7 Seconds
Encyclopedia
7 Seconds is an American hardcore punk
band from Reno, Nevada
. Formed on January 17, 1980 by two sets of brothers; the Marvelli brothers, Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth in combination with the Borghino brothers, Tom Munist and Dim Menace. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes with the exception brothers Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth who have remained a constant throughout the band's history. Notably in 1981, brothers Tom and Dim left to form Section 8. The current lineup of 7 Seconds consists of Kevin Seconds (vocals), Steve Youth (bass), Troy Mowat (drums), and Bobby Adams (guitar).
band, though they have never claimed the label for themselves. The band has continually rejected this label, but embraced the values fully, especially frontman Kevin Seconds. "I'm a bit out of touch with the newer Straight Edge scene so I can't comment too much on it, but being drug/alcohol/abuse-free, I certainly have no problems with people taking control of their lives and not letting stuff like drugs and booze run it for them, but I do have problems with people who try and change other people's lives in a militant fashion". They helped push and start the Youth Crew
movement in 1984 with The Crew, focusing on brotherhood, the Reno HC scene, and unity between one another.
The band started by releasing some poorly-recorded but highly energetic EPs such as 1982's Skins, Brains and Guts," most of which were later re-released as "alt.music.hardcore" and "Old School" compilation CDs. All three demos were released on a bootleg 12" named "7 Seconds - Hardcore Rules, 80-82". They also appeared on the 1985 hardcore compilation "Cleanse the Bacteria
", in addition to numerous other compilations, such as "Not So Quiet On the Western Front (Alt. Tentacles, 1982)", "Something to Believe In (BYO, 1984)", "Party or Go Home/We Got Power (Mystic, 1983)", and "Nuke Your Dink (Positive Force, 1984)".
, as was its successor - the classic hardcore EP "Walk Together Rock Together". With the "New Wind" LP, the band dramatically expanded its sound and style with audible elements of a sometimes quieter, slower, more melodic and accessible sound. Many writers have credited this particular period of 7 Seconds' career as being highly influential on many pop punk
and indie rock
bands that came along much later. Subsequent LPs moved deeper into mainstream territory with a U2
-like sound. The "7 Seconds" LP continued their musical experimentation. The band broke free in 1995 with The Music, The Message, moving back somewhat into their roots. The Music, The Message was released on Sony (BMI), the first release on a major label throughout the bands history. Earlier material was on various homegrown labels, completely self produced, or put out on Kevin Seconds own label, Positive Force Records (AKA United Front), before BYO Records housed them. However, the band returned to an old-school hardcore sound in 1999 with the "Good to Go" album. 2005 came the release of Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over! on SideOneDummy, completing the revelation back to their Hardcore roots.
.
Dim Menace's fist-brandishing scowl on the cover of the Skins, Brains, & Guts EP is one of the most iconic images in hardcore. Sacramento News & Review speaks at length of their influence in the positive hardcore
movement and their positive effect on the Punk Culture.
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band from Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
. Formed on January 17, 1980 by two sets of brothers; the Marvelli brothers, Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth in combination with the Borghino brothers, Tom Munist and Dim Menace. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes with the exception brothers Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth who have remained a constant throughout the band's history. Notably in 1981, brothers Tom and Dim left to form Section 8. The current lineup of 7 Seconds consists of Kevin Seconds (vocals), Steve Youth (bass), Troy Mowat (drums), and Bobby Adams (guitar).
History
7 Seconds is one of the longest standing bands in hardcore. They have been touring and recording for three decades. Because of the positive message in their music they are constantly being categorized as a Straight EdgeStraight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
band, though they have never claimed the label for themselves. The band has continually rejected this label, but embraced the values fully, especially frontman Kevin Seconds. "I'm a bit out of touch with the newer Straight Edge scene so I can't comment too much on it, but being drug/alcohol/abuse-free, I certainly have no problems with people taking control of their lives and not letting stuff like drugs and booze run it for them, but I do have problems with people who try and change other people's lives in a militant fashion". They helped push and start the Youth Crew
Youth crew
Youth crew is a music subgenre of hardcore punk attributed to the band Youth of Today who were primarily active during the early to mid-1980s particularly during the New York hardcore scene of 1988...
movement in 1984 with The Crew, focusing on brotherhood, the Reno HC scene, and unity between one another.
