http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6PvOjaY8qQ

Check out this little montage we put together.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has helped us out this year, it has been one of the best years of my life. I know shit is ahead of us, but I think everyone will make it through and be stronger for it.

So, what have we been up to? A lot as usual. What we planned on being an off month for writing, is turning out to be one of our busiest months in a while. First, we played Awesomeville again, and it was not a disappointment, a good number of people were there and they tore shit up.

We are playing with PTL Klub on the 17th in Providence at Jerky's and it should be a blast as well. For all of you in PVD, we miss ya and will be there soon.

On the 24th, we are playing another ALL AGES show at the Midway in Jamaica Plain with our good friends in Yesterday's Heroes and The Furiousity.

On the 31st, we are playing yet another ALL AGES show at the ALL ASIA. With Tommy and the Terrors and one of my new favorite bands Blood Stained Brindle.

We have been able to work on some new stuff during our free time as well. You should start to hear some of the new songs at the upcoming shows.

This year coming we plan on releasing another CD, finish up the video, and tour again in the summer.

So, let us know where you want us to play. CA? FL? TX? You tell us and we will try to make it happen.

Cheers to another crazy year!!!

-Shawn

Alright, so here we are on day 3 of our first tour. So far the smells, the sites, and the shits have been both stupendous and downright disgustingly hilarious. We kicked of our tour in Quincy w/ Burning Streets and Lesser Evils, both great bands and good friends. Really fun time. Thanks to those guys for playing with us. First stop out of Boston was West Babylon, NY w/ Yesterdays Heroes. Those are the greatest bunch of guys. We had a blast in NY and were well received. It was even better because we got to play with our buddies in YH. They also recommend not going to White Castle, the aftermath for them was terrible for both them and us. The other bands were great too, Thanks to all of them. Yesterday we didn't have a show. We tried to get on some but weren't able to but its all good. $40 motel rooms proved to be as uncomfortable as they seem. I had night terrors.

We're currently on our way to our show tonight in Columbus, OH with Everybody Out!, Ground Control USA, and The Kilroys. Should be good. Everybody Out! are great, and we had a blast playing with them before at Harpers Ferry.

We'll probably add another tour blog soon so look forward to that. Send us some love. See you back in Boston.

-Mike

The Boston Globe
Body of art reflects state of mind

By Megan Woolhouse
Globe Staff / September 13, 2008

Kat Thornton milled about the Boston Center for the Arts yesterday, proudly sporting her most recent tattoos: two nearly life-size pistols etched on her hips. The 22-year-old Salem native said she got the gunslinger tattoos after a bad breakup with a guy who was "no good."

"Every tattoo means something," she said. "These mean I've got control now."

Don't even ask about the one on her backside.

Welcome to the seventh annual Boston Tattoo Convention, where participants' bodies serve as billboards for painful breakups, memorials to lost loved ones, and calls to revolution. The convention is sponsored by Natan Alexander, who owns tattoo parlors in Boston, Salem, and Saugus. About 40 tattoo shops set up booths for the weekend, offering consultations or on-the-spot tattoos. About 5,000 people are expected to attend - and they're not your usual conventioneers.

The increasing social acceptance of tattoos means that doctors, lawyers, and even middle-class moms are getting them these days, the tattooists said yesterday. But most of the people in attendance yesterday appeared to be devoted fans of the scene, with little skin left for new ink.

Vendors set up booths and worked on their tattoo designs while music from bands with names like the Casualties, Leftover Crack, and Refuse Resist blared over the loudspeaker. The festivities included burlesque acts and contests for best "cover up" for a bad tattoo.

A performance artist from Texas, who gave the name Lizard Man, showed off his forked tongue, pointed teeth, and body covered entirely in a green web tattoo.

"I think it's a good look," he said. "I won't get a job at McDonald's looking this way, but I don't want a job at McDonald's."

Yesterday's convention crowd represents quite a transformation in a state where tattooing was outlawed between 1962 and 2000 due to concerns that unsanitary needles would transmit hepatitis B. The ban was lifted when a state Superior Court judge ruled it unconstitutional in 2000. Since then, tattoo parlors have cropped up by the dozens across the state and convention attendance has grown each year.

