2022 Label Update

 "Silence is broken"... it's been a few years, but we're dipping our toes back in the murky core waters and looking to put out more records. Starting out strong with some positive news, our very own Search For Purpose played their first show in quite a while. It was only a couple songs at the From Within Records Showcase, however it was good to see Matt back on the mic.

The "Eternal Emotion" LP recently had guitars re-recorded, as well as a remix and remaster treatment, which is available in a limited second press through Scheme Records. We're big fans of everything Scheme has cooked up so far, so expect no less here. 

 

It's worth noting that first press copies on blue and purple of the LP are still available in the Exact Change Records store. If you buy a new copy from Scheme, send us an email, and we'll get you first press copies at distro price. Wherever you purchase it from, please don't buy a resell copy! Whoever bought a copy on blue from Discogs for $59.98, I'm looking at you...

In an effort to prevent that sort of collector's absurdity from happening, we are also now on Discogs for your purchasing pleasure. We just have the Search For Purpose record up for now, but may wind up listing more distro back stock and the like later on.

With a recent deep dive in to the warehouse goods, we found a single label shirt in Large remaining, so that's up for cheap in our flagship store. In the coming weeks, we hope to have new zines up, as well as some Nosferatu shirts we've had printed for quite some time that never made it online. Note: will trade records or zines for Mold-A-Rama figurines.

Send demos or records for consideration to our new submission contact, and we'll see you later:
exactchangerecords@protonmail.com

Search For Purpose - Eternal Emotion LP Out Now

It's been a whopping near-five months since our last update. Have ya missed us? Exact Change Records is back and strong for 2019 with the full length release of Search For Purpose's "Eternal Emotion" LP, a joint effort from North Carolina's best and brightest with Plead Your Case Records.

Search For Purpose has been playing shows around the north-east lately and just came down to Tampa for FYA Fest. You can pick up a copy of the record here through our online store. Thanks everyone for the patience on this, orders are now shipping as they are placed! Any pre-orders through the Plead Your Case store were shipped out last month.

There's more to come, sooner than later this time... but that's all for now! Feel free to send demo submissions or other mail to garrettxstrobel@gmail.com to be reviewed in the next issue of Exact Change Fanzine out next month.

Select Florida Demos 2001-2004: Face Up, Flame Still Burns, Team Effort and X Option Zero X

Big thanks to John McHale for hooking me up with copies of each of these, I owe you some tapes next time I'm in Miami. Here are a bunch of tapes from the early 2000's in FL that likely did not exist digitally prior to now. Corny to some, crucial to others, essential to any core scholar from Florida. Read a quick snippet and listen away below.

Face Up - Sweatpants and Hardstances

Members of Clean Cut, another Florida straight edge favorite, put out as an early release on Think Fast Records (which later released Outbreak, Have Heart, The Geeks etc.). 

Flame Still Burns - Edge 2001 Demo

Released on Think Fast Records right after the Face Up demo, Flame Still Burns sounds like a adrenaline charged flurry of straight edge hardcore. Taking their namesake from Youth Of Today, the drum and vocal production on this one has me feeling a little overstimulated. I'm thinking they maybe should have followed the advice of another track from the Youth Crew - "Slow Down"! However you slice it, here it is.

Team Effort - Demo

Some members from this band play in some currently active, not-so-much-hardcore bands of now that shall not be named. Doesn't matter! This demo is actually probably the tightest of the bunch. Such a crazy intro name... is the edgeman on the cover clutching some sort of  baguette? Not sure. Check these jams out, though!

X Option Zero X - Pure Core Pride Demo 2002

Yellow copies must have been cheaper to run off or something! This demo, musically and lyrically... leaves a bit to be desired. I do love the name Pure Core Pride though, which itself is anything but underwhelming. The oddly proportioned, accidentally manga-like edgeman on the cover is what sells it for me. File under: automatically like this because it's Florida, but don't expect anyone else to get it.

