Common Cause - Oslo, Norway / Part I

Long time friend Daniel Frankowski is hard at work again with his new band of nordic thunder, Common Cause. We caught up with him and guitarist Jon A. Gaasland. Be sure to check these guys out if you want classic hardcore played well! More to come...

-DCXX

You haven't taken a whole lot of time off from doing HC bands over the past 15 years. Do you get restless if you aren't doing a band? As a well-versed guitarist and dude that is into all sorts of different music, how haven't you ended up doing something completely non-HC related?

Daniel: Yeah, you could say so. It's almost something I just have to do. The only time I remember that I wasn't in a band for a period of time was when I moved from Germany to Norway. I was supposed to join Sportswear on 2nd guitar and we practiced once actually but soon after that the band broke up and that was that I guess.

It took me a bit of time to get to know the right people and to set up a new band. It's just something I love doing, sort of my creative outlet. Even though it can be a total headache at times, since you always have to deal with so many people that are invloved in doing a band but at the same time you also learn a lot about yourself and other people. I just love writing songs, putting them together, organizing stuff, playing shows. It's the best thing there is. I don't think Common Cause will be my last band either, at least I hope not. There are still many different things I wanna do.

I tried several times to do something non-hardcore related but it just never felt right. Besides that, I never had the time to so domething else either since I've been playing in HC bands all the time and I'd rather focus on one band and give it 100%. At one point I'm gonna do a non-HC band though. I really wanna do a good old fashioned rock band, you know, like CCR meets Skynyrd or something. I guess I'm gonna do that when I'm 50 and hopefully can grow a full beard.

Common Cause puts you back on vocals after taking up guitar duties in Damage Control. Before that you fronted Eyeball. What do you like about singing versus guitar? What do you miss when you are singing?

Daniel: I think I like both equally well, the only thing I really dislike is the process of writing lyrics. I don't think I am really that good at it. I have plenty of good ideas I think, but I have problems putting those thoughts on paper. Singing is great though, it's so much easier to get in touch with the crowd and let your emotions go without having to think about playing an instrument. But if I ever do another band iIwill be playing guitar again just to keep it fresh and interesting for myself.

How do you describe Common Cause? Influences, inspirations,motivation, goals, etc? Having done at least 5 other bands, is this just another HC band to you inspired by the same things? How do you keep it fresh?

Daniel: A straight forward hardcore band. Powerful, fast, energetic with a positive message. That was the idea when we started the band and that's what still keeps us going. I think our biggest inspiration and influence comes from bands like Youth of Today or Uniform Choice. Powerful music with a powerful message. Life in general motivates me, you just gotta turn on the news and see what happens around the world, Imean we are really living in an Age Of Quarrel. There is so much suffering and so much pain, you know. Rasicm, homophobia, poverty. Everything that is wrong right now in the world motivates me to do this band.

Common Cause is definitely not just another HC band for me. I take the band 100% serious and put all my energy in it. I keep it fresh by never doing the same band twice, even though it's always hardcore I never try to go for the same formula. I also never do two bands with the same members, well almost. Common Cause kinda came out of Soulfire and P.O. played with me in DxC but other then that I like to start a new band fresh.

Jon: Our influences remain the same, and are quite obvious – late 80s hardcore, with some earlier and later influences thrown in for good measure. Besides the musical inspirations, what inspires us the most is probably arriving at a show, after some ridiculously long drive, exhausted and not really expecting much from the show – and having kids go apeshit for you and just having a blast playing. Also just working on songs and recording them and putting them out. It's cool to hold a piece of vinyl in your hands that you played on, that has your picture on it, and knowing that it will be around long after you no longer have any kind of relevance in the hardcore-scene, maybe even after you leave this planet. I guess it's stuff like that that is what keeps me motivated.