The band started by releasing some poorly-recorded but highly energetic EPs such as 1982's Skins, Brains and Guts," most of which were later re-released as "alt.music.hardcore" and "Old School" compilation CDs. All three demos were released on a bootleg 12" named "7 Seconds - Hardcore Rules, 80-82". They also appeared on the 1985 hardcore compilation "Cleanse the Bacteria
Cleanse the Bacteria
Cleanse the Bacteria is a hardcore punk compilation LP released in 1985 by Pushead on Pusmort Records. It is an international compilation of early hardcore music, and represents grindcore pioneers Siege's only original official release...
", in addition to numerous other compilations, such as "Not So Quiet On the Western Front (Alt. Tentacles, 1982)", "Something to Believe In (BYO, 1984)", "Party or Go Home/We Got Power (Mystic, 1983)", and "Nuke Your Dink (Positive Force, 1984)".
Genre history
7 Seconds has floated across several genres of rock. Their first full-length LP "The Crew" was recorded in 1983-84 and released by BYO RecordsBYO Records
BYO Records is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the seminal California punk rock band Youth Brigade . BYO stands for Better Youth Organization and aims to promote punk and other alternative youth...
, as was its successor - the classic hardcore EP "Walk Together Rock Together". With the "New Wind" LP, the band dramatically expanded its sound and style with audible elements of a sometimes quieter, slower, more melodic and accessible sound. Many writers have credited this particular period of 7 Seconds' career as being highly influential on many pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
bands that came along much later. Subsequent LPs moved deeper into mainstream territory with a U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
-like sound. The "7 Seconds" LP continued their musical experimentation. The band broke free in 1995 with The Music, The Message, moving back somewhat into their roots. The Music, The Message was released on Sony (BMI), the first release on a major label throughout the bands history. Earlier material was on various homegrown labels, completely self produced, or put out on Kevin Seconds own label, Positive Force Records (AKA United Front), before BYO Records housed them. However, the band returned to an old-school hardcore sound in 1999 with the "Good to Go" album. 2005 came the release of Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over! on SideOneDummy, completing the revelation back to their Hardcore roots.
Origins of the name 7 Seconds
In the February, 2005 issue of AMP magazine, in an article titled, "7 Seconds: 25 Years of Our Core," Kevin Seconds explained how the band's name originated:
“We were big fans of The DilsThe DilsThe Dils were an American punk rock band of the late 1970s, originally from Carlsbad, California, and fronted by brothers Chip Kinman and Tony Kinman...
, they had this EP, 198 Seconds of The Dils and I was so in love with punk rock that I would just write album titles on my clothes. This was still when Steve and I lived with my mom. We had this desk in this room we shared and I wrote ‘197 seconds of The Dils’, I miswrote the title. Over time, everything else faded, but the 7 Seconds part was there, and I circled it, I thought it looked cool.”
Influence in punk genre
7 Seconds is believed to be the first band to refer to themselves primarily as hardcore. After their first show on March 2, 1980, in Newsletter NWIN/SPUNK #1 they described their band as hardcore new waveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
.
Dim Menace's fist-brandishing scowl on the cover of the Skins, Brains, & Guts EP is one of the most iconic images in hardcore. Sacramento News & Review speaks at length of their influence in the positive hardcore
Positive hardcore
Positive hardcore is a branch of hardcore punk music scene that is socially aware or focuses on values such as being inclusive, community-oriented, and anti-violence.-Bibliography:...
movement and their positive effect on the Punk Culture.
Demos (Cassettes)
- Drastic Measures (cassette), 1980
- Socially Fucked Up (cassette), 1981
- Three Chord Politics (cassette), 1981
7" EPs
- Skins, Brains and Guts (Alternative TentaclesAlternative TentaclesAlternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
, 1982) - Committed For Life (Squirtdown, 1983)
- Blasts From the Past (Positive ForcePositive ForcePositive Force DC is an activist organization founded in 1984 by members of the punk community in Washington, D.C. It has organized hundreds of benefit concerts for community and activist groups, and worked alongside Fugazi, Bikini Kill, Nation of Ulysses, Girls Against Boys, Q and Not U and other...
, 1985) - 1980 Reissue (Official Bootleg, 1991)
- Happy Rain/Naked (Eating Blur, 1993)
- Split With Kill Your Idols (SideOneDummy, 2004)
Albums
- United We Stand (Aborted and later Re-issued as 'Old School' - Headhunter Records/Cargo Records, 1983)
- The CrewThe Crew (7 Seconds album)The Crew is the first full-length LP release of punk band 7 Seconds. The original LP was released with 18 tracks but later re-released on Compact Disc with six live bonus tracks.-Track listing:# "Here's Your Warning" - 1:18# "Definite" - 0:55...
