Bad Brains
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The Bad Brains were an American all-black hardcore punk and heavy metal band, originally formed in Washington, DC in 1977.
Though the band found little mainstream success, they are often regarded as one of the most adept and influential groups of their time. Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble, they developed an often startlingly fast and intense punk rock sound, which was both musically complex and more extreme than most of their punk rock contemporaries. The Bad Brains are arguably the first hardcore punk band. They were also an adept reggae band, in a sort of Jeckyll-and-Hyde arrangement (the band never mixed styles in any given song), while later recordings featured elements of funk and heavy metal. The Bad Brains were also notable as religious Rastafarians.
The Bad Brains broke up and reformed several times over the years (most recently as The Soul Brains), sometimes with different singers and/or drummers. But the group's classic line-up has been singer H.R., guitarist Dr. Know, bass guitarist Darryl Jennifer, and drummer Earl Hudson.
The band was first founded as a fairly ordinary jazz-fusion ensemble called Mind Power, with singer Sid McCray, in the mould of bands such as Chick Corea's Return to Forever and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. Mind Power's members were talented musicians. In 1978 McCray introduced the rest of the band, who were already interested in bands such as Black Sabbath, to punk rock, including the Dickies, the Dead Boys, and the Sex Pistols.
Via McCray, Mind Power became obsessed with punk rock, and changed their name to the Bad Brains, after a Ramones song of the same name, but with the word 'bad' in the sense of 'powerful.' Before the band recorded, McCray was replaced by singer H.R., brother of the drummer Earl Hudson. The band also soon converted to Rastafarianism, becoming devout followers of late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I, and reggae legend Bob Marley. Despite their burgeoning punk sound, the early Bad Brains also delved deep into reggae music.
The band developed an early reputation in Washington DC, due in part to the relative novelty of an entirely black band playing punk rock (though other all-black punk bands existed at the time, punk was largely a white phenomenon), but also due to their high-energy performances and their undeniable talent.
Their considerable musical technique, due in part to their jazz and progressive rock roots, set them apart from other Washington punk groups, who were typically earnest, but often amateurish performers. Bad Brains' emphasis on extreme speed, especially in their early records and performances, are often regarded as influencing or perhaps even establishing hardcore punk.
Their music still contained hints of their progressive rock past, with quick time changes and H.R.'s fluctuating vocal dynamics. H.R. was a muscular and unpredictable stage performer with a very wide vocal range, who often leaped into the audience or onto amplifiers.
In 1979 Bad Brains found themselves the subject of an unnoficial ban among many Washington D.C. area clubs and performance venues (later addressed in their song, Banned in D.C.). The band subsequently relocated to New York City.
Their self-titled debut album was released on New York's ROIR Records in December 1981, followed in 1983 by Rock for Light, produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars. These two albums, containing only hardcore thrash punk or mellow reggae, were landmarks, influencing an entire generation of musicians, including the Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Living Colour, Rage Against the Machine, and arguably hundreds more.
The band fought constantly with volatile singer H.R., who is mildly schizophrenic. H.R. seemed to reflect the Bad Brains' music: one minute calm and espousing peace and love, and the next minute an aggressive, sometimes violent man. In 1984, the Bad Brains broke up; it was the first of many splits. H.R. began a solo career devoted to reggae music (with Hudson on drums), releasing two albums in 1984 and 1985.
In 1986, Bad Brains were back. SST Records released I Against I, seen by some as their finest recording. As the title track demonstrated, Bad Brains could still play extremely fast, but there was also a new variety; there was much more melody, slower grooves, and straight-ahead heavy metal (but, surprisingly, no reggae). Dr. Know sounded a bit like a punked-out Eddie Van Halen, and there was an outright love song in She's Calling You. Also praised is H.R.'s performances: he "digs deep into his bag of voices and pulls them all out, one by one: the frightening nasal falsetto that was his signature in the band's hardcore days, an almost bel canto baritone, and a declamatory speed-rap chatter that spews lyrics with the mechanical precision of a machine gun".[2] [1] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:x95g8qbtbtz4~T1). Despite the success of I Against I, Bad Brains broke up again after spening most of 1987 on the road.
Finally, they signed to a major label in the late 1980s to release Quickness in 1989. (This album featured Mackie Jayson on drums, though Earl Hudson appears on the cover and performed on the tour). The band had their first MTV video with Soul Craft. The album continued where I Against I had left off, yet with a heavier sound and featuring the return of reggae with The Prophet's Eye.
