MORNING AFTER: BRAD HANCOCK MEMORIAL SHOW

This isn't going to be a typical play-by-play of the show the other night, because we're still trying to process everything.

In short, it was amazing. It was one of the most fun shows I've ever been a part of and I wanted to thank Blake and Jessica for everything they did to get it together. Thanks, also, to all the bands that played, everyone that donated raffle prizes, and everyone that showed up early and/or stayed late.

Seven Daggers, Close Grip, Despite Despair, Skeiff D'Bargg, City to City, Cherem, Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Tamerlane, Pushing Up Daisies and Clear were all fantastic and heartfelt appreciation goes out to each and every person in those bands for dedicating your time, energy, and heart to getting your sets ready over the past few months.

I, like most of you I'm sure, spent a long time yesterday searching Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube for pictures and videos from the show. You guys did a great job of being in the moment during the show, but also documenting it, so good job on that front. It's a hard thing to pull off these days.

If you have footage (of any kind) from the show, feel free to send me a link at trevorhale@gmail.com. I'd be happy to post videos and photos from the show up here over the next few days/weeks.

There won't be a lot of new content on GCA going forward, but there may be some. Dan and I didn't quite finish all the 101's we had planned, but we'd like to. Our goal is to finish the rest and roll them out over the course of a few weeks and maybe get them all collected into a zine at some point this year. Fingers crossed on that.

Thanks again to everyone that reads this site, commented and shared Facebook posts, came to the show, threw punches and kicks, and had a good fucking time.

Thanks to Byron (of Skeiff D'Bargg) for the City to City set below. Hopefully there's more to come.

AFTERMATH OF A TRAINWRECK AND GUTSHOT

Our good friend Andy Carter dusted off a couple of old videos and sent them my way recently. Granted, they've been sitting on my desktop for the past couple of weeks, but I finally got them loaded up on the Internets for everyone else to see.

Pretty sure these are from the Aftermath CD Release show back in 2005, but I could be mistaken. And be warned, the sound quality on the Gutshot video is awful. But don't worry, it's the fault of Andy's camera, not the band.

YOUTUBE - A HARDCORE MUSIC BLOCKBUSTER

Only this one isn't on the verge of bankruptcy.

Lots of old show videos and news clips about Salt Lake Hardcore have been surfacing on YouTube lately and we're pretty stoked on that.

If you've got old videos and few hours to kill, sign up for a YouTube account and throw them up there. We'd all love to see them and I'm sure a lot of other people would, too. So get after it and drop us a line letting us know where we can find them.

Meanwhile here's an Aftermath of a Trainwreck video from 2004.

ONE VOICE: BROOK LUND

Brook Lund fronted some of Salt Lake's favorite/most-infamous hardcore acts: Dead Last, Carcano 6.5, Aftermath of a Trainwreck/Victims and the mighty Moshalicious. He handled vocal duties for Cherem on a tour that Billy couldn't make it out on, and most recently he played bass in the band City to City. He's also the proud proprietor of downtown Salt Lake's popular Este Pizzeria.

How were you introduced to the Salt Lake Hardcore scene?

I had been in to punk and HC since i was 11 or 12 from skate boarding videos, and Thrasher magazines. But I had never been to a true Hardcore show until i was probably 15 or 16. Then in the fall of 1998 Casey and Matt Whalie started bringing me around to shows on the regular. Sort of a weird time for shows in slc, great bands though. Seeing a show with Triphammer, Climb, Clear, and Lazarus Project about every other weekend.

Memorable SLHC moments?

There are so many good memories. There have been so many tours that at the time i felt like i was in sheer hell but looking back was amazing. Thinking back about any Cherem/Aftermath tour always makes me laugh.

Probably my best memory though was when about 30 of us went to 2001 Hellfest in NY.

Favorite Salt Lake Hardcore band? 

My most favorite band that has come from slc has to be Triphammer. I really enjoyed Climb too. I really have to give it to Reflect too. I dont think ive been as stoked on a local band since the days of Triphammer/Clear/ Climb.

How has the Salt Lake Hardcore scene impacted your life?

Just about everyone of my closest friends I have met though the HC scene. Everybody always talks about the violence of the SLCHC scene but they never talk about the true brotherhood. I truly believe if youve been shunned from this scene its something YOU did. Everybody i have met has never been anything but super sincere with me.

