VASELINE CHILDREN – SELF TITLED EP

On May 28th, 2006. which was ten years ago, my old band VASELINE CHILDREN recorded its first EP. Some of you reading this blog may know a bit about Vaseline Children because I mention this band from time to time and maybe you were even there when Vaseline Children played shows. I will go into details about this recording, release and also about the period of the band when this EP was recorded. At the time of recording this EP, the complete line up was together only for a few months. Before Cane (vocals) and Kiki (bass) joined, Zhbla (guitar & back ups) and me (drums) were having rehearsals as a two piece for a few months until we find the rest of the members to complete the band. This was the first band of Kiki and Cane and Kiki practically learned to play bass through Vaseline Chidlren songs. Also, before this recording, we played only two shows. I don´t know if all that shows on this EP, I´m definitelly aware of all the flaws of the first recording, but maybe I´m more critical about it because I was in the band and I´m more fond of how these songs sounded live, but considering that this is still the most known and loved Vaseline Children record, I´m probably too critical about it. 

VASELINE CHILDREN before the first show

On afternoon, May 28th, 2006. Vaseline Children recorded 12 songs in a garage, which was a rehearsal place of Usud, death metal band where some of the people we knew played at the time. Everything was recorded in 3 hours by Brankec (who was the drummer of Usud) and we recorded all live at the spot except for vocals and second guitar parts that were dubbed. The recording was mixed, produced and remastered in June 2006. by Jakić (who played in bunch of Croatian hc/punk/metal bands like: Clean, Nikad, Senata Fox, Amok and now play in Ponor) at his home (so-called: „Kut Sobe“). This recording was released first as a Self Titled CD at the end of 2006. on bunch of Balkan DIY hc/punk labels: DHP & AK47, Brand New Place (which was run by Cane), Ha-Ko Bastards, Obsolete Man & Burn Their Trends. All of these labels were run by our friends, so it was all based on friendship and supporting and spreading the DIY hc/punk conspiracy. The CD has all 12 songs that we recorded which include our 10 songs and 2 covers, one by Fx Px Ox (our friends from Skopje, Macedonia) and one by Circle Jerks. In spring of 2007. the recording was released as a Self Titled 7 ˝ EP by Thrashbastard, DIY hc/punk label from Berlin, Germany. Seven Inch has 10 songs, missing "Svi Ćete Umrijeti" and Circle Jerks cover and song order is slightly different from the CD version. 3 songs from the recording was also given and sent on a CD-r to some people as a promo CD. Songs on that promo CD were: "Wrong Time, Wrong Place", "We Are Taking Over" & "Nothing To Give". Also, few songs from this recording were released on a few international DIY hc/punk compilations.

I can´t recall much from the recording process except that it went pretty smoothly (I mean, it took us only 3 hours to record everything), because we were having often rehearsals at the time so we were tight enough and the songs were pretty simple which only helped us to record everything so fast. One thing that I remember was that when Cane did vocals, the rest of us had to get out of the garage, because it was so funny to hear his vocals without the rest of the music. After we recorded this, I remember that we sent few songs from the recording to lots of people but the interesting thing is that it was Vasko from Fx Px Ox, who gave VC promo CD to Andreas who was the guy behind the Trashbastard label and just by hearing those 3 songs, Andreas decided to release VC on 7 inch. Andreas helped us a lot with releasing the seven inch, he spread the release to countless distributions and I think this was and still is the most known Vaseline Children record and from time to time I still bump into the seven inch on some distros. As for production of the recording, I can´t say that I´m totally satisfied with it, but concerning the shitty instruments we had at the time, I don´t think it could be any better, so that´ what it is and at least the recording is raw like hardcore punk record should sound. 

VASELINE CHILDREN, September 20th, 2006. - Show with Fx Px Ox & This Home Is Prepared at "Vila Kiseljak" squat, Zagreb, Croatia

VASELINE CHILDREN, September 30th, 2006. - Show with Theysuck! at "Barijera" squat, Metlika, Slovenia (the last photo ended up on the first record)

