Wanna Haul It: Part 3 - Once And For All

A wise man once told me that all the good stuff is in the 7 inch section at used record stores, and once again that is proven true on this latest trip to Wanna Hear It Records. It was so fun flipping through those records, and pulling out surprise rarities and a few cheap finds that I decided to take a chance on.

Back when I was getting into hardcore around 1990/91, Nemesis Records was a pretty big deal. Records from Vision, Insted and Against The Wall were all important to me at that time, and the Nemesis label carried a lot of respect. Looking back on their catalog now, I'm like, "wow, they released a bunch of weird shit too"... stuff that I never really associated with Nemesis... but still, when I saw the Once And For All 7 inch at Wanna Hear It, I knew that I needed to buy it. I'd never heard this record before, but figured that in 2025, 35 years after its release, the time had finally come.

This Once And For All 7 inch is full of those early 90's hardcore traps... the slap bass... the attempt to be funky... the influence of hip hop styles... and honestly, I can see where some people would be like "yeah, not for me", but I'm a sucker for this shit, and I love that I can occasionally still discover stuff like this.

Stuck In The 90's: Part 2 - 1991 Hunger Games

Picking up the two Hunger Farm 7 inches earlier this year proved to be an awesome find. Great stuff that fits in nicely with what Lookout Records was releasing from bands like Cringer and Monsula. Somehow, I missed out on this band at the time, but discovering them in 2017 is like finding a long forgotten buried treasure.

With my 90's obsession in full swing, and having just discovered the two Hunger Farm 7 inches, I figured that I might as well grab their full length LP as well. It was tough to find a copy on green vinyl here in the US, so I ended up grabbing a copy from an overseas seller in the Discogs Marketplace. Solid deal at just over $6.00 for a record that is over 25 years old and still in the shrink wrap.

When I posted a picture of the first two Hunger Farm 7 inches to Instagram, Big Frank from Nemesis Records commented that the high point for the band was the Dogma LP. Initially, I wasn't feeling it...but with repeat listens, this album grows on me more and more. Surprising that this band wasn't making more noise at the time, because I'm loving them right now.

Hunger Farm

Nemesis Records were a pretty big deal when I started buying Hardcore records back in 1990. No doubt about it, the label defined the Southern California Hardcore scene, and they released some of my favorite records from that time...they also released a lot of records that didn't even come close to being on my radar. It is amazing to look back and see just how many records that Nemesis put out that I've never heard of, or know very little about.

Case in point...Hunger Farm.

As I was reading through the recent Nemesis Records book, I came across the Hunger Farm entries. I'm sure that I must have heard this name at one point or another, but if I did, I promptly ignored them, and never bothered to check them out.

Reading the one-page write up for each record, Big Frank mentioned numerous times that he was certain that Hunger Farm was going to be a huge success. Out of all the bands on Nemesis, he thought that this band was really going places. With his high praise behind the band, I figured that the least I could do was check them out.

After getting burned on that Fishwife record a few years back, I wasn't taking any chances, and I hit up youtube to preview a couple of Hunger Farm songs before investing any money into this chase.

These two records are full of quirky and catchy punk songs, that really remind me of that early 90's time period. Not as tight as those first Green Day records, but definitely in that same fun pop punk vein. I don't really hear that next-big-thing potential that Big Frank was picking up on at the time, but I still really like these records.

No special colored vinyl pressings for these two 7 inches...black vinyl only...and given that these aren't the most popular Nemesis records, I was able to scoop them up through discogs for cheap. Over 25 years after their release, and I'm still able to pick them up for what it would have cost me to buy them through Ebullition's distro back in 1990. Good deal.

Worst Test Press Post Ever

My attempt to follow in Marcus' footsteps for the Test Press Challenge, and ending the year with 52 test pressings, has always been a joke. Still, I have managed to pick up a fair amount this year, and while I really have no hope of getting to the end goal, I did get a bit of Test Press Fever. After scoring my sixth test last month, with the Winds Of Change comp, I found myself on the hunt for another. When I saw a chance to grab a cheap test from the Nemesis Records catalog, I quickly threw in my winning bid.

While a $5 test press from Nemesis might sound like a great deal, it really isn't that impressive when the band is Fishwife. Honestly, I'd never heard this band before, but since it was on Nemesis, I figured that I'd roll the dice and take the chance. Terrible idea. Nemesis, what were you thinking?

Test press count for 2014 is now at seven.