I saw BB live in 1990. This was obviously more than a decade into their career. They were full on INSANE. Metal, punk, hardcore, reggae all melded together. 100% originality.
We played in suburban punk rock n roll bands as teenagers until we heard bad brains....then we played hardcore. Their contributions to punk culture deserves recognition. They changed everything fir us in 1980.
Soooo…. Great video. I was an underaged punk at a Bad Brains show in South Carolina. An idiot, I got thrown out for having a beer. Got thrown into my friend Karen who knew the Bad Brains from DC. Earl rips a Velcro pouch off the dash and rolls a blunt. I’m sitting next to HR in their van and he’s being the kindest, sweetest person on earth. We smoke that, which I pass on half the time because I’m sitting to HR and want to have my wits about me. They walk me back into the club with them and it’s the most explosive band I’ve ever seen. They don’t even count off the first song. HR has is hands in prayer and they just lift off….into ‘Sailin’ On’. As a fan, I couldn’t believe what just happened to me.
Back in the early 80s, I lived at 1929 Calvert St in DC. We achieved infamy in the neighborhood for occasionally hosting Bad Brains in our living room. Good times...
A white kid from suburbia sees these guys, and gets to hang out with them.. insane energy, years later on the night of our senior prom while waiting for the bus to providence a limo pulls up and the kids scream LOSER! I smile , flip them off and go see one of the greatest shows of my life at lupus heartbreak hotel. Also had rock for light stuck in my piece of shit cars tape deck all through high school you could say it was my soundtrack, What a time my teacher for a class called media studies was the bartender at the club and I was able to force the class to listen to rock for light on vinyl.. was such a fuckin great and strange time to be a teen. God bless these dudes. The good the bad and the ugly. I still got a little PMA. I THINK😜😂
That’s funny, I was also musically influenced by a high school Media Studies/Graphic Design teacher around 2004, but the Bad Brains lured me in. He was once in a punk band and rode a Harley to school every day which seemed like an ironic decision for this tall, soft spoken, pensive guy with fair features that all the girls had a crush on. One day I saw the Bad Brains self-titled album on his desk next to Purple Rain and a couple other CDs. Anyway, that contrast really influenced my mixtapes/mp3 filled CD-RWs and general taste in music. It may have even influenced my visual design choices throughout a design undergraduate program too, like the saying, contrast is the spice of life.
C'MON punk dont need such thing like this .We pretend to be mainstream .I dont need such thing to know what Bad Brains make me feel as a teenage punk rocker. FEEL ITS THE EXACT WORD .From the BEST and more enérgic hardcore to spiritual and magical music that i dont need to label.Sadly the rastafarian misoginistic , homophobic etc etc cult doesnt help H.R. Became the better human being and Drug fueled and religious nonsense miseducation had terrible impact on his mental health . First time i see them live was half brains with the Rise record tour like in 1994? And somehow ( i was Young and super hooked on them) was a great nigth and show but when i see them with HR in Gasteiz basque country like in 2010 maibe? Im sorry was an adict too and Lost lot on those years...HR Mental health was a complete disaster .Fully psicothic and out of touch.Doesnt Sing even a song.only deed strange noisés.Band and specially darrel was super mad and angry at HR and was heartbreaking ,sad and depresing thing to testify from a band that i idoliced . i Hope the BEST for HR and the Bad Brains. Got almost all the discografy in vinil and his book too. Bad Brains were gods of punk and hardcore and later their own unique stile of music. The brain damage is done but i think its never late to take care of yourself and Especialy if you got the suport of your family and Friends and fan base. BEST WISHES PEACE LOVE
That ROIR cassette was like a religious sacrament for my crew. We had different nationalities, ages, and levels of society but were united by our quest for sex, drugs, rock n roll and every other type of music that tickled our fancy. From Classical to Cumbia. None of us were punks but some of us liked the pistols, Devo, etc. Brains at CBGBs in 80, 81, was bonkers. The best live show ever. And they were super accessible. Darryl had a crush on a girl in our crew. She liked him too but she was in high school. We hung out backstage and watched HR talk smack in Jamaican patois. lol We thought he was the most. HR invited me and a buddy to the home of the Bad Brains. Some barren, huge warehouse in a busted part of Brooklyn. Bushwick I think. 80' or 81'? This neighborhood was the edge of nowhere. I'm born and raised in the hood but this seemed liked 3Xs that. HR got us so high on ganja. HIGH af!! They lived there with their rasta women who mostly kept out of view. He asked about our musical plans and we gave him half baked juvenile answers. Mostly he was a dude, a rock star older brother. Then it was time for practice. With few words and no fuss all 4 Bad Brains came together like Voltron in the practice area of the warehouse and and blew our minds playing songs, almost every one of them was new and all were AMAZING. Blew our brains 🧠 🧠 🙄🤪 !!! Phenom experience. Dave Dictor, from MDC, said it best, "Could of been the most important band." I'm reminded of another music hero of mine, Syd Barrett. Mental illness is really insidious, and the last people to recognize it and take appropriate action are other stoners. Anyways, Rock On!
First time viewer, and I sadly never got to see Bad Brains live. But when I was about 17 tears old, ans being a street kid in Santa Monica, i saw a rare sighting of the elusive Henry Rollins while I was shoplifting from Tower Records. I, being the Midwest boy, and raised to be respectful, begged henry to pardon my intrusion, but would he recommend any bands not getting the deserved respect . He looked at my mohawk and my 2nd hand wardrobe, and told me to respect the stooges, bad brains, minor threat, black flag, and if I liked that I might like to hear rollins band. That list is the litmus test i hold people to when getting to know them.. that list has never been wrong as of yet. Thanks for letting me share, and for covering great bands.
