My good friend Dustin Jak has done a lot of things for me over the years (drummed in one of my bands, been my tattoo artist) but one of the best things has to be turning me on to Hostage Records. It started with The Hostage Situation compilation. He gave me a tape of it for my car and that was it. I was hooked for life. Smut Peddlers, the Numbers, Smogtown, the Crowd… So many great bands all in one place! I was so taken that I wound up naming my new band after a Smut Peddlers song on the comp. The search was on for more. Finding the 7”s up here in the Great White North proved to be more than a little difficult, so I relied on the compilations to keep my fix going. The next compilation was Tower 13, which was damn near perfect. How could they follow it up? They did what all labels should, but never do. They went out and found a whole new crop of bands. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been too hard for them to wrangle a few tunes from their bread and butter bands (although most have broken up), but why not establish the next generation? I, for one, am sure glad they did. The record kicks off with a blast from The Bad Vibrations who let us know that beach punk is alive and well. Song after song, this comp. shows that the fertile grounds that sprouted such bands as Adolescents, DI, and Social Distortion among many others, is still producing the highest quality in punk rock. The highlights for me are aforementioned Bad Vibrations, Blood Soaked Hands, Code 4-15, Pharmacist’s Son, KBH, and the Pillz… The whole damn record is gold! The bottom line is this: GET THIS RECORD NOW! Hurry and you might get one with nifty camouflage wax. I guess I owe Dustin a tape.
–ty (www.hostagerecords.com)