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Rust Punx Radio is a show that highlights the latest in DIY punk & hardcore from across the so-called Rust Belt. Hosted by some kids from the Filler Distro, an anarchist zine distro, record label, and news website based in Pittsburgh, PA.

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AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ON

Bandcamp

Soundcloud

Podbean

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Support the Bands:

Overstep by PREVENTION – straight edge hardcore from Springfield, Illinois [2019]
https://preventionxxx.bandcamp.com/album/your-bad-habits

44 Bomber Jacket by HIGHWAY SNIPER from Cleveland, Ohio [2020]
https://highwaysniper.bandcamp.com/album/greatest-hits

Who Am I? by YAMBAG from Cleveland, Ohio [Dropping 2020 thru Convulse Records]
https://yambag.bandcamp.com/releases

Spineless by SOLEMN JUDGEMENT from Detroit, Michigan [2019]
https://solemnjudgementhc.bandcamp.com/track/spineless

Sellout by SCAM LIKELY from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [2019]
https://filler-pgh.bandcamp.com/album/a-scam-for-the-big-idea

Quarantine by DECIVILIZE from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [2020]
https://filler-pgh.bandcamp.com/album/quarantine-single-decivilize

Green by SAP, anarcho-punk from Kent, Ohio [2018]
https://sapsapsapsap.bandcamp.com/

Ableist Lincoln by TERROR CELL from Kalamazoo, Michigan [2020]
https://terrorcellkzoo.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Best Bet by SUBURBAN DOWNGRADE from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania [2019]
https://suburbandowngrade.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-demo

Classic track of the week: The Movement by RESIST AND EXIST [1998]
https://resistandexist.bandcamp.com/album/the-best-of-discography-album

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Pittsburgh Anarchist News

If you’re not familiar with the Filler collective, part of our project is to highlight local news that’s relevant to the anarchist movement in Pittsburgh.

2020’s been wild so far, so here’s a brief recap of some of the autonomous individual and small group actions that you might have missed.

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Starting around March 1st, stickers with anti-police, anti-racist, and pro-neighbor messages started going up all across the East End, the most prominent of which featured a friendly cartoon chameleon and the message “Fuck Cops, Love Neighbors.”


On March 5th, ATMs owned by PNC bank were sabotaged in retaliation for the bank’s collaboration in the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. In a communique claiming responsibility for the action, an anarchist crew called ‘Guerrilla Biscuits’ stated,

“Last night, we sabotaged 7 ATMs […] by jamming adhesive-soaked plastic rectangles into their card slots. It was quick, easy, fun, and no one even gave us a second glance—you should try it sometime. Whether it’s because of the cold, a health precaution, or for criminal direct action… one day we’ll all wear gloves and masks.”

On March 6th, Nazi propaganda stickers were spotted and removed by anti-fascists in Polish Hill.

On March 9th, a variety of anarchist and anti-fascist posters were seen wheatpasted across Polish Hill.

March 26th, graffiti supporting the April 1st Rent Strike went up in Bloomfield and East Liberty.

On March 30th, the North Shore Police Memorial was vandalized with spraypaint that read “fuck the pigs.”

All throughout April, the corporate media felt really sorry for all the nice landlords who didn’t get their rent checks. Won’t someone please think of the landlords?

Sometime in early April, a CCTV camera was destroyed in Oakland.

On April 13th, the Allegheny County Jail began releases hundreds of inmates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you want to support the abolitionist movement in Pittsburgh, we recommend checking out the Bukit Community Bail Fund and Dignity Act, among others.

On May Day, an autonomous crew coordinated out a series of banner drops in support of the 5 Global Demands which is a decentralized campaign that is mobilizing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a communique claiming responsibility for the action, the group stated,

“Too many of us in Pittsburgh believe that the course of the response to this pandemic is out of our control, that we can only make the best of plans and actions handed down from on high by politicians, landlords, and business owners. It does not have to be that way… our power lies in our autonomy and our solidarity—together, we can all protect one another.”

On May 7th, several American flags were stolen and burned in solidarity with anarchist comrades facing an illegal eviction.

On May 9th, unknown individuals dropped piles of sand at the entrance to City Hall, partially blockading access to the building. The action was taken in retaliation to the city’s decision to close the Polish Hill skatepark by dumping sand all over it.

On May 12th, a gold exchange store located off of Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield got its windows smashed up.