Bad Brains were massive, unique in fact. Every band that were either contemporaries or influenced by them later agree. They were a force of nature never witnressed before or since.
possibly the best hardcore band ever. their later stuff that was more reggae oriented is also great but in such a different way. dynamic to say the least
Seen em live in Tacoma wa. The band came out started playing then HR came jumping 5 feet in the air looking like a jester with 3 huge dreds on his head. Everyother band member were standing by their amps. But HR needed the rest of the stage. One of my top ten gigs I've ever been to.
I saw Bad Brains Live here in NYC when they lived in the Lower East Side .I saw them at CBGBs and the Peppermint Lounge. ..saw them in person about 8 times I think
A lot of people are unaware of the influence of this band through many genres. They were so talented and way ahead of their time. Innovative and influential.
Remember bang crammed into this venue in San Francisco that was called the Trocadero Transfer or the Bridge Club, depending in the year, for the God of Love Reunion show. The entire audience moved in a wave. There was no pit just a wall of flesh and humanity. HR controlled the audience, standing stock still. He just held the mic and sang a few songs like that, then when he did start dancing the crowd lost their minds. Walked out of that club soaked to the bone. I took my shirt off and wrang t out on the sidewalk wishing that I could do the same with my jeans. It was many years later that I would see them at Slim's in San Francisco on the Build a Nation tour, and it was at this show that I realized that it wasn't about HR anymore. He seemed to just be such a small part of this whole thing now. I guess that none of us were as young or as Naive as we used to be.
I was at that show at the Trocadero..S.F Bay Area Native. I remember just the same. I was floored by it and the energy and all the sweat-mess.. I got sick the whole next week and laid in bed thinking about that experience and how no other band since has given me those feelings or emotions, Great memories.
I think I was at that show lol. It could've been the Kennel Club also. Did the Deftones open up? I just remembered being blown away by the Deftones and disappointed by HR who seemed like he was heavily medicated.
Bad Brains are the best live band I’ve ever seen. I was fortunate enough to see them twice. Once in 1983, and again in ‘85. At the ‘85 show, I had my foot on HR’s vocal monitor for the entire show.
After BB broke up, HR (the band) would book shows that regularly had iconic local bands like Void, Government Issue, etc opening for touring bands like Husker Du, JFA, Negative Approach, etc - it was a great time to live in DC.
The cat in the crowd at the Lawerence, KS show was a skinhead. He was not a racist. He did not spit on HR He went by Tweety & was one of the nicest, most mellow kids around. It was my first time catching Bad Brains & we are very excited to catch the band. I was in college, at KU, & at parties, I would regularly argue that Bad Brains were not only the most seminal group in Hardcore but quite possibly the best R&R to ever come about. Meant it then & still do.
I saw them as Soul Brains at Maritime Hall in SF in 01, amazing show, besides catching a spin kick to the head in the pit I went backstage and downed a pitcher of of beer for the headache
I saw that tour, 2nd BB show, good times... I thought Michael Clip Payne from P-Funk was hanging with them around this time..? I read about the name change in a post he wrote.
Yo the dad pretty much pulling up a chair and telling his boys to show him what they learned is so dope! That’s love! This is a very good video sir. Boutta check out some more from you. Definitely got my sub for sure.
Great video, as always! When I first got into punk rock in high school, Bad Brains were the first band I saw where everyone was black. It really hit me that there were people that looked like me and played (and listened to) this music, which is great. Of course, I was disappointed by the homophobia and that made me look at them a little different, but at that time I felt seen by them. Then, I found out about other bands like Pure Hell and Death which have all-black members, and It made me appreciate punk rock even more. Then, I realize there is a whole community around it, Afropunk, which is flourishing even today. Again, this was a great video. Thanks for making it! (Quick sidenote: I think on future releases of Quickness, "Don't Blow Bubbles" was turned into an instrumental track called "Instrumental." As far as I can tell, the original track still exists on streaming, at least on Spotify.)
I've loved bad brains since I was in 7th grade! The one thing u may have missed was when they put out the album "Rise" with a different singer coz HR was having difficulty singing due to a problem with his throat. It was also really really good tho.
Cool video man. Another thing many dont realise was an infleunce was a lot of the heavier bands like Sabbath and Budgie. I remember reading an interview in spin magaxine around the time "quickness" ce out and i think it was Daryl or Gary mentioning that and calling it "dooms day music " Speakjng of Quickness, that album was slept on so much it was a cross over in diversity and jsd the rock appeal like I against I but had more of a variety . God Of love had a mix of both rock and reggae with a few hsrdcore songs . The ROIR tape is my fave i did a whole video duscussing it on my channel - celebrating its 42nd birthday.
I will never I hope forget the spectacle of Bad Brains being booked thoughtlessly with a skinhead band I cant recall with enough certainty to name at The FARM in SF…. Watched a guy get hit with a bottle that cut a flap of skin that hung from his eye to his cheekbone. At the time The Farm had an eight foot tall cowboy bouncer that must have made dozens of trips out the door with a skinhead under each arm still kicking at people. What a night for my 16 year old excitable mind.
