BLOOD SHED RAIN ZINE

when i was 14 and in 9th grade, i was big into bands like sum 41 and new found glory. you know, like real accessible entry level alternative stuff. i loved pop punk and some various punk bands, but hardcore wasn’t within my reach until my friend who was in the 12th grade burned me a cd of something like 27 hardcore songs by various artists. a large handful of these songs really spoke to me, i couldn’t believe bands were playing this fast and sounded this pissed off. i was totally intrigued and completely hooked. if i can remember correctly, some of my favorites off that compilation were american nightmare, shark attack, panic, no warning, bad brains, and bane. there were also a lot of shitty bands on there too but i weeded those ones out over time haha.

-howd cruel hand start

cruel hand was born out of the ashes of something like 2 or 3 failed bands that basically were the same style as cruel hand. honorable mentions are a band called on the outside and another called sledge. these were bands that nate played drums in and chris played guitar. they were side projects to the massively popular band at the time, outbreak, in an attempt for chris and nate to play a style of hardcore they were far more interested in. the problem was they couldn’t keep a singer interested long enough for any of the bands to gain popularity, despite them being pretty damn good bands (the on the outside LP “tragic endings” is still available somewhere, seek it out when you get a chance. the recording is pretty shot but the songs are great!). so chris decided to be that front man and step up to vocals, and yet again start a harder sounding nyhc influenced hardcore band. nate decided to try something new with this one as well, as this was his first attempt at playing guitar in a band. so the two of them recruited jeremy breau, cruel hand’s original drummer, and they whipped up what would eventually become the 5 song 2006 demo. i myself am technically not an original member, though i will contest that i did do backups on the demo haha. i also filled in on bass for the original bass player, joe lacey, during most of the bands first year of existence. it wasn’t until the summer of 07 that i was officially added as the first and only 2nd guitarist, finalizing the band as a 5 piece.

actually from portland it’s only a short 2 hour drive south to boston, so many of my experiences with hardcore included going down there for shows. at one point it was quite common for a crowd of hardcore kids at a show in boston to be populated with big groups of kids from maine, and vice versa. there was a time when hardcore thrived in southern maine, there were shows all the time and it was not uncommon for a major hardcore tour to stop through portland. in the other direction, 2 hours north from portland there is an amazing diy venue in bucksport, called the kave, where in the past 10 years many big name hardcore bands have been through to play, from 100 demons to integrity; madball to blood for blood. so between shows in bucksport, portland, and boston, there was plenty to keep a maine hardcore kid busy in the early to mid 2000’s. in addition to this, providence is 3 hours from portland, connecticut and certain parts of new york are about 4 hours away, new york city is only 6, philly and baltimore about 9, etc. we got used to driving long distances when we wanted to be at a sick show and i think it eventually became about, like, “well fuck it it’s only a couple hours farther than the last long ass drive we made to see the cro-mags or whoever, let’s just get in the car and go.” that’s one of the great things about east coast hardcore. there are so many big cities pumping out awesome hardcore all along the coast and so close together, it becomes normal to have friends from all these different cities. everyone becomes connected and the community aspect is felt in a strong way. in more recent years, hardcore in portland has faltered somewhat. there is still a tight knit community of diehard kids who will come out to every show, only this group is much smaller now. i think more people would come out to local hardcore shows if we had a better all ages venue that was downtown and easily accessible to everyone, not just the drinking crowd and cockrock bands.

well we’ve been to australia twice now, and i promise you i’m not just saying this, but man your country is fucking sick! we welcome any opportunity to return down under, both times we’ve been it was unreal. australia is definitely a place i never imagined i’d get to see, never mind travel to to play music. on our last trip there we were able to hit up some shows in new zealand as well, which for me was totally unforgettable. in 2010 we played in japan which might be my all time favorite tour. japan is such a strange and awesome place, it’s my goal to spend more time there at some point in my life. i have many places across america in which i enjoy returning to, mostly though because i get to visit friends. i must admit i’m not wowed by america much anymore haha. sounds conceited, i know, but for me i think its lost its magic. europe is always a great place to head over and play, and each time we try to add some new countries or cities to the itinerary because there is such rich history there, there’s an endless amount of cool things to experience and historical events to learn about. i absolutely feel so fortunate to have seen what i’ve seen thus far from touring.

right now we’re working on writing some songs for a new release, yes, most likely it will be a 7”. this time we’re focusing on beefing the songs up and making them more powerful than ever before. bolder choruses, stronger verses, just generally we’re making a note to attempt writing better whole songs. the sound you will hear may be unlike any cruel hand release you’re used to, but you’ll definitely know it’s us when you hear it. no idea on a release date yet, but hopefully it formulates before the end of the year.

hahaha that was insane! to preface the tale, let it be known that i was named after the bruins’ famed right wing cam neely. i was actually born in boston, not maine, and all my baby pictures have me dressed in full bruins gear haha! so i was essentially born into being a fan of the bruins. with that said, not up until last year had the bruins been able to clench the cup in my lifetime. so with their amazing 2010-2011 season leading to the finals, we knew there was no way we were going to miss the stanley cup final game even if we were on the other side of the world. we got up early to catch the game at 10 am, and as if that wasn’t weird enough, the bar we chose to view it at was overflowing with canadians working in byron, dressed to the nines in face paint, body paint, and canucks jerseys. as the story goes the b’s shut out vancouver, and despite these particular canucks fans’ big mouths, at the end of the day (or mid afternoon) they had nothing left to show but respect for the mighty bruins! i’ll never forget that day, and i’m happy we were able to watch it at all while on tour, especially in a place as special and downright awesome as byron bay.