How not to die a bitter death

Two things happened since my last post: First, work and life got crazy busy, and second, I received two e-mails, one from Stefan, former guitarist of June's Tragic Drive, and one from Marc, former bassist of Jough Dawn Baker. Both gave me updates on what they have been up to after the break-up of their respective band, which I'm going to take the liberty to share with you.

Stefan writes that after playing in Cheerleaders of the Apocalypse, he was in Borigor, a more metallic version of CotA. They broke up as well. Nowadays, he plays in a "stoner, psychedelic, sort-of rockish" band called Calahan as well as in an instrumental project called Blackwaves with Frank, also the singer of the Kinetic Crash Cooperation and former singer of Sermon, and Tomek, former drummer of the Lovesongcompany, that he describes as "a mixture of Pleasure Forever and Neurosis."

The e-mail from Marc came totally out of the blue. He is now playing the guitar in a band called Run Away From The Humans, outta Philly, a new-wave inflected indie/ electro project which I recommend you check out.

They also shared some thoughts on old times. Stefan says that he wishes he could "revive the old days. That music was such an extremely important part of our lives for me and the others." Marc says "Jough Dawn Baker was a fun band to be in." As for the blue guitar I mentioned below, it's "a charvel surfcaster ... to this day I have no idea how Joe got that thing so heavy sounding ... it was a semi hollowbody single coil pick up guitar ... crazy." Word.

What do we learn from that, kids? Don't squander your youth - turn off the televison and get off your fucking couch! Now, that isn't exactly a new idea; it's been at the core of what many bands have expressed lyrically. It's what DIY is all about. That brings me to today's update. Few bands have expressed this beautifully naive, but truly powerful sentiment, couched in a bed of sinister apprehension, better than Morning Again, particularly in their very last release, a two-song 7" on Immigrant Sun that I believe was recorded and released sometime in '98/'99, entitled 'To Die a Bitter Death.'

As the title would suggest, these guys aren't into the whole goody-goody posicore thing, but the point is, they're trying to make a difference for themselves. As they state in the liner notes, "hardcore helped all of us in the band realize that we didn't want to be like everyone who surrounds us each day." Of course, there is already an implied judgment in who the "we" and who the "everyone" is - but that's precisely what makes underground movements and music exciting. Alienation leads to extreme forms of expression, which ideally generate a new understanding of our collective and inidividual identity and allow us to create something that ultimately brings us closer to the miserly rest of humanity again, because we might just not be so different after all. Wrap those sentiments in music to do spin kicks by, and you got yourself a Morning Again record.

I'm not going to mouth off much more about this band, because the odds are you aready know them and are familiar with their output. Instead, I'm just going to be lame and say that I like their old stuff better - with the exception of the aforementioned 7" - because it's more in-your-face. That includes the first record with Damien Moyal, who later went on to sing for Culture and As Friends Rust. However you feel about this band, I think they deserve credit for their part in popularizing metal elements in hardcore early on, along with bands like Unbroken, Earth Crisis and Chokehold, as well as introducing very personal elements in the lyrics.

So here's some Morning Again, old and new. Make of it what you will. Just, you know, "live each day as your last." Piece o'cake.

Morning Again - Family ties
Morning Again - To die a bitter death
Morning Again - Noteworthy instruction