AN UNEASY PEACE • self-titled

AN UNEASY PEACE • self titled 7″ EP

Dirt Cult Records

I was taken aback when I heard Lance’s voice on the An Uneasy Peace E.P. Have you ever found a note, or heard a message from someone that you were certain you’d never hear from again? It was strangely both transportive and comforting, while being haunting and sorrowful. An Uneasy Peace is a project of Lance Hahn’s that was aimed at being a hardcore band. Musically it is standard, catchy, SOCAL style HC. But it’s really a Lance record and if you’re reading this then I’m certain you already know what I mean. Lance had a way of turning anything he did into a very definable “Lance Hahn” entity by way of distinct guitar style, lyric phrasing, and voice. I don’t remember where I was when I’d heard that Lance Hahn had died. I remember it was 2007 and maybe Fall. We’d been pen pals from the later years of Cringer through the birth of the internet and onto electronic mail. The last time I’d seen him was outside of Brownies in Hoboken, NJ and I hassled him about records he owed me. It was the first time someone I knew, with a connection to the underground community that I really respected their song writing and art and who was a friend to everyone, had died. I’m happy that this has found its way from an idea to its vinyl home, the way I’m certain it was originally intended. (JD)

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Justin Dratson: JD   Nate Wilson: NW   Matt Average: MA

 

MAPLEWOOD NJ RECORD FAIR 11/24/19

Maplewood Record Fair Sunday Nov 24th 2019

Maplewood New Jersey

Ok so this is a great record convention that takes place in the town I live in and is put on on by an older punk couple who love our community (and NJ in general).  This is Jenn and Charles second show, and they seem to be trying to do two a year at this point.  It’s organized very nicely. They’ve figured out how to make it work. I mean, who can argue with a $3 entrance fee with kids under 18 getting in for free?

I had so much fun at this event, and I was there all day. Usually I can’t stomach something like this for that long. But I was able to catch up with friends from within the community of Maplewood to those who traveled afar. I even bought some records!

The fair had well over 40 dealers who were selling everything from vintage stereo equipment to records. Michelle and Cedar Ridge cafe come fully stocked with vegan baked goods.

Some of the cooler stuff I saw being sold there were Metallica Justice promo posters of some sort. They were def in some dudes basement for the last 20 years.  Dude busted 50 of them out and was selling them for $10 a shot, they are very cool.  Saw some really neat guitars, and amplifiers. Dave Golgano is a NJ staple who always has great Metal records for sale. I watched him sell a Razor Armed and Dangerous rarity for big bucks.  Folks were selling boom boxes, cassette tapes, 8 tracks, cheap CDs, turntables, vintage clothing and more vinyl than you can imagine in this very cool old room called the Woodland. I mean this is the kind of convention you dream of with older punk dudes who have gone kids book artist selling off their entire collections to those of us lucky enough to be there.  Do you need the entire Neurosis back catalog on colored vinyl? Well he had it.  You need some Pushead Bacteria Sour releases? He had ’em. 90s emo, hardcore and punk 7”s? My man had ’em. You looking to buy your old bands 10” record back? Well I did it… he had it.

Its so awesome to see the young kids from the record collecting community involved as well.. sitting behind the tables wondering why their fathers and mothers are so excited about something you can actually hold in your hands as you listen to the music crackle and pop.

Seriously this was a great time, with basically every genre of music on every format imaginable available to people who are interested. I can’t wait for the next one in June.  If you live in in NJ, NY, or Philly don’t sleep on this event. (NW)

To find out about future fairs, contact: soundselusive (at) gmail.com

 

THE PROWLER (aka Rosemary’s Killer) (1981)

THE PROWLER (aka Rosemary’s Killer) (1981)

Director: Joseph Zito

Starring: Vicki Dawson, Christopher Goutman, Farley Granger, Cindy Weintraub, Lisa Dunsheath, David Sederholm, Lawrence Tierney

Blue Underground Blu-Ray

The Prowler does not get as much love as it should. Which is a shame because it’s one of the better entries in the golden era of the slasher movie.

It all starts with a Dear John letter sent during World War II. The recipient comes back a year later dressed head to toe in military gear, face covered, and armed with a pitchfork meting out revenge on young couple who chose to sneak off  to make out during a  graduation night dance in Avalon Bay (filmed in Cape May, NJ) on June 28, 1945. After the brutal murder the town leaders decide there will be no more graduation dances, but that all changes thirty five years later, bringing us to 1980. Of course the killer, who evaded capture all these years, has returned as well, which puts him in his late 40s, early 50s.

We are introduced to a young deputy sheriff, Mark London (Christopher Goutman), and Pam MacDonald (Vicky Dawson), who are the central protagonists and young lovers, and their circle of friends; Lisa (Cindy Weintraub from Humanoids from the Deep), Sherry (Lisa Dunsheath), Carl (David Sederholm), and Sheriff George Fraser (Farley Granger from Amuck, They Call Me Trinity, Strangers on a Train, They Live By Night). Also, see if you can spot Lawrence Tierney (Reservoir Dogs).

Mark and Pam are so pure and wholesome that they are dull, and I found myself wanting them to be on the wrong end of the bayonet like the others. But this is a slasher and it’s more about the kills and the special effects than it is deep character development, and what these kills lack in creativity they make up for with brutality. The camera lingers on the kill scenes, almost basking in the moment. A bayonet slices into a throat, is worked back and forth to widen the cut and go deeper; a pitchfork in the back is aided by a boot stomping on it to drive the tines deeper into the victim. The body of a murdered swimmer twitches in underwater silence one more time before dying.

These are not like Friday the 13th kills (director Joseph Zito also directed Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter) where the creative kill lightens the mood. These murders are carried out very straight forward. Here it’s just stab, hack and rend. There’s a rage and a point to be made in these murders. The special effects by Tom Savini are excellent. There’s one scene, which I won’t give away, that stands out, and it comes early on. You will know it when you see it, and it’s particularly gruesome.

Although The Prowler is not grim and heavy like Maniac, and Don’t Go in the House (two masterpieces!), it does deliver on the brutality and blood promised.  (MA)

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Nate Wilson: NW  Devon Cahill: DC  Matt Average: MA