What are your thoughts on the state of Hardcore and its future?

Ive got one more year before Im allowed to be fully jaded, but really the current state of hardcore makes me sick. The level of insincerity is overwhelming. It may have always been this way and i am just now realizing it. The biggest thing is I think everybody needs to realize this is for fun, stop taking it so fucking serious! Its not a job. Its not a way to make money, its not a way to be famous. I look around at shows and see so many kids with such serious faces. SMILE HAVE A GOOD TIME!

THE ANNUAL SUB FOR SANTA BENEFIT IS THIS SATURDAY!

SALT LAKE HARDCORE 101: MOSHALICIOUS

"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."

That statement sums up the short-lived, yet prolific career of Moshalicious.

Made up of a virtual all-star Salt Lake City line-up, the group was comprised of former and current members of Opened Up, Cherem, Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Sleeping Giant and Tamerlane. The goal of the band was simple: live up to the name.

And live up to the name they did. Taking inspiration from the band Bad Luck 13, the group got together one evening in the early fall of 2001 to write one epic song that would move crowds from front to back and side to side. They wanted all hell to break loose.

The only show the band ever played was at a small coffee shop called Undergroundz. It was a surprise set that everyone knew would come eventually. There had been too much talk and too many rumors swirling that everyone that regularly attended a hardcore show that summer knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.

The show carried along fine, until a drifter appeared in front of the coffee shop eager to tell tales and bask in the attention usually only reserved for sideshow freaks. The vagrant produced a dildo and bottle of toothpaste and proceeded to brush his teeth on the sidewalk for all to see. He then stormed inside and preformed a one man show that would later be referred to as "The Undercover Cop." Every eye was fixated as he waved his hands in the air and moved about the room and yelled for all to hear. When he was finished, he took a bow, yet no one clapped. The crowd was too stunned and unsure of what they had just witnessed.

But it was nothing compared to what they were about to see.

In the back of the coffee shop, Compilate had graciously (but foolishly) allowed the members of Moshalicious to borrow their equipment—because a sneak attack cannot be done properly if the band is forced to bring their own—and the stage was set.

The seven men, all donning masks and hooded sweatshirts launched into their first, last and only song, "Friends Don't Let Friends Fight Alone" and unleashed the fury.

Very few lyrics were actually audible as the three vocalists stormed the room, dancing with bats and dodged pieces of cinder block flying through the air. One bat became tangled in guitar chords and during a rather impressive spin-move, a vintage effects pedal was hurled through the audience, connecting with and breaking the thumb of the very man that had been kind enough to loan it out. As that happened, the guitarist became enraged and took to the dance floor himself, swinging the guitar above his head, daring anyone to get in the way.

As the majority of the crowd stood in stunned silence towards the end of the song, the vagrant burst into the room igniting a whole new level of energy. He too, joined the madness and began flinging bricks and  inflicting harm upon himself by smashing his own skull with a miniature bat.

When the song ended, not a single person clapped. The silence was deafening and no one was quite sure what had just happened, but they all knew they had witnessed something special.

Sadly, the only video footage of the show was destroyed and Moshalicious was never seen again, yet the legend lives on.

NEW MUSIC: BIRD EATER

Locals Bird Eater have posted a handful of new tracks for your listening pleasure. Don't forgot to catch them alongside the reunited Aftermath of a Trainwreck and Cool Your Jets at the upcoming Sub for Santa Benefit show, December 19th at Club Sound. But first, listen.

MAJOR UPDATES OVER AT THE SALT LAKE HARDCORE BLOG

Head on over to find downloads from and histories of the Massacre Guys, Victims Willing, Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Compilate and more!

http://saltlakehardcore.blogspot.com

SUB FOR SANTA BENEFIT - DECEMBER 19

Make sure to mark your calendars for this! Aftermath of a Trainwreck and Cool Your Jets will be reuniting to raise funds for a great cause, alongside Tamerlane, Bird Eater and more!

SUB FOR SANTA LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

NEW-AND-IMPROVED GCA VIDEO ARCHIVE

We're working on getting a GCA YouTube channel up and running (there's a link in the sidebar called GCA Video Archive). It's a work in progress, but we can upload more videos to YouTube than we can to Vimeo, so it's moving pretty fast. Keep checking back for more.

