limp cat productions

album reviews

2008-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Hassan I Sabbah- Discography
maybe it's just me being incredibly biased towards having the pleasure of speaking to this band's former members over the internet, but i personally think that this is the single most cathartic band in hardcore. albeit being underrated to the 9th degree, i believe these guys deserve more recognition than they get. the lyrics are very symbolic and the vocals carry an air of anger and frustration unequaled by anybody in within this type of hardcore. the drummer himself is very very good, ending up in bands like the Red Chord. the guitar and bass work are not over the top, but provide an integral characteristic to the band. the ability to convey desperate messages without appearing too cheesy or without sounding like a whole bucket load of false angst is something incredibly hard to pull off right. if you find these guys anywhere on the internet, send them a message and thank them for making all these songs. it might take a while for them to respond, but they always do, and it always makes them feel better.

Religious Nightmare- the Junkyard of Infinity
quoted for truth, i never noticed these guys were Filipino until i read about them on Incidental Afterthought. i could safely say they are now one of my favorite grindcore bands both here in the country and abroad. i have no idea how it came to the point where merely saying the word grindcore drew responses that referenced pig-squeal vocals and crappy chug-chug death metal, but if there is one thing i know, it's that this band isn't one of them. imagine a screamy beast on the level of grindcore legends like Brutal Truth with a Discordance Axis-esque aesthetic (see their cover art and their song titles) i usually don't want to name-drop, but i'm only stressing the point that these guys should be way up there in terms of quality grindcore. the drumming is perfect. the guitar and bass work is perfect. the vocals are perfect tortured screaming at its' finest.

Phoenix Bodies- Raise The Bullshit Flag
nudity, thrash, hardcore punk, grindcore and two crazy dudes moving around like deranged psychopaths. that's basically Phoenix Bodies in a nutshell. they are working on releasing a few new splits, but till then, let's pay our respects to this awesome album. athletic thrash drumming, punky and chaotic guitarwork, no bass, and two vocalists who do an amazing job of contrasting each other. their lyrics deal with practical issues like consumerism and the progression of society with a tongue-in-cheek demeanor. this is a perfect album if you're looking for a good time. everything on it is just right. Derek is a cool guy too, very talkative guy.

C.C.C.C.- Love And Noises
noise is a genre often reserved for people who wear robes while prancing around in the woods or pretentious art kids saying music is overrated. there are only two people in this band. an ex-porn star and some dude. whatever they do to make their band sound like this is fucked up, but it works. this kind of noise strikes me as very cerebral and maintains a very cathartic feel up till the end. i'm not sure if half the things i hear in it are actually there or are effects of the noise setting up such a tense mood. GET THIS ALBUM

news and updates

2008-01-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

GUESS WHAT, I'M BACK!

THIS TIME WE UNITE
Madrazo Compound, Downtown DC
8pm Saturday, February 2, 2008
25 bucks damage

featuring:
Altars Of Hate
Anxiety To Hysteria
As A Whole
Caitlyn Bailey
Clobberin' Time
Explontoi
S.E.C.

UPDATES:

it's been a hell of a long time since i last updated Limp Cat, but i guess now's probably the best time. i'm finally moving to a real house after 17 years of living in the same old crusty apartment. this is a really big thing for me, so i hope you'd all wish me the best of luck in moving. other than that, i would like to announce that i am starting a record label with Peter of As A Whole called Shoulders Down Records. i'll handle the technical aspects like writing shit on Limp Cat for updates and letting people on the internet know, while Pete does the stuff the internet CANT do like making shirts and awesome packaging for DIY cds.

CAITLYN BAILEY INTERVIEW ON THE OVERTUNE PROJECT

this guy named Jericho asked me to submit a few tracks for his compilation called the Royal Rumble which featured all-philippine hardcore/punk bands. i willingly complied and sent a few tracks in. a few minutes later, he decided to ask me a few questions. here they are:

(taken off of the Overtune Project)

1. why Caitlyn bailey?
francis: i asked myself that a long time ago while browsing through this website that had obituaries for people who had myspace accounts. caitlyn bailey was just another name i thought sounded cool, so i decided to check out her profile. it didn't have much, one picture, a lot of comments, but what really got me was that one blog entry she posted which barely had one whole sentence in it. i checked the blog comments and i saw some of the most heartbreaking statements i've ever read. from then on, the name sort of had a special significance with me and ended up becoming the band's name. we have recieved a little feedback from the real Caitlyn Bailey's friends, but nothing bad enough to make us change our name. we do intend to inform her family of our presence someday.

