SANDWORMS

In early 2009, Jon from The Nojons started recording a few songs on his own with the intention of releasing them as some kind of solo project thing. A few weeks later he began practicing these songs with Michelle (formerly of The Steinways) playing bass and Jim (from Rejouissance) playing drums. The trio found a groove and soon had a few songs together and a plan to play some shows. 


In July 2009 Sandworms released the "... It's a Fucking Demo" CDR and began playing a bunch of shows around the Brooklyn area. They played and played and played.


In June 2010 Sandworms released a 7-song CDR/Cassette thing called "All The Time in the Fucking World." They subsequently went on tour to the midwest and back with Marvin Berry and The New Sound. The extended version has 2 bonus tracks that were not on the original release.


Dead Broke Records has re-released "... It's a Fucking Demo" on cassette and it is available through their distro here: Dead Broke Rekerds


Early in 2011, after playing a few more shows, Sandworms agreed to take a break from stuff for a while. What does that mean? Who knows! If there's more action ahead, Time To Operate will let you know. 

REVIEWS OF "... IT'S A FUCKING DEMO" 

From Razorcake "With a name like that, I’m thinkin’ this is either gonna be some sorta sludge punk band or complete noise, right? Well, they choose option C and throw a wrench into all my name-pigeonholing efforts. Five tunes of punky pop residing somewhere between Replacements Road and Plimsouls Place, all of which is well written and performed. I halfway wish the recording had a wee bit less reverb pumped in, but am also afraid that any deviation from its current incarnation would somehow spoil the magic. Best to leave well enough alone, then, and be content with the fact that they have succeeded in delivering my pic for sleeper fave of the issue." –Jimmy Alvarado 

From Maximum Rocknroll
"This Brooklyn band probably gets lumped under the basement pop-punk umbrella, but they have a sound that is relatively original and multi-dimensional, with a slight '50s or even "Don't Stop Believin'" flavor to it. The first song sounds like it could've been recorded any time in the last thirty years: setting things off with an anthemic sounding, palm-muted guitar hook, backed up by warm and boomy instruments, and the kind of vocals that sound like they're beaten down, but still searching for something. The rest of the demo continues similarly, but without any of the songs sounding too much like any of the others. I hope this band gets some attention, and these songs get released on vinyl." - Dan Goetz

MP3s
Born, Raised and Trapped With You (... It's a Fucking Demo, 2009)
Broomhead (All The Time in the Fucking World, 2010)


RELEASES

"... It's a Fucking Demo"
5 Songs
2009


DOWNLOAD

"All the Time in the Fucking World" (Extended Version)
9 Songs
2010


DOWNLOAD

VIDEO

 

"Born, Raised and Trapped With You" live at The Charleston. Nov 2010. (Video by Mary Frembgen)

BAYONET U.K.

Britain was in turmoil. Punk rock had shaken the foundations of a withered and corrupt political and social aristocracy.


In the winter of 1977, Mick Jagger found himself without a home. Sixteen years old and living on the hostile streets of Berkinghamshireton with nothing but a pair of Dr. Marten boots and an electric guitar to his name, he sought shelter with school-mate and aspiring bassist, Thom Davis. The two dreamt of a world where the working classes could regain their pride of old. Music was their only weapon against the evils of the government, the stifling oppression of poverty and the tired rhetoric of the elders.


Mick and Thom conceived of Bayonet U.K. that spring, along with drummer Benny Lonsdale. They gave the repressed a voice, the homeless a home and the ignorant a place in public discourse. Bayonet U.K. made a name for themselves with an unrelenting sonic and poetic assault on the prevailing culture and a mercilessly violent, loyal presence in the streets and gutters of their home town. The movement was building. It seemed no one could stop the bricks and bottles of the working class.


Following the independent release of their debut EP, Bayonet U.K. were courted by greedy capitalist record companies. Punk Rock had become big business and everyone was looking for a piece of the pie... the money-pie. It threatened to tear the band apart but Bayonet U.K. stayed strong. A lifetime in poverty had instilled in them not the opportunism of the alley cat, but the stalwart pride of the mighty lion.