Probably my favourite band when I was young.. I saw them at the Bowes Lion in Stevenage, we got there early and they invited me and my mate into the soundcheck, really welcoming to us, I was about 18 at the time, will never forget that! The gig was amazing too, the place went mad. I was in a hardcore band 'Legion of Parasites' and we got a lot of influence from Bad Brains.. Funnily enough they contributed to our band splitting in the end, as our drummer Wag and my brother Sean, the guitarist wanted to bring reggae into our band and I just didn't get that, I wanted us to stay hardcore, they went on to form a reggae band in the end and our band folded after 3 albums and a 12".. Anyway, I against I was one of my favourite albums of all time, an absolute classic I loved the cosmic waves lol..
Didn't know he was originally English, I saw them in my home town UK in the 80's absolutely blew me away and then randomly picked up a hitchhiker a few years later who had been to the same gig and we remembered each other at that point lol
Amazing video my man! Very informative and you waist no time at all! You touch on key elements but dont dwell on about it. I love this. Keep making this type of content please! Keep up the great work! 🙌
Very well researched overview. I recall sitting in school reading a music paper in May 1983 - I read that the Bad Brains were playing their first UK dates . I closed the paper, walked out of the school, went home, got changed and hitch-hiked to their Manchester gig. 4 hours later I was outside the venue as the band turned up. I helped them unload the van and then went in to watch them set up and soundcheck. It is a memory that will remain with me forever. Unfortunately, the set they did that night consisted of 99% reggae - which is not what I or anyone else had come to see. They played one explosive hardcore punk song, Joshuah's Song - which must've lasted no more than 40 seconds when played live ! With hindsight, I don't understand how the punk community tolerated all the hardcore bible nonsense that permeated Bad Brains material. I have umpteen live recordings where they start the set with " Greetings in the name of his imperial majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie , king of kings, lord of lords, conquering tribe of the lion of Judah" - generally speaking, the punk audiences back then were somewhat political, left-leaning and certainly not subservient any monarch, or in this case - the 'second coming of Jesus Christ' in human form. What other punk band could get away with with photo sessions clutching a bible - as the Bad Brains did in 1983? The Bad Brains were magnificent musicians and their music stood head and shoulders above all competition - but their version of 'PMA' which involved worshiping Haile Selassie as 'god' manifest in human form - well, that is simply abandoning reason - yet they were given an easy ride for their religious zealotry.
SCHWAAAYYYYY!!!! I've NEVER seen what Skeeter Thompson looks like!!! Just heard "Another story about Skeeter Thompson" by LATE! like 20 years ago!! One of Grohl's best tracks EVER!!!🤘🎸🤘🎸🤘🍻🍻
I'm genuinely glad to hear HR might be enjoying better mental health these days. He was erratic, to say the least. I saw the Soul Brains in 2002 or so and honestly, it was a far shout from their glory days. HR was just...not present. I always kinda felt for Dr. Know and Darryl because they're so badass at their instruments as well as just seeming like good dudes. The You Don't Know Mojack podcast has great interviews with both Darryl and Anthony Countey that are fantastic. The podcast also interviews some of the people involved with HR's solo work. Definitely helps fill in lots of gaps and details about Bad Brains and HR. And punk/hardcore just flat out wouldn't be the same had they never existed. They blew minds.
I toured with Soul Brains during that era. From my personal experience, I saw HR exhibit severe social anxiety. If he was alone backstage or at the hotel with just the band around, he was very comfortable and at ease and conversational. However, when in public and surrounded by fans he would clam up. I feel this was because most fans treated him like a deity and it was uncomfortable for him to interact
I first saw them live when they came out to SF in 1980 and played at the Fab Mab. I was totally entrenched into the hardcore at that time with spending a lot of time hanging out with talking for days with nikki sicki of sick pleasure, the spikes, orlando the "ox" of special forces, pete galivanni of the breakouts, will shatter of flipper. Yeah, folks look at me now and are like, naw, he was never part of that back then and I say "don't judge a book by its cover, unless it covers just another". Yup, those of us who survived, dang, we got old!!! lol
Saw BB in ‘95 at The Milk Bar in Jacksonville FL (with Hagfish, who were also amazing). One of the wildest shows I ever saw. Darryl is a monster, not just on bass, but scary tall. They all just had a larger-than-life presence. And I’m not sure I believe the “mosh” story. In the late 80’s, when we were all still using the term slam dance (admittedly I wasn’t into it, being smaller than most guys) I had a friend from Scotland who came over to the States and used the term “mosh”, long before I ever heard it here. I had assumed the term came from Britain. I could be wrong, but that was the first time I heard it.
Love this video! My personal favorite album is Quickness. But I Against I is amazing, for sure. I do prefer the live versions on Youth Are Getting Restless though.
Thanks for this excellent, informative biography. Favorite Bad Brains song - At the Movies: A child is influenced by the make believe To take advantage of this truth is cold hearted sin So I say to youth right now. Don't sway to the unjust No matter what they say, never give in, never give in Favorite video moment: In Attitude, HR does a little dance during the short guitar break, and I'm thinking "he's not going to make it back to the mic in time", and then I'm like "there was never any question LOL". th-cam.com/video/aWWI2rGdda4/w-d-xo.html
The conviction in HR’s voice when he sings, “never give in, never give in”, is simply, on another level. Never give in. Thousands of times over, it still brings tears to my eyes. This band saved my life. And continues to do so now.