2. if you want to describe the band with just a few words to someone who has never heard about it, what would you say?
francis: we're a hardcore/punk band who wants to do what we can for the scene because we believe in it.

3. could you describe in brief what kind of people are involved in Caitlyn Bailey?
francis: we are people who come from all walks of life and believe in different things. we all happened to come together through a common love of music and decided to express it the best way we could.

4. what kind of feelings and reaction is your band and your lyrics supposed to suggest?
francis: i try my best to not crank out preachy or over the top poetic lyrics or stuff with slogans written all over them. personally, i think the recurring theme with all the songs we have are different semblances of hope and the aspects of life that test them. we have some songs that cover issues like knowing the world will end because of the acts of an apathetic human race, molestation, international political economy, pregnancy, sexuality, marital infidelity, love, life, death, hope, and everything else that comes in between.

5. what are your band influences?
francis: musically, we drew a lot from bands like Orchid, the Apoplexy Twist Orchestra and Union Of Uranus early on. eventually, this expanded to include bands like Explosions In The Sky, Envy, Sed Non Satiata, Shikari, Neil Perry, Joshua Fit For Battle and the like. with further progress, we started listening to pretty much anything we could to incorporate into our sound. we have a lot of ideas that were influenced by artists outside the realm of hardcore, so it all went downhill from there.

6. which tracks will you point out as your favorite ones and why?
francis: personally, i'd pick object permanence. it's probably the happiest song i've written for this band, lyric-wise. the band probably agrees on the instrumental aspect of it as well. our drummer does love peduran a whole lot, and our bassist loves that new tagalog song we came up with a few weeks back.

7. what is the usual way in which you compose songs or write lyrics? Is it a teamwork?
francis: i usually have a bunch of lyrics in storage for a rainy day. if not, i just write for whatever suits the song. we have a weird process of writing that involves not using any lyrics at all and trying to guess what the hell i was screaming a while ago. sort of like looking for the exact time in that led zeppelin tape where the dude says "oh sweet satan!" or something like that.

if given the possiblity to change something in the world what would it be?
francis: the need for money and power.

any last words?
francis: life is a parody of life. live, love, laugh.

(please check out the compilation here)

CB NEWS

Caitlyn Bailey is currently brushing up on material for drum tracking this week and is currently open to interested bands willing to release a split with us. also, the band already has an official website right here. the freewebs site is up right now, in around a day or two, i would have been able to secure the permanent url which is http://www.caitlynbailey.co.cc

DECEMBER 7 PICTURES.

2007-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

to everyone who was at the show last December 7, or anybody who's interested at all. i uploaded all of the pictures to the Caitlyn Bailey myspace. you may view all of the pics in the blog and do whatever you want with them. thanks to Von of As A Whole and Stefanie Kessel for the pictures.

http://myspace.com/caitlynbailey <<< just check the blog.

updates and a little food for thought.

2007-12-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

first of all, i would just like to apologize for the agonizing delay of the pictures and the report from the December 7 show. a combination of conflicting schedules in school and a slight lack of coordination with the photographers (well, anybody with pictures) sort of get in the way of that every now and then. so yeah, expect something, but it might take a bit more since some of us have work/reviews/school/exams, whatever.

anyway, i've been thinking to myself about this a lot lately. almost everybody who was at the show last December 7 is still hung over in some way, be it Astroboy from local NYHC-style hardcore band, Clobberin' Time or Ian, the guitar dude from Futile Homicide (who have a nice story behind their name, by the way) . everybody isn't going to be over that show in a long time, and personally, regardless of the fact that Caitlyn Bailey played a relatively messy set, i think everybody in my band had fun as well. people seemed to see something in us other than the fact that we are a fairly new band. thinking deeper, i was asking myself, what made this show good and why did it end up like that in the first place? if you people were there, you would've seen a small, shitty bar filled with sweaty asian hardcore kids dancing/playing/standing on a floor drenched entirely in human sweat and an assortment of bodily fluids. putting things into perspective, the only logical answer i had in my head was "this is hardcore, this is a hardcore show." there was little or no drinking inside the venue, and whoever was inside when the show started stayed inside for the whole show. people paid a relatively small fee to come in, and they all made the most of it because they all believed they had a reason to be there, an ideology perhaps, a school of thought, an opportunity to engage in good clean fun. whatever it may be, everybody there was there because they believed in something. it wasn't a beer party organized by some prominent production with bands playing as long as they get 5 people to come in and pay X amount of money in the name of profits. this is not an attack on anyone i know personally, however. it is merely an insight in regards to the concept of shows vs. gigs.

