Necros - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

for the James Bond character see List of James Bond henchmen in The Living Daylights

Necros were an early American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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 Maumee, Ohio

Maumee, Ohio

Maumee is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Toledo along the Maumee River. The population was 14,286 at the 2010 census. Maumee was also declared an All-America City by the National Civic League in June 2006.-Geography:...

, although they are usually identified with the Detroit

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

music scene. They are the first band to record for Touch and Go Records

Touch and Go Records

Touch and Go Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.After its genesis as a hand-made fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s alternative and underground rock scenes, Touch & Go carved out a reputation for releasing adventurous...

History

The Necros were formed in 1979 by then-teenagers Barry Henssler (vocals), Andy Wendler (guitar), and Todd Swalla (drums). After going though a handful of bassists (including Jeff Allsop, David Cooke, Brian Hyland, Jeff Lake, and Brian Pollack), Corey Rusk joined the band. Barry Henssler had struck up a friendship with Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson of Touch and Go magazine after sending them a copy of his own 'zine, Smegma Journal. Vee and Stimson became fans of the Necros and decided to put out a record by the band. In 1981, the band's first record, a self-titled 4-song 7" EP (recorded prior to Rusk's entry into the band) most commonly known as "Sex Drive", was released. The first record ever released on Touch and Go Records

Touch and Go Records

(then called Touch and Go Rekords), it was limited to only 100 copies. Andy Wendler also stopped performing with the band in 1981 (although he continued to write for them) and was replaced by Brian Pollack on guitar. Later that year, the band recorded and released another self-titled 7" EP, this one a 9-song record most commonly known as "IQ32", which was produced by Ian MacKaye

Ian MacKaye

Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...

and was a joint release between Touch and Go (which Rusk now had a hand in running) and Dischord Records

Dischord Records

Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...

. Andy Wendler reclaimed his spot on guitar in late 1982 and in 1983 the band recorded and released two more records, a 7" and LP both titled Conquest For Death. Following the release of the LP, Corey Rusk quit the group to concentrate on Touch and Go, since, by that time, he'd assumed full control of the label. Although the decision to leave the group was Rusk's, Touch and Go has never reissued the Necros records they put out.

Bassist Ron Sakowski replaced Corey Rusk in 1983, but the group would not release another record for two years. In an interview with a zine called "One Solution", Henssler blamed the delay between releases, at least in part, on Rusk's refusal to give the band a definite answer as to whether or not they were still on Touch and Go.

A new Necros release finally came to fruition in 1985 when they appeared on a split release with White Flag

White flag

White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.-Flag of temporary truce in order to parley :...

, entitled Jail Jello, on Gasatanka Records. Now featuring a more distinctly hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

sound, the band followed up the split with the Tangled Up LP on Restless Records

Restless Records

Restless 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...

in 1986 along with a single of the same name on Gasatanka. Following a 1987 tour with Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

, the group called it quits. A live album, Live or Else, appeared posthumously in 1989.

Following the breakup, Barry Henssler formed Big Chief, who would record for the Sub Pop

Sub Pop

Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...

label. Ron Sakowski and Todd Swalla would reunite in the mid 1990s as part of the final line up of Touch And Go

Touch and Go Records

artists Laughing Hyenas

Laughing Hyenas

Laughing Hyenas was an American rock band that existed from 1985 to 1995. They formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan and were initially made up of former members of Negative Approach , L-Seven , plus Kevin Strickland and Jim Kimball...

.

In 2002, a limited (only 450 copies pressed) split 10" with Authority Abuse was released by Wise Hoodlum Records. The Necros material consisted of live recordings from 1981 through 1983.

Tangled Up and Live or Else were released together on CD by Rykodisc

Rykodisc

Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...

in 2005 and is currently the only Necros material available on CD.

Discography

"Sex Drive" - 7" EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

(Touch and Go) 1981
"IQ32" - 7" EP (Dischord/Touch and Go) 1981
"Conquest for Death" - 7" single (Touch and Go) 1983
Conquest for Death - LP (Touch and Go) 1983
Jail Jello - split 12" w/ White Flag (Gasatanka) 1985
"Tangled Up" - single (Gasatanka) 1986
Tangled Up - LP (Restless) 1986
Live or Else - tape (Medusa/Enigma) 1990
Split 10" w/ Authority Abuse (Wise Hoodlum)2002
Tangled Up/Live or Else - album (Rykodisc) 2005

External links

http://www.necroscentral.com
Necros at Touch and Go Records
Flipside Interview - Necros interview from 1982

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