Bill? Spill!
NYHC bands the Nihilistics played with.
Nihilistics, due to the timing of our 1981 arrival on the NYHC scene, found ourselves frequently appearing with the same local bands. Here, in no particular, order, are my impressions of our bill-mates:
Perhaps my favorites to share a bill with, these New Jersey hardcore legends won me over with their songs, down-and-dirty playing and–most of all–between song banter. Master onion-busters, AOD got you laughing, then hit you in the solar plexus with a one-two punch of speed and impeccable riffs. Still able to bring it, I remain friends with all current and past members. Somehow.
I love Jack Rabid and still do but never quite got his band Even Worse. I couldn’t tell exactly where they fell on the continuum and was not particular impressed with their cuts on the NY Thrash cassette. Maybe I need to revisit the subject.
Again, while personally fond of various members of False Prophets, found their act a bit schticky and the music left me cold. Lead singer Stephan also holds the central role in the beginning of the end of Nihilistics, so there’s that.
A band that always blew me away, due to their youthful vigor, musicianship and commitment. To me, they were up there with another beloved trio, The Jam. Of course, Jesse Malin–who I first met when he was 14 and I was 18 or 19–was one of the few from our scene who went on to bigger and better things until his recent spinal stroke. If you haven’t yet, send a donation to Sweet Relief to support his recovery and I hope to see you in December at his triumphant return to the Beacon Theater.
Oh God. I’d audibly groan when I’d discover we were sharing a bill with the unfortunately-named Kraut (Really? That’s the best you can do?). I thought the songs simplistic, the lyrics dopey. Yet we were ALWAYS opening for them and never vice-versa. I never understood the hype (was it because they opened for The Clash?). Kraut struck me as a pastiche, their elements lifted from so many better bands, and I dismissed their whole presentation with one word: Posers. Don’t get me wrong, I had many lovely conversations with all the members of Kraut… save one. Maybe it was my raging inferiority complex but I always felt Doug Holland thought I was a shitty guitarist and the Nihilistics were a joke. He’s obviously a talented guy and could write a killer riff but I’ll admit to a fair degree of schadenfreude when I heard how their new friend Steve Jones nicked all their gear and pawned it for heroin money. Still, I continually stumble across online commenters who bemoan how their “Underrated” and I just scratch my head.
I always enjoyed Reagan Youth, especially the antics of their tragic lead singer, Dave Insurgent–with whom I shared a birthday. Al Pike, who took over on bass in Reagan Youth, was one of the early Nihilistics drummers we went through before finding Troy (Al was a much better bassist than a drummer).
Bobby Steele–former Misfit–was, to me, the bridge between what the New York Dolls did and whatever we were doing. He had style and chops and we got along. The Undead, unbelievably, are still a going concern.
Of course, all the above can be heard on the infamous NY Thrash cassette, along with the only NYHC band to become legit superstars, Beastie Boys (I’m sure Nihilistics played a bill with them at some point but they didn’t register) and the OTHER NYHC double-B band who should’ve been as famous and wealthy, the Bad Brains (I have a vague memory of opening for Bad Brains somewhere but I’m sure they so thoroughly blew us out of the water that I willfully forgot the entire night).
I’d love to hear your impressions of the above bands, so comment below or email me. And stay tuned for some wild NY Thrash news upcoming…
THE HEADLICKERS!!!!!
I agree with you for the most part, especially in regard to AOD and Heart Attack. But l dug Even Worse. For me they were just sloppy fun. Or maybe I just had a crush on their singer, Rebecca. False Prophets were good people with their hearts in the right place, they just seemed quite silly at times and not in a good way. I remember eating at Dojo and looking out the window and seeing Stefan with his monkeyhead cane leading a line of protesting teens down St. Marks Place., which was nowhere near City Hall or the UN or wherever would have been appropriate to what they were protesting. Kraut always struck me as safe corporate punk, I never understood why friends liked them.... In retrospect, it's too bad that books on NYHC have distorted the history, with bands that were jokes back then now considered the most influencial on the scene.