27 JANUARY 2018 @ THE SUBSTATION (and some words)

HELLO!

LONG TIME NO GO SUBSTATION!

SO COME ONE COME ALL!

HAPPY HAPPY!
NOTE : TIMING REVISED TO 3PM!

AWESOME DDO ARTWORK BY DANI TREMOR

ALSO THIS HAPPENS IN FEBRUARY!
JAPANESE CRAZIES NI-HAO! WILL BE IN TOWN AND THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST SHOW AT THE PROJECTOR!

So why do we do what we do, even though its bound to be ridiculed, censored, boycotted, ignored and everything in between?

Simple. Punk isnt easy. 

It is a never ending way of life of questioning the status quo, negotiating the social evolutions that take place and reminding those around us of the falseness of social constructs like status, reputation, skill and standards.

We will continue to be unpopular (or even hated) and making fresh initiatives (and not afraid to fail in the process) while retaining responsibility in lieu of the current socio-economics around us.

Punk from exotic lands still excite us, with no tie-ins to economic fruition.

"Standards" and "affiliation" has crept into punk, some necessary some unnecessary.  How do we keep challenging this, while keeping the ethos relevant?

Whatever happened to championing bands and acts that sucked, but take your breath away at the same time?

How does one who's been through much then communicate with those that never have without flicking on the superiority complex switch?

Keep talking.

And above all keep thinking.

See you in the pit.

TEASER FOR 2018....

HELLO!

THIS YEAR PASSED BY IN A FLASH!

CRAZY!

THINGS HAVE BEEN GREAT AND SAD IN IMMENSE PROPORTIONS!

BUT WE'LL TALK MORE LATER.

FOR 2018 WE HAVE FIRMED UP THESE TWO THINGS

27 JAN : DISTRO DAY OUT 2018 Side A in conjunction with thrash show! (flyer below)

17 FEB : NI-HAO! (crazy punk from Japan!)

SEE YOU SOON!

MAKING ANGUISH A THREAT AGAIN // 29 OCT

HELLO ALL

THIS COULD BE OUR LAST GIG IN A WHILE!

PREVIOUSLY CALLED THIS SUNDAY DISORDERLY V, BUT RENAMING IT TO MAKING ANGUISH A THREAT AGAIN AFTER TEAMING UP WITH LOVELETTERTYPEWRITER (that puts on awesome DIY indie-emo shows with that DIY attitude)

SEE YOU...!

SUNDAY DISORDERLY : 29TH OCT

hello everyone

SUNDAY DISORDERLY

29 OCT 2017

TEASER FLYER BELOW

MORE BANDS TBC

* read above post *

so theres a fuck load of fun gigs happening in October, we have NOTHING to do with all of them which is great because that means the scene is being a little proactive!

just sharing a bunch of flyers below

CENIZAS!

HOLA

WE ARE GONNA PUT THIS SHOW ON!

SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS METALCORE FROM SANTIAGO, CHILE! PRETTY AWESOME BECAUSE METALCORE THESE DAYS HAS NOT ADDRESSED ANY SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES AS OF LATE!

SEE YOU!

UPCOMING SHOWS AS FUCK!

HELLO ALL

DDO SIDE B WAS FUCKING AWESOME

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO TURNED UP

CHAOS FOR LIFE

NOW GET READY FOR AN ONSLAUGHT OF SHOWS!

AND CATCH THIS AWESOME ONE TOO...

WE ARE BACK! // DDO Side B // FOR DOLZ BY DOLZ! // HH#7

HELLO FUCKERS

WE ARE BACK!

SEE YOU AT THESE SHOWS!

R.I.P. : Rozaimin Elias

Yesterday we lost a friend, warrior, brother.

His examplary character; one strong enough to hold firm to his beliefs, while also having the ability to forgive, is unparalleled.

A true skinhead.

We have learnt so much from you.

We have felt your love.

Farewell brother.