God of Love was my introduction to the band. I saw them play at Trax in D.C. I had no idea what I was witnessing but the place was packed. Somewhere in my house I still have this flimsy pink promo record from that night.
I was in a band in the late 80s called blind Justice from New Haven and we played with human rights at the anthrax in Norwalk ct. then some time after that played with bad brains at a tiny club also in Norwalk. Those was when Israeli was the singer. They were really nice guys that seemed a bit down in their luck. You’d never know that they were the good fathers of hardcore.
Bro, I loved your breakdown of the legacy of HR and Bad Brains. I grew up with them in bands like Faction and Machine Head but there is no doubt that Bad Brains is the real father of the crossover surf Rasta punk scene and is no doubt the most incredible vocals ever embraced by a Punk band. In San Francisco we rocked Bad Brains in force. Dag Nasty, Descendents, Minor, and Suicidal. Bad Brains is the most metal of any hardcore band in the 80s., skate ramps graffiti and a gang like loyalty that they controlled. Yes they got violent but that is a major part of their allure. Illegal warehouse parties and lots of whitehead skins fucking up the shows. They tought us to beat them down and fight the drug fucked nazis out of punk clubs forever. Brad at Ranch in Utah was a huge part of their success our west. Love your stuff bro. Taylor Colton ..
I saw Bad Brains in Austin in (I think) '97-and their opener was a band we'd never heard of called the Deftones. When I listen to the later Deftones'-the White Pony album and their nu-metal hits, it's clear to me how much they owe Bad Brains. Without Bad Brains-without HR, there's. no Deftones.
The ROIR tape is awesome... that cassette-only label released some cool stuff, from Laurel Aitken to the MC 5.. I read they were indeed basically banned from DC after a rowdy park show where the power was cut. Can't remember where I read that, so many years ago. Edited to add I saw the Beasties in 95 when Bad Brains cancelled - the handcuff thing apparently went badly in Montreal, maybe that was the opening night. Last time I saw the Beastie Boys and I remember thinking nit was cool they were taking bad brains on the road but Bad brains seemed done from the first night..? HR is probably his own worst enemy. I hope he gets himself better together... I doubt he can do Bad brains shows anymore, even if he wanted to, I heard his habits finally took effect on his voice. I remember seeing Darryl worked at a health food store in Vermont or something, and these guys probably live pretty lean to this day, except HR who was beyond Lean, I thought he was living abandoned buildings in Baltimore not so long ago...
Earl Hudson great drummer and his Wikipedia entry is five lines long. Clearly no one at Wikipedia understands the importance of drums. In one of my early bands we played Batman by Neal Hefti too, although we played The Jam version. They should have played him The Clash who could really play and speaking of great drummers Topper Headon also great so no surprise they found The Clash on their own as no band better at mixing punk and reggae. I know when I looked into the term years ago it is believed moshing comes from the late 70’s So Cal punks.
THE most energetic, kinetic frontman in any music, in history. Makes Jagger or Daltry in their prime look like Raymond Burr in Ironsides. I say that having seen them live at least 5 times in their prime
You didn't mention Human Right two LPs under Railroad Records, 1992 1994. I LUV & OUR FAITH. Short two years managed by Paul Cornwell owner of The Metroplex in Atlanta where the Bad Brains had often played. HR had lived in Atlanta for a few years. Earl lives there still. Three U.S., one European tour under Paul Cornwell. Some of the best Human Rights music and shows!
Hi mate, great stuff! I locve the bad brains, the first album is the cooler one for me, would love to find out more about their jazzy side...wanted to ask ou about the sources? you drop in a lot of quotes? do you have a book or where does this information come from? would be great for me to delve deeper . Thanks mate
Yeah their live album in Amsterdam, Youth are Getting Restless was my introduction to them and it was pure fire. I think Rollins Band played that same show, because they had a live track recorded there, Maybe "Do It"? or something off that EP.
I saw Bad Brains with Leeway in 89 in Omaha. It was a vacant grocery store called Radial Hall. It was packed! Part of the stage collapsed and a light hit Darrel in the head so they stopped the show. Both bands were great. There were some nazi skins around starting trouble. That was common in O-town in those days. Props to the Trad. & S.H.A.R.P. skins that always tried To combat that B.S.. I’ll never forget that night! It was my last day of middle school.
HUNTING ROD?!? As much as I love the first record, I couldn't believe how much better the production was on _Pay to Cum_ off _Banned in DC._ And the 'slower' _Black Dots_ version.
Nice review, I enjoyed it. I'm in my latter 40s and got really into punk in the 80s as a 11-15 year old skateboarder. Was into the misfits, circle jerks, and such, but remember hearing Bad Brains and being blown away by their sound. Still love the song Big Takeover! I knew that HR had some chronic serious mental health issues (assumed schizophrenia or bipolar) but did not know about some of the more homophobic stuff and all that. People were not as open minded back then for sure, but I would venture to guess that his mental health issues played a role in a lot of the reported unstable and erratic behavior. Good to hear he's been doing better. I think i recall that some big bands had a benefit show for him in recent years.
Hardcore came out of LA or at least simultaneously around the US (so what genre did they create?), Bad Brains reggae influenced no one. So they are not the first, debatable if they're the goat (USHC Legend's of course) but best live, there's a great argument for that one for sure.
you're genuinely becoming one of my favorite youtubers, thank you very much for this one🙏 i'd love to see a video about the smashing pumpkins at some point too
I saw BB live in 1990. This was obviously more than a decade into their career. They were full on INSANE. Metal, punk, hardcore, reggae all melded together. 100% originality.
