xVCx & Fx Px Ox TOUR part 1

Vaseline Children & Fx Px Ox 

„Who the Fuck is Davor Kristijan?“ European tour

 

I almost forgot, the real first show on this tour was suposted to be in Zagreb, in Medika squat (then it was still a real squat). Vaseline Children, Fx Px Ox and Evazija were on the bill. It was all fine and dandy, all bands did sound check and then the pigs showed up and started to make threats with calling more police back up and that we have to get out of there. Well, there wasn`t really any other choice then to back off so we did. Maybe we should fight the police, but then, we would probably end up in jail or hospital and then this tour wouldn`t happen. Sorry. 

 

The poster for the first canceled show.

30th August 2008. The first day on the road, on our way to Bratislava, Slovakia. 
The straight edge gang is coming to your town.

From left to right: Kiki, Vasko, Gajo and down below, Dzano and Rade.

First day on the tour and we made it OK. The show in Bratislava was in some DIY club, it seemed like a cool place. Only xVCx & Fx Px Ox played, there were not that many people and the show was just OK. The food was not that great haha.

31th August 2008. Bratislava, Slovakia. 
From left to right: Cane, Tripe, Dzano, Rade, Kiki, Vasko, Gajo and Tada.

Fx Px Ox & Vaseline Children on the stairs of some church. 
From left to right (front row): Dzano, Vasko, Zhbla & Tripe and the back row: Rade, Cane, Gajo & Kiki. 
I guess this was suposted to be the funny „serious“ photo, but I`m not sure that we pulled it through, ha, ha!

31th August 2008. Olomouc, Czech Republic. It was a second day of the tour and we were way too early. It was Sunday and we couldn`t  find an exchange office that is working, so we were starving. We walk throught the city, we took a rest in some park, took bunch of photos posing around and even begged some prist to give us some food, which he told us to get lost, ha, ha (the club was next to some curch). Oh yeah, Olomouc has the most churches in whole Czech Republic or something like that, so we heard. It`s like the chatolic paradise. And hc/punx there are into vegan mosh metal. When organizers finally showed up and brought food, we were happy like children. Also, xEye Of Judgementx from Holland played. They were into mosh. Metal. Vegan. I didn`t like the band (the music, guys from the band were OK). Both Fx Px Ox and xVCx played solid sets but nothing spectacular. Still, from the moment we ate, the whole evening was very pleasant. We couldn`t afford to go to sleep after the show because of a long drive that waited us because the next show was in Lublin, Poland which wasn`t so close. I slept through the whole night drive.

Just chilling in the park. Love and straight edge.

 

01st September 2008. Lublin, Poland. Gajo on the merch stand. 

Check out the red xVCx top on the pile of other xVCx t-shirts. 

As I was saying, the drive from Olomouc, Czech to Lublin, Poland was long and it lasted whole night and whole morning. I woke up while we were driving through some small place in Poland, we were stuck in a traffic jam and were moving very slowly. There were bunch of kids going to school (it was the first day of school) and they were all dressed the same, it was ridiculous. We felt like we somehow got transported into the past or something, it was just sureal seeing lines and lines of kids walking and all dressed the same. The show in Lublin was in „Tektura“ club/squat and it is really a cool place (two years later I was there again with Junk Messiah). I remember that there were lot of people on this show and a nice laid back atmosphere. Except for xVCx & Fx Px Ox, bands that also played that night were: Dead Vows (Sweden), Bora (Lithuania) and some local crust band that I didn`t catch their name. I wasn`t that much into bands except for Dead Vows, they were cool. xVCx played cool show and Fx Px Ox killed it! Later when we were getting ready to go to sleep, Zhbla had a bizaro scene with some girl and her boyfriend and also their weird friend. Bizaro shit.

Zhbla and Dzano with their favorite band t-shirts.

Cane and Tripe eating good food.

MY FRIENDS AND THE PIT

OK, I got bit lazy with this blog again. The thing is that I have bunch of ideas for the blog and have prepared material (photos and words that are some written and some are still just in my head), but I always rather put my free time and energy into doing my zine than this blog. What can I say? So, this time, just short rambling and few photos about the pits during Vaseline Children time. At the time, Vaseline Children had quite following of 30 to 40 people (mostly from Slovenia) that always danced on VC shows. And that crowd was consisted of boys and girls and it was far away from any macho bullshit. That is probably why I look on these times with nostalgic feelings and thoughts because I don`t see that kind of atmosphere anymore on todays shows. The photos below were taken on 19.-th January 2008. at MC Krško, Slovenia. It was the third year of Old School Or No School Festival that started in Krško in 2006. (I played on 3 Old School Festivals with my 3 different bands and this was also the fourth time that Vaseline Children played in MC Krško) This particular Old School Fest was cool except for a few retarded drunk and high losers that tried to ruin the pit with their asshole behaviour, but they were forced to calm down because few of us wouldn`t tolerate any of their bullshit. Of 4 bands that were playing, 3 were awesome and did a great show and on all of these 3 bands, circle pit, slam, pogo, stage diving, singalong and dancing didn`t stop untill the end of the show. As one band once said: „My friends and the pit, nothing matters to me anymore“. Well said. 