Be at peace.

Be Right Back // DDO 2017 Side B // shows in the later 2017

Hello all

FRIDAY NIGHT FURY was awesome. 

ZINES NOT DEAD did not have the usual 'punk bazaar' turnout but it was enriching. No structure, total mess, absentees all over the place; fucking perfect. It prompted genuine honest responses and interest from those who attended.

We will be back on 29th JULY 2017 for DISTRO DAY OUT (Side B).

For those not in the know, DDO will now be held twice a year. 

Every January (side A) and July (side B).

The cassette references are fucking obvious.

Also we will have a hand in a PUNK MUSEUM (working title still) with THE SUBSTATION in August and September.

We will also be back with shows the last few months of 2017 with CENIZAS (Chile metalcore) and ni-hao (experimental punk from Japan)

SEE YOU AGAIN SOON!!

post FNF // ZINES NOT DEAD!

The show was fantastic. 
Unforgettable.
It was a great mix of bands. 
Secret Seven tore the roof apart. 
There were smiles across the board. 
Tension and coldness were put aside. 
Everyone was together again. 
Maybe it would be temporary, but we take comfort that at least it happened.

Everyone involved got paid. Not much,  but the fact that it was possible made it fantastic. 

There were old faces and new ones and practical strangers. Nobody cared too much about sound quality, finally a hardcore show that was more about energy and vibe and community and not tech riders. 

Not to say the sound system wasnt good, it was decent for sure, and yes there were glitches, but that was a hardcore show; REAL and not so musical.

The sad part was of course STRAIGHT ANSWER not being able to turn up due to visa issues. We can imagine how bummed out they were, and many here were disappointed too. 

But in retrospect, we must thank STRAIGHT ANSWER because this show; as well as the selection of bands, were made because of SxA. 

Things happened for a reason, and FRIDAY NIGHT FURY was such an amazing experience that we dare say it could be that refresh button for the otherwise jaded and cold hardcore scene here. 

STRAIGHT ANSWER, thank you for potentially saving this little jaded hardcore scene.

All the other acts, MOISTY ATSUSHI, RADIGALS, SPIRITS, OUT FOR BLOOD, IMPAIRED and SECRET SEVEN...thank you so much for being that soundtrack of rage for the night.

 The filming crew for SUBCULTURE The Movie, thank you for blending in and playing the part playing along. 

The hardworking crew and the supportive crowd, thank you for turning up by the dozens.

THE SUBSTATION, thank you as always for being the pinnacle venue for the scene. 

As much as we recognize that things may change at a snap of the finger, you can never hope against hope; as long as true DIY punkrock energy runs through your veins.

May this continue for ages to come.

Check out this link (out of a few) if you wish to relive the experience here

See you in the pit!

NEXT WEEK : ZINES NOT DEAD 
our inaugural zine fest!

MAYHEMIC MAY

HELLO FUCKERS

TWO AWESOME EVENTS COMING UP IN MAY!

A FURIOUS HARDCORE SHOW ON 5TH MAY

AND THE WEEK AFTER, ON 12-13 MAY WE WILL HOST A TWO-DAY ZINE FEST!

SEE YOU THERE!

another post about nothing really...

hi

you know we are on a break but that doesnt mean shit. we still breathe punkrock rebellion through our veins daily.

just thought we'd like to write a post in response to cowardly idiots who have been saying really interesting stuff behind our backs. in this instance we would respond accordingly in cowardice as a keyboard warrior on our own blog (haha) because its better than kicking some teeth in. 
Next time start talking to us direct, we're cowardly and we wont bite.

