? how's the spirit of DIY there?

err.. its hard to say. many hardcore bands down here claim to be independent. i don't really know about them because i don't usually hang out with them. maybe they have different ideas regarding DIY/independent things. others still believe in the DIY method though. sometimes we do end up playing together, but for YAD, we still believe in the DIY ideals.

last question, do you have any upcoming releases you want to promote? and do you have plans of touring the other asian countries any time soon?

a split 7" with Santa Cruz from France, a split tape with Format Masa Depan from Malaysia. the Southeast Asia detonation release by 625 records. maybe 2nd full length by the end of 2008. we hope we can tour Indonesia in 2008 too. that's all.

thanks timmy, and to the rest of Young And Dangerous, keep cranking out the awesome because we fucking love it.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

a few live videos

you can barely see shit, but hell, the audio is great. i botched the titles for the numbers don't speak though. i'm hella dumb for that, but what the fuck can you do? NOTHING. haha enjoy

Caitlyn Bailey- Peduran



Caitlyn Bailey- the Numbers Don't Speak



Caitlyn Bailey- Eerwah

Monday, September 17, 2007

a checklist

THE FIRST LIMP CAT SHOW IS DONE!
NOW WHAT?





what does limp cat need to do? here's a checklist of the things we need to work on.

  1. band discipline- we need to ensure everybody comes, and everybody comes on time. this was a huge problem that ate up a huge chunk of days one and two. especially two because three bands couldn't come because they shared a sick drummer who incidentally was sick that night.
  2. equipment- we need to secure equipment to ensure the show runs smoothly, the only problem is who's willing to help, and how willing they are to do so.
  3. wires and cables- we need to make sure every vocalist is heard with a mic in his/her hands. we wouldn't want Strength Through Vengeance and Damosa Crew complaining with that pitboss for a vocalist, would you?
  4. crowd control- to make sure no windows get broken and to make sure the organizer doesn't go walking around uyanguren looking for a glass shop only to find that they need specific measurements for one fucking pane.
  5. ticketing system- fuck tickets, i wanna make sure everything is free if you come with a can of food for the needy. if we're ever gonna charge, it's only 15 bucks for the bar and nothing else.
anyway, now that's out of the way, we seriously need to find ways to get everybody set on going to shows on time. hopefully, we'll get to do that for the next show we organize. we're also gonna get to work with a real system for every limp cat show. i'm thinking of organizing meetings for every band who's gonna play, where we draw lots for slots instead of getting people to come whenever they want because they think they're band number 3940328e8475938. another issue we need to address is equipment. we seriously need help in that department, and if anybody wants to, that would be very, very welcome. it would be really awesome if everybody brought instruments, wouldn't it? yeah, thought so. now, moving on, i also think Limp Cat needs more staff. not that we're being "professional" or anything, we just need more people to help manage crowds and handle ticketing to ensure nobody's pulling the Limp Cat's legs. that's IF we're gonna charge for entrance however. i was thinking of actually pushing through with the slew of benefit shows i had planned for sick and people where your only entrance fee is to bring a can of food or some noodles or whatnot for people who need it more than we do. we aren't a fucking profit oriented production, right? thought so.

anyway, that's it for now.
xfrancisx Limp Cat

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Now We Rise And Are Everywhere

here are some pics and stuff from Now We Rise And Are Everywhere.

personally, i think we could've done better as organizers, but since it's a first for us to organize a show like this, i guess it'll pass. i can't avoid feeling awkward there given that everybody knew everybody and i was sort of "the new guy", but the people there really kept the hardcore spirit alive by welcoming me into the fray. thanks to everybody who's been nice to me and to the rest of Limp Cat and Caitlyn Bailey. thanks to Peter for sharing advice and remembering my band's name, Denver for showing interest in the band, TJ for letting everybody know, and everybody who came to watch.

we had lineup changes, btw.
this was the lineup for the two days:

Day 1
  • Anxiety To Hysteria
  • Caitlyn Bailey
  • Damosa Crew
  • As A Whole

Day 2
  • Cut The Chains Of Sin
  • Stolen At Gunpoint
  • Go For Devotion
  • Kill Thy Arrogance

thanks to Anxiety To Hysteria, Caitlyn Bailey (duh, us), Damosa Crew, As A Whole, Cut The Chains Of Sin, Stolen At Gunpoint, Go For Devotion, and Kill Thy Arrogance. to everybody who wasn't able to play because Kano was sick (Strength Through Vengeance, Ambulation, Path Session), you'll get to play next time.

P.S.
MAD PROPS TO PAOLO OF THE DURIAN BAR FOR LETTING US ORGANIZE THE SHOW THERE. IT MEANS A LOT, SRSLY.

first night


Anxiety To Hysteria- powerful DC metalcore
truth be told, these guys were amazing. brutal, in your face metallic hardcore. i'm really happy as fuck for inviting these guys because they really got the crowd going. plus, denver's hair is so fucking metal.
















Caitlyn Bailey- Davao City skramz unit

yup, i'm the asshole on vocals. we play hardcore influenced by the apocalyptic Canadian style played by Union Of Uranus with hints of Ebullition and Level Plane records.















Damosa Crew- 7 man NYHC
an awesome set which had a cover of Path Of Resistance's Who Dares Wins and Skarhead's Kings At Crime. props to TJ for inviting everybody and for having a fucking pit boss for a vocalist.












As A Whole- DC hardcore punk/powerviol
ence
socially aware hardcore played by really nice dudes. peter was really friendly and supportive of the show regardless of how inexperienced i was in handling it. much thanks guys, you are now officially my heroes in the DC scene.






























second night

Cut The Chains Of Sin- really dark metalcore
CTCOS basically play a really chaotic metalcore cocktail with keyboards to make things sound more evil. i had apprehensions about these guys at first considering all of their friends had you know, "the look". but that all changed when they started playing. i swear, i was floored by these kids' intensity. still can't get over the stickmosh though.






























