Kill A Tiger In The Spring

               

             According to National weather forecasts, this coming winter in the Northeast & the rest of the country promises to be the coldest in a decade. Along with the frigid temperatures comes a host of immune deficiency-related issues, such as the common cold/flu/allergies plus that untraceable malaise that comes with physical aches & pains that affect one's energy leading to an overall feeling of depletion.

              There is an old saying that comes from China's rural past, reflecting the life or death struggle of a people tied to the cyclical nature of the seasons, it is as follows: "take a good tonic in the winter, kill a tiger in the spring". One of the main axioms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is prevention or preparing the body to withstand & ward off disease. It is with this mantra in mind that Acupuncturists & practitioners of TCM prescribe Herbs/Acupuncture/Exercises to help boost the body's immune system and help prevent seasonal afflictions.

               A time proven remedy for the effects of the cold weather are Herbal Tonics, also known as Medicinal Wines/Elixirs which help fortify one's innate defenses, thereby curbing ailments during the long winter. I am going to discuss 2 tonics, one in liquid form the other as pills, that I normally prescribe to my patients around this time of the year (October/November) to get a head start on boosting the immune system. It should be noted that these tonics do not help at the onset of a cold, the whole point being to prevent illness in the first place. There are plenty of other remedies in the TCM canon that will help one at the early/acute phase of said affliction.

Chinese Herbs used in the Health Tonic.

                                            

Health Tonics & Medicinal Wines

            

              These tonics or formulas are called Gaofang in chinese. Gao means paste & fang is short for chufang or prescription. For lack of a better name, the first formula I will talk about is called a "Health Tonic". It is a tradition for Chinese Herbal pharmacies to have their own custom made version of it. The one I prescribe contains about 60-plus herbs that have been soaking in rice wine for up to 3 months & then strained into a 750 ml bottle. A daily shot of this is taken, usually in the mornings, for about a month & a half. This health tonic helps improve circulation, boost the immune system and increase overall energy. I don't prescribe it to women that are pregnant or in the midst of their monthly cycle. Infants, people with high blood pressure & patients with chronic ailments or chronic ailments in flare up should not drink this as well. A good herbalist can tailor the formula to specific concerns, such as making it free of any animal products or balancing these warming, blood moving herbs with more cooling ones, for a person's unique constitutional type.

              The tonic I use is made at a good friend's family herbal clinic in NYC's chinatown. it contains herbs such as Astragalus, Chinese & American Ginseng, Echinacea, Goji Berries, Cinammon Twigs, Red Dates plus 52 other herbs that act as Adaptogens or metabolic regulators that increase the ability of an organism to adapt to environmental factors and to avoid damage from such factors. I normally don't use commercially made tonics as something gets lost during the process of mass production. If you're interested in obtaining this, I would suggest you seek out a reputable chinese herbal pharmacy near you, either through online research or referrals & ask about their particular formula: how long has it been soaking in wine, exactly what herbs are in it & if a custom blend can be made if so desired.

              You can also order directly the health tonic I use from this pharmacy in NYC, they ship anywhere in the USA/World, contact them for details at:

shlclinicnyc@gmail.com  or their website at: www.shlclinic.com

                                                    

  Jade Windscreen Pills

                If the prospect of taking a daily shot of medicinal wine doesn't sound too appealing or if you don't drink alcohol all together; an ideal alternative is the herbal formula known as Yu Ping Feng Sang or literally, Jade Windscreen Powder. The formula comes in pill, tincture or powder form. It's composed of 3 herbs, the main one being Astragalus (Huang Qi), widely used for strenghtening the immune system. It is a also one of the main Adaptogens in the herbal cornucopia, a natural substance that helps the body maintain its normal balance of health. The other two herbs, Atractylodes (Bai Zhu) and Ledebourellia Root (Fang Feng), help support the autoimmune system by building up its defenses. I prescribe the pill form, dosage being 3-5 pills 3 times a day, taken with warm water 30 minutes before a meal or one hour after a meal. I advise my patients to start taking this before the full onset of winter & one bottle of 100 to 120 pills should be done per month. The formula is safe for all ages & body types, it won't contradict any chronic ailments. The one exception being, as stated earlier, it is not suitable if you're in grips of a cold or flu. It works best as a preventive armor for those that tend to get sick often at this time of the year.

