THE TEEN IDLES / S.O.A. / GOVERNMENT ISSUE / YOUTH BRIGADE (LP) Dischord 7" EP's

$

20

Four Old Seven Inches On A Twelve Inch

The Teen Idles / State Of Alert (S.O.A.) / Government Issue / Youth Brigade

Format: LP

Record Label: Dischord

Condition: New (this is a brand new/sealed/shrinkwrapped copy - the pictures above are of an opened copy I had)

* Reissue of this essential D.C. hardcore compilation of four rare 7" EP's recorded/released 1980-1981 on Dischord Records - remastered from the original source tapes - includes an insert and a digital download code
* THE TEEN IDLES: This was the band that started Dischord Records. Punk Rock slipped in the back doors of Washington D.C.'s Woodrow Wilson High School in the late 1970s and four of the students, Ian MacKaye, Jeff Nelson, Geordie Grindle and Mark Sullivan formed a band called The Slinkees in the spring of 1979. The Slinkees played only one show before the singer, Mark Sullivan, went off to college. The band then asked Nathan Strejcek to take over the vocals. It was this line-up that became The Teen Idles. The band became friends with another local band called the Bad Brains, who may well have been the greatest band in the world in 1980. The Bad Brains didn't take "No" for an answer, and this was pure inspiration to the younger D.C. punks. Some of the members of The Teen Idles, and many of their fans, were under 18 and unable to see bands that played at many of the local bars. This led them to search out alternative spaces to play as well as confront the clubs that enforced age-limits. These confrontations along with the energy of the shows got the band, to their delight, kicked out of a number of clubs. That summer, The Teen Idles and their roadies (Mark who was home from college, and Henry Garfield "the fifth Idle," later to become Henry Rollins) took a Greyhound bus to California for two shows. It was at the Mabuhay Gardens club in San Francisco that they first came across the "X" on the hands of underage concert-goers and the band brought this idea back to D.C. to use as a tactic to get clubs to let kids into the shows. When the band broke up, the members used the band's savings ($600) to document their music by releasing an eight-song 7". This was the first Dischord release.
* STATE OF ALERT (S.O.A.): When The Extorts broke up, their singer, Lyle Preslar, started playing guitar with Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson in what would become Minor Threat and the other three Extorts joined up with Henry Garfield (Rollins) to form State Of Alert (S.O.A.). The two bands debuted together in Washington, D.C. at a house party opening for The Untouchables, Black Market Baby, and the Bad Brains in December of 1980. S.O.A. brought a new level of aggression to the music and it reflected well the mood of many of the kids in the young D.C. punk scene. In the early part of 1981, the bands and kids were being kicked out of clubs and the attempts to play shows in other spaces were often ended by a visit from the police. S.O.A. and Minor Threat had a bit of a rivalry going, not only because there were ex-bandmates, but because Henry and Ian had been best friends for years. When The Teen Idles' record came out it was decided that any money that came back in would be used to put out another D.C. band's record. S.O.A. was not interested in waiting, however, so Henry put up his own money to put out the 10-song No Policy 7". In July of 1981, S.O.A. played their last show, opening for Black Flag in Philadelphia at a show that ended in a riot. A few days later Henry got on a bus to meet up with Black Flag again, but this time it was to join the band.
* GOVERNMENT ISSUE: Government Issue, or GI, debuted at the two-day Unheard Music Festival at D.C. Space in December of 1980. Because their drummer was sick and unable to play the shows, they called themselves The Substitutes and invited guest-players to sit in for each of the nights. Almost every young D.C. punk band that played over the two nights did a cover of the Monkees' "Stepping Stone," and the GI/Substitutes' ten-second version was the stand-out. The singer, John Stabb, got his nickname from The Stab, a band that he claimed to have been in when he first started showing up at Teen Idles gigs. He hooked up with John, Brian, and Mark to form the original GI in the fall of 1980. With the line-up intact, the band played its second show, only to have it shut down by the cops. Despite the rocky start, GI went on to play for nearly a decade. The Substitutes name actually ended up being somewhat prophetic as by the end in 1989, almost a dozen different people had joined and left the band (including Tom Lyle, Brian Baker and J. Robbins), leaving John as the only remaining original member.
* YOUTH BRIGADE: after The Teen Idles and The Untouchables split up in 1980, Nathan Strejcek and Danny Ingram formed Youth Brigade (not to be confused with the band of the same name from Los Angeles). After playing with a few different guitar and bass players, they finally settled on Bert Queiroz (also of The Untouchables) and Tom Clinton on guitar. Youth Brigade played its first show in Washington, D.C. in March of 1981 at a restaurant called Food For Thought and, along with Minor Threat, opened for Black Flag at the 9:30 Club on that band's first trip to the east coast. At the end of their run Youth Brigade released the Possible EP. The title was a tongue-in-cheek reference to one of the first Dischord ads, where, in a list of future releases, the label mentioned a Possible EP by Youth Brigade.
* Track Listing: THE TEEN IDLES - Minor Disturbance: Teen Idles / Sneakers / Get Up And Go / Deadhead / Fleeting Fury / Fiorucci Nightmare/Getting In My Way / Too Young To Rock / STATE OF ALERT (S.O.A) - No Policy: Lost In Space / Draw Blank / Girl Problems / Gate Crashers / Warzone / Riot / Gang Fight / Public Defender / Gonna Hafta Fight / GOVERNMENT ISSUE - Legless Bull: Religious Ripoff / Fashionite / Rock 'n Roll Bullshit / Anarchy Is Dead / Sheer Terror / Asshole / Bored To Death / No Rights / I'm James Dean / Cowboy Fashion / YOUTH BRIGADE - Possible: It's About Time That We Had A Change / Full Speed Ahead / Point Of View / Barbed Wire / Pay No Attention / Wrong Decision / No Song