Stolen At Gunpoint- modern sounding metallic hardcore
Stolen At Gunpoint play modern metallic hardcore sort of like the Acacia Strain, yeah, sort of like that. but the great thing about them is they don't really sound like anybody. these guys are really fucking creative when it comes to writing, a powerful rhythm section paired up with two awesome guitarists and an incredibly flexible frontman make for a great band to watch live.






























Go For Devotion- idunno?

they're popular among some of the kids who frequent the Kaiban Circuit so they sorta have fans. they raked in a lot of Cut The Chains Of Sin's friends too.

















Kill Thy Arrogance- nostalgic moshcore
alright, something i'm used to listening to. they came late, as in end of the show late, but i let em play because i wanted to have a little consolation for how i felt for day 2 (which i think was a near total bomb if it wasn't for these guys and Stolen At Gunpoint.) i wish all of Kano's bands would've played day 2 because these guys sorta went out of place when we went nuts trying to look for bands to fill the shoes left by the three bands who couldn't play. i absolutely loved these guys especially since they covered a few old Victory Records songs. (the days when Victory was good) i really gotta invite em next time.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

on contributions and/or reviews.

i would love to have anybody send articles about hardcore, punk, and the davao scene.
if you wish to contribute, send me an email at annakorsakoff@gmail.com

you will be credited accordingly.

xfrancisx Limp Cat

article 001: for the love of matthew shepard











see that picture above? that's a picture taken at the funeral of Matthew Shepard. out of curiosity, you might ask what this has to do with all of us especially when we live half a world away in some far-off southeast asian country? well to tell you quite frankly, it has more to do with us than you think.

now, just who is Matthew Shepard and why are there people picketing his funeral?

Matthew Wayne Shepard was 21 year old political science student born in Casper, Wyoming on December 1, 1976 to Dennis Shepard and Judy Peck. according to what i got on the internet, he was also an all-around nice guy who basically got along with everybody. it is said he also had a passion for equality amongst different kinds of people regardless of beliefs, color, and the most important, GENDER.

yes, Matthew Shepard was a homosexual, but other than that, he was a good son, an intelligent student, and a person who stood for the rights of every human being.

on October 7, 1998, Matthew was brutally attacked by two men who robbed him, pistol whipped him, tied him to a fence, and left him to die. 5 days later, on October 12, 1998, Matthew died from the gravity of the injuries he sustained from the attack. later on, the two men were arrested and put to jail for murder after finding the bloody gun and Shepard's wallet in their truck.

the most disgusting thing about the murder wasn't the act itself, rather the motive behind it. at the trial, the girlfriends of the two men behind the assault testified and confirmed that the two spoke of intentions to rob and beat up a gay man.

as appalling as it may seem, this isn't where it ends. days later, members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church picketed at Matthew Shepard's funeral with signs saying "God Hates Fags", "AIDS kills Fags Dead", and "Matt Shepard Rots In Hell" among others. this act is a clear sign that society still has a long way to go before the evils of division and discrimination could be a thing of the past.

personally, i see nothing wrong with homosexuals. i believe that sexual orientation should never be a reason to deny people of their basic human rights. i believe that regardless of the way you grew up or grew into the way you're wired now, you're still a human being, and that makes you no different from the billions of people here on earth. we only have one chance to live this life, and i believe we should all learn to love each other for what we are.

hatred and bigotry will bring nothing but suffering to the human race, and as long as i'm alive and breathing, i'll do whatever i can to ensure that the youth of tomorrow will not suffer from the same evil we saw in the eyes of Matt Shepard's murderers and in the teachings of the Westboro Baptist Church.

no matter what your age, gender, orientation, or beliefs may be, you still bleed the same red blood. THINK ABOUT IT.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

THE INTRODUCTION

it's been a while and at long last, i've finally found enough time to actually start with running Limp Cat productions. anyway, for a little background check, Limp Cat basically started with some dumb kids who wanted to organize shows for people who just want to have good clean fun. Limp Cat in itself is a loosely connected group of friends and associates who seek to develop new patterns of thought within a society riddled with interpersonal conflict brought by varying circumstances and deficiencies. as for now, we're operating with little or now organizational structure in regards to people doing shit for us (yeah, when i say us, i mean me and some dudes i pull personal favors from by doing things i may regret for the rest of my life.) but hopefully, in a few months time, we may get to things like the distribution of some DC bands' demos and certain community projects aside from merely setting up shows and promoting bands.

alright guys, now that i finally got everything up and running. yeah, i'm about to go advertise shit about the show i'm organizing. it'll be a hardcore show so yeah.

YOU CAN VIEW THE FLYER HERE

now, here's the lineup for the two days:

day 1:

  1. Damosa Crew
  2. Ambulation
  3. As A Whole (yet to confirm)
  4. Path Session
  5. Anxiety To Hysteria

day 2:

  1. Stolen At Gunpoint
  2. Cut The Chains Of Sin
  3. Caitlyn Bailey (first and possibly last show, shit.)
  4. Kill Thy Arrogance
  5. Strength Through Vengeance

the show starts at 7:30 pm on September 14 and September 15.
Madrazo Compound (near the Venue), Downtown D.C.
entrance is Php30




now, i'm not entirely all too sure if As A Whole are gonna make it (peter has yet to confirm, i listed them because someone told me to.) but this is basically how the show's gonna flow. i'ma get to full swing promotion of the show by monday next week and hopefully, crowd turnout is gonna be sweet.

stay posted for updates and random ramblings from us.
-xfrancisx Limp Cat