Born Against
Encyclopedia
Born Against was an American hardcore punk
band from New York active between 1989–1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk
message and challenged what they perceived as problematic within the punk subculture of their time.
and bassist Neil Burke
(both formerly of the New York hardcore
band Life's Blood
), vocalist Sam McPheeters
, and drummer John Guzman, who was replaced in early rehearsals by a drummer named George. George's tenure was also brief, and he was replaced after a single show by Nigel Schreiber in July 1989. This lineup recorded a demo cassette and a track for the Murderers Among Us 7" compilation released on McPheeters' Vermiform Records
label before Burke and Schreiber left the group late in the year. Born Against would continue to be plagued by rhythm section fluctuation throughout its career.
In March 1990, the band reemerged with bassist Javier Villegas and drummer Darryl Kahan, the latter of the New York hardcore band Citizen's Arrest. The band issued its first two vinyl releases, the Eulogy single (whose anti-religious title track was controversially dedicated to Steve Reddy of Equal Vision Records
upon his conversion to a Hare Krishna
lifestyle) and a self-titled 7" EP, and several compilation tracks. Later this year, Kahan was replaced by drummer John Hiltz, birthing the longest lasting incarnation of the band. The group toured extensively, and released a debut LP, 1991's Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children, on Vermiform. Villegas left the group in late 1991 – he would go on to play in the groups Iabhorer, Cattlepress
, and Kylesa
. He was replaced in Born Against by bassist Bret Blue.
With Hiltz and Blue, Born Against continued its extensive touring, including a trip to Europe. By this point, the band's aggressive political message and related critique of their contemporaries had sparked much controversy, and they endured prominent animosity in New York City and beyond. They began work on a new record, which was stalled in July 1992 when Hiltz left the group. The final sessions that produced the resultant 10" record, Battle Hymns of the Race War, featured Melissa York (later of Team Dresch
, The Butchies
and Ex-Members) on drums, although York never performed live with the group.
By early 1993, Nathanson and McPheeters had relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey
and begun a new version of the band with bassist Tonie Joy
(of Moss Icon
and Universal Order of Armageddon
) and drummer Brooks Headley
(also from Universal Order of Armageddon). Although only extant for seven months, this was a prolific incarnation, as they continued to tour and released split 7"s with Screeching Weasel
(in which both bands swapped lyrics) and Universal Order of Armageddon. Their radical leftist stance became increasingly drenched in cynicism, which slowly threatened to overtake their message – the results of this evolution are evidenced in the nonsense song "Lillian" and other non-sequitur pieces from this time. Their final release was a split 8" record with Man is the Bastard
, and the group played its final show in July 1993.
After the group's demise, members would continue to collaborate in future bands. Men's Recovery Project
, McPheeters and Burke's absurdist
/ironic noise rock
outfit, featured occasional guest appearances by Headley, Joy, and Nathanson. (Young) Pioneers
, Nathanson's proto-folk punk
band, also saw membership from Headley and Burke. Joy's group The Great Unraveling
contained Headley in its final incarnation. Most recently, McPheeters and Headley reunited in the Wrangler Brutes
, a hardcore punk band active from 2003–2004.
Two posthumous CDs containing the entire Born Against canon (aside from their demo tape) have since been released – Patriotic Battle Hymns (featuring Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children and Battle Hymns of the Race War) and The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure (featuring all other material). Initially released on the now-defunct Vermiform, these records have since been taken on by the Kill Rock Stars
and Prank Records
imprints.
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 New York active between 1989–1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk
DIY ethic
The DIY ethic refers to the ethic of self-sufficiency through completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for one's behalf. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
message and challenged what they perceived as problematic within the punk subculture of their time.
History
The group was founded in early 1989 by guitarist Adam NathansonAdam Nathanson
Adam Nathanson is an American musician currently based in Richmond, Virginia. He is best known as the guitarist in the New York-based hardcore punk band Born Against, and the singer and guitarist in the proto-folk punk band Pioneers.-Musical career:...
and bassist Neil Burke
Neil Burke
Neil Burke is an American musician and artist. He is known as a former member of several hardcore punk and noise rock bands, most notably Born Against and Men's Recovery Project...