That's when I started too
Met them at Lamours in NYC
We played in suburban punk rock n roll bands as teenagers until we heard bad brains....then we played hardcore. Their contributions to punk culture deserves recognition. They changed everything fir us in 1980.
In their prime, they'd smoke any/all bands.🔥
Yes yes yes
ABSOLUTELY !
They STILL smoke bands today
The original Rock For Light on PVC w/ no reverb was IMO their greatest LP
Soooo….
Great video.
I was an underaged punk at a Bad Brains show in South Carolina.
An idiot, I got thrown out for having a beer. Got thrown into my friend Karen who knew the Bad Brains from DC.
Earl rips a Velcro pouch off the dash and rolls a blunt.
I’m sitting next to HR in their van and he’s being the kindest, sweetest person on earth.
We smoke that, which I pass on half the time because I’m sitting to HR and want to have my wits about me.
They walk me back into the club with them and it’s the most explosive band I’ve ever seen.
They don’t even count off the first song.
HR has is hands in prayer and they just lift off….into ‘Sailin’ On’.
As a fan, I couldn’t believe what just happened to me.
Back in the early 80s, I lived at 1929 Calvert St in DC. We achieved infamy in the neighborhood for occasionally hosting Bad Brains in our living room. Good times...
i grew up listing to this band and also my son...'Rock for Life' one of best albums
A white kid from suburbia sees these guys, and gets to hang out with them.. insane energy, years later on the night of our senior prom while waiting for the bus to providence a limo pulls up and the kids scream LOSER! I smile , flip them off and go see one of the greatest shows of my life at lupus heartbreak hotel. Also had rock for light stuck in my piece of shit cars tape deck all through high school you could say it was my soundtrack, What a time my teacher for a class called media studies was the bartender at the club and I was able to force the class to listen to rock for light on vinyl.. was such a fuckin great and strange time to be a teen. God bless these dudes. The good the bad and the ugly. I still got a little PMA. I THINK😜😂
That’s funny, I was also musically influenced by a high school Media Studies/Graphic Design teacher around 2004, but the Bad Brains lured me in. He was once in a punk band and rode a Harley to school every day which seemed like an ironic decision for this tall, soft spoken, pensive guy with fair features that all the girls had a crush on. One day I saw the Bad Brains self-titled album on his desk next to Purple Rain and a couple other CDs. Anyway, that contrast really influenced my mixtapes/mp3 filled CD-RWs and general taste in music. It may have even influenced my visual design choices throughout a design undergraduate program too, like the saying, contrast is the spice of life.
@@Thuja814 radical. Did you ever get into pushead? The artist??
Still have that yellow tape
Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel! I saw so many great bands there back in the 90's before I moved away.
Lupos was the best
That these guys are not in the rock and roll hall of fame on their first nomination, is straight up criminal.
C'MON punk dont need such thing like this .We pretend to be mainstream .I dont need such thing to know what Bad Brains make me feel as a teenage punk rocker. FEEL ITS THE EXACT WORD .From the BEST and more enérgic hardcore to spiritual and magical music that i dont need to label.Sadly the rastafarian misoginistic , homophobic etc etc cult doesnt help H.R. Became the better human being and Drug fueled and religious nonsense miseducation had terrible impact on his mental health . First time i see them live was half brains with the Rise record tour like in 1994? And somehow ( i was Young and super hooked on them) was a great nigth and show but when i see them with HR in Gasteiz basque country like in 2010 maibe? Im sorry was an adict too and Lost lot on those years...HR Mental health was a complete disaster .Fully psicothic and out of touch.Doesnt Sing even a song.only deed strange noisés.Band and specially darrel was super mad and angry at HR and was heartbreaking ,sad and depresing thing to testify from a band that i idoliced . i Hope the BEST for HR and the Bad Brains. Got almost all the discografy in vinil and his book too. Bad Brains were gods of punk and hardcore and later their own unique stile of music. The brain damage is done but i think its never late to take care of yourself and Especialy if you got the suport of your family and Friends and fan base. BEST WISHES PEACE LOVE
One of the great bands ... got me through the eighties ... first thing I played when I got home from work ...
I got to hang with them in New York and then later opened for them twice, once in the band Aerobic Death and another time in Agent 86.
That’s awesome!
That ROIR cassette was like a religious sacrament for my crew. We had different nationalities, ages, and levels of society but were united by our quest for sex, drugs, rock n roll and every other type of music that tickled our fancy. From Classical to Cumbia. None of us were punks but some of us liked the pistols, Devo, etc.
Brains at CBGBs in 80, 81, was bonkers. The best live show ever. And they were super accessible. Darryl had a crush on a girl in our crew. She liked him too but she was in high school. We hung out backstage and watched HR talk smack in Jamaican patois. lol We thought he was the most.
HR invited me and a buddy to the home of the Bad Brains. Some barren, huge warehouse in a busted part of Brooklyn. Bushwick I think. 80' or 81'? This neighborhood was the edge of nowhere. I'm born and raised in the hood but this seemed liked 3Xs that. HR got us so high on ganja. HIGH af!! They lived there with their rasta women who mostly kept out of view. He asked about our musical plans and we gave him half baked juvenile answers. Mostly he was a dude, a rock star older brother. Then it was time for practice. With few words and no fuss all 4 Bad Brains came together like Voltron in the practice area of the warehouse and and blew our minds playing songs, almost every one of them was new and all were AMAZING. Blew our brains 🧠 🧠 🙄🤪 !!! Phenom experience.
