Floorpunch - Fast Times At The Jersey Shore

Floorpunch - Fast Times At The Jersey Shore
Download -  www.mediafire.com/?okncztmn4bm
Purchase -  2xLP here
Released - 1998

Story by Donny Mutt, head nacho of Pizza Friends and bassist for Quiet Arcs and Cop Problem.

In 1999, I was 20 years old and had a solid-core group of friends I would travel to out-of-town shows with.  This rag-tag group of show-goers consisted of John Sharkey, Vikki Agovino, Keith Reed and Sean Bruton.  We usually piled into either my car or Sharkey's minivan to hit the road, stoping at the closest Wawa en route to whatever show we were going to.  On the fateful day of Saturday, January 16th, 1999, Sharkey, Vikki, Keith, this random dude named Paul (who insisted we called him Seven) and myself were on our way to Washington, DC for a Floorpunch show.  It was Sharkey's turn to drive, so we all jumped into his minivan for the trip.

Flyer courtesy of Banned In DC

Keep in mind, at this time, going to shows meant you either had to call the promoter for directions or use MapQuest, which would always give you a wrong turn in the directions.  We eventually arrived in DC and are driving around town following the directions MapQuest gave us.  We were driving on a four-lane road with a cement dividing barrier when we came to a stop at a red light.  Sharkey realized that that is the road we need to turn left on even though we clearly can not do so.  When can you ever make a left-hand turn on a divided highway?  Needless to say, we turned left.  I was laying on the bench seat in the rear of the van when I hear tires screeching.  I got up and looked out the back window to see a sports car of some sort rocking back and forth on two wheels, which almost crashes into the barrier.  It eventually straightened out and continued driving.  We went a block or two down the street, parked and got out of the van to get ready to head to the show.  All the while, we collectively said things like, "Oh my god," "Holy shit," and "We almost died... thanks Sharkey."

Not two seconds after we start heading towards the show, a cabbie comes flying down the street screaming at us that he is going to call the cops.   At this point, Sharkey is freaking out, repeatedly yelling at the cabbie, "Why do you care?  Leave us alone," all while being on the verge of tears.  Eventually, the cabbie leaves, but then a cop car appears in the distance.  Sharkey really starts to freak out at this point.  Did the cabbie really call the cops?  Keith, our level-headed friend, decides he is going to head over to talk to the cops about our illegal left turn on a divided highway.  Luckily for us, the cops had no idea what he was talking about so we went into the show.

We arrived at the show right as Time Flies were playing their last song, which was the banger "High Fives And Stage Dives."  This show was the first time I had ever seen or heard of Time Flies.  Kids were going absolutely bananas for them, which made me think that song was a cover at first.  Later, when I bought the Can't Change The Past seven-inch, I realized that was not the case.  In later years, I noticed that some of the pictures from their On Our Way LP, released on Indecision Records, were from this same show.  Anyway, I am starting to get a bit off-topic now.  After all this story is about Floorpunch and not Time Flies, so I digress.

A few minutes after Time Flies' set, Sharkey and Vikki come up and shows me the cool alternative cover Floorpunch record he had just bought.  What record was it you might ask?  None other than the Floorpunch New Jersey Crew version of the Division One Champs seven-inch on In My Blood Records.  By the time it took me to literally run over to their table, they were all sold out.  Needless to say, the young record collector inside me was very sad that day indeed.  For years, I repeatedly tried to get that record off of Sharkey, but to no avail.

In all honesty, the only bands I clearly remember from this show are Time Flies, Vision and Floorpunch.  We missed Fast Times.  I vaguely remember Where Fear And Weapons Meet and for all I know, I probably didn't even bother watching One Sided War because they were ex-members of BOLD.  I know that last statement might sound a little weird to anyone reading this, but if you know me, you know my irrational hatred of all things BOLD.

Fast forward to Floorpunch's set that night... from what I remember, this was their first show back after their one and only U.S. tour.  Matt Summers, who later sang for Shark Attack, filled in on bass for their tour and also played this show with them.  They played all the classics that night from "Clear," "Changes," "No Exceptions" and "Always" to new songs from the Fast Times... LP like "Washed Up At 18," "Change Of Heart," "True Colors" and "Turn Away."  At the end of their set, they busted out "Life Of My Own" by the Cro-Mags, which was the perfect way to end the show.  Before leaving, we all bought more merch and then hit the road.  The drive home was nowhere near as exciting as the drive there, with the exception of stopping at a Taco Bell for some food.