Which can be a bit hard at times. I was talking about someone close to me about that recently, why the hell I really bother going on these hellride tours. Keep in mind this was someone coming from a hardcore background, so it wasn't a matter of "why don't you mellow out and try to get signed on a major?", she just genuinely didn't get why I bothered. And I wasn't really sure myself. I mean, you're out there driving for often a double-digit amount of hours, to get to a show that may or may not be good, that may or may not end up losing you more money in the end. You see a lot of places, but more often than not you don't have time to stop and check it out anyway. I'm also sort of a private person, and don't really enjoy living practically on top of other people, even if they're some of my best friends. And well, it's just altogether a stressful experience for me a lot of the time, and it can be hard to rationalize to yourself or others why it is you really do it.

When I get home, I always think "that's it, I'm never doing that again". But after a week or two, I get some distance, and just remember the positive things, and wish I could go back out there again the next day. Maybe it's getting a very direct response to your music, whether it's positive or not. Maybe it's the lack of responsibility and the feeling of being out on somelittle adventure with your friends. Maybe I just like torturing myself. But those few weeks out of the year when I'm on tour, always stand out as a lot more exciting and positive than the rest of my year. If that makes any sense. Which of course it doesn't.

BURN memories

BURN - City Gardens - Trenton, NJ - Photo: Ken Salerno

My first memories of Burn go back to a tape I got from a friend. The tape was some sort of rehearsal from 1990 and I definitely remember "Godhead" being one of the tracks. The sound quality wasn't so hot, but I could clearly hear that Burn was unlike anything I had heard before. Of course there was the Absolution connection with Gavin, but Burn was just a whole new beast that was packed with a whole new power and dynamic. This rehearsal tape I had went on to get a lot play to say the least, it was raw and real.

At some point, and I'm not quite sure about the date, Burn opened up for some bands at City Gardens here in Trenton, NJ. I was psyched that I was finally getting the opportunity to see them. Just by the all star line up alone, it was exciting to see what these guys were bringing because their past bands clearly left their marks as unique and talented. Think about it, you had Gavin with Absolution, Alex with Pressure Release, Alan with Beyond, and Chaka - although he was not in any previous band, he definitely got his feet wet in the scene by releasing the "New Breed" tape comp and being regarded as a kid with a lot of energy and style when he was simply going off to bands.

When they played that City Gardens show they simply blew me away. Chaka had so much energy and such a strong stage presence, but like their music, it was like nothing I had seen or heard before. So solid, heavy and groove oriented, you couldn't help but be moved. This style would be immediately copied and imitated, but few really put it together the way Burn did.

After the show I recall Chaka selling Burn shirts out of a box in the parking lot. Because City Gardens would sometimes take a percentage from bands merch that was sold, Burn decided to do it the old fashion way and just sell them in the parking lot. I bought a navy blue shirt, one of the first designs with the green and white outlined Burn logo across the front and the photo of the burning car and "Out Of Time" written on the back. I was stoked and really felt like I was getting an early look at a young band that was going to go on and become a major factor in the hardcore scene.

The next time I remember seeing Burn was at an early Middlesex County College show. I'm guessing it couldn't have been later than 1991. I remember the bill was Supertouch and Burn and a couple younger bands. Again, Burn were just incredible. I don't think the 7" was out yet, but I do remember people starting to know their lyrics and sing along a bit. They had definitely left an impression on others besides me.

From this point on I felt like I was seeing Burn every other weekend. Whether it was in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New York City, anywhere Burn played - I was there. Show after show it was obvious that Burn was really picking up some serious momentum. Their shows were getting bigger, the crowds were getting bigger and they were clearly one of the major players coming out of the New York City Hardcore scene.

Along with the bigger shows and bigger crowds, I clearly remember Chaka's stage presence growing. He went from being a really good and energetic front man to one of the best and most insane. His stage dives were legendary, and in no way am I exaggerating. I'm talking about some of the sickest, highest and furthest dives I've ever seen done. I've been around numerous people who've flat out hit the floor from the impact of him landing on them. For this reason, you had to keep your head up when you were at a Burn show. You never knew when Chaka would be doing a running flip off a monitor, flying six feet in the air and crushing your face in. It was obviously pretty damn dangerous, but that's what comes along with the environment of a hardcore show.