should you reside in the greater metro manila area, you are probably familiar with the latter given the saturation. now, whereas gigs are legitimate sources for entertainment, i feel that it's a breeding ground for the bastardization of all i feel is "sacred" in punk and hardcore. i used to organize gigs prior to my immersion in the DC hardcore scene. in a sense, i should know how it feels. there is absolutely no sense of unity and/or brother and sisterhood in that cold, empty scene. i never felt any principles that would link me or put me on the same level as the people there. i saw no immediate reason to stay with that circle of people because at the end of the day, it did not make me a better person and it subjected me to a whole slew of derogatory slurs. i ran the whole fucking gamut twice, and i didn't like it. eventually, i stopped organizing, and my old band fell apart due to internal troubles and the fact we stopped playing. (we only played shows we organized back then)

as fate would have it, i started a new band with my previous band's guitarist and tried our damn best to get into the hardcore scene. after a quarter of a year's worth of idle time, and we seriously thought we weren't getting anywhere because nobody invited us and nobody was aware of our existence. we went -this- close to breaking up before playing a show, seeing a few gigs within that span of time further cemented my disdain for the concept of productions and gigs. it all paid off though, because eventually, by way of a few select contacts, we were able to organize an all hardcore show. we were new, we stuck our necks out for people to prey upon, but in the end, we met people we ended up being good friends with. we felt the concept of community, we felt that it would lead somewhere, and a few months later, it did. we played, and IT MEANT SOMETHING. something that i know i will never get from being lumped in with people who don't get what we are doing and what we want to do. it's incredibly bigoted to say
that this is the only way all bands should work, but this is what is relevant to me, this is what is relevant to us, this is what matters.

EPIC FAIL, EPIC WIN

2007-12-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

Caitlyn Bailey's set

the Saydee's Kitchen/City Of Thornz launch show last December 7 was sort of a disaster due to the fact we spent about thrice as much as we spent, but it was great, lots of people, lots of energy, but a lot of the people who came spent most of the time outside. to whoever paid the door fee, thank you so much for proving you support the Davao City Hardcore scene. there will be more pics, vids, and details from the show this monday. till then, just sit tight for more news.

xfrancisx

REMINDER

2007-12-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

this is completely random, but i advise you to check out the links on the side of this page because seriously, there are lots of people out there who actually contribute to the lives of everybody who works with this e-zine. they are photographers, musicians, collectives, basically groups of people who serve as examples of time being put to good use.

that's all,
xfrancisx

Saydee's Kitchen and updates

2007-12-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

we fixed peter's garage a few days ago and quite frankly, i see a lot of potential in it. Saydee's Kitchen will go a long way, i just know it. we got some utensils, we cleared out the garage, we started building our own DIY reading library, so yeah, we're almost there. here are some pictures of what we've been up to.

as you can see, we're very serious about this, and we plan to do our best to keep it together. also, there will be a show this friday at the Elevation Bar along Jacinto Extension, the bands stated to play are Anxiety To Hysteria, As A Whole, Caitlyn Bailey, Clobberin' Time, Fast Move, On Burial Grounds, and Struggle for Equality and Culture (S.E.C.). entrance is p20, so bring friends. there are only a few conditions though.

click on picture to show big poster

bring fun
bring fun
bring fun
no violence
no assholes

well, that's it. till next time.
xfrancisx

p.s.

YES, that's me on the poster for Locked And Loaded. i'm such a whore, aren't i?

