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05-11 Another new Black Flag song
05-03 New Black Flag song
01-25 Black Flag return
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Punk, Hardcore |
In many ways, Black Flag was the definitive Los Angeles hardcore punk band. Although their music flirted with heavy
metalandexperimental noise and jazz more than that of most hardcore bands, they defined the image and the
aesthetic. Throughtheir ceaselesstouring, the band cultivated the American underground punk scene; every year,
Black Flag played in everyarea of the U.S., influencingcountless numbers of bands. Although their recording career was
hampered by a draining lawsuit,which was followed by a seemingly endlessstream of independently released records,
the band was unquestionably o ...read more
In many ways, Black Flag was the definitive Los Angeles hardcore punk band. Although their music flirted with heavy
metalandexperimental noise and jazz more than that of most hardcore bands, they defined the image and the
aesthetic. Throughtheir ceaselesstouring, the band cultivated the American underground punk scene; every year,
Black Flag played in everyarea of the U.S., influencingcountless numbers of bands. Although their recording career was
hampered by a draining lawsuit,which was followed by a seemingly endlessstream of independently released records,
the band was unquestionably one of themost influential American post-punk bands. A full decadeand a half before the
fusion of punk and metal became popular, BlackFlag created a ferocious, edgy, and ironic amalgam of
undergroundaesthetics and gut-pounding metal. Their lyrics alluded tosocial criticism and a political viewpoint, but it
was all conveyed as seething,cynical angst, which was occasionally veryfunny. Furthermore, Black Flag demonstrated
an affection for bohemia -- both in terms of musicalexperimentation and afondness for poetry -- that reiterated the
band's underground roots and prevented it from becoming nothing but aheavymetal group. And it didn't matter who
was in the band -- throughout the years, the lineup changed numerous times --because theBlack Flag name and four.
bar logo became punk institutions.
Black Flag was formed in 1977 by guitarist Greg Ginn, a graduate of UCLA. Ginn formed the band with bassist Chuck
Dukowski;the pairsoon added drummer Brian Migdol and vocalist Keith Morris. At the same time, Ginn and Dukowski
formed anindependent record label, SST,which released the band's first EP, Nervous Breakdown, in 1978. Morris and
Migdol departedthe following year -- Morris went on to form theCircle Jerks -- and they were respectively replaced with
Chavo Pederast andRobo. By the release of 1980's Jealous Again, Black Flag hadbegun to tour the U.S. relentlessly,
building up a small, butdedicated, following of fans. After the release of Jealous Again, Pederast left thegroup and was
replaced by Dez Cadena.However, Cadena preferred to play guitar, and his transition to that instrument in 1981 gave
thegroup a heavier sound; hisreplacement on vocals was Henry Rollins, a Washington, D.C., fan who jumped on-stage
to sing with the bandduring a NewYork performance.
Early in 1981, Black Flag signed a record contract with Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA. The band delivered their
firstfull-lengthalbum, Damaged, to Unicorn; the label refused to release the record, citing the content of the music as
toodangerous and vulgar.Undaunted, Ginn released the album on his own SST Records. Upon its release, the album
receivedconsiderable critical acclaim. Soon afterit appeared on the shelves, Unicorn sued Black Flag and SST over the
release ofDamaged. For the next two years, the band was preventedfrom using the name Black Flag or their logo on
any records.During that time, the group continued to tour, and surreptitiously releasedEverything Went Black, a
double-albumretrospective that contained no mention of the band, although it listed the names of the members onthe
front cover. Thedispute ended in 1983, when Unicorn went bankrupt and the rights to the Black Flag name and logo
reverted back to theband(by this time, Cadena had left to form his own group).
As if to make up for lost time, Black Flag became impossibly prolific when it returned to recording in 1984. A new
version ofthe group --featuring Ginn on guitar and bass (the latter was credited to the pseudonym Dale Nixon),
Rollins, and drummer BillStevenson -- recordedthe albums My War and Family Man. After those two albums were
recorded, the group added bassistKira Roessler and cut Slip It In, its thirdofficial album of 1984. In addition to those
three albums, Black Flag released thecassette-only Live '84 and the compilation The First FourYears in 1984, as well as
reissuing Everything Went Black with all theproper credits restored. The group's touring and recording pace didn'tslow
in 1985; they released three records: Loose Nut,The Process of Weeding Out, and In My Head. By the end of the year,
AnthonyMartinez replaced Stevenson on drums.
After Black Flag released the live album Who's Got the 10½? in early 1986, Greg Ginn broke up the band. Ginn
recorded twoalbums with themore experimental Gone, but he primarily concentrated on running SST Records, which
had become one of themost important Americanindependent labels of the era. By the time Black Flag broke up, SST
had already released albums bysuch bands as Hüsker Dü, theMinutemen, Meat Puppets, and Sonic Youth. For most of
the late '80s, Ginn retired fromperforming, choosing to operate SST Recordsinstead; during this time, the label
released the first recordings from bands likeSoundgarden, Dinosaur Jr., and Screaming Trees. Ginnreturned to music
in 1993, releasing a solo album on his new recordlabel, Cruz.
Following Black Flag's breakup, Henry Rollins formed the Rollins Band. For the rest of the '80s, he released music
recorded withthe RollinsBand on a variety of independent labels, as well as solo spoken-word recordings. In the early
'90s, Rollins becameone of the mostrecognizable figures of alternative music. « hide |
Similar Bands: Minutemen, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, Husker Du
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