Category: Ruin

Welcome Worlds – Music From Philadelphia

Philadelphia tape compilation from 1987 with a wide mix of musical styles. Bands included are Executive Slacks, Ruin, The Stick Men, Uh-Oh, Charles Cohen, Jim Meneses, The Ambush Bugs, The Heathens, Woz, Interplay, Jack Wright, Da Pliar, Peter Rose, Stephen DiJoseph, Increase The Angle, The Shamanistics, Lump, The Polite Force & Peggy Carrigan. The original wav file is here https://archive.org/details/noise-arch_ww-mfp. It is one file for each side of the tape – I edited out the different tracks from the original file.

A1 – Uh-Oh – Metropolis II
A2 – Charles Cohen – UTEP I
A3 – Jim Meneses – Running In Place
A4 – The Ambush Bugs – Third Degree Burns
A5 – The Heathens – Ooleigh At Great Adventure
A6 – Woz – Taba
A7 – Interplay – Ictus
A8 – Jack Wright – Solo Saxophone
A9 – Da Pliars – Whippin Dog
A10 – Executive Slacks – I’m Coming
A11 – Peter Rose – Idiots
A12 – Stephen DiJoseph – Small Things (Piano Solo)
B1 – Increase The Angle – Picasso’s Last Stand
B2 – The Ambush Bugs – Foaming At The Brain
B3 – Charles Cohen – UTEP 2
B4 – Uh-Oh – Isabella
B5 – The Shamanistics – Quakoids
B6 – Lump – Duo
B7 – The Polite Force – Excerpt From ”Living In The Heart Of The Beast”
B8 – Peggy Carrigan – You
B9 – Ruin – Life After Life
B10 – The Stick Men – Rock’s Alive
B11 – Thom Dura – Intensive Care

MediaFire Zip of all files

Ruin – Lee Paris Benefit 5/3/86

Ruin video from the Lee Paris/PCHA benefit show – Houston Hall, U of Penn 05/03/86


1 – Uniform Access Only (live only opening tune)
2 – You
3 – Sounds Unheard
4 – Make Believe
5 – Famous Blue Raincoat
6 – Great Divide
7 – Taster
8 – Proof
9 – A Real Good Time
10 – He Ho
For more Ruin go to their website: https://ruinrocks.com/
or bandcamp – https://ruinsl.bandcamp.com/releases &
https://ruin8.bandcamp.com/
or http://freedomhasnobounds.com/category/philly-bands/ruin/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ruinphiladelphia

Thanks to Flipo from the Excuses for the video.

Philly Hardcore 1981-1986 Part 2

This post was originally on Noise Addiction blog – I have re-posted it (with a few changes) – Check out more Noise Addiction posts at Noise Addiction 2

Kremlin Korps were around for about 1 years – 1983-1984 – and released one 7″ ep in that time. When they split 3 members formed Homo Picnic. The More Fiends were a very unique sounding band that started in 1985. They released two albums, are the only Philly band to record a John Peel Session and one of the few Philly bands to tour Europe. This early live show is with the original line up  – guitar/slide guitar/drums/sax – and they have a more No Wave sound which is much different than the more Punky sound they are known for. This line up never released anything but apparently they did record some demos. Ruin need no intro. They were the best band to ever come out of Philly. On this show they played for almost 90 straight minutes. Seeds Of Terror existed from 1982 to 1984 and only had two songs on the Get Off My Back Philly Hardcore comp. though they did record a full albums worth of stuff. All I have is this one song which is about the Philly DJ Lee Paris.