For nearly thirty years, the band has toured tirelessly throughout the greater United Kingdom, breaking periodically to record. Though fame and fortune were never in the cards, and Thom Davis is now partially brain-dead from a quarter-century of knife fighting and alcoholism, their mission has never been more clear. To Bayonet yer arsehole!

THE NOJONS

Sweet Nojons timeline:

March, 2003: The Nojons are started by Jonny Nojon as a one-man recording project in his dad’s basement outside of Philadelphia.

March, 2004: The Nojons release their first CD “Sophistocution” on the shitty record label, ingeniously titled “Nojon Records.” It immediately “sells” out of its first pressing of 50 copies.

March, 2004: Jonny Nojon is joined by Petey Nojon on guitar, Chrissy Nojon on drums and Knuckles Nojon on bass. 

April 24, 2004: This line-up plays its first and only show. They are joined by their friends Bad Cops at the Red Haus in Syracuse, NY while some girl walks around the party all butt-naked.

"Ain't For Me / Bullets" live at The Red Haus, Syracuse. Apr. 2004 (Video by Daphne Yang)

February, 2005: Jonny Nojon records some tracks for BootlegRobot.com’s “28 Days of Rock” feature.

June, 2005: The Nojons release their second CD “Get Stoked”. This time, Jonny’s crappy musicianship is aided on two tracks by the blazing in-studio drum chops of Chrissy Nojon. 

October, 2006: After relocating to the New York City area, The Nojons begin to practice under a new line up. This time, Knuckles is replaced by Jimmy Nojon on bass. They play one or two shows in this manner.

"Get Stoked" live at The Westcott Community Center, Syracuse. Apr. 2006 (Video by Steve Sneddon)

January, 2007: Petey Nojon switches to bass as the band becomes a 3-piece and begins recording some tracks at Bangers Studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

April-ish, 2007: The Nojons release a 4-song, self-titled 7-inch on Punks Before Profits/Feral Kid Records. They play a couple more shows here and there.

October, 2007: Just in time for Halloween, The Nojons release a 4-track CD called “Night of The Nojons” on Time To Operate Records. They play another show or something.

"Hipstercide / Living With The Living Dead" live at The Delancey, New York. March, 2007 (Video by Steve Sneddon)

December, 2008: The Nojons release a live album entitled "The Nojons Eat The Crowd Live at The Charleston." Tracks include a few old favorites, some new jams from the 3rd album, some hilarious and charming banter and a REALLY COOL SCREECHING WEASEL COVER.


March, 2009: Getting frustrated with the fold-it-yourself CDR format, Jonny Nojon decides to resort to an even more frustrating medium, the hand-dubbed cassette tape. The Nojons release about 13 or 14 copies of "Unnatural Selections". The 90-minute cassette compiles the first two CDs, Night of the Nojons EP, and a bunch of rare, unreleased demos and crap... TO RAVE REVIEW(S?)!


February, 2010: After two years of fucking around, The Nojons release the hotly anticipated 3rd album "Men Without Coffee" (the working title had been "Recaffeination") in the most frustrating format of them all: download only!


Currently, The Nojons are researching an even more frustrating format. When they have figured out what that is, they plan to use it to release a new 3-song EP entitled "Yuppie Larvae."


REVIEWS

S/T 7"
From Razorcake
So super fun. I liked it right from the start. Just the pop punk I was looking to listen to this morning. Lyrics are lighthearted and silly without being juvenile sounding. The song titled “....California 1983” is about buying a used time machine and going to ........California in 1983 to go skateboarding. How rad is that? I’m so impressed with this band right now. I’ve been listening to crappy stuff, trying to justify why they are crappy, and now I realized that I should have just been listening to this band. Go buy a copy of this 7”. It is bound to put you in a good mood; nothing depressing about it. Good to dance and sing a long to as well. Gosh, I’m so f’in into this record, I feel like I bathing in it. And I don’t even know what that means. - Corinne