(both formerly of the New York hardcore
New York hardcore
New York hardcore refers to hardcore punk and metalcore music created in New York City and to the subculture associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Hardcore '81 is an album by the...
band Life's Blood
Life's Blood
Life's Blood was a hardcore punk band formed by four first year college students in New York City in 1987. It consisted of Adam Nathanson on guitars, Neil Burke on bass, John Kriksciun on drums, and on vocals, Combined Effort promoter and fanzine editor Jason O'Toole...
), vocalist Sam McPheeters
Sam McPheeters
Sam McPheeters is an American musician, artist and journalist. Raised in Albany, New York and later relocated to New York City, McPheeters was a key member of the early 1990s hardcore punk scene, writing a number of zines and singing in the hardcore band Born Against...
, and drummer John Guzman, who was replaced in early rehearsals by a drummer named George. George's tenure was also brief, and he was replaced after a single show by Nigel Schreiber in July 1989. This lineup recorded a demo cassette and a track for the Murderers Among Us 7" compilation released on McPheeters' Vermiform Records
Vermiform Records
Vermiform Records was an American independent record label that specialized in releasing punk rock music from 1990 until 2002. Over the course of those twelve years Vermiform released 57 albums and relocated many times, being headquartered in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island and...
label before Burke and Schreiber left the group late in the year. Born Against would continue to be plagued by rhythm section fluctuation throughout its career.
In March 1990, the band reemerged with bassist Javier Villegas and drummer Darryl Kahan, the latter of the New York hardcore band Citizen's Arrest. The band issued its first two vinyl releases, the Eulogy single (whose anti-religious title track was controversially dedicated to Steve Reddy of Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....
upon his conversion to a Hare Krishna
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
lifestyle) and a self-titled 7" EP, and several compilation tracks. Later this year, Kahan was replaced by drummer John Hiltz, birthing the longest lasting incarnation of the band. The group toured extensively, and released a debut LP, 1991's Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children, on Vermiform. Villegas left the group in late 1991 – he would go on to play in the groups Iabhorer, Cattlepress
Cattlepress
Cattlepress was an American metal band from Brooklyn, New York. They began life billed as Sin, founded by erstwhile personnel from Nausea and Born Against. As Sin the band cut a split album with Spine Wrench before folding. However, the core of the band soon re-emerged as Cattlepress. A 1993 demo...
, and Kylesa
Kylesa
Kylesa is a metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with sludgy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former members of Damad, with the addition of guitar player Laura Pleasants who is...
. He was replaced in Born Against by bassist Bret Blue.
With Hiltz and Blue, Born Against continued its extensive touring, including a trip to Europe. By this point, the band's aggressive political message and related critique of their contemporaries had sparked much controversy, and they endured prominent animosity in New York City and beyond. They began work on a new record, which was stalled in July 1992 when Hiltz left the group. The final sessions that produced the resultant 10" record, Battle Hymns of the Race War, featured Melissa York (later of Team Dresch
Team Dresch
Team Dresch is an American punk band from Portland, Oregon, originally formed in Olympia, Washington, which was initially active from 1993 until 1998. The band made a significant impression on the do-it-yourself movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and...
, The Butchies
The Butchies
The Butchies are a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005, and are currently on a hiatus. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes....
and Ex-Members) on drums, although York never performed live with the group.
By early 1993, Nathanson and McPheeters had relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and begun a new version of the band with bassist Tonie Joy
Tonie Joy
Anthony R. "Tonie" Joy is an American musician currently based in Baltimore, Maryland. Joy is known for his work, most commonly as a guitarist, in several popular underground punk and indie rock bands. In addition, Joy runs the independent record label Vermin Scum.-Musical career:Joy began...