Sadistic Exploits post here

Kremlin Korps – C.E. Center, Philadelphia 3-31-84 [from cassette tape]
01. Whiplash
02. Culture Shock
03. Warsaw
04. Let Me Die
05. Moscow’s Revenge
06. Mental Block
07. Friday’s Song
08. -tune-up time-
09. Hollow Head, Hollow Eyes
10. Burning Bridges
11. Abyss
12. title unknown
13. Knife in Your Back
MediaFire Zip of all files

Kremlin Korps – Longmarch 5/17/84 (Crunch Productions video)

More Fiends – St Marys, Philadelphia 12-27-85 [from cassette tape]
01. title unknown
02. title unknown
03. title unknown
04. title unknown
05. Lust
06. title unknown
07. title unknown
08. title unknown
09. title unknown
10. title unknown
11. Relative Morality
12. Big Tea Party
13. title unknown
14. You’re Stupid
MediaFire Zip of all files

Ruin – The Loft, Reading PA 4-27-85 part 1 [from cassette tape]
01. Ruin
02. Dionysian
03. title unknown
04. Great Divide
05. By The By
06. Taster
07. Make Believe
08. Where Fortune
09. Altar
10. Famous Blue Raincoat
11. Master Song
12. Laudium-He Ho
13. China
14. Freedom Has No Bounds

Ruin – The Loft, Reading PA 4-27-85 part 2 [from cassette tape]
01. title unknown
02. Proof
03. Play With Fire
04. White Rabbit
05. Rule Worshiper
06. Alarm
07. Life After Life
08. Love Dog
09. Phenomenal Expression
10. Twilight
11. Baby Doll
12. title unknown
13. title unknown
14. title unknown
MediaFire Zip of all files

Seeds Of Terror – Demo (1983) [from cassette tape]
01. We Hate Lee Paris

Seeds of Terror
Seeds of Terror

Photos from Brett (Noise Addiction II)

Ruin from St Mary’s in West Philly January 25 1986

Video from a Ruin show at St. Mary’s on Jan. 25th 1986. Another one of the transfers off of Pete at Drugmusic.com’s old Beta Tapes. Hopefully this video will further show why Ruin was the best Philly band ever. It has a good mix of songs from He-Ho and Fiat Lux plus a few that were not on either album. I tried to clear up the video as much as I could I’m not sure if the reddish-pinkish color is from a red stage light or something that happens to old video tapes.
St Mary’s was a church on Penn’s campus in West Philly so every show there meant a before and/or after trip to Troy’s for some underage drinking and an Eggel. (see number 5) I was by there recently and the spot where Troy’s was is still empty.
All of these old tapes seem to have it. For more Ruin info check out: Ruin’s web page or facebook

Audio files

01 – Sounds Unheard
02 – Make Believe
03 – Baby Doll
04 – You
05 – Malcolm X
06 – Taster
07 – Master Song
08 – Great Divide
09 – Alter
10 – Play With Fire
11 – Dionysian
12 – Real Good Time
13 – One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong
14 – White Rabbit

MediaFire Zip

Ruin – Terminal Flexi & White Rabbit Demo

Some more Ruin releases the first is a flexi disc that came with Terminal Magazine. There are two Ruin tracks and then some other bands (I included all of them here.) The second is the White Rabbit demo tape which came out before Fiat Lux. I didn’t have a cover for my tape but I found the picture on the Ruin Discography site Songs of Ruin.
On that site it says the tape is only the cover of White Rabbit but my tape had three songs. That version of White Rabbit was used on the cd.
Here are some quotes from the members of Ruin on this flexi and tape:
flexi was before heho, before the compilation [proof] recording was done at some small studio if i remember correctly [that was actually someone’s attic] I don’t remember 13th & samson- i remember the attic first, & later in someone living room studio [proof first recording]” – Richard Hutchins (drummer/percussionist)
I don’t recall who engineered it or where. Obviously it was Ruin’s first release. I got a kick out of hardcore punk being on the same disc as experimental abstract music (Furry Couch). Reflected my own schizoid tastes for such sounds.
Thanks again. Please post on Ruin’s facebook page when published. Cheers,
” – Taum
Did we record the flexi disk material at the 13th and Samson St. studio? I can’t recall. It was prior to the release of the HE HO record if I recall correctly. Terminal magazine was run by Carol Shutzbank and Steve Fritz” – Damon Wallis
Besides that I throw in a couple more tracks one is the version of White Rabbit from Fiat Lux (I figured if you have the cd you might want this version as well) Second is a cover of Hero by Superchunk. It’s from an ep called The Laughter Guns EP. I sort of remember hearing that the drummer from Superchunk grew up in Philly and was a fan of Ruin. Besides that I fond some more Flyers, t-shirt picture from the reunion shows, an insert that I found and am not sure where it came from plus this interview from an old zine Rodman Rave click here to view it
I’m working on some Ruin video from a show from 1986 hopefully I will get that up soon.
Thanks to Brett for letting me borrow the flexi.