NEWS: City Of Thornz and Saydee's Kitchen

2007-11-20T03:51:00.000-08:00

it is with a heavy heart that i announce on behalf of the City of Thornz crew that War All The Time will NOT be able to play the Davao City leg of the tour for various reasons. the shows in Lucena, Bulacan, and Manila, however, will push through. much luck to WATT and their thrash fucking madness.

there will still be a show however, but this has been moved from November 26 to first week of December. announcements shall be posted soon enough. also, we will soon be selling merch from C.O.T. bands, Anxiety To Hysteria, As A Whole, Damosa Crew, and Caitlyn Bailey. there will be shirts, bar pins, and other stuff soon, so wait for it.

on a more serious note, Peter from As A Whole and a few select individuals are going on a DIY feeding campaign called Saydee's Kitchen. the aim of the project is to provide free vegetarian meals to people who desperately need them, particularly the young and elderly among the lower rings of the economic ladder. we will be doing everything ourselves from preparation to delivery, so if you want to help, we strongly encourage you to do so. we need people who are willing to help us get vegetables from the markets, and people who are willing to help us prepare the food ourselves. this project is non profit, but the rewards are limitless. a little time to spare could mean a potential life saved, so let's all get out of our seats and try to give something back to the community.

any questions about C.O.T. and Saydee's Kitchen may be sent to Peter at 09107843815. you may also reach us at the official Limp Cat Productions e-mail at annakorsakoff@gmail.com (i run that email account, btw)

that would be all for now, updates soon.

Brother and Sisterhood, one family

2007-11-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

that's me in the very left.

starting today, As A Whole, the As A Whole Collective, Anxiety To Hysteria, Damosa Crew, Caitlyn Bailey, and incidentally, Limp Cat productions and e-zine have banded together to form the City Of Thorns crew. now, what's with the name? and what do we stand for?

first off, City Of Thorns stands as a name representative of Davao City's primary export, the Durian. it is symbolic of our solidarity as residents of DC, one fruit with many seeds on the inside, with spikes on the outside to protect it from harm. (long story for a fucking fruit, right?)

anyway, as a whole (no pun intended, pete), we stand to promote a positive lifestyle exemplified by the unity and brotherhood of punk rock. we exist primarily to empower the local hardcore scene in DC and to extend opportunities to all who choose to be in it. we plan to organize shows, do some minor tours, invite some bands to play in our city, and provide other services such as DIY recordings, self-released records, bar pins, shirts, and other stuff to keep the fire burning.

look forward to more news from us.

xDxCxHxCx

Ampere interview

2007-11-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

in another one of my random myspace message runs, i came across Massachusetts-based punk band, Ampere's page and asked them for an interview. being nice guys (and girl) and all, they said yes.

here's that interview:

1. what is your name, and what do you do in the band?

stephen: my name is stephen, and i yell about things.

2. everybody on earth probably knows that Massachusetts gave birth to a lot of awesome hardcore/punk bands. how did you get into the scene? what were some of the important events that led you to where you are now?

stephen: it all started for me when i was 11 and a family friend who was a few years older than me made me a tape of screeching weasel and nofx. that somehow lead to bands like conflict & flux of pink indians - two bands which probably shaped my ideology more than anything else up to that point - all that, after a long and winding road, brought me to where i am in life right now. i'm not sure that brendan, the kid who got me into punk, knows just how much he changed my life. i think the first MA bands i got into were the ones that were playing every weekend in the mid-90s.. the trouble, :30 seconds over tokyo, august spies, etc... i was into the proletariat instantly, but it took me until a little later in life to realize how brilliant an album "this is my world" by the jerry's kids is.

3. how and when did you actually start playing together? where did you all come from? and whatever happened to Orchid and Montcalm?

stephen: i have a hard time actually pinpointing the exact moment that ampere was conceived, but andy & i had been playing together prior to ampere in a band called the last forty seconds, and we lived together. we moved from that house in northampton to a house in amherst with will & meghan - i can't really remember if ampere started right before or right after we moved in, but it was definitely around that time. it kind of started as just a fun little fuckaround project, since we were all still involved with other bands at that point - myself with montcalm, andy with wolves, will with orchid & bfot, and meghan with unicoroner.. gradually, those bands reached their ends and ampere gradually became the main band we were all in. and i'm not really sure, myself, what happened with montcalm. it wasn't like orchid, where there were planned "final shows" - i guess you could say it just sort of fizzled out. we weren't the most organized band in the world, but what punk band is?