Dave Dictor, from MDC, said it best, "Could of been the most important band."
I'm reminded of another music hero of mine, Syd Barrett. Mental illness is really insidious, and the last people to recognize it and take appropriate action are other stoners. Anyways, Rock On!
@0000Endgfgv yeah but I’m not on that album. Played those songs though.
excellent video, mate!
the I & I Survived dub album is fantastic and an extremely under appreciated bad brains album!
Favorite band since I first heard the ROIR tape around 1988.
Top 3 American punk bands (in no order) the Ramones,the Misfits & mufukkin Bad Brains 🖤🤘🏻🤤
First time viewer, and I sadly never got to see Bad Brains live. But when I was about 17 tears old, ans being a street kid in Santa Monica, i saw a rare sighting of the elusive Henry Rollins while I was shoplifting from Tower Records. I, being the Midwest boy, and raised to be respectful, begged henry to pardon my intrusion, but would he recommend any bands not getting the deserved respect . He looked at my mohawk and my 2nd hand wardrobe, and told me to respect the stooges, bad brains, minor threat, black flag, and if I liked that I might like to hear rollins band. That list is the litmus test i hold people to when getting to know them.. that list has never been wrong as of yet. Thanks for letting me share, and for covering great bands.
Bad Brains were massive, unique in fact. Every band that were either contemporaries or influenced by them later agree. They were a force of nature never witnressed before or since.
possibly the best hardcore band ever. their later stuff that was more reggae oriented is also great but in such a different way. dynamic to say the least
Seen em live in Tacoma wa. The band came out started playing then HR came jumping 5 feet in the air looking like a jester with 3 huge dreds on his head. Everyother band member were standing by their amps. But HR needed the rest of the stage. One of my top ten gigs I've ever been to.
I saw Bad Brains Live here in NYC when they lived in the Lower East Side .I saw them at CBGBs and the Peppermint Lounge. ..saw them in person about 8 times I think
A lot of people are unaware of the influence of this band through many genres. They were so talented and way ahead of their time. Innovative and influential.
Remember bang crammed into this venue in San Francisco that was called the Trocadero Transfer or the Bridge Club, depending in the year, for the God of Love Reunion show. The entire audience moved in a wave. There was no pit just a wall of flesh and humanity. HR controlled the audience, standing stock still. He just held the mic and sang a few songs like that, then when he did start dancing the crowd lost their minds. Walked out of that club soaked to the bone. I took my shirt off and wrang t out on the sidewalk wishing that I could do the same with my jeans. It was many years later that I would see them at Slim's in San Francisco on the Build a Nation tour, and it was at this show that I realized that it wasn't about HR anymore. He seemed to just be such a small part of this whole thing now. I guess that none of us were as young or as Naive as we used to be.
I was at that show at the Trocadero..S.F Bay Area Native. I remember just the same. I was floored by it and the energy and all the sweat-mess.. I got sick the whole next week and laid in bed thinking about that experience and how no other band since has given me those feelings or emotions, Great memories.
I think I was at that show lol. It could've been the Kennel Club also. Did the Deftones open up? I just remembered being blown away by the Deftones and disappointed by HR who seemed like he was heavily medicated.
Ouaaou! That has been a great story telling about the Bad Brains! Congrats!
Thanks!
Bad Brains are the best live band I’ve ever seen. I was fortunate enough to see them twice. Once in 1983, and again in ‘85. At the ‘85 show, I had my foot on HR’s vocal monitor for the entire show.
That’s awesome!
Bad Brains for Life. P.M.A yeah I got it. Great story and all, Thanks.
After BB broke up, HR (the band) would book shows that regularly had iconic local bands like Void, Government Issue, etc opening for touring bands like Husker Du, JFA, Negative Approach, etc - it was a great time to live in DC.
ps I've always heard ROIR pronounced as "roar" -
I'm an old Brazilian punk and anarchist...thanks for talking about bad brains.
The cat in the crowd at the Lawerence, KS show was a skinhead. He was not a racist. He did not spit on HR
He went by Tweety & was one of the nicest, most mellow kids around.
It was my first time catching Bad Brains & we are very excited to catch the band.
I was in college, at KU, & at parties, I would regularly argue that Bad Brains were not only the most seminal group in Hardcore but quite possibly the best R&R to ever come about. Meant it then & still do.
Well Done. We met HR today. Legend.
House of Suffering is the best Bad Brains track and I will die on this hill!
Better than Sailin’ On? IDK
Big Takeover
Yes. It's the song where HR reaches the highest, vocally and emotionally, and succeeds.
The whole of I Against I though.
It’s most definitely the best song off the i against i album but definitely not their best song.
I saw them as Soul Brains at Maritime Hall in SF in 01, amazing show, besides catching a spin kick to the head in the pit I went backstage and downed a pitcher of of beer for the headache
I saw that tour, 2nd BB show, good times... I thought Michael Clip Payne from P-Funk was hanging with them around this time..? I read about the name change in a post he wrote.
I ALWAYS WONDERED ABOUT THE BAD BRAINS THANKS 4 THE GREAT REVEAL⚡️💥💯 #PUNKRAP
Yo the dad pretty much pulling up a chair and telling his boys to show him what they learned is so dope! That’s love!