Terminal Flexi

A1 Ruin – Phenomenal Expression
A2 Ruin – Twilight
A3 Bunnydrums – SwitchBlade
B1 Atomic Thinkers – InternalOrgans
B2 Furry Couch – PlanetOfWater

MediaFire Zip

White Rabbit Demo

Ruin white rabbit demo cover

01 LifeAfterLife
02 WhiteRabbit
03 Proof

MediaFire Zip

Extra mp3’s

Whtie Rabbit (Fiat Lux Version)
Super Chunk covering Hero

Maximum Rocknroll #21 Review

Maximum Rocknroll #21

Philly Comps – Get Off My Back LP

Get Off My Back is a record that I always thought about buying when I was at Record Exchange or Third Street. But I always found something new to buy instead, until one day it wasn’t around anymore. Luckly it was up on the Last Days of Man on Earth blog (Tons of good stuff check it out) so I finally at least could download the songs. So here is the post from that blog.

Get Off My Back – Philly Hardcore Comp (82)

So last Saturday they had their “Legends of Hardcore” show in Philly and it looked like a blast. The lineup was pretty killer and included a couple of my favorite old school Philly HC bands; McRad and YDI. If Ruin was on the bill it woulda been perfect.
First thing you’re gonna notice is that YDI played an extra set with special guest vocalist Sab Grey. So yeah…it woulda been an excellent show and I am bummed that Philly was not close enough to drive to (ala Louisville). If I were still living up in Boston…Shit, I woulda been there!

Unlike Boston (or DC or NYC), The Philly scene never got the props it deserved. It had a slew of great bands, a strong scene and was close enough to other big east coast cities to be connected. So why do we not refer to Philly with the same hushed reverence we refer to these other towns?

The answer is maybe that Philly did not have as much of an identifiable sound and look as these other towns. It also had no singular independent label to rally around like a Dischord or a Modern Method. It basically just had a slew of great bands, many of whom were featured on this great 1982 compilation. The quality of the vinyl is a little crackly but hey, whatcanyado? YDIEnemy For Life, I Killed My Family: YDI were a cool band. They definitely had that mean, gnarly East Coast sound. I Killed My Family is a bit silly but Enemy for Life fuckin’ rips. FLAG OF DEMOCRACYMurder Castle, Suburban Cowboy: No doubt the best FOD tunes I have ever heard. These tunes blaze! Murder Castle has got a great breakdown. Way better than the FOD track on the flipside comp thats for sure! BLUNDER BOYSConspiracy, I’m Afraid of the Night, Middle Class Morals: Average at best hardcore with a rather annoying singer. Originally went by the name “Crib Death”. One of the lesser bands on this comp. LITTLE GENTLEMENNo Justice – No Law, No Crime – No Flaw: Another mediocre tune. The Little Gentleman were pretty prolific and went on to release a seven inch and two full length LPs. Another one that doesn’t do that much for me. AUTISTIC BEHAVIORTV Messiah, Power Head: Brilliant manic hardcore with a slight Cali edge to it. Power Head reminds me a bit of a real intense Saccharine Trust track. Good shit! Did these guys ever do anything else? RUINProof, Love Dog: Quality-wise Ruin were head and shoulders above most other bands. I wrote them up earlier so I wont go to into it. These are some of the earliest recorded Ruin tracks and they had yet to develop their fully realized style. Even in their embryonic form, Ruin were a great band though and these two tracks kick off side two with a great jolt of dharma-tinged HC. INFORMED SOURCESRight & Wrong, Dense Pack: OK stuff. Kinda west-coastish. The vocals are a little flat but the playing is very tight. SEEDS OF TERRORBrain Down, Straightedge: When it first kicked in I thought it sounded like The Urinals! Basically, it has the same production value as the first Urinals 7 inch. Quality-wise the tracks are nowhere near the quality of The Urinals. OK stuff….. McRADInflation Dub, Ejected: Super early McRad tracks preceeding the Dominant Force EP. Inflation Dub is a great reggae-tinged hardcore track. Ejected is just a classic old school HC track. McRad is still going strong today! THE HEATHENS Oohleigh at Great Adventure, My Twin From Hell: Amazing shit. Tight as hell spazz-core. Kinda like a trainwreck between Stark Raving Mad and Deep Wound and the Minutemen. Fuck! Who were these guys? All in all, this is a super-tight set of US Hardcore made at the height of the moment in 1982. Quality wise, I think it is as good as the Master Tape, Flex Your Head or This Is Boston Not LA. I wonder why it does not have the same reputation as those comps? Thanks to George for hooking me up with this comp too. I’m hoping that we have some Electric Love Muffin coming soon!