S/T 7"
From Maximum Rocknroll
The opening track is a totally fun, funny and catchy spoof/homage to SoCal '80s punk. A definite hit. The rest of the record continues with influences from many eras of pop-punk-- DESCENDENTS, RAMONES-core, NOFX, and maybe even the JACK PALANCE BAND. I would complain that this band tries too hard to be clever and funny, but they actually pulled it off well enough in "California 1983" for me to forgive them. Recommended! - Paul Curran

Unnatural Selections Cassette 
From Razorcake
Apparently, this tape is limited to something like ten copies, which is a shame, because this tape rules. However, I’m pretty sure it’s a collection of old records, so, either way, you should track it down. Poppy punk that I don’t know if I’d label straight-up pop punk (though there’s a few songs like “My Philly Girl”), that reminds me of the Dead Milkmen and Scared Of Chaka at times. They also manage to accomplish the feat of having a ton of songs that don’t sound exactly alike, yet are still similar enough that it doesn’t make me bored after a while. I recommend the heck out of this band. – Joe Evans III 


MP3s
Urchins of the Night (Sophistocution, 2004)
California 1983 (Get Stoked, 2005)
Philly Girl (S/T 7", 2007)
Night of Nojon (Night of The Nojons, 2007)
Quit Your Job (Eat The Crowd, 2008)
Anastasia (Men Without Coffee, 2010)


RELEASES

"Sophistocution"
14 Songs
2004


DOWNLOAD

"Get Stoked"
13 Songs
2005


DOWNLOAD

"S/T" 7"
4 Songs
2007


DOWNLOAD

"Night of The Nojons"
4 Songs
2007


DOWNLOAD

"Eat The Crowd"
Live at The Charleston
11 Songs
2008


DOWNLOAD

"Unnatural Selections"
39 Songs
2009

"Men Without Coffee"
10 Songs
2010


DOWNLOAD

RUST EMPIRE

Rust Empire began in the summer of 2010 with five old hats from pre/present/post-hardcore, punk, jazz, funk, rock and stoner doom bands.

It’s an unlikely grouping of gents that surprises everyone who knows them, but they make loud music. What else really matters?


Rust Empire on bandcamp

MONOLITH

In the fall of 2006, Damian Vallelonga, Jim Heffernan and Jon Peters decided to combine their efforts between Boston and Brooklyn and start something together. Coming off the break up of Awake/Sever the Hands, Jim and Damian were ready to work on something heavier, less technical, and faster. They recorded the Monolith demo at their own Banger Studios in Brooklyn during the winter of 2006, and then immediately left for a northeast tour.

MP3s

Old Armour (Demo, 2006)

RELEASES

"Demo"

4 Songs

2006

VIDEO 

"Battleship" live at Bangers Studio. Jan 2006. (Video by Jon Davies)

RED TAG RUMMAGE SALE

In February of 2007 my band rejouissance was on its first tour and had our first show in one of the coldest, snowiest nights I can remember. It was here in that dank, bat infested basement that I first saw Red Tag Rummage Sale, a two piece cello and guitar group that summed it all up for me with “we’re happy to be able to share with you what we do in our own home.” And that is really it with Red Tag. They can make you feel, no matter where you are, like you’re in their living room, listening to them play some of their new songs, laugh, and in general, feel part of something. What gets me most about red tag is that they could be playing in a small theatre, VFW hall, record store, or grain silo; each performance they give their all, and make the largest spaces feel close. Their songs take you through one movement after another of warmth, purpose, and beauty. If anything, their sound is genuine. The sounds weave you through the room, and layered on top, vocals that cut through everything. Red Tag uses empty spaces very well, cutting instrumentation out for vocals to carry the movement, followed by a powerful drop provided by cello. Red Tag Rummage Sale provides that feeling in every city, time and time again.

HILL BOMBERS/WEIGHTLESSNESS

In 2008, Jon Burns began recording songs for this split CD, but the preparation had begun years prior. As his band Sever the Hands was winding down, Jon was still writing, and a release to get these songs down and archived was obvious.

This is a pure project release. No tours, promotion, or concern for sales were intended. One show was performed in Syracuse, and Jon was able to play some songs solo on a Rejouissance tour in Florida. The split and the two different names has to do with the different type of sounds between the two projects. Hill Bombers and Weightlessness are the same guy, recording and playing everything.

