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[6.6.2002] What's up there, you peckerwoods? Here are the confirmed Blood For Blood dates for the end of June: June 21: Club Krome; South Amboy NJ June 22: it looks like we will be playing a show in Richmond VA on this date. June 23: the Forrest Lodge; Sellensville PA June 28: Northern Lights; Clifton NY w/SOIA June 29: Met Cafe; Providence June 30: The World; NYC, New York w/ The Cro Mags and SOIA All of the aforementioned shows will be with The Ducky Boys and Death Threat. The new Sinners & Saints CD is now available everywhere. Ask for it at your local record store. If you can't find it at your local record store and the store will not procure a copy for you, then check out www.sinnersandsaints.net or www.bridge9.com to get it via mail order. As I've said before, if you are at all into a little good ol' fashioned rock n' roll, pick up the new CD and a twelve pack (if you are the type that's inclined to imbibe from time to time) and check it out over some beers (no beers necessary if you're straight). If you dig it, cool. If not, tough shit. I also have a new musical project on the way called Ramallah. I can promise you that it will be the tightest, heaviest and most aggressive shit that I've ever recorded. Imagine songs similar to Mother Dear and Tear Out My Eyes only heavier, simpler, and ironically catchier. Right now I'm trying to decide which label that I want to put out the first CD. I otherwise have all the songs written and I'm ready to roll with this thing. Ideally I'd like to record in late July / early August but don't hold your breath or anything. I intend to do all the vocals, guitars and bass in the studio. Once a CD is recorded, I intend to put together a squad to take this carnival on the road. The drummer that I'm working with is a guy named Neil who's also playing those shows with BFB at the end of June. He is by far the best drummer that I've ever played with. One last word about Ramallah: it will not be a BFB knock-off. It is not intended to sound like BFB or to replace BFB. There will be no bottle breaking or bar fights. But it will be the most brutal shit that you've ever heard in your fucking life. My main goal with Ramallah is to lay down the mother fucking law for today's aggressive music (which mostly bores the shit out of me). You've been warned, punks haha... Lastly, I want to send a personal "shout out" to the city of Detroit and to all of my friends out there (Cold As Life, CTYC, FSU, etc). I was at a bar the other night (drunk of course) reminiscing about all the cities in the U.S. where BFB was well received and cities that we really enjoyed playing (and there were quite a few). It occurred to me that Detroit was not only one of our favorite places to play, but it was also one of the first scenes to really get behind BFB. Detroit never cared who we knew from back east or what big bands we were tight with, etc. They dug the shit we were playing and the words we were saying and that's all that mattered to them. I'll never forget that. The Detroit scene consists of some of the hardest, most honest motherfuckers that I've ever personally known through music. I'd like to thank 'em for their years of support. That's all for now. See y'all in June... Rob [3.28.2002] What's up there, sickos? This is just a quick update (sorry, no sermonizing today). It looks like Blood For Blood is going to do some weekend shows up and down the east coast at the end of June. We intend to hit NYC, DC, Philly, maybe Jersey and Baltimore and few more. I'll post the specifics as soon as possible. All the shows will be with The Ducky Boys from Boston. The Ducky Boys are dragging the original Charlestown line-up out of the projects for the occasion. This is gonna be the white trash music event of the fucking year. Sinners & Saints' first full length CD will be available nationally on May 28. It will be available regionally within 2 or 3 weeks (meaning you'll be able to get it at Newbury Comics, Tower Records, at our shows, on our website, and through Bridge 9 Records website and mail order www.bridge9.com). S&S is playing 4 shows with The Business and The Unseen on April 4, 5, 6, and 7. Look on the S&S website for places and times. We SHOULD have the CD available at those shows but I ain't gonna hold my fucking breath 'cause nothing ever goes right with that fucking band. Also, to anyone who posted honest questions in the guestbook, I'll also be in touch as soon as I can. I'll respond to them all. As always, thanks for all the support. More soon... Rob [3.19.2002] What's up there, you fucking anomalies? This is a news flash for any of you that are interested. First of all, this