18 Comments
Aug 18Liked by Aaron Gilbreath

Great stuff - thank you! Because I’m a pedantic motherfucker I just wanted to point out that it’s archive.org rather than archive.com. Would hate for people not to get to such a fabulous resource.

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will fix, thx!

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This is so great! I started writing for Flipside in 1995 and then moved to LA a year later and got to experience some of this energy while contributing my own questionable takes!

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love it!

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Aug 17Liked by Aaron Gilbreath

I've been recently going back through zine reviews / interviews on Internet Archive—I have a thing for how young, dumb and exciting it all comes off as. And makes me miss the outsider-ness of it all, when it was a good thing to poseur-hate. These were great to read, a few names I'd forgotten and a few that were never known, like Sativa Luv Box, which is such an awful but perfectly early 90s band name (I really like Kommunity FK though). Also great to think of seeing a lot of those bands, in similar small cubs in Texas, like getting my doors blown off by The Fluid at Emo's, in Austin but maybe even the Houston one, too (I loved them and still have my very first driver's license, where I'm wearing the Fluid / Ford logo longsleeve, which I wish Id never given away...or sold my vinyl copy of that first brilliantly dumb Warlock Pinchers album).

Lookin forward to what you bring up next.

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I’m a former Houston Emos hanger outer and occasional performer. God, I miss that place and the fetid bathrooms.

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It's a toss-up between which Emo's bathroom was scuzzier. I was mostly at the Austin one though, so I'll pick that trough.

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Ah, I agree. It’s a close call. Played a few shows and saw many at Atx Emos. BUT, prior to the htx Emos having their swimming pool filled in with sand, it was really a nasty af pool, and when Emos first opened folks actually swam in it. Not sure if they’re still Alive. Then, when bathrooms backed up, the pool became the urine receptacle and was quickly filled in with sand. I had an in with the guy that owned/managed the htx Emos and got a key to an upper floor bathroom for VIPs that was not nasty at all. Heard lots of good music, including many of the bands mentioned here at both Emos. I live near Atx now. Left htx 19 years ago after 45 years.

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Also, I’ll add that The Axiom bathrooms in htx we’re pretty nasty as well.

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I forgot The Axiom even had a bathroom, I just remember using the empty lot next to it.

I left Houston for Austin in '92, although made visits back for occasional shows, like Alice Donut at the Houston Emos. I actually liked it more, as it seemed appropriately Houston gooned, with the swimming pool and all. I'm back in Houston after forever and am glad to report there are still punk bands playing in old mansion-turned-bars on Westheimer.

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Aug 20·edited Aug 20

Cool. I’m near Atx but monthly am down in Houston doing substitute drumming gigs and reforming an old 1980s-1990s band. More later but the band being reformed has a killer singer songwriter guitarist and I’ll bet you’ve heard of us. We will have a new name. I’m not teasing but the bandleader (my dear friend) would be surprised to see it here first as I turned him onto this stack. I’m following you so I’ll let you know and post some stuff. Big hint. It’s connected to this song, but this is not the band I was in. This was before me and my man.

Aaron I swear I’m not trying to take over your comments. So sorry!!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VITK4WjHeUE

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Aug 31Liked by Aaron Gilbreath

This was awesome! And it particularly reminded me how great Steel Pole Bathtub were… crazy good band!

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Yeah, this is the good shit here. Reminds me of 90s Cleveland "Euclid Tavern" days; when there were white rented touring vans parked in front of the Euc 3-4 nights a week.

I wish to hell we had something like this for bands now.

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This is awesome!

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This is so great. I’ve seen or heard of lots of these bands. You know you had me with “sorta sounded like Janes Addiction and their sympathy cover”. Yep. They did. I never heard of this fanzine otherwise I’d have read it instead of Music Connection, which was old, stale and bland compared to this zine! You’re always teaching me new things about all that rock and roll…Thank you!

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Love the detailed reviews, and your reviews of the samples below. lol on the video link being removed and is being better off for it.

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