We loved that this was broken into a split because split releases are usually between two projects, and that's exactly what this is, just the same guy. Hill Bombers draws from a distorted skate rock sound, with a nice amount of humor akin to Annihilation Time and DRI. Weightlessness feels more introspective, drawn out, and heavy, in the vein of Japan's Envy and Mogwai.

BAD COPS

In the wake of the break up of Syracuse's Spark Lights the Friction in 2002, Jon Peters and Jim Heffernan wanted to continue playing music, bringing out a more stripped down distorted sound, and focusing heavily on audience participation. The energy witnessed at upstate hardcore shows was a contagious, inspirational experience, but Bad Cops wanted to capture that same energy without the predictable chugga chugga of what the scene had become. In the early 2000's, a recognizable sound was becoming apparent, and Bad Cops wanted to push the idea of the band you'd go hear at an all ages show at the Westcott.

A seething nerve, where one cannot decipher where there is a line where the band ends and the crowd starts was the ideal picture of a bad cops show. After calling on high school friend Eric MacLachlan, the band started writing 4 songs that would become the Bad Cops EP. They were fortunate enough to record with Jocko at Indie Audio Studios, as well as play extensively and exclusively in Syracuse. No focus was given on the future, purpose, creating something for dollars or stature. Band merchandise was all hand made random shirts and posters created by the band and friends, and they encouraged the crowd to make their own "merch".
An open-ended commitment has been made to record their last four songs. Stay tuned.

MP3s
Me Rest Drums (Bad Cops, 2003)
Gore and Tinto (Bad Cops, 2003)

RELEASES

"Bad Cops" EP
 4 Songs
July 2003 

VIDEO

"Gore and Tinto" live at Planet 505 Syracuse, NY August, 2003

"Me, Rest, Drums" live at the Red Haus Syracuse, NY April 2004

"Wonderful Tonight" live at the AV Space, Rochester, NY 2006

REJOUISSANCE

This project was started by Jim Heffernan in 2003. What began as a solo project for songs that didn't fit into the collaborations of the time (We the People, Bad Cops, Awake) he drew on the help of his friends to play in Brooklyn, collaboarting with Chris Swisher, Jon Davies, Jon Burns, Andy Williams and Damian Vallelonga, but primarily touring and recording with Mike Harriff. Together, Jim and Mike embarked on several Northeast tours, as well as two full US tours, and trips down to Florida.
Original releases had a stripped down acoustic, singer songwriter feel, with use of baritone guitars and at times synthesizers and electronic drums.

In 2010, Rejouissance became a collaborative project between Jim and friends in Syracuse, abandoning most all original songs and reshaping the sound into a heavier, distorted 5 piece band. The project changed from songs primarily and exclusively being written by Jim Heffernan. Today, Rejouissance is comprised of Damian Vallelonga, Matt St. Laurent, Mike Harriff, and Jeff Walter. The sound of rejouissance today, is the sum of these 5 parts.
The term "Rejouissance"has had several different meanings over the years, but overall the common thread between the meaning is release, expression, rejoice, and the feeling we get when music has taken us somewhere and we don't have the words to describe how we feel.
Contact Info for Rejouissance: jaheffer@gmail.com


MP3s
Our War With Faith (Rejouissance, 2005)
The Race (EP II, 2007)
Brace The Dam (Moss On Monuments, 2009)
Hollow Tower (Scrudding Wounds, 2011)

RELEASES

"Rejouissance"
5 Songs
2005

"EP II"
5 Songs
2007

"Moss On Monuments"
9 Songs
2009


DOWNLOAD

"Scrudding Wounds" EP
3 Songs
April 2011

STREAM

VIDEO

"State of Arrest" 9/10/11 Ithaca, NY

"Ostrom" by Rejouissance from Jeff Walter on Vimeo.


LINKS

Rejouissance - "Our War With Faith" on Pink Couch Sessions

WE THE PEOPLE

Guess what? Ya bought it.

Spring 2003 - 2008

MP3

We The People - With a Thousand Faces MP3

VIDEO

"Outside of Society" Westcott Community Center Syracuse, NY April, 2006

"Thick as Thieves"