Full sets from Cherem, Collapse, City to City, Dogwelder, Tamerlane, Gloves Off and Aftermath of a Trainwreck, as well as, songs from Dismantled, Cool Your Jets and Bring the Gallows are already up!

THE GCAcast DEBUT!

Download MP3 in Zip Format here. Slow connections.
Download MP3 here. Fast connections.

The debut of the GCA Podcast features a Dogwelder interview, a sneak preview of the new City to City recordings and hilarious discussions about Integrity, celebrity nudity, Opened Up, Warren G, Aftermath of the Trainwreck's lack of lyrics, Lady Gaga, Casey's deep love of Tamerlane, why prudes don't shop at Whole Foods, IBC Root Beer, the Ukranian Police Force and why it's Tom's fault that Casey was late for his soccer game.

The GCAcast will be up on iTunes pending approval so you will be able to subscribe to it soon.

AFTERMATH OF A TRAINWRECK. REMEMBER?

Aftermath of a Trainwreck from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.

GCA FUN FACT DAY

Tired of us always talking about people you don't know around here? Well, today is your day! Today, we'll let you know a little more about you with fun facts about GCA's viewing audience.

We'll start out with our fourteen favorite searches that led you to Grudge City Activities:

1. Juggalo Activities
2. The Mighty Ducks 2
3. Brook Lund, Brook Lund Hardcore, Brook Lund x1upx, Brook from Este Pizza, Brook Lund Singer of Aftermath of a Trainwreck
4. Everything u need to know about being emo
5. Guys who fucked Ice La Fox
6. Henry Rollins pouring salt on slug
7. Hipster birthday activities
8. Mosh your way out of it
9. Rick Ta Life dreads for sale
10. Shit sandwich
11. Sick ink
12. The elbow pushing activity at rock shows
13. Throwing up the shocker
14. Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor

MORNING AFTER: ONE CLEAN LIFE E.P. RELEASE

Friday's show opened with the first live appearance of new band Dismantled. Featuring ex-members of Idaho's Silas and Salt Lake's Aftermath of a Trainwreck, heavy riffage was expected but the band surprised many with its doomy melodies and dark vocals sung by Blake of Skeiff d'Bargg/Cool Your Jets fame. The band just finished recording its demo. You can check it out here.

Idaho's Outlet made its first Salt Lake appearance next, impressing many with a crushing mix of Disembodied dissonance and Sleeping Giant optimism. This band needs to take more road trips.

Next up was Rhode Island hardcore rock'n'roll band, She Rides. Yep.

The evening was rounded out by two of Ogden's finest: Reach and One Clean Life.

Reach's light-speed guitar harmonies and epic song structures get tighter with each set. If you're a fan of mid-2000s melodic hardcore in the vein of Love is Red or With Honor, don't sleep on this band.

Rounding out the evening, One Clean Life celebrated the release of their Something New E.P. Living up to their hardcore party vibe, the band put on an energetic performance which included an especially energetic cover of the Beastie Boy's "Fight for Your Right to Party." If you didn't get your hands on a copy of the E.P., Skinned Elbow Records is the place to find it.

Dismantled from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.


One Clean Life - 3 from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.


Reach from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.

DISMANTLED TO RELEASE DEMO

The band, which features current and ex-members of Aftermath of a Trainwreck, City to City and Silas, will be recording this weekend. Word has it the recording should be available at their show with She Rides and One Clean Life on January 30th at New Song Underground. Here's to 2009 being the year of new releases!

NEW AFTERMATH OF A TRAINWRECK MERCH

Does this qualify for copyright infringement?

25 TA LIFE ENDS IN APRIL 09/RICK TA LIFE TO FRONT OLC

After a number of years and thousands of dollars made bootlegging other bands CD's and merch (Cherem and Aftermath of a Trainwreck included) Rick Ta Life is calling it a day for seminal hardcore band 25 Ta Life. There will be one more tour that should wrap everything up in a nice little package later this spring. If you never saw them, you get one last chance.