Bad Brains were plagued by internal tensions nearly from their beginning: aside from the problems with H.R., who sometimes even refused to perform at scheduled concerts, he and his brother, drummer Earl Hudson, wanted to devote the band to reggae, while Dr. Know and Jennifer were increasingly interested in heavy metal music. Charges of homophobia dogged the band, especially H.R., whose unreliability also cost the band a number of perfoming opportunities, such as being the opening act for U2. In this case at the contract signing, H.R. excused himself to go to the bathroom but left the building. After the Quickness tour, H.R. was replaced by former Faith No More vocalist Chuck Mosley. Soon afterwards, Bad Brains broke up again.
As bands influenced by Bad Brains (such as Living Colour and Fishbone) enjoyed commercial success, Dr. Know was approached by Sony Records in 1993, offering the band a major-label record deal. However, H.R. and Earl weren't interested, as they were concentrating strictly on reggae. Dr. Know and Daryl Jenifer replaced them with former Cro-Mags drummer Mackie Jayson (who had played as a session musician on Quickness), and a young H.R. clone named Israel Joseph I (he sounded almost exactly like H.R.). Rise was released in 1993 and remains one of the band's strongest albums. Mixing jazz, punk, reggae, pop, funk, and rock, Rise was by far the most diverse album the group had released. Sales were weak, however, and Israel and Mackie were sacked to make room for the return of H.R. and Earl.
With the original band back together for the first time in five years, an old fan from the band's punk days, Madonna, signed the Bad Brains to her Maverick Records for the 1995 release God of Love. Filled with more reggae than ever before, the album, despite lots of press and major promotion, failed to widen the band's audience.
At a show in Lawrence, Kansas in 1995, H.R. – while high on mushrooms – bashed a microphone stand against the skull of a fan (some say a skinhead who was taunting him). After this incident the band called it quits. Earlier that year while on tour with the Beastie Boys, the group was busted with drug paraphenalia while crossing into Canada. The Beastie Boys gave them a warning. Then when in Canada a second time, once again allegedly high, H.R. attacked their own manager and brother Earl before a show in Montreal with the Beastie Boys. This incident caused them to miss the next show which was at Madison Square Garden in New York City, so the Beastie Boys kicked them off of the tour.
Four years later in 1999, the original lineup toured under the name Soul Brains (for legal reasons). A live album, A Bad Brains Reunion Live From Maritime Hall was released in 2000. The band hasn't toured since.
In 2003, however, the band, now able to use the name Bad Brains again, released I and I Survived, an album devoted entirely to dub and reggae; many fans had been pushing for such an album for years.
In 2004 rap singer Lil' Jon, another longtime fan of the band, recruited Dr. Know, Jenifer, and Hudson to back him on a version of his song "Real Nigga Roll Call" which interpolated the music of I Against I's "Reignition". The recording appears on the limited-edition release of Lil' Jon's album Crunk Juice. The accompanying DVD features footage of the session.
In 2005, Daryl Jenifer told Billboard magazine that the band was in the studio recording their first proper studio album in ten years, to be released later in the year.
Henry Rollins, one of H.R.'s temporary replacements as vocalist, considered Bad Brains among the most important rock bands, and Dave Grohl stated that they were the "greatest live band ever".
Moby covers their song Sailin' On for the Never Give In: A Tribute to Bad Brains (1999, Century Media) tribute album to the band.
Dr.Know played additional guitar on the Coheed and Cambria song 'Time Consumer' featured on the album 'The Second Stage Turbine Blade'.
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Original Members
Sid McCray vocals (1978)
Dr. Know guitar (1978 - present)
Daryl Jenifer bass (1978 - present)
Earl Hudson drums (1978 - 1991, 1995 - present)
Other Members
H.R. vocals (1978 - 1990, 1995 - present)
Chuck Mosely vocals (1990)
Israel Joseph I vocals (1993 - 1994)
Mackie Jayson drums (1993 - 1994)
Discography
- Black Dots (demo tracks recorded in 1978) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- The Omega Sessions (demo tracks recorded in 1980) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- Bad Brains (1982, ROIR Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- Rock for Light (1983, Caroline Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- I Against I (1986, SST Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- The Youth Are Getting Restless: Live in Amsterdam (1987, Caroline Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- Live (1988, SST Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- Quickness (1989, Caroline Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- Rise (1993, Epic Records) (Joseph/DrKnow/Jenifer/Jayson)
- God of Love (1995, Maverick Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- A Bad Brains Reunion Live from Maritime Hall (1999, SST Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
- I and I Survived (2003, DC Records) (HR/DrKnow/Jenifer/Hudson)
External links
- Break My Face (http://www.breakmyface.com/bands/badbrains.html)de:Bad Brains