2005 RESULTS!
1st Place: IRON LUNG (Seattle)
2nd Place: REAGAN SS (Los
Angeles)
3rd Place: I WILL KILL YOU
FUCKER (Oakland)
| VOETSEK (1st Place in 2002) |
UGZ had a hand
in booking many of VOETSEK's early shows, mainly through their
ex-guitar player Tobia who is now in LOOK BACK IN LAUGH. Later
we became friendly with Ami and Athena. We introduced them to
their current drummer Scotty, as well as their current guitar
player Jeff. We haven't had much contact with them since 2002
in terms of booking. VOETSEK won the first UGZ Speed Trials because
they wanted it the most (IMO), and they were willing to go that
extra mile to do so. |
| REAGAN SS (2nd Place in
2002) |
Matt Average,
who is REAGAN SS' singer, has been a regular contributor to UGZ
Magazine. He once had a zine called ENGINE, which was great!
We used to bring REAGAN SS up to the Bay on a fairly regular
basis, booking them at both Gilman and Burnt Ramen. REAGAN SS
would draw lots of gutter punks to their shows here, which was
weird. Matt and the boys slayed at the first Speed Trials, and
many felt that they should have won. |
| IRON LUNG (3rd Place in
2002) |
UGZ Magazine interviewed
IRON LUNG in issue twelve, and we have booked them on numerous
occasions, but less so since their 2002 Speed Trials performance.
Jensen, their drummer, went on to join ARTIMUS PYLE and COLD
SWEAT. IRON LUNG were probably the fastest band at the first
Speed Trials in 2002, and I thought they destroyed, especially
with the singer from SOCIETY OF FRIENDS doing vocals for them.
They will be back for the 2005 Speed Trials. |
| DYSTROPHY (2002) |
We started to
book DYTROPHY at Burnt Ramen almost as soon as they started playing
out. They were a part of the Rampaging Insane Depravity Fest
in both 2001 and 2002. Their entire crew from the 650 began to
frequent Burnt Ramen, and it may have eventually played a part
in many members and friends losing their edge. We also pushed
for them to be included in the "Ramen Days" DVD, but
on the day of the shoot they canceled and were replaced by CASE
OF EMERGENCY. DYSTROPHY were great! |
| LANA DAGALES (2002) |
LANA DAGALES and
UGZ first became aquainted in 1998. Basically the drummer lived
a couple of blocks from me, and their bass player was about a
5-10 minute walk from my front door. They produced the EXITWOUND
demo, and I think that they and I considered ourselves outsiders
in the Oakland scene at that time. LANA DAGALES broke up when
their drummer moved away, then reformed to tour behind a split
with IRON LUNG. They were usually a fast band, but on the night
of the 2002 UGZ Speed Trials, not fast enough. They were disqualified
for exceeding the 15 minute time limit. |
| ESKAPO (1st Place in 2004) |
The North Bay's
ESKAPO were one of the most political, giving bands to ever emerge
from the Bay Area. A majority of their shows were benefits, and
in a sense they went unnoticed by the hardcore scene because
of it. Many people didn't realize that they were getting faster,
tighter, and garnering an increasingly hardcore audience at the
time of the 2004 Speed Trials. They were reluctant to play the
Speed Trials because they were under the impression that it was
strictly for thrash bands. In the end they played the tightest
set that I've ever seen them play before or since. The pit for
ESKAPO that night was intense. |
| SMD (2nd Place in 2004) |
Pico Rivera's
SMD has been around for over a decade, and for most of that time
they were almost anonymous in the Bay Area, as far as the hardcore
scene went. After a decade of SMD not being able to get Gilman
shows, or even packed shows for that matter, UGZ stepped in and
got them two shows at Gilman. One with RAW POWER, and another
with BORN DEAD ICONS. At the BDI show, their singer Maury finally
met Jeff from Six Weeks, who he had been mailordering from for
years. Jeff offered to put out a record for SMD on that night.
UGZ continued to book great shows with SMD up until early 2004.
Since then we basically haven't really booked their Bay Area
shows, except for one in 2005 that the Ear2TheGround Punx (UGZ
and friends) booked a at the Arcadia Skate Hotel. SMD played
a super fast set at the 2004 speed trials, and they walked away
with 2nd Place! |
| UZI SUICIDE (3rd Place in
2004) |
UZI SUICIDE came
to our attention when Craig Lewis from KEEP LAUGHING kept mentioning
them as a band that would work well on a UGZ Speed Trials bill.