(of Moss Icon
Moss Icon
Moss Icon was an Annapolis, Maryland post-hardcore band from 1986 to 1991. Its original members were singer Jonathan Vance, guitarist Tonie Joy, bassist Monica DiGialleonardo, and drummer Mark Laurence. Alex Badertscher joined as second guitarist in 1990...
and Universal Order of Armageddon
Universal Order of Armageddon
Universal Order of Armageddon was an American hardcore band, active in the early to mid 1990s.-History:The band formed in September 1992 and by early 1993, after quickly gaining a small but devoted following, they were recording and touring the East Coast. Known for their extreme short chaotic...
) and drummer Brooks Headley
Brooks Headley
Brooks Headley is an American musician and chef, best known as the drummer in several hardcore punk and indie rock bands.Headley is presently the executive pastry chef at Del Posto, a New York Times-rated four-star restaurant, in New York City....
(also from Universal Order of Armageddon). Although only extant for seven months, this was a prolific incarnation, as they continued to tour and released split 7"s with Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
(in which both bands swapped lyrics) and Universal Order of Armageddon. Their radical leftist stance became increasingly drenched in cynicism, which slowly threatened to overtake their message – the results of this evolution are evidenced in the nonsense song "Lillian" and other non-sequitur pieces from this time. Their final release was a split 8" record with Man is the Bastard
Man Is the Bastard
Man Is the Bastard were a pioneering hardcore punk band who contributed the name, and perhaps also the ethos, to the punk subgenre known as power violence...
, and the group played its final show in July 1993.
After the group's demise, members would continue to collaborate in future bands. Men's Recovery Project
Men's Recovery Project
Men's Recovery Project was an American experimental noise rock band formed by Sam McPheeters and Neil Burke in Richmond, Virginia, active from 1993–2002...
, McPheeters and Burke's absurdist
Absurdism
In philosophy, "The Absurd" refers to the conflict between the human tendency to seek value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any...
/ironic noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
outfit, featured occasional guest appearances by Headley, Joy, and Nathanson. (Young) Pioneers
(Young) Pioneers
Pioneers was an influential American folk punk band from Richmond, Virginia, active from 1993–1999.-History:...
, Nathanson's proto-folk punk
Folk punk
Folk punk , is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was pioneered in the late 1970s and early 1980s by The Pogues in Britain and Violent Femmes in America. Folk punk achieved some mainstream success in that decade...
band, also saw membership from Headley and Burke. Joy's group The Great Unraveling
The Great Unraveling (band)
The Great Unraveling were an American post-punk rock band from Baltimore, Maryland, a later project from Tonie Joy of Moss Icon, Universal Order of Armageddon and Born Against. The band was active from 1995–1997.-History:...
contained Headley in its final incarnation. Most recently, McPheeters and Headley reunited in the Wrangler Brutes
Wrangler Brutes
The Wrangler Brutes were an American hardcore punk band formed in 2003 in Los Angeles, California.-History:Wrangler Brutes were formed around vocalist Sam McPheeters , drummer Brooks Headley , guitarist Andy Coronado and...
, a hardcore punk band active from 2003–2004.
Two posthumous CDs containing the entire Born Against canon (aside from their demo tape) have since been released – Patriotic Battle Hymns (featuring Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children and Battle Hymns of the Race War) and The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure (featuring all other material). Initially released on the now-defunct Vermiform, these records have since been taken on by the Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
and Prank Records
Prank Records
Prank Records is a hardcore punk record label based in San Francisco, California. They began in 1995, releasing hardcore punk bands on vinyl and in CD format, with over 90 releases. Started by former Auburn University WEGL 91.1 FM radio DJ, Maximum Rock and Roll columnist and reviewer, former 924...
imprints.
Members
- Sam McPheetersSam McPheetersSam McPheeters is an American musician, artist and journalist. Raised in Albany, New York and later relocated to New York City, McPheeters was a key member of the early 1990s hardcore punk scene, writing a number of zines and singing in the hardcore band Born Against...
– vocals (1989–1993) - Adam NathansonAdam NathansonAdam Nathanson is an American musician currently based in Richmond, Virginia. He is best known as the guitarist in the New York-based hardcore punk band Born Against, and the singer and guitarist in the proto-folk punk band Pioneers.-Musical career:...
