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.

A huge diamond in the rough.... from my vinyl vault: Dischord Records compilation/1981: The Year in Seven Inches....

"Dischord Records 1981: The Year In Seven Inches"

It's not a rare story, and it's already been told by the ones who were there and lived it before, but its still worth hearing and amazing to think about every time. Most people know Ian MacKaye and about Dischord Records to a certain extent at least- to sum it up though: Dischord was founded when the Teen Idles wanted to make a record to document what they had done, and since no one else was gonna put out their band that was virtually unknown and played a style of music that was considered not safe or unmarketable from a record company's point of view (also the band had already broken up)- they made it their mission to do it themselves. They did this totally independent and successfully released it pre-internet. Think about that for real for a minute... I mean really give it some thought... let it sink in. Ok, now consider this- now anybody can record a punk EP (or just music in general), spend very little if any money and throw it on say bandcamp- just do it all digitally- and be done with it for relatively low to no hassle- but pre-internet? The amount of energy outside of the music alone just to accomplish this, for an exceptionally young group of people I might add- a group of late teens to early 20's- to release their own record- is really phenomenal and an accomplishment in itself. They did the first thousand copies by hand, and reused the money made to be able to continue to put out other releases, gradually growing the record company overtime into what it is today- making this historically remarkable and as far as I'm concerned a truly iconic and one of a kind D.C. hardcore punk compilation.

Neat clear disc edition.

At this point, you are quite possibly wondering why is this compilation is so special/what makes these EP's so special? Afterall, these bands didn't single-handedly create a new form of music, it's definitely a fair argument to look at all the other punk and hardcore acts at the time spread across the country; its a fair argument that they weren't musically inventing anything or remaking any wheels so to speak. So perhaps your wondering what separates these bands/this record from the herd?

Let's take a minute and dissect it: what's happening musically might not have been 100% brand spanking new; however, to be fair, hardcore-punk as a genre actually was new, so they were participants in a new movement and at a time in what was the birth period of this new subgenre- and in that sense it is very new, completely new. Sure, it can be easily slapped with a plain old hardcore/punk rock tag- but its not overly generic/dull material by a long shot, and to blatantly oversimplify it is really an injustice to the music itself. In fact, musically- what makes this record, (along with some of the other Dischord material that would soon follow) so incredible was that amongst a sea of hardcore and punk that was happening during this era; is that the fact this material really stands out and has withstood the test of time.

Back of the sleeve.

The songwriting on these EP's (and on the Flex Your Head compilation as well), and the subsequent material to follow with the Faith, Void, Scream, Marginal Man, and Minor Threat was all totally strong across the board. A lot of the songs have anthem-like qualities (Teen Idles, "Sneakers" is really catchy, State of Alert/S.O.A.'s chanting during, "Riot", Youth Brigade's chorus on their EP opener, "It's About Time That We Had A Change") unique chord progressions (for example Government Issue's, "Asshole" and, "Rock and Roll Bullshit" have really memorable riff qualities in the guitar lines), and bold and unmistakable frontmen. When you hear John Stabb- there is no one, I mean no one in hardcore that sounded the same as him- his voice is very particular; kind've parallel to what Jello Biafra's voice was for the Dead Kennedys and what Barney Greenway of Napalm Death is for grindcore/death metal. Despite the fact that hundreds of bands have come along since within those genres of music, each time you hear any of these guys get behind the mic- its unquestionably them, they have an irreplaceable presence that cannot be done quite the same by anybody but them. The ferocity of Henry Rollins, his vicious delivery in, "Gonna Have to Fight", his intimidating vibe in, "Public Defender".  Nathan Strejcek's blaring fury and sincere delivery throughout the Minor Disturbance EP and particuarly in, "Deadhead". The record is full of radical lyrical content and unique ideas: Teen Idles, "Get Up and Go" really captures the essence of it all and what I'm talking about below when they said, "You keep talking about talent. Talent, what do you know? Instead of studying theory- we're gonna get up and go!". S.O.A.'s song, "Girl Problems"- the relate-ability of it all- the whole songs lyrical point of view- what guy hasn't felt that way at some point in their life? Government Issue's "Bored to Death" capturing the angst of it all in the first verse, "Ain't got a job. My life's a drag. I'm just a waste- put me in a bag. I went to school- to learn how to cheat. And all I got- were words on a sheet" while also taking an important and interesting stance by the time the second verse rolls around, "When boredom sets in. I just wanna' die. I just can't move no matter how I try. I don't do drugs and I won't start. I did 'em once and got blown apart."  Youth Brigade just catapulting you into the energy of the moment with, "Full Speed Ahead". Overall, it's the high energy spirit of all these bands that really put both Dischord Records and the D.C. music scene on the map.

Inside sleeve.

For me personally, this record has a lot of sentimental value; when I was in high school, after the last class let out on Fridays and on the weekends, a close group of friends and I would get together and play covers from this record, it was the biggest influence and reason that we wanted to play hardcore too. Plus it was so much fun! Hardcore and punk rock in its purest form is so much fun and the beauty in it is that you don't have to be a musical wizard to do it! So you can have great ideas, teach yourself, learn the basics with a group of friends, soak it all in, and spit it back out! It's a great experience- you don't have to be discouraged that you can't play your guitar like Hendrix; you don't have to be the greatest band in the world to learn as you go, have fun, create music, and just get up and go!

This reprinted edition of the EP's as a comp. came out on CD too. I got this neat clear disc version for my copy on vinyl, I'm pretty positive it's available in the traditional black (and I think transparent red, but not totally sure). If your into punk music in general, interested in adding  to your collection, or just searching for something exciting and new- this is a really great and inspiring compilation to get started with. Records like this change you after you put it on, you wanna get out and start your own band after hearing it.