CHRIST ON PARADE

Christ on Parade: Sounds of Reunion
by Jason Walsh

"You can't change anything by waiting for the 'revolution' - you have to start living it today, creating a real community amongst the sterility of our modern world, and eventually the system will wither away."

Twenty-three years after the release of Christ on Parade's debut record, "Sounds of Nature," this excerpt from the liner notes is still relevant in regards to modern society. Though two-and-a-half decades have passed since these words were penned, the injustices the band protested still remain.

"That's the funny part," frontman Barrie Evans said. "Things never change. They come in cycles. Who would have thought writing songs in 84-85 would still be as valid then as they are today, with the Reagan world then, and the Bush world now. It's frightening."

The East Bay punk scene in San Francisco was exploding in the 80s. The former members of Bay area bands Treason and Teenage Warning came together to form Christ on Parade in 1985. They quickly built a strong following and released "Sounds of Nature" on Pusmort Records, the independent label started by renown underground artist and Septic Death vocalist Pushead. Though a raw and unpolished work, it continues to stand as a defining part of the early hardcore movement.

"I listen to it now and it sounds like an unmixed mess," Evans said. "At the time, I guess we were happy with it, but after listening to it now we're like holy shit, what the hell were we thinking. It was mixed so poorly back then."

But this was in the time when the DIY ethic began and bands were putting out records without the support of major labels nor the access to state-of-the-art recording studios. It was all done independently and the significance of the message outweighed the quality of the production.

"It's kind of neat that people were so into the record and into what we were saying," Evans said. "You kind of forget about it after twenty years. People get reinvigorated when they start listening to the music again, and they start to remember what it was about the music and the songs that they really liked. It's kind of like a dated music style, but it definitely has its place. It's just as valid today as when we wrote it."

For many years, Evans attempted to re-release the out-of-print classic, but for a number of reasons, it never came to pass.

"One of the people I talked to about it was Pushead, and he was the one who suggested Ken Prank. He said he was more in touch with that scene and he'd probably be the best bet."

Prank Records is a San Francisco based hardcore punk label that was started in 1995 by Ken "Prank" Sanderson, whose credits include columnist for Maximum Rock and Roll magazine, booker for the legendary 924 Gilman Street venue, and long-time Mordam Records employee. Sanderson was very receptive to the idea of re-releasing the album.

"Pushead had sent me an advance tape of 'Sounds of Nature' in the 80s, so I had been a fan of the record before it even came out," he said. "It's a crucial part of Bay Area DIY punk history and was an honor to re-release the record."

After Christ on Parade disbanded in 1989, guitarist Noah Landis went on to join Neurosis, which then spawned the Neurot label. Landis expressed an interest in re-releasing "Sounds of Nature" on Neurot while Evans had been discussing the idea with Prank.

"We kind of figured the best way to cover all the markets was to let Neurot do the CD and Prank do the LP because Prank predominantly does a lot of vinyl," Evans said.

"Sounds of Nature" hit the streets last year, twenty-two years after its initial release in 1985. It featured the album's original 11 tracks, as well as the two songs released on Thrasher Magazine's Skate Rock Volume 3: Wild Riders on Boards, the "Isn't Life A Dream" EP from 1986, and an unreleased cover of the Avengers' "The American in Me." Word quickly spread and Evans was amazed by the response.

"After the CD came out, it got so much buzz and started selling so fast, I was thinking, hell, what we should do is a little one-off tour just to promote it and not do it again."

This is where the seeds of a long, awaited reunion were planted. However, it would not be an easy endeavor to undertake. Though Evans, Landis, and bassist Malcolm "Milky" Sherwood still resided in the Bay area, guitarist Mike Scott and drummer Todd Kramer now lived in Bremen, Germany. Not to be discouraged by a continental divide, the American contingent jumped on a plane and made their way to Europe for their first band practice in more than two decades.

"It was really strange practicing, because after the second day of practice, it seemed like we'd never broken up," Evans said. "It all fell right back into place and I think we actually sound better now than we did then, because everyone's more accomplished musicians."

An even more unusual twist to the story is the space where they practiced in Bremen. It was an old, above-ground World War II bombing bunker once used by the Nazis with eight-foot-thick cement walls.

"It's just this big monolith in the middle of this park and it's kind of decrepit looking with moss growing all over it," Evans said. "In the summer time, it's still cold in there from the winter, and by the time it warms up from the summer, to where it's tolerable in there, it's almost Christmas time. It retains the heat and retains the cold, and by the time we got there, it was freezing and like practicing in a meat locker. The most soundproof meat locker ever. It's really strange and really eerie too."

