February alphabet of records Steve O - February 2, 2016

If you listened in on our 2015 Bracket discussion, brought to you by Brown Bear on the Air (http://brownbearontheair.blogspot.com/2016/01/change-rotation-guest-episode.html), you heard me proclaim the February Alphabet of Random Records. Not one of my brightest ideas, but I’m on record of saying it, so I’m stuck.

So the idea is this: in the month of February, I give you a Random Record for each letter of the alphabet. We’ve got 29 days of February this year, so I get three days to be lazy. Three strikes and I’m out, if you will. The point of Random Records is to either write about records I love to highlight bands or records that might have escaped your attention. I try to do the latter more with the February Alphabet.

So, without further ado…

I Hate Myself When I'm Not Skateboarding



B is for Bones Brigade

I Hate Myself When I’m Not Skateboarding

Fight Fire With Fire Records, 2003




Everything about this record should make it abundantly clear that Bones Brigade are a skate punk band steeped in glory days of the 80s. The band name, the record title, the record cover, songs like “Skate or Die” or “Trashin’ USA” just scream crossover skatecore, similar to bands like ANS or S.T.R.E.E.T.S. For your information, the Bones Brigade was a skateboarding team back in the 80s, featuring names you’ll know such as Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen, Steve Caballero, and Mike Valley. Merging hardcore and thrash and blazing through 13 songs in 18 minutes, Bones Brigade do indeed, “All Go No Slow.”

Opening up with “Thrashin’ USA,” Bones Brigade show off that they can indeed shred. Songs like “All Go No Slow,” “Hands Off,” and “Evil Dead” all have intricate guitar leads borrowing from 80s crossover bands like DRI or Suicidal Tendencies. The hardcore vein shows through with songs like “King of the Pit,” or “Real Ultimate Power,” not to mention their cover of Minor Threat’s “No Reason.” And songs like “Hands Off,” “Skate or Die,” “Thrashin’ USA,” and “Adult Crash” all make their love of skateboarding quite obvious.

                     Bones Brigade

Back when we used to work together, my friend Richard and I would lend each other CDs all the time. Punk, metal, hardcore, whatever the fuck else we thought the other would like. Bones Brigade was one of the ones I got from him and it is quite possibly my favorite to come from those trades. I Hate Myself When I’m Not Skateboarding was the first in a too short discography from the Boston based band. All of their records are great, and you know exactly what to expect from each one. Each abounds with fast paced hardcore thrash, soundclips, and lyrics about skateboarding from a band that absolutely shreds.

Listen to most of the record below. Then listen to “All Go No Slow” and “I’m Not Alright,” two songs which for some reason aren’t included in that video of the record.