RIP OUT YOUR EYES TEAR OFF YOUR FACE

Exodus “Piranha” Live @ The Ritz, NYC 1985 (San Francisco)

slicing jaws a way of life
brought up to waste mankind
loki’s pets his little children
deadly eyery time

trapped in swamps by gates of hell

don’t ever: let them out
for if you do and they escape
you’ll fight a bloody bout

piranha kill in a pack – you’ll run
piranha start to attack – you’ll done
if you think you can beat – deadly school
if you think you can live – you’re a fool

gates of hell are old and cracked
they tumble and they fall
out rush a bloody wall of death
to kill anything at all
their sole mission is to kill
strip your bones and flesh
rip out your eyes tear off your face
an agonizing death

piranha kill in a pack – you’ll run
piranha start to attack – you’re done
if you think you can beat – deadly school
if you think you can live – you’re a fool

we used to bootleg exodus shirts in 6th grade and sell it to Record Vault and other friends for $5 to use towards buying sheets or vials of blotter acid to eat and sell.

EXODUS is bay area’s original thrash metal heroes during the surge of the scene here in SF in the 80′s that eventually went worldwide and steadfast 20 years later. Kirk Hammett originally belonged to EXODUS before joining Metallica in 1984. they are regarded as being one of the most brutal, most devastating metal bands of its hey day and was known to host the bloodiest mosh pits at the time.

***

last saturday, i went to the Tidal Wave#11 Thrash Metal Festival at McLaren Park in Hunters Point to catch some of my childhood favorite bands like Attitude Adjustment, Detente, Hirax, and EXODUS!!! i was real surprised to see so many people there this year!!! yes, i was there banging my head against the stage bonding by blood with all these kids that are now following the thrash metal i was born in. it was funny cuz it was like ‘high school drop out’ reunion!!! haha! except they were all feeling a bit too old to jump in the pit and mosh like an idiot…except for me! haha!

Andy “Airborne” Anderson, former singer of original punk/thrash crossover band from Oakland, Attitude Adjustment, was known for his ability to jump like a flea, as seen here in ’85.

moshpit mayhem

just like old times, i decided to jump in there and practice my mosh-fu. at one point, the crowd was told to separate into two halves, which we did. then, the singer of EXODUS signals everyone to kill everyone else on the other side! it was funny, cuz i saw a lot of people’s faces basically drop with a few skinheads looking for the opportunity to punch one of the little long haired guys. when the hand went down we all roared and had an epic battle/rumble that left a lot of people with bumps and blood splatter, one guy losing his upper lip, and a few losing their lunch! haha!

of course, my mosh-fu withstood the pandemonium as i gracefully watched everyone in slow motion while duckin’ and jivin’ and blockin’ all these fists and boots without ever flinching, especially when the cutest metal head teen girl decided to grab onto me and crush her body against mine. i was suspicious how her arms and legs wrapped around me the way it did. 20 years ago, it woulda been the other way around! haha! she had an operation ivy shirt and looked kinda like my girly-poo back in high school.

she kinda looked like this girl.

at one point, i felt someone try to slap me but my slap-fu was still good and i sorta dodged it. i looked over and this “familiar” looking girl smiled at me and said, ‘hi.’ i wasn’t sure who it was until she left. i saw her back tattoo and i remembered. she was a one night stand (sometime) ago. i don’t remember her name.

i think metal chicks are fucking hot.

***

before exodus came on, i had a dilemma of whether to stay for them or take off to have dinner with the fam. it was important that i go to my sister’s but i really felt compelled to stay so i did. one minute later, i saw my old friend jeremy baldwin. he was my best friend in 7th and 8th grade. we were both street rat punks, both came from broken homes, and both slept in the streets as we wasted our 7th grade year as truant acid-heads. we were both cutters and drank to puke everyday. he was much bigger and always looked out for me. he’d get into fights to protect me and became my LSD dungeon master during our week long binges. he always knew where the warm places were to sleep and was a very good thief. he never took more than what we needed and always left change if he had any.

that’s jeremy on the left, i’m on the right, eric center

his mother was also important to me. she saved me when i was 12 by giving me a place of refuge and treated me like the child she wished she had. jeremy’s dad blew his chest out with a shotgun when he was 4 and she’s been raising him and his sister by herself since. she was a psychic healer and introduced me to parapsychology when i was 13. she taught me meditation/creative visualization, paganism, herbs, and psychosemantics enough to pull myself out of the darkness in which i was sinking in. she did a bunch of aura healing stuff and told me what i needed to hear at the time which led me back to reuniting with my mom.

when i decided to finish high school early to travel europe, she heard of it and decided to give me several hundred dollars to bring as a gift. i was soooo shocked! she said it was an act of faith. i was forever indebted to her and regarded her with fondness.

i hadn’t seen jeremy in years. he has a 16 year old daughter and works as a carpenter. i asked him how his mom was and he tells me that she died a few years ago from throat cancer. at that moment, we were silent. we talked for a few more minutes until exodus started and i tried coaxing him into the pit like old times. he refused but i just had to jump in there. we parted at that time but he was the last person i shook hands with when i snuck out before the last song.

***

during one conversation with an old friend, he pointed out how thrash metal became more popular outside of the bay area/usa only to come back here 20 years later. bands like death angel, testament, exodus, and the ilk, are all making big comebacks and touring the world right now. the crowd are kids just as we were and dress/look just like we did. now, there’s a park festival and all the old school are there with their kids but the show is still as intense.

something is right.