The cover art is simple but effective. I think that Zhbla was mainly responsible for cover art and graphics. As for mutliplied skulls on the cover, I guess Zhbla also found the skull somewhere, I´m not sure where he took it from. The logo on the first record is the first version of the logo, we changed it later. Both CD and seven inch covers has explanations of lyrics, all written in English and CD version have also text about DIY hc/punk from each member of the band written in Croatian. It was important for us to express our point of view on things that mattered to us like being into DIY and hc/punk (3 VC members also did zines at the time), so each of us wrote something about how we view DIY hc/punk, what it means to us and also we expressed strong critic of the local hc/punk scene. The same was with our lyrics, we pretty much wrote short and to the point angry and pissed off lyrics about stuff that frustrated us at the time, being that the local hc/punk scene, pressure of society and your peers and similiar themes. The photo on the back of the seven inch (or in the lyrics sheet in CD version) was taken by Mirna von CFB (Evazija & Ugly Fucks vocalist) and that wasn´t credited on either version of the record. The photo was taken on Vaseline Children/Theysuck! show, September 30th, 2006. at „Barijera“ squat, Metlika, Slovenia. If anyone cares, the seven inch was pressed two times, 500 each press, all on black and there are few test presses. As for CD, I´m not sure how many were pressed, probably not more than 150/200. There is one interesting thing with CD version that something like 30 or 40 copies were lost somewhere on the streets of Zagreb, thanks to one of our friends (that will remain nameless here, haha) who took the copies for the distro and forgot the bag with the CDs somewhere on the street.

VASELINE CHILDREN, November 17th, 2006. - Show with Growing Rats & Aktivna Propaganda at "MC SG", Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia

As for writing credit, most of the lyrics were written by Zhbla, I wrote „Hardcore Starts In My Room“ and „We Are Taking Over“. „Svi Ćete Umrijeti“ was written by both Zhbla and me and Dropdead was written by Cane. As for the music, it was pretty much the same case as with the lyrics, most of it was by Zhbla, mine music was for the same 3 songs that I´ve also wrote the lyrics. I could say that „Jadranka Kosor“ was done by Zhbla and me, but that´s like only few seconds, so who cares… Some songs were dropped out of our live set pretty soon, like: „Hardcore Starts In My Room“ and „Jadranka Kosor“, while most of the other songs were played until the last fucking VC show. Lots of these songs were favorites of people who were into VC, especially „Nothing To Give“ (which is actually one of the least favorite songs of mine from this record) and „Svi Ćete Umrijeti“ (guys from Mladina Kina loved this song). I could list you bunch of bands that had some influence on us at the time, but the fact is that Tear It Up had lots of influence on Zhbla and me during the VC and it was one of the most important bands that had impact on us to start the band in the first place. All of us in VC loved Youth Of Today, Black Flag, Minor Threat, Fx Px Ox and few more bands that I can´t remember now. All of these bands had major influence on us, if not musically then it was their dedication to DIY hc/punk what inspired us. The cover songs for the debut recorind were chosen pretty simple. Circle Jerks – Group Sex was also one of our favorite hc/punk records and "Deny Everything" was pretty easy to cover. Fx Px Ox were our friends and they were one of the most important DIY hc/punk bands from Balkan and they were very active at the time so, they definitelly inspired us a lot.

Few VASELINE CHILDREN  posters from the 2006. shows

It´s interesting how things moved quick then. At the time of the first VC recording, even that we played only two shows, the word about this new fast and pissed off sXe hc/punk band spread around quickly. Until the CD was released, we already played 15 shows in bunch of towns, including Slovenia and at the end of 2006. we played in Serbia and Macedonia. Also, by the time the CD was released, If not interviews then VC infos were in pretty much every active hc/punk zine at the time in the ex YU area. We were definitelly taking over and we took no prisoners, haha. Oh shit, I didn´t even mentioned all the rumors and crap that people talked about VC at the time, well, maybe some other time. 

VASELINE CHILDREN walking in the streets of Pula, Croatia during the two day 3rd Anti-Fa Fest, November 3rd, 2006.

 VASELINE CHILDREN & THE TRUTH OF XXX, Belgrade, Serbia, December 30th, 2006.

So, this is how I see the first Vaseline Children record, if any other VC member  or anyone else wants to add something or correct some of my errors, be free to leave the comment or drop me a line. The fucking struggle continues!

The Snake

Get it here: VC 7 ˝

            VC Self Titled CD version

NEVER GOOD ENOUGH!

