AHORA MAS QUE NUNCA 7in

Gladiator Pose
Most people go to shows to see the bands, not fight, but there are often a handful that feel the dance floor is an open forum for violence, transforming the pit into a melee, while those who object look on passively are too intimidated to intervene or speak out. This isn't the way it should be, if the majority of the scene objects to violence at shows, as a unified body they should make it clearly understood that violent behavior will not be permitted or tolerated at shows. Violence at shows prohibits a sense ofcommunity, ruins the fun and threatens venues with closure. Take a stand.

Standing triumphant above the body prone
gloating victor assumes gladiator pose
the crowd mill about with mouths aghast
as a comrade's beaten by a brute that laughs
his sole purpose at shows seems to be to throw down
his selfish violent actions destroy the underground
we're not impressed at all by your brawn and your might
in fact to the contrary we think you're not bright
the time is long past to end violence at shows
so if you came here to fight, we'll show you the door

The Tribe I Claim
"The Tribe I Claim" is about how people try to embrace a singular culture or identity, like how so many punks are having this Irish roots resurgence or whatever. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with this, I can never identify with one set, so the song is about how the culture that I identify most with is sub-culture or drop out culture. People who reject cultures that have been imposed on them. Gay people who reject the gay community's attempts to be accepted as main stream, African American kids that prefer listening to deathmetal, sex workers, transgenders, artists that push the envelope with their work, basically I feel more affinity for the misfits and odd balls the seemingly contradictory and unusual people of the world, they are the people I feel more of a connection with than people who buy into the blueprint of societal norms. People who have chosen to live their lives by their own rules. People who have acceptance and understanding of who they are and what they want out of life, even it means the path won't be easy. Though there are analogies to rats and roaches in the lyrics, I do not associate these communities with vermin, though mainstream society might view these communities in exactly that light. The analogy is more to the ability to survive under the most adverse circumstances.

Nomads and wanderers
pirates and sex workers
living life by their own rules
autonomous and free
dissemination inherent to our clan
you'll find our people spread through
each and every land
"young" punks and artisans
deviants and eccentrics
like rats within the walls
roaches beneath the floors
an underground community that multiplies and grows.

Ahora Mas Que Nunca
In the past few years I've been experiencing a total revitalization in the punk/hardcore scene; the energy of the bands and people and their creativity continually charge and inspire me. I haven't felt this excited about the scene since I was first introduced to it. This song is in Spanish and is about this enthusiasm I feel. It's dedicated to our good friend Tommy Delmar from Argentina who shares the sentiment and helped write/translate the lyrics.

Han pasado quince anos y no renunciado
algunos piensan que es infintil
(yo) creo es inspirador
quizas soy naife creo podemos
cambiar yen quience anos
anos espeior estar aqui
Ahora mas que nunca
(now more than ever)
significa tanto para me come en mi juventud

Conditioned Consumption
Almost everyday we hear about how some processed, refined, pesticide-ridden or over-cooked food has been found to be carcinogenic. Yet people will rarely look at or question their own diet, what they eat and how it's prepared. Despite our lengthy time on earth it has been a relatively short time in the scheme of things that humankind has harnessed fire and used it for cooking, as well as begun to refrigerate, irradiate, and store our food in plastic and glass containers and packaging. We consume a diet of garbage and then pay the price for it. Eat lesser, eat better, eat rawer, eat organic.

conditioned consumption without question
so far removed from nature's laws
it seems we've lost direction
we indulge ourselves with poisons
desecrate ourselves with toxins
and laugh in the face of death for the sake of convenience
we reject the essentials just consume what we like
refined processed contaminants which we've been fed all our lives
excessive packaging waste prepackaged for land fill
we pollute our bodies we destroy the earth
contamination of a sacred temple
we defile ourselves and we wonder why
we are they way we are the way we are
crash course for self destruction
we remove all traces of nutrients that protect us from disease

Who Are You Playing For?
Simple fact of the matter is that if you play an age-limit show, you're letting the alcohol industry discriminate against people that are too young to purchase their product. I don't want to exclude anyone from the opportunity of enjoying our music. How can you be playing for the kids if the kids can't see you play?

music should be enjoyed by everyone
regardless of their age
when you play an age limit show
you let the liquor industry
determines who goes
who are you playing for...
Or are you being played?
We want everyone in the pit
when we go to a show
laughing dancing young and old

One And All
I spend a good deal of my time being busy. A good portion of the rest of the time I spend being lazy. Followed by a period of guilt, for having slept those extra hours, read a few more chapters of a book, or watched a stupid movie when I could have been writing letters to all my out of town and overseas friends on a more regular and consistent basis. But the truth of the matter is, I still spend a lot of time thinking about my friends and the places I've been, and telling other friends about the amazing people and places I've been lucky enough to meet and see. These friendships, experiences and memories are some of my biggest treasures and I can't wait to both renew old ones and create new ones in the future. Nothing can erase the good times.

I may not write
I may not call
but you're in my heart
one and all
so many places
so many faces
so many lasting
memories
One and All
Together Standing Tall
One and All
United we won't fall
and if I wrote a postcard
it'd day "I wish I was there"