"Prohibited Projects has "sold out" and started booking some questionable shows"
PP has always been 100% DIY and anonymous and not on Facebook, thank you very much. Any posts of our shows shared on Facebook is through the goodwill and genuine support of friends. In fact, do share this thread on Facebook too so we can justify our sell out status.
We do have ethics, very strong ones actually, and we stand our ground to this day. we contextualize our ethics and beliefs and politics and make sure they are relevant to our immediate surroundings.
We are not here to gain credibility from a worldwide punk consensus, or have MRR approval (although one of us used to write for MRR back in the day)

"Prohibited Projects shows has gotten expensive"
As is the rest of the world, as with all costs that come with running a show and with dwindling audiences too. Do the maths, bodoh.

"Prohibited Projects has favourable influence/affinity over some venues"
Because we bother to establish personalized working relationships, as a result communication is clearer and more concise. We get real time updates, feedback and hey guess what...respect!
What is more punkrock than that?

"Prohibited Projects has been booking some very unpunk bands"
Usually claims like these are from people stuck in their little punkrock bubble and safe circles of friends who dont have the balls to do something different. Dozens of new punks get into the scene every few months, and we'd rather take the risk and take some "kental" kids in and be the very communicators of true punkrock ethics, as opposed to Youtube or some holier-than-thou post DIY clan, or than score punkrock points to be approved by the worldwide DIY punk elite.
We take pride in having given so many bands their first show, although we wont be chasing credit, we're not about that.
Some of these bands 'moved on' and started playing "proper DIY shows" and possibly forgot about us, but its ok. We dont do this for credit, we do this for pure punkrock DIY rebellion and its a risk we took, so no problem with ingrates.

There are a lot more questions to be answered, but its important not to waste too much energy on fools and idiots.

Gossip mongers, kindly approach us next time for thoughts.

Punk is about respect and conversation, and a bit of balls too. 

We are on a break and very free now, you know where to find us! 

Punk as fuck, fucked as you!

the real reason why we are taking a break...

hello everyone

as you may know (or not bother to know), we are on a break from doing punk shows.

its really simple.

we are tired and jaded. 

the main guy running this is recovering from a very rough 3 years of life, a period only few knew and even fewer could understand. there were all sorts of problems and punk shows were part of the recovery process, which unfortunately reversed its role and became part of the bigger disillusionment.

until recent years, our calendars were filled with the funnest shows, with the funnest times alongside the funnest friends.

and with all stories, the good times would fade away. friends left the scene or drifted apart. venues and spaces started changing in so many ways. 

punk shows, that were still done as a statement and escape went from difficult to unbearable. losses amounted to ridiculous figures. the scene in Singapore suffered from the first world problem of "comfort" and started segregating in ways that nobody could imagine.

with all due respect to those who played / attended our shows, it came to a point where many of the shows that were done in the past 2 years felt very painful. we started many shows only to wish that they would end as quickly as possible. 
the community aspect of shows between 2004-2014 where kids could gather at the old hangouts didnt happen anymore.

are we victims of social circumstances? of growing up? of comfort?

is reality a form of fate?

why the fuck are still punk then?

shouldnt we be the change?

are we too idealistic for anything?

how much of reality should we accept?

the questions go on and on.

there is a huge gap between factions of the scene and many of us could easily be friends and comrades, but ended up being strangers in a very hedonistic sense. 

social media poisoned too many minds, but also we are in danger of going from political to apolitical to completely depoliticised. underground bands started "putting politics aside", the shit talking and the falseness got worse as the years went by.

punk became almost pointless here, devoid of any substance.

thus we are not giving up, we are now choosing to breathe some fresh air again. we are still in recovery after all. this may take a while.

we are jaded, disappointed and fucking tired, yet down but not out.

we will be back.

and wish to approach things from a deeper community level and have things going on with approaches so fresh that we might face ridicule and disagreement.

we are going to do it anyway.

punk = more than music.

we will be back briefly to do a crucial show for a crucial band; for the sake of friendship.

and then we will disappear again.

keep on keeping on, true punk never die!!!

SPLATTER NIGHT! (23 JAN 2017)

HELLO FRIENDS!

THIS IS IT, THE LAST NIGHT OF MADNESS BEFORE WE GO FOR A HIATUS.