4. musically, how do you come up with the kind of stuff you write? what stuff do you guys usually listen to?

stephen: will usually comes up with a handful of guitar parts & riffs, brings it to practice, and it gets honed into whatever it ends up as... i usually can't write lyrics while at practice, it helps for me to have a tape that i can rewind and write to.. so, most of my contributions to the band don't occur at the same time as everyone else's. also, i've lived in brooklyn for the past year, so i don't always make the 5 hour bus ride to practice... usually, my lyrics are directly influenced by whatever i happen to be reading at the time. i can't speak for anyone else in the band, but these days i usually find myself listening to bands like jawbreaker, hickey, the replacements (and bands that sound like the replacements), leatherface, crimpshrine... you know, rough-edged melodic punk... current-day bands like dear landlord, monikers, off with their heads, the measure, ringers; and i recently discovered a love for bands like that from japan, mostly the urchin, blotto, i excuse, the miscasts, etc... and a lot of '80s japanese hardcore like death side, gauze, systematic death, lsd, the list goes on. and i think that daniel striped tiger put out one of the best records of the year with capital cities.

5. Ampere always stood to a lot of its fans as a band that would epitomize the DIY ethic, what would you personally want to say about the state of DIY at the moment within MA, and across the United States in general?

stephen: i'm not the most connected with the massachusetts diy community these days, but feel so incredibly positive about the brooklyn punk community. i've been lucky enough to fall into company with some pretty incredible kids at a pretty incredible four-story apartment in bed-stuy where we're able to have shows a few times a month... in a city where most people are off on their own thing and lacking much regard to any sort of community, i consider myself incredibly lucky to have surrounded myself with such productive and inspiring people who are definitely working towards a similar end as i am.

as far as on a national scale, i feel like we who put shows together should focus our energy towards helping bands out as much as possible - particularly those from overseas. having toured internationally a few times, i can say that the most noticeable difference from touring america is that bands are fed before or after every single show. touring isn't always something that bands can recoup money from, so it's nice to not have to dig into pocket to eat. i recognize that the infrastructure for the venues in europe is markedly different than that of those in america, but i think that with a little organization, it shouldn't be difficult to provide similar amenities to touring bands as we have been afforded in other countries.

6. each individual has varying stances on social and political issues, would you care to share some of your personal advocacies with us at Limp Cat?

stephen: i don't think that there is any singular answer for how life should be lived; it's up to the individual of course, and certain things that work for some people wouldn't for others - i'm not too big on pushing my beliefs on anyone, but for what it's worth, one of the small things that i have chosen to do with my life in hopes of making the world a better place is to practice veganism. again, i know it's not for everyone, but it works for me & makes me feel good - both physically, and about affecting some sort of change, however small as it may be, in the world. i guess you could say on a political scale i would fall into the "radical left" pigeonhole. and, further, i believe very strongly that business has absolutely no place in punk rock. i hope that it's evident through how we conduct ourselves as a band that we all subscribe to this belief & hope to lead by example.

7. i read somewhere that you have been described as non-stop touring machines. how does it feel being on the road, and would you happen to have any interesting tour stories to share?

stephen: as much as i often say that i would love to be on tour all the time, the idea of having somewhere to go home to and relax or decompress or whatever is a very nice idea. i am in love with the romanticism of travel and the notion of home being wherever i am at any given moment, but after a while i sometimes find myself ending up homesick or lovesick or simply tired of being around other people 24/7. i think that we, as a band, have it worked out pretty well. we tour often enough that i don't have to wait an eternity before going on the road again, but with enough time off in between tours to not get sick of the routine and of each other... and to keep on viewing tour as something special, rather than the normality of everyday life. a lot of times, i'll also get my fill of travel by going out independently in between tours to visit friends in other places. this is something that i have in the past year or so rediscovered a love for.

all of my favorite tour stories tend to blend together - it's all a convoluted mess in my head of inspiring people i've met, ridiculous nights after shows, unique places... when we were in kobe, japan, a bunch of us went to the public baths when the show ended. it was the most relaxing thing i've ever experienced, i think. afterwards, andy and i slept on the roof of the building in which we played. and that's my favorite recent tour experience.

8. do you have any personal messages you want to leave for anybody who might be reading this interview in the near future?

stephen: everyone should pick up these records: ringers "detention halls" lp, daniel striped tiger "capital cities" lp, the measure (sa) "union pool" 7", new bruises "goodbye, middle class" 7", and trade me the jawbreaker "chesterfield king" 12" and hickey lp. and read more books.

