The First Step - "The Last Step" PART 1

The First Step in Barcelona 2007
Photo by behindthiswall

The First Step, one of the greatest straight edge bands in the past 10 years, has finally taken their last step. From 2001-2008 this band has made an impact like no other. Originally hailing from the depths of North Carolina, this band has reached out to kids worldwide with their positive message and energy combined with innovative fast paced sound. From their very first West Coast Demo Tape in 2001 to their Connection EP in 2008 this band has traveled all over the world, while consistently touching subjects like inner peace, friendship, bettering yourself and making an impact to change the world. This band's efforts are not in vain.

The First Step in Germany 2008
Photo by Ruben Navarro

The First Step announced mid summer that they would be having their last show, though some people weren't surprised (like myself) considering there were so many rumors going on. Later on it was announced that it would be held at Champion Ship vinyl in Lemoyne, PA. Now you're probably thinking "Why not just do it in North Carolina?" That's initially where I assumed it would be, but considering only Stephen and Aaron are the only original members, it's not too surprising that it would be held in a state where it's easily accessible for kids nationwide. Also, playing the Championship so much it was probably a home away from their homes. The bands that would be playing along was Breakthrough (the reunion of Breakthrough, featuring members of The First Step), Get The Most (Vancouver youth crew straight edge band), Hostage Calm (Connecticut hardcore band, ex-At All Costs), Mindset (emerging Baltimore straight edge with a lot to say) and Warpriest (sorry I don't really know much about them). Also, Sojourner and Sidetrack were added to this show last minute.

Kids from all over met for this show, not sure whether to be sad or excited to see the exploding energy of TFS, but they helped make TFS's last show one to remember.


This is one of the videos from the last show. You can watch the rest by viewing the YouTube user FlatSphere's profile here.

Keep posted for part 2.

Review: Pressure's On - Barren Wasteland EP

Pressure's On is a heavy hardcore band based out of Western Mass. They've evolved since 2007 both musically and member-wise. The only remaining original members of this band is Justin Kirkland on vocals and Will Hirst on guitar. After going through a series of replacement bassists and drummers, Pressure's On now has Dave Moson on drums and myself on bass, thus turning Pressure's On into a straight edge band. The only reason I am reviewing a band I'm now in is because I wasn't on bass when the EP was recorded.

Compared to the 2007 Demo, Barren Wasteland is really a work of art. Drawing influenced from bands ranging from Burn and 108 to American Nightmare, this EP is very powerful musically. One of the great things about BW is that a few songs are taken from the demo and rewritten. This really works because on the demo, the drums were horrible. Take the song "Detatched" for example. On the demo the drum beat, which is supposed to be a typical 1-2-2 punk beat was more of a 2-1, 2-1, 2-1 beat. Very metal and definitely unfitting for this kind of part of a song. I'm not going to get too deep into it but let's just say that Dave does a very good job making up for the Demo drums.

On a positive note, Justin lyrically expresses his views and journey through life in a powerful manner. Reinforced by innovative breakdowns, Pressure's On isn't messing around. If you are a fan of 90's hardcore bands such as Snapcase, 108, or even bands like Bad Brains or Inside Out mixed with melodic hardcore bands like American Nightmare and Battery, Pressure's On is the band to get into. They do this all while clearly establishing a sense or originality, which isn't very easy to do nowadays. Look out for a split 7" with Use Your Head! this winter and an east coast tour with Use Your Head! early January. An interview with Justin will most likely be in the works sometime in the future.

www.myspace.com/popo413

Alert - Western Mass Youth Crew

I remember talking to my friend Mike Puffer about starting a band. I've wanted to be in a band for a while but couldn't really decide what I wanted to play. I mean I loved very fast powerviolence bands like Infest, Neanderthal, Crossed Out and No Comment just to name a few, but I could tell Mike wasn't really into playing something like that (though it did almost happen). So instead we focused on a sound similar to Shark Attack mixed with Negative Approach. The ambition was there, but nothing really happened.

Then I remember talking to a kid I met named Kyle. My other friend Josh wanted me to come over for a jam session so I agreed. Kyle was there and he played guitar. After about an hour we ended up talking about bands like Ten Yard Fight and In My Eyes. I was kind of susprised someone in Chicopee knew who these bands were, let alone listened to them. Especially since Kyle was only 17 and most 17 year olds in Chicopee listened to Emmure. Just sayin'. So after exchanging cell numbers I remember randomly texting Kyle saying "hey man let's start a band like In My Eyes" and he replied with "OH MY YES! NO ONE EVER ASKED ME BEFORE!" or something along those lines. But of course, nothing really happened.. yet.

Then I remember talking to my friend Will via myspace, since I didn't really know him on a friend level yet. We exchanged messages in a jokingly manner about starting a youth crew bands, naming everything from Youth of Today to Fastbreak. He said he would play drums and I said I might sing for it, but nothing happened... or did it?

Knowing that me, Will, and Kyle all wanted to start a band, a youth crew band, and we all listened to youth crew bands, we decided to pursue it. I remember writing a shit load of lyrics, though I was extremely nervous about fronting a band at the time. It was then I remembered Mike. I mean Mike got me into most of the music I listen to and he loves every band we wanted to play like so we decided to have him sing. It was a given. It was also decided that I would go to bass, though I never played bass before. I figured if I could play guitar it shouldn't be too hard switching to bass.

So we had our first practice. Kind of a brainstorming. Me, Kyle and Will met in our friend Trey's garage and we did a jam session. After playing for a while I remember showing them a song I had written a while ago when I was going to start the same kind of band with my friend Jay. This song eventually evolved into the song "Be Heard" but at the time it was just a skeleton of what the song is today. After that I don't really remember what happened but Mike eventually came to the practiced, liked the song, and wrote lyrics to it. We moved the space to Will's house since he had a drum kit there and now we have maybe 5 originals and a lot of covers.

With Alert we want to have fun, as well as send a positive message to the kids who listen to us. We want to experience the world, travel, and have fun. Alert will be recording their first demo sometime in mid November. Being from Western Mass it might be kind of difficult to get support from the local kids, but who knows? Can't say for sure what the future will hold, but I'll keep a positive outlook and continue to play what I love.

www.myspace.com/alertstraightedge

Pilot

So I've decided to do a secret blog kind of deal. I'm not entirely sure where I'm headed with it, as I probably won't have the time to commit to something like this, but who knows? My goals for this blog is to share my thoughts and views on the music I love so much, as well as bring out some of the newer bands out there and give an opinion on them. A lot of people probably won't even know about this, so it's probably a wasted effort, but I'd like to look back at this sometime down the line of my adulthood and swim in a pool of nostalgia.

So here we go! xOPEN MINDx web blog begins right now!