One of the most powerful bands to emerge from the cinders of punk... one of the most powerful bands ever. Greg Ginn, a madman and a thorough disciple of the guitar, brought this band into being in 1977 in the depths of L.A. outside of the reaches of the excesses of the '70s. He'd had enough of the "California" sound of the Eagles, the over-production of Steely Dan and ELO. It was time to create a new sound.
Fueled by the simplicity and immediacy of the Ramones first album, he pulled together a small group of people who could barely play their instruments and began a pattern of musical deconstruction that exploded on a brand new scene that was just beginning to form. Controversy and opposition were the bedfellows of the band from the beginning: the law were not welcoming the emergence of the punk scene on the west coast. The fact that Black Flag survived those first four years was amazing in its own right. Singers kept quitting, occasionally during shows. But the band persevered, even acting in an instrumental capacity in between singers. It became common during these periods for people to jump on stage and act as the stand-in vocalist for the band.
Dez Cadena, 1980-1983
The band finally settled into a stable unit with Ginn on guitar, Chuck Dukowski on bass, Robo on drums, and Dez Cadena as the permanent vocalist. It was with this line-up that Black Flag first ventured out on its first US tours. By December of 1980, the band was making its way across the USA for the first time. They played their first dates in New York City and Washington D.C. In the audience at each show were D.C. youths Ian MacKaye and Henry Garfield. They spoke to the band and ended up hanging out with them. Flag came east again during the summer of 1981. It was at a show in New York City that Henry ended up getting on stage and singing with the band for one song. Unbeknownst to Henry, Dez had been wanting to give up the mic to move over to rhythm guitar. Jumping on stage to sing left an impression on the band, so they ended up calling Henry back to NYC from D.C. and asked him to 'jam' with the band. After taking the train ride up and practicing with the band for a few hours, the others talked it over and decided that Henry would be the new vocalist. He quit his job, sublet his apartment, sold nearly everything he owned, and joined the band on tour several days later. This line up only lasted until their tour of England in late 1981, but long enough to record the first album, Damaged.
Ian and Henry, 1982
Interview during the Damaged sessions, 1981
Dukowski, Rollins, Cadena, Ginn
It was after their tour of the UK that they lost long time drummer Robo. Bill Stevenson of the Descendents filled in for a show or two, but a succession of replacement drummers (including future Danzig drummer Chuck Biscuits) came before he took over as the full time drummer. Flag were kept from releasing a sophomore album due to legal difficulties with the label that were originally scheduled to release Damaged. SST had taken it upon themselves to release the album themselves once MCA (in charge of distributing the Unicorn label) deemed it "An Anti-Parent Record" and unsuitable for corporate release. By doing so themselves, however, they violated a contract and wound up with thousands in legal bills andinjunctions against them for the next two years. Despite this, they released a compilation of formerly unreleased takes without the Black Flag name and ended up in more legal troubles... it was determined to still be Black Flag. More bills.
Rollins in action
Dukowski, Rollins, Ginn, Chuck Biscuits, Cadena
Fall, 1982
By the time My War was released in 1983, Stevenson was in, but Dukowski had left the group. Ginn performed bass duties himself for the recording of the album under the name Dale Nixon. Kira Roessler was brought in by the end of the year as the new bass player.1984 began an incredibly intense period of activity for the band. They released two albums that year, the split Family Man (half early Rollins spoken word, half Flag instrumentals), and the aggressive Slip It In. They toured insanely, going to great lengths to tour as many places in as little time as possible. Intensive tours into the depths of Europe and throughout the United States ensued. They even went to the length of playing three shows in three states in the space of 24 hours... lengths bands today will usually not go to. 1985 was even more active. Three album releases, including Loose Nut and In My Head interrupted by the instrumental Process of Weeding Out. Soon after, Stevenson and then Kira left the band.
Kira, 1985
Rollins, 1985
Anthony Martinez and C'el were taken on as the new drummer and bass player respectively and another shakedown of the United States was undertaken. Also on the bill were groups Painted Willie and the Ginn led instrumental trio Gone (including future Rollins Band rhythm section Simeon Cain and Andrew Weiss.) The three legs of the tour were probably the most ambitious touring of their career. It would also be their last. In mid-1986, Ginn called the members of the band and told them he was quitting Black Flag. So ended the near ten year career of one of the most dynamic bands to come out of punk. Ginn concentrated on running SST Records. A year later, the Rollins Band had already begun touring.
New songs from my newly released albums [ To End it All, Split with Dmah ] are up in my profile. Check em out and let me know your opinion. Thanks, have a great day.
At the moment we're present in the Undergroundzine compilation vol.1 with the song Yes we tanned (It's just a raw mix)download it at the following address (copy this in your browser; access will be denied if you click on the link):
thanks for approving WHITE EYED SUSAN..
check out our page..
listen to our songs..
have in our profile..
n don't forget to drop some comment..
-white eyed susan-
Location (town and state): Are you a member of ECE? If you are not an ECE member would you like to be?
1. What are your 5 main sources of entertainment? a. b. c. d. e. 2. When you think of those 5 sources of entertainment who or what do you think about first? a. b. c. d. e. 3. Who is your favorite behind the scenes person/thing when it comes to entertainment?
4. Who is someone in the entertainment world who you feel doesn’t get enough recognition?
5. If there was a fans entertainment hall of fame and you could nominate one person in the entertainment world who would it be?
6. For normal people not in the entertainment business: who is the most influential person in entertainment to you?
6b. For people in the entertainment industry : Who is the 1st person that influenced you in the entertainment industry?
Thank you for filling out the survey. If you would like more information on this organization please check us out at http://communitylink.reviewjournal.com/lvrj/ece or on our myspace page www.myspace.com/eceexchangeinc If you would be interested in starting a local chapter for the northern chicagoland area please write me back and answer yes to would you like to be an ECE member in the question stated above. Thank you !!!!
Punk show, PIRATES WELCOME! Friday, November 20th; 5 bands $5 at O'Connells 1314 Morena Blvd, San Diego, CA Starts at 9pm, full sound system, 21 and up & full bar!
Nice to catch you in my friendlist! Hope you like my music-playlist and
the spirit of that page! Don't hesitate to write back what you think
about it! ...but who'll do it - it seems that everybody is just collecting
friends... who cares?! Stay smart, hard and be cool as mooo!....or
cooler!
![LAX 386 HC [ NEW CD 5€ !! ]](http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/17/s_8186d8e9c8fe4f29bae2f1ed295a6f2d.gif)
Online Now!
