Ian MacKaye and Kevin Seconds team up for Trust Records spoken word showcase

Kevin Seconds and Ian MacKaye. (Malfunction Records photo)

By Malfunction Records

Trust Records put on a small spoken word showcase for the reissue of "New Wind" by 7Seconds on April 15 at Braindead Studios in Los Angeles, and it turned out to be a total surprise — in the best way. Ian MacKaye and Kevin Seconds sat down for a conversation that led into a Q&A, and while I usually expect to hear the same stories at these kinds of events, this one was unexpectedly fun and full of new insights.

Both of them were in great spirits, sharing some never-before-heard stories — including behind-the-scenes details about the recording process for "New Wind" and "Walk Together, Rock Together." Ian also dove into the early days of Minor Threat and shared stories from the broader punk and hardcore scenes, including Embrace and Fugazi. Kevin talked about what it was like growing up in Reno, Nevada, and how there really wasn’t much of a scene back then.

The Q&A had its moments (yes, some cringy questions, but thankfully no one asked Ian if he’s still straight edge…). It all wrapped up with a 10-minute short film from the early '80s showing 7Seconds recording at Inner Ear Studios — and that footage alone was worth the night.

The show was sold out, and some of the people in attendance were members of 18 Visions, No For An Answer, Sepultura, H2O, Youth Brigade, Samhain, DYS, Wind of Change and Uniform Choice. Trust Records — and Joe Nelson, in particular — are doing something really special with these reissues, and I genuinely can’t wait to see what’s next.

Mould, Narducy and Wurster -- power trio supreme -- shred Seattle/ Review and Cat Rose photos

Bob Mould shreds away. (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy

You could tell from the appreciative look on his face that Bob Mould was blown away by the raucous ovation he and his band received following their blistering set at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle on April 7.

Monday nights have never been so good and LOUD, I say.

For about 90 glorious, sweat-soaked minutes, Mould and his power trio deftly careened through a gem-filled set list that covered a portion of his solo career and some Husker Du nuggets that stoked the crowd to no end.

We received 26 tunes of pure intensity and joy, including the opener "Star Machine" all the way through to "Makes No Sense At All," with standouts like "The Descent," "Here We Go Crazy," "American Crisis," "The War," "Hardly Getting Over It" and much more wedged within the set list.

Mould was so amped up on this evening that at one point while he windmilled a few chords and kicked his leg, it looked like he might fall to one side. Like the pro Mould is, he firmly kept his balance, didn't miss a note and arrived back at the mic stand to roar through the lyrics.

While addressing the crowd at one point, Mould shouted: "How's it going Seattle? Sound alright? I hope so, 'cause we ain't changing nothing!"

Bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster raged along with Mould and gave those songs the power that literally blew our hair back and rattled our teeth. I'm surprised the roof and balcony seats were still in place following this sterling gig.

At times, Narducy's smile was brighter than the overhead lights and his backup vocals always uplifted the gritty tuneage.

Wurster honored recently departed powerhouse drummer Clem Burke by matching the Blondie skinsman's signature taped arrows on his kick drum head. 

It was surely a night of heavy hitting, strumming and singing. 

** Here are Cat Rose's photos from the night, which also included a solid opening acoustic set from Craig Finn of The Hold Steady:

Craig Finn

7Seconds' 'New Wind' gets the Trust Records reissue treatment

 

Courtesy of Trust Records

7Seconds shred Seattle in 2014. (Cat Rose photo)

By Andy

When my old punk band Sorex rolled into Reno, NV, in the fall of 1985, we were ultra stoked to be sharing a bill with 7Seconds, Circle Jerks and the Yobs that evening.

The day was Oct. 25 and the location was the Sparks Recreation Hall, and I know this now because a framed flyer hangs behind me in our Seattle home. It was a memorable gig for our little band from Redondo Beach, CA, to be playing that night after driving fucking forever to land on 7Seconds' turf.

