KUNIHYDE "CLEVELANDER" of CREEPOUT Interview

Anyone who follows this blog knows I love Japanese hardcore. CREEPOUT is a band that me and Rob found years back and wanted to bring their music to the US. This June they are returning to do 2 US shows (June 17th in Indiana and June 19th @ Summer of Hate in Cleveland). I hit up Kunihyde (aka Japanese Clevelander), Creepout's vocalist to do an interview and he was more than happy to answer my questions about the band's recent activities, tour w/ integrity, and more! I am most impressed with his responses... his English has vastly improved since we 1st met years ago. Now if only I could get a handle on Japanese like that!

HA: Tell us about Creepout's history

KUNIHYDE: ok,We're formed in 2002 with me and Tak. And keepin'on playing many shows and released some comp, splits. On 2008, We made 1st our own stuff called "S.O.S.F" in Japan, and our 1st full length will comes up in Japan and U.S.so sooon!

HA: What are the main differences between shows in Japan and shows in the USA?

KUNIHYDE: Yeah, we have so many different points...We have to pay to play or booking any show at any clubs like $1500 per 1 show...so naturally, ticket's price will be expensive, and normally $18 to $25!
It sucks!! And we have soundcheck before a show. Japan is small country, but so many people is living, esp in big city like Tokyo, so we can't do house show and any small like that. The kids dances same like american's...Mosh is worldwide sports!!

HA: You seem to like American Baseball... how did you learn about it in Japan?

KUNIHYDE:  Baseball is like national sports over here too, so in basic, we love baseball since we were born! MLB is highest place about baseball in the world...so i love it.

HA: Japanese hardcore has a long history, which Japanese punk/hardcore bands were a major influence on you?

KUNIHYDE: Gastunk, G.I.S.M, The Willard

HA: How do most Japanese people view Americans?

KUNIHYDE: Most of Japanese can't speak or write in english, so they're afraid of all foreigners! haha, it's weird but true.

HA: What was the best food you ate when you came to the US?

KUNIHYDE: Food!? Oh, I like american BBQ, Hot dogs, Pizza, Grilled chicken, Hamburgers, Steaks, oh of course Mexicans! And i like american beverages...BRISK (Lipton Iced Tea) fuckin'rules!

HA: Which American bands have influenced you the most?

KUNIHYDE: You already know it!! It's pretty difficult to choice one, but...ok, i say Cleveland Hardcore!

HA: Tell us an odd fact about Japan

KUNIHYDE: hummm, it's depends on people, so you should come here to feel it.

HA: What 1st got you into hardcore? How old were you?

KUNIHYDE: Hardcore? Originally, i loved Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Ramones etc, and Cro-mags, SOIA etc, so it's Cro-mags. I think i was 16.

HA: You recently did a split with INTEGRITY and did a tour w/ them in Japan. Tell us about that record and the tour.

KUNIHYDE: You know i love them, so it was like one of my dreams came true! Jukeboxxx record is my friend and they said ok 3 seconds aftter i offered to release! The record is great i think, and Dwid also loves that.  was released in ep and cd, both are out of stock though, i will bring some to the Summer of hate next month. The tour was awesome!!! They are good guys than i expected, Jochum brothers are stupid but good, haha anyway it was good time.

HA: What can we expect from Creepout in the future?

KUNIHYDE: Our full length "Tribe called hardcore" will be available soon!! and you can get our shirts at Shop Shogun or NGS records.

HA: What are the best current Japanese HC bands?

KUNIHYDE: So many. NUMB, SAND, ROCKCRIMAZ, DOMINATE, FIGHT IT OUT, EDGE OF SPIRIT, FACECARZ, ETERNAL B... AND MORE AND MORE!!! We think we should spread Japanese bands among overseas.

HA: Any last words?

KUNIHYDE: Thanks Steve for take this interview!!! Support Hardass record everyone! And you should get our album and listen to it again and again, and SEE YA AT SUMMER OF HATE!!!!!

Here is a video of CREEPOUT live in Japan! Make sure to pause the HARD ASS RADIO player before trying to watch it!

RELEASES/DOWNLOADS

Below are all the official HARD-ASS RECORDS releases for you to download. Scroll down and download them all! Feel free to re-post these and share them as much as you'd like! Enjoy!

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ULTIMO BEATDOWN "WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST" EP - HA008

Ultimo Beatdown's follow-up to the "WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS" EP from years back.  4 tracks of angry style HC, similar to demos era COLD AS LIFE, BLOOD BLOOD and SHEER TERROR. Songs about Alien Gods, Toho Monster movies, and mental illness. Will the band ever play another show? Who knows. Who exactly is in the band? An eternal mystery. Will this EP change your life? Yes! Download it for free via the link provided below.

