SCARAB- (Sort of) Discography.

SCARAB is a former 90’s indie/emo/punk rock DIY band from Long Island, New York. Named after ancient Egypt’s magic shaped amulets, Scarab started touring in 1994 with their "melodic yet aggressive sound." Scarab consisted of Melanie Wills on vocals, Milan Millevoy on guitar, Lee Greenman on bass, and Dan Lopez drumming. A record deal went bad lead to their inevitable breakup. Members went on to form One True Thing, which is much poppier and radio-friendly. Although One True Thing wound up re-doing a Scarab song or 2 ("Dearest" & "Bloom"), they certainly couldn't touch Scarab's dark, haunting, melodies. This is some of my favorite vocals of all time. And right up there with Greensleep & Sleepasaurus as being some of the best music from the 90's Long Island punk scene. These are some sweet long lost gems here. Scarab did some demo tapes ("Earwig" demo+), a couple compilations ("Comp Shmomp 2", "Innovations In Music Vol.1", "Diversified Chaos"+) as well as a Split 7" with Greensleep on Motherbox Records. You still can get that on pink vinyl here. Hope you enjoy this incredible band as much as I do. Fuck, so good. More complete bio here on To Live And Die On Island.

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(*Updated 5/12: Added Greensleep split 7" songs to zip.)

SPLURGE- Discography.

I found this gem of a home-made discography on soulseek and if you don't know about the almighty, Splurge, then let me enlighten you... This is some of the most essential (and some of the best) DIY Punk to ever surface from Long Island. Hands down. No shitting. Gritty, melodic, poppy, fast, 90's pop-punk in the vein of Crimpshrine, Jawbreaker, M-Blanket, Plow United and more. Sounds fucking awesome, right? RIGHT. Hell, there's even a sick Crimpshrine cover of "Free Will", which also happens to be one of my favorite covers due to its complete & utter awesome-ness. This was one of the first Long Island DIY bands from the whole Traffic Violation Records scene that I had heard. And when I first saw Splurge, in the dimly lit shit-hole of a room that was the Roadhouse Pub in Centereach, NY. I was a young teenage punk and it was your average weekly matinee DIY punk show in a bar. The PA was so fucked it wasn't even was audible. All that I heard was the essence of Splurge, in all its' glory, but with no vocals. I loved it from the moment I heard it, even in the worst of circumstance. Like I said, this is a home-made discography lurking around the internet, but it's complete. It includes the Splurge/Striped Basstards Split 7" EP, "Tales From The Me Generation" 7 inch, "Exit/Stretch" 7 inch, Contra/Splurge- Split CD, all on TVR. Jon (Guitar/Words) from Splurge went on to play in Air Raid Barcelona & The Brass. Paulie (Bass/Words) played in The Devil Himself and did Love Panther with Dave (guitar) & now does Godzillians, and Stevo (Drums) played in Explosivo!. Most of whom, released music with me through Dead Broke. I asked these guys about doing a Discography tape awhile back, never panned out. Tell them you want it, 'cus you fucking should. RIP. (You can also download their demo tape here too.)

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THE MARSHES- "Fledgling"

It's been forever since I posted, and that's stupid. Before I get into this post about one of the best 90's pop-punk records (a phrase muttered quite often here), I gotta tell you all about some things: I've recently stumbled on to some totally amazing Long Island based music blogs, while browsing my good friend Mikes' (Dude Japan/Rok Lok Records) own blog, Here On This Island. There was a few things I've wanted to post on here that these other 2 amazing blogs have saved me the trouble of...The Devil Himself, Wasted Time & the Greensleep 7", just to name a few. Check out Uncle Ron's Dusty Discs & To Live And Die On Long Island, as well as Here On This Island, and download everything you possibly can. You won't regret it.

While talking with friends via Facebook about the Uncle Ron's blog, my friend Roy reminiscened of seeing Greensleep at a local basement show with The Marshes @ Bunky's (from Wasted Time) house. He reminded me of how I had recently scored a vinyl LP copy of The Marshes most popular full-length, "Fledgling" on ebay for under 15 bucks. Roy's memories inspired me to post another one of my all-time favorite 90's pop-punk albums, that being, "Fledgling". The Marshes played a fast, melodic, unique style of pop-punk, the remains untouchable to this day. Singer & Bassist Emil Busie's voice is distinct, urgent and truly brilliant, as well as the music played behind it. Hellbender, Jawbreaker, early Green Day, and other 90's greats come to mind when listening to "Fledgling". The Marshes also included Stephen Wardlaw on Guitar/vocals, and Colin Sears on drums (formerly of Dag Nasty). This album is a true gem of punk rock history and remains a classic I hold dear to my heart. Even to the point where I've spoken with the band a year back, when they were gearing up to do a reunion show, about reissuing the classic LP..