Teddy Safarian came to Boston from Asheville, N.C., because he thought the conference was a good opportunity to network. He wore a baseball hat and his body was covered with dozens of tattoos, including a large diamond under one of his earlobes and the airborne face of a woman on his neck. Across his knuckles, in rolling script, a series of letters spelled out, "Fade away."

The significance?

"I only had eight letters and it sounded cool," Safarian said. "I wanted to look tough."

His first tattoo? A heart on his chest when he was 16.

When the conference doors opened to the public at 2 p.m., a line of people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, formed. At a nearby table several city health inspectors sat in the wings. The group planned to patrol the hall all weekend for health violations. And maybe actually participate.

Damon Chaplin and Tom Plant, two Boston health inspectors, said they were considering getting their first tattoos this weekend. Plant thought he might opt for his astrological sign on his back. Chaplin said he's considering his father's nickname, "Bear," on his shoulder.

"I don't know yet," Chaplin said. "My wife is coming down. She likes the butterfly."

"Mind: Yourself" by Refuse Resist

By Ron Sprague (upcoming Motif Magazine Providence, RI)



Refuse Resist has released their first full-length album, entitled "Mind: Yourself", a break-neck album that does not let up. The Boston-area based band consists of Shawn Refuse (vocals), Mike Barone (guitar, backup vocals), Brendan White (bass, backup vocals), and John Mehlman (drums), and it was recorded by Richard Marr at Galaxy Park Studios. Mind:Yourself is available from Rodent Popsicle Records.

What had started in a garage a couple years ago with Mike, John, and former bass-man Nick Smith, has turned into an group that sounds like they've been doing this for years. Not many bands can release a full album within two years of starting out, even fewer release an album this strong. Every song is filled with fist-pumping goodness, and quickly gets to the point, smacks you with it, and then moves on.

Shawn Refuse's singing blends beautifully, yet maliciously with every aspect of the music backing him. The guitars are crunching, the bass is wild, and the drums are quite furious. All combined, it's almost as if The Circle Jerks, The Dead Kennedys and Blood For Blood got together and had a bunch of bastard children called Refuse Resist (and for the record their name has nothing to do with Sepultura).

Mind: Yourself opens up insisting, Live your life the way you want/You can make it no matter the cost, on "Refuse Resist". The closing track, "Take Control," echoes a similar statement, Open your eyes think for yourself/ Or, things will never change. Such is the theme for the album; yourself, and your mind, and how the two interact (or lack thereof).

One song, "Still in Massachusetts" was recently featured on the Rhode Island Rejects 2 compilation. Truly, an anthem most Massachusetts people could relate to, Why am I/Still in Massachusetts?/The state that I love and I Haaaaate. Everyone I know from Mass. loves to sing this one, even if they've only heard it once.

The second to last track, "See It" really strikes me as very true, See it/With your own eyes/Think It/With your own mind/Say it/With your voice/Live it/With your own life. Equally true, on "Fashion Show" Shawn sings, You just got your first Mohawk/Even tried to dye it red/Do you know the history/of what's atop your f&%ing head/Punk is not a fashion show. In all fairness, however, every song makes perfectly valid and true points with the subtlety of a rock hitting one in the forehead.

This album truly has something for everyone; for the war protesters, "Stop Them Now" should make you mull over a few points. For the boozers, "Captain" is a great drinking song. And for those hopelessly stuck on their computers, "Unplugged" just might point you in a new direction.

With this being their first album, it's easy to see the talent these guys are harboring, and makes one wonder how long it might be until a second one hits us. They are currently touring in support of Mind: Yourself, and more information can be found on their website, www.myspace.com/refuseresistband.

Refuse Resist will be wrapping up their Mind: Yourself tour October 19 at Club Hell with Joe Coffee, Drunk Robb and The Shots, Sounder, Reason to Fight, Cheech and Acetone.

