Bad Brains: RFI/D

No, man. But uhm got the orig "Rock for Light" today and it's so great I just gotta revive

In fact when this version of "Right Brogade" kicked in I actually yelled "OH YEAH!!!!". I am on my own. I'm putting off going out for this rec. No higher praise can actually be afforded a rock record. Give me a week and I may have to change my position pretty squarely.

roffle @ people criticizing production jobs on late 70s/early 80s hardcore records.

black dots is pretty tight, I thought it was just some cash-in shit but I love the raw, upfront sound. 4 guys in a room kicking ass.

the black dots version of "pay to cum" is my favorite version of that song

INCREDIBLE

http://www.spinner.com/2006/09/26/exclusive-watch-bad-brains-live-at-cbgb-1982-dvd/

wau wau wow

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So MTV this week in between commercials and early morning videos (between around 6 and 8 a.m. est) is showing footage of current Bad Braisn jamming and such. I think I recognize Dr. Know and Daryl Jennifer, but am not sure about the rest. Is that HR? They do not sound like the Bad Brains I saw back in the 79 to 85 era...

HR is still in the band but by all accounts his contribution to live performances now is reminiscent of Weekend At Bernie's

The utter shock of seeing them with regularity on MTV was completely erased for me by the noodling nature of the clips. I would think that anyone who has only heard about how great the Bad Brains are would see those clips and wonder what the big deal is.

Exactly right.

are these clips online?

http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2008/02/04/artist-of-the-week-bad-brains/

LOL

RFID?

that first clip kinda sounds like Stain-era Living Colour

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugHJ_a8ydUY
Bad Brains - Paranoid

now ever since '79 h.r.'s been poppin' his collar, poppin' poppin' his collar

check the backflip at the end

Fucking incredible. What a band. True innovators. One day, they'll be respected like the Stooges are now.

I've had Bad Brains forever but have never heard Rock For Light. Does anyone prefer RFL to the original and why?

rock for light is longer and has more great songs (including alot of which are on s/t) but has worse production than s/t and does have some shit songs. you can't really go wrong though, seeing as s/t is the single greatest fucking punk album ever.

My Bad Brains interview in Spin, 1987:

http://books.google.com/books?id=komIU8HDrboC&pg=PA83&dq=bad+brains+chuck+eddy&rview=1&cd=1#v=onepage&q=bad%20brains%20chuck%20eddy&f=false

the new darryl jennifer album sounds kinda incredible to me

Wow, did not know there was one.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Live-Cbgb-1982-Region-NTSC/dp/B000GI3RKQ

Just buy this and see why they were so, so, very excellent

that is some valuable advice for people unaware that bad brains are so so very excellent

listening to black judas: kinda lol but yeah, good

this clip is gr8.. outside stage, chevrolet banner, fist-pumping 80s crowdgoers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53tUc4Ub2zQ

Was just going to mention the '87 Florida set, odd that it appeared today. Great great set, band's on fire.

Hitched the '89 UK tour. Was fun. Gabba of Chaos Uk wound up getting a lift from somewhere near Bristol to the top of the M5 in a truck with a racist driver. Bumped into him as he got out of the cab at hitching point.

Trying to think what the name of the Best of cd which seems to have pretty decent sound is. What's on my walkman comes from there, think it includes Rock For Light stuff.

I have listened to thousands of bands in my life. When people ask me what my favorite band is, I say that I have heard so much music I cannot really narrow down a list to one single favorite. However, if you held a gun to my head, the first thing out of my mouth would be the Bad Brains and I'd be okay with that.

I often said that the ROIR tape was the best hardcore album ever but "I Against I" was the best album ever. A little hyperbole, but not that much now that I think about it.

Those videos are great! The old one, the one from '87, just amazing!

I got to see the original lineup of the band a few times. The last was in Cleveland in 2002 I think, a reunion tour that had as support a new band featuring the original Faith No More Singer (he was a chef in Cleveland by then!) and HR spent the whole show in a rocking chair on the stage. Very bizarre but unsurprisingly so.

In the article in Spin that xhuxk posted above (some time ago), the photo they used is the one from the inside of the 'I Against I' vinyl. The skinheaded dude right under the drum kit is Raybeez from Warzone. He was doing security at that early show.

Many years later, he and I became friendly in New York and he did security for all the shows at The Ritz and Roseland. I caught the Bad Brains at the latter venue and he was up front. I went up to him and said "Man, it's like that photo" and he smiled, knowing what I was talking about, and said he wouldn't rather be anywhere but right there.

Unbelievably amazing band and a big part of my life.

Am I correct for feeling physically ill and actually offended that Bad Brains are *supporting* something called Slightly Stoopid:

http://www.greektheatrela.com/events/event_details.asp?id=1986

ugh i fucking hate that band

Slightly Stoopid b/w Bad Brains and the Dum Dum Girls.

