Читать книгу Spoke - Scott Crawford - Страница 7

“I always thought if I’m going to be a singer, I gotta do it like HR.” —HENRY ROLLINS

For all intents and purposes, Bad Brains is where the story of DC punk begins. Yes, White Boy, The Slickee Boys, The Nurses, and others came first. But the direct inspiration for local youths like Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins to transform themselves—and their music—came from stumbling across the lightning-fast proto-thrash and intense commitment of Bad Brains in full flight at Madam’s Organ (a DC venue), and the demo that would later be released as the Black Dots LP.

Originally a jazz fusion/funk ensemble called Mind Power made up of Paul “HR” Hudson on vocals, Gary “Dr. Know” Miller on guitar, Darryl Jenifer on bass, and Paul’s younger brother Earl on drums, they would be inspired by friend Sid McCray’s introduction of the Sex Pistols, Dead Boys, and Ramones. And by their parents’ ownership of books by Napoleon Hill, with the concept of PMA (positive mental attitude). Renaming themselves Bad Brains after a track on the fourth Ramones album, they shaped their music into a precise and complex punk, suffering no loss of ferocity. A Bob Marley concert would influence them to embrace Rastafari, able to shift from land­-speed­-record-breaking thrash in one song to heavy, creepy­-crawl dub reggae in the next.

Bad Brains would relocate to New York City in the early 1980s after being “banned in DC” (as one of their most famous songs put it), recording a highly influential debut LP that was initially released only on cassette by Reachout International Records (ROIR) in January 1982. The group pursued various exciting new musical directions over the years, dissolving and reforming many times. But it was with their first single, “Pay to Cum” (1980)—which hit many ears like a Sex Pistols record played at 78 rpm, and made many people check to see if their turntables were set at the proper speed—that harDCore was truly born. The first Ramones LP was fast, but Bad Brains’ debut single was faster—and impossibly tight. —Tim Stegall

9:30 CLUB, DC, 1982 (MALCOLM RIVIERA)

HENRY ROLLINS: I remember working in Georgetown and seeing this intense, scary-looking punk dude, who happened to be black, putting up fliers. When I walked up to the pole it was on, I saw that it was for the Bad Brains opening for The Damned. A few hours later, I saw them onstage for the first time. They were lean, good-looking, they had ripped clothes with red paint for blood. A lot of people were backing away from the stage when they first started. Myself, Ian [MacKaye], Mark Sullivan, and a few others all went toward the stage. We were just like, “Wow!” I remember them singing “Why’d You Have to Go?” and watching HR just screaming and freaking out onstage. He was the most charismatic guy I’d ever seen next to Lux Interior at that point. When they all walked offstage, we all looked at each other and said, “That’s the best band in the world.”

BARBARA ANN RICE: Before they were the Bad Brains [Mind Power], we gave a ride to HR and some friends from DC Space. In the backseat, they started singing the Ramones’ “Bad Brain” song.

Thurston Moore: It was all of these young Caucasian city kids completely inspired by an African American band that was fusing soul and reggae into their punk rock. Seeing them influence these bands that didn’t have this background was inspiring.

Dr. Know, Carrboro, NC, 1980 (MalcoLm Riviera)

IAN MACKAYE: I remember the show on 15th Street and the way that show felt, the potential that was in that room, just the euphoria of the event, it was like we are doing all of this together, this incredible energetic, transformative experience.

HENRY ROLLINS: They played Madam’s Organ one night and we all went and introduced ourselves. They were all nice guys. After that we just followed them around. “When’s your next show? What do you eat for breakfast?” You realized you’re living in the same small town as the greatest living band on earth.

KENNY INOUYE: Seeing the Bad Brains live was like watching a bomb go off.

HR, Wilson Center, DC, 1981 (MalcoLm Riviera)

DAVE GROHL: Everybody wanted to be like the Bad Brains. Fucking everybody.

BOBBY SULLIVAN: HR embodied a place that was really profound for a lot of people and I think he knew it and struggled with it. He really took me under his wing and schooled me in a lot of ways. His mentorship was in a way what was so important about the punk scene to me.

HR: I feel happy that those other groups liked us. For me, it was good that we could help them improve. It’s super cool that they thought of me as a mentor.

SIMON JACOBSEN : The first time I saw the Bad Brains I was fifteen and I’m pretty sure they were opening for us [SOA] with Minor Threat. The roster never read that way again, of course. (Back then there was no “opening,” really, it was just an issue of who had to go first because we had homework to do.) I had never seen such disciplined energy and focus from four guys who, from the looks of things, were in their own metaphysical parallel universe to mine. They didn’t look at anyone, they didn’t look at themselves, it was as if someone had pressed the start button and the room exploded.

They were such gentle giants and I consider myself fortunate to just have been in the room with them.

HENRY ROLLINS: I always thought if I’m going to be a singer, I gotta do it like HR.

HR: [Moving to New York City] was an improvement because there were a lot more places to play in New York than in DC, so the Brains took advantage of that. A natural progression, I guess.

HR, Madam’s Organ, DC, 1980 (PETER MUISE)

DAMON LOCKS: Bad Brains were a furious blend of sonic catharsis. Intensity, showmanship, spirituality, craftsmanship, and identity were all captured within the music’s fitful attacks and melodic releases. A Bad Brains show made me feel a visceral connection to the moment. There was an ecstatic quality about them. There was an unpredictability that was invigorating, a transformation that enlightened. There was a lack of clarity in some respects that drew me in. Not only was the music complex, a new form to ingest, the lyrical content took careful consideration as well. I had to allow room for the unknown—which is a great problem to wrestle with for any young mind. One doesn’t have to accept everything wholesale. It was useful to sift through the layers and accept or reject ideas. The positive, the negative, the crazy, the revolutionary, the inspiring, and the dangerous: all of these things I experienced thanks to Bad Brains. They articulated a new language and brought ideas into the light. Rock for light. Rock for light.

HENRY ROLLINS: Bad Brains were one of the most influential bands of my life. They were the band we aspired to be—we knew we wouldn’t be as good, but we would die trying.

SKIP GROFF: The only band that I had trouble with in the studio was the Bad Brains. They were frequent visitors to my store and the day before we were supposed to record, HR came into the store and I was the only one working that day. He just sat there in the store and stared at me for hours without saying a word. It freaked the hell out of me. I begged Kim Kane [Slickee Boys] to take over the session the next day because I was afraid. Kim told me later they showed up a few hours late and were only able to record a song called “Don’t Bother Me” that I released later on Limp.

BUBBA DUPREE: DC was probably a good town to be a black punk rocker. Partly because the Bad Brains had already knocked down any walls that might’ve been a hurdle.

Wilson Center, DC, 1980 (Malcolm RIVIERA)

LLOYD STUART CASSON: The first show I saw the Bad Brains at was the Hard Art. It was unbelievable—I can’t put it into words. It was inspiring to see right in front of me.