Category Archives: Columns

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(column) Are we supporting our local scene enough?!

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These writings are here because recently I had a few talks with couple of punks at some gigs who told me that they find really stupid to support some bands from some xy town in our country because they only support the bigger and better known bands and the little ones are stupid and who listens to their crappy music anyway?

I almost pissed myself from laughing hearing those little assholes say their shitty opinions. Why? Because, it is sooo stupid not supporting your local scene, local venues and local promoters, bands trying to keep up the diy spirit and underground scene. I mean, in your empty heads, don´t you think that Nofx, Bad Religion, Rancid and all the others didn´t start somewhere? If no one came to their gigs when they started playing in every little shithole they could book a gig and tour, would they grow so big? Of course not! So, the most important thing in the scene is supporting your local scene, because without it, there would not be any global scene.

QROrEsH

Don´t get me wrong, personaly I am not attending every gig and going to every show just because it is underground and just because I feel obliged to support it. That is not the case with me. With years that passed and me growing older, I go only to gigs that musically atract me or could atract me and I am for some reason interested with. That is okay by me. But, that prime spirit of underground is still within me, still I love to discover new awesome bands at the gigs, support them on tour, when no one came just because the gig is on Tuesday or Thursday haha. You can see the gig and not drink and you can work the next day without problems can´t you?

The next shit that annoys me are tickets. Almost every time someone complains that the ticket is too expensive and that the promoters are fucking capitalists earning money on poor punks´back and all that shit variations on the same theme. I mean, most of those assholes that are complaining are standing in front of the venue with 5 liter wine bottle, box of cigarettes smoking, drinking and talking shit. Hey dude, how come you had money for wine and cigarettes which usually costs the same or less than the ticket for your local show?! Change your priorities asshole!

In fanzines, at least in ours, we try to support underground bands, labels and remarkable individuals in the wonderful worldwide scene that are not well known, they do not have pr machines and strong big labels behind them. It means a lot to me, and I also know it means a lot to them too, seeing that someone appreciates their hard work with their band(s), labels, promoting and all that. One Bad Religion or Offspring couldn´t care less if they are featured in your zine or they are not. Some little band and label from the basement are happy and it means to them the world. I am not being a hypocrite here, as some would say, because our zine also features bigger bands and labels from time to time, that is how it goes. But basically, we will try and are trying and working hard every day to bring to light of day some bands that are not well known and famous. After all, for me underground and extreme music is digging around yourself and finding what you like, not only consuming what you get served on the plate.

So, do we support our local scene enough? I think, yes and no. Let everyone find the answer for themselves in their hearts.

 

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(column)Has punk become too sensitive?

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I am writing this rantings in the year 2019., so punk is officially over 40 years old now. From old school Sex Pistols and 70-ies chaos years, over the 80-ies and Ron and Maggie fear of nuclear war years, to 90-ies and appearance of scene polluting bands like Green Day, Blink 182 and similar shitty bands claiming to be punk and taking our beloved scene mainstream to the masses where we never wanted it to be, to 21st century and new millenia, punk endured it all.

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But, one thing I ask myself too often is, have the people in the scene become too sensitive, too afraid to express their thoughts and opinions, too much in the comfort political correct zone? Sometimes at the gigs, I get the feeling more and more, like there is not a thing you can say and you are immediately proclaimed to be fascist, anti this, anti that, homophobe, xenophobe and similar nice names. I mean, I hate those politically correct punk police in the scene, that watch your every move. They watch what bands you listen, what jokes you tell, what t-shirts you are wearing and so on, so on.

7 or 8 years ago, I sang for the band Kraykulla And The Gypsyfuckers. We were punk band from our hometown and the name of the band was our intern joke regarding our county in the north of Croatia. When we played gigs here in the northern parts of the country and there were never problems. Also, Slovenia was never problem, or Hungary for that case. But, in some larger towns in Croatia, we were branded nazis, racists, biggots and shit. One time at the club where we played, the girl at the bar didn´t want to give me my drink saying she doesn´t serve nazis?! I was wtf! We changed our name to KGF then, only to avoid the arguments with those narrow minded anarchoid empty headed bastards, pc punk police, who are often bigger fascists than the nazi boneheads themselves. If you are not agreeing totally with their opinions about veganism, squatting, music, bla bla, you are immediately against them, so who is the fascist now, you bastards?

After all, it is easy living in squat and being a jerk and showing off when you don´t have to work because your rich Mommy and Daddy have enough money to support you until the day they die. Some say they want to make punk a threat again. Punk was never a threat, punk was music and being creative, anything goes, remember? Unfortunately with anything goes, we got empty headed punk pc police too. 21st century, but no brain at all.

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Char Man(2019.)-Found footage horror that only found failure!

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Char Man is one of the horror movies that came out this year and I was glad when I read that it is one of found footage horror movies that I love so much.

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My fascination with found footage started in 1999.when I went to the cinema of my home town to check out The Blairwitch Project, probably one of the most famous of that horror subgenre and the movie that started the whole movement within the horror subgenre. I was awed and scared as shit and that one still scares me after all these years and I am not easily scared when watching horror after seeing hundreds of movies. Anyway, there were a lot of found footage flicks until now, some better, often worse and I chose to see Char Man to check out one after long time no seeing that horror subgenre.

The story revolves around three friends who wanted to make a documentary about fire ravaged Ojai, California and the legend of the vampire there. First half an hour of the movie is extremely boring and nothing really happens then they hear about another local legend about Char Man and they decide as it goes in such movies to dare the legend for making a documentary and things happen that are beyond understanding.

Well, like all such movies this one started with a text in which we the viewers are informed that this footage was found by the authorities and edited later for easier understanding and viewing. The movie was directed and written by Kurt Ela(Coffin 2) and Kipp Tribble(Coffin 1 and 2) who also play the main characters in the movie. I must say that camera work is pretty poor even for such movies where it is usual that everything happens pretty shaky to get more real perspective of the events in the movie. The acting is also very unconvincing and I had a hard time if any to get into the characters and evolve something for them as a viewer and I just couldn`t get into the movie with interest at least for the first half of the movie. Then, when some action happens as you are used with all the running and shaking with movies like this one, there are some spooky scenes with bad masks and grainy nightvision that have their moments, but in all, including the ending, this one is just one of those found footage that are bad and are they try to jump on the bandwagon of other people´s success.