Thankfully, there is a whole other side to music. There are people out there who think that the artists and the listeners are on the same level, and are just people trying to share with each other. This is a very prominent thing in Punk Rock, but even so, many bands fail to cause a mark on little more than the cities they tour to or the chance kids who bought their demos and fade into the background never to be seen again. It can leave an emptiness inside when you were so into those records that every time you listen to it, you just want to share them.
This made me think about those bands who toured together, worked their fingers off, played hard, scraped the money together to put out records, worked day jobs, even came together from halfway across the country to play shows together every so often. These bands are motivated by how the music makes them and others feel. I figured that before I wrote my introspective on a band that was fading in a different way, through their own fame and laziness (the Offspring) and before I wrote about the past and future of punk in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, I would try to offer a look at some music that has made me very happy in times of need.
The connection here is that every one of these groups shares a member, and that is Justin Sullivan, who I was hoping to do an interview with for this article but I haven't been able to find any contact information for him (as if finding information on his bands isn't hard enough). But in no way is this article a love-letter to the long time Punk drummer/vocalist, as I have never met him, but it is more a "Six Degrees Of" Justin Sullivan, and a look at his involvement in Punk music.
My memories from being a teenager run from hazy to black-out, but I remember the first time I heard Long Island, New York's the Insurgent amazingly clear. It was in the basement of a house where a pal of mine Alec Whitford lived. We referred to Alec as "Straight Edge Al". He was a shy, yet outspoken Punk in his twenties, who loved to cook vegetarian meals and sing earnest songs on his acoustic guitar. Some of the time, touring bands needed a place to play and Al's basement was available. It was a very small space and usually a small amount of kids would show up.
"Straight Edge" Alec Whitford performing at the Outhouse, me looking on with an admiring smile.
One night, Al played before a band and started off his set with a long speech typical of his performances. His voice would always run out of steam in the middle, as if he needed a drink of water, yet he never learned enough to bring one up with him. He was talking about how this band had changed his life, and if not for them, he wasn't sure if he would have made it here today. I felt the same way about many bands, so I hung on his every word before he launched into a rendition of "Had Nowhere", the sing along anthem from the Insurgent.
Months later, a label called Dare To Care Records teamed up with a fellow named Troy from Vancouver and the Insurgent's own outlet (Innocent When You Dream) with one more hand and released the Insurgents entire recorded material on a disc called "It Will Be That Sound". That same month we found a copy of their earlier 10" titled "Inside Every Kid..." for our collectively run record distro, which we called Community Tigers. We were now stocked with 11 copies of this bands music, and I hadn't yet heard it properly recorded.
Needless to say, "It Will Be That Sound" failed to leave my Sony discman (yes, I used a discman back then) for the entire Summer. I learned every word, and when I lost my copy, I would put six dollars back into the distro for a new one. Soon, we had sold all of our copies to kids attending our shows, and I was dying for new music from the band even though they had song since broken up.
Download the Insurgent's "Loudest Letter" 7" thanks to HereOnThisIsland
By chance of browsing the internet on lonely nights and randomly ordering cheap 7" records in bulk from various outlets, I came across the next best thing in a band that Justin Sullivan had joined in the wake of the Insurgent calling it quits. Sirens would release two 7" records in short press during their time as a band, and two members (including Justin) would go on to form Ringers who would boast a more extensive catalog before breaking up after a final show at the Fest 8 in Gainsville, Florida.
Download "Washington ST" from "Long Distance Calling" by Sirens thanks to 1234go! Records
Around the time that Ringers' first full length record, "Curses" (Regeneration records) was released, my two Sirens records, "Where Have You Been?" (Regeneration) and "Long Distance Calling" (1234go! records) had been bought up by the same kids buying "It Will Be That Sound". Unfortunately, "Curses", did not go as well. The compact discs in our distro started not to sell, as vinyl came back harder and harder in Calgary, and we didn't have the money to ship in LP's that we weren't willing to charge over 20 dollars for. The distro folded and our members bought up the remaining inventory.
Download both "Cue the Strings" and "For Arguments Sake" from Ringers fantastic debut LP "Curses" which was released jointly by Regeneration and 1234go! (thanks to the latter for the mp3s)
It was around this time that Al handed me a copy of a band called Speakeasy's "Return To Sender" (Innocent When You Dream) which also featured Justin Sullivan. It provided a bridge for me until the next Ringers record "Detention Halls" (1234go!/ YoYo records) would be released and wear out another shitty discman.
Mp3s of Speakeasy's "Return to Sender" are rare these days, but thankfully the track "(Fuck You) I'm Nervous" was made available through Dare To Care Records, on account of it being included on a compilation from the Montreal based label.
Since then, I have always been clamoring for new material from everyone involved in all these bands. Justin went on to form a band called United States (featuring Ren from longtime Long Island friends of the Insurgent, Sometimes Walking Sometimes Running) the same time he was in Ringers, which released one LP of Fugazi/Rites of Spring influenced post-hardcore. You can listen to all eight tracks here, thanks to RokLok Records. United States might also be an earlier or later incarnation of another project of Sullivan called City Limits, who are very hard to find any information on other than the single track they share on their Myspace page. Later, he was in a group with former Bent Outta Shape member Jamie Ewing (who would tragically pass at the age of 25 in 2008) and future Vivian Girls member Cassie Grzymkowski. They were called Bossy, and went on to release a "best of" compilation in 2008. A track can be heard under this paragraph, and it is a complete departure from most of Sullivan's other work.
Walk Around - Bossy
As for Sullivan now, he has released demos with a band called Babies. I haven't heard them yet, but I plan on getting my hands on them as soon as possible. Other members of some of his groups have been in new bands. Barker Gee of Sirens went on to play with solid group Witches With Dicks and also Neon Piss. Along with the aforementioned tie to Vivian Girls, among others. But what really rings true here is the value of the music he has already made with these bands who will most likely never reform and never gain popularity despite their sincere and catchy songs.
If you have any mp3s of any of these groups mentioned, stories, pictures, or pressings of their records, you can get in touch with me through comments. In a few days, we will move on to the rise and fall of a band who might have never had the talent to rise in the first place, the Offspring. See you in the pit.
More downloads:
Ringers: "Canned Laughter" from "Hurry Up & Wait" thanks to No Idea Records. "Amateur Hour" & "Nothing To Show" both from "Detention Halls" thanks to 1234go!
I am also a fan of Justin Sullivan's music. I grew up on Long Island going to see the Insurgent and have enjoyed his bands ever since. I used to have a copy of a demo that Speakeasy did called "easy does it" that I cannot find anymore. Have you heard of this? Do you have a copy?
ReplyDeletePlease e-mail me: jamie.malekoff@gmail.com