'Unhinged' punk band set to visit Youngstown

The band serves as a release, members say.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Long before Green Day smiled for MTV and the Vans Warped Tour became just another marketing outlet for Madison Avenue, punk rock was about rebellion, subversive behavior and general chaos.
It is in this hardcore world -- the thrashy underbelly of old school punk -- where the members of Cleveland band 9 Shocks Terror exist.
"We're a hardcore band simply because we play fast but hardcore has such a different definition to different people nowadays," said bassist Tony Erba. "The best way I could classify us is, we're a loud underground band. Some of our songs sound like a rip-off of punk bands, some of our stuff sounds like rock 'n' roll. The defining stamp you can put on the band is just a loud underground band. It's a noncommercial band."
Over the last decade, this quartet has maintained its DIY credibility with two full-length albums -- the last was 2001's "Paying Ohmage" -- along with many seven-inch releases. The band's music has taken it around the world, with tours in Europe and Japan, as well as numerous Stateside jaunts. "We've done alright within the confines of the strict little sub-genre that we exist in," Erba said.
Part time
Still, 9 Shocks Terror remains a side band with all of its members working day jobs and also participating in other groups. Erba is part of Cleveland band Amps II Eleven. So what is it that the bassist gets out of 9 Shocks Terror?
"It's just the other bands are -- I don't want to say mainstream but -- certainly not as chaotic and cathartic as this band," Erba said. "It lets us play a little different style. It's more of the crusty, scumbag type following. We play more alternative venues like pretty much where anyone can get a warehouse space or a hall. We play decent clubs too, at least wherever they'll take a chance on booking us because [expletive] goes down at the shows a lot. This band is really unhinged."
Such anarchy is what punk fans can expect when the band rolls into Youngstown for a show Friday at Nyabinghi. Erba stresses that chaos is the intended result of its upcoming Mahoning Valley show.
"I certainly hope so, or I'll have to assume everyone down there is still doing quaaludes," said the Cleveland area resident, who celebrates his 38th birthday Friday.
So if chaos is the desired reaction, what marks a bad show?
"Indifference," quipped Erba. "When people clap when they're supposed to clap, and when people try to recreate the aggro they've heard about from some of these other bands, but it just kind of falls flat because it's forced. That's when it sucks."