Eventually Burn ran its course and called it quits. For a band that had nothing more than a 7" out on Revelation and a comp track released, as well as some slightly circulated rehearsal tapes and demos, it was nothing less than impressive how well known and remembered they are today as truly one of the greats. -Tim DCXX

Cliff strikes again: Judge and BOLD videos

Judge - The Anthrax - Norwalk, CT. - 1/7/1989


BOLD - The Anthrax - Norwalk, CT. - 1/7/1989

Sammy Siegler - Youth Of Today, Judge, PX, Side By Side, Civ

Sammy Photos: Boiling Point

This is part of an ongoing piece where we asked various people from bands over the years what they recall as the most memorable show they ever played (or attended, if they were never in a band), and why. What is posted here is only a sliver of what is to come, so be sure to check back. -DCXX

CIV opened for KISS at MSG...that's up there, since I was once a part of the KISS Army. There was a YOT show at an airport hanger in Milan Italy in 1989 that was great. Huge room, kids were going nuts, Ray jumped over my whole drum set, that was a good one. There were a lot of shows on that tour that stood out. On my birthday in Belgium we were playing a great show in the afternoon, a few metal heads were throwing beer at us and the place erupted into a huge brawl. That night we played another show, although instead of rad straight edge kids, this one was filled with all nazi skinheads, adults with canes and shit, very scary. Ray dedicated our song "Prejudice" to them, things almost got really out of hand. That day, March 21st, 1989, was pretty memorable.

Youth Of Today at The Anthrax 1/7/1989, video: Cliff Official Videographer of the Anthrax in Norwalk

Phenomenal footage of a phenomenal band. Thanks Cliff, it doesn't get much better. -DCXX

Marco / THE ICEMEN - Part II

All Icemen photos: Ken Salerno

Marco Abularach returns to answer more of our questions about one of NY's hardest: THE ICEMEN.

For part one of this interview:

http://doublecrosswebzine.blogspot.com/2008/06/marco-icemen.html

-Gordo DCXX

What are your feelings on how the 4 songs on the R.I.P EP turned out? What can you recall about recording process for these songs, any specific memories? Which would you cite as your favorite song from this record?

Out of the four songs on the EP three had first been recorded back in the Nola sessions '84-'86 and we were considering using those early recordings as they had a really big sound from the great live room there. Those songs were The Harsh Truth, R.I.P, No Guts No Glory, and since they were recorded during the interim before Carl you could call our "singerless" period, they have rough vocal tracks by me that we would have dubbed over with Carl. But we decided we would do new recordings and thus hopefully have sound continuity with whatever other tracks we decided to use.

We began recording for the EP in 1990 at our downtown studio SD50. Initially there was debate on song choice and also as to how many we would release. In a way we allowed the recording performances help dictate, and we also finalized the agreement with Bill Wilson and his Blackout Records for a four song EP. Noah and I still agree that the sound is actually better on the good old Nola sessions but in our minds at the time the 1990 tracks were "new."

Left on tape from 1990 unfinished were "Take You Down" and "Little Witch," thus "Shadow Out Of Time" was chosen as the final track to be added to complete the four. The speed/thrash "Take You Down" was our most challenging song to perform and would have taken much work to fix it to our liking. "Little Witch" was a precursor to our later songs "You Will Be Mine" and "Back Again." It was also an indication of where we were going, at the very least vocally. The lyrics now demanded melody, and suffice to say, that never came close to occurring in these 1990 sessions no matter how we tried. Hard for me to say which song is my favorite, I suppose The Harsh Truth, although my favorite lyrics would have to be on Shadow Out Of Time.

Which songs performed live do you wish got a formal proper recording?

