Redemption 87 - The Spidey Sessions 1995

I think most of us would probably agree that Redemption 87 was one of the best and most important Hardcore bands ever to come out of Northern California… along with Second Coming, Powerhouse and Hoods, they were an essential band that played a pivotal role in helping revive Hardcore in the Bay Area (and beyond) during the mid-late 1990’s. Without them, Northern California Hardcore as we know it would not be the same…

Redemption 87 originally formed sometime back in 1995 (thanks due in large part to a mutual friend of the band; Lars Frederiksen of Rancid), with the intention of playing more traditional Hardcore in the vein of bands like Youth Of Today, Bold and Gorilla Biscuits. Having collectively played in such diverse bands as; Unit Pride (Eric), Skankin’ Pickle (Ian), The Hi Fives (Gary) & Token Entry (Timmy) the newly formed group set out to play Hardcore reminiscent of the classic bands that they had all loved so much growing up.

In the following months Redemption 87 would play out whenever possible, often alongside local bands like AFI, Screw 32, Good Riddance and Powerhouse. Touring would prove extremely difficult however, as Timmy Chunks was living in Southern California at the time and was already committed to touring full-time as a guitar-tech and roadie for popular bands like Green Day and L7. Scotty (The Struggle Buggies) would eventually join Redemption 87 as a rhythm and “back-up” guitarist, although he would ultimately be replaced by Jade (later of AFI).

Redemption 87 would eventually go on to release their CLASSIC “self-titled” full length album on New Age Records (Turning Point, Lifetime, Strife, Unbroken) sometime in late 1996. Two years later, the band would issue “All Guns Poolside!” (a collection of unreleased, cover and demo songs) through the legendary Blackout! Records (Sheer Terror, Breakdown, H2O, Outburst) as well. You can hopefully expect to see related-posts for both of those records in the not-so-distant future…

Although these 4-songs (produced by Lars Ferderiksen) were originally recorded sometime back in 1995, this 7” wasn’t released until 1998 when it came out on San Ramon’s Breakout Records (now defunct). Unfortunately, the band was essentially done by this point, and I can vaguely remember them rescheduling their ‘final’ show at Gilman Street several times before “officially” calling quits sometime in late-1998/early-1999 (Redemption 87 would later reunite for a pair of shows in April of 2004).

As we all know, Eric Ozenne later went on to front The Nerve Agents during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s and he subsequently formed Said Radio with fellow Redemption 87 alumni; Gary. This is definitely some classic material from an essential Bay Area band… do yourselves all a favor and check it out.

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V/A - California Hardcore: A Call To Arms

Sorry for the lack of updates over the weekend, I have been pretty busy lately. Hopefully we can start things off strong this week… I had been mentally debating about what to post first this week, but without further due here is the “California Hardcore: A Call to Arms” compilation. Definitely a classic release in my opinion, this record had a huge impact on me as a kid, and served as my introduction to a few bands that I was only just discovering at the time. This was also the first release from San Ramon label, Breakout Records (now defunct) back in early 1998 (this was released by Gain Ground Records in Europe).

I’ve always felt that this record was (and still is) a pretty good representation of what was happening in California at the time. Although most of this material can be found on other releases, there are some exclusive songs on here as well. The bands featured are: Hoods, Powerhouse, AFI, Forced Life, Built To Last, Redemption 87, No Innocent Victim, Downshift, Fury 66, Model American, Second Coming & Ignite.

Pretty good mix of some different styles here, while still retaining a metal-free, ‘straight up’ Hardcore feel to the record. A criminally underrated release, it’s a shame that it’s no longer in print. I’d definitely recommend this compilation to anyone interested in seeing what was happening out here in California during the late 1990’s, or just to anyone interested in tracing their Hardcore roots. Enjoy.

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Hoods - Alone

I think it’s safe to assume that most of us are familiar with Sacramento’s Hoods. They have been doing their thing for over fifteen years now and despite countless line-up changes they are still touring worldwide and releasing records regularly. This cd ep was recorded back in 1998 at Matt Erich’s Studios (this place was responsible for a lot of recordings in those years) with what most would probably consider to be the strongest Hoods lineup (Mikey, Ben, Mario, Jeremy).

“Alone” was released on Breakout Records sometime in late 1998/early 1999. They were definitely one of my favorite bands around this time, and this record remains as one of my all-time favorites. Unfortunately (as best I can tell), it has since gone out of print. Even back then, Hoods were definitely a force to be reckoned with, they were always so solid live, and their shows were amazing and scary at the same time. Along with “Endless Pain” this is probably my favorite record from them. This is a classic NorCal recording from a band that has been holding it down for well over a decade and a half. See where it started.

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