is not a Blood For Blood website (nor is it a Sinners & Saints site). I will be posting the lyrics to Outlaw Anthems as soon as I pay my fucking phone bill and thereby restore my Internet access from home. I will also post for those that are interested any info on when and where BFB is playing out again (IF and when we end up playing out again). I'll also let it be known when anything new is going on with BFB (IF and when anything new ever goes on with BFB again). I may or may not post Sinners & Saints' news and updates here. If you are interested in Sinners & Saints, click on the Sinners & Saints icon and check out the S&S site (duh). I started this site to write about whatever the fuck I want. I realized after I finished writing the liner notes to Outlaw Anthems that I had only begun. I intend on this site to throw up some socio/political commentary (i.e. my ranting about what a sick world we live in), anecdotes and memoirs (i.e. stupid shit I've done while drunk, disgusting and gratuitous violence I've witnessed; maybe some amusing stories about how retarded people were treated in the projects), movie, music and book reviews (probably only shit I love or despise; there won't be a lot of hardcore or punk one way or the other 'cause…yawn), short fictional stories about homosexual elves and leprechauns and/or anything else that tickles my fancy at the moment. I am presently not boozing but when I start again, expect some drunken, maudlin meandering about my youth in the projects. I will also most likely post and respond to negative BFB and S&S reviews. I've waited my whole adult life for a forum in which I could respond to the hordes of music "appreciators" and personality deficient "fanzine" celibates that clog every underground music scene from afar. Be warned: if you run a "zine" and you attack one of my bands and if of course I see the review, I will post it and respond to it here. Ultimately more people may see it here accompanied by my response than in your minimally circulated, Xerox-copied rag and I assure you, the hypothetical music scholar, that I can express myself more articulately in print than you can. I'm devoting time to this particular area because the bands I've been in (especially BFB) are rarely reviewed for the music. I couldn't care less if some jerk says our guitars sound like shit or that we can't sing or that the drummer sucks or even that we are fat fucks. Negative reviews for my bands (again, particularly BFB) tend to be someone's attempt to tell me that I have no right to view the world and society the way I do (which in essence is the equivalent of someone who knows nothing about where I'm from insisting that I have no right to assess and draw conclusions from my youth, upbringing and the social strata I was forced to reside within my whole life). I don't want to slide off on a tangent right now (though I assure you I will at some point on this subject) but on a related note I am absolutely disgusted by the present lack of accountability in pop-journalism in general. If someone picks a public forum to attack something, my opinion is that they had better be pretty fucking ironclad confident in their position and that the position in question should be self-supported. You don't know how many personal attacks on me I've taken the time to dismantle only to have the attacker respond with a shrill, sanctimonious cry of "Chill out, dude, it's only my opinion". My retort to that jive is "fuck you". Everyone has an opinion but not everyone chooses a public forum to voice it. I guess that kind of "hey, it's only my opinion" defense so disgusts me because it is indicative of broader mindset. A good portion of what disturbs me about this society is a direct result of people with idle views and perspectives in which they have no investment (personal or otherwise) shooting their mouths off and rushing around trying to impact other people's lives with their abstract, uninformed notions (obviously I'm not referring to anything as narrow as music anymore). Shit…I'm starting to go off the deep end. Remind to tell you about one of my ex-girlfriend's sometime (the rich one). She's a good example of some what I briefly touched upon here and of the foundation-less, "I read a book on it once" American crusader. Moving on… Since there has been quite a bit of uninformed speculation about what happened with Blood For Blood, I'd like to state a few things for posterity. For the record, I would like everyone to know that I would have done Blood For Blood full-time for the rest of my life. Blood For Blood was my WHOLE life for the whole time the band was active. After our U.S. tour with the Dropkicks in the fall of '99, some of the