(BYOBYO RecordsBYO Records is a Los Angeles, California based independent punk rock record label created by Shawn and Mark Stern, two of the three brothers of the seminal California punk rock band Youth Brigade . BYO stands for Better Youth Organization and aims to promote punk and other alternative youth...
, 1984) - Walk Together, Rock TogetherWalk Together, Rock TogetherWalk Together, Rock Together is the 1985 release of the punk band 7 Seconds.- Track listing :# "Regress No Way" - 1:09# "We're Gonna Fight" - 3:24# "In Your Face" - 1:07# "Spread" - 1:09# "99 Red Balloons" - 3:41# "Remains to Be Seen" - 1:31...
(Positive Force/BYO, 1985) - New Wind (Positive Force/BYO, 1986)
- Praise [four-song EP] (Positive Force/BYO, 1986)
- Live! One Plus One (Positive Force/Giant, 1987)
- OurselvesOurselves (album)Ourselves is the 1988 release of the punk band 7 Seconds.- Track listing :# "Escape and Run" - 2:52# "Far Away Friends" - 2:41# "Save Ourselves" - 3:07# "If I Abide" - 3:23# "Wish I Could Help" - 2:27# "Sleep" - 3:35# "Sister" - 2:04...
(RestlessRestless RecordsRestless Records was started in El Segundo, California in 1981 by Enigma Records and primarly released alternative, metal and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute Records...
, 1988) - Soulforce RevolutionSoulforce RevolutionSoulforce Revolution is the 1989 release of the punk band 7 Seconds.- Track listing :# "Satyagraha" - 3:09# "Busy Little People" - 3:27# "I Can Sympathize" - 2:45# "It All Makes Less Sense Now" - 3:24# "Mother's Day" - 4:15...
(Restless, 1989); #153 on the 1989 Billboard 200 - Old School (Headhunter/Cargo, 1991)
- Out the Shizzy (Headhunter/Cargo, 1993)
- alt.music.hardcoreAlt.music.hardcoreAlt.music.hardcore is the tenth studio LP by punk band 7 Seconds. It is composed of the 1982 Skins, Brains, and Guts 7" EP , the 1983 Committed for Life 7" EP , and the Blast From the Past EP - Track listing :...
(Headhunter/Cargo, 1995) - The Music, The Message (Sony/BMI, 1995)
- Good To Go (SideOneDummy, 1999)
- Scream Real Loud...Live!Scream Real Loud...Live!Scream Real Loud...Live! is the 2000 live release by the punk band 7 Seconds.- Track listing :# "Sooner or Later" - 1:17# "Not Just Boy's Fun" - 1:41# "This Is the Angry" - 1:17# "F.O.F.O.D." - 0:26# "Message from a Friend" - 1:41# "Ghost" - 1:58...
(SideOneDummy, 2000) - Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over! is the 2005 release of the punk band 7 Seconds.- Track listing :# "All Came Undone" - 0:58# "Meant to Be My Own" - 1:50# "This Is Temporary" - 1:17# "My Band, Our Crew" - 2:05# "Still On It" - 2:48...
(SideOneDummy, 2005)
Compilations
- Not So Quiet On The Western Front (MRR/Alternative Tentacles, 1982)
- We Got Power: Party Or Go Home (Mystic, 1983)
- Something To Believe In (BYO, 1984)
- Nuke Your Dink (Positive Force, 1984)
- Cleanse The Bacteria (Pusmort, 1985)
- Another Shot For Bracken (Positive Force, 1986)
- Four Bands That Could Change The World (Gasatanka, 1987)
- Flipside Vinyl Fanzine, vol. 3 (Flipside, 1987)
- Human Polity (One World Communications, 1993)
- The Song Retains The Name, vol. 2 (Safe House, 1993)
- Ten Years Later (Bossa Nova, 1997)
- Short Music For Short People (Fat Wreck Chords, 1999)
- Old School Punk Vol.1 (Walk Together, Rock Together)
External links
- "The Subversive History of the Original 7 Seconds"
- Myspace – 7 Seconds MySpace
- Kevin Seconds Podcast Radio Show on ipadio