A diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: S.O.A.- Demo EP

S.O.A's demo EP 12/29/1980.

After recently posting about Dischord Record's 1981: The Year in Seven Inches compilation, I couldn't resist also posting about how stoked I was after ordering this record that I just received in the mail a couple days ago! Here we have S.O.A.'s (State of Alert) 12/29/1980 demo EP, containing previously unreleased versions of the some of the same songs that were also done on the, "No Policy" contained on the compilation mentioned above.

The recordings all from the same session at Inner Ear Studios; the EP contains 8 tracks total. "Disease" and, "Stepping Stone" are the same versions that wound up being selected for the, "Flex Your Head" compilation. The version of "Gonna' Have to Fight" made the bands official EP. The other 5 tracks: "Public Defender", "Gang Fight", "Draw a Blank", "Warzone", and ,"Riot" are all previously unreleased alternate takes; separate from the sessions that made the EP. 

The record itself came in a neat bright red disc, complete with awesome live shots from their gigs, past flyers, and even a neat recruit flyer for the brief period when they switched from Simon Jacobsen to Ivor Hansen. Before (at least I believe it was before) they were called S.O.A. for a brief period they were the Extorts; it seems a demo under that name exists. There are some bootlegs of the Extorts demo out there that contains 5 songs: "Draw Blank", "I Hate the Kids", "Not For Free", "Curfew",   and , "Stepping Stone". As to whether the Dischord Records has any intentions of releasing that particular demo I don't know at this time, as they haven't stated so on their webpage about it in the news about reissues; but I suppose its not impossible that they may choose to release it later on.  I don't know how the process for reissuing these demos really works; in regards to transferring the masters (as most of these were most likely originally on cassette tape form I think)

The inside sleeve of the record indicates that S.O.A. only played 8 shows total: December 13th 1980 at a party on Calvert Street, December 17th 1980 at D.C. Space for the Unheard Of Music Festival, January 9th 1981 at D.C. Space again, January 10th 1981 at the 9:30 Club, April 4th 1981 at the Wilson Center, May 9th 1981 at H.B. Woodlawn Highschool, May 22nd 1981 at the Rumba Club, and July 10th 1981 at  the Starlite Ballroom-Kensington in Philadelphia, Pennsylvnia (there only show ever outside of their hometown area before disbanding).

I'm not entirely certain if S.O.A. disbanded as a result of Henry Rollins joining Black Flag, or if they had broken up anyways and he coincidentally joined Black Flag shortly after? He seems to rarely mention or talk about S.O.A. at all in his interviews/spoken word shows, etc. However, there could be something I'm not aware of- and I haven't read all of his books, so it's possible he maybe mentions it on there. Again however, it seems to rarely be a topic he addresses, or quite possibly is never even asked about since he's much more known for his work with Black Flag and Rollins Band.

Ad for drummer on back of sleeve.

It's not that I'm not raving this release; but to go too into detail about the material would be overly redundant of the material I discussed for the, "No Policy" EP review. The recording quality is definitely equal/on par with the, "No Policy" EP. As for the alternate takes of some of the same songs that were on the official EP, they don't sound drastically different, and they are all great takes. It's hard to say whether they are better or worse? I don't know if that's really even a valid concern. They more of just are what they are: the difference is noticeable, but also somewhat subtle. Most people probably wouldn't notice the differences too much; only those who are really familiar with the material will notice it. The songs themselves are the blistering furious iconic D.C. hardcore you can expect. This is a wonderfully packaged great reissue of an interesting and short-lived band, worth grabbing if you collect punk/hardcore; definitely a must for the genre.