                The companies that make Jade Screen & that I use are: Kan Herbs, Plum Blossom, Golden Flower & Treasures Of The East. You can find them at the Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, your local health store/vitamin supplement outlet or readily available online from various distributors. A modern variation on this traditional formula is available through Health Concerns, which makes 2 wonderful products, one called Astra C, which is basically Jade Windscreen along with Vitamin C & Zinc Citrate added to it for its ability to prevent viral infections.The other is Astra 8: Jade Windscreen's 3 core herbs plus 5 more immunity building chinese herbs.

www.healthconcerns.com

                 An alternative that I also recommend to my patients, is to focus on the preventive properties of  Astragalus by pairing it up with Echinacea. The first week of each of the winter months, one takes 8-10 pills of Astragalus by itself, 3 times a day. Along with Echinacea in tincture form, 8-12 drops, 3 times a day. You do this 1 week out of the month, and all throughout the winter season, mainstream vitamins/supplements purveyor sell Astragalus & Echinacea by itself.

            

                If you are more of the industrious, hands-on kind of person & wish to explore as well as make your own decoction. I highly recommend the following book, Chinese Medicinal Wines & Elixirs, written by long-time TCM practitioner Bob Flaws. As the book jacket states:

              

      "This book contains the ingredients, method of preparation and administration, indications, and contraindication of over 200 authentic Chinese medicinal wines. Translated from both premodern and contemporary Chinese sources, this book is the largest and most complete on this subject in English.

        These wines are easy to make, often requiring only one or two ingredients. Thus they do not require a huge, on-site pharmacy. Many of these ingredients are available at health food and Oriental food stores. Ninety-five percent of the rest of the ingredients listed in the formulas in this book can be obtained by mail from any of a number of suppliers whose addresses are given inside. That makes these formulas perfect for use as adjunctive remedies for acupuncturists. In addition, patient compliance in taking these wines is high."

As I write this, I am about to take my daily shot, so to your health!

Any issues or questions, drop me a line at:

shokutaku@hotmail.com

Good instructional video on making Medicinal Wines:

                                

These formulas should NOT be used at the early or acute stages of colds or the flu, they are for preventative purposes only. Please be sure to consult with a Licensed Acupuncturist or Chinese Herbalist to make sure there are no contraindications for pre-existing medical conditions.

                          

1970's Peruvian Psychedelic Rock Primer

El Polen 1971

My Primer for Psychedelic Rock bands from Peru just got updated & reposted on the NoEcho website, check it here:

http://www.noecho.net/lists/70s-peruvian-psychedelic-rock-primer-by-freddy-alva

Tarkus 1970

1st Day Of High School In 1984

                                               

         My niece is starting High School in Queens today & that led me to reminisce about my 1st day of school back in September of '84. I went to Aviation HS in Long Island City, Queens. I vividly remember seeing a swarm of kids massed outside the school as the #7 train pulled into the 33rd St station. As I got down from the elevated track to the street, chaos & bedlam was in full swing. It seems that some wannabe Zulu nation fakers were being exposed by the Gestapo division of the real Zulu Nation, hunted down by their leader named Gorilla, inquisition style. Zulu beads of impostors were being snatched with fights breaking out left & right. Aviation was a magnet school for kids from all over the city so rival graffiti crews were finally meeting face to face, long simmering beefs were being played out under the subway tracks next to Queens Boulevard. I only knew a couple of people from my neighborhood, that were starting the same day, but we got separated during the ensuing melee. Cop cars started arriving & things settled down after a fashion.
         We finally got into the school & were shepherded into the cafeteria that had be converted into a makeshift processing center. As I stood around waiting for directions, I'll never forget the 1st 2 kids I met that day. One was a guy named Dwayne, who would drop out of school by the following year to be a backup dancer for Lisa Lisa & The Cult Jam, really nice guy. I hope he got a chance to fulfill his passion & is in a good place now. The other was a kid named Luis who seemed way older than he looked, no wonder being that he was already a father with another kid on the way, all at the ripe age of 15. Boggles the mind how he's probably a grandfather now or soon to be great-grandfather!
         After a long delay, my schedule was printed out & I made my way to my first classes. I think I only made it to the 2nd classroom before I decided to ditch everything & go play handball & do some graffiti, a harbinger of things to come for my subsequent high school career.
         I know times have drastically changed for the better, my niece will not encounter the same scenario I faced. I wish her the very best, she's a smart cookie. I can't help but think of ghosts of the past whenever I pass on the train & see the old Aviation sign in the distance.

