Upstate New York has always had some very cool hardcore acts or bands playing weird stylistic blends of heavy rock. Growing up in my scene we had everyone from dudes from the Bad Brains/Stealth around to Shabutie/Coheed and Cambria and Three to bands like Jerk Magnet, Matchbook Romance, Shai Hulud, Peacebomb, Dripping Goss and the Jesus Lizard/Cop Shoot Cop drunken train bearing down on you, sounds of New Paltz, New York’s Mearth (who used to have ex-Murphy’s Law drummer Doug Beans on drums for a time and are doing reunion shows soon). The heaviest metal bands could coexist alongside legit hardcore bands or alternative and it was cool as fuck. Don’t let anyone ever tell you there wasn’t or still isn’t a viable scene here in the Hudson Valley.

Hardcore band Slipfist were a band that was kicking some ass around these parts about ten years ago before disbanding and splintering into different groups/directions. They were on a comp called ERROR 404:Not Found that I helped put out in ’99 featuring many of the above mentioned bands in early gestation periods. Recently Slipfist decided to do a reunion show after ten years and packed out The Basement, which has inspired them to get back in the game.

Drummer Darren Kline filled me in on Slipfist’s return, “It’s great. We did a reunion show and the response made us decide to keep it going,” said Darren. “Kids are really coming out to the shows and it’s been a great experience. We’re really excited. It’s all our original members. We’re all about having fun and a great time. We’ve got a whole different outlook on the band now and love playing these local shows.”

Years ago when Slipfist were playing initially, the writing process was out of a younger sense of raw struggle and while the new music may also have that intensity, the way the band operates has matured. Like another great Hudson Valley hardcore band Painmask, they have decided to reunite on their own terms and with the right attitude, hell-bent on showing the pups how it is done while continuing an ongoing musical conversation between lifelong friends.

“Back when we played was ten or so years ago,” said Kline. “We’ve learned a lot now. The music is tighter and we have a better outlook. Even writing songs, we’re attacking things differently and know what to do. It’s amazing. I am so excited about the new song we have and we’re gonna try and record it soon.”

Slipfist pummeled the stage and played favorites like “Fearless” and “Another Moment Of Silence”, displaying a tighter sense of flow between the band than ever. Fans of VOD, Blood Simple and Biohazard should definitely check out these guys and help make the comeback even stronger.

Now on to Murphy’s Law. I hadn’t seen Murphy’s for over five years or so. The last time I saw them was a crazy night at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Connecticut. My old band Divest was working with Dr Know from Bad Brains at the time and he was putting out and had co-produced our 7” for the songs “Open Door Revelation/Brand New Lie”. We shared a bill of a lifetime with Bad Brains, Murphy’s Law and the killer west coast band Red Tape. H.R. from the Brains had a pretty crazy night and ended up sitting and reading on stage and then playing the drums, trying to teach the crowd about Nyabinghi drums. It wasn’t the best night for the Bad Brains, but I still thought it was punk as fuck. Murphy’s Law that night were hysterical, with Jimmy G. telling all the drunks on the other side of a big fence in Toad’s Place that separates the 21+ section from the dance floor that they were “intoxicaged”.

This 2010 show at the Basement was also highly memorable like that other occasion. Jimmy G. and the current band blasted through great versions of “Quest For Herb” and the crowd favorite “Crucial BBQ”, bodies pressed together and everyone having a great time. It might get rowdy as hell, but Murphy’s shows always prove why most new school hardcore dancing is so corndogs. THIS is a fun show, people. The best song of the night had to be “Skinhead Girl”, though. That tune is always so fun to dance to and just gets any venue shaking ass from front to back. Local harmonica maestro Andy Parker from the band Butter even jammed with the band for a minute at one point during the night. Andy was recently heard on Nightmares For A Week’s A Flood Tomorrow EP, so check that out if you haven’t yet.

I talked to current (and past) Murphy’s Law drummer Goat for awhile. I hadn’t seen him since Divest had shared a sick bill with Subzero (who he was playing with at the time), Crisis and All Out War a few years back, and he remembered the show as awesome. I asked Goat, who also has been playing with the current Jerry Only incarnation of The Misfits off and on, how he is feeling about playing with Murphy’s again. “It feels great,” said Goat. “I got away from playing for a minute, but all of a sudden I got hit hard. I always love playing with my brother Jimmy. If he calls me and I have the time, Murphy’s Law is in my blood. I have been playing for The Misfits off and on for ten years. Recently I started playing with them more. Robo was playing with them more but he wants to go and do other shit. He’s an older guy so he wants to mellow out a bit.”

I also asked Goat how it feels to know that so many hardcore bands like Agnostic Front or Life Of Agony are having well received anniversaries of 20+ years lately. “It should be like that and I’m glad all those bands are still doing it or other bands getting together again,” said the energetic Goat. “It’s been a long time, if you think about it. We’ve seen each other grow up. You could be mad at your brother, but if you think about it, he’s your brother! These are people, shit… I’ve known some of them since they were twenty two years old! Now as a player, personally I feel older but stronger. I’m smarter and more efficient. I can do things better than I did before, I think. You have to work at it like a craft and be serious about it.” Goat laughs and continues. “Sometimes I sit at home and my girl doesn’t realize…I’m thinkin’ about shit! But yeah, gigs like this at The Basement inspire. Sometimes big cities lose their passion. We come up here to do a show like this instead and I’d rather play this than a sterile big place any day.”