Refuse Resist
Mind: Yourself | Rodent Popsicle
By BARRY THOMPSON | August 19, 2008
REFUSE RESIST

3.0 Stars (out of 4)

Last time our paths crossed, Mike Resist had consumed more than 30 Jello shots. One could argue that this was a bad choice, but I would respectfully disagree — he has ample cause for celebration. Eight months isn't supposed to be enough time to go from opening matinees at the Midway to having, like, plenty of real live humans come to your shows. Through some cocktail of perseverance, market savvy, and mayhem, Refuse Resist have accomplished the improbable. They're also the only hardcore band I've seen inspire impromptu go-go dancing. With almost every song making its point and ending in well under three minutes, Mind: Yourself isn't out to waste anyone's time, and it doesn't aspire to anything beyond fast, gnarly rage chow à la Minor Threat and Agnostic Front and maybe Trouble. It's a splendid ambiance for those occasions when every single piece of furniture in the room must be destroyed. The fastidious clamor emanating from Shawn Refuse's soundhole is evocative of a truly nonplussed Cookie Monster, and this is a wondrous thing. Here's hoping the Red Sox replace "Tessie" with "Still in Massachusetts" as their anthem next time they take the World Series, if only for its chorus: "Why am I still in Massachusetts?! State that I love and I haaaaate!"

From the Noise Feb 08 issue

SUZUKI SMITH, THE JOPO'S, THE MURDER, REFUSE RESIST
Midway Café, Jamaica Plain, MA
12/9/07
Punk is dead. So is barbershop—yet allegedly, people still sing it, and there's an audience for it. I can't confirm the existence of a thriving barbershop scene, but the Midway was full of people psyched to see a punk show Sunday afternoon. Maybe there's hope for barbershop, after all.
Refuse Resist starts the ball rolling, and my inner cynic says, "Ooooh, this band is heavily influenced by '80s hardcore. Seen it." The rest of me says, "Minor Threat covers never get old, so fuck you—drink." Even if you qualify sticking to the tried and true formula as a negative, there're plenty of positives here. Refuse Resist plays unusually tight for a band opening a matinee show, and the bassist plucks sans pick, leading me to think they possess musical chops they're not necessarily displaying. A big ole circle pit breaks out for "Fashion Show," which smacks of In God We Trust era DKs. Good times. Cheryl Article, formerly of the Definite Article (probably not the last band the Indefinite Article will threaten to sue) accidently drinks my beer while I'm taking notes. I guilt trip her into buying me two more. I am a genius. There seem to be a few kids here with their parents, evoking memories of my adolescence misspent wandering around all-ages South Shore punk shows.

Back then, Roach McKrackin was at the helm of Entrophy, that era and region's grand poobah of pogo-punk party time. Roach has reemerged with The Murder, and unlike Entrophy, The Murder plays their instruments well. Therefore, it pains me to confess that The Murder is already much better than Entrophy was. Their delivery is dangerously fast, and laden with monster guitar solos and sing-along-after-first-listen choruses. The room gets amped, and even bassist J-Lanz, usually void of any discernable emotion, looks like he's having fun. When interviewed before the show, J-Lanz refused to whip his junk out on stage, to the great disappoint of the women and bi-curious men in attendance.

The JoPo's kind of look like they're 14. However, they are actually significantly older. Their set makes me want to listen to Tegan and Sara, drink some herbal tea, and snuggle a kitten. They have amazing energy, but it feels like there's too much happening at once for anything resembling a song to cut through. Bluntly, they're too hardcore for me. I just can't handle it. Much of the audience doesn't share my problem, and appreciatively flail around in a circle like happy baboons. The guitar player shreds like it's his fucking job, and this onslaught of guitar solos makes me wonder if punk is the new metal. It isn't, but the thought crossed my mind.

I'm down the street celebrating the completion of a hard afternoon's "work," when I find out there's a fourth band. Like a good little byline slut, I scramble back to the Midway. Apparently I'm not the only one who got confused, as a major chunk of the crowd has vacated. Their loss, as I enjoy Suzuki Smith far more than I predicted. I unfortunately can't do them justice here, as irresponsible alcohol consumption has rendered my notes incomprehensible. "More melodic than the other bands," I scribble. "But not melodic melodic." What the fuck do I mean by that? I feel confident printing that Suzuki Smith reminded me of Pennywise, a little.

I have it on good authority that Refuse Resist left all their merch behind after leaving in a hurry when their bassist somehow broke two fingers. If they're still looking for their swag, Roach McKrackin snatched it for safekeeping. (Barry Thompson)

Hosted By: REFUSE RESIST / Boston Hardcore Punk
When: Saturday Jan 19, 2008
at 8:00 PM
Where: Jacques Underground
Broadway (Theater District)
Boston, Massachusetts|22 02116
United States
Description:
REFUSE RESIST / Boston Hardcore Punk

Click Here To View Event