And lastly, we’d like to give a quick shout out the folks who have escaped Pittsburgh Community Corrections so far this year. Most recent police reports indicate that at least two of yinz are still breathing fresh air – godspeed to the ungovernable!

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LYRICS [when available]

Overstep by PREVENTION

“WE KNEW WE COULDN’T MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO BE EITHER AGAINST THE WAR OR BLACK, BUT BY GETTING THE PUBLIC TO ASSOCIATE THE HIPPIES WITH MARIJUANA AND BLACKS WITH HEROIN. AND THEN CRIMINALIZING BOTH HEAVILY, WE COULD DISRUPT THOSE COMMUNITIES. WE COULD ARREST THEIR LEADERS, RAID THEIR HOMES, BREAK UP THEIR MEETINGS, AND VILIFY THME NIGHT AFTER NIGHT ON THE EVENING NEWS. DID WE KNOW WE WERE LYING ABOUT THE DRUGS? OF COURSE WE DID.”

-JOHN EHRLICHMAN
AIDE TO PRESIDENT NIXON

RISING FORM,
TAKING HOLD.
PEOPLE LOCKED AWAY.
BROKEN FAMILIES.

OVERSTEP
REDIRECT
GO AND POINT THE BLAME.

OVERSTEP
SUSPECT
WASH AWAY THE NAMES.

OVERSTEP
COALESCE
MEN ARE LOCKED AWAY.

OVERSTEP
SUPPRESS
COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS.

RACIST HANDS,
PLUNGE DEEP IN.
PEOPLE LOCKED AWAY.
BROKEN COMMUNITIES

RACIST MACHINES,
OILED IN BLOOD.
CREATION OF THE CELL
OUTCAST, THEY STOOD.

VILE CONDITIONS,
FALLEN DISGRACE.
HOPELESS ENDEAVOR.
MANIPULATED,
BLINDED HAZE.

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44 Bomber Jacket by HIGHWAY SNIPER

The kids in a two parent state
Content to play favorites and supplicate
And long for the glory days
And act like a false knight of hope didn’t pave the way

Gaza – 500 children dead, hospitals bombed
Billions in weapons to SAAF – while Yemenis starve
Unmanned aerial gunships snuffing out innocent lives
And meanwhile back on the homefront
Thousands of families torn apart
Ripped from their lives and deported  
A typical legacy of abuse
From Clinton to Bolton

Here’s your Nobel Prize

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Spineless by SOLEMN JUDGEMENT

I’m sick of the fucking nonsense that y’all spout
have you ever done something that wasn’t for yourself ?
you’ll run your mouth when no one‘s around but you won’t keep me down
you’re an enemy to no one except yourself
thinking you’re so high up you can’t get knocked down
I can stick my nose up too
I can pretend to be better than you
you’re scared senseless to face your vices
you’ll judge those for using their voices
spitting and screaming waiting to be heard
you’ll live in comfort off of those who suffer
so you could be the righteous ones
say something to my face
but I know you won’t do anything
and I just wish that you’d choke
on every shallow excuse
that comes out of your throat
God forbid you have a back bone
you ignored the cries
of your friends
who begged you to have their backs
you left a knife in it instead

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Sellout by SCAM LIKELY

(sample from the documentary East of Liberty)

consensus, concessions, 
new contexts, same lessons
big tents and repression, 
from sellout progressives

keep wasting all our fucking time
jagoffs tow their party-line
“Dont write ACAB on that sign
Never ever speak your mind!”

radicals are burning out ,
from pushing for event turnout,
to build the org, to win reform,
to hardly change the social norm

talking heads wont ever stop,
working hard to be a cop,
but just because you pay their rent,
doesn’t meann you won’t be dead!

they’ll promise you a good career
swear that they won’t interfere
You joined up, or so I hear
Young and dumb and so sincere

now they control your agenda
escalate n’ they’ll just fire ya
protest marshal motherfucker
you ain’t no one’s compañera

Here in Pittsburgh, so called radicals are collaborating
with the Bloomfield development corporation
.
The BDC wants to bulldoze a grocery store
to build a yuppie condo in order to attract the tech industry.

and by legitimizing a ~ “dialogue” ~ thru events
that the BDC controls, these sellouts are deliberately
channeling community anger into a dead end
just so they can boost their NGO organizing careers.

