Grid Iron "Quietly, Confider" cd (Burn It Down Rebuld/2003)

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Completing things is a nice feeling and that is what I have done with this fourth and final upload from Grid Iron. I am glad I have now been able to share with everyone all of this band's entire discography. And with that being said I do want to say that I will be completing some more discographies in the coming weeks and months which will ultimately bring a close to Here On This Island. I figure between some albums, eps, tape and vinyl rips as well as some more live and unreleased material by summer's end I will have accomplished what I set out to do with this blog and document this great music that has been such a huge part of my life. Thus far I want to thank all of the people who have supported the blog and  who have listened to this music for themselves. I also want to thank all these great bands for creating all this great music. However, I do want to point out that I do have to say I am amazed and somewhat disappointed when I look at the download stats seeing how even with free music people are still unwilling to take a chance. The stats are staggering, while I won't name names there are certain bands who I have uploaded who are downloaded far more than "lesser known" bands. It is no wonder why so many independent record labels are closing up shop. Unless you can cement a name brand band people won't take a chance to try out something new or even outside the box. It actually depresses me a great deal. I feel fortunate that I grew up in a age where independent labels/artists thrived and those who dared were rewarded. Personally, I think it speaks volumes for our culture at large when people's playlists are as bland and predictable as a fast food restaurant menu. Anyhow enough with my rant...

After a series of eps in late 2003 Grid Iron released their full length album Quietly, Confider which would become the band's final release. And what a release to go out on. In some ways it is a shame that this was the band's final release because you could really start to sense a growth that was only just starting to take footing. Quietly, Confider builds on that Jawbreaker influenced, jagged guitar indie rock/emo but another half of the album features more quieter (no pun intended), introspective tunes and dare I say even ballads. I know totally un-punk but seriously who gives a shit? A good song is a good song. There was certainly a roughness and charm to the earlier Grid Iron material that I enjoyed but Quietly, Confider finds the band firing on all cylinders and personally speaking, I forgot how damn good this album is. So check it out and if it so interests you I do have a couple of copies hanging around in my distro.

Grid Iron Quietly, Confider track listing:
1. Sleep Through This
2. The Pretender
3. The Derivative of the Sum is the Sum of the Derivatives
4. Treading Air
5. The Colors
6. Tears
7. Climbing the Ladder
8. Blindsight
9. Tides
10. Gift Horse
11. One Day Rains

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Guadalupe "Contract the Stank" cd (Burn It Down Rebuild/2004)

It so cold out so I need something energetic to keep me going. Coming into a freezing cold office sucks but rocking out to Guadalupe's Contract the Stank for the first time in a long time certainly does not suck. Around 2003-2004 I started to notice that there were a lot of kids in the Northport area giving the Long Island DIY scene a real shot in the arm. It felt young and exciting again. And that is not to say that there weren't exciting things amongst my peers but perhaps there was some jadedness starting to peer through as at that time lots of people/bands who made Long Island DIY such a vibrant creative community in the late 90s-early 2000s started to or had already flocked to Brooklyn. In Northport shows were packed with kids, there were several solid bands and kids were making cds/tapes/zines/etc. And doing it all with a passion for living in Long Island which is something that really appealed to me as I have always loved living in Long Island and have not had the same scorn for it the way some others have. Sure, there are aspects of living here that suck but that is relative. Travel around the country and talk to people and you'll know what I mean.

Anyhow, one of those bands was Guadalupe who were DIY hardcore/punk off shoot of the Northport indie rock band For Those Who Can Not Wait. I remember going to a show at my now house wondering whom all these kids I'd never met or seen before were and that is when my buddy Jon Contra was like "That's Guadalupe and they rule". Or something to that effect. Regardless, he was right. It was fast, exuberant and fun. It wasn't rocket science by any stretch of the imagination but it was perfect. Songs about friends, DIY, bike riding, cops and of course "stealing shit from other boats". It was just fucking fun and I loved it. They also did pretty rad Minor Threat and Body Count covers. Yes, THAT Body Count.

According to the liner notes Guadalupe spent two days with Phil Douglas (from Latterman, Iron Chic) the fifteen songs that appear on Contract the Stank. Fifteen songs may seem like a lot but don't blink because the record can be over just like that. Remember this is hardcore punk we are talking about here. Anyhow, Contract the Stank was made originally as cd-r in the brown paper bag upside down American flag on Burn It Down/Rebuild. Later on Burn It Down/Rebuild pressed as "real" cd release with different artwork. I prefer the artwork on the original cd-r release as opposed to the cd as the cd version's artwork reminded me far to much of the cover to The Insurgent discography cd. To each is their own. To my knowledge this was the only release that Guadalupe had though I do recall them recording tracks once at my house for a 7 inch though I am not sure if that ever materialized. I do know that guys from Guadalupe went on to be in a few other bands like Nude Beach, Dustheads and Yellow Tears to name a few.


Guadalupe Contract the Stank track listing

1. Kick the Shit
2. Bike Tuff
3. Guadalupe
4. No Sleep Ever
5. Fly the Dos
6. Rock the Plank
7. Drop the Stank
8. Seeing Red
9. Patrol These Streets
10. Can't Stop
11. Instrumental
12. Prove It
13. Sign on the Dotted
14. Stay Alive
15. We Win

Download Here