Scott used the space for practices with his band, Nitrous Oxide Wrestling Club, as did Kramer for his band Sworn Liars. Though not the most comfortable of places for rehearsing, Evans felt it just added to the reunion's mystique.

"That whole experience of practicing and being in that bomb shelter was just strange, but I guess that was just part of the magic of it. It went really well and we couldn't have been happier with it at all. Those were experiences that no one would ever believed you when you'd tell them."

Christ on Parade went on to do a three-month European tour that kicked off in Bremen. The more they played, themore it seemed to come together, and their performances did not go unnoticed.

"As the shows went on in Germany and Europe, on the internet word spread that 'hey, they're actually pretty good.' Each time we played a show, the next show would be bigger and bigger and bigger. They successfully got more and more crowds because I think word spread that we were actually really good."

At the European tour's end, the guys parted ways, but the story didn't end there.

"By the time we got back to America, word had spread here and so everybody wanted us to tour here and that's how the US tour came about."

They set up dates up and down the West Coast: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Portland, Seattle. Like the European tour, Evans was amazed by the turnout at the shows and response by the fans.

"It was really strange and people just came out of the woodwork that none of us had seen in twenty plus years," he said. "It was like a reunion of that crusty scene from the 80s. It was actually strange to see people, that the last time you saw them they were 17, and now they're like thirty something."

The tour was a great success and they had a chance to return to hallowed ground in Berkeley, 924 Gilman Street, where their roots run deep.

"The West Coast tour was basically sold out every show. We played back-to-back shows at Gilman on a Friday and Saturday. We were the first band to headline Gilman (1986) and it was the first time they did the same band playing night after night. We sold out both nights and it was out of hand."

The encounters on the road were just as incredible as the shows themselves, allowing fans who had never seen Christ on Parade to finally experience the band live.

"It was phenomenal, y'know, the response we got. There was a guy that came down from Canada and went to every one of our shows. He said 'it was a dream come true because I was too young to see the original band. You don't know what this is like.' He was just flipping out, and every night he'd come up to us and just like, drool all over us. It was really funny."

The band took a break, returning to their, as hard as this is to say, normal adult lives, but came together again this past April for an eight-show tour of Japan. They have also just released a 13-track record, "Loud and Live," on Prank Records, available on both CD and limited-edition vinyl, that features songs from both "Sounds of Nature" and the 1987 album, "A Mind is a Terrible Thing."

"I feel by presenting songs, like their current live shows, from all eras of Christ on Parade, it brings a perspective on their whole career as a band," Ken Prank said. "There's always internet debates or whatever over the different eras of the band, but the material played side by side shows how it's all equally strong and weaves together as a cohesive whole."

Recorded at South Bay college radio station, KFJC, Evans states though it's not an actual live-concert recording, it harnesses those elements nonetheless.

"It sounds like we sound now," he said. "It's not like a live record in front of a huge audience, it's probably like 12 or 13 people in the studio, but it's like listening to a really, very clean rehearsal tape with banter in between. It captures what we sound like now. I was really surprised."

Evans attributes time and maturity to the band's improvement in musicianship and cohesiveness.

"It seems to work better now because back then we were literally all kids and when you're a kid you kind of have your priorities all screwed up," he said. "You kind of want to just do this and do that and party and fuck off. We're all older now and kind of a little more focused. We can see now what it truly was, as opposed to just being in a band to hang out, put out your message, talk to chicks, and just tour and be a goof."

So what does the future hold for Christ on Parade?

"It's kind of we don't know what we're going to do," Evans said. "We obviously can't do it all the time because two guys live in Germany, but we could possibly do like one or two-week tours maybe twice a year. It's probably the best we can hope for unless those two guys move back here."

An east-coast tour is something they have been contemplating, but with the proximity factor plaguing them, Evans calls out to the "right coast" bands for some support.

"We had so many letters from the east coast, so we might actually try to do like a 'drop-and-play' where we do a west coast tour, and then fly out to the east coast, hook up with a band, tour with a band, share their gear, go up and down the coast, and try to do the whole thing in two-and-a-half weeks, so everyone can get back to work and stuff."
And lastly, are there any plans for a new record with new material?

"Malcolm had written about eight songs back in '87 during the prime time of Christ on Parade that we never recorded, that we just jammed and maybe played a few of them live, but never recorded. We're talking about recording a new album, which would be half vintage Christ on Parade songs that were never released and never recorded, that will all have the same feel and sound of the 80s from what we did, but they're all new tracks, and then maybe 5 or 6 tracks, recorded now and writing them from the ground up now. That's still in the talking phase. We haven't decided if we're going to do it yet or not. The future is open."

