A couple of the finest hardcore/punk bands Buffalo has to offer are They Live and No Time Left. The backbone of these acts are the Ellman brothers—Erik on guitar and Blake on drums (who is featured on this issue’s cover cover). No Time Left offer a more straight-ahead approach to hardcore, rooted in the sound of positive youth crew, but not limited to that genre. Vocalist Nick Baran has been involved with the Buffalo scene for a while and has a lot of thoughtful and intelligent viewpoints, not to mention a powerful stage presence. Look for him doing toe-touches and other assorted yoga on the ground before they rock. They Live thrash tight and hard, veering towards a more extreme spectrum of hardcore. Their sets are insane. It is probably the closest thing in Buffalo to G.G. Allin, minus the feces (thank god). Tables and trampolines have been employed in their chaos, but few make it out in tact. They've released several E.P.'s and numerous compilation tracks.

Another great local Hard Core (HC) band is Wrong the Oppressor. Headed by Bill Paige and Sweeper, they are fairly new on the scene, but already fucking shit up—to put it eloquently. Bill's passionate anger comes across powerfully in his vocal performance. They've recently released a CD demo and plan on playing more shows when their drummer Joey returns from the Lone Star State.

The Control is another great hardcore band from Buffalo. They are driven by the early hardcore punk acts of Boston and Washington DC—when punk and hardcore were one in the same. The power of Society System Decontrol (SSD), the melodic sensibility of Naked Raygun, coupled along with urgent screaming combine to form The Control. They released a 10"/CD on +/- records out of Michigan in May, and hope to tour this winter break. The Control is probably the best band in the whole world (at least I think so, but I'm in the band).

As far as the wild side of rock and the rock side of punk goes, look no further than the Baseball Furies. These guys are an experience. The only way to describe 'em: "Raw Power honey, just won't quit". No bullshit, all attitude and craziness. A stumbling drunk mess. It's rock 'n roll played with such intensity and out of control antics that you have to hold yourself back from being swept up in the furor and hurling a pint glass at them. Pure rock 'n roll, real counterculture. They've gotten some national recognition with their 10" and 7".

Close behind are The Tyrades, a similar local rock 'n roll disturbance. Female vocals and savage guitars are sure to nurture ear drum damage. These guys have style along with their attitude: torn shirts with spray paint, messed up ties, and Ponch sunglasses. The Tyrades are Reminiscent of Germs and old LA punk. The Stranded are fuckin' great too. Rock 'n roll that maintains a level of energy and authenticity, while still producing some good melodic songs. Early English mod rock and oi influence these assholes. Look out for The Blowtops—a garage punk rock 'n roll band with a mouth full of microphone. New on the scene, and hopefully around for a while, is UB's The Fallen, a straight-ahead punk rock 'n roll band with crazy guitar solos and walking bass lines. Pissed off and usually piss drunk, the Fallen live up to the punk cliché by accruing 3 disorderly conduct charges amongst the guitarist and the drummer. The initial sound is "street punk" (I guess that's what the kids call it). The Urethra Franklins win the strangest band name contest (although Harry and the Hendersons was a powerful contender). These guys are wild punk rock. File under pogo punk—revved up pop punk with a snotty attitude. Look for their demo in a vomit puddle near you.

Avulsion recently made their much welcomed return to the scene with their raw, crusty punk sounding hardcore. Another great local Buffalo act is Drago. Featuring former members of Daybreak and Homefield Advantage, they kick out the jams, motherfucker. T.B.A. (yeah it's a band jackass) have been at it forever, grinding out their original brand of no-wave punk music. You'll be sure to catch them at the Continental. Another dinosaur of the scene around here is Johnny Revolting. God, I remember playing with these old farts when I was seventeen and had my hair parted down the middle. Johnny Revolting are still at it, and good for them. Their style is poppy punk with references to porn stars.

Some other bands to keep an eye out for are Jungle Stud and Nobody's Hero. Another fine group featuring members of The Creepers is Molotov Cocktail Inc. 3 Below play funkdafied hardcore with metal. They recently opened for thrash superstars D.R.I at the Classic Rox Café. That's false advertising, if you ask me. Believe me, it's nothing like a café. Maybe a Café from a Poison video in 1988.