Mediafire Zip

Philly Comps- That Was Then This Is Now 7″

This post is the first of three Philly compilations posts I’m going to try to get up today.

That Was Then This Is Now 7″

This 7″ from Plus Records came out in 1986 and songs by Ruin, FOD, Scram and Electric Love Muffin. If I remember right the picture on the front (see below) was of the torn down Love Hall (Hence the that was then). For 86 this was a good representation of probably the most popular bands in the Philly scene but certainly not all of them. The 7 inch came with a insert that I scanned and you can see below plus stickers which probably went on one of my old skateboards, where it stayed in pristine condition since I was not a very good skateboarder.. Here are the 4 Tracks

Ruin-By The By
Electric Love Muffin-Club Car
Scram-Something To Cling To
F.O.D.-Meat Factory

MediaFire Zip

Ruin Live from St. Mary’s and WXPN

Basically I’m starting this blog to share some bands from the Philly scene and some live recordings I’ve made. I decided to steal a title of a Ruin song as the name of the blog simply because Ruin is Philly’s best band (then, now and perhaps ever).
Ruin was always an amazing band to see live and just stood out from the rest of the bands in the 80’s hardcore scene. I’m not really very good at writing about music (I much rather just listen to it) but I’ll try.
The best way I can think of to explain why Ruin was the best band is Philly was when I saw that Ruin was playing I looked forward to that show as much as any touring band that maybe only came to Philly once a year or maybe even once ever. I’m not sure how many times I saw them but I can’t remember a bad show. At the three reunion shows from 1996 (?) it was hard to believe that it was a reunion except that everyone came out of the woodwork’s to be there and Ruin were great.
I’m not going to try to explain it if you haven’t listened to them check out this live stuff I put up here or go to their site: ruinrocks.com.
I have two live Ruin shows and I did my best to split it up and label the songs (if I’m wrong on any please let me know)

Live on XPN

Dinosaur Love
Baby Doll
China & Rule Worshipper
Alter
Life After Life
Hero
He’s Got A Raygun
Twilight
Playing With Fire

download-XPNp

Live @ St Mary’s 11-17-1987

Life After Life
Famous Blue Raincoat
He Ho – Laudiums
Search And Destroy – Master Song – By The By
Turning Over
Make Believe
Taster – Alarm – GreatDivide
China – Rule Whorshipper
One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong
White Rabbit

download-St Mary’s

Added 3 photos from Brett (Noise Addiction II) – The rest are pictures that were taken by Pete Emerick at one of the Troc shows from the mid-80’s.
The flyers are mostly from a CD-ROM compilation of flyers called Artifacts of the Improbable by James Lewes.

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