MORE THAN A WITNESS WELCOMES UNITED MUTATION TO THE FAMILY

The first few months of 2011 will be an ecstatic time to be doing More Than a Witness. I’m thrilled to announce that I will be doing an official reissue for the classic Washington DC hardcore group, United Mutation.

United Mutation were the ultimate demented outsiders of DC hardcore. When you consider the crop of other first wave DC (well, okay, Northern Virginia) hardcore acts who’ve made a name for themselves, only the mighty Void matched United Mutation when it came to playing sheer acid-thrash and freak out, face-melting ‘core. Perhaps the greatest thing about United Mutation is that they sounded truthfully damaged and isolated in the increasingly melodic and straight edged DC hardcore scene. This stuff was revolting, fuzzed-out noise pollution for true punks, the uniquely damaged, and those still turning on, tuning in, and dropping out well into the 1980s.

This is music that was so uniquely ahead of the curve when it came to truly unhinged hardcore punk of the 1980s. Michael Brown’s idiosyncratic vocal style was unquestionably the most deranged in hardcore (or any other style of music for that matter) up until that point. The lyrical themes (thankfully) didn’t manifest themselves in sloganeering or championing vacant leftist political causes like most forgettable bands of the era. Instead the band allowed a vision of their sick, introverted worldview with such a painfully unique and imaginative representation.

This LP (MTAWP 003, my third release) will feature the classic debut 7” EP “Fugitive Family” (originally issued in 1983 as a split release between DSI/Dischord), as well as essential demo recordings, compilation tracks, and unreleased recordings. I’m working closely with the band to assemble the best track list possible. This release will be totally different than and superior to the “Freaks Out” LP that released on European label Bitzcore in the late 80s.

Check back for updates on this release. I’d imagine this will be ready to drop around late February or early March. And of course, this release will be done right: the tracks will be remastered from the original masters, it’ll have an excellent gatefold jacket (I’d imagine with some kind of odd feature that will put me into further credit card debt for at least a little while) packed with liner notes, photos, flyers, and other relevant ephemera.

MINOR THREAT: HB WOODLAWN HIGH SCHOOL, ARLINGTON, VA. 10.30.82. AUDIENCE RECORDING.

This is certainly not the cleanest Minor Threat live recording in trading circulation. This recording is audience sourced and the sound quality is considerably distorted. The recording is guitar heavy and it can be safely assumed the taper wear right near the guitar rig. Because this site is motivated to archive all known live recordings by influential bands such as Minor Threat, this show is available here for both listening pleasure and for historical purposes.

The biggest draw to this otherwise tough listen is that this recording features an unreleased song entitled "You Betrayed Me By Growing Up". This track has not been released in any form probably due to the fact that it was never officially recorded. It's unfortunate this wasn't cut at Inner Ear because it seems to be a song with considerable promise even though it's likely this is a working version. Faith, Iron Cross, and DOA also played this show.

I've seen this listed as a video on trade lists over the years but never obtained a copy. If anyone has this or any information on a video recording in circulation, please send me an email.

Track list:

1. Look Back and Laugh (instrumental)

2. You Betrayed Me By Growing Up (unreleased song)

3. Seeing Red

4. Little Friend

5. Straight Edge

6. No Reason

7. Out Of Step

8. It Follows

9. Asshole Dub

10. Steppin' Stone

11. Filler

12. Bottled Violence

13. Minor Threat

14. Sob Story

15. 12XU

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?y3i4lcgno3m

STATE OF ALERT: WASHINGTON DC 12.18.80. AUDIENCE RECORDING.

When asked about the live performance history of State of Alert, Henry Rollins once claimed that the group's performances "were eleven to fourteen minutes in duration because the songs were all like forty seconds... and the rest of the time we were going, 'Are you ready? Are you ready?' Those gigs were poorly played songs in between 'Are you readys?" Henry did have a point since these guys never showed much instrumental or song writing prowess, but they certainly can be regarded as one of the purveyors of American hardcore by serving as a launching pad for later bands like Negative Approach and Agnostic Front.

It seems Rollins was also correct about this recording because the total length is just over 12 minutes and the playing certainly isn't virtuosic. Regardless, this is an enjoyable audience recording of a historic group that documents their teenage vitriol. The sound quality is decent considering the time and place this performance was recorded.

Track 9 seems to consist of an unreleased song not found on the "No Policy" 7", "Flex Your Head" compilation LP, or even the 1980 SOA demo cassette. Any information regarding this track would be appreciated.

Setlist:
1) Gonna Have To Fight
2) Riot
3) I Hate the Kids
4) Gang Fight
5) Public Defender
6) Draw Blank
7) Disease
8) Warzone
9) Unreleased song (???)
10) Stepping Stone

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QVV5FIHA

STATE OF ALERT: 1980 REHEARSAL. HOME RECORDING.

