Wiccans

Alright, here we have Wiccans from Denton, Texas, a little college town outside Dallas. Denton has been shitting out some great bands recently: A.N.S., Bleach Boys, Teenage Cool Kids, Bad Sports, Wax Museums, and additionally Wiccans. I hate making this comparison but I think they kind of sound like Fucked Up. Burly vocals with poppy garage punk shredz. This shit is dangerously catchy and fun. Everyone should be stoked on this band. They have a tape coming out soon on uk label eat a book. Here's 5 songs that are going to be on that tape; buy the tape (when it comes out) to hear the rest of the jams.

myspace.

download here.

Rational Animals - Perception Becomes Reality EP

Straight out of fucking high school, Rational Animals. Rot-Core(Rochester, NY). These kids know how to rip. Harder than most of the bands playing the My War, mysterious-cult-punk thing. Rational Animals ride Greg Ginn's dick. HARD. Really cool later era 'Flag/Bl'ast guitar work here. Overall they sound a lot like Born Against. "Lose Cannon" is the fucking JAM that Cult Ritual wish they wrote. This is one of the better EP's I've heard recently. Check it out, I bet you'll like it. I guess they have a new one soon. Buy @ Feral Kid. Buy the Plates 7" there too. It rules.

myspace

download here.

3rd Annual Hedge Fund Activism & Shareholder Value Summit

Special Discount Offered to readers of The Official Activist Investing Blog.
(see registration information below for details)

IMN’s Hedge Fund Activism and Shareholder Value Summit brings together hedge funds, private equity firms and public pension funds together with corporate executives and board members, investment banks, asset managers, securities litigation firms, corporate law firms, advisory firms, and proxy solicitors for two days of networking and learning on current trends and the future outlook for hedge fund activism.

The Summit aims to inform corporations and institutional investors on innovations and opportunities in this alternative strategy, while providing insight into how active value managers operate.

A few of the topics that will be discussed include:

• The Activist Playbook For A More Volatile Economy
• Trends in Hedge Fund Activism
• Case Study: Pershing Square vs. Target Corp. 2009 Proxy Contest
• Challenging The Poison Pill
• The Court of Public Opinion And Shareholder Activism
• Corporate Governance And Expectations From Boards
• How Investors Can Gain Access to Corporate Proxy Materials And How Companies Will Prevent It
  
• Activism In Asia
• Activist Investing In 2010 and Beyond

Confirmed Conference Speakers Include:

Damien Park, Conference Co-Chairman
Managing Partner, Hedge Fund Solutions

Michael Flaherman, Conference Co-Chairman
Managing Director, New Mountain Capital

Jared Landaw, Barington Capital Group
Rachel Posner, Georgeson Inc
Joele Frank, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Matthew Sherman, Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Robert Ladd, LaddCap Value Advisors
Andrew Shapiro, Lawndale Capital Management
Timothy Brog, Locksmith Capital Management
Jeffrey Shapiro, Lowenstein Sandler
Mark Harnett, MacKenzie Partners
Clifford Press, Oliver Press Partners
Richard Lashley, PL Capital
Christopher Young, RiskMetrics Group
Marc Weingarten, Schulte Roth & Zabel
David Rosewater, Schulte Roth & Zabel
Dennis Johnson, Shamrock Activist Value Fund
Richard Moore, Fmr. Treasurer, North Carolina
Daniel Léger, Steel Partners
David Baran, Symphony Financial Partners
David Katz, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Arthur Lipson, Western Investments

Click Here to go to the Event Home Page.

Registration and SPECIAL DISCOUNT:
Email: joannajohnson@imn.org and reference "Activist Blog" to register and claim a 10% discount.

Canadian Rifle - Visibility Zero

Hey I'm Gordy, Kevin's friend. In a lapse of judgement he said I could ruin this blog.

