Johnny Patterson.
BAD BRAINS
By Mike Gitter
A display of energy is how one could best
describe the Bad Brains. Tight, careening
melodies erupt as three dark, dreadlocked
figures jam on, bouncing harmonies against
the club's cavernous walls. The calm is ab-
ruptly broken as vocalist Joseph I hits the
stage, spasmodically lunging about, hurling
himself into the outstretched arms of the au-
dience, rebounding back onto the stage and
breaking into the first verse of the Bad
Brains classic, "Rock For Light."
Bad Brains, from left: Dr. Know, Joseph, Earl, Darryl.
SCHODLE
Guitarist Dr. Know wails out a scorching,
though soulful lead over bassist Darryl and
drummer Earl's pounding rhythm section as
Joseph backflips and begins shimmying up
a nearby support pole all the time singing,
screeching and belting out his lyrics with a
possessed ferver. The song ends and the
band pauses for a moment to tune. Joseph
smiles and the audience seems to reflect his
joy. Simply, the Bad Brains cross-cultural,
idealogical and religious barriers unite what
is often a highly varied audience with their
message of love, peace and togetherness.
What makes the Bad Brains so vital is their
sense of conviction and honesty reflected in
a number of other hardcore outfits from the
'81-'82 era including Minor Threat, SSD and
Negative FX. "I think a lot of people are look-
ing for rock 'n roll, but moreover, a clean
rock 'n roll, a just rock 'n roll. They want
something that is justified and right. Simply,
they want something that's real. That was
what made me like the Sex Pistols. I was a
youth out of the suburbs who had been a
pre-med student for three years, failing
every year, and then a friend of mine said,
'Yo, listen to this,' and I really liked what I
heard."
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"I've definitely seen the mentality of youth
growing these days," says Joseph. "A lot of
people's minds are more open these days
and are simply more intelligent and aware
than youths in the sixties. I'm not saying that
people weren't intelligent then, but history
teaches us many lessons." From a cross-cul-
tural perspective, Joseph is able to make
several interesting observations on Ameri-
can culture and identity: "I think that music
has gotten a lot more political. Now, they're
singing "Born in the USA" or "Living in
America." It seems as if culture has become
a competition of ideologies. Not only does
your music have to be good, but your
philosophy has to be good as well and it all
has to be in tune. I'm glad all of this is hap-
pening. I tend to be humanistic in my writing
and in the band's music I try to have a sense
of putting all Babylonian, materialistic and
negative thinking aside and dealing with one
particular spirit which I call the Jah spirit."
Given the band's deep devotion to Ras-
tafarianism, Joseph stresses the importance
of injecting the band's music with a clear
sense of spirituality and self-discipline. "I
think it's important to maintain a certain
sense of spirituality for a band when they
start off with that particular feeling they get
onstage and you can feel it. The music is hot
and you can see that inside them, they are
saying, 'this is something that I believe in
and it is something that is very real to me."
Later on down the line they get popular and
become famous and make the mistake of not
disciplining their lifestyles. It's a very sensi-
tive thing being in the eyes of the public as
someone to whom a lot of youth look up to in
admiration. You have to discipline your lifes-
tyle to lead a life that is plain, simple and
humble. If you don't do that, you'll find your-
self caught up in the rat race and you'll get
up on that stage and it just won't be the
same. What you originally thought made you
so strong must be maintained or you will
lose that initial strength."
Following their reunion, the Brains have
begun to record a new Lp that should see re-
lease sometime in '86. Musically, it pushes
for a more united sound with songs like "1
Against I," carefully blending a variety of in-
fluences and ideas. They also plan to exten-
sively tour the US and abroad.
"Finally," says Joseph, "I'd like to stress
the importance of independence to the
youth today. They can survive without kis-
sing ass. There's a lot of ass kissing going
on and I honestly think that the music indus-
try of America is full of shit and I think that a
lot of the producers are going to be sur-
prised as a lot of the youths are getting their
scene together and are going to make music
that will wipe a lot of their shit off the charts.
I'm working hard for that day."
Fromage
as well... Heavy metal band Deuce
has been renamed Tension, and has
just completed work on their debut
album for Torrid Records. The album
was produced and recorded at Cap-
itol Records in L.A... Who says all the
activity in music is only in the states?
Iceland's Svart Hvitar Draumer has
released a 10" Ep that rules-if you
want a copy contact Gunni, Alfhol
svegur 30A, 200 Kopavogur, Iceland.
And R.A.F. Gier, out of West Ger-
many, has an album out that is also
interesting and very cool for a spin'
on the turntable. Contact Wolle, Min-
den erstr 30, 4400 Munster, West
Germany. Also, if you're interested
in getting material from other West
German bands, ask him, because
he distributes material and has a
catalogue of stuff... 3:20 p.m...
Friday April 4, a wooden warehouse,
housing an artisans colony, in the
Hunters Point area of San Fran-
cisco, was rocked by a terrible
explosion that resulted in a large fire
which consumed several artisan lofts,
cabinet workshops and the like. At
least seven people were known to be
inside that building at the time, and
are presumed dead. Seriously injured
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in the blaze was guitarist extraor
dinairre, Johnny Patterson who
pioneered in the San Francisco punk
scene with bands like No Alterna-
tive, Swingin' Possums and
People's Temple to name a few. At
press time he is listed in serious con-
dition in the burn unit at S.F. General,
with second and third degree burns
over one-third of his body, including
his head and face. We wish you well,
Johnny, in your recovery... A series
of benefits for those affected by this
catastrophe is being scheduled by
Stanous Flouride, tentatively to be
held at practically every venue in the
Bay area. So far, he's gathered up
over thirty bands for the cause, and
he's only just begun.
Coming in June, the
THRASHER main event...Skate
Rock, The Gig. Featuring the
driving decibel meltdown of (get
this) C.O.C. (tentative), Gang
Green, Septic Death, Beyond
Possession, Christ On Parade,
Drunk Injuns and more! When?...
June 27-San Francisco, June 28
-Los Angeles. Watch for more
details next issue!
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