HOW UNCANNY AND CRUCIAL A TIMING OF THIS TO HAPPEN.

The Jan is near...!

FOR ALL LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEYS WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE WITHOUT REST…

Yes it is true.

We will be taking a break after SPLATTER NIGHT.

But let’s get to the point.

We are NOT giving up the fight and we are NOT stopping putting on shows. We are human and tired. All long journeys require rest at some points; so that we have strength to continue.

Punkrock is one such journey and the generational continuity of the alternative in Singapore must continue, will continue and shall continue.

The body and mind is tired, too much money has been lost and energies spent. People and mindsets around us are aging. We started pretty much unofficially in 2004 and without much thought or planning, or even archiving for that matter. No big bang, no introductory concert, no stupid 10 year anniversary gig, no gimmicks, nothing.

A waste in a way because there is little to show off what we’ve done; but maybe not keeping records of what we’ve done removes an unnecessary nostalgia.

But we are proud of saying we tried, and most times broke, most times still fucking up. We are not ashamed of our honesty.

We never gave a shit about reputation or namesake, and we probably never ever will.

Fuck your masturbatory, self important, “hey look at me and all the cool shit im doing” idea of the underground.

Nostagia.

It can be a good driving force and inspirational, and can also hinder progress.

Having said that we are critical of “progress”; because everything that moves forward doesn’t seem to know when to stop.

Can we just fucking stop moving forward with no end in sight, and just be mindful of why we’re “in it” in the first place?

We have done more than 120 shows; possibly surpassing the 150 show mark, and have done them through different time zones in the scene from different circumstances.

Yet 150 shows is wayyy too many for anyone in Singapore to have done but we regret none. From the best shows to the worst ones, some things were lost and some things were gained.

We’ve seen great bands, and have made great friends and have made the best use of some venues.

We’ve also had plenty of fuck ups, losses and disputes.

But we are very proud and very thankful to say that we have been part of the plan of keeping the underground alive. It is crucial that we recognize that this very idea of being underground in a police state and capitalist society is an achievable feat.

And there is no “I”. It was all about “us”.

And we thank everyone for being part of this. It is incredible, and will continue being so.

Energies will now be spent on repairing and reviving personal relationships, financial issues and time with loved ones. We are rather intrigued by the critical consciousness within punkrock, a scene that has more “street” roots than academic subversion…at least over here.

We will stop doing punk concerts under the Prohibited Projects banner for a while.

The scene will be fine.

There are a throng of people capable of doing shows.

In a cryptic way we want them to be supported. 

On the flipside, those who keep doing shows and seemingly take advantage of others around them should go through the hassles of doing shows, and the insane mind & soul tests that come with the disappointment of losing money, legal enforcement and frayed friendships. 

You will suffer; but that will be your best teacher.

In this hiatus, expect us to still be around but doing a few things that are more grounded.

Expect zine workshops to distro bazaars.

Expect more punk theater and expect very different approaches to punkrock.

Expect dance and body movement and the idea of mocking the establishment to be the new mediums of expression in our struggle to survive.

Expect projects that will divide opinion.

Punkrock shouldn’t necessarily evolve; because that is a cliché thing to say.

However we believe punkrock should always be examined and reflect the larger society that it sits in; in this case the 3^rd-world-to-1^st world reality of the Lion City.

We have more in common with our regional neighbours than the Western influences we emulate.

How do we negotiate this?

How do we tackle this?

Anarchy, veganism, straightedge are great ideologies, but how much of international punkrock beliefs can we call our own?

Where would localized identity come in?

Why is it so important for this to be part of us?

Because our punkrock generation(s) and the ones after us need to stay relevant.

These are tough times, an era of war the world over.

Never be afraid to be original.

Never be afraid of being authentic.

When the world turns to shit, there’s always the circle pit.

Punk as fuck, fucked as you.

Prohibited Projects
2017