Along the Way
Encyclopedia
Along the Way is the first live concert DVD
from punk
band Bad Religion
. The concert footage was taken from fourteen different Europe
an stops on their 1989 tour for the album, Suffer
. It was originally released on VHS
in Germany in 1990 (with a different cover) and in the United States in the following year, and on DVD
for the first time in 2004, coinciding with the reissues of the band's pre-Recipe for Hate
albums. Both the VHS and DVD have the same cover shown on the right, which depicts Jay Bentley
with his bass, while the European VHS depicts guitarist Brett Gurewitz
and singer Greg Graffin
singing along with each other.
The format of the video consists of live concert performances interspersed with short interview clips of the band members. The live footage is mixed from fourteen different shows, and jumps between them for each different cut and camera angle. Although the video remains synchronized with the audio track, it is not uncommon for the band members shirts to appear to change many times during the same song. The concert featured no songs from the band's 1983 album Into the Unknown or No Control
, although the latter album was released shortly after the European tour.
Title of the release is taken from the band's song of the same name, which appears on their 1985 long-out of print EP Back to the Known
. This song was also played live at the concert.
concerning his addiction to crack cocaine
and other hard drugs.
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
from punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
. The concert footage was taken from fourteen different Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an stops on their 1989 tour for the album, Suffer
Suffer (album)
Suffer is the third album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on the Californian independent record label Epitaph Records on September 8, 1988. It was the first album that was both released and distributed by the label...
. It was originally released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in Germany in 1990 (with a different cover) and in the United States in the following year, and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
for the first time in 2004, coinciding with the reissues of the band's pre-Recipe for Hate
Recipe for Hate
Recipe for Hate is Bad Religion's seventh full-length album, released on September 21, 1993. This was their last album on Epitaph Records and the band switched to Atlantic Records before its release....
albums. Both the VHS and DVD have the same cover shown on the right, which depicts Jay Bentley
Jay Bentley
Jay Dee Bentley is the bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion. He has played with the band through its whole existence with a small break between 1983 and 1985.-Bad Religion:...
with his bass, while the European VHS depicts guitarist Brett Gurewitz
Brett Gurewitz
Brett W. Gurewitz , nicknamed Mr. Brett, is the guitarist and a songwriter of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and sister-labels ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, and Hellcat Records...
and singer Greg Graffin
Greg Graffin
Gregory Walter Graffin, Ph.D. is an American punk rock musician, college professor, and author. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the noted Los Angeles band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1979 and is the band's only constant member, even though it now features two...
singing along with each other.
The format of the video consists of live concert performances interspersed with short interview clips of the band members. The live footage is mixed from fourteen different shows, and jumps between them for each different cut and camera angle. Although the video remains synchronized with the audio track, it is not uncommon for the band members shirts to appear to change many times during the same song. The concert featured no songs from the band's 1983 album Into the Unknown or No Control
No Control (Bad Religion album)
- Release history :- Notes/Trivia :* Track 2, "Big Bang" was featured on video game Tony Hawk's Underground.* Track 3, "No Control" quotes Scottish natural historian James Hutton, "no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end."...
, although the latter album was released shortly after the European tour.
Title of the release is taken from the band's song of the same name, which appears on their 1985 long-out of print EP Back to the Known
Back to the Known
- Trivia :* Track 3, "Bad Religion", is actually a remake of the song from their 1981 self-titled EP.* A recent fan poll cited "Along The Way" as one of the band's best songs.- Credits :* Greg Graffin – vocals, production* Greg Hetson – electric guitar...
. This song was also played live at the concert.
Brett Gurewitz on his drug habit
One of the interview portions of the video poses a question to guitarist Brett GurewitzBrett Gurewitz
Brett W. Gurewitz , nicknamed Mr. Brett, is the guitarist and a songwriter of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and sister-labels ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, and Hellcat Records...
concerning his addiction to crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
and other hard drugs.
- Interviewer: Brett, you have been an addict to crack. How do you think about hard drugs today?
- Brett Gurewitz: Well, I don't do it anymore. I think crack is probably the worst poison that has ever been introduced to human beings. I mean, I think personally it's worse than heroin because I experimented with heroin quite a bit, and alcoholAlcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, and um, although I guess it depends on the individual.
- I will say that I'm not, I don't want to sound that like I'm anti-drug, because I'm not anti-drug. I happen to be a drug addict. And when I take a drug, I can't stop. And um, or if I have a drink, I continue drinking until I black out. So, I had to stop. But, I think that part of that has to do with my, perhaps my environment, but I think a great deal of it has to do with genetic physical causes.
- I think the central nervous systemCentral nervous systemThe central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
of a drug addict and an alcoholicAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
is different from the central nervous system of a non-drug addict/alcoholic. And, in fact, medical studies have been done, they've done research on the spinal cordSpinal cordThe spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...
of drug addicts and alcoholics and they find genetic differences between them so there is some kind of inherited traitTrait (biology)A trait is a distinct variant of a phenotypic character of an organism that may be inherited, environmentally determined or be a combination of the two...
. So what I think is that if you can handle it and you can use it, drugs can be good. They can be good to relax the atmosphere at a party, LSDLSDLysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
can be very good to expand your mind, you know?
- I love LSD, I just don't, I just... And I don't think that LSD is an addictive drug personally, but, I had tried to stop taking crack in the past and I tried to stop drinking in the past and say, "OK, I won't drink, I'll just smoke pot" or "I won't take crack, I'll just drink" and whatever the one thing that I decided I would do, I did so much of it to compensate for not doing anything else because that's how I was. I had to stop everything, you know?
- But, I think that there are people who can handle it, and I think that for the people who can handle it, it's OK. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I just think that, um, when it comes to the point where the pain of using the things are too great than the pain of not using them, then you have to stop.
Track listing
Personnel
- Greg GraffinGreg GraffinGregory Walter Graffin, Ph.D. is an American punk rock musician, college professor, and author. He is most recognized as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the noted Los Angeles band Bad Religion, which he co-founded in 1979 and is the band's only constant member, even though it now features two...
- Vocals - Brett GurewitzBrett GurewitzBrett W. Gurewitz , nicknamed Mr. Brett, is the guitarist and a songwriter of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records and sister-labels ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Fat Possum Records, and Hellcat Records...
- Guitar - Jay BentleyJay BentleyJay Dee Bentley is the bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion. He has played with the band through its whole existence with a small break between 1983 and 1985.-Bad Religion:...
- Bass - Greg HetsonGreg HetsonGreg Hetson is an American guitarist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has lived in Los Angeles, California since he was 2 years old...
- Guitar - Pete FinestonePete FinestonePete Finestone was the second drummer of the punk rock band Bad Religion. He played in the band in 1981-1982 and again from 1984 to 1991....
- Drums