Canadian Rifle are one of the many great bands coming out of chicago right now. They play hook-laden punk in the vein of Leatherface and Jawbreaker. I was introduced to them at when they played here in Minneapolis opening for Dillinger Four. They played a good set and it ripped. They had just released thier LP which they were touring for. I picked one up, got lucky and got the limited version (limited to 50!?). Anyways it was released by Squirrel Heart and Residue records. They also have three, seven inches out on various labels that you can find in most midwest distros. Check 'em out

(This is side A, buy it for side B, it's worth it)

Download Here

Total Abuse - Live at WMFU

I haven't posted an entry on here for a little while, so I figured it was about time I did. This is a live set Total Abuse did on WMFU in New Jersey. If you don't know Total Abuse, they are a noisy hardcore punk band from Texas. They recently just got done with a small tour through the eastern U.S.. I believe they played some unreleased songs because I can't find any info on some of the songs they played.
Tracklisting:
1. I Can See In The Dark
2. Peace and Quiet
3. Secrets
4. Discipline
5. Fluid Exchange
6. Pure
7. Mutt

Myspace.



Download Here.

Activist Investors Eye Smaller Prey

Activist investors eye smaller prey
By Sam Jones and Lina Saigol
July 23 2009

Activist investors may have waged more battles this year than ever before, but the size of the companies they are taking on is vastly smaller, according to new research.

So far this year, there has been a 27 per cent increase in proxy battles, according to RiskMetrics, a leading shareholder consultancy. The average market capitalisation of companies being targeted by activists, however, has fallen.

In the US, the median ­target company market ­capitalisation has fallen from a high of $275m in 2008 to just $75m in 2009. In Europe, the story is the same.

“The size of targets has decreased and even adjusted for the market decline, but the amount of activity in the US has been surprising,” said Chris Young, director of mergers and acquisitions research at RiskMetrics.

Click Here to read the entire FT.com article.

Nuclear Family - S/T

Alright, here we have a lil something different for y'all. Ryan at Extreme Noise told me to buy this record. I bought it because the drummer was in Limp Wrist. wah. However this band sounds nothing like them. Nuclear Family (Albany, NY) play garage-y, melodic punk. Big thing here is the female vocals; really good, well sung female vocals. This is their debut 7" on Loudpunk. Recorded @ Side Two by Ryan Abbott (Social Circkle). For fans of X, Wipers, Rudimentary Peni, etc. Buy this on the best punk distro on the planet.

download here.

June Activist Investments - 44 Companies Targeted

Below is a summary list of 44 companies targeted by 46 shareholder activists during June.

This information was extracted from Hedge Fund Solutions' Catalyst Equity Research Report, a free in-depth weekly research on activist investments.

Click Here to subscribe to the FREE report.

This report is sponsored by a number of firms with expertise in the activist investing space.


Legal Advisors:
Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky;
Schulte Roth & Zabel;
Lowenstein Sandler

Proxy Solicitors:
Georgeson;
Innisfree M&A;
MacKenzie Partners;
Laurel Hill Advisory Group;
The Altman Group

Download the Weekly Reports:
Week Ending June 5 2009
Week Ending June 12 2009
Week Ending June 19 2009
Week Ending June 26 2009

