An historical archive of punk and hardcore from the Albany, NY Capital District; circa 1980-1991)

Okay, this compilation, like this ugly, thrown-together web page, won't be perfect. I won't have every band from the area represented, although I welcome donations toward that end. This page will be built piecemeal as I get stuff in. I've recovered and amassed a decent amount of music from this time period. Why did I choose to cut off around 1991? Because by that time I was out of the Albany scene and have no real idea what was going on. I won't promise you that all this stuff is good, just that it represents. a slice of the punk and hardcore scenes in the Capital District.

Old schoolers be advised that I am not including what I consider to be non-punk/HC stuff -- the new wave/post-punk type bands like Blotto and Fear of Strangers for instance. I was really on the fence about whether the The Verge could be really be considered punk but decided it really doesn't matter. (I mean, are the A.D.'s really punk? I dunno, but they rock.) My older sister (who I thank for providing some of these tracks and background on some bands) took me to see Blotto at least once (in '79 or '80?) at the Empire State Plaza, and we may have even seen The Verge or the Units or one of those other bands that night, but the only memory I have of that night is being the youngest Pogo-er in the crowd at the age of nine or ten.

This comp is roughly in order by year of the appearance of the band on the scene or the song, give or take. I'm no expert on all of this by any stretch, but I'll fill in some more on the history of the various bands over time, but right now just want to post the songs before school and work return to kick my ass away from such guilty pleasures.

(To return to the main blog, click below:)

Most of this first block of songs come from my sister's record collection, because they were a little before my time. Not surprisingly, I know little about these bands. About the only thing I know about the A.D.'s is that one of the members, Jim Furlong, was an employee of World's Records (where I spent many an afternoon hangingo out, being punk and buying records, and whose parking lot boasted the Wolfpack grafitti shown in a pic below). He now owns and runs the Last Vestige Music Shops in Albany and Saratoga, NY. The Tragics formed in 1980 as "The Misfits" but changed their name after learning of the Misfits most of us know. The "Mommi I'm a Misfit" 7" was released in 1981, and The Tragics were Liz Davies/vocals, Bob Gori/lead guitar, Tom Collins/rhythm guitar, Wayne Haskins/bass and Brian Boldue/drums (info culled from guitarist Bob Gori's Myspace page.

About all I know about Capitle is that lead singer Jim Romano ran a flower business that started as a cart on Lark St. and then grew it into a storefront on Lark a few blocks from my house. He lived in Europe for several years but now, I understand, is back in Albany, where he puts on a monthly burlesque show. I know nothing about The Crude except that I like this song. I'd love to post a song by the Plague but I haven't got a single one. I'm working on it.

Living Downtown (The A.D.'s, "Living Downtown/Testing" 7", 1980)
The A.D.'s front and back covers
The A.D.'s insert

Mommi I'm a Misfit, (TheTragics, AKA the Misfits, 1981)
Mommi 7" pics and crap

1-2-3-4-5-6 (The Verge, "Hudson Rock" compilation LP, 1982) -- The Verge's "Habitual" 7" is posted at the Good Music For Bad, Bad Times blog.
Fun (Capitle, "Hudson Rock" compilation LP, 1982)
Vacation (The Crude, "Hudson Rock" compilation LP, 1982)
Hudson Rock front cover
Hudson Rock back cover
Hudson Rock insert (If anyone is dying for it, I ripped the entire 1982 Hudson Rock comp to CD/mp3 format and can post or trade upon request).

Now we skip from 1982 to 1984-1986, when Fit For Abuse and Albany Style came onto the scene. I think Capitle's existence may have overlapped with these bands, but I'm not sure. If anyone out there has Capitle's 1983 demo, please send it in... This Fit For Abuse track was released posthumously on the 1988 "Albany Style Hardcore" compilation. I snagged this track from the post of the entire 7" on the Middle Aged Youth blog. I hope they don't mind -- it saved me the time of ripping mine. (Speaking of middle aged youth, you know you're old when you see a commercial for the AARP that uses a Buzzcocks song, like I did today!)

Anyway, this track is, to my knowledge, the only recording of Fit For Abuse (though, oddly in the 1990s or so an unrelated band with the same name appeared in Massachusetts and when you Google FFA it is usually stuff about them you find. As for Albany Style (the band, not the comp), Jason O'Toole wrote in that "unless I am imagining it, Albany Style put out a 7" ...I can picture the thing -- a drawing of a moshing guy on a white backround--but maybe I just dreamt it up." (Might have just been the t-shirt, I speculate?) The closest thing to an Albany Style song I can muster now is a "Voice of Dave Stein" track from the 1986 Displaced Aggression demo, which is an exerpt from Dave's old radio show (at WCDB?). A "Troycore" band (meaning they were from Troy, for all who don't know), Displaced Aggression became Cranial Abuse in 1987, and a year or two after that, became Stigmata. For lack of a better segue, I'm putting the Displaced / Cranial tracks here.