Stream here:

Face Up - Sweatpants and Hardstances

Flame Still Burns - Edge 2001 Demo

Team Effort - Demo

X Option Zero X - Pure Core Pride Demo 2002

d/l here: 

Face Up - Sweatpants and Hardstances

Flame Still Burns - Edge 2001 Demo

Team Effort - Demo

X Option Zero X - Pure Core Pride Demo 2002

Exact Change Fanzine

The long-awaited first issue of Exact Change Fanzine is now available. Pick up a copy here or get in touch about local events it will be available at. Interviews with Orange County's Discrepancy and North Carolina's Substance, as well as features on Powerhouse and Curbed from FL.

Sick Of Talk May 2017 Tour

Come catch Sick of Talk on our 2017 tour across the southern USA. The first three dates will be accompanied by Atlanta's Pay To Cum, as well as other dates with bands like Abuse Of Power, Search For Purpose, Laughing Sword and many more. For any additional information on dates visit the tour event on Facebook here or feel free to email me at garrettxstrobel@gmail.com. I will have all available Exact Change Records releases with me on this tour.

See you soon!

Exact Change Records 006 - Final Say Demo

Final Say demo tapes are now available for streaming and purchase.

Listen and purchase here. There are also a limited amount of tapes and shirts here.
Straight edge hardcore from Tampa, FL. See below for local order information and the next show.

Exact Change Records 005 & more available now

Visit the web store for mail order information here

Sick Of Talk Video Archive

11/22/14 at Cloud House in Valrico (live tape available here)
11/29/14 at Cloud House in Valrico
1/25/15 at Epic Problem in Tampa
3/10/15 Live on WUTT in Downtown
4/11/15 at Epic Problem in Tampa
4/24/15 at Solid Sound Studios in Pompano Beach 
8/1/15 at O'Malleys in Margate
10/12/15 at Goat House in Odessa
1/6/16 at TV Land in Tallahassee
1/11/16 at New York Pizza in Greensboro, NC
1/12/16 at Nowhere in Gainesville
4/16/16 at The Granary in Miami

Last updated 2/14/2017

Magnitude Fanzine - Issue #1

I'm happy to be hosting the digital release of Magnitude Fanzine #1. This zine was organized by my good friend Matt Kalbaugh. A few previews shots are below, but the full high-quality .pdf can be downloaded here. Here's the scoop on this publication:

"After months of procrastinating and attempting to put this together with no prior knowledge of zine making, numerous failed attempts at Office Depot have led me to release the first (and probably only) issue of Magnitude via the power of the internet. Contains interviews with STEP FOR CHANGE (CA), ECOSTRIKE (FL) and REFOCUS (NC), as well as record reviews and a couple little essays. Enjoy!" - Matt K.

d/l here:
Magnitude Fanzine - Issue #1

DC's MISLED YOUTH and IRON CAGES come to Florida!

To end of the year, Sick Of Talk will be playing at The Bunker in Ybor with two bands visiting from Washington, D.C., Misled Youth and Iron Cages on Friday December 30th. With Transitions Art Gallery closing it's doors over the summer, Tampa has been in a dire search of a new regular punk and hardcore venue. The Bunker has hosted a few shows so far and all have gone well, so come out and make this one even better than the rest! There is still room for one more band to hop on in the next day or so, leave a comment or shoot me an email if you are interested.

Ego Trip - Together In The Mind 7"

Finally! I have been seeking out the Ego Trip 7" since around this time last year when I uploaded the Beyond Reason 7" and Notes From The South Comp and I finally got my hands on a copy to upload for you all. Big thanks to my friend Bobby J for biting the bullet and getting a discogs account to pick up some old South Florida hardcore (maybe I'll get a discogs... eventually... nahhh) including this 7".

Another Youth Bus Records release, put out in 1991. The record comes with a pretty awesome lyric booklet that I have also included in the download. Two page spread with photo and lyrics for each song. Rich Thurston (Culture, Timescape Zero, etc.) played in this band. Though released in '91 I definitely hear a lot of late 80's hardcore influence on this record. Can't say how happy I am to finally be able to hear and share this. Please enjoy!

d/l here:
Ego Trip - Together In The Mind

Select Florida Demos 2009-2012: Thin Line, Faith Addiction and Kickturn

It's near the end of April and I'm finally getting around to posting some downloads. This time around, it's even more Florida bands, but from more recently. I'll give a little information on each band and throw the download links with scans of whatever came packaged with the demo at the bottom. Also, keep an eye on the blog for two cool show announcements next week!

