that's what I was saying about technology, like even when the So that was the early times of black and white crowds mixtechnology wasn't there, somehow we were able to get docuing at punk shows? mented. And I've lived through the cycle of the next generation. In America it was. There is a little bit of footage from us in When I do interviews it makes me reflect on like, “Okay, here D.C. before we went to New York and did the CBs thing. This is the next five-year process these people have gone through.” was two years before that but it was the same kinda thing. And the band get back together and play according to those Before that, when we first started we used to have gigs at cycles and that's how the Spirit works - we don't know. That's our house. We rented a house because we wanted to do our how it works. There was the first DVD, and then there'll be music. We were all working and so we rented the house and the next DVD for the closing of CBs and then all the other we used to have concerts at our house. Minor Threat would things. Throughout our history though, it's always the next come there and SOA [State Of Alert], y'know, because there generation of people that the music touched. For me, at CBGBs was no scene in DC. It was before slam dancing, everybody when we closed it, y'know I'm forty-eight years old, and there was po-going. It was a revolution, a revolution of the youth were people that were there that were let's say thirty-five, and I'm proud that I was part of that. and the music touched their lives. So I really believe that the music touches people. Now we get kids You weren't just black guys who who come along to our shows and then played punk music, though; you we have older fans who maybe have took this white boy music for moved on and don't even go out, they are yourself. lawyers and doctors, whatever, people go It's good that you know that. We took on with their lives and become who they 1980: “Pay To Cum” / “Stay Close To it for ourselves, correct. We were just are. But they will come to our concerts four kids and we were totally influenced Me” 7” and maybe they aren't even there for the by the English punk rock thing, like the 1982: S/T [cassette only] music but more to acknowledge that at ’Pistols and The Damned. The Damned 1982: “ I” / “Sailin' On” / “Big Take some point in their lives the music helped was our boys. We were writing our own Over” / “I Luv I Jah” 12” [UK] them to move forward. For me, that's the songs and the first gig that we did we 1982: “I and I Survive” / “Destroy played our own songs, we played like two greatest gift - besides my kids. Babylon” / “Coptic Times” / sets, two one-hour sets, and we didn't Seems like now is a good time for anyhave enough original music to do that so “Joshua's Song” 12” [UK] one that did something worthy in the we learnt some covers but we didn't learn 1983: Rock For Light past and maybe that is because nobody them because we were influenced by that. 1986: I Against I is making music or art that is matching It was the revolution y'know. There's black 1988: Live [live] the power of what has come before? people in Washington D.C. and somehow 1988: Spirit Electricity EP [live] I agree with that to a certain extent but we connected to that and the Spirit made 1989: Quickness it's not that nobody is matching up, it's all us who we are and that's it. 1989: Attitude - The Roir Sessions different. It's your influences and all that. [Recorded 1981] Our influences, Stevie Wonder was a big Over the years Bad Brains have been 1990: The Youth Are Getting influence, and George Clinton and Return a misunderstood band... To Forever, Bob Marley of course, this was We should be. Restless [live. Recorded 1987] the music that we listened to. The key is, 1993: Rise it's all relative in the cycles of life. EveWell the hardcore scene can scrutinise 1995: God Of Love rybody is worthy and the thing with the people quite heavily and there were 1996: Black Dots [Recorded 1978] media today and technology is that kids things like your Rastafarianism, H.R.’s 1997: The Omega Sessions EP know now. They are not copying anymore, homophobia, changing the name to [Recorded 1980] they are searching for the source, “Where Soul Brains and all the rest of it... 2001: (Soul Brains) A Bad Brains is this coming from?” That's how the Well we never changed the name to Reunion Live from Maritime Soul Brains; that was a H.R. thing. But Spirit works. I live it, so I'm really happy Hall [live. Recorded 1999] and content. People come to me and say, it's all relative, it's all relative. We were “Your music changed my life.” It's about always misunderstood and that's why we 2003: I And I Survived family. It's like; “When I first came to your 2003: Banned In D.C: Bad Brains called the band Bad Brains. It wasn't about gig I was a little fucked-up kid. And the the Ramones [“Bad Brain”] either. It goes Greatest Riffs [compilation] music helped me to moved forward in 2006: Live at CBGB 1982 DVD [live. back to our black thing, James Brown, my life.” That's what our music is about, God bless his soul he just passed away. Recorded 1982] ultimately. We have our