Unforuntately, I ran face-first into the same problems I faced trying to reissue Fifteen's albums on Grass Records... that being that Grass, who back then released some pretty amazing & important 90's punk albums, became what is now Wind-Up Entertainment. Whose claim to fame is a certain little band called, CREED. Ugh. This means the label most likely has their own division of big cheese lawyers that probably wouldn't take too kindly to me reissuing a couple punk records they probably don't even know they own. Since then, The Marshes have released a new 7" on long-time veteran punk label, Dr. Strange, and also have played a reunion show in Massachusetts. The 7" is actually, REALLY fucking good, so I highly urge you to pick it up at Dr. Strange's site. And now I bring to you, "Fledgling". Note the incredible art-work, something that's not too foreign of pop-punk records from the 90's (ie: Plow United).

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DOC HOPPER- "Aloha"

So here's what is probably one of my favorite pop-punk full-length albums ever, by one of my favorite pop-punk bands of the 90's, Doc Hopper. "Aloha" is the band's first LP (1994) and was released themselves on their own, Ringing Ear Records. Ringing Ear put out a bunch of awesome 90's pop-punk gems you'll see popping up every now again on this blog, as I'm a huge fan. Classic east coast pop-punk, melodic & fast. They were from Maine & (later on) Boston. Enjoy this and grab the vinyl somewhere on ebay for cheap. Soo fucking good! One of the best of the 90's, get on this shit. Dudes also played/play in: Sinkhole, Groucho Marxists.

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ALLERGIC TO BULLSHIT- Everything.

Ahhh yes...at the request of one of Dead Broke Rekerds' most loyal homies, (Thanks Jeff!) I bring to you the almighty ALLERGIC TO BULLSHIT!... one of my favorite bands ever. Featuring the great Ivy, Erick Lyle (Iggy Scam), Greg Harvester & Cinque who have played in D.I.Y. punk greats such as: CHICKENHEAD, LOS CANADIANS, MIAMI, ONION FLAVORED RINGS, BLACK RAINBOW & countless others. The first record was a 7" EP entitled, "You and Me, This Is What We're For..." and was released on one of S.F.'s best labels, Left Off The Dial Records. The 2nd 7" was also an EP, "Train I Ride", and was on one of my favorite labels ever, Bloomington's Half Day Records (ran by Matte from Giant Bags Of Weed/Leg/Landlord)! Both records are out of print and I hope the songs are released again in some way shape or form some day. (I've tried!) Because A.T.B. truely is and was some of S.F.'s finest DIY punk rock!

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SLEEPASAURUS- "It's All Written Down And I Still Don't Feel Any Better"

Next entry is an album I hold dear to my heart... One of the best and most unheard pop-punk albums ever from the 90's, Long Island's own, SLEEPASAURUS! These guys were around in the 90's and released a plethora of 7" EPs and splits on tons of labels from CREEP to Motherbox Records. Motherbox actually re-issued this album on CD pretty recently, so you can still get a new copy. The 12" LP is still available as well. These songs of fast-paced, energetic pop-punk about growing up and living life are defintely some of the best of the genre. This also remains one of my favorite full-lengths ever, especially to come outta Long Island. A dude or two from this band went on to play in Radio 4, which is not so good. Anyway, You can still buy the CD/LP and some of the 7"s HERE.

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GREENSLEEP s/t CD + 7".

This includes the split 7" with Scarab & the Self-Titled CD on Alone Records, which is truly one of my favorite albums ever. This album was an important part of Long Island punk for me. This is Alone Records number four. Split 7" w/ Scarab on Motherbox Records. Good old melodic, East Coast jawbox/hellbender type pop-punk with great lyrics. This is one of the most criminally underrated albums ever and is a true lost gem... Listen for yourself. -Mike

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This is the first of many posts to come, reviews, and more. I'm just getting started here.