Last year in Mobile, Alabama, my band the Jonx played a show organized by a teenage girl named Alex. Afterward, she was counting the door money and asked where we were from. “Houston.” Little did we expect the pixieish suburban girl’s reply: “Houston? That’s the power-violence capital of the South!” Indeed, our city has been a good place to see loud, fast music for more than two decades, but its current reputation as a hotbed of Alex’s beloved hardcore/grindcore hybrid is due, in large part, to Insect Warfare and their ilk. During the past two years, the local trio has built a devoted underground following with a rigorous touring schedule, uncompromising standards, twistedly hilarious, beautifully executed album art (see this year’s World Extermination) and nearly unparalleled musical speed and violence. Insect Warfare have also done more than nearly anyone else to introduce Houston to acts from the international underground, arranging shows for bands from Japan, Australia, Europe and even South America. Sadly, as IW have become one of Houston’s most important rock acts, it’s become much more difficult to catch them live. IW’s 2007 local shows can be counted on one hand, and they’ve indicated that Friday may in fact be their last Houston show — ever. Luckily, it’s free.
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2007.