V/A - Ten Years Later... The Comp

I’ve been trying to keep the posts less personal and more focused on the music itself, but I wanted to share my memories and feelings about this awesome record…

Somewhere around late 1997, when I was about 15 and still only a sophomore in High School, I asked this Skinhead kid that I knew to make me a mix tape of some good local Oi! bands. At this point I had really only been going to punk shows for about a year or two and I was still only just discovering a lot of bands. After bugging my friend for about two or three weeks, he finally showed up at school with a tape for me. When he gave it to me at lunch, he said something to the effect of “this isn’t what you asked for, but it’s a lot better… trust me”. Honestly at first glance I was pretty bummed out, there were a handful of bands listed that I recognized, but it was mostly just a lot of stuff that I was unfamiliar with. When I finally got home from school I put the tape on… I was completely blown away. When I came back to school the next day, I asked my friend where he had gotten all of those songs and where could I find those records… he told me that he had just made me a tape copy of this new compilation that had just come out called “Ten Years Later…”.

I didn’t necessarily realize it at the time, but this compilation was amongst a handful of records that really had a huge influence on me. Although I was already somewhat familiar with bands like AFI, Bouncing Souls, 7 Seconds, Redemption 87 and Rancid, this was my first real exposure to more local hardcore bands like Model American, Powerhouse, Second Coming, Hoods and Rely. This release pretty much served as a ‘gateway drug’ to something that would very quickly take over my life. From that point on I was pretty much just going to any show that I could get to, whether it was Punk, Hardcore, Oi! or whatever…

“Ten Years Later… the Comp” was originally released in 1997 through Bossa Nova Records from Alameda, the label was also run by Eric Ozenne of Redemption 87 and the Nerve Agents. Unfortunately this cd is now out of print and appears to be pretty hard to find. The bands featured are: Model American, Trial, AFI, Collateral Damage, Bouncing Souls, Ignite, Edgewise, Maximum Penalty, Powerhouse, Down By Law, Daltonic, Ensign, Second Coming, 7 Seconds, the Struggle Buggies, Pressure Point, Intent To Injure, Downer, Mouthpiece, Redemption 87, Swingin’ Utters, Triggerman, Hoods, Brand New Unit, Rancid, Rely, 454 Big Block & Strain. “Ten Years Later…” showcased an excellent mix of genres and styles, with bands from all over the country, as well as many older NorCal acts. As with most any compilation, there are a couple of duds, but I’d definitely say that this thing is 95% awesome. There are also plenty of alternate recordings, cover songs and exclusive tracks on here as well… so if you dig any of these bands, definitely check out this release.

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Second Coming - Wake

Second Coming was a great Bay Area band that unfortunately (in my opinion anyway) never really got their due. Along with bands like Powerhouse and Redemption 87, they were instrumental in the revitalization and rebirth of Hardcore in the Bay Area during the mid-1990’s. Through their tireless hard work and playing throughout the area, ‘the scene’ was eventually able to bounce back, this time even stronger than before. Second Coming was formed in the early 90’s and featured Joey Vela and Don Rossington, both of whom were ex-members of Breakaway. During a time when a lot of bands were either playing metal or ‘post-Hardcore’, Second Coming stuck to their guns and played very heavy, uncompromising, ‘straight-up’ sounding Hardcore.

This 7" was also the first release from Hayward’s Thick Crust Records back in 1997. Second Coming later went on to release a full length on Breakout Records sometime around 2000 (expect a related-post sometime soon). Unfortunately, amidst some line-up changes (as well as sharing members with other bands, namely Sworn Vengeance), Second Coming decided to break up in 2001. I’d definitely recommend this to fans of 90’s NYHC or the older New Age Records bands. Big thanks to Nick Martinson for ripping this from vinyl, this is definitely a classic NorCal release, so don’t sleep!

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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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