Life Rocks "Ours Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble" CD (Burn It Down Rebuild/2004)

I think I have been pretty clear before about how much I despise folk punk. I never got it. I never understood the fascination with early Against Me or any period of Against Me for that matter...so I imagine it is a bit of a surprise to be sharing this album because Life Rocks and their lone release Our Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble is definitely a folk a punk album, make no mistake about it. Perhaps I give my friends a pass? Or perhaps there are actually some good tunes on the release? I am not known for just liking a friend's project just to be a nice guy because really how is that being supportive of their art by just just being a yes man or a body in audience. There enough pairs of deaf ears to go around why be another.

For those unaware Life Rocks was a project that consisted of Matt Canino (Latterman, Rvivr) and Ian Campbell (Bent Outta Shape) and it was a folk punk project where most of the tunes were focused around two acoustic and two sets of vocals, though there were a few numbers that involve more of traditional electric indie rock set up which are ironically some of the strongest offerings on the album. The songs generally feature poorly tuned acoustic guitars with shouting vocals that at times struggle to stay in key but that is pretty much what the whole charm about folk punk was right? The lyrics are generally focused around a very idealistic, youthful Peter Pan kind of thinking that I have hard time relating to any longer. Out of all of the releases I have shared thus far this is the one that I don't think has aged well as with me as a whole where I can spin it in any regularity BUT with that being said I do certainly believe there is still merit to be found. And more importantly, I know there a fans of both Matt and Ian's related bands who have never heard this and may appreciate it so that in itself is more than enough reason to share. Our Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble is a very honest document and proclamation from two young artists at a time where these songs and the ideas shared were very much alive not only in themselves but the people around them. The Long Island that is sung about in these songs seems like a world away and is just a very different place son in that regards it is hard to relate to. That isn't say that Long Island today doesn't have its own brand of dreamers and scene makers or what have you but there is no arguing that it is totally different. 

Life Rocks "Our Minds Are Made Up-There's Going to Be Trouble" track listing
1. Platt River Vs Long Island Sound
2. Stay Warm, Sweet Dreams
3. Expressways and Empty Skies
4. Smile Real Big
5. Dear Friends
6. North Shore Blues
7. Peanut Butter Garlic Hot Sauce
8. Mountains & The Beach
9. South Shore Blues
10. Keepers of the Fabled City
11. It Takes a Little Bit of Skill and A Little Bit of Not Giving a Fuck


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Scent of Human History "Unreleased Album" (2003)

As I hinted earlier this week I had a nice surprise for everyone. Additionally, I mentioned having in my possession this unreleased recording in my post about their split cd with The Lazer and now I am finally ready to share this unreleased gem with everyone. In listening to this album it blows my mind that it was never released. If it was it could've easily been identified as a classic for that era of Long Island music but instead it has just been a rumored relic to many and only heard by a few. All of the Scent of Human History releases were solid but I think this collection of ten songs captures what they were doing perfectly, especially the band in their twilight as the songs were getting longer, more expansive and noisy bordering on psych at times mixed with the chaotic screamo that they were known for. I remember seeing most of these songs played live in the year that Yes Sensei and Scent of Human History played a lot of shows together but the one song that sticks out the most for me is the absolutely beautiful fifteen plus minute epic "Science". Everytime I saw them play this song it sent chills down my spine and coming from a critical point of view, this song really was sign of growth for the band as the beginning of the song was almost faint whisper like quiet and it slowly morphed into a monolith of sound with a eventually culminating chaos seemingly coming from nowhere. This may seem quaint now, but this was a good couple of years before "post rock" and stuff like Explosions in the Sky and Pelican started being all the rage. At that point it reminded me of later era Swans but back in 2003 no one I knew was claiming to like the Swans. I remember very vividly playing a show with Scent of Human History in some basement in Northport and their first song was a really fast, chaotic screamy awesome mess that barely broke one minute and a half. It finished and Jay Melli (the band's guitarist and vocalist) said "we have one more", I look around and people are puzzled. I mean I know that they were all in for some "Science" but it was cool to get a sense that no one knew what was coming. It was awesome. And so is the rest of this incredible unreleased album. I known it to be a great album for many years and I believe many of you will feel the same way after listening to it.

A quick not about the track listing. This is not 100% as the cd-r and tape I have of it are not labeled with track names, however I was able to name the tracks from memory and process of elimination.

Scent of Human History "Unreleased Album" track listing:

1. "Wind"

2. "Why Don't You Cut the Floor Out From Under Me"

3. "Territorial Pissings"

4. "The Choice Unchosen"

5. "Just in Stress"

6. "Change Melts Away"

7. "Or Will Drown"

8. "Instrumental"

9. "Science"

10. "Untitled"

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Scent of Human History/The Lazer "split" CD (The Children's Revolt/2002)

This release while not too old certainly is a solid document of a small part of what was going on in Long Island in the early 2000s. And mind you not necessarily musically and lyrically but the sense of DIY artistic expression and camaraderie that was so prevalent at the time. Around that time there were several homes that opened up and were having shows, from Ren's House in Nassau County and the Vargas house in eastern Suffolk. There was a very loud, very celebratory sense from  kids creating their own entertainment and their own rules. And while I think there a lot of bands, individuals, and ideas that certainly made that time period exciting, I think these two bands carved out a niche out of the whole Long Island scene that I was really drawn too. So why not split a release?