From the Hill District to East Liberty, we’ve seen this before.

radicals are burning out ,
from pushing for event turnout,
to build the org, to win reform,
young and dumb and so sincere

now they control your agenda
escalate n’ they’ll just fire ya
protest marshal motherfucker
you ain’t no one’s compañera

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Quarantine by DECIVILIZE

I’m trapped inside,
For days on end,
There’s no way out,
The crisis deepens.

Blaming the other,
Divided by hate,
Racist lies,
Sold by the state.

Quarantine!
The worlds on lockdown.
Isolation!
Government crackdown.

The world’s a mess,
I am distressed.

Quarantine:
the social contagion.

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Green by SAP

GREEN IS THE COLOR OF NATURE’S DEATH
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANTS GREEN NOT BREATH
GREEN IS THE COLOR OF NATURE’S DEATH
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANTS GREEN NOT BREATH

MONEY RULES THE EARTH
MONEY KILLS THE WORKERS
WHO MAKE YOUR CLOTHES, TO SURVIVE
AND GET PAID SHIT
CAPITALISM CREATES DEATH

OLD MEN WITH GREEN LIES
CAPTIAL LIES
OLD MEN WITH GREEN LIES
NATURE DIES

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Best Bet by SUBURBAN DOWNGRADE

This motherfucker’s gonna have it’s day.
This motherfucker ain’t goin’ away.
This motherfucker’s in disarray.
This motherfucker’s gonna make a display.

Your best fuckin’ bet, best believe, stay away!

This motherfucker doesn’t need you.
This motherfucker won’t confide in you.
This motherfucker might make it through.
That motherfucker might find out, too!

Your best fuckin’ bet, best believe, stay away!

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https://filler-pgh.bandcamp.com/album/rust-punx-radio-volume-1

There’s a lot of music coming out of Pittsburgh lately, and it’s easy to forget to check out a new release. Rust Punx Radio* will be dropping a mix of new local punk and hardcore every few months, because up the punx. We’re mostly hoping to keep up with good music, but we’re also thinking that maybe this project might connect some dots across the fractured Pittsburgh hardcore scene(s).

You can stream the first RPR mix at the bandcamp linked above, or you can just check out the tracklist below.

*(radio, streaming a mix, whatever)

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SUPPORT PITTSBURGH PUNK & HARDCORE

If you want your band’s music to be on the next mix, or if you don’t want your band’s music to be on here at all, send us an email @ fillercollective [at] riseup [dot] net

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1. Awake by EEL on their 2019 split with Radio Active:
eelpgh.bandcamp.com/album/split-with-radio-active-2

2. …Into the Wasteland by DEATH GASP on their 2019 Self-Titled Demo:
deathgasp.bandcamp.com/album/self-titled-demo-ep

3. Absolut Failure / No One is Home by DRUG LUST on their 2019 EP “No One is Home” –
druglust.bandcamp.com/album/no-one-is-home

4. Other People’s Money by PEACE TALKS? on their 2020 Tour Tape
peacetalkspgh.bandcamp.com/album/tour-tape

5. Dread Creeps In by CHILLER on their 2020 Self-Titled EP
chillerpgh.bandcamp.com/track/dread-creeps-in-2

6. Rust Belt Blues by ILLITERATES on their 2019 Fall Tape
illiteratespgh.bandcamp.com/album/fall-tape-2019

7. Life at the End of Empire by DECIVILIZE
from the benefit compilation “A SCAM for the Big Idea”
filler-pgh.bandcamp.com/album/a-scam-for-the-big-idea

8. Perfect Boy by SHIN GUARD on their
2019 split EP with For Your Health, “Death of Spring”
shinguard.bandcamp.com/album/death-of-spring

9. Elven Hate by DISGOBLIN from the benefit compilation “A SCAM for the Big Idea”
filler-pgh.bandcamp.com/album/a-scam-for-the-big-idea

10. Cashin’ Out by PARKING LOT BANDITS on their 2020 EP, “Some Call it Utopia”
parkinglotbandits.bandcamp.com/album/some-call-it-utopia-ep

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https://filler-pgh.bandcamp.com/album/rust-punx-radio-volume-1

It’s no secret that Pittsburgh’s (thriving) DIY music scene is fractured by genre, geography, and age. We’ve got the South Oakland indie/emo kids, the Hazelwood folk-punk/hippie types, the Polish Hill crust punx, the (fill in your own neighborhood / stereotype combo here), etc. But every so often there’s a band that comes along and draws in folks from just about every corner of this big small town. Shin Guard is one of those bands.