On May 17th, 2016. UGLY FUCKS and ADDENDA played in ex Mulj, a DIY place for shows in Duga Resa, Croatia. This was one of those shows that was doomed from the start, meaning that we all knew that not many people will come but more about that later. From Zagreb, five of us came with Roko´s car: Roko, Vilim, Iceman, CFB and me, packed with guitars, amps, cymbals and other stuff. We listened some darn good music in the car like Dead Nation and Tear It Up, who would guessed that, haha! In front of the Mulj, we met with CursedXD, Vuki and Mario, then Mario and Roko went to Karlovac to bring more equipment. After some time the guys from Addenda showed up with a car because their van broke at the very beginning of their tour, so they returned back to Barcelona and went on a tour with a car bringing just basic stuff with them. Luckily they are only 3 guys in the band, so they could fit in one car. It was nice to see again Josep and Inaki and also to meet Fran, who I didn´t knew before. When Roko and Mario came back, we started to set up the stuff for the show and then also the food was ready, cooked by Valentina, we all appreciated this warm and delicious meal. So, as I´ve said already before, not many people came so it was time to start the show in front of something like 15 people altogether. Ugly Fucks played first. We played like it was our last show, we were tight and furious and it was cool atmosphere. Before the last song, we played a new song which is still an instrumental because we we did it without CFB two days before this show and she didn´t even know that we did a new song so this was a surprise not only for the people but also for her. We talked more than usual on this show, even CursedXD said some stuff about some hc/punk bands hyping themselves on social networks and I talked in English so that guys from Addenda can understand. I said how I have lots of respect for the fact that they came with the car on tour because I´m not sure if every band would do that, there are lots of people into hc/punk that are faking it big time and in situations like this, you can see who is really into it for life and who is a fake and a poser. Also, the fact that no one from Zagreb is coming to shows like this is the sad and real picture of today´s Croatian hc/punk "scene". Yeah, I know that it was Tuesday and that people have their obligations, people work or go to some fucking colleges, but is it possible that from all the Zagreb hc/punk people, no one was interested to come to a DIY show!?! How hard is to pick few people and sit in the car and come to a fucking show? I guess, if the show is not in front of some people noses, they won´t bother at all. Not to say that today for lots of people it is more important to go to show of every "legendary" quazy hc/punk band that come to Zagreb then to support young people into DIY hc/punk. Everybody will tell you that there are no younger people here that are involved in hc/punk, but that is not entirely true and when younger people try to do something, there are no people to support them, because you know, who cares, Poison Idea wasn´t on the bill, so why should you support a DIY hc/punk show? But as I´ve said to guys from Addenda, fuck all those assholes, we knew why we were there and that´s what is important. Anyway, after we finished, Addenda set up and started to play. Addenda is a fast hc/punk band from Barcelona, Spain and they started the band in 2008. Even though they have lots of fastcore parts in their songs, they also mix it with some melodic parts and also some post hardcore parts here and there. They were tight and energetic, I really enjoyed their set and wished they could play forever. Their English weren´t the best, but they did say few things about them and their songs which was cool and Josep handed us their lyrics (which are not in English but have translations and explanations of the lyrics, I like that a lot). People were at first a bit "shy" but later some of us loosen up a little and made some very bad hardcore moves, haha. Imagine a wall of death that consisted of 7 people, it was hilarious. We yelled to the guys to play some more and they did, indeed. They played I Want To Hold Your Hand, an early Beatles classic, I sang along like nuts. There was also a Scholastic Deth cover - Drop The Bomb and before the encore, they also played Ready To Fight by Negative Approach and only I recognized the song, haha. So, it was really a great show, sometimes the shows with less people can be better then crowded shows and I´m talking from experience here. After the show, we hanged out and talked while we were waiting for Roko and Mario to handle the equipment. After that was done, the same five people that came from Zagreb, went back there with Roko´s car. So, that was that, I´m glad that I saw the guys from Addenda and can´t wait to see them again in Barcelona this summer. To some of us this means everything and that´s who and what we are, take it or leave it. 

The Snake

PS - Thanks to Valentina for the photos

  

UGLY FUCKS

ADDENDA

SNFU SHOW REPORT

So, I went to the SNFU show on May 8th, 2016. It was on a Sunday night and the show was in Attack Club in Medika complex, Zagreb, Croatia. SNFU is still one of may favorite hardcore punk bands from the 80´s that also played in the 90´s and somehow even survived the 2000´s. Although the band did broke up few times over the years and original two guitarists, the Belke brothers haven´t returned to the band when SNFU broke up again in 2005. Mr. Chi Pig, the original member, singer and one of the founders and soul of the band continued to tour with various line ups during the years and the band even recorded and released an album (their 8th) in 2013. called: „Never Trouble Trouble Untill Trouble Troubles You“ on Cruzar Media Records. I haven´t listened much that album so I won´t judge it on merit of few times listening but I haven´t liked it much so far. 

I actually had mixed feelings about going or not going to this show, because I doubted that the present SNFU line up is good as SNFU with Belke brothers with some of the steadiest rhythm section. But, fortunately I was totally wrong about that and of course, I went to the show and I´m glad that I did. Anyway, I was there just in time for coming too late for the first band because all 3 local bands that also played that night had zero of my interest (trust me, it wasn´t the best line up to watch before SNFU). So, before SNFU took the stage, I mostly hanged out with my friend/roomate and few more friends/acquaintances. There wasn´t more than 100 people on  the show, at least that´s how it seemed because the club wasn´t all packed. 