The first three songs from this split cd are from the hardcore/screamo trio Scent of Human History whom evolved from the bands Sometimes Walking Sometimes Running, Jan Cux, Footnote to Blacknote and a handful of other projects, including their post Scent project, United States whom I had the pleasure of releasing a 12 inch for. For whatever reason, regardless of Long Island's history of spawning some excellent screamy, discordant hardcore bands like Scapegrace, Halfman, La Magna, Devola, The State Secedes, etc. outside of Scent of Human History and some elements of On the Might of Princes, the screamo/hardcore style never really caught on. So to some degree Scent of Human History and their related projects were always an anomaly amidst the glut of pop punk, emo or melodic hardcore on Long Island. Anomaly or not, they were fantastic and for my money always a very good live band. Taking nods from bands like City of Caterpillar and Pg 99 their songs shifted in between really fast blasts of furious, distorted chaos and hypnotizing noisy borderline psychedelic jams. One of my bands, Yes Sensei, had the pleasure of playing a bunch of shows with them and at one point did a winter tour together in after Christmas 2003 into 2004. Not only was there musical chemistry but personal, and as someone who had admired their music and art for a long time I was happy to see off Long Island there was a far better appreciation for what they were doing. Those shows and particularly that tour were lots of fun as it became this unspoken pissing contest of who could play louder and who could make their songs longer and more improvised. That tour changed my life (seriously) and Scent of Human History is a band whom through their music, art, zines, etc inspired me a great deal.

Offering eight songs of pissy, snotty poppy punk rock and roll is the one, and the only The Lazer. The band who gained infamy in the pages of MRR. The band whose tour stories sounded like far fetched fish tales. The band whom could barely keep in tune or in time. The band where every set seemed like an adventure or a joke-you be the judge. The band that you hated simultaneously while loving. Yes, all of that but above all The Lazer were real and holy shit were they fun. For a band that wrote seemingly simplistic songs there seriously aren't enough adjectives to describe The Lazer. For those, unaware The Lazer is the band that eventually morphed into the wonderful Bent Outta Shape. I know it sounds like a cop out but to really fully grasp everything that surrounded The Lazer you had to be there and really know the people in the band and how their very distinct personalities came into play ine the whole spectrum of things. Every time I hear these songs I immediately think of shows at Ren's House. More selfishly I think about how glad I was when they kicked out my best friend Adam who went on to share guitar duties with me in Yes Sensei  from 2003-2009 and have our own crazy stories. But of all things there is one thing I certainly think about it when listening to these songs and it chokes me up most often, I think of Jamie Ewing whom passed away in November of 2008 leaving behind this life far too early. He and I were not best friends by any stretch of the imagination but we were certainly friendly and anytime we were within an earshot of one another we'd talk like old high school buddies. And when he filled on the bass player slot for Scent of Human History on the winter tour they did with Yes Sensei we got even closer. It stung hard when I heard of his passing and it still gets me from time to time. Jamie as a person was one of kind and so likable. There was a charisma about him that I have never seen in another person ever. And the reality was that Jamie was one hell of a talented songwriter. The phrase "wearing your heart on your sleeve" gets thrown around rather loosely but I don't think there is a description more fitting for Jamie's ability with a guitar and his voice. Sincerely, Jamie was the closest our generation had to a songwriter of the caliber of Paul Westerberg. He will certainly be missed by all whom he encountered but fortunately he left behind a great deal of great music that will make us smile, laugh, cry and ultimately to remember him by.

Here is an attempt in putting together somewhat of a discography for both of these bands but bare in mind both Scent of Human History and The Lazer never really "advertised" their releases or in some instances would just make copies for friends. In the case of Scent of Human History I didn't even know the demo existed until a friend mentioned it in passing. If anyone has any corrections/additions please let me know. Additionally, if someone actually has a rip of that aforementioned Scent of Human History demo or a copy they'd be willing to part with hit me up.

Scent of Human History
"demo" cassette (self released)
"split w/ Lazer" cd (The Children's Revolt)
"split w/ Memory As Perfection" 12 inch (Waking Records)
"unreleased album"  (not really sure why it didn't come out-it rules!)

The Lazer
"split w/ Kiwi" cd (self released)
"split w/ Scent of Human History" cd (The Children's Revolt)

Track Listing:
1. Scent of Human History "An Individual"
2. Scent of Human History "An Optimist"
3. Scent of Human History "A Request"
4. The Lazer "Piss Broke"
5. The Lazer "Leopard Print Mets Hat"
6. The Lazer "Professional Driver"
7. The Lazer "Carpel Tunnel"
8. The Lazer "These Are For Fucking"
9. The Lazer "Curling Up in Front of a Warm Fire with jay Meli and a Good Book"
10. The Lazer "Nor Can Clean His Own Parking Lot"
11. The Lazer "Wisconsin"

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