Tuesday, July 22, 2014

NEW WEBSITE

This website has been terribly out of date for many many months because I have been planning to upgrade to a new website and I have finally done it! There are still a few more things I gotta get tidied up, but overall it's newer, prettier, and cooler. Enjoy GO TO THE NEW SITE - http://realityisacult.wix.com/reality-is-a-cult

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Summer Break Forever

Woah!  That was a long winter... such a long winter that I'm not really sure what happened to spring.  I have been TERRIBLE at keeping up with REALITY IS A CULT stuff.   However, somehow, things have still been happening.

I have started an email list - and I'm gonna try to keep up with that, but I'm also gonna try to keep up with this stuff more often.  So here is a breakdown of all that's been going on.

NEW HOUSE!
Reality is a Cult has moved again!  Still in Galesburg, but in a new house.  I'm now headquartered in a big beautiful Victorian that I OWN!  The new address is 1022 N. Prairie St., Galesburg, IL 61401 and it's a big house with plenty of rooms for bands/punks in need.  So don't hesitate to get in touch if you are gonna be in the area.

NEW RELEASES:



  WARPATH - Fuck You, I'm Queer: Discography LP - reality #020


Awesome, fully remastered, discography from PGH queer crustpunx.  Comes with 24 page zine style lyric booklet, screen-printed foldovers on splattered paper, and (while supplies last) a patch and a screen-printed poster.  WARPATH played heavy in your face hardcore in the vein of the contemporaries Aus Rotten. While we have come a long way, the politics of this music are still relevant and I'm super excited to be helping these songs get back into circulation.  The remaster was done by Carl Byers of Coffinworm and Clandestine Arts, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results - you really need to listen to it! 

 
X WILL POWER X / GIZ MEDIUM - Split CS - reality #017

After several months of hold-ups these cassettes are finally here.  WILL POWER is one of my favorite singer/songwriters, he plays in lots of hardcore bands, such as CLOSET BURNER, and loves hardcore as much as I do. While his solo music is not hardcore, the sincerity and energy that make hardcore great are still there. His songs are usually poppy but these are more introspective and folk-inspired.  He doesn't stray too much from his clear pop-punk roots but this effort shows much growth and maturity from his first record on PLAN IT X.  GIZ MEDIUM plays in the pop-punk band XTRA MEDIUM and his solo music is in the same vein.  It's stripped down and heartfelt melodic songs about growing up, being friends, and falling in love.  Overall it's a great compliment to the slightly more somber WILL POWER side.  While this is not my usual style, I'm very excited to be helping release this record with BUS STOP PRESS.  Good music is good music.  Fuck trying to stick to specific genres - my goal is to help release good music made by good people.  And this certainly fits the bill.




  NUCLEAR HELLFROST - Bestial Grinding Carnage FLEXI 7" - reality #021

This is another overdue record, but it is certainly worth the wait.  Nuclear Hellfrost play some of the most vicious and visceral raw blackened thrash punx of any band.  I believe this is their best material yet and am so excited to be putting it out.  I think it fits perfectly on the format of a flexi, because life is short, so listen to it until it wears out.  There is 4 tracks of total grinding carnage that includes a WARSORE cover of Cops Make Good Targets.  Tests are on the way to me as we speak, should be out by the end of the month at the latest.  Catch Nuclear Hellfrost on tour this summer with Boddicker!


CLOSET BURNER - S/T 12" Repress

Finally ordered a repress of this!  This time on black vinyl, still in screen-printed covers with a screen-printed B-side.  Still fast and pissed as fuck.  CLOSET BURNER is playing a handful of shows this summer, and hopefully will be doing a short tour sometime soon.

Also still other cool stuff in the store that is new and going fast - including that ANOMALY - Demo CS!  Those will soon be gone, so GET ONE!  It's too damn good.  

Distro List as well as lots of other things also getting updates.  Thanks for reading!!!

STAY PUNK, STAY WEIRD!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Spring Break 2014!

I've been on break from teaching duties for about 3 days, so far it's been mostly snow, rain, and sleeping in.  However - it means I have some time to dedicate to updating REALITY IS A CULT stuff.
First big update is that I have posted streaming versions of the remastered WARPATH - FUCK YOU, I'M QUEER: DISCOGRAPHY tracks!

These were remastered by Carl Byers of Clandestine Arts, and he did an amazing job!
You can listen to the tracks now, download them for a small fee... or if you PRE-ORDER the upcoming 12", I'll send you a digital download immediately... and you'll get a record when they arrive (probably late April).  Pre-orders can be made through the Reality is a Cult Store.

Also, newly streaming is the upcoming NUCLEAR HELLFROST - BESTIAL GRINDING CARNAGE flexi.  This is just absolutely batshit insane grinding black metal.  This is probably my favorite stuff that they have recorded, so I'm super excited about this as well.
Pre-orders are also up for this in the Reality is a Cult Store.