This is a very good video sir. Boutta check out some more from you. Definitely got my sub for sure.
Thank you!
Another band that I read that influenced Dr. Know was Return to Forever, Stanley Clarke was in it. Romantic Warrior is a great album by them.
Great video, as always! When I first got into punk rock in high school, Bad Brains were the first band I saw where everyone was black. It really hit me that there were people that looked like me and played (and listened to) this music, which is great. Of course, I was disappointed by the homophobia and that made me look at them a little different, but at that time I felt seen by them. Then, I found out about other bands like Pure Hell and Death which have all-black members, and It made me appreciate punk rock even more. Then, I realize there is a whole community around it, Afropunk, which is flourishing even today. Again, this was a great video. Thanks for making it!
(Quick sidenote: I think on future releases of Quickness, "Don't Blow Bubbles" was turned into an instrumental track called "Instrumental." As far as I can tell, the original track still exists on streaming, at least on Spotify.)
Super interesting perspective - thank you!
Check out Negro Terror, you would probably like them too
These dudes were fast and could turn on a dime
I've loved bad brains since I was in 7th grade! The one thing u may have missed was when they put out the album "Rise" with a different singer coz HR was having difficulty singing due to a problem with his throat. It was also really really good tho.
Great video. I’d like to see the history on 24-7 Spyz. Cheers!
Cool video man. Another thing many dont realise was an infleunce was a lot of the heavier bands like Sabbath and Budgie. I remember reading an interview in spin magaxine around the time "quickness" ce out and i think it was Daryl or Gary mentioning that and calling it "dooms day music " Speakjng of Quickness, that album was slept on so much it was a cross over in diversity and jsd the rock appeal like I against I but had more of a variety . God Of love had a mix of both rock and reggae with a few hsrdcore songs . The ROIR tape is my fave i did a whole video duscussing it on my channel - celebrating its 42nd birthday.
I will never I hope forget the spectacle of Bad Brains being booked thoughtlessly with a skinhead band I cant recall with enough certainty to name at The FARM in SF…. Watched a guy get hit with a bottle that cut a flap of skin that hung from his eye to his cheekbone. At the time The Farm had an eight foot tall cowboy bouncer that must have made dozens of trips out the door with a skinhead under each arm still kicking at people. What a night for my 16 year old excitable mind.
Probably my favourite band when I was young.. I saw them at the Bowes Lion in Stevenage, we got there early and they invited me and my mate into the soundcheck, really welcoming to us, I was about 18 at the time, will never forget that! The gig was amazing too, the place went mad. I was in a hardcore band 'Legion of Parasites' and we got a lot of influence from Bad Brains.. Funnily enough they contributed to our band splitting in the end, as our drummer Wag and my brother Sean, the guitarist wanted to bring reggae into our band and I just didn't get that, I wanted us to stay hardcore, they went on to form a reggae band in the end and our band folded after 3 albums and a 12".. Anyway, I against I was one of my favourite albums of all time, an absolute classic I loved the cosmic waves lol..
Bad Brains Live is one of my all time favorite albums, ever. That said, Bad Brains is one of my favorite bands ever. Great Video!
Didn't know he was originally English, I saw them in my home town UK in the 80's absolutely blew me away and then randomly picked up a hitchhiker a few years later who had been to the same gig and we remembered each other at that point lol
He's actually FBA and West Indian.
Amazing video my man! Very informative and you waist no time at all! You touch on key elements but dont dwell on about it. I love this. Keep making this type of content please! Keep up the great work! 🙌
Very well researched overview. I recall sitting in school reading a music paper in May 1983 - I read that the Bad Brains were playing their first UK dates . I closed the paper, walked out of the school, went home, got changed and hitch-hiked to their Manchester gig. 4 hours later I was outside the venue as the band turned up. I helped them unload the van and then went in to watch them set up and soundcheck. It is a memory that will remain with me forever. Unfortunately, the set they did that night consisted of 99% reggae - which is not what I or anyone else had come to see. They played one explosive hardcore punk song, Joshuah's Song - which must've lasted no more than 40 seconds when played live ! With hindsight, I don't understand how the punk community tolerated all the hardcore bible nonsense that permeated Bad Brains material. I have umpteen live recordings where they start the set with " Greetings in the name of his imperial majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie , king of kings, lord of lords, conquering tribe of the lion of Judah" - generally speaking, the punk audiences back then were somewhat political, left-leaning and certainly not subservient any monarch, or in this case - the 'second coming of Jesus Christ' in human form. What other punk band could get away with with photo sessions clutching a bible - as the Bad Brains did in 1983? The Bad Brains were magnificent musicians and their music stood head and shoulders above all competition - but their version of 'PMA' which involved worshiping Haile Selassie as 'god' manifest in human form - well, that is simply abandoning reason - yet they were given an easy ride for their religious zealotry.
Awesome video man, would love to see one on the gems🤘
SCHWAAAYYYYY!!!!
I've NEVER seen what Skeeter Thompson looks like!!! Just heard "Another story about Skeeter Thompson" by LATE! like 20 years ago!!
One of Grohl's best tracks EVER!!!🤘🎸🤘🎸🤘🍻🍻
Loving your content. ROIR tape is their best work hands down. The energy, the lack of Rick Ocasek's production. Tight.
Totally fair
Black dots > roir s/t
Favorite bad brains song Sailing on banned in dc and I against i !!!🔥🔥
I was listening to punk and then this tape landed in the box at a skate session. I against I... and we stopped. This was new and so awesome.
