Keith Morris and his marker.

Last night I went to the Ottobar here in Baltimore to see The Reticents, Trash Talk and OFF! Unfortunately, my friends and I dragged ass getting out of my house so I missed The Reticents. We got there right before Trash Talk and settled in by the stage after grabbing a beer and a little bullshitting. I've always liked Trash Talk and their live show is intense, but at some point I remembered that I wanted to pick up some shit at the OFF! merch table. I headed that way and was surprised to find Keith Morris doing their own merch. There were two people in front of me buying shit, but I noticed they both had Morris sign their CDs and shirt. Never being the type to care or ask for signatures I kind of laughed to myself and stepped up to the table. I was hoping to get the First Four EPs 7" box set, but they were sold out. So being the music junkie I am I grabbed the three 7 inches they were selling (Live at Generation Records, 1st EP, and a newer release on Southern Lord Records) and First Four EP on cassette and CD. Then Keith did what made me furrow my brow. He pulled on of the 7 inches out of the sleeve and started signing it. He wrote "Wrong Size!" and signed his name.

Now I just don't understand this, I don't care that he did it, but it was a very awkward moment for me. Honestly, I would rather have had him not sign the record, but I am in no way a record collector so I don't really care about that kind of shit. Later I was talking with Lee from Trash Talk and he told me that Keith has been doing this at every show due to 9 out of 10 people asking him to sign shit anyway. It makes more sense that way, but it still seems odd to me to just start signing peoples shit they want to buy. Either way it is cool that Keith is getting up close and personal with some of the people who might idolize him. I've seen much smaller bands sit back stage and act like douche bag rock stars.

OFF! and Trash Talk were both awesome by the way. I think it is cool that bands that different are touring together and representing two of the many styles of hardcore out there. This was my first time seeing any of Keith Morris' bands and that man didn't disappoint. Other than his glaring bald spot through his dreads he didn't show a sign of his age.

Zodiac Killer Records

Due to my "job" writing reviews for Stereokiller I've come across many bands I wasn't familiar with that I may not have otherwise come across. The majority have probably been really terrible bands, but there have been a handful of great ones too. After having one of the guys in Copstabber send me their album Officer Down! for review I started getting a bunch of releases from their label Zodiac Killer Records.

Officer Down! very quickly became my favorite record of 2010. Every time I mention this album I always mention the track "More Abortions", the catchiest song about abortions ever. Anyway, I've had a lot of Zodiac Killer CD's show up at my door since this summer and have gotten really into the bands I've heard.

Most recently I've discovered bands like Whiskey & Knives, Holley 750, The Antares, Hooked On Southern Speed, The Hip Priests, and Sonic Negroes. Most of the bands have a pretty similar sound of guitar driven punk rock with a heavy rockabilly influence. That isn't to say the bands sound alike though, so far each have had their own unique qualities that made them enjoyable. With the exception of Medicated Motherfuckers Relapsed,  which I thought sucked.

The best bands I've come across have fortunately been from my area. The Reticents, while now defunct have an awesome hardcore release with EP I & EP II. As I mentioned before Copstabbers Officer Down! rules and makes hardcore punk as fun as it gets. Disguster and Flat Tires also put out some awesome records. I'm slowly building up my Zodiac Killer collection, but I am looking forward to adding a lot more. This stuff has gotten me out of my usual hardcore saturated playlists by adding a whole lot of new punk rock.

Check out the label and see what Zodiac Killer Records is all about. They really do release something for everyone in the punk rock scene.