 

                                              Poster for a said show

Circle pit during the Depressive State set. There are two VC members in the pit and you can also see two VC t-shirts here (one you can spot easily but the other you have to look more carefully)

These two photos and circle pits were both taken during Vaseline Children set. There are too many familiar faces on these photos (specially in the pit), so I won`t name anyone. But if you want to know, just ask me who is who :)

This photo was taken during Screwed Up set. Look what happens when Tear It Up cover song is played. You can also see two VC t-shirts here

STRAIGHT EDGE

Vaseline Children and Dickless Tracy guys in the backstage of „Leglo“, Novo Mesto, Slovenia, before the first VC show. 

So, Vaseline Children was a straight edge hardcore punk band. Without any doubt. But that was just because all the band members were sXe at the time when they were in VC. When Zhbla and me started VC, we didn`t seek sXe members, we just wanted to play pissed off fast hc/punk and say what`s on our minds and what we thought that sucks in the hc/punk scene. It just happened that both Cane and Kiki were also sXe when they came in the band (Cane didn`t even know that Kiki was sXe before he joined the band). But, because of the fact that all VC members were straight edge, definitelly made easier things in the process and that was among other things we had in common, one more important thing that we all shared. So, here we were, four sXe dudes in a new pissed off no bullshit hc/punk band. Still, we never sang about sXe, not one of our songs was about said topic nor we were preaching sXe while we were playing shows. Even thought we would talk a lot between our songs, it was never in the vein of: „sXe is good, you all have to join us“, or something like that. But, straight edge meant a lot (and to me it still means a lot) to each of us and we weren`t ashamed of what we were and we were not afraid to speak our minds if we felt it that way. Some people were a little bit intiminated by the fact that we were sXe. But that was their problem. We were never assholes to anyone who didn`t deserve it to be treated that way. And we were never excluding anyone because he/she drinks or not. Also, we were X-ing our hands when we played live (and sometimes when we went on other hc/punk shows). We X-ed regullary our hands for the first year of the band. We did it for fun and because the X-ing is the part of straight edge and hc/punk and since we were sXe and hc/punk, why not!?! Sometimes the X-ing was there also in spite of the small minded people with prejudices, to show them that we are not fucking around and that we are the real deal. Or something like that (I`m trying to spice it up a bit if you didn`t noticed already). Sometimes promoters wrote on the show posters that we are straight edge hardcore punk but we didn`t cared about that label. I rather prefered when it said: „hc/punk ala Tear It Up“ or „Tear It Up reincarnation“ (on a side note, most Tear It Up members were straight edge, so there). Two VC members are not straight edge anymore but that is their personal choice just like it was when they were straight edge. So, Vaseline Children was  a straight edge hc/punk band, but that wasn`t our main focus. We just wanted to play fast & pissed off hc/punk, spread DIY conspiracy and tell/yell what was on our minds and in our hearts. Now, Enjoy in bunch of rad photos, you dork! 

 

Is this straight edge? 

Or this? 

Or this? 

What about this?

Hmmm, give me some whatever these two were having! 

 

Sitting at the bar, how is that straight edge? What a bunch of pousers! And Cane wearing Youth Of Today hoody, Ray would not be proud. What a shame.

What kind of party is this!?! It definitelly ain`t a straight edge party! 

Having „Vaseline“ in the name of the band and having an erotic show!?! That is not very edge!

OK, Lets see some more posi photos!

Hanging out with local straight edge hardcore kids in Rosswein, Germany, after the Vaseline Children/Mladina Kina show on 22nd August 2007. You can see Kiki on the right (in a yellow hoody). There are two „straight edge“ writings on the wardrobe and some sXe bands that were popular at the time (I guess so because I don`t have a clue actually). Now, that`s more like it! Straight, positive, go! 

This was taken on 31th August 2008. in Olomouc, Czech Republic on the second day of our Vaseline Children/Fx Px Ox European tour. The guilty parts on the photo are, from left to right: Gajo, Zhbla, Vasko, Dzano and Rade. The sign above means: „Loyalty for loyalty, love for love“. We were joking that the five of us will start an ultimate straight edge band and that this photo will be the cover of our EP. And the sign could be a title of the record. Imagine that record. It would be even better than Unity and Project X! 