A "New Wind" would soon be blowing our way.

We heard that 7Seconds had recently recorded some new songs with Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios in Washington, D.C., and were primed to get a taste of those latest tunes in the live setting.

I don't remember the names of the new tunes, but I do recall being floored by the heaps of melody cemented within the punk infrastructure. Sure, there was melody before, but way more than on their earlier offerings.

Checking out the back of my "New Wind" album now, it notes that the songs recorded in D.C. were the title track, "Grown Apart," "Still Believe" and "Put These Words to Music." Those were probably the ones 7Seconds performed live that night, and there may have been some other fresh songs as well (the album features 13 songs in all). Whatever tunes they blasted out of their amps were pure gold that evening. 

As always, I wedged my way up close to fully experience the action and sing along with energetic and passionate frontman Kevin Seconds. On this night, the tip of one of drummer Belvy K's sticks snapped and belted me just under my right eye. I reached down to grab the tip and held onto it for the rest of their set (it's long gone now). So, I had a black mark under my eye for a while and some killer new 7Seconds songs in my brain. Not bad!

As I write these words, those "New Wind" songs rush through my head once again and take me back to that Sparks night.

That's because Trust Records has announced that it will soon be reissuing a Michael Graves-remastered "New Wind," along with a 24-page oral history with unseen photographs, flyers and rare memorabilia. The gem was originally released on Better Youth Organization and Positive Force in 1986.

A bonus wind will roar into buyers' hands as "Change in My Head," which is the original "New Wind" set mixed by MacKaye and Zientara and mastered by Pete Lyman. That album will feature two additional songs from the 1985 D.C. session: "Compro" and "Change in My Head."

It's a two-for-one 7Seconds package for us all. To pre-order, visit https://trustrecords.com/pages/7-seconds. The release will begin shipping the week of May 19. (Fans can now stream the song "Change in My Head" on all the usual platforms.)

On a historical note, I had seen 7Seconds live in 1983 at Lazarro's Ballroom in Los Angeles and they were stellar. However, unleashing our punk power on the same stage as 7Seconds was a special time for us teens. Nobody knew who we were, but I was told by some locals that we made an impression on the punks.

In fact, Kevin Seconds told me so when I met up with him in the parking lot for a chat and trade of the Sorex "Portrait of a Prisoner" EP for 7Seconds' "Blasts From the Past" EP. He said he was sorry to have missed our set, but the Yobs guys informed him that we rocked the house.

I thanked him and said I was looking forward to hearing the new tunes and album when it was released. A year or so later, "New Wind" was blasting through my bedroom stereo upon its entry into the punk music world. 

** To further add to the "New Wind" bonanza, Kevin Seconds and MacKaye will discuss the new release in person at 7 p.m. on April 15 at Braindead Studios (611 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA). This event will be streaming live on the Trust Records YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@trustrecordsofficial.

Distest, Tongues and The Kehft destroy Darrell's / All Cat Rose photos

Distest! (All Cat Rose photos)

By Andy

"You guys fucking rip!" came a holler from the crowd.

The raucous bandmembers from Distest paused for a second, grinned and then continued their onslaught on March 1 at Darrell's Tavern in Shoreline, WA.

Yeah, that's the way it went down to unleash this third month of 2025. It's been a tough year thus far, and we desperately need shredding tunes to get us through these dark days.

Distest brought along Tongues and The Kehft to help dole out some destruction at this fine establishment on Aurora Avenue North. It fucking worked and we're all better off for attending this fray.

"Where the fuck is Darrell? I wanna tell him how much I love his tavern," remarked the Tongues' singer as their set began.

Later, the vocalist faced the Tongues' guitarist, whose teeth chomped on the strings during the previous song, and noted with a chuckle: "Guitars are friends, not food."

Truer words have never been spoken.

Here are Cat Rose's photos from the wild night:

DISTEST

TONGUES

THE KEHFT