From Wendel Blow’s cluttered garage floor to your ultramodern computer hard drive, here is a long lost recording of a State of Alert rehearsal recorded sometime in 1980. Considering the quality of the greater majority of rehearsal tapes I have heard from this era, the quality of this recording is surprisingly excellent.

It is possible that this recording was considered as a demo recording prior to the band releasing their well circulated and vinyl bootlegged 1980 demo. This hypothesis doesn’t seem crazy considering this rehearsal tape features a recording of an ad for a Black Market Baby/ Minor Threat/ State of Alert show at the 9:30 Club. If you have any additional information on this recording, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share your insights with me.

Track List:

1) Draw Blank

2)Public Defender

3) Stepping Stone

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?njjktomjzdm

MINOR THREAT: VFW, CAMBRIDGE, MA 3.4.83 SOUNDBOARD RECORDING

There is truly little left to say about Minor Threat that hasn't already been expounded on incessantly. They achieved something truly extraordinary when considering the near cavernous catalog hardcore punk acts of the 1980s: they managed to define a genre of music while never surrendering to it’s many shortcomings.

According to a flyer for this specific show, Minor Threat shared the bill with SS Decontrol, the FUs, the Necros, and the Meatmen. This being said, it seems they had no choice but to rise to the occasion and deliver a tremendous performance. The quality consists of a mono soundboard recording that generally features a decent mix. Hearing Springa’s backup vocals from the crowd during “In My Eyes” are fodder for goose bumps. Someone loses a tooth and Ian tries to return it to it’s rightful owner. Enough said. Just download it, already!

“No Reason” is incomplete on this recording. This show was released on the “12XU” bootleg LP that surfaced in 1991.

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zmclnidjm1m

DOUBLE O: "DC ON THE MAP" 1982 DEMO

Today's post concerns the "DC On the Map" 1982 demo. This has been previously bootlegged in 1993 under the title of "Double Barreled" as a double 7". This bootleg double 7" comprised tracks from the band's three demos.

This demo shows the growth of the band between their demo and debut EP on Dischord/R&B. This demo showcases the band with a much more aggressive sound than their more sophisticated debut record. These tracks are more akin to Youth Brigade and perhaps Red C. This seems logical considering that Double O boasted ex members of both groups. The sound quality of this demo is somewhat noisy but is still quite enjoyable to listen to. This is pretty much a must for any early Dischord enthusiast.

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5OVH1LFC

DOUBLE O: WASHINGTON DC 9.17.82 SOUNDBOARD RECORDING

Double O were a band that hailed from Washington DC and featured an ex member of Youth Brigade. After the band split, ex-members worked as Dove and released the track, "Ambivalence" on the "Bouncing Babies" compilation album. Double O served as a crucial gap between the first generation of harDCore and the second generation Revolution Summer sound. Double O maintained a sound that was both powerful and melodic, somewhat akin to Faith and later on, Swiz. Double O released a self titled EP on Dischord/R&B. I always found it strange that this group was not included on the "20 Years of Dischord" box set retrospective.

This soundboard recording maintains an excellent sound. The mix is a good and the levels are just right. My recording was taken from a low generation cassette. Perhaps the band did not have the technical ability of harDCore stalwarts Minor Threat and the Bad Brains, but they made up for it with energetic and engaging performances. The set on this recording documents this.

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.zshare.net/download/62666133a4cecdd5/

MINOR THREAT: IRVING PLAZA, NEW YORK, NY 5.15.82 SOUNDBOARD RECORDING

This show was recorded as the band was writing for the "Out Of Step" 12". This soundboard recording is almost as good as it gets. The band is tight, focused, and powerful despite having to play on a overcrowded Irving Plaza stage packed with rowdy New York punks. It's arguable that this recording could even warrant an official release because of it's excellence, even if the band takes way too much time between their songs.

It seems as if tensions between DC and New York punks were legitimate. Ian Mackaye delivers some snide stage banter about how inebriated certain crowd members are and mockingly refers to Harley Flannegan as a "rock star" and dedicates an impromptu dub cover of Government Issue's "Asshole" in his honor. The ignorance of late adolescence also prevails when Mackaye debases a female crowd member in a.... somewhat derogatory manner. Mackaye plays sardonic sideshow man between numbers and is pretty hilarious throughout the entire performance.

Springa of SSD seems to be the king of the pigpile since his backup vocals are so prominent throughout the whole set.

Overall, a spectacular document of the hardcore era. Listening to it makes you feel like you were there.

Track list:

1. Straight Edge

2. Seeing Red
3. Little Friend
4. Filler
5. Small Man Big Mouth
6. No Reason
7. Minor Threat
8. Stand Up
9. 12XU (Wire)
10. Bottled Violence
11. Out of Step
12. Asshole Dub
13. Screaming at a Wall
14. Guilty of Being White
15. Stepping Stone
16. In My Eyes

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.mediafire.com/?whyikkm2dzm