86'd Records is a DIY punk label/distro/website from Long Island, NY since 2010.
Rations is/was a punk band from Long Island, NY active between 2008-2013. Rations Noise is an electronic offshoot formed in the aftermath. Contact us by email at wells@86drec.com or by mail at P.O. 501 East Setauket, NY 11733-0501 U$A.
Not really any words. Longtime friend Brian Donnelly from bands Rations, Unknown River Driver, and more has died. Sharing below some photos, videos, and links for friends that are mourning.
Striped Basstards at YMCA in Huntington, NY1996
Brian playing with Striped Basstards at FIT in New York, NY 1997
Brian at Creep House, Westchester, PA 1996
Playing Krupted Peasant Farmerz cover w/ Lubrano, Wells, Steve-o, 1997
Striped Basstards at Cedar Beach, Mt. Sinai, NY, 1997
Former FELLOW PROJECT members, Joe Jerkens, Tia Meilinger, and Ryan Blecher are back as TRIFLES with a 10 song debut LP due out on 86'd Records in 2022. Tests approved and hopefully news about shows soon. Peep the video for "Too Much To Lose."
I've updated the store with a bunch of stuff. Most notably test presses from a bunch of Traffic Violation and 86'd releases. Also found some odds and ends around to restock long sold-out titles from both labels. Browse till you drop:
The old band with a new lineup recorded four songs back in December 2018. With Social Dee living life in the Pacific Northwest and Tia spending time in myriad other endeavors, RATIONS added Ryan (FELLOW PROJECT, BEARCHILD, etc.) on drums and old pal Dave on bass to finish a set of songs Brian and Wells had been working on.
Two of those songs are available now on a couple new compilations.
"Capital," a song that had been brewing for years before finally being finished and committed to ones-and-zeros with this crop of songs. This track appears on the embarrassingly good "Dead Wax: A Rad Girlfriend Records" 2xLP compilation. Other bands featured include THE DOPAMINES, PARASITES, WONK UNIT, IRON CHIC, SLOW DEATH, STEVE ADAMYK BAND, VACATION, TODD C., AMYGDALA, CAPITALIST KIDS, and many more. Order from Rad Girlfriend Records' store page or hang tight and order from 86'd soon.
The next of the new tracks features Rob Fraser from KRUPTED PEASANT FARMERZ, ANGRY FOR LIFE, UTTER FAILURE, etc. on dueling lead guitar. Dubbed "Untitled 4" the band was lucky enough to land the track on a new compilation from the esteemed Bloated Kat Records called "Kat Music For Kat People Volume 3 - Picks of the Litter" along with luminaries like MIKEY ERG, NAVEL, NOTCHES, MIXTAPES (doing RIVETHEAD!), SKIMMER, SLOANE PETERSON, and many more. Order from Bloated Kat Records' Bandcamp page. Or again, hang tight and order from 86'd soon.
Another two recorded songs ("Love at the Heart of Empire" and "Wounds and Wails") are pending final destination.
No other real plans for RATIONS at the moment, but Wells, Dave, and Ryan have been jamming on some new songs for a different project that might get recorded at some point.
MRR and BAD TRANSFER BLOG reviews back for RATIONS NOISE and UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER
A bunch of reviews of the RATIONS NOISE / UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER split LP/CS have started popping up online and in print. Scroll down to peep 'em.
Still waiting on MRR and Bad Transfer (Nate Wilson, Matt Average, more). Psyched for those. Also, I've got about 10 more copies set aside to send out for reviews. Any ideas? Email me or hit me up on Twitter.
Let's fuckin' go *Infest voice*:
First up is the venerable Razorcake zine. An abridged version of CJ Miller's very humbling review appeared in both print and online. After the magazine came out she posted the full review on Instagram. Here's the full text:
“Whatever you want to read in this first sentence that will make you listen to this split - imagine you have just read it. This is an important album. No hyperbole. Complex, emotionally affecting, fiery, equally cathartic and despair resounding, politically agitating and agitated clarion.
I will preface with the fact I am a huge fan grrl of Rations and all of their previous releases. You should listen to them as well. But that has only some bearing on my feelings per this release (Unknown River Driver includes members and frequent collaborators of Rations - Brian Donnelly, Tia Meilinger, and Christopher Lamagna - and Rations Noise seems to be a new iteration of two Rations members, Beaker and Wells, delving into sonic territory different from their bands previous incarnation.) This release is incredible and stands on it's own very confident feet.
The Unknown River Driver side is powerful, grit and gravel, guitar based punk presented with profound honesty and sensitivity of expression. Painful personal content with thoughtful social and political nuance. All of the songs expand and contract, saturated with sadness and note bends. Standouts for me are two of the more catchy contributions - "Isaiah" and "Misery & Liberty". The latter begins with a captivating and dance-able drum beat/hand clap hook which acts as a lovely counterpoint to the lyrics and emotional tone of the guitars/bass. "It worsens until I don't feel." The song is a dynamic and incendiary representation of feelings I've known so well in my life - when we live so long with suffering it becomes familiar; when pain and despair dwell so comfortably in our hearts and bones and bodies our awareness of them dulls. The misery becomes so familiar we no longer notice it.
Now for the Rations Noise side. A lesson for me in so much. Firstly - to refrain from preconceptions before taking anything into myself. Based on this being a noise project centering on drone warfare I expected something far more aggressive, dissonant, sonically dense and brutally oppressive - especially considering the horrific subject matter. Instead what unfolded was a beautiful, often gentle and pensive, cinematic and sweeping piece of experimental music.
I will almost always refrain from using other bands as reference points in reviews or critiques because i think it promotes narrow mindedness and homogenization of thought/style but I want you to listen to this and sometimes drawing comparisons to other bands seems to help draw new listeners in - so if you imagine a collaboration between Explosions in the Sky and 3RA1N1AC you'll perhaps have an idea of what transpires here. The arrangements are sparse and oscillate between tones of hope and of melancholy. The piece opens with grinding metal formed into a pulsing beat and bubbling, glitching patterns of sound reminiscent of computer processing. I believe this serves to establish a sonic theme relating to drone operation and the computerized language of these war machines - the technological vector/buffer that allows for detached execution and destruction from operator to victims. Dramatic and melodic guitar swells behind these patterns, setting a surprisingly hopeful tone. A layer of two slightly robotic voices - one low, one higher pitched, evocative of traditional masc/femme vocal presentation quote Jack Gilroy's poem "Hancock Litany for Good Friday". "Men of the 174th Attack Wing: Stop the Killing. Women of the 174th Attack Wing: Stop the Killing. Men and Women of the 174th Attack Wing: Stop the Killing.” - CJ Miller, Razorcake
Next up is a review from Yellow Green Red Blog (Matt Korvette from Pissed Jeans). Here's a screengrab:
The UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER / RATIONS NOISE split LP/CS is finally out! Big thanks to the sites/blogs that helped us spread the word. Here's a run-down of the interviews, premieres, videos, etc. that we shared in the ramp-up to release.
Idioteq.com - Track-by-track commentary from both bands, plus full album stream
I'm very happy to point you to Scene Point Blank to check out the new track from UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER. The song will be appearing on the upcoming split LP/CS with RATIONS NOISE on January 11th.
The bands used the occasion to announce the lineup of co-releasing labels and single out some favorite releases.
At long last, it's the first round of Traffic Violation Records digital reissues. Available as lossless downloads with PDF files of the full artwork directly from our site or at 86drec.bandcamp.com.
This round features releases from Contra, Splurge,The Insurgent, and Sometimes Walking, Sometimes Running, plus a 7" compilation from 1999 featuring Jan Cux, On The Might Of Princes, Porcelain Decay, The Insurgent, and Mad Cow Dizeaze 182.
I've also scanned and snapped pics of some old Long Island punk/hardcore and Traffic Violation Records stuff that I'll be posting to the #tvrchives at instagram.com/86drec. So stay up to date on stuff there, eh?
86'd Records is overjoyed to finally announce the upcoming RATIONS NOISE / UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER split 12" LP. Test presses are approved, artwork is finished, and we're now looking for a handful of like-minded record labels to help us release it around the world.
We made a minute-long video about the record that you can watch at NoEcho.net.
As in the past we're aiming for a multi-label split release w/ labels from different parts of the world chipping in to handle decentralized distribution. Our goal is to get small quantities of the record to a handful of local scenes and to encourage hand-to-hand purchases and trades among DIY labels and distros. As usual, our hope is to use this occasion as an opportunity to strengthen our relationships with the international DIY punk conspiracy and to help further connect the network of ideas, music, and trade that happens outside the mainstream.
On board so far is Farsot Records in Sweden and Tor Johnson Records in Providence, RI. We're planning on pressing around 300 records with label shares being around 20-30 units each.
BOILERMAN is playing a show today at Room of Requirement in Chicago with Boxsledder and Bywater! Ask a punk! But more importantly, peep the bundle deal for big savings on B-man stuff.
Vinyl Bundle $25
- BOILERMAN "Doing Great" single - Clear vinyl 7"
- BOILERMAN "Feel Ways About Stuff" LP - Black vinyl 12"
Welcome to the terrifying hellscape of Summer 2016. There’s a lot going on and it’s all terrible. Here’s an update:
UTTER FAILURE and RATIONS in MIKE FLUGENNOCK DOC: A song each from UTTER FAILURE and RATIONS provide the soundtrack to the 20-minute documentary “Flugennock” by Ron Douglas. Mike Flugennock is a 30-year veteran political cartoonist and media activist based in Washington, DC.
Since the early 1990s, Mike Flugennock has produced nearly two hundred political cartoons and posters that have been the favorite of popular resistance movements ranging from those opposing war in Iraq and Afghanistan to globalization, Occupy and other movements, such as the recent successful legalization of home cultivated marijuana in Washington, DC.
A big thanks to Ron for including our stuff in the documentary. Also thanks to FMA and Creative Commons for making it work. Mike Flugennock rules. Oh, and UTTER FAILURE 12” and RATIONS 7” are still in stock, but with fewer than 10 units each.
BOILERMAN in JAPAN and MAXIMUMROCKNROLL: In other news BOILERMAN successfully completed their Japan tour and will be featured in issue of 399 of MaximumRockNRoll in August. BOILERMAN “Feel Ways About Stuff” LP/CD touched down at shops, distros, labels, and residential mailboxes around the globe in May.
TONS of NEW STUFF in the DISTRO: With the release of BOILERMAN and GO WHITE BRONCO LPs I had a chance to trade with a handful of really great labels. More on the way, but in the meantime we’ve got stuff from Dead Broke Rekerds (IRON CHIC, UNFUN, VACATION, PLOW UNITED, OUTTA GAS, more), Community Records (ALL PEOPLE, CADDYWHOMPUS, CAUTION CHILDREN, SAFETY, DESIGNER, more), Hip Kid Records (BOILERMAN, DUSTEATERS, THE COLTRANES, NOTCHES, VALENTEENS, more), plus more from It’s Alive, Waterslide, Square of Opposition, Dead Tank, and a bunch more. Check the imports and dollar bin sections too!
A bunch of reviews of the RATIONS NOISE / UNKNOWN RIVER DRIVER split LP/CS have started popping up online and in print. Scroll down to peep 'em.