Phoenix Bodies interview

2007-11-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

it was really late the other night when i got the proverbial horn up my ass and decided to feign productivity for the sake of Limp Cat. i shot out random messages to bands on the Caitlyn Bailey (the band, not the person) friend list, and among those who replied was Derek of Indiana band, Phoenix Bodies.

here's the interview:

1. what is your name and what do you do for the band?

Hello! My name is Derek. I write lyrics and yell into microphones.

2. this is way too cliche in hardcore interviews, but what could you guys say about your scene? how about indiana? i mean, what's it like over there?

Indiana is pretty cool. I'm going to see some local bands, Medusa and Worldeater, tonight that I really like. Medusa is some guys from Racebannon's (who are also from Indiana, and I saw the other night with Melt Banana) new band. They play really heavy, but short and catchy rock songs, and are really fun to see live. Worldeater are another new band from Indianapolis. They play fast punk/powerviolence stuff, and are really tight and raging. There are a bunch of great bands from this place, and usually a lot of good shows going on here. So, I'd say the scene is allright. I book shows in town kind of often. I have Black Cross coming up here in a few days. Louisville is only a 2 hour drive away from where I live in Indianapolis, so Coliseum, Lords, Young Widows, and all those bands come up here all of the time. I also book a big annual fest in town called Dude Fest that is always a great time. Pig Destroyer came and played this year, and it ruled. A few other awesome bands from Indiana are The Dream is Dead, Black Arrows of Filth and Impurity, Demiricous, In the Face of War, Rapider Than Horsepower, You Will Die, and Illithed. That is just a very short list too.

3. do you guys like beef?

Some of us are into it, some of us are not. Actually, we can all get down on a good cheeseburger from time to time, except for Colin the token vegan guy in the band.

4. on a more serious note, how and when did Phoenix Bodies come together? what bands did you guys play in before this?

We've all played in other bands together before. We have a different line-up right now than when we started, but Kevin and I started playing in bands together about 10 years ago, none of those were that good, but right before Kevin joined Phoenix Bodies we played in a band called Holy Bible that we both liked a lot. Colin and I have been in bands together for about 7 or 8 years. I met him when I joined his band, Mara'akate in 1999 or 2000. Colin and Thomas used to be in a band called Hospital before Phoenix Bodies started. That band was really cool. Jared from The Dream is Dead was in that band, along with Adam, our former 2nd vocalist. I think they broke up in about 2001 or 2002, when Jared quit to do TDID full time. Brian our drummer has been a friend of mine for a while. One time Kevin and I tried to start a band with him that didn't really work out for some reason, but now we're all in Phoenix Bodies and it is great.

5. musically, for lack of a better term, you guys play fast, chaotic hardcore. what stuff do you guys usually listen to? what did you guys listen to back when you were starting this band? lastly, what do you guys think of your own music?

Right now we all still listen to a lot of different stuff. Today I was just listening to The Wayward and Shitstorm. Colin is always rocking stuff like Animal Collective, The Rachel's and AIDS Wolf.
Thomas and I used to live together and he would always listen to Bright Eyes when he took showers, but he's really into stuff like Torche and Black Cobra as well. We all pretty much love old gravity records stuff like Clikitat Ikatowi and Universal Order of Armageddon. Kevin loves the Fucking Champs and Psychic Paramount, and Brian listens to all of that stuff and more. Back when the band started, I think it was birthed out of us jamming a lot of Creation is Crucifixion and Forcefedglass. Just loud, crazy music. I don't really think a lot about, or listen to our own music. I just know that it is fun to play.

6. what exactly pops into your heads whenever one of you ends up naked at shows? how often does this happen?

It happens a lot. It's usually pretty funny. We either take our own clothes off or someone helps us. I don't really know how to explain the phenomenon beyond that.

7. would it be awkward to say i love you guys on more levels than just a guy who listens to your records and stares at your pictures for hours on end?

Yeah, probably, but you live on the other side of the planet, so we shouldn't get too worried should we?

8. touring is a major part of being a band in general, would you guys happen to have any interesting stories from any of your previous tours?

Every single day has it's own long story behind it. We've played so many weird shows in weird places, I could easily fill up a book with lots of stories. At our first shows ever, I got stranded in Detroit when my car broke down, and at the last show we played a human pyramid was built and an acoustic guitar was smashed and destroyed by the crowd. We've been put up in giant mansions for the night, kept up all night by crazy parties, and had to sleep outside in the hot
Florida sun in July. Tour is full of both fun and miserable times. It is really great to go out and see the world and meet different people from different places though. So it is really worth all of the trouble.