Jay Reatard was originally supposed to headline...

Mary Stein (daughter of Sire Records Seymour Stein and murdered NY realtor/former Ramonees manager Linda Stein) just premiered a Bad Brains documentary at SXSW. Has anyone seen it yet?

There are also 2 DC filmmakers working on 80s DC HarDCore punk docs now

!!! wanna see that

Banned in Dc: Bad Brains Greatest Riffs
was the compilation I mentioned last year. Think it has been mastered at the right speed and so it seems Caroline have attempted to at least partially right their earlier wrong.
http://www.amazon.com/Banned-Dc-Brains-Greatest-Riffs/product-reviews/B00008V5TK/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addFourStar

Dr. Know is running for president.

http://www.libertystickers.com/product/Ron-Paul-DrKnow/

Ha ha.

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/42901/i-against-i-thirty-years-after-the-golden-age-of/

Long Washington City Paper cover story suggests HR may be battling with schitzophrenia

plus a review of the movie

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/film/2012/06/21/a-close-viewing-of-bad-brains-a-band-in-dc/

Both are written by Mark Andersen, who co-wrote the Dance of Days book with Mark Jenkins about the DC hardcore punk scene

The first piece is spot-on in recounting the bullshit that is a Bad Brains show in 2012. So sad.

Saw the movie doc "Bad Brains: A Band from DC" last night. Well-made movie with awesome footage of early years Bad Brains and coverage of the sadness that is HR circa 2012, struggling with mental health issues. HR (wearing a woman's wig) showed up for both of the 2 showings of the movie. Saturday night, Mark Anderson asked HR in the q and a portion afterwards about his health, and he insisted he was fine.

http://dcist.com/2012/06/the_seven_best_moments_of_last_nigh.php

These 7 items and more

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-06-21/bad-brains-band-dc/transcript

Some of HR's answers on this radio interview are o0.

Is HR's mental state really a fresh debate in 2012? I thought he's been nuts for years. Decades?

Like, I last saw the band in ... 1999? HR was there, but he just stood there, grinning between songs (which were otherwise solid).

Here's a bit from what I wrote about that show:

An eerily docile H.R. received a hero's welcome when he waltzed on stage, an unsettling grin giving way to his effective if somewhat distracted recital of the band's "Attitude." Dr. Know's blazing leads flew in and around the rhythmic knots tied by Hudson and Jenifer, while H.R. mainly stood still behind the microphone, his hands clasped in front of him as if in meditation. Hey, if that's what it takes to keep him from throwing himself at the crowd, so be it.

If you think the Beatles were something, if you think the Jam Band was something or the Police or even the latest overnight sensation with, you know, the Jackson Five and Mariah Carey, well let me tell you, Beyonce, she has something to listen to finally.

wise words there

By 2016 it appears Dr. Know (Gary Miller) recovered, needed some physical therapy, and just had lots of medical bills to pay off. Not seeing any upcoming live Bad Brains gigs listed anywhere. The last time I saw HR, he seemed physically weak, his voice was soft, and he seemed to be struggling a bit mentally. Very sad. That was a number of years ago.

I see that HR is doing an Autumn 2025 solo tour

0/10 Lakewood, OH - Winchester Music Tavern
10/30 Madison, WI - The Annex Live
10/31 Chicago, IL - Reggie’s Music Joint
11/1 Davenport, IA - Bootleg Hill Honey Meads
11/2 Kansas City, MO - The Record Bar
11/4 St. Louis, MO - Red Flag
11/5 Covington, KY - Madison LIVE
11/6 Hamtramck, MI - THE Sanctuary Detroit
11/7 Fort Wayne, IN - Piere’s
11/9 Louisville, KY - Goodwood Whiskey Row

https://www.nbcwashington.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/bad-brains-live-recordings-record-store-day-release/4020164/

One of the Bad Brains gigs on this newly released live album is from when they opened for the Damned . But the linked story doesn’t spell that out

The Record Store Day live album - Live At The Bayou - is really good. The recordings are soundboard tapes, with minimal crowd noise but plenty of clarity and punch. They play songs from their first two albums, plus things that popped up on the "Pay to Cum" single, Black Dots and The Omega Session, and covers of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" (with totally different lyrics) and Wire's "12XU" (which makes me wonder if Minor Threat's version was as much a tribute to Bad Brains as to Wire). There are also versions of two songs I don't think they ever recorded in the studio. If it gets released on CD, pick one up.

I think now that when Bad Brains opened for the Damned at the Bayou circa 1980 is not on that record. The story goes that the Damned were so wowed by Bad Brains they said to them you should come to England. The Bad Brains subsequently flew over without work permits or gigs scheduled, and were immediately sent back to the US.

the Bayou release is now out on 2CD

it totally smokes, the first set has what I think might be the best-ever recorded versions of "Right Brigade" and "Banned In DC"