I wanted to write up a few things while this experience is fresh in my mind. I say a few things, but this is going to be on the long side so be prepared for that. I've never been to a hardcore fest before so I wasn't sure what to expect but this exceeded any expectations that I had. It was honestly one of the best experiences of my life. There are going to be lots of thanks in this post but Bob Wilson is at the top of that list. Everything was perfect and as far as I could tell from being a spectator, things went smoothly. I'm sure behind the scenes there were issues and a lot of sleepless nights leading up to this but Bob needs to be congratulated for pulling this off and thank you for inviting us to play! The sound and stage management was excellent. I meant to track down Scanlon and thank him for his efforts and for answering my questions politely and promptly up to the fest but there were so many distractions that I was constantly going on fest sidequests all weekend and lost all track of time. Thanks Scanlon. The rest of the army of FYA staff was great. They were polite and helpful.
For the bands at FYA, they were all amazing. I don't want to call out any specific band because really they were all great. I've never been in that close proximity to so much hardcore talent and that it was truly humbling to me. A lot of the bands there I had never heard or even heard of before but I'm super grateful to have been able to share that stage and equipment with all of them. Looking back at the experience now, I just can't believe that I was a part of that.
There were so many amazing connections that were made at the show. There were people at the show that I've chatted online with for years and also people who I met decades ago but lost touch with. It was a bit overwhelming. Hardcore is a beautiful, intricate web of people and experiences. We're all interconnected in this special way, and I'm so grateful that I got introduced and involved with it. From my first punk and hardcore shows in the mid eighties to today, the feeling that I get when I hear hardcore still brings a tightness to my chest. I've missed it.
For those who came to see Excessive Force, I hope that you felt that we did justice to those songs. I get choked up now just thinking about it. Blake, Tyler, Matt and Judge, you guys worked so hard to bring it. I've been watching the videos and I think it sounded great. Thanks guys and thank you Jessica for helping to organize and get the guys to where they needed to be on time. Thank you to all who sang along and came up to talk to me before and after the set. Your words really touched me. When those songs were written in 93-94 I never knew that they would resonate over 30 years later.
At our merch table, we couldn't have churned through the line without CT from Yetzer Hara records and my wife Alison's hard work. Thank you both! The organization of the merch was all Alison. If I was doing it, I would have tossed the shirts on the table and stumbled through it all night. Thank you to everyone that picked up a piece of merch. The shirts looked great and the companies that screen printed the shirts were Soaked in Ink, Full Bleed and Gorilla Joes. Contact them to get some stuff printed!
So what's next for Excessive Force? A Salt Lake City show and a Southern California show are all but guaranteed to happen. We just need to find a show to get on in California and make it happen. Probably sometime between now and summer would be my guess. Other than that, I don't know. I'd love to play a few shows in Japan (hint hint). When we decided to play FYA, it was a one-time thing with the possibility of a couple more shows depending on how FYA went. There was never the intention to do this on a larger scale. Everyone is busy with life, jobs, other bands, families, and young kids so it's hard to coordinate. Just doing this one show took an enormous amount of time and energy and everything else that went into this show. I'm honestly surprised that we pulled it off glad that we did it and I would do it all over again. The Excessive Force discography CD, cassette and 12" should be out in the next couple of months. Hopefully before the next show. It's going to be a collaboration with LSR, Inspirit and Contraband Goods.
What's next for Life Sentence Records? Well, we're back. We have our first new release that is going to be announced later this month and hoping to do a few more releases in 2026. We're probably going to do a couple represses from earlier bands if we can work out the details with those bands. It really depends if there is a real desire for those releases or if the bands are out there doing something now and a repress would help them out. Maybe also some collaborations with other labels and definitely some more shirts. Running a label in 2026 is a bit different than when we were running back 20 years ago so I'm trying to figure all of that out.