On top of that, I recently released the ANOMALY - DEMO CS, which is absolutely amazing ear-splitting pissed-off feminist hardcore from Chicago.  These had to get rushed to them in time for a tour they just finished, but don't worry, they came out perfect - nothing sounds or looks rushed about these.  Cut & paste artwork, loud and full intense recording, lyric sheets with song explanations.  This is punk as fuck and it doesn't fuck around.

Relatively limited run of these, so get one from the store while you can!

And last, but certainly not least, the RUBRICS/ABOLITIONIST SPLIT 7"s are in and they are totally ripping.  The Rubrics side starts off with Cracks in Concrete which is probably my favorite track of theirs to date... and they rip through four more energetic pop-punk anthems on their side, the last one being another personal favorite.  The ABOLITIONIST is equally ripping with three heartfelt tracks of high speed melodic politcal pop-punk in the vein of Propagandhi.  On mixed color vinyl - I have only have limited quantities of this!
Also available in the online store!

I'm couldn't be more happy about the records that I have been able to release over the last 6 months or so... check them all out!!

-Nathalie

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

FUCK YOU, I'M QUEER! The Warpath - Discography

I'm super stoked to announce that the WARPATH Discography is now at the plant and will be released within the next couple months!


This is a very exciting project for me, as my own band (CLOSET BURNER) was inspired by Warpath and covered a Warpath song on our 12".  Warpath were a band from Pittsburgh that was active in the mid 90s and played super queer-positive raw crust punk in the vein of their fellow PGH crust punkers AUS-ROTTEN  All the Warpath tracks were released on various splits that have mostly overlooked an under-appreciated.  This collection comprises all of the recorded material from the band (much of which is unreleased) including a few killer covers.  I'll have it up for streaming very soon, but it has been remastered and sounds excellent.  For now, go dig through your local record store and see if you can find a copy of their splits with JIM JONES PARTY MIX, POPULATION CONTROL, or the 4-way split with CAPITALIST CASUALTIES, CRIPPLE BASTARDS, and MASSKONTROL.  I'll get more updates soon.
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Friday, December 27, 2013

Stay punk, stay weird

Alright, this here is update #2.  These are the things that I have coming up out in the next couple months. So much awesome stuff. 

REALITY #016 - Rubrics/Abolitionist Split 7" - This is already at the plant and should be out any time now. There are a ton of labels helping out, and I'm only getting a small amount of these, but you should definitely pick one up, because both bands fucking rule.

REALITY #017 - xWill Powerx/Giz Medium Split CS - Ok, this may be a bit off my norm, but I think it's really good, so fuck it.  This is a "folk-punk" split between two friends of mine.  Both Will (who also plays in Closet Burner) and Giz (of Xtra-Medium) play stripped down heartfelt songs about being alive and being lost.  They each cover one of each others songs also.  These are the types of songs that scream along to when you are by yourself (or at least I do).

REALITY #018 - CHUD - Demo CS - A repressing of CHUD's demo they put out last winter... and it still fucking rules.  CHUD is a hardcore band, but they don't sound like most hardcore bands.  I'm not really sure how to describe it.. to me it sorta sounds like the Minutemen or Dead Milkmen but more raw and intense.  These guys are keeping punk weird, and, for that, they fucking rule.

REALITY #019 - Butt Piss - S/T CS - Another reissue here.  This was only out on CD-R previously, and I'm pretty sure the band only played like two shows after the CD was finished, which is a shame.  Butt Piss's line-up features Jon from Rat Storm and Closet Burner (and Reality is a Cult) on drums,  Jonathan, who now plays bass in Closet Burner, on vocals, as well as an array of other Bloomington long-time punx and thrashers.  This is trashy skate punk played fucking right.  I'm reissuing it on a pretty limited run of cassettes with screen-printed J-cards - grab it while you can because the band is long gone, and this is probably your last time to pick up this gem of Bloomington, IN punk history.

REALITY #020 - This is getting its own update... so you'll have to wait.

REALITY #021 - Marc Antony/D'amore Split CS - Okay, so here is another reissue of a record that never really got a proper release.  These songs were recorded for a split vinyl that got ordered back in like 2005 and almost pressed but some strange array of problems caused it to never actually happen.  It's really too bad because this is some of the best work by these two bands.  Marc Antony also features Jon (Rat Storm/Closet Burner) on drums, but this is back in his California days of playing frantic technical emo.  I think most people would call Marc Antony a screamo band... it's DIY, they took their politics seriously, and it's great.  The D'amore side is similarly crushing technical emo/screamo/what-have-you (I refuse to use the word skramz, sorry).  Members of D'amore went on to form the much better known bands Towers, Algernon Cadwallalder, Peter & Craig, plus many others - however, for fans of any of those bands, you really should pick this up - it's a few great tracks that were sadly lost to pressing plant woes, finally available for your mass consumption.  I'll have them up and streaming soon.