Click to download ULTIMO BEATDOWN'S "WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST" EP for free!

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DOMINATE "JUST CHILLIN AT THE BACKYARD" EP - HA007

As promised, here is DOMINATE's new EP for FREE DOWNLOAD straight outta Tokyo, Japan! Straight up Hard/Beatdown style that is not for the weak! Similar in styles to BULLDOZE, STOUT and BIOHAZARD as well as others in that vein. This is sure to get you to mosh your room to smithereens and your blood boiling. Brutal Tokyo hardcore.

Click to download DOMINATE'S "JUST CHILLIN AT THE BACKYARD" EP 

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RACE RIOT "CREW LIFE" DEMO - HA006

Race Riot is an angry, violent punk band from North East Ohio. This band is anti-racist. This band believes that punk and hardcore music should be violent and dangerous. 5 tracks of fast, angry punk-core. The demo is available for free download via the link below:

Click to Download RACE RIOT "CREW LIFE DEMO"

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THE STRUGGLE "18 SONG DISCOGRAPHY"- HA005

THE STRUGGLE was a band from the early 2000's form Youngstown that featured STEVE ASSAULT (Crowd Deterrent), JON BUTTERY, ZACK V (Shelter, Soul Cries, Inner Revolution), BOB DIRENZO, and ANGEL SULLIVAN (Puppet Government). The band played old-fashioned angry, negative hardcore straight out of the 80's, mixing WARZONEw/ BLACK SABBATH. Lyrically the songs were mainly negative in regards to personal struggles/short-comings, plus a few songs about horror movies. Included here are all the songs the band ever recorded. 18 tracks. The original demo has been re-engineered/re-mastered as well as some of the other songs. Download it for free via the link below:

  
Click here to download "THE STRUGGLE- DISCOGRAPHY"

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CROWD DETERRENT/NUMB "SOSF WORLDWIDE VOLUME 2"-  HA003

 Full length featuring Ohio's CROWD DETERRENT and Tokyo's kings of hardcore NUMB. Yet another release that bridges continents! NUMB's legendary style of Tokyo Hardcore hits the US at last! This is a release w/ something for fans of NYHC, to Oi and Beatdown. Angry traditional HC from opposite sides of the earth!

Click here to download CROWD DETERRENT/NUMB "SOSF WORLDWIDE VOL 2" 

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CROWD DETERRENT/CREEPOUT "SOSF WORLDWIDE VOLUME 1" - HA002

 Full length featuring Ohio's CROWD DETERRENT and Tokyo's CREEPOUT. Ohio hardcore meets Japan Clevo style! Includes the Crowd Deterrent's anthems LIVE FOR REVENGE and DOWN TO THROWDOWN. Holy Terror from the far east hits the mainland with this epic release.

Click here to download CROWD DETERRENT/CREEPOUT "SOSF WORLDWIDE VOL 1" 

CROWD DETERRENT RECORD RELEASE SHOW FEB 2002

Dave uploaded this full set of the 2002 CD release show for the album BLOOD AND FAMILY. This show was @ Nyabinghi and Run Devil Run played as well. Some fun stuff... one of the handful of shows in the bands history that featured a full line-up w/ members that practiced the songs. Many of these songs were never played at any other shows. A few fun covers too... Madball, AF, and Motorhead. It is fun to see many ghosts of the past stage diving, singing along, and running wild. This was one of the last really fun/highly attended shows in Youngstown before the scene began to really decline.

*Make sure you pause the Hard-Ass Radio player before you try to watch the videos!

THE END COMETH....

 

UNLEASHED SPRING 2010...

Volume problems?

I was alerted that some people were having problems w/ the Hard Ass Radio player being too loud. I have tried to adjust it, please let me know if the volume is too loud when the player starts or if you have any other issues by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

ASCENSION - CLEVELAND HARDCORE

In the 90's I went to the video store here in Youngstown and there was a skinny guy w/ glasses wearing a bow tie (all employees there wore them) who worked there. Form the looks of us, he figured me and my friends were into hardcore stuff. He told us about his band ASCENSION and told us they were playing soon w/ Ringworm (a reunion show I believe) and In Cold Blood. From his appearance, you'd never gather he was in such a band, but Chris Wood was a great front man who was known for his wacky stage antics. His band was a rather unique 90's Clevo band. They def had a Clevo sound/influence, but they were a little more metal then the rest and they had a sound all their own (check some of the bass work on the albums). This is a band I see discussed very little and I feel they were one of the better 90's bands out of Cleveland. For your enjoyment I have posted both of Ascension's releases below. Both were released by TOYBOX RECORDS and are way out of print. Please check out both the YEARS OF FIRE EP and the ABOMINATION LP! I especially liked ABOMINATION... that 1st song was a killer!

