West Michigan Scene Report
by Mean Gene
Cripple Fight from Kalamazoo is the latest talk of the area. It features five veterans of the local punk scene (Thee Elder Gods, No Breaks, Bronson Arm, Rock and Roll Bad Guys, Terror Cell). They just dropped their first release, ON TAPE: The Black Edition, which was released on cassette tape only. Cripple Fight focuses lyrically on social and political issues, the roaring vocals laid over a music backdrop of raging, fast hardcore punk. I have coined their style as “fast disability core violence.” It rolls right off the tongue, no? Cripple Fight will be going into the studio soon to record for their next release, which will be released on vinyl via Back Ache Records. The boys are currently starting to make plans for a tour next year, and if they come to your town, check them out!
Hardcore stalwarts MDOP, out of Grand Rapids, continue to plug along, touring and playing some local and regional live shows. We hear there may be some new tunes being worked on, and one hopes we will see another release from them soon. Their sister band Cynical Display (having two common members with MDOP) puts on a blisteringly fast live show and released a demo on tape a few months ago. We hope to hear more recorded stuff from them in the near future.
The three-piece Sierra Miffed is a self-described “girl punk” band from Kalamazoo that has been making some waves lately. They play a brand of pop-punk reminiscent of the early to mid-1990s pop-punk, while delivering lyrics about relationships and dealing with life in general. Sierra Miffed play live quite often in the area, and many of us are patiently waiting for a follow up to their demo released a couple years ago (available on Bandcamp).
Coyote is a foursome of youngsters (compared to me anyway) delivering a driving hardcore punk style. Coyote, another great band from Grand Rapids, have released a demo and an EP, both of which are on a CD on the West MI Punk imprint. They play a lot of shows, and are carrying the torch for the next generation in punk, and especially hardcore punk, in our area.
We also have some great venues, like the SugarBowl and the RunOff here in Kalamazoo, and labels like Indolent Records, West MI Punk, and my own Back Ache Records (just to name a few) in the area doing our best to provide live and recorded punk music to fans.
Comments