 

Thin Line - Demo

This demo was recorded in 2009, right around when I first started coming to shows. Apparently Thin Line was from Orlando. I actually never saw this band and only even heard about them a week ago when my friend Oliver was giving away some of his old things. He told me this band was from FL so I grabbed the tape out of principle. If you can't tell from the cover, this is a straight edge hardcore band that I would very loosely compare to Righteous Jams or Mental. The lyrics get about as cheesy as they come on the track "Get Involved" (not a Brotherhood cover) but the tape includes a rendition of Use Your Head (which is a Uniform Choice cover) that actually rocks pretty hard. Drummer Tommy currently plays in one of Florida's continually rising star bands, Axis. I was surprised to find their Bandcamp link is still active, so I nabbed the songs from there and threw in the cover and insert scan in the download.

Faith Addiction - Demo 

Faith Addiction was a short lived hardcore band from Tampa. Four songs clocking in at under 2:30 on this sucker. On this demo were all three members of grindcore band Cellgraft plus Justin who sang in Feral Babies on bass. Awesome blown out hardcore that I think would be hugely popular if it came out this year, but sort of flopped when they were around. I remember seeing them open a show in a storage unit in Tampa and just about no one caring or watching. Crazy! They put out a lathe cut 7" a few years after this demo. Only 25 copies were made and I'm pretty sure every single copy is sitting in various Tampa record stores. Even crazier! I highly recommend this, though I had to rip the audio from the cassette so it's not the best quality.

Kickturn - The Demo 2012

Chances are you heard or saw this band when they were around, but I rarely hear them get brought up nowadays. Since members also played in Losin' It I think maybe this demo is just seen as the "other" band, but this demo still holds up to me. Four cool tracks that remind me of stripped down, nuts-and-bolts hardcore in love with Underdog or Token Entry blended with that Florida taste that can't be mistaken. Ian now sings in Day By Day, and with that in mind, you can hear the vocal similarities even though the music varies quite a bit.

That about wraps it up, here's the download links. Enjoy!

d/l here: Thin Line - Demo

d/l more here: Faith Addiction - Demo

d/l even more here: Kickturn - The Demo 2012

North Carolina's SUBSTANCE comes to Florida!

Apologies for the lack of updates on the blog. It has been a hectic two months, as Exact Change has hit the road in January on the Sick Of Talk 2016 Winter Tour as well as in February on the Hit List/Crisis Unit East Coast Tour. Thanks for everyone who came and saw any of the bands and picked up an ECR release, more Hit List live tapes will be available in the store very soon.

In April, Substance from NC will be coming down and playing through FL for a weekend. Check out the St. Pete show if you are in the area, or see the bottom flyer for information on the whole weekend. See you at the shows!

Beyond Reason - It's Just Begun 7" & Notes From The South compilation 7"

Check it out - a Florida hardcore Youth Bus Records two-fer! First up is the Beyond Reason 7", "It's Just Begun", with four powerful yet fun tracks. Released in 1990, but reminds me a lot of bands that were around in the mid-to-late-80's like Bustin' Out and Unit Pride.

Up next, a 7" compilation, "Notes From The South" featuring an array of bands from Florida: The Believers, whom I posted about a short while ago, a little heavier act called Hangman, then Beyond Reason and, ending off the compilation with my personal favorite tracks, Ego-Trip. This deserves to be the "We Can't Help It If We're From Florida" of the 90's. Track after track of unique hardcore happening in Florida that has somehow flown under the radar for all but those involved, or so it seems. Oh, did I mention the Beyond Reason record come with a huge fold out insert, and the compilation comes with an excellent lyric booklet, all of which are scanned and included in this download?

Here's the Ego-Trip pages of the booklet... How cool is this?! I need more info!

So there you have it. Youth Bus Records #1 and #2, discovered as I promised I'd try to do in the post about The Believers. Now for #3-5... I seriously have to find the Ego Trip "Together In The Mind" 7" if it is anywhere near as awesome as these compilation tracks.

d/l here:
Beyond Reason - It's Just Begun

d/l here too:
Notes From The South compilation

The Believers - Demo 1987 CS

The Believers were a short lived band from South Florida in the late 80's until the early 90's. This demo could also be called the "Half Way Home Demo" but because it was originally uploaded on Soundcloud as "Demo 1987" I decided to keep it as such.