Ticker	Company	Investor
ACMR	A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts, Inc.	Glenhill Advisors
ADF	ACM Managed Dollar Income Fund	Bulldog Investors
ASUR	Asure Software	Red Oak Partners
ATGN	AltiGen Communications	Wanger Investment Management
AXC	Advanced Technology Acquisition Corp	Bulldog Investors
BASI	Bioanalytical Systems	Peter Kissinger
BASI	Bioanalytical Systems	Thomas Harenburg
CAMD	California Micro Devices	Gamco Investors
CFW	Cano Petroleum	Carlson Capital
COHM.PK	Coachmen Industries Inc	Gamco Investors
CTO	Consolidated Tomoka Land Co	Wintergreen Advisers
CWLZ	Cowlitz Bancorporation	Crescent Capital
DCS	Dreman/Claymore Dividend & Income Fund	Bulldog Investors
DITC	Ditech Networks	Lloyd Miller
ENTU	Entrust Inc.	Arnhold & S. Bleichroeder Advisers
FMMH.OB	Fremont Michigan Insurance Corp	Harry Long
FPU	Florida Public Utilities Co	Energy West
FTGX	Fibernet Telecom Group	Carlson Capital
GGP	General Growth Properties	Pershing Square Capital
HBRF.OB	Highbury Financial	Peerless Systems
HDIX	Home Diagnostics	Discovery Group
HEOP	Heritage Oaks Bancorp	Patriot Financial Partners
IPAS	iPass, Inc.	Foxhill Capital
JTX	Jackson Hewitt Tax Service	Shamrock Activist Value Fund
KANA.OB	Kana Software	KVO Capital Management
KONA	Kona Grill	BBS Capital Management
LGF	Lions Gate Entertainment	Carl Icahn
MZF	MBIA Capital Claymore Man Dur Inv Grd Muni Fund	Western Investment
NUF	Nuveen Florida Quality Income Municipal Fund	Western Investment
OPTV	OpenTV Corp	Kudelski SA
OPTV	OpenTV Corp	Discovery Capital
PHH	PHH Corporation	Pennant Capital
PLCE	The Childrens Place Retail Stores, Inc.	Ezra Dabah
PTSG.OB	Petrosearch Energy Corp	Tiberius Capital
PYMX.OB	PolyMedix, Inc.	Target Capital Management
QGLY	Quigley Corp	Ted Karkus
SLRY	Salary.com	Raging Capital Management
SNG	Canadian Superior Energy Inc.	Palo Alto Investors
STAA	Staar Surgical Co	Broadwood Partners
SUAI	Specialty Underwriters Alliance	Hallmark Financial Services
TICC	TICC Capital Corp	Raging Capital Management
TLX	Trans Lux Corp	Gamco Investors
TTSP.OB	TransTech Services Partners	Bulldog Investors
TXI	Texas Industries	Shamrock Activist Value Fund
UAHC	United American Healthcare Corp.	Strategic Turnaround Equity Partners
VXGN.OB	Vaxgen Inc	Steven Bronson

Catalyst Investment Research: Steel Partners Portfolio

This investment catalyst has been building since January 8 2009 when Steel Partners II first announced their intention to convert their hedge fund into a publicly-traded holding company. Following months of litigation with several investors seeking to block the restructuring, Steel was granted Court approval to move forward with the plan on June 19. As a result, on July 15, Steel Partners distributed approximately half of the economic value of their fund via cash and a pro rata in-kind distribution of securities to those investors seeking to exit the fund immediately. Following the distribution, a number of smaller, illiquid securities observed enormous selloffs – causing a massive imbalance in supply and demand, and resulting in a precipitous decline in the market value of certain companies. We believe the dramatic reduction in value at a few of these companies is a short-term phenomenon and not correlated with the fundamental value intrinsic to the company.

Click here to download a complimentary copy of Hedge Fund Solutions' Catalyst Investment Research report for Steel Partners II Portfolio.

Also, take a look at some of our previous research on companies where activist investors have made sizeable investments and are pressing management to unlock hidden pockets of value.

TIER, AVGN, CTO, TECUA, CHE, PPCO, ENZN, LGF

Hedge Fund Solutions, LLC is not an investment, legal, or tax advisor, and none of the information available through the Firm is intended to provide tax, legal or investment advice.