I'm genuinely glad to hear HR might be enjoying better mental health these days. He was erratic, to say the least. I saw the Soul Brains in 2002 or so and honestly, it was a far shout from their glory days. HR was just...not present. I always kinda felt for Dr. Know and Darryl because they're so badass at their instruments as well as just seeming like good dudes.
The You Don't Know Mojack podcast has great interviews with both Darryl and Anthony Countey that are fantastic. The podcast also interviews some of the people involved with HR's solo work. Definitely helps fill in lots of gaps and details about Bad Brains and HR.
And punk/hardcore just flat out wouldn't be the same had they never existed. They blew minds.
I toured with Soul Brains during that era. From my personal experience, I saw HR exhibit severe social anxiety. If he was alone backstage or at the hotel with just the band around, he was very comfortable and at ease and conversational. However, when in public and surrounded by fans he would clam up. I feel this was because most fans treated him like a deity and it was uncomfortable for him to interact
I first saw them live when they came out to SF in 1980 and played at the Fab Mab. I was totally entrenched into the hardcore at that time with spending a lot of time hanging out with talking for days with nikki sicki of sick pleasure, the spikes, orlando the "ox" of special forces, pete galivanni of the breakouts, will shatter of flipper.
Yeah, folks look at me now and are like, naw, he was never part of that back then and I say "don't judge a book by its cover, unless it covers just another". Yup, those of us who survived, dang, we got old!!! lol
BAD BRAINS 🎸🧠 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 Thanks For Sharing 🎸🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶
Thanks for the great video, very informative. Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Saw BB in ‘95 at The Milk Bar in Jacksonville FL (with Hagfish, who were also amazing). One of the wildest shows I ever saw. Darryl is a monster, not just on bass, but scary tall. They all just had a larger-than-life presence.
And I’m not sure I believe the “mosh” story. In the late 80’s, when we were all still using the term slam dance (admittedly I wasn’t into it, being smaller than most guys) I had a friend from Scotland who came over to the States and used the term “mosh”, long before I ever heard it here. I had assumed the term came from Britain. I could be wrong, but that was the first time I heard it.
Ive been listening to the bad brains since i was a kid in 1984
Bad brains are an absolute classic my favorite track buy them is rise
That RISE album ain't bad. 3 Bad Brains and a stand in is head and shoulders above the rest.
Love this video! My personal favorite album is Quickness. But I Against I is amazing, for sure. I do prefer the live versions on Youth Are Getting Restless though.
Thanks for this excellent, informative biography.
Favorite Bad Brains song - At the Movies:
A child is influenced by the make believe
To take advantage of this truth is cold hearted sin
So I say to youth right now. Don't sway to the unjust
No matter what they say, never give in, never give in
Favorite video moment: In Attitude, HR does a little dance during the short guitar break, and I'm thinking "he's not going to make it back to the mic in time", and then I'm like "there was never any question LOL".
th-cam.com/video/aWWI2rGdda4/w-d-xo.html
The conviction in HR’s voice when he sings, “never give in, never give in”, is simply, on another level. Never give in. Thousands of times over, it still brings tears to my eyes. This band saved my life. And continues to do so now.
The very first time I heard Bad Brains, I told myself that this was what I wanted my band to sound like
Great Vid .Love this band.
God of Love was my introduction to the band. I saw them play at Trax in D.C. I had no idea what I was witnessing but the place was packed. Somewhere in my house I still have this flimsy pink promo record from that night.
1st Bad Brains Concert was at LaMours in Brooklyn, 89 or 90. I saw the lead singer from Living Colour (cult of personality) in the pit
Very well done, thank you! You got that PMA.
Awesome video!
I was in a band in the late 80s called blind Justice from New Haven and we played with human rights at the anthrax in Norwalk ct. then some time after that played with bad brains at a tiny club also in Norwalk. Those was when Israeli was the singer. They were really nice guys that seemed a bit down in their luck. You’d never know that they were the good fathers of hardcore.
Bro, I loved your breakdown of the legacy of HR and Bad Brains. I grew up with them in bands like Faction and Machine Head but there is no doubt that Bad Brains is the real father of the crossover surf Rasta punk scene and is no doubt the most incredible vocals ever embraced by a Punk band. In San Francisco we rocked Bad Brains in force. Dag Nasty, Descendents, Minor, and Suicidal. Bad Brains is the most metal of any hardcore band in the 80s., skate ramps graffiti and a gang like loyalty that they controlled. Yes they got violent but that is a major part of their allure. Illegal warehouse parties and lots of whitehead skins fucking up the shows. They tought us to beat them down and fight the drug fucked nazis out of punk clubs forever. Brad at Ranch in Utah was a huge part of their success our west. Love your stuff bro. Taylor Colton ..
I saw Bad Brains in Austin in (I think) '97-and their opener was a band we'd never heard of called the Deftones. When I listen to the later Deftones'-the White Pony album and their nu-metal hits, it's clear to me how much they owe Bad Brains. Without Bad Brains-without HR, there's. no Deftones.
The ROIR tape is awesome... that cassette-only label released some cool stuff, from Laurel Aitken to the MC 5..
I read they were indeed basically banned from DC after a rowdy park show where the power was cut. Can't remember where I read that, so many years ago.
Edited to add I saw the Beasties in 95 when Bad Brains cancelled - the handcuff thing apparently went badly in Montreal, maybe that was the opening night. Last time I