Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year! My first post...

Welcome to Music Not Noize! I decided to kick off the new year by trying out this blog thing. I've never done this before so you might see quite a few changes in the first weeks until I figure everything out. Is anyone even reading this?

Ok, so let's get to it. My intention here is to post music (mostly punk) that I like, want to share, or stuff I have no information about! There will be a huge emphasis on international stuff - especially stuff with lesser known punk histories (South America, Greece, Balkans, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, etc.) but with a healthy dose of material from more well-known scenes to keep things balanced. Mostly vinyl and tapes, but some CDs too. If you like something or have some juicy info on a band or release, leave a comment! Get in touch! I'm all about connecting with folks over rad punk/hardcore.



So enough with the declarations and on to the racket! I want to start this off right - with one of my all time favorite and most inspirational bands. POST REGIMENT formed in Warsaw in the mid-late 80's and ended in 2001. They captured their incredible melodic hardcore blend on 3 LP's throughout those years, and according to acquaintances in Poland, they grew quite famous and legendary. 

Years ago on my first visit to the Bay Area with some friends from Austin, one of our hosts was a Polish guy named Dominik Gerszberg. Dominik was an incredible artist (his distinct dark artwork donned many punk/crust record covers, such as a few by LESSER OF TWO), a fun sweet guy, and a gracious host. One day we were headed into the city in Jake's van to catch a show or something and he held up this tape with this weird colored robot-looking face on it, and ranted and raved about how it was one of the greatest and most important bands to him. So as he popped it in and the intro to the POST REGIMENT debut started surging through the speakers, I was giving my full attention. When the bouncy drum and bass part kicked in on "Czarzły", I was instantly converted. Once I got back to Texas after that trip, I searched every current zine and mailorder I knew until I found POST REGIMENT, and placed my order. The Czarzły LP was the only one I could find at first. After playing that to death (still love it), I ordered the self-titled LP from Poland THREE TIMES from different Polish labels before I actually received one! I was told that the Polish post was kinda sketchy at the time and that my packages had probably either gotten lost, or just never made it through customs. Then, naturally, I proceeded to track down any Polish punk/hardcore I could find. 

So after all this time, POST REGIMENT remains one of my favorites, and listening to some of their stuff still moves me to this day. My first offering on this blog is an LP called "Death Before Metal," was released in 2007, and contains 2 early demos from 1988  and 1990. Nika isn't even present on the first demo (her vocals are a really important part of this band's sound), but it's still just incredible, innovative punk. 


POST REGIMENT - "Death Before Metal"



Dominik Gerszberg RIP
Dominik went missing during a trip into the forest with some friends several years ago. Common friends have told me that though the loss of him brought great sadness, it felt natural for him to pass away out in the wilderness - a place he loved. So even though I never became close to Dominik, I want to dedicate this first post to him, for unknowingly changing my life through music. 

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