EULOGY RECORDINGS

The good, the bad, and the truly abyssmal...

KNOW THE SCORE
All Time Low

Right off the bat, the Heidi Van Horn cover, caught my attention, for obvious reasons, but I still wasn't sure what to expect. From the start of the record, it took me a few moments to recover from the throttling jab to the grill. I checked the release date, the lineup, and the band's name...no, this wasn't a new album by the Stormtroopers of Death, but it sure sounded like one. These are definite influences on here, it being a pissed-off fusion of old DRI and SOD that launches an unrelenting, high-speed, non-stop assault from beginning to end. I loved every second of it.

In true, old-school hardcore form, most of the songs clock in at under a minute, some of which at a mere 2 or 3 seconds, which would make Billy Milano and Scott Ian proud. The band is tight, the musicianship is solid, and the production level for this type of band is higher than one would expect. "All Time Low" is a wonderful ode to the pioneering days of crossover thrash, who I am sure are just insane to see live. For me, there was no down side, except at the CDs end, I'm left wanting more. For those of you are, or were, fans of this type of thing, make sure that you KNOW THE SCORE.

WISDOM IN CHAINS
Class War

This is the sound of the end. In their own words, from the first track, this perfectly summarizes Wisdom in Chains' new record, "Class War." Pennsylvania's angry voice of the working class is a cross of metal and hardcore, over shredding guitars and a thundering rhythm section that brilliantly shows diversity throughout the sixteen tracks, without being played out. Yet another region proves the streets are mean, no matter what city you grow up in, and the voice of resistance is no different.

"The Sound of the End" is an apocalyptic lead-in to the devastation of "Early Grave." "Cap City" is a ballad of tragedy in Ohio, but then again when is time spent in Ohio not tragic? There are great blue-collar anthems like "No Justice for the Working Man," "Class War," and "Killing Time," odes to street punk like "No Smiles in the Ghetto," and of course, a shout of Keystone pride in "The Land of the Kings." From beginning to end, it's a perfect blend of metal, hardcore, and punk with in-your-face brutality and cutthroat introspective. Definitely worth checking out, and if you dig this, grab their re-release of "Die Young," which has 17 tracks plus three bonus, also available on Euology Recordings, which I enjoyed even more.

YEARS SPENT COLD
Moving Heaven to Hell

Growling lyrics akin to the older days of Max Cavalera's Sepultura, with a whole lotta Slayer riffs, double bass kicks for days, and just a whole lotta death metal...Crunching, crunching, and more crunching, with throaty choruses of pain and suffering, and backing vocals from a tortured antichrist. The very dedicated fans of brutal death metal will probably be into this. It was just too, too much for me. I just couldn't dance to it...

UNTIL THE END
From the Beginning...Until the End

A two-CD release of Until the End's four releases from their self-titled to "The Blind Leading the Lost" in 2004. In the vein of the Hatebreed influx of metalcore bands, Until the End flies to flag of anger, frustration, and injustice, in a straight-forward, non-stop, assault of breathless vocals, flying guitar lines, and pummeling drums, into the occassional breakdown to bring everything back to centerline. This compilation is a slice of the current millenium's surge of the aggressive genre of metal-induced hardcore, that so many have done so many times. For me, these guys were pretty solid and the production was tight, but there was nothing that blew me back in the way of originality. I'm sure, in their day, they were a fun band to see, but as this is a collection of their output, that day will likely never be.

SET YOUR GOALS
Mutiny

It has the old-school sing-a-long choruses in all the right places. It has fast parts. It has elements reminiscent of the Descenedents. It feels Cali. But then it happens...again, and again, and again, painfully, far, far, FAR too many times, moving from the classic feel of So-Cal based hardcore into the dreaded sympathetic, pop-punk voice of desperation and turmoil. Emo isn't even an appropriate label here. It's just a poor choice of direction. Right when they seem to be doing everything right, they go and fuck it up. It just hurts.

Formula. All the punk and hardcore cliches seem to have been planned and strategically placed and then segwayed to weak-ass sappy for MTV play chorus and verse. Weak. If this is their intent, then it was achieved. I can't believe I made it to track six. For me, a pass. There's a bonus CD. I didn't bother. I declared a mutiny on SET YOUR GOALS.

FALLEN FROM THE SKY
Tonight We Radiate

Hard college rock? I don't know what to say. Just not very good. I see them with a future in television and film soundtracks, to be forgotten with all the other bands of this genre. Just played out, lame lyrics, and just revisiting bad music that was bad then and worse now. It seems they really poured their souls into music that is soulless...