Reagan Regime Review

I never had the chance to read Touch & Go fanzine as it was a couple of years ahead of my time. I've had the opportunity over the years of reading interview excerpts and cartoons from the originals, but never an actual copy. As it stands, Touch & Go was one of the great early American hardcore zines. Founded by Tesco Vee in late 1979(?), T&G was the voice of early midwest hardcore scene. in 1981 Vee and Necros bassist Corey Rusk decided to form a label of the same name, releasing legendary material by The Fix, The Necros, Negative Approach, The Meatmen, and the legendary Midwest HC comp Process of Elimination. The fanzine continued on to about 1984 or when Tesco picked up and moved to DC. Rusk continues to run the label to this day.

So somewhere in the early '90's Selfless records had the fantastic idea of releasing a "Best of Touch and Go" zine accompanied by a 7" with bands from the zines heyday. Mirroring the lineup that appeared on Process of Elimination the record featured unreleased tracks by The Fix, The Meatmen, Negative Approach, Toxic Reasons, and McDonalds. The quality of the tracks (mostly live and demo) is spotty. The Fix track is disappointing soundwise, but most of the rest is decent:

The Fix - Vengeance.mp3
The Meatmen - One Down, Three to Go.mp3
Negative Approach - Can't tell No One.mp3
Toxic Reasons - Somebody Help Me.mp3
McDonalds - Untitled.mp3

I turned to the Dementlieu Punk Archive for some more info and came across this quote:

I wonder why Tesco decided on a live version of Vengeance when there's a fantastic studio version that's never been released anywhere?

I'm not sure if he is referring to the "Spot Demo" version of "Vengeance" or not, but here is the demo version. The released version is the best, but for comparison sakes.... one of the greatest hardcore songs of all.

The Fix - Vengeance (spot demo).mp3

>> this post needs a serious fact check, so if anyone in the know has the correct history please comment.
>> I remember the "Best of" zine being godhead, just packed with great band interviews, etc. My copy was lost sometime ago. I guess with the advent of the Internet most information can be tracked down quickly, but at the time it was like hitting the information jackpot.