Hard Luck - The Brick Sessions

Hard Luck originally formed sometime in early 2000 under the name Threat Assessment. Donny, Dan and Greg set out to play straight forward Hardcore influenced by bands like Madball, Agnostic Front and Powerhouse. After placing some ads and putting up flyers in search of a drummer, the three eventually hooked up with Matt and put some songs together. Threat Assessment played their first show at Gilman St. in April of 2000. The band continued to write songs and tighten up their sound, and after playing their second show as Threat Assessment (at the Danville Grange Hall), they decided to change the name of the band to Hard Luck. Shortly thereafter, Matt left the band and Tony B. (then drummer of Second Coming) eventually came in to fill the void. In the following months, Hard Luck played shows all over California and the Northwest.

By January of 2001, the band had decided it was finally time to go into the studio, and later that month they entered Digit Sound (Second Coming, Doomsday Device, Lowlife) to record what became known as “The Brick Sessions”. The end result was 8 songs of pissed off, heavy, straight forward Hardcore. The production may be considered somewhat raw (especially by today’s standards), but personally I think it suits the band just fine. These songs have a MAJOR Biohazard feel to them, so fans of early 90’s NYHC (think bands like Bulldoze, Madball, Dmize, etc.) should definitely check this one out.

Although Hard Luck had traditional influences, they were far from generic. Donny’s voice was always very unique and his lyrics dealt with the hardships and struggles of everyday life, while still maintaining a relatively positive mental attitude. In my opinion, they were definitely one of the more underrated bands of the era.

Unfortunately Hard Luck was always plagued with drummer issues, and sometime after this recording, Tony B. left Hard Luck to focus on his other bands; Second Coming and Sworn Vengeance. Hard Luck pushed on for a time with friends filling-in on drums whenever possible, but ultimately the band broke up in the fall of 2001 when Dan and Greg moved to Seattle. Donny would eventually go on to sing for bands like Time For Living and Modern Eyes while Greg went on to sing for Rosary. Dan would also join Time For Living upon returning to the Bay Area in 2003, he currently plays guitar in Set Your Goals. Find out where these guys cut their teeth.

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