Guilty Faces - Nightmares EP

Saw this band on Wednesday night. Apparently their name is Guilty Faces (Freeze song? maybe?), they're from Philly/Connecticut. I'd only heard their demo once or twice so I wasn't really sure what to expect. We talked about Orchid and Neil Perry before their set (lol). Guilty Faces played a super tight set, especially for having two touring members that live in fucking California (and are in Bad Antics). They have a pretty unique sound aswell. They seem to blend 80s so-cal punk a la Adolescents, Angry Samoans with slower, melodic shit like Husker Du and Wipers. Snotty vocals and catchy hooks. Overall, they're a pretty top notch hardcore punk band. They have a brand new LP out on Deranged and its really fucking good; better than this EP I think. They're playing all over the country with Bad Antics, probably near you. They have this EP, their LP and some Shirts. Check the dates on their myspace, buy this EP (Room 101 Records) there too..

download here.

Lärm

Lärm was an 80’s straight edge fastcore band originating from Holland. They liked to refer to themselves as “extreme noise” and you definitely need to download them if you’re a fan of Siege, Heresy, Infest, Spazz, and all that other good shit. I’m including all their releases which include the Campaign For Musical Destruction split LP with the band Stanx (Dutch punk band), No One Can Be That Dumb 7”, Straight On View LP which includes 18 great live tracks, and the Nothing Is Hard In This World If You Dare To Scale The Heights 7”.

No One Can Be That Dumb & Nothing Is Hard In This World 7"s
Campaign For Musical Destruction
Straight On View

The Daily Void - Identification Code: 5271-4984953784-06564

The Daily Void might be the best punk band from Chicago. 3/4s of Functional Blackouts and featuring Mac Blackout. Some total weirdo stuff here. Just judging by the artwork of this LP you might say this shit came from space; looks like an industrial power plant with some stairway into a black hole (steam punks will love this shit). The artwork isn't the only odd thing here. Song titles include, "Tapewurm, Insect, Man Without A Face", etc. The vocals can get a little freaky too. On "The Man Without A Face" the "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha" chorus sounds like if you were being stabbed to death by a serial killer. Anyways, The Daily Void are basically doing the noisy, "art punk" gig; but play well and interesting enough to say they're doing their own thing. For fans of Rudi P, Homostupids, Darvocets and the Fashionable Idiots discography. Buy this LP on Dead Beat. More records on Hozac, Boomchick, and Florida's Dying. All gone though.

download here.

9 Shocks Terror - Zen And Art Of Beating Your Ass

One of the most essential hardcore records in the past 10 years. These are first recordings that came out on Japanese label Devour in 1999. Not the slowed down sloppy repress on Havoc that showed up in 2002. Some say (especially the band) that the repress is the "real fucking deal" but I like the Devour press a lot more. I think it sounds a lot tighter, faster, stripped down and blown out. Hardcore for the hardcore. They're broken up now but members still live in Homostupids, Cheap Tragedies, and a few other Clevo bands that aren't coming to mind. Download the Havoc version at any other blog on the internet.

download here.

Integrity & AVM Split

Brand new split between Cleveland's Integrity and Japan's AVM. AVM is a Holy Terror band that is heavily influenced by G.I.S.M. If you haven't listened to Integrity, this probably isn't the best record to start with them since these are two covers and, to be honest, new Integrity isn't near as good as old Integrity (check out Humanity is the Devil and Systems Overload). This is Integrity's second seven inch where they cover Septic Death songs (the first one was released on Victory records and they covered Thaw and Change). This release they cover Dream Silent and Poison Mask.

Integrity Myspace
AVM Myspace


Download Here.

Smart Cops - US Tour 09

I saw Smart Cops last Sunday and was totally impressed. Smart Cops are from Italy ft. member(s) of La Piovra. I bought this record thinking it was some limited version of their 7" on Sorry State records. Turns out it's a one sided, one song EP, with 8 cover songs about cops. Only bummer is that the covers only last like 20 seconds each. I couldn't really figure out all the songs they covered but I found The Kids, Raw Power, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and The Boys. Help me name the other ones. I had no clue what to name this shit so I just titled the track as "Songs About Cops" change it to what you want. Go see them on tour, even if its just to see them in their sexy cop uniforms.

download here.