Actually we have recorded pretty much every song I've written. The question would be to what degree are they completed, as many are missing overdubs and/or vocals and would also need to be mixed. Another question would be how good is the performance on these recordings, as it varies greatly. To answer directly I would say Little Witch, You Will Be Mine, and later songs like Back Again and Let There Be Night. Most of these were moving in a more melodic direction, in addition I had evolved quite a bit lyrically.

What was your chemistry like playing with Mackie? I have always wondered how bassists/guitarists gel with such an incredible drummer like him. Was it just a perfect match or no?

Fantastic. Understand, he was basically the only drummer I ever really played with, until I formed Shadow years later. I learned electric guitar playing with Mackie and Noah. Perfect match for sure, even as teenagers we knew how good he was and our styles grew together through the years.

On a side note, since we've come out of deep freeze and taken a look around I've seen comments on how some of the Icemen shows witnessed were sub-par. We were definitely plagued with some inconsistencies due to lack of rehearsal (largely due to Mackie's time constraints), but when looking closer most of the posts are regarding shows kids attended post '92, most notably at the Grand and a few others. Of course these were disappointing, it was not The Icemen! These were imposters and a poor attempt without the original members... accept no substitute. Amazing that those even remotely interested in the music are still unaware and/or unable to distinguish, the difference was vast.

Similarly, was Mackie always a very tight part of the trio that was you, Noah and Mackie? Sometimes I get the impression that it was definitely the three of you being very close, yet other times I getthe impression maybe it was moreso you and Noah, and Mackie was just the drummer?

Noah and I met as children, Mackie I met in high school so in a sense we all grew up together. Noah is like a brother to me, we were tight with Mack but he's a bit aloof at times so it was a little different. The three of us definitely had a bond though, where we had come from, and all we had shared musically both performing and philosophically. I could see how you might have the impression as him being "just the drummer", there were times where his unavailability and lack of commitment was trying. We certainly rehearsed the bare minimum, if at all. Usually this was just when I had new material and wanted him to learn it, so the three of us would meet in our studio.

There was something magic when the three of us played together, there were times when we might glance over at each other, just a knowing look, we were just flying. He may have always been in a sense a drum mercenary but also that he's been with us since the beginning and was a large part of who we were.

What was your take on the popular bands of the hardcore scene from '88-'91? Whether it was the Revelation bands, the In-Effect bands, or anyone else, who were bands in the hardcore scene you felt a connection with as friends, or even just enjoyed? Any bands youreally butted heads with or didn't feel deserved the credit they got?

Forgive my naïveté by I really don't know much about that, bands or other labels at the time. I was kind of like the boy in the bubble, only time I listened to hardcore was bands on the bill with us when performing. We did make friends along the way though. The Cro-Mags and us go way back, especially Harley. Leeway were friends of ours, there was a while back in the day when AJ and I would socialize occasionally which is something I rarely did with any of the bands, I had a different world. Other guys like Jimmy G (Murphy's Law), Jimmy Williams (Maximum Penalty), Sob (Merauder) Gavin (Absolution/Burn) were friends and supporters.

Your question regarding negative opinions, there were plenty of bands that were overrated, with bad attitudes and who couldn't play. In fact if you ask me a majority of bands back then couldn't play worth a lick.

How did things develop for Carl to be dismissed? Was it a band decision? Who did the dismissing? How long after this did he recruit other guys to do his version of The Icemen, and did you ever confront him about this?

This was something that evolved over time. Noah's father Gil Evans is a jazz legend and he grew up with music, I too came from a musical and artistic family, I met Mackie attending Laguardia High School of the Arts where he was a music major so we all have a foundation, roots in certain fundamental artistic beliefs. As kids, The Icemen's first couple of years was a start, but as we grew we hoped, expected... no, demanded of ourselves to aspire to higher levels. It was no longer enough for us to have a one dimensional band member, good as frontman, deficient as a singer.