Shin Guard is a hardcore act whose blasts and breakdowns are just as heavy as their most atmospheric interludes. In 2019 alone they’ve self-recorded and produced two albums: a full-length, “2020,” and a 12″ split with For Your Health (Ohio), titled “Death of Spring.”  Emotional, conscious, talented, and young, Shin Guard remains rooted in the local DIY community, even now as they’re starting to blow up. 

With their 2020 tour only a few weeks away, Shin Guard guitarist, lyricist, and vocalist Owen Traynor was cool enough to find some time between booking shows and attending class to answer some questions for an upcoming issue of Filler.

We talk about the DIY ethic and community(ies), the band’s radical shift in sound and style, their recording process and upcoming tour, and a whole bunch of other shit. Check it out!

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Filler: Who is Shin Guard? How’d yinz meet?

Owen: We’re 4 people playing heavy and intricate music. We’ve had some lineup changes but we met through high school and going to shows.

F: Where was your first show? What was it like?

O: It was in Jake’s parents’ basement, we invited all of our friends from high school so there were about 50 people there. It was very hype, some stuff got broken but that’s the way it goes.

F: In an interview on No Static At All, you mention that I Hate Myself was a big influence on Shin Guard circa “Five Songs,” the four song EP (2017). Since then, your band’s sound and lyrics have ventured into some far darker, heavier, and oftentimes pretty chaotic territory. What’s behind this shift in your sound? What are some newer influences on the band?

O: We wrote all of Five Songs and Cerebral while we were still in high school. It was a weird time in my life, as it is for a lot of people, and I felt the only way I could convey my emotions was through this music. After recording Cerebral, our original guitarist quit the band. Alex asked to join and everything became better instantly. They enabled us to be more technical, therefore opening us to so many more possibilities. Another facet of our shift in sound is our dissatisfaction with the state of the world. I think a lot of our musical peers have their lyrical content and ethics as separate entities. I use Shin Guard to voice my feelings on many matters, whether it be oppression, depression, death, love, etc. Regardless of the topic, the passion behind the lyrics is consistent.

F: If you had to distill all the musical and emotional intensity of Shin Guard into a single slogan or sentence, what would it be?

O: Bangers only.

F: Did Epstein kill himself?

O: Nope.

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F: So there’s a lot of hype around your band these days, and its definitely well-deserved. But I’ve noticed there’s something about the hype around you guys that doesn’t really come up when talking about other local bands — your age. Even though DIY is (or at least should be) an all-ages movement, do you feel like your age ever impacts your experience in the scene? Is there any generational tension? Have you ran into any ageist bullshit?

O: Being zoomers has been a double-edged sword. We get a lot of admiration for being young and proficient, but a lot of bands we love don’t take us seriously sometimes. Most people our age don’t make the type of music that we do, so it can get kind of lonely, but also it is a great feeling to be different.

F: As a band that has produced and released much of its own music, what does DIY mean to you?

O: DIY has been everything to us. Everything we have done has been on our own terms so far. We know the way that we want things done better than anyone else would. That being said though, we would not be opposed to breaking that if our creative intent remains intact.

F: What do you love about Pittsburgh DIY? What do you want to see more of? Is there anything that you think the scene/community needs to seriously work on?

O: It’s a very warm scene. It has gotten a lot better over the years and people have been more vocal about problematic things. Though I love Pittsburgh DIY, I feel that the scene is very white and not as charitable as it could be. I wish that DIY folks and punks would get along better. I think it would go a long way if there was a meaningful goal that both scenes wanted to accomplish. In Boston, I went to Sheer Queer Fest where the fest of LGBTQ+ bands raised money for UAINE (United American Indians of New England). There was no scene beef with the DIY kids and punks, it was all love and communal greatness. I don’t book shows very often but I feel that I should start doing it again and create local showcase charity shows. As a white person, I think it’s more and more important that I should use my platform to do something that has an impact and inspire others to do the same. I worked with an experimental band called Not Your Friends and we agreed to donate all of the money from Bandcamp to PAAR (Pittsburgh Action Against Rape). I know it isn’t much but I am still doing anything I can to be helpful. I think we should also give media like Filler and S.C.A.M. a platform at DIY shows. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to set up another table with their media. Education should always be an ongoing process and this would go a long way if this were to happen.