Click here to download ASCENSION "YEARS OF FIRE" EP free! 

Click here to download ASCENSION "ABOMINATION" LP for free!

ABOVE PIC: Chris Wood on vocals. I once saw Ascension play a show w/  Skarhead... kind of an odd lineup. Hopefully I will see this band again someday and hopefully many more people will be able to rediscover this band!

HARD-ASS RADIO UPDATE

The HARD-ASS RADIO was down for a few days. I had an issue w/ my file storage server and had to delete everything and start all over so there's some fresh new tracks on it but it's up and running again. There was before (probably about and hour and 1/2 of tunes on there now) but I will get more up on it again soon and will keep spreading the Hard-Ass Reality!

New stuff added recently to the playlist:

RINGWORM, VISION, INSULT TO INJURY, CIRCLE JERKS, COCKNEY REJECTS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, CAUSE FOR ALARM, BACKFIRE, POWERHOUSE, SNUFF, TJ MAXX,  and much more!

STRONG STYLE

When some friends from Tokyo visited me a few years ago they gave me many CDs, one of which was this CD from a band called STRONG STYLE which was released opn the famed JUKEBOX RECORDS. This is Melodic Japanese Oi/Hardcore at it's best. All the lyrics are in Japanese, as are all the track listings, so I have no idea what the songs are called or what they are saying, but the music is great. They play a style similar to PRESSURE POINT, DISCIPLINE, etc. This CD is 10 tracks of melodic skin-core anthems. There are guest spots on the record by members of STILL YOU ALIVE, one off my favorite and little known Japanese HC bands.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD "STRONG STYLE'S" ALBUM FOR FREE!

Wish this was in English... but what can ya do? Still some solid tunes!

HOLIDAY UPDATE/NEWS !

CROWD DETERRENT will be releasing their new EP as an online/digital download ONLY in very early 2010. All new songs. A mix of sounds/styles from the early demos up to the more recent releases.

DOMINATE form Tokyo Japan will be doing a split online/free release right here on Hard Ass Digital in early 2010. The other band and date of availability will be announced VERY soon so keep your eyes peeled!

ULTIMO BEATDOWN was in the studio over the weekend and got all but finished w/ 8 tracks of rugged-core. UB's new EP will be available via free Digital Download right here in early 2010 and UB will also play a show or two!

RACE RIOT will be doing a split w/ a band TBA in 2010. No idea yet if it will be a 7"/vinyl release or a CD/Digital release.

SUMMER OF HATE 2010 is already in the works. Venue, dates, and some of the initial bands TBA early 2010. SOH will be bigger and better than all the other years 100%

The Radio App has been updated w/ lots of new stuff like SUBURBAN SCUM, FEAR, CLENCHED FIST, BIOHAZARD, MERAUDER, BODY COUNT, CHOKING ON REALITY, WARZONE, SINNERS AND SAINTS, NOTHING PERSONAL and many more HC and punk jams.

Check it all out here: HARD-ASS RECORDS DIGITAL BLOG 2010 will be a big year on the Hard Ass Digital site! Please check back often as the radio player will only be updated/added to more and more... as well as new downloads, interviews, and much, much more!

ELVES!

"They're not working for Santa anymore!" that's the tag line used for this ultra obscure  and ultra wacky 80's X-Mas horror treat. it has been a while since I did any horror movie stuff, but it's Christmas and I thought this was the perfect gift so here we go!

Grizzly Adams himself stars as the Santa at a local mall who runs afoul of a girl  working at said mall who is involved in some kind of mysterious modern day Nazi plot. it seems that she was selectively bred (her grandfather banged his own daughter to give birth to the perfect girl) to mate with the nazi's ultimate creation: ELVES! I kid you not! Supposedly if the Elves bang this girl on a certain night (Christmas) she will give birth to the ultimate human being and this action will bring aboutt "The Master Race" that the nazis had been dreaming of since Hitler.

But hold on, Santa has something to say about this! There's gun-play, horse-play, incest, and wacky monster elves galor! One not to be missed due to the sheer absurdity of the subject matter at hand. What better way to spend a cold, Christmas night than watching this wonderful gift?

Click here to watch/download ELVES!

CLIP form ELVES:

Grizzly Adams interrupts Christmas Dinner to find out the TRUTH about Elves!