differences in our “I'm BAD!” Our thing was always that we 2006: Live at CBGB 1982 CD [live. wanted to do the best that we could do, band and a certain dynamic or whatever recorded 1982] and that is that, but ultimately the Spirit and when you strive for that then all these 2007: Build A Nation is always going to move how the Spirit other things... basically we all fall short moves. of the glory, okay? But we didn't know what we were doing but we wanted to The DVD shows a largely mixed crowd of black and really be positive and all these things happened in our lives. But white folks... ultimately, at the end of the day, that's all who we are. That's it, That's right and that's a very good observation. Some of for real. And the music, as I was saying to you earlier, touched those kids I knew and some I didn't but that was the very early people's lives. That's the Spirit working through us. There are a days of that. We were from Washington DC, we went to New lot of stories and a lot of life, but I can go to my grave happy. York... that's what I was saying about how the Spirit moves, some of those kids I don't know, like I said the ones on the You have known H.R. a long time, when did you guys stage were friends... When I look at that DVD it's a revelation, meet? I'm like, “Oh look over on the side over there,” and enjoying all We all lived in the same neighbourhood, maybe within a half the different camera angles. Editing it was like a nightmare. And a mile radius of one another. We had a friend who had a basesound was a nightmare. The sound is the sound, it's straight off ment. I always played music, everybody always played music, the cuff, but whatever, it's awesome. I'm telling you, I see all but the Spirit was like, “Okay, you people have to get together my friends in there and I'm like, “Oh, let me pause it! Oh look and play music together.” And that's what happened. I'm telling there's so-and-so! Oh, over there, look!” I've been analyzing it you. You asked me and I'm telling you. I played music, I was in from whatever the camera angles are and the lighting. We're a soul band, we lived in D.C., we were playing go-go and soul talkin’ back in the day here, we're talkin’ mad years now. music and funk music, basically funk because we were a little
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Bad Brains discography
too young for soul music. But then disco hit and we were like, “Oh shit, let's get some riffs here.” That time, like maybe from 1970 to before disco came out around ’76, was a very very great musical time. And I've seen a lot of bands. I didn't get to see Led Zeppelin, that's the only one that I really missed. When I first heard of Bob Marley, not just Bob Marley but reggae music period, I was so into it. The English people knew about that and I guess you guys Down Under knew about that, but America didn't know about that. Now here's something a little cosmic that I want to tell you. I can't remember the year but we went and played down in the ghetto and we played punk rock and we played reggae. Now people in the ghetto in D.C. didn't know punk rock and they didn't know reggae either, it was the same thing. The music they played there was called go-go, which was like James Brown music but more rap. We lived that and we went to the ’hood and did that. We were dressed like black punk rockers, we were like Hendrix, those people didn't even know Hendrix. In the 'hood you don't know Jimi Hendrix, you don't know Bob Marley, you don't know fuckin' nobody. And we did that. You’ve been making a record with Adam “MCA” Yauch from Beastie Boys, Build A Nation, when did you start that and when will it be out? We started it probably two years ago and it's been done for a year. It's been done; we just had to find a home for it. And we found a home in Megaforce Records and so it's all good. But when we first moved to New York was when the Beastie Boys were called The Young & The Useless, this is like history lessons here that I'm giving you. So all these guys like Ian [MacKaye] and Henry [Rollins] and Yauch and the [Red Hot] Chili Peppers, all these people are our friends man. We played with the Chili Peppers in L.A. just after they started because Anthony [Kiedis] had got word to us that they really wanted to play with us. And every time we go to California, Flea is always there. Flea and Darryl [Jennifer], those bass players, they fucking bond. The old school people that everyone knows about are our friends from a long time. Yeah I've spoken to Henry about it and he was telling me how he was blown away when he first saw Bad Brains. Well he's right and it's true and I respect him for saying that. Henry was actually our first, for lack of a better term, our first tech. He saw us, like he told you, and he wanted to help us out. It's not like we had a lot of equipment or anything but he was just down with us and wanted to help us. And Ian, the first rehearsals we did we did at Ian's house. This is history. How would you describe the overall vibe of the new album? Adam Yauch approached us because he's our very good friend and he's like, “I want to do a record.” And it was very