And while Rick Ta Life will still have his King RTL/Infamous RTL hip hop project and clothing line—that is apparently not enough. Come springtime, he'll be fronting a new version of One Life Crew. Straight from the 25 Ta Life Myspace blog:
"YES ITS TRUE STOP EMAIL​ING ME

ME AND CHUBB​Y WILL TOUR
STEVE​ WILL BE WITH US IN SPRIT​ A REAL OLC OG

PREPA​RE FRUIT​S"

Hopefully this OLC tour (which many doubt will actually happen) will be accompanied by the new shirt design that both RTL and Chubby Fresh have worked up—OLC: Obama Lynchin' Crew.

This should all go extremely well. Hope they come here.

EDIT: Apparently, after he cut all his dreads off he was selling them—one by one—in a hand-made coffin, along with a picture of himself, for $125. This has not been 100% confirmed, but I think we can all just assume it's true.

STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH - CLINT HALLADAY

Four months ago at breakfast the conversation moved in a direction that sent out a ripple effect that made the unforgettable show this past weekend. For many of us, this was something that we have only dreamed about.

When we finally decided to make it not just a dream, there were many obstacles we had to over come. Of course, money was the biggest issue. We meet up at a coffee shop to talk about how we were going to go about it. The first thing I said as we sat down was, "I don't think we can pull this off, we need a lot of money." Lucky for us I was wrong, and we have the best friends anyone could ask for. Not only did our friends say that they would help us cover if we lost money but, we had one very handsome but crazy friend, Nathan Steele, put up $1800 to bring six guys out to salt lake.

Plane tickets were bought, the venue was booked and the clock was counting down to dec 6. We chose the three most deserving bands to play the show and started promoting the show as best we could. I did nothing but stress out about making enough money to cover the cost of flight and venue, but the only thing I could do was put posters up and hope people would show up.

Three months later Mike, Jack, and I were picking Starkweather up at the airport, not having any idea what the next 48 hours had in store. We dropped them off at their hotel, and the next morning, Jack and I went and hung out with the six guys we had just met the day before. I can honestly say that it was like being with friends I haven't seen in a long time. If nothing else, you could never say that "..those starkweather guys are fucking terds." Fuck, I might hit someone if I heard them say that..

After a walk up to a pawn shop we parted ways and went to get everything we needed to get the show going. We met up at the venue and loaded everything in. As we were setting up for the sound check and me now stressing about the drum set, there is nothing that can be done but hope everything goes as planned.

The sound guy was ready and told Starkweather to play a song to check the levels. In the venue at this time were the few people helping with the show and other three bands, so a total of about 25-30 people. They started playing and everyone in there stopped in shock. My stomach turned, I was in complete awe, it was really happening. You could feel the excitement in the room with only the few people in there. Nothing made me feel that way since I was 16 and thought that the holy ghost and jesus were real existing beings.

The doors opened and people started to fill the club and if you were there you know the rest. Every band played as good as they ever have. The feel of the show was something I have not felt in a long time and to everyone there I say thank you. You have no idea what you help start. Please keep coming to shows. You are the life blood to our scene. With out all of you we would have just another sub par hardcore scene. So I thank you all.

I would like to give a very big thanks to those 7 guys I got to meet this week end. I would like to let Starkweather know with out you Salt Lake wouldn't be what we are. Bands like Lifeless, Triphammer, Climb, Cherem, Aftermath, Tamerlane, Reflect, ect. and the many up coming bands wouldn't exsist.

I would like Tamerlane, Sleeping Giant and, Reflect to know how much you mean to Salt Lake Hardcore. I look up to you as to many other kids, young and old. With you as examples I have very high hopes for what is coming next.

I would like to thank Blake Foard for all his hard work with all the past shows he has done, and more importantly the ones he will do in the future.

I would like to thank Nathan, Dan, Sias, and Trevor for all the hard work they put in to this show. Thank you for making this happen, I know Salt Lake thanks you too. With out you it wouldn't have happened.

And Big Dog, thanks for starting this crazy idea. You have many of them, keep them coming.

We have big plans, we have great ideas, WE HAVE SOMETHING NO OTHER PLACE HAS. Be proud to say you are apart of the Salt Lake City Hardcore scene.

Hats off Salt Lake, hats off.

AFTERMATH OF A TRAINWRECK