No Talk (Fit For Abuse), from the Albany Style Hardcore compilation, posted in its entirety here at Middle Aged Youth (if it disappears,write me and I'll repost here).
ASHC 7" front cover
ASHC 7" back cover
ASHC 7" insert

Voice of Dave Stein (Albany Style singer -- on Displaced Aggression 1986 demo
The A Crowd (Displaced Aggression, 1986 demo)
Its Not That Way (Cranial Abuse, 1987 demo)
MoneyTalks_1987.mp3 (Cranial Abuse, 1987 demo)
Blinded By Hate (Stigmata, 1989 demo) -- Another recording of this song also appeared on the Albany Style Hardcore compilation, when the band was still Cranial Abuse --see below). Sorry Troycore fans, I have no Final Terror or Dead End or any other Troy stuff as of this posting.

We now move on to the almighty Wolfpack and No Outlet -- two bands I saw more times than I can count. Since I already posted the No Outlet demo, I lay down some live tracks here and, further below, a song from the Welcome to Albany comp. The Wolfpack tracks I -- again -- borrow from Middle Aged Youth. I went looking for my Wolfpack album today but can't find it. I'm really hoping I didn't trade it away or something, but if I did and forgot, thank you Middle Aged Youth. (Check out their site, where they also post a 1989 Wolfpack demo with a singer who replaced Steve Reddy after his departure for NYC -- I didn't even know they ever had a second incarnation. Check out this interview with Steve about Wolfpack.

Black Mark (Wolfpack)
Wolfpack (Wolfpack)

No More Room, live (No Outlet)
two No Outlet song whose names I don't know

This next section is dedicated basically to my friends' bands. Since I already posted the 1987 Brain Tattoo Skarred For Life demo, below are some live tracks of a strange, small show they did with Operation Ivy at a downtown Albany apartment in 1988. It might have been K.K. Babylon's place. I know it was a birthday party for her -- weird mix of crowds. Anyway, this likely doesn't matter to you. Roger from Brain Tattoo went on to sing for Inent and, apparently for a short time, Monster X.

Glee Club put out quite a bit of stuff for an Albany band -- the 1987-1988 demo, two 7" records, and at least one compilation. This may be due to the fact that that they lasted longer than most Albany bands at that time, starting in 1987 when they were all about 15 or 16 and breaking up around 1991(?).

Intent had two very different existences. The first was with Steve on vocals, Dave on guitar, Nate Wilson (of Gloom Records, Monster X, and a number of other bands), and Kevin Sullivan on drums. Later, Steve left for college and was replaced by Roger of Brain Tattoo, and the guitarist was booted. Nate switched from bass to guitar and Adam O'Toole took the bass reins. Adam and Kevin later both played with Brown Cuts-Neighbors who, otherwise, I really know nothing about.


Brain Tattoo, live (Brain Tattoo)
Aphrodisiac, live (Brain Tattoo)

Glee Club, (Glee Club, 1987-88 demo)
Not Too Late, (Glee Club, "Looking" 7")
These Things, (Glee Club, "Looking" 7")
Do You Believe, (Glee Club, "Farawaylands" 7")

Glee Club 1987-1988 demo cover
Glee Club 1987-1988 demo insert
Glee Club "Looking" 7" front cover
Glee Club "Looking" 7" back cover
Glee Club "Looking" 7" insert 1
Glee Club "Looking" 7" insert 2
Glee Club "Farawaylands" 7" front cover
Glee Club "Farawaylands" 7" back cover

Mosh of the Resurrected Elves (Intent, 1989 demo)
Anymore (Intent, Intent/Yo Baba Larry split 7", 1990)
Away (Intent, "Away" 7", 1991?)
Intent/Yo Baba Larry split 7" cover
Intent/Yo Baba Larry split 7" insert
Intent "Away" 7" front cover
Intent "Away" 7" back cover
Intent "Away" 7" insert 1
Intent "Away" 7" insert 2

Below is the "Welcome to Albany" compilation, which came out I think in 1989 or 1990. I believe Shane of Insult to Injury (and, briefly, Wolfpack) put this out. Except for No Outlet, discussed above, I really don't know anything about these bands.

Sea Of Fear (Substance)
Dont Preach (Insult to Injury)
Hindsight (Face Up)
Leap Of Faith (No Outlet)
Grind.mp3 (Infectious Waste)
"Welcome to Albany" images:
front cover
back cover
insert
lyrics

Lastly, we have a song by Terror Cake off their self-titled 1990 7", as well as another off the 1991 "This Town We Own" compilation, which I posted previously on the blog. I'd love to post the whole Terror Cake 7" because it is great, but I heard Sarah is getting ready to re-release it, and a bunch of other previously unreleased stuff (when?). All the other bands on the "This Town We Own" comp (named after a Fit For Abuse song, I think), we have heard from above, except for Vertebrae, who I know nothing about.

I Know (Terror Cake)
Intricate (Terror Cake)
Diagraffragem (Glee Club)
Flaw (Intent)
Thorn in My Side (Substance)
Jittery City (Vertebrae)

Terror Cake 7" front cover
Terror Cake 7" back cover
Terror Cake 7" insert

This Town We Own 7" front cover
This Town We Own 7" back cover
This Town We Own 7" insert 1
This Town We Own 7" insert 2