– guitar, vocals (1989–1993) - Neil BurkeNeil BurkeNeil Burke is an American musician and artist. He is known as a former member of several hardcore punk and noise rock bands, most notably Born Against and Men's Recovery Project...
– bass, vocals (1989) - Javier Villegas – bass, vocals (1990–1991)
- Bret Blue – bass, vocals (1991–1992)
- Tonie JoyTonie JoyAnthony R. "Tonie" Joy is an American musician currently based in Baltimore, Maryland. Joy is known for his work, most commonly as a guitarist, in several popular underground punk and indie rock bands. In addition, Joy runs the independent record label Vermin Scum.-Musical career:Joy began...
– bass, vocals (1993) - John Guzman – drums (1989)
- George – drums (1989)
- Nigel Schreiber – drums (1989)
- Daryl Kahan – drums (1990)
- Jon Hiltz – drums (1990–1992)
- Melissa YorkMelissa YorkMelissa York is a rock drummer. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina.York first began drumming with the New York-based hardcore punk bands Born Against, the Manacled and Vitapup. After this, she moved to the West Coast to drum for Team Dresch. Following that, she was a member of the power...
– drums (1992) - Brooks HeadleyBrooks HeadleyBrooks Headley is an American musician and chef, best known as the drummer in several hardcore punk and indie rock bands.Headley is presently the executive pastry chef at Del Posto, a New York Times-rated four-star restaurant, in New York City....
– drums (1993)
Compact discs and vinyl
- Eulogy/Riding With Mary 7" (1990)
- Born Against 7" (1990)
- Nine Patriotic Hymns for Children LP (1991)
- Born Against/Suckerpunch 8" flexi-disc split with Suckerpunch (1992, Ebullition RecordsEbullition RecordsEbullition Records is an independent record label and distro based out of Goleta, California. It published HeartattaCk, a zine focusing on independent punk and hardcore from around the world, informed by an anti-consumerist and D.I.Y. ideology....
) - Battle Hymns of the Race War 10" (1993)
- Born Against/Screeching Weasel split 7"/CD with Screeching WeaselScreeching WeaselScreeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
(1993, Lookout! RecordsLookout! Records-History:Larry Livermore and David Hayes formed the label in 1987. From the start, Lookout released punk rock records, but over time expanded its scope to include various types of pop rock, reggae fusion, acoustic rock, pop punk, and indie rock...
) - Born Against/Universal Order of Armageddon split 7" with Universal Order of ArmageddonUniversal Order of ArmageddonUniversal Order of Armageddon was an American hardcore band, active in the early to mid 1990s.-History:The band formed in September 1992 and by early 1993, after quickly gaining a small but devoted following, they were recording and touring the East Coast. Known for their extreme short chaotic...
(1993, Gravity RecordsGravity RecordsGravity Records is an underground independent record label from San Diego. It was formed in 1991 by Matt Anderson, a member of the influential underground band Heroin. It has been central in developing and promoting the "San Diego sound" - an idiosyncratic form of post-hardcore with loose, chaotic...
) - Born Against/Man Is the Bastard split 8" with Man Is the BastardMan Is the BastardMan Is the Bastard were a pioneering hardcore punk band who contributed the name, and perhaps also the ethos, to the punk subgenre known as power violence...
(1994) - The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure compilation CD/LP (1995)
- Patriotic Battle Hymns compilation CD/LP (1996)
Compilation appearances
- Murders Among Us (1990, Combined Effort Records/Vermiform Records)
- Forever (Irate)
- Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrgghhh! (Slap-a-Ham)
- Our Voice, Pro Choice (Hands On)
- Give Me Back (1991, Ebullition RecordsEbullition RecordsEbullition Records is an independent record label and distro based out of Goleta, California. It published HeartattaCk, a zine focusing on independent punk and hardcore from around the world, informed by an anti-consumerist and D.I.Y. ideology....
) - The Dignity of Human Being Is Vulnerable (1993, Anti War Action Records/De Konkurrent Records)
- God's Chosen People (Old GloryOld GloryOld Glory is a common nickname for the flag of the United States, bestowed by William Driver, an early nineteenth century American sea captain....
)