9. on touring again, do you have plans of playing in southeast Asia anytime soon? we'd love to have you guys here.

We would really love to come to that area. Our friends in Hewhocorrupts are doing that next year. So go see them if you can. We don't really tour a whole lot, but we'd love to make a trip there sometime.

10. last question, how do you guys get those perpetually spartan figures, and just how did you grow all of that awesome facial hair?

Lots of sweet tea, video games, and occasional bike riding keeps us in shape. Being lazy and not shaving puts hair on our faces.

Southeast Asian Tours to look forward to

2007-11-01T10:50:00.001-07:00

WAR ALL THE TIME (UK)

War All The Time from the UK are coming to DC this November 26. once the venue gets announced, i'ma start repping this to every single person on the face of the earth. other bands stated to play are Explontoi from Polomolok, and DC veterans, As A Whole. i'ma ask Von for some more details later. meanwhile, keep yourselves busy by reveling in their majestic punk as fuck flyer.

KIAS FANSURI (MALAYSIA)/EUCALYPT (AUSTRALIA)

other than WATT, some bands are stated to tour Southeast Asia early next year, most notably, Kias Fansuri from Malaysia and Eucalypt from Australia. now, i have no idea how they're going to get here, but they put out some tentative tour dates, and DC is definitely there. i might need to ask around for arrangements, because quite frankly, Limp Cat can't do this alone.

tour dates include:

EUCALYPT / KIAS FANSURI - SOUTH EAST ASIA TOUR 2007 / 2008

19 dec 07 / wed - Bangkok , TH @ tba
20 dec 07 / thu - tba
21 dec 07 / fri - day off
22 dec 07 / sat - Singapore , SG @ tba w/ Fujicolor
23 dec 07 / sun - Kuala Lumpur , MY @ The Annexe w/ Fujicolor
25 dec 07 / tue - Kuala Lumpur , MY @ MCPA
26 dec 07 / wed - Kuala Terengganu , MY @ tba
27 dec 07 / thu - day off
28 dec 07 / fri - Kota Bharu , MY @ tba
29 dec 07 / sat - Penang , MY @ Wisma O'Kongsi w/ Fujicolor
30 dec 07 / sun - Ipoh , MY @ Bar Kita Suka
31 dec 07 / mon - day off - New Year Party
01 jan 08 / tue - Kuala Lumpur , MY @ Awakening w/ Fujicolor
02 jan 08 / wed - day off
03 jan 08 / thu - Bandung , IN w/ Devilica
04 jan 08 / fri - Jakarta , IN w/ Devilica
05 jan 08 / sat - Solo , IN w/ Devilica
06 jan 08 / sun - Jogjakarta , IN @ Kinoki w/ Devilica
07 jan 08 / mon - Semarang , IN w/ Devilica
08 jan 08 / tue - Kediri , IN w/ Devilica
09 jan 08 / wed - tba
10 jan 08 / thu - tba
11 jan 08 / fri - tba w/ Justkneeta
12 jan 08 / sat - Manila , PH w/ Justkneeta
13 jan 08 / sun - Davao , PH w/ Justkneeta
14 jan 08 / mon - tba w/ Justkneeta

just keep posted for updates, these are all still subject to change. dear god, i hope all of this works out well.

baby steps

2007-10-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

limp cat productions' first short film ever.

In Circles by Francis Maria

Young And Dangerous interview (Malaysia hardcore punk)

2007-09-28T05:32:00.000-07:00

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.

a few live videos

2007-09-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

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

a checklist

2007-09-17T04:42:00.001-07:00

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.

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.
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.
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?
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.
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

Now We Rise And Are Everywhere

2007-09-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

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/powerviolence
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.

on contributions and/or reviews.

2007-09-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

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.

THE INTRODUCTION

2007-09-08T13:10:00.001-07:00

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:

Damosa Crew
Ambulation
As A Whole (yet to confirm)
Path Session
Anxiety To Hysteria

day 2:

Stolen At Gunpoint
Cut The Chains Of Sin
Caitlyn Bailey (first and possibly last show, shit.)
Kill Thy Arrogance
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