Me on the left in 1985

                             

The Allen St Boys

Mural done by LEE Quinones on Allent St. 1982

                
                   In the summer of 1984, me & a friend took a ride from our neighborhood in Queens to the shopping mecca known as Delancey St on the lower east side of Manhattan. We were both starting high school that fall & wanted to pick  up the flyest back to school gear. Delancey or D Street as it was called, was a B-Boy's dream retail emporium. One could pick up sheepskin coats in just about every color, custom made belt buckle name tags, creased lee jeans, le tigre shirts, leather bomber jackets, black or white gloves used for popping/breakdancing & of course; every shade of shell top Adidas sneakers under the sun with the fat laces already intertwined in checker board patterns if so desired. We could have probably found the same stuff around our way, if we looked hard enough, but it was somehow more legitimate to get your essential B-boy accessories from D Street.
                   We had both saved up our allowance & birthday gifts money for this day, wishing we could take 2 of everything we saw, but the reality being that we could only afford a couple of items each at best. He picked up a fresh burgundy sheepskin coat & a pair of gold rimmed Gazelle sunglasses. I settled for a matching grey BVD mesh shirt & shorts combo plus a sweatshirt with my crew's name stenciled on it.
                    As we were about to depart the last store we visited, someone that just walked in said: "Yo, you better watch your backs, the Allen St boys are out to tax today". We nonchalantly ignored his warning, in that invincible 14 year old way & proceeded to head back to the subway. Sure enough, as we made it halfway up the block, we saw a group of tough looking hard rocks running, not walking, straight toward us from Orchard St. They certainly didn't look like they were up for some friendly banter. Not in the mood to get housed today, we were like "Oh dip!" & jetted like Jesse Owens running a mile in under a minute, wolf pack at our heels. No small feat, as back in those days, in order to give the Adidas shell toe sneaker w/the fat laces a cooler, bulkier look; we would double up a rolled up sock on the front part of the inside of the sneaker. This would look cool when doing a B-boy stance at the local skating rink, but not too practical when running from a pack of marauding thugs.
                  It must have made quite a scene, us half running & half hopping down the block but we miraculously made it to the subway station, jumped the turnstile & got on the F train just as the doors were about to close. The Allen St boys were left to hurl obscenities at us as we safely pulled away from the station.
                 We told our getting chased story with some measure of pride the next day. All part & parcel of growing up in NYC during the early 80's: getting chased by rival crews, stick up kids or the police. An urban rite of passage. I sincerely hope the kids today do not go through the same trials & tribulations while shopping for their preferred outfits at places like Hot Topic or Abercrombie & Fitch!

The Heavy Metal Roots Of New York Hardcore

Riche from Sick Of It All & Rob from Straight Ahead/Rest In Pieces headbanging in 1983.

I just wrote this article about Metalheads who went Hardcore during the mid-1980's scene. Check it out here:

http://www.noecho.net/features/the-heavy-metal-roots-of-new-york-hardcore-by-freddy-alva

                                      

Nick Lord from YDL outside Studio 54 in 1985.

Latinos in NYHC & Punk 1985-1990

                                                                

Javier Villegas w/Born Against @Abc No Rio. Photo by Tim Singer

                 The good folks at No Echo website asked me to do a part 2 of my Hispanics in NYHC article. Here's the link: 

http://www.noecho.net/features/the-hispanic-impact-on-the-early-new-york-hardcore-scene-part-2-freddy-alva

 These are bunch of photos of people featured in the article that were not used for the final piece:

John John Jesse from Nausea drumming for Trauma in 1986 @Tin Pan Alley. Photo by Sam Moon Rafferty



Gavin Van Vlack playing w/Absolution @CBGB's 1988.



Sergio Vega from Quicksand/The Deftones in Washington Sq Park 1986.



Roy Mayorga from Nausea drumming for Youthquake in 1986.



Hoya Roc from Madball/Dmize in Corona, Queens 1983.



Jimmy Williams from Maximum Penalty outside CBGB's 1988.



"Lusty" Lou Morales & The Twins: Hector & Edwin Nieves in Sunset Park, Brooklyn



Rich Derespina & Ed Sayago from All For One @Giant Studios 1987.



Chiqui from Dmize in the middle 1990.



Maurice Vega from Under Pressure @Sundance 1988.



Gus SXE Pena w/Discipline 1989.



Minus & SOB



Ike Proud drumming & Andrew Monserrate on guitar w/Stand Proud 1988.



Marcos Siega from Bad Trip in 1990.