other guys in the band were forced to make some life choices that changed the nature of the band (i.e. some of the band member's decided they couldn't or wouldn't tour anymore). These decisions were made suddenly and without warning (and right at a time when the band was finally, after years of touring, getting the opportunities we'd always hoped for). I had nothing else in my life at the time other than the band (i.e. I had no schooling or job to fall back on), so when the rug was pulled I was suddenly left with nothing. I don't blame the other guys for the decisions they had to make. Life's tough and a band is a frivolous thing in the face of some of the adversity life can throw your way. But to me Blood For Blood was always all or nothing; it was NEVER a hobby or something to do on weekends. And when the band changed to that status, my commitment changed also. I can't be there for something that isn't there for me when I need it. Blood For Blood is not broken up. We will probably play shows from time to time, on and off forever. Maybe someday we'll do some more touring. Maybe we'll do some more recording. Who knows? I certainly don't. I'm making this shit up as I go along. I'm doing Sinners & Saints now. Sinners & Saints is basically all the songs I was writing in my spare time during the last 2 or 3 years of Blood For Blood (you won't believe it when you hear them but some of S&S's songs were originally intended for BFB haha). S&S is also some of the songs my brother Mark was writing in his spare time during the last few years of The Ducky Boys (once again, you won't believe it but some of S&S's songs actually ARE Ducky Boys' songs that were never recorded or released). I haven't listened to a lot of hardcore and punk for a long time (there are some notable exceptions of course). After Spit My Last Breath came out I found that I was listening to more rock n' roll than anything else. Rose Tattoo, ACDC, GNR, The Beatles, The Stones, etc: in my opinion these bands are like classical music for the white trash (even bands like Oasis and Kiss haha). Fuck you if you don't like it. Sad songs for a sick world. Honest rock n' roll. That's all that Sinners & Saints is trying to play. As the songs goes, "If you don't like it you can suck my dick". As you may have deduced by now, this whole site is going to be nauseatingly self-indulgent and self-important so get out your knee-high boots and a shovel 'cause the bullshit is just gonna get deeper and deeper. I think that's about it right now. I'll throw some more shit up here as soon as I can. Much thanks to everyone that has ever supported any of the crap I've done. Stay strong, you twisted fucks. Rob P.S. I don't check the guest book that frequently but the other day I noticed an entry that asked if I had posted on some message board from the mid-west. The only board I've ever posted on is the Mullet board and only rarely do I post even there. If my name is showing up somewhere, it's a fraud. It ain't me. P.P.S. What do you psychos think of a message board instead of a guest book? [\quote] |
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SO COMMON, SO CHEAP. I've already seen a few reviews that casually refer to this song as "misogynist". The Second College Edition of the American Heritage Dictionary defines misogyny as "hatred of women". The Webster's New Word Dictionary defines misogyny as "hatred of women; esp. by a man". In both definitions the operant word is women (plural). Now let me assure you that if I ever feel so inclined to write a song about hating women (and I presently don't feel so inclined), I will write it and present it without apology. But this song is by definition not misogynistic. I'm not splitting semantic hairs here either. This is a song about my specific and personally traumatic experiences with a specific person (as I believe that anyone who has read the lyrics and can converse with any degree of acumen in the English language will attest). The reason I take such vehement exception to terms like "misogyny" and "misogynist" is that those terms allow people who should otherwise be threatened by Blood For Blood to reduce the phenomenon to some sort of common, tawdry, garden variety, Insane Clown Posse-level negativity and thereby dismiss it as ignorant. I am not arbitrarily anti-social. I am not the by-product of excess testosterone nor is Blood For Blood's perspective. I do not need stoop to cheesy, music industry, un-P.C. button-pushing to get attention or for a lack of personal experiences to express. I am not arrogant when I say that I would never taint Blood For Blood's legitimate hatred with some ignorant, non-threatening, hat-on-sideways, MTV schlock. |