Of all the bands I’ve ever seen over the course of every concert and show I’ve ever attended, Bloodhag is still the only band I’ve ever seen rock the living shit out of the Tacoma Public Library. They’re still the only band I’ve seen pummel a crowd of all ages (adults and even infants) with their brand of minute-long hardcore punk metal, and still the only band I’ve seen batter a crowd with paperback books.

I don’t expect to ever see anyone match it.

I can’t remember exactly when — it may have been 2001, or 2002, but I remember the scene vividly. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of a hardcore band with a penchant for sci-fi playing the library on Tacoma Avenue, but I knew for damned sure I wanted to see it. Once everyone packed in, it was obvious something unique was about to happen. There were average guys like me in attendance, Lisa Gunter of old Tacoma Reporter fame was there, Jason McKibbin was in the house, but there was also a large number of very young children in attendance — kids wrapped in diapers and too young to speak, and 4-and 5-year-olds running circles around their parents’ legs.

It was not your average hardcore crowd.

Once Bloodhag emerged and ripped into their first number, I knew for sure I was seeing something amazing. People my age seemed to expect the noise Bloodhag had to offer, but there were plenty of folks who didn’t. Mothers covered the ears of their shrieking infants, and rushed toward the exits. Five-year-olds seeing the first live rock of their life sprang to action, jumping and flailing about — seemingly trying to get as much of it in as possible before their parents pulled the plug on their fun. Librarians shifted uneasily.

“It’s always a weird thing at the library, because they advertise Bloodhag shows along with the rest of their library programming. So, it’ll be a puppet show, a sewing circle and Bloodhag. When they say it’s for young people, people at the library have different interpretations of that,” says Prof. J.B. Stratton, a founding member of Bloodhag, and the band’s singer.

“We’re trying to do two things. To a degree, we’re trying to expose the library to the idea that having music is a way to get young people in there, and at the same time we’re trying to get young people into the library. That’s pretty much what we’re trying to do.

Sometimes you’re playing to 6-year-old kids, and you just know it’s the first live performance of music they’ve ever seen. That’s always a weird feeling.”

It’s takes a special band like Bloodhag to have the credibility to rock a library. The key is there’s more to this band than the 60-second headbangers they dish out. In the vein of Gwar, Bloodhag is a theme band, only their theme is far more admirable.

Edu-Core.  Bloodhag had to make a genre up just so they could be classified. Starting in 1995, and the creation of Prof. Stratton and Dr. J.M. McNulty, Bloodhag has made it its duty to not only rock hard and fast, but expose the world of hardcore to some much needed literary inspiration.

“The Edu-Core kings known as Bloodhag began in 1995 as a two-man recording project by established sci-fi authors Prof. J.B. Stratton and Dr. J.M. McNulty. They realized that punk rock and heavy metal fans were largely unaware of the literary themes and references that many of their favorite bands utilized, and that most rock youth had an anti-intellectual, anti-reading stance. They rushed into action,” states Bloodhag’s Web site.

Of course, there’s a good chance you already knew that. It’s not like the Bloodhag story is some sort of secret. While the band started with an idea unique enough to make them something no one had ever seen before, that’s not to say people didn’t take notice. After humble beginnings in 1995, Bloodhag has now been interviewed on NPR and the BBC.

When questioned, Prof. Stratton admits he didn’t see that one coming when the band started out.

Who did?

Bloodhag released Hell Bent For Letters in 2006, which was both critically well received and a damn fine record, covering authors such as Gene Wolfe, Robert Silverberg, Douglas Adams, James Blish, and Anne McCaffrey. (Did I mention every one of Bloodhag’s songs is the name of writer?) The band is currently readying to record a new album, this one built on sci-fi authors who specialize in young adult fiction.

Something tells me it’ll be well thought out. Everything Bloodhag does is well thought out.

Bloodhag will play Hell’s Kitchen on Friday, June 22, along with Violence Unfolds, Gargantula, and Helms Alee. Expect it to be the most intelligent hardcore you’ve ever seen, and expect to be pelted with paperback books. In the library or in the bar, this is what Bloodhag does.     

“We’re going to have some new songs, a carrying case full of books, and I think we’ll probably burn Hell’s Kitchen down and erect a huge, shiny library in its place,” explains Prof. Stratton.

Class dismissed.



[Hell’s Kitchen, with Violence Unfolds, Gargantula and Helms Alee, Friday, June 22, 9 p.m., $5, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]

Geoff Reading

The world is a shitty place some times.

Scratch that. Most of the time.

I recently learned through the grapevine that Top Heavy Crush drummer Geoff Reading has been diagnosed with cancer. I could list the bevy of influential northwest bands Reading has played with, but all you really need to know is he’s a top-notch individual and a truly nice guy.

This Saturday, June 23, there’s a benefit for Reading at El Corazon in Seattle. New American Shame, Redneck Girlfriend, Alien Crime Syndicate, Zeke, The Jet City Fix, Sammy Barret and others will all be playing in support.

More info can be found at www.myspace.com/helpgeoffout.

If at all possible, make it to this show. If you can’t, make a donation at the Web site.