This was taken on the same date as above photo but in Bratislava, Slovakia at the Tomaz place who organized our Bratislava show (and VC/MK show also, the year before). From left to right: Gajo, Zhbla & Vasko. This is more of a dark side of  straight edge, but still it gets lots of straight edge points. I mean, fuckin` Choke! Now, where are some drunk and fucked up on drugs punx, I want to kick some ass!!!

This was taken on 02nd September 2008. outside of Lublin, Poland. We headed to our Warsaw show but there was some minor breakdown on the van, so we had to wait few hours for the repairment. Anyway... What is Gajo dreaming? Being a Tear It Up roadie or playing drums for Youth Of Today because Sammy was too young to go on tour?

This was taken on 26th November 2006. in Zagreb, Croatia. This is a one clasic straight edge hardcore brotherhood posing photo (iliti tzv. čuvena portugalka, ha, ha!) so it gets all the straight edge points it can get. Anyway, this was the day after Vaseline Children/The Truth Of XXX show in Rijeka. From left to right (standing row): Nidzo, Vojkan, Cane, Gajo & Dejo. From left to right (down row): Zhbla, Kiki & Felix. I mean, just look at this. Two brother bands hanging together after great weekend and there are even some X-s on hands here and a Youth Of Today hoody. A clasic. 

The same date as above. Vojkan wearing his own band hoody (The Truth Of XXX) and Zhbla wearing a patch of his own band (VC) and they didn`t even wash their X-s. What a bunch of straight edge dorks! 

 

The VC/XXX show in Rijeka, I was talking about above. Felix and Gajo before the show. Felix is holding a juice, there are some X-s all over, one hood up, some neat writings on the wall and on Felix t-shirt. This photo definitelly blow that previous lame photo. 

 

Same date as above. Kiki pissing and sporting a big X on his hoody. Now, that is dedication!

Same date as above. Zhbla zipping his pants with big fat X-s on his hands and showing his muscular torzo, ha, ha! 

Mičo (Mladina Kina) and Kiki in a circle pit, during Lets Grow/Vaseline Children show in Mochvara, Zagreb, Croatia on 03rd April 2007. Why is this photo here? Well, Because of the big fat X, that`s right! More sXe points! 

This was taken on 13th June 2006. in MC Krško, Slovenia on a Growing Rats/Vaseline Children/I Object show. You can see that Gajo just stage dived during the I Object set. Since I Object was a sXe band and Gajo is wearing cleaning sXe gloves, this gets many sXe points. Maybe some dudes in New York were wearing construction gloves but here on Balkan, our straight edge is so clean that we represent the cleaning sXe gloves in your NYC face! 

This was taken on 03rd November 2006. in Monte Paradiso club, Pula, Croatia. That was the 3rd Anti-Fa Pula festiaval. You can see Cane singing and huging some passed out punk girl while behind him Zhbla is ripping some killer solo. Even if it`s not the ultimate sXe photo, still it deserve some good sXe points.

These two were taken on 17th November in MC Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia on a Growing Rats/Vaseline Children/Aktivna Propaganda show. The first one is a clasic! You can see Cane yealling who knows what at the wild crowd. The guy (Kori from Velenje) that is holding his head is sporting some cool X-s, beside him is a Robi (Final Approach drummer) moshing and one dude (the singer of Bojlers if I`m not mistaken) is going straight into the crowd. So, this deserve some major points. Also, this is the kind of photo that I wanted to have on VC records. Too bad other VC members were not into clasic sXe hc covers.

The second photo is also nice. One high guitar lifting, one SSD hoody, bouncing mean singer and the half of a bass players back. Another  clasic. 

The last few photos are all from 25th November 2006. The Truth Of XXX/Vaseline Children show in Big Rock Mamma club, Rijeka, Croatia. 

This one is more than a clasic! I think it was the only time that Kiki ever jumped during playing a show and someone actually captured that in a moment, awesome! Zhbla and Cane are also in their prime moments. X-s are here, Final Approach t-shitrt, I Object t-shirt and a Good Clean Fun t-shirt (that is Kiki wearing). Plus, there are some pousers watching us from the back. 

This one is cool too! Some X-s, some army pants and ugly New Balance shoes. 

Some X-s, pogo, people are smiling, need I say more!?!

Wow! Bunch of X-s, floating, smiling and a finger pointing!!! Enough said.

Zhbla in the air and X-s all around, nice one.

I`m not sure who is the hoody dude (Pjer maybe?)  but still, what a cool photo. 

Gajo hanging during the The Truth Of XXX set. 

For the end, one nice short video…