RAW POWER (Reggio Emilia) / SPECIAL FORCES (Berkeley) / SCHEISSE MINNELLI (Frankfurt) / PARTY FORCE (Oakland) / LEFT BEHIND (EX-USA)

SAM'S 50th BIRTHDAY BASH RAW POWER (Reggio Emilia, Italy - since 1981) Formed in 1981 in Poviglio, in the province of Reggio Emilia, by brothers Mauro (vocals) and Giuseppe Codeluppi (guitar), Raw Power are Italy's greatest hardcore export. Spotted by Toxic Shock boss Bill Sassenberger at a 1984 Los Angeles show with the Dead Kennedys, they cut "Screams from the Gutter", a record that moved more than 40,000 copies purely through independent distribution and that AllMusic calls one of the all-time classics of the '80s crossover movement.

They've been back to the States countless times since, sharing stages with just about every great American hardcore band of the 80s. Giuseppe died in 2002, but the band soldiers on, still screaming after 45 years. SPECIAL FORCES (Berkeley, California - since 1983) Berkeley hardcore since 1983, fronted by the unmistakable Orlando Xavier (United Blood, Intrepid AAF) alongside original guitarist Bill Collins (Fang, MDC, Verbal Abuse and more).

Their 1984 album "World Domination" is one of the era's most criminally underrated records, all razor-wire guitar and sardonic contempt for authority, and Puke N Vomit Records has just reissued it paired with the 1983 demo "8 Songs To Kill By". These are the band's first shows anywhere in over twelve years, and their first ever on mainland Europe.

SCHEISSE MINNELLI (Frankfurt, Germany) Harkening back to the days when skaters were still considered rebels and punk was in the underground, Scheisse Minnelli cha