In the past few years, the number of bands reuniting from the American hardcore punk scene has been staggering. From the various sketchy iterations of Black Flag that have floated in and out of the underground consciousness, to other veteran bands of the early 1980s such as Detroit’s Negative Approach and Boston’s DYS. Even units like Washington DC’s Dag Nasty and New York’s Youth of Today from the later part of the decade have got back together. It seems no band can resist being a part of this surreal revival show.
Even though many of these reformed bands have delivered potent live sets that equal – and sometimes even surpass – the ones they’ve performed in their past, one can’t help but wonder what the members of these bands have got to say now, years after they first raised a mic in anger. Thankfully, members of some fabled bands from the 80s have decided to form bands centered around projecting the anger and confusion of adulthood rather than mimicking the angst of their youth.
“I’d say I get more out of doing this music as man in his 40s than I did as a kid in his 20s,” says Dan O’Mahoney, vocalist for southern California band Done Dying. Dan was the outspoken vocalist for bands such as No For An Answer and 411. The rest of the band consists of members from other important hardcore bands from the same time, such as Against The Wall and Carry Nation.
“Adolescent angst is one thing,” he says. “But in reality adult life is harder and the pressures are greater. There is more on the line. As a kid, the IRS didn’t seize my bank accounts. There was no divorce, no living from pay check to pay check while only a very few members of the citizenry prosper. For me, my music in the 80s was sincere and passionate but uninformed compared to my modern day, real-time perspective.”
We Dream Or We Die, Done Dying’s debut album released last summer on O’Mahoney’s own Workshed Records imprint is a blast furnace of unbridled fury with songs tackling issues such as campaign finance and unemployment; a far cry from the subject matter Dan used to write about in his younger days.
“These subjects weren’t really on my 20-year-old radar,” muses O’Mahoney. “That said, I do miss the broad strokes of rejection towards racism, sexism and homophobia that seemed to constitute a bigger portion of the hardcore agenda than they do today.” No matter how much O’Mahoney might briefly pine for a simpler time in hardcore, We Dream Or We Die makes it apparent that Dan’s anger exists in the present day; a life-affirming statement which proves the fire still burns in some of the elder statesmen of hardcore.
Compared with the red eyed rage of We Dream Or We Die, the debut LP released this week by World Be Free entitled The Anti Circle is something of a light-hearted affair; right down to the cover artwork being an ode to the Saturday morning educational cartoon Schoolhouse Rock. Even the 14 songs delivered by this band made up of members of such important New York hardcore bands as Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today and Judge owe more to the melodic precision of 7 Seconds than the clenched-fist delivery of the Cro-Mags, but it is still wields an undeniably ferocity.
In a similar vein to O’Mahoney, the band’s bass player Arthur Smilios feels hardcore is still a vital vehicle to express your rage; especially from the vantage point of the present. “In many ways, it’s worse today,” insists Smilios. “After Reagan, we have had a string of neoconservative lunatics, from Bush, to Clinton, to Bush II, to Obama expanding these hateful economic programs and wantonly bombing people wherever their puppeteers on Wall Street see enemies to their malignant empire.” After giving up that scorching proclamation, Arthur offers a glimmer of hope as his conclusion: “The difference now is that I realize that only by turning that anger into a positive force driven by love can we make a difference.”
“I know that a guitar isn’t going to change the world,” Smilios continues with a palpable earnestness. “But what comes out of it can inspire the real movers and shakers. I have met a few incredible activists who have made a difference and I was told that some of the music I helped make served as impetus for their actions. We may be clowns, pounding stages, but we can serve a purpose.”
Done Dying’s We Dream or We Die and World Be Free’s The Anti Circle are out now; Tony Rettman’s NYHC: New York Hardcore 1980-1990 is out now on Bazillion Points
