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At long last we officially have a new drummer. Everyone please welcome Dan to the band! Dan has previously played with .44 Caliber Heroes, Naming Asher and Anything That’s Left. Big thanks to everyone who tried out … amazingly everyone we played with was totally cool and actually made it kind of fun. Extra special shot out’s go to Damon for driving from all the way from Montana and Josh for sacrificing his car (long story). Dan’s first “official” show will be tomorrow night at The Satyricon.
Album Review
Return of the freaking dead! Here comes 800 Octane with their latest release “The Return”! And like the label clearly states, this is New School Punk www.newschoolpunk.com. Turn it up! Twist it hard and fast! And then Blur the mosh pit in a spin of phucked up faces. The Return: 13 tracks (if you can find them ALL) deliver fast-paced punk rock. 800 Octane calls themselves “Super Rock”, and I can buy into that with a smile. I can also buy into the idea that this may even be Ghoul Rock with a grin. I believe it’s half-serious, half-tongue-in-cheek FUN Rock. We are definitely agreed that this is ROCK! “Zombie makeup & photos by Lee Williamson”. This is the guy you want to do your make up for the Queen of Halloween Ball! The Return cd insert includes solo-photos of every ghoul who helped make and finance the music on this album. That’s right! This is 800 Octane on DIY! And, although the latest news from www.800octane.com reports that Jim (the drummer) is no longer with the band, he still helps a warmed-over-death-punk groove fast and hard where The Return is concerned. 800 Octane will keep your feet jumping, your hands moving, and all good things a groovin’! It carries enough of the “I wanna be a star” attitude to make it pop level punk. I can just hear “Day of the Dead” on KNRK (and other cheesy pop rawks radio stations) just as much as any of those other surf punk/gutter pop bands that make the airwaves. What’s great about 800 Octane is that for Portlanders, this band is local, and we can look in the Willy Week, or at www.800octane.com, for an upcoming neighborhood performance. And we can expect 800 Octane to share the billing with other freaks such as SK and the Punk Ass Bitches, Nekromantix, Groove Ghoulies, GWAR, Dead Stars on Hollywood, Antiworld, and so many other musical CREEPS out there! Skater punks will find The Return to be all-the-rage on the half-pipe, and into swimming pools everywhere. Skinheads poking along and driving down the boulevard will turn a few heads by simply turning up the volume. And all you wanna-be khaki-clad aggressive types just might get lucky one night by taking a date to a freak show with 800 Octane on the bill. Songs that particularly grab my attention include: “Ghosts of Monochrome”, “Hollywood”, “Day of the Dead”, “Holiday”, and “Feeding Time”. Oh, yeah, and that “hidden track” really creeps me out a bit, too. When you hear it, you’ll understand exactly what I mean. (Jett Black / In Music We Trust)
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There’s been a new addition to the Oct. 26th show
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CONTEST!!! We want you to come up with the best way to demolish 100 copies of our Swank CD! Send us an e-mail with how you want to destroy the CD’s and why you want to destroy them! Winners get the satisfaction of actually carrying out the task and we will document it for the web site! Rule #1 – You must be able to get to Portland to carry out the task. Rule #2 – Since it’s going to be filmed we can’t do anything too terribly illegal. To submit your entry send an e-mail to contest@800octane.com!!!
Album Review
This baby is a scorcher. Taking a cue from two of my favorite bands – The Misfits and Hagfish – 800 Octane don’t skimp on the rock or the whoa-whoas. Just by checking out the cover you know you’re in store for some gritty rock and roll. They look like an army of friggin’ Frankensteins! Don’t know if 800 Octane play in that garb but the music hits you like a mad scientist’s creation, that’s for sure. Lots of thrashing, pounding, and stomping, just how it should be, baby. And, it never gets cheesy. That’s key. Very impressive debut, well, at least I think it’s a debut. I could be wrong. Definitely worth your time and energy. (Mr. F. Alexander / Fat City Magazine)
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We got our “thanks but no thanks” letter from MusicFest NW today. That makes a total of 5 denials in a row for NXNW and/or MusicFest NW. Sadly we still aren’t considered worthy of representing the NW music scene.
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Thanks to everyone who came out early to the H2O show to support us! In case you were wondering who the rock machine on drums was that was David from the Rhythm of ’84. We are however still looking for a full time drummer – if you think you can play drums for 800 Octane send us an e-mail!
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This kinda sucks to write but Jim is no longer in the band. If you want the lowdown check out the FAQ page for our simplified explanation. As for 800 Octane the rock will continue as we have temporarily enlisted David from Rhythm of ’84 to fill in on drums while we look for a full time replacement. We can’t thank him (and his band) enough for letting us borrow him for some shows. This also means we are looking for a full time drummer! If you or someone you know thinks you have what it takes to play drums for 800 Octane send us an e-mail. Live experience is not required but you do have some big shoes to fill so please don’t suck.
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Crap!!! The water pump on our van broke this evening and we had to cancel tonight’s Govt. Camp show as well as tomorrow’s Redding show. This is only the second time we’ve ever had to cancel a show due to a van breakdown in our 8 years as a band. Hopefully it will be fixed in time for Bend though!
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You might have noticed a few shows have disappeared from our calendar
Latest Photos