Not only will Boston’s xXx Fanzine be celebrating its history in book form in the coming months, but it will also be documenting the sounds of Hardcore America. When Boston’s Bridge Nine Records releases xXx Fanzine: 1983-1988, it will also include an album of album of contemporary bands and artists covering songs recorded during the legendary hardcore zine’s heyday.
“As much as hardcore was an expression of artistry, ambition and rage, it also fostered some of the best and purest songwriting in recent rock 'n’ roll history,” says xXx editor and main writer, Mike Gitter. “You can’t deny some of the massive songs people like Greg Ginn [Black Flag] or Bob Mould [Hüsker Dü] were capable of. Those songs still thunder as loud today as when they were originally committed to vinyl.”
Already, artists including California heavyweights Strife, Done Dying (featuring legendary No For An Answer frontman, Dan O’Mahony), BoySetsFire, Enabler, ÆGES, Gallows, Krum Bums and I Am Heresy have all recorded tracks for the effort with many more currently booking studio time for the effort. A full track listing will be announced shortly.
“There are some songs that just hit you in a certain way,” states Strife guitarist Andrew Kline who covered the song “Who Are You?” by Washington, D.C.’s legendary, Void. “Songs that have so much raw power and emotion that you can play them on your record player and even 20 or 30 years after they were released they still give you goose bumps like the day you first heard them.” Void, like many of the artists covered on the comp, are profiled in xXx: 1983-1988, both in a reprinted interview done at the legendary one-time Boston show appearance but also in a new interview with bassist Chris Stover.
The compilation will be presented in several formats. All editions of the book will include a download card. However, a limited number of books will include a 12” vinyl version of the comp.
“While it’s undeniable that hardcore has had several generations of musical ideas and key personalities, those songs don’t belong to any one group of people,” says Gitter, who has followed xXx’s initial run with long-running careers in music journalism and as a long-running A&R exec. “It’s music with a message and songs that will hopefully inspire many generations to come. Part of the reason for including this compilation of covers and re-interpretations is to simply say that this music and everything that went along with it is timeless.”
Work on the book itself is nearing completion with last interviews and liner notes currently being assembled with the help of Bridge Nine owner Chris Wrenn in the editor’s seat.