Tuesday, September 15, 2009

X FACTOR: "BLUE BASEMENT" DEMO, SPRING 1982.



X-Factor were arguably one of the earliest Connecticut bands that had an identifiable proto- hardcore sound. Prior to 1982, there had been a thriving punk scene in New Haven and the surrounding area but these bands had a straightforward punk sound or leaned toward playing power-pop or new wave. It wasn't until 1982 that a faster and more aggressive sound emerged from Connecticut, which originated from the city of Bridgeport.

Most readers of this blog are probably quite familiar with
CIA and Lost Generation (who also called Bridgeport home). These groups formed around the same time these demos were recorded and went on to release classic records. X-Factor however would fade into obscurity due to some member changes only to be reborn as Reflex From Pain with the addition of a new singer and guitarist. The core of X-Factor first played together in a band called the Xtras. Are you starting to detect a pattern in the names here? Yeah, I refer to them as the lineage of "X" bands. Bill Knapp is the common denominator in all these X bands. He played drums in these bands and several other bands that came afterward.

The line up for this demo consists of Bill Knapp on drums, Steve Schneider playing guitar, Dave Ware on bass and John "Ziggy" Viens providing vocals.

Bill and Steve had played in the
The Xtras and 532X prior to X-Factor. Dave Ware played in Reflex From Pain and 76% Uncertain (again with Bill Knapp on drums) after the demise of X-Factor. Ziggy sang for ADX after leaving X-Factor.

Blue Basement Studios was a pseudonym for Bill Knapp's parents basement named after the shade of paint on the walls. Many of the early Connecticut hardcore bands recorded here. The
Vatican Commandos, CIA, and the Violent Children all cut material there. This batch of X-Factor songs were recorded in the spring of '82 and is their second demo. The songs "Media Control" and "American Express" were later re-recorded by Reflex From Pain.

I will post several more great unreleased Connecticut hardcore artifacts in the near future.

DOWNLOAD:

8 comments:

  1. Awesome! Been hoping to get a copy of this for 15+ years. Again, awesome.

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  2. Speaking of ADX, did they release any other vinyl aside from the 7" on Incas? I've tried searching all over the internet and the eBay, but there are/were a surprising amount of bands called ADX out there, including one from CT which currently exists.

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  3. Joe or myself will probably post the first X Factor demo tape as well as a recording of their first ever show.

    As far as I know, the ADX only released one record. Here is a CT punk discography that Joe has put together: http://www.incasrecords.com/main/history.html

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  4. Also, X-Factor started with a different line up. It was Steve on guitar and vocals, Bill Rhinewald on bass and me on drums.

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  5. This is the lineup that is featured on the first demo.

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  6. No other ADX recordings that i am aware of....of course that doesn't mean that something couldn't exist somewhere out there.

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  7. Thanks for all the info, guys! Looking forward to more old Connecticut stuff!

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  8. Thanks for all the info, guys. Looking forward to more old CT stuff!

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