Played around the same time as Powerhouse, but gained way less attention abroad for whatever reason. No big label signing, so less of a modern following I guess? This demo is equal parts cartoon edgeman mosh, as the cover drawing would have you expect, but also a decent dose of melodic guitar work.

As far as I know this is their only recorded material aside from a compilation track on the "Notes From The South" compilation 7" on Youth Bus Records with a few other lesser talked about Florida hardcore bands Hangman, Beyond Reason and Ego-Trip. They also played a reunion a few years back in South Florida and Reel and Restless Fest. I remember this show happening, but during my "driving four hours for a show is lame" phase... also known as my "no job and no money" phase. Doy!

If you have any information about this band, please get in touch with me, I'd love to learn more. Until then, enjoy this demo of a decent length!

d/l here:
The Believers - Demo 1987

Todd Youth on Exact Change Radio 11/12/2015

Tune in this Thursday for an exclusive phone interview with Todd Youth of NYHC fame, who played in a slew of bands like Agnostic Front, Warzone, Murphy's Law, Danzig and many, many more.

Crisis Unit Live on Exact Change Radio 1/28/2015

ECR 001 - With Increase "Live on Bulls Radio" Cassette

The labels first release is officially completed. With Increase came in to the Exact Change Radio show at the Bulls Radio studio on Thursday 6/26/2014 and recorded a few live tracks followed by an interview. After the show we were chatting and decided to put out the session on this tape. Recommended for fans of early Tooth & Nail bands such as Strongarm, Focal Point and, my personal favorite, Focused.

First run limited to 50 copies, with some lemon lime inserts keepin' it fresh. The band is selling the yellow copies with them on their current tour and the green inserts are a label exclusive. If you would like a copy, either go see With Increase on tour and pick one up or shoot me an e-mail at garrettxstrobel@gmail.com. Tapes are $3 in person and $5 post paid in the USA (just send the money to my PayPal account via the aforementioned e-mail address). Click on the photo below to see the dates of With Increase's tour.

For the full, free audio of the radio set and interview, go here. Also be sure to pick up Exact Change Fanzine numero uno, which will contain more stories and pictures from the radio set!

Awake! - Beliefs 7"

Another record I picked up at Planet Retro in St. Pete of another Brandon hardcore band. Signed by two of the dudes on the back and some really great photos inside the 5 paneled insert that I included in the download. This record was recommended to me by my pal Jullian B., who did a really great write up a few years back in his zine about Awake! that I might take the time to scan and upload later.

Four tracks of pretty interesting melodic hardcore straight outta 1989 that have singing, shouting, and even a rap part. The record itself was, again, in pretty rough condition, so quite a few noticeable pops in the quieter parts... did the best I could to fix the pops without damaging the audio. If you have better quality rips of this record let me know because I can't find it in full anywhere else.

The copy I own also seems to be a second pressing as it is pressed on black vinyl and neither TPOS or Victory records are credited. A few scans of that pressing are available on discogs.

Again, many thanks to Matt D. for helping me rip the audio from this and the next few records I'll be posting.

d/l here:
Awake! - Beliefs 7"

Slap of Reality - Stuck Inside 7"

Melodic punk/hardcore band from Brandon, FL. This was their first 7" and contained more of an edge than their later releases, which veered in a far more pop direction. I picked up this copy of the 7" from Planet Retro in St. Pete, which Rob Sexton, the drummer of Slap of Reality, now runs.

Their most recent show was June 20th, 2014 in Lakeland. Other than that, they haven't played around much very often. I tried getting in contact with a few of the members to let them know I was posting this and get any more information on the release and the band, but haven't heard back from them yet.

The record wasn't in the most perfect condition and I didn't do any editing other than ripping the songs from vinyl to mp3 (thanks Matt D.), so expect some pops and imperfections. Scans of the insert included in the download.

d/l here:
Slap of Reality - Stuck Inside 7"