Hispanics Causing Panic In The Early NYHC Scene

         

       One of the more enduring motifs in the development of American Hardcore is the oft-repeated description of this burgeoning youth subculture as being a predominantly white suburban dominated one. While this might have been true in certain quarters of the nation during the HC explosion in the early 1980's, the situation in NYC looked a bit different. Kids growing up in New York's 5 boroughs & beyond, came from extremely varied national origins, the Latino one being an especially prominent one. Waves of immigration, starting in the 1950's, from Puerto Rico/Cuba/Dominican Republic plus subsequent ones from South & Central America in later decades, gave rise to generations straddling a bilingual gravitational pull. As Punk transitioned into Hardcore by 1980, the epicenter of this new music came to be centered around a mostly Hispanic neighborhood: Manhattan's Lower East Side or Loisaida, as the locals called it.

 The following list of people with a Hispanic background from the early years is a tribute to those that represented this music all the while dealing with the usual adversarial forces of school/family/peers plus the extra layer of identity related issues prevalent among 1st generation born or recently arrived immigrants to America. I focused on band members & scenesters that were involved in the early years of the scene, circa 1980-1985. I know that tons of other people from a Hispanic background came after that era, and are still involved now, but I'll let someone else document them.

Let's move on to some of the pioneers that lived 'La Vida Loca' during those halcyon hardcore days...

Denise Mercedes, Nick Marden & Harley Flanagan from THE STIMULATORS
      Denise is half Dominican/Spaniard, along with 2nd Stimulators bassist Nick Marden (1/2 Mexican from California) & Harley Flanagan (Dominican/Spaniard heritage) played in this influential band. Their song M.A.C.H.I.N.E., from '78 or '79, is a crucial component to the development of the music as it is one of the first Hardcore sounding songs from NYC. Nick also coined the term 'Loud Fast Rules', an important rallying cry for the short haired HC set.
Harley would go on to form the quintessential NYHC band: The Cro-Mags.

Denise w/guitar, Nick in back & a 12 year old Harley.

                                
Roger Miret from AGNOSTIC FRONT-
    Born Rogelio De Jesus in Havana, Cuba. Roger's family immigrated to the states in 1968. He played bass in several bands in the NY/NJ area before becoming AF's vocalist in 1982, just in time for their seminal 'United Blood' ep from 1983. AF's 2011 Lp "My Life My Way" featured a HC song sung entirely in Spanish. Roger's younger brother, Freddy Miret, grew up jumping on stage & singing AF songs. He would go on to start the late '80s NYHC outfit Madball. 
                                                

Roger's passport from 1964.

Robb Nunzio & Louie Rivera from ANTIDOTE
   Original singer Louie is Puerto Rican & Guitarist Robb is of Puerto Rican/Italian descent. Their 1983 "Thou Shalt Not Kill" ep set the tone for what would become the NYHC sound: vicious fast tunes with underlying metal influences. Antidote still continues 'til this day, always the Real Deal. As Robb says: "That's what made us so good, 2 PR's & 2 Mc's (Irish)!"
    

NYHC Boricuas outside CBGB's: Robb & Louie in 1983

Eric J Casanova from the CRO-MAGS-
     Original Cro-Mags singer Eric Casanova is of Puerto Rican descent & grew up in Astoria, Queens. He is credited with writing the lyrics to "Life Of My Own" & co-writing with Harley other classic Cro-Mags tunes like "Hard Times" & "Street Justice". He played with them from '82-'84 & left for personal reasons. Rumors of his demise are greatly exaggerated as he's been spotted as of late, still living in NYC.

Eric Casanova @CBGB's 1984

Javier Madariaga from HEART ATTACK
     Javier was originally from Mexico City & played in one of the 1st NYHC bands that put a record out, Heart Attack's "God Is Dead" ep  from 1981. He also went on play in Reagan Youth, A.P.P.L.E. as well as his own solo projects. He is credited with playing what would become known as the 1st recorded version of the "Blastbeat" drum pattern, as heard on the song "From What I See" off their 1983 "Keep Your Distance 12". This drum pattern would become a big influence on the extreme HC/Metal hybrid known as Grindcore.

Javier  Madariaga @The Peppermint Lounge 1983

Dito Montiel & Ray Parada from MAJOR CONFLICT
    Orlandito Montiel is the son of a Nicaraguan immigrant & an Irish mother. Ray Parada's family comes from Spain. They both grew up in Astoria, Queens & started Major Conflict in 1982, sharing members with another classic NYHC band: Urban Waste. Dito went on to a modeling career & is currently an award winning director. Ray went on to sing for the late 80's band A-Bomb-A-Nation & along with his brother Ernie Parada from Token Entry, represent a long musical footnote in NYHC's history.
    