My songwriting was constrained by his limitations and in hand our potential for success was as well, most importantly in our eyes but it is well worth mentioning that these sentiments were clearly echoed by the labels we in contact with as well. For a moment Carl looked into working with a vocal coach but decided against it.

We had already decided to release Carl from our band and Noah surprised me one evening with the news he had informed Carl. By surprise I mean that as difficult a task as it was, I felt responsible enough to deliver the news myself. That I didn't couldn't have helped and I'm sure increased the resentment on his part. It wasn't too long I think when he began performing my songs using my name The Icemen. His henchmen were friends of his who were occasionally our roadies and were part of his band M13.

The first time I saw our name in the paper I thought it was a mistake and went down to CBGB, it was quiet before soundcheck and he wasn't there. Confronted his mates and they dropped some nonsense about how it was their name now. Was of course furious at the time but never did get into it with Carl. Outrage aside, I was always disappointed with the lies and tarnishing of The Icemen's legacy.

It was Noah who presented the idea in 2007, to start thawing The Icemen out with the thought that not only would we set the record straight but more to the point was that The Icemen have some unfinished business to take care of.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Joe Nelson on No For An Answer and Dan O'Mahoney

No For An Answer at The Anthrax, photo: Boiling Point

Joe Nelson delivers yet again, and gives us the downlow on Dan O from way back when.

-DCXX

Well, Dan O' Mahoney was a blow hard mouthpiece before No For An Answer existed. He had a zine called S.I.C. Press, and came across as if he were a superior intellect compared to the rest of us. I learned to really love him later in life, we actually became great friends in the early 90s, but man he sure was tough to digest early on.

N.F.A.A. probably only succeeded at the very beginning because Gavin Oglesby and Casey Jones were so loved and respected throughout our little community. Dan on the other hand...not so much. 

For a while, the guys I ran around with, who were called the O.C. Sloth Crew, would fire extinguish anybody in H.B. wearing an N.F.A.A. shirt. That pretty much sums up how we felt about them. We would also toilet paper Dan's townhouse from time to time, and leave little notes on his garage saying something like "How about clean up time for an answer? Love the O.C. Sloth Crew," or "OHHHHH NOOOOOMAHONEY"...stupid stuff like that. Dan was a tough guy too, but I don't think he really knew what to make of us back then, or else he would have retaliated.

We actually all bonded finally at the Anthrax in Norwalk, Connecticut one night. N.F.A.A played a show there with G.B. and Chain of Strength maybe? A couple of the Sloth Crew dudes, including me, were out in New York so we went to the show.

What happened was all the trains stopped running back to the city, so nobody from California, except for Chain, had a way back to N.Y.C. This was like in late November, and I remember it was snowing at the time. It really seemed like a pretty bleak situation at the time. None of us ever entertained the idea of pooling our money for a motel room of course. That would have made too much sense I suppose.

The owner of the Anthrax eventually said we could just crash inside the club, and then catch the morning train in. I remember Porcell's last words to me as he pulled out of the parking lot with Walter Schreifles, Lukey Luke, Alex Brown, and Nicole Straight Edge were "Hey guys I see a soda can over there you can curl up next too!" What a fucker.

Anyway, the Anthrax was pretty warm inside so it wasn't the worst thing in the world, or so we all thought. What we discovered in horror was it was only warm because of the body heat that had collected during the show. About 45 minutes into the...ummmm..."sleep over," it became FREEEEEEEEEZINNGG inside. It was unreal. People were running laps around the inside of the club in a feeble attempt to stay warm. Everybody was curled up next to one another on the stage trying to use our collective body heat to prevent what we all thought for sure would be a major hypothermia problem. A couple dudes even broke down and cried. I don't remember what he said exactly, but Dan said something that busted everyone up. I realized "Holy shit, Dan is actually pretty fucking funny", which at the time was my only real criteria for making a person "OK" in my book.

So from that point on we were friends. Obviously everyone survived that night as well. The next morning we ate breakfast together, took the train back into the city, and any beef between any of us and Dan was forever squashed.