San Francisco’s All Bets Off would eventually become one of the most beloved and popular Hardcore bands in Northern California, but for years they labored and toiled relentlessly… playing shows and developing their own distinct sound, forcefully carving out a niche for themselves in the local scene. Their efforts would not be in vain however, as the band would eventually become responsible for drawing an entirely new and different generation of kids (sometimes affectionately referred to as “the Bets” or “Bets kids”) into the Bay Area scene throughout the early-mid 2000’s.
All Bets Off officially formed back in February of 1997, after Sammy the Mick joined up with a group of young musicians that needed a vocalist. Andrew (guitar) and Jake (drums) had already been jamming together for a couple of years when they hooked up with Forest (bass) in the fall of 1996. With Sammy as their new singer, the band played their first show at the Alameda Saloon in April of 1997 and shortly thereafter decided to record a demo tape. All Bets Off would quickly release the “Everyone Is Suspect” demo (8-songs) in August of 1997, followed by another 4-song demo (self-titled) in December. Both tapes were well-received and by this point, the band was already starting to play alongside some ‘bigger’ touring acts like: AFI, Hatebreed, 25 Ta Life & H2O. Following the success of their demos, All Bets Off would take the next logical step and record their first vinyl EP.
This 4-song 7” was released through Sammy’s own label; Cynic Squad Records (pre-Spiderghost Pressgang to those unaware) in November of 1998. I’m not 100% positive, but I believe that these songs were recorded by Andy Ernst at Art of Ears Studio (Green Day, Rancid, AFI, etc.) in Hayward, CA. The cover art for “Roshambo Deathmatch” was done by Joey Vela (vocalist of both Second Coming & the legendary Breakaway) and personally I think it looks fucking awesome. On a side note: Joey was also responsible for creating the artwork for Powerhouse’s classic “No Regrets” album (which you can hopefully expect to see a related-post for sometime soon) as well as many amazing local Bay Area show flyers.
Personally, “Roshambo Deathmatch” is BY FAR my favorite All Bets Off recording. Although their sound has always been difficult to describe; I can easily say that this record, alongside their early demos is definitely their most straight-forward material. If you can imagine the Melvins mixed with some classic 90’s NYHC (think: Madball, 25 Ta Life, Crown of Thornz, etc.) then you might have a general idea of what this record sounds like…
Honestly, I hadn’t heard some of these songs in close to ten years; I thought that I had lost this record forever to the sands of time, and had basically given up on finding it, so you can imagine how stoked I was when I was able to locate all the mp3’s (and cover art)! The vinyl itself is LONG out-of-print, so good luck finding a copy… do yourselves a favor and check out a Bay Area Hardcore essential!
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