A disappearing act

One thing that also always impressed me about the hardcore scene in the Northwest, at least back when I was living in that area, was its integrity and willingness to give new bands a shot and reach across musical genres to make shows happen and bring people together. There used to be frequent ‘unity showcases’ with half hardcore and half punk bands (their success was another issue, but hey, at least they tried) and of course there’s Dave Larson’s feature-length epic “Edge of Quarrel,” a hilarious rendition of the West Side Story that substituted straight edge and punk kids for the Jets and the Sharks, featuring appearances by Trial, Botch and the Murder City Devils. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend getting a hold of it.

Unlike the aforementioned bands, however, there were a few that never quite achieved their wide acclaim, among them Jough Dawn Baker and Vade, who teamed up for a split 12” ep on Henry’s Finest Recordings in or around ’96. After that, members of Vade went on to play in the Blood Brothers, but I have no idea what happened to the guys in Jough Dawn Baker. Here’s all I know: They were from Bellingham, WA, they put out a self-titled seven inch previous to the split with Vade (also on Henry's Finest) and one of the guitarists played an instrument that I think was baby-blue and looked like it was built from scratch. The intensity of the sound that came out of that guitar and from the rest of the band was immense. Why they disappeared is a mystery to me, but I don’t think it was for lack of support or creative impulse.

There were only 1,000 copies of the 12”, packed in a beautiful fold-over cardboard cover with the names of the bands on the front. Excursion still has it listed in its distro section (there’s also a review that sums up pretty well what the bands sound like), though I’m not sure how dated that listing is. If you see it anywhere, buy it. (Excursion also still sells “Edge of Quarrel” and a few other movies you should see.) Vade’s blend of thoughtful melody and explosive climaxes is every bit as good as the JDB side and I may post them at some later point. If you can tell me anything about the musical whereabouts of JDB’s members post-break-up, please let me know.

JDB – Mannequin 2-On the Move
JDB – Boise Cascade
JDB – Let off some steam, Bennitt