F: A lot of your lyrics are situated at the intersections of personal turmoil and social war. On the bandcamp page for your 2018 album, Cerebral, there’s a quote from the Italian anarchist Errico Malatesta, “Hate does not produce love, and by hate one cannot remake the world.” Is Shin Guard also a political project? If so, what does that mean to you? What does that look like for your fans?

O: I don’t consider Shin Guard a political project. I am emotionally invested in the corruption of the world around us. The circumstances we live in are emotionally disturbing to me. I feel complicit if I don’t say anything about it.

F: Hey uh… so this one time a while ago a few Filler kids broke into Cafe Verona because a friend of ours forgot their wallet… will you forgive us?

O: Never.

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F: I first caught you guys play back in March at Cafe Verona with For Your Health (Ohio), Plague Walker (Indiana) and Give Me Back (Pittsburgh, demo coming soon!)—an entire bill stacked with politically-charged emotional hardcore, and everyone absolutely killed it. Later that spring, Shin Guard and For Your Health dropped one of my all-time favorite splits, “Death of Spring.” Is this the beginning of new wave of skramz / hardcore? Is this the prelude to the RAWRing 20s???

O: I guess so! I think there’s been a resurgence of this type of music. With revivals like this, I think the genre improves. I feel like I would be making this type of music even without the newfound hype surrounding the genre.

F: What’s the relationship between you and FYH? What do you think the Pittsburgh and Columbus DIY scenes have to offer each other?

O: We are best friends. We were all in one van together for a whole month and survived somehow. We’ve only played in Columbus a few times so I don’t have the insight on their scene as well as I should have. Hayden from FYH told me that they have more Pittsburgh fans than Columbus fans. Every time we play Columbus now, it’s a great time. It can feel more intimate sometimes. The people are very welcoming and it goes off!

F: Sup with tour? Where you going, who you playing with? What are you excited/nervous about?

O: If everything falls into the right place, 2020 is going to be a tour heavy year for us. We
plan to go all over the country and even out of it. We’ve made a lot of friends this year
and we’ll be touring with some of them! I have nothing but excitement for this. I’m only
nervous about potential vehicle troubles and bad weather, but that’s the way it goes.

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F: How did you get into recording music?

O: I love making music but the biggest obstacle was figuring out how to record it. It ended up being my biggest passion.

F: What DAW do you use, and are there any plug-ins you’d recommend?

O: I use Ableton, Logic, and Pro Tools. I recommend iZotope, Fabfilter, and Waves plugins.


F: What gear do you use to record?

O: It’s been different every time depending on the resources I have at the time, but I use a lot of different mics (Shure, Audio-Technica, Audix, etc.) that I’ve bought and I’ve borrowed a lot of my friends’ equipment as well. I’ve record into Scarlett, Zoom, and Behringer interfaces.

F: What do you wish you had known when you first starting recording / mixing?

O: How compression works, the effect of mastering, etc. There’s always something to learn and recording/mixing techniques are contextual. There’s no right way to do one particular thing.

F: Do you master your own mixes, and if so what’s that process like for you?

O: I usually do, it can get very intense and time-consuming because it’s very intricate and you can lose your mind while doing it. Your ears get so used to the frequencies that you have to step back at some point and revisit it.

F: Anything you want to add?

O: Support your friends, give hugs, be the change you wanna see, riffs, etc.

F: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us! And double thanx for bringing some Filler zines on your upcoming tour!!!

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Photos of Shin Guard were taken by Emery Myer and Cody Walsh, we just ripped them from the band’s website.

You can support Shin Guard by catching a show, picking up some merch, or by following them on social media:

Bandcamp // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

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Filler is an informal DIY collective that runs a zine distro, recording studio, record label (sorta) & anarchist news website in so-called Pittsburgh, PA (occupied Shawnee territory).

You can support us by…

• submitting your writing, photos, zines, etc
  
• vandalizing gentrifying realtors and businesses
• printing / distributing zines from our archive
• checking us out on bandcamp // twitter // instagram // fedbook
  
• buying a zine when you see us tabling, or by dropping in The Big Idea Cooperative Bookstore & Café and picking one up from there.

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