Up until the 2004 Trials we didn't really know who UZI SUICIDE
was, but after the Speed Trials both UGZ and the Pyrate Punx
continued to book them on many Bay Area bills. At the 2004 Trials,
UZI SUICIDE were the Unholy Thrash Brigade indeed. They walked
away with a third place trophy, and a ton of respect from those
involved. |
| DYING IN YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP
(2004) |
DIYBS came to
our attention one night at the Stork Club in Oakland. They played
after the debut performance of BURDUZO, which was Marcus Da Anarchist's
band. DIYBS blew us away, and very soon after we began to hit
them up for shows. They recorded their demo at Greg Brainoil
and Sal Asunder's studio, using Jason Exitwound's gear. DIYBS
blew minds at the 2004 Speed Trials as well, and might have won
had they not violated the 15 minute set rule. They were disqualified. |
|
KEEP LAUGHING (2004) |
KEEP LAUGHING
was a short lived band from Boston, MA. Wicked good, and fast
crossover hardcore that featured our old zinester friend from
MELEE Crusty Craig on vocals. MELEE had played the very first
show we ever booked and promoted at Burnt Ramen. KEEP LAUGHING
went off, but actually played much better the next day at Dead
Rat Beach in Oakland. |
|
NEW EARTH CREEPS (2004) |
The NEW EARTH
CREEPS were part of the 2002 Rampaging Insane Depravity Fest,
and their Alameda crew were key bookers and participants at both
Burnt Ramen and the Slaughterhaus here in the East Bay. We met
Loren and the NEC at Axis Records and Comics in Alameda, California
(Axis is now in East Oakland) back in the late nineties. At the
2004 Speed Trials, they played in the buff...almost. |
|
BELABOR (2004) |
BELABOR were,
and perhaps are a very inactive band. I can't remember where
I first saw them play, but I've booked them at least twice, and
they've done well at both shows. I have no idea what their current
situation is, and I can't believe that they haven't done more
in the local scene as a band. Their set at the 2004 Speed Trials
was totally solid, and on point for what the Trials are all about. |
|
DEADFALL (2002) |
We first became
aware of DEADFALL from Will BORN/DEAD. They basically took off
as soon as their drummer Scotty joined VOETSEK. It was at that
point that they began to play with crucial local and touring
hardcore bands, a majority of which were booked by UGZ Magazine
/ Ear2TheGround Punx. They came dressed as "Thrash Test
Dummies" for the 2002 Speed Trials, and many in attendance
thought that they deserved to at least place. We haven't booked
DEADFALL since very early 2003. |
|
DOPPELGANGER (2002 / 2004) |
UGZ became aquainted
with DOPPELGANGER via their guitar player's other band DISMEMBERS
(now defunct). Chris gave me a demo one day, and after checking
their web site and listening to the demo I realized that DOPPELGANGER
were a well kept secret here in the Bay Area. I asked around
and found out that a booker or two at Gilman had heard the demo
and didn't hear what I did. We put them on the Speed Trials show
in 2002, and it turned into a sort of grand introduction to the
rest of the scene (625 had a merch table set up that night, and
of course Six Weeks and other labels were in the house). We like
DOPPELGANGER still, and wish that they could have played this
year's Trials. |
|
Gilman (2005) |
Nothing more needs
to be written about Gilman. UGZ / Ear2TheGround Punx have booked
and promoted several shows there, including the 2001 and 2002
Rampaging Insane Depravity Fest, and a couple of "Punk Movie
Nights" with bands like TRAGEDY, REAGAN SS, FUNERAL, DESOLATION,
EXITWOUND, etc. |
|
Burnt Ramen (2002) |
You should pick
up UGZ Magazine - Issue 16 if you want to know our connection
to this club, etc. The new magazine is due out in January 2006.
Other than that, let's just say that we independently booked
and promoted a scene as well as some fairly huge shows in that
club, and the Speed Trials was typical of what we were doing
there, which says a lot. |
|
The Slaughterhaus (2004) |
The site
of the second ever UGZ Speed Trials. A great club that peaked
fairly early on in it's existence. By the time of the UGZ Speed
Trials, the Slaughterhaus was suffering from lower than expected
attendance, but nevertheless it was one of the best clubs we've
ever booked in the East Bay. |
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