Ray 2nd from left & Dito in the middle, 1982.

Jose Gonzales from THE MOB
        Jose "Ho" Gonzales was a Dominican teenager from Jackson Heights, Queens & in 1980 helped form one the classic NYHC bands: The Mob. He played on both their 7"s & Lp as well as joining HR, from the Bad Brains, Zion Train project in the late 1980's. The Mob still play out periodically & continue to release new recordings.


Jose Gonzales @CBGB's in 1984

Tony Dust & Paul Dordal- Lower East Side Skinheads
       Tony Dust was a Puerto Rican skinhead from Brooklyn & along with Paul, of Puerto Rican/French descent, contributed to the development of the NYHC mindset. Tony never played in a band & Paul tried to w/Harley but they were both influential skinheads that hung out on the LES. According to Sean Taggart in 1981: "Paul had dropped out of school, went out to California, hung out at the Black Flag church, was there when Henry joined. He did the LA hardcore thing & came back as a Skinhead". He instructed kids on how to shave their hair & what fashions looked too "punk", he also wrote the Murphys Law song 'California Pipeline'. Tony was notorious for starting fights & right of center politics, views they both shared. His younger cousin, Javier (SOB) Carpio, was a prominent member of the Sunset Park Skins & would form the 90's metal-core band Merauder. RIP SOB

Tony Dust far left w/the Matinee crew 1983. Photo by Drew Carolan       

Paul Dordal on the right, outside CBGB's. Photo by Karen Sullivan

                                              
Ernie Parada from TOKEN ENTRY
    Ernie's parents are from Spain & he started Gilligans Revenge in 1980 with friends from his neighborhood in Astoria, Queens. Along with various line-up changes, they became Token Entry in 1984. He later went on to play in In Your Face, Black Train Jack, Arsons, Higher Giant & is currently in Grey Area as well as being a successful commercial illustrator.

Ernie 2nd from left w/Gilligan's Revenge in 1982

Abraham Rodriguez from URGENT FURY
               Abraham is a Puerto Rican raised in the South Bronx. In 1980 he started a band called White Riot which morph into Urgent Fury in 1982. Their more melodic strain of highly politically charged HC set them apart from what was going on in NYHC at the time, as demonstrated on their '84 demo. Abraham recently resurrected Urgent Fury with new members, he's also an accomplished writer. Check out an interview I did with him a couple of years ago: http://quixoticdreamsnyc.blogspot.com/2011/03/abraham-rodriguez-so-bronx-tale.html
              

Abraham Rodriguez @CBGB's in 1985

Jose Ochoa from LEEWAY
      Jose is of Colombian descent & along with some friends from his neighborhood in Astoria, Queens started up The Unruled in 1983. Credited with bringing a heavy crossover metal influence into the NYHC sound, they would change their name to Leeway by 1984.
        

Jose on the cover of Leeway's '85 Enforcer Demo

                                     
Jorge Herrera from THE CASUALTIES
     Jorge from The Casualties is known more as 90's punk phenomenon but Jorge's roots in the NYC scene lie deeper. Originally from Ecuador, he immigrated to the states in 1980 & started hanging out in the CBGB's scene soon after, he's in the crowd shot of Agnostic Front's 'Victim In Pain' Lp from 1984. He also started a short-lived band w/future Quicksand/The Deftones & Puerto Rican bassist Sergio Vega along with Chile-born Soledad Villanueva.

                                                     

Soledad & Jorge in 1985.

I could go on & on with tons of more examples like:
- Chris Colon (Hamilton), 1/2 Puerto rican singer of the ARMED CITIZENS
- a bunch of young Cuban teenagers that had a short lived band called NO REMORSE circa '85.
- Dominican Ralphie Boy, Squat Or Rot founder & Jesus Chrust/Disassociate singer.
- Rudy Ruiz fron Bronx HC/Metalheads THE UNJUST
- Early AGNOSTIC FRONT bassist Diego
    Not to mention all the post-'85 Latinos that started bands, did fanzines/record labels, hung out in the scene; something that continues to flourish to this day in the ever expanding universe known as NYHC.

Huge thanks to Ken Wagner, Sean Taggart, Loizos Gatzaris, Drew Stone, Denise Mercedes, Nunzio, Ray Parada, Mark Yoshitomi & Soledad Villanueva for all the info.

Like AF sang, this is for:
"Esto es para todos de la escuela nueva y para todos de la escuela vieja".