Ya' gotta admit - it's fun to be a hater sometimes. I don't mean hate in terms of race, religion, sexual orientation or anything like that. I'm talkin' 'bout hate when it comes to bands and such. Let's face it, if the haters' voices had not been heard, Vanilla Ice might be on top of the hip-hop game, and Overkill might still be (relatively) popular. That said, hate can also be misdirected, and can surface simply out of jealousy or the fact that your favorite little band, that only you and 3 of your friends knew about "back in the day" dared to sign a record deal. No band in the world started out intending to play shows just for you and your 3-man crew. Trust me. Props for getting on the train early, but just 'cause your clubhouse has been torn down, and now looks a little more like Irving Plaza, Roseland or even the Warped Tour isn't a good reason to break out the gat, and place a target on the heads of that band you loved so much.

Enter the seemingly suddenly popular Texans Bowling For Soup. If you know who they are, I bet you hate 'em. If you don't know who they are...you're gonna hate 'em. "Those motherfuckers ain't punk rock!" No, they're not. "They came out of nowhere, and now they're bigger than H20." Actually, no they didn't, and so fucking what?! "Sellouts!" Sellouts?! Sellouts?! Okay - it's clobberin' time!. The term "sellout" should be reserved exclusively for bands that have deserted you. For groups who were one thing Monday, and by the end of the week, threw all of their style, ideals and most importantly their integrity out the window in exchange for success, which in most cases they won't achieve anyway.

Truth be told, nobody can make anybody like a band that they just aren't feelin'. However, you can't blame a someone for trying to turn you on to something you might be missing out on, especially if you're turning a deaf ear, or worse, jumpin' on the hate train for an ignorant reason. I'm gonna refrain from blowin' BFS up too much here, but for the record, I love 'em. Not just because I'm involved with them on a professional level, but simply because I just fuckin' love 'em. I dig the songs, they're funny as hell and they're probably the most genuine band I've ever met. They've come correct for the last 9 years, and luckily for them, are now getting to taste some success. Maybe it's their 15 minutes, maybe it'll last longer. That remains to be seen, but I'm rootin' for these cowboys like a season-ticket holder.

Those of us who have been blessed with the glorious NYHC experience, or have been a part of any tight-knit scene for that matter, tend to believe that we are the center of the universe. Spoiled, spoiled spolied. Trust me, I've been up in that piece. When I was out on that dancefloor, ripping shit up at an Agnostic Front show, and Vinnie Stigma asked me for rolling papers after the gig, I was like "damn! I'm sooooo fucking down." It was awesome and unique, but not everyone got to live like that. Some people were growing up in Wichita Falls, Texas praying that the country music would stop, and that the toothless dude in the pick-up with the "you wear your X and I'll wear mine" bumper sticker wouldn't be drunk enough to start firing away at the "weird kids." In reality, although the experiences and the paths were different, AF and BFS have actually always been after the same thing: making music, providing their audience, as well as themselves with a release from the c...rap they have to endure in "real life," and offering themselves a chance to make a living doing something they love. Can't hate on that.

So, listen you hiding behind your keyboard and monitor, think I know everything 'cause I gots me a computer, hater of all those not "keeping it real" - take your hand off your shit, log off the Britney site (by the way, that IS her head, but it's NOT her naked body attached to it), and go look up r-e-s-p-e-c-t in the dictionary. Again, no one is forcing you to like any band's music, but to start preaching the haters gospel for all the wrong reasons pisses me off. Sure I hate some bands, but it's because they SUCK, not because they're popular. Put the C...rap down, don't hate 'cause your boy, who isn't really your boy anyway told you something was wack, and most importantly, some force out there gave you a mind, which incidentally can remain open 24 hours, so use that shit properly.