Then SNFU showed up on stage. Jamie Oliver on drums (also played in UK Subs), Kurt Robertson on guitar (also played in The Real McKenzies), Randy Steffes on guitar (a former SNFU and Green Day sound man), Dave Bacon on bass (one of the old SNFU members that played on their classic second LP: „If You Swear You´ll Catch No Fish“) and of course, Mr. Chi Pig on vocals. Despite their older age and when you know what Mr. Chi Pig went through over the years with fighting schizophrenia and dealing with the long battle with various hard drugs, they were fucking great from the first seconds of their set to the end. They started with „The Ceiling“ and continued with songs from every album from their discography. The sound was great and the band played really tight and the energy was there. It was great to sing with various people around me some of the SNFU classic songs like: „Fate“, „Cannibal Cafe“, „Painful Reminder“, „Don´t Have The Cow“ and so on. I don´think that they played more then one hour which included one encore where they played: „Broken Toy“, „This Is The End“ and already mentioned „Cannibal Cafe“ and „Painful Reminder“. It went so quick and my only little regret is that they didn´t play some oft he more obscure songs like „Beautiful , Unlike You And I“ or „Reality Is A Ride On The Bus“, but still, it was great eshow and experience and if SNFU play near you, don´t miss them because they still got it. Mr Chi Pig is not jumping like a madman how he used to but he still gives his best and sings every note. Below I did a list of all the songs they played on this show, 21 songs in total. So, this was a really cool show by a band that I love very much and I´m glad that I´ve been on the show.

The Snake

PS – The photos were taken by Kristijan Smok and I „stole“ them from Subsite website.

SNFU song list from the show:

From „…And No One Else Wanted To Play“: Broken Toy, Cannibal Cafe, Misfortune & This Is The End,

From „If You Swear You´ll Catch No Fish“: Where´s My Legs?, I Forget & The Ceiling.

From „Better Than A Stick In the Eye“: Time To Buy A Futon

From „Something Green And Leafy This Way Comes“: Painful Reminder

From „The One Voted Most Likely To Succeed“: Rusty Rake, Big Thumbs & Drunk On A Bike

From „FYULABA“: Stepstranger, Better Than Eddie Vedder, Don´t Have A Cow & Fate.

From „In The Meantime And In Between Time“: Cockatoo Quill & Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.

From „Never Trouble Trouble Untill Trouble Troubles You“: Voodoo Doll Collector and one more song that I didn´t recognize, probably also from this album.

Victims Of The Womanizer from „Something To Believe In“ compilation from 1984. 

JOHN STABB R. I. P.

Last night, John Stabb Schroeder passed away peacefully in arms of his long time life partner Mina, after a 112-day battle with stomach cancer. I didn´t know John personally, but following him through Daghouse Messageboard and dozens of interviews, he always seemed like a nice person. Also, john was vocalist of one of the best hardcore punk bands - Government Issue, the band that still influence people from all over the world and he left a really big legacy with his music. Government Issue is one of my favorite DC hardcore bands and John will surely be missed by many. Thank you John, rest in peace.

The Snake

TEN YEARS AGO

This post would be more appropriate if I posted it yesterday, but here it is, on 6th May 2006. which was fucking ten years ago, my old band VASELINE CHILDREN played its first show. Those were some special times in my life and yes, sometimes I do like to go back in my mind to that time, feeling nostalgic and all that shit. But, here I am ten years after, still doing what I know the best, writing about hardcore punk and playing in hardcore punk bands, touring and not giving a fuck what anyone thinks about that. Anyway, I still can remember well that first Vaseline Children show. The show was in Novo Mesto, Slovenia in a squatted place called Leglo. Few more bands played that night, from melodic punk rock to grindcore. From all the VC members, I was the only one who had played bunch of shows before that with other bands. Zhbla played maybe two shows with his old band, but for Kiki and Cane this was their first ever performing with the band in front of the audience. I remember the epic question that Kiki asked the sound guy. He asked him where he should plug in, not knowing anything about the amps or equipment whatsoever. Despite all that, we played a pretty solid set, sounding pissed off and very agro, haha. At that moment, we already had ten of our songs (that didn˙t last more than 10 minutes) so we played all of our songs and a few covers. I think that we played: Deny Everything (Circle Jerks), Bilbord Revolucija (Fx Px Ox) and Depression (Black Flag). So, our whole set probably wasn´t more than 15 minutes. We all sported bandanas and big fat X-es on our hands on that first show, I guess people there thought that they kind of got wraped in some time machine, haha. Maybe this will sound like I´m overreacting, but I think that at the time we already knew and felt that this band was something special and important and sure it was, at least to me it was. After we started to play more shows, nothing was ever the same, but more about that some other time.

The Snake

VASELINE CHILDREN first show

After the first VC show in the back stage: VASELINE CHILDREN & DICKLESS TRACY (who also played that night)

  

Cane

Zhbla

Kiki

Gajo