REALITY #022 - Nuclear Hellfrost -Bestial Grinding Carnage Flexi 7" - This band is pure grinding DIY black metal from  Ft. Wayne.  I haven't heard the tracks that are going on this yet, but the artwork is fucking perfect and everything these guys have done rules.  The recordings are being finished right now and I'll have them up and streaming very soon.

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

PUNX GONNA PUNX

I have been neglecting my internet presence really badly, but it's ok - I've been busy making music, putting out music, and teaching physics.  What day do I pick to stop neglecting the internet?... christmas, of course! Anyway, I'm gonna do this update in a few parts over a few days.  This first part is the catching up.





First of all - I'm back in Galesburg, IL.
It's cold and there's not a lot going on, but that's no matter - PUNX ALWAYS GONNA PUNX!



The two releases that were up for pre-order over the summer - Falter - Descent 7" and We Must Dismantle All This - Decathect 12" - are actually here and shipping out.  They also are both really fucking awesome releases.  If you haven't given them a listen, you really need to.  Both of them are streaming at http://realityisacult.bandcamp.com.  Sorry they stayed in "pre-order" for so long, various delays and general laziness on my part are to blame.





Also, at the end of the summer the Occultonomy - Demo CS was released.  This is a weird little tape crammed with 9 songs in about 8 minutes focusing on important topics like bigfoot, skateboarding, and ufo sightings.  If you order the tape you get a free "Sasquatch the State" patch that features my favorite imagery I have ever come up with.




And lastly, but probably the most exciting for me.  Just last month the new Rat Storm - Empty Hands 7" came out!  This is my favorite Rat Storm release to date.  It was recorded by the almighty Carl Byers of Coffinworm and it just right. This was co-released with IFB Records and Profane Existence.  The band members have been long-time fans of/influenced by Profane Existence, so it is very exciting to be teaming up with them for this release.  It is also being released as #12 in the Profane Existence 2013 Single Series!  Give it a listen and if you buy it before Jan. 1st, you can get a rad deal where you get a T-Shirt with it for only a couple bucks more.

Okay - another update soon with everything that is going to be coming out in the next few months.  THERE IS A LOT!

Friday, July 19, 2013

More Summer 2013 Releases

For those of you that don't know, I am back in Bloomington, IN for a little while.  I've been here since the middle of June and will be here until the beginning of September when I will be defending my dissertation . and hopefully getting my PhD!  I will insist that you all start calling me Dr. Reality is a Cult at that point of course.

Being back in Bloomington has reminded me of why this is one of my favorite towns ever... and also reminded me that DIY hardcore and punk still is fucking awesome.  There have been a ton of good shows going on... and I have even more new stuff coming out.  So here is my label update:

First off is Falter.  I did a demo for these guys less than a year ago, and it was fucking awesome.  Their new 7" is just as fucking awesome... in fact, even more so.  The vocals are totally seething and the music just as angry and punishing.  They change up the pace a bit on Death Within bringing in a bit of more slow, dark, noisy aspect that works perfectly.  I'm super stoked to be putting out this music and the people in this band are great hardworking people that put on a killer live show.  If you get a chance to go see them, don't fuck up.  Right now, I have a handful of cassette copies of this release as well as a very limited number of test presses with screen printed covers that I will put up for sale soon.  The band has test presses on tour with them now and you can find their dates on their facebook (https://www.facebook.com/faltermilwaukee).  The normal 7"s will be up for sale within a few weeks and I will probably be doing some special with it.


Next up is We Must Dismantle All This from Champaign, IL.  I've known of few of these fuckers since they were pre-teens (well, maybe just teenagers, but yeah...) and they have always been some of my favorite people in the punk scene.  This is genuine killer thrashy crusty hardcore and it fucking rules.  All of these people are sincere, honest, and all around just make me feel good to be a punk.  The music is driving D-beat with melodic guitars that have a thrashy edge.  The vocals are intense and intelligent, and overall it comes together to create an awesome atmosphere of raw fucking punk.  Well, that's my thought on it anyway.  Their new 12", Decathect, is coming out on a few different labels and I'm very excited to be one of them.  Their bass player Sali also runs a rad label called Dead Rodent that I have worked with before., and you should check it out, there are not enough women running labels in the scene (up the lady punx!).   Anyway, this should be out in a month or less... they are also doing a tour this summer and you should definitely try to catch them if you can (info here).  They are amazing live and Justin is a fellow PhD-controller so ask him difficult questions when you see him, especially about philosophy.

There is also all the other new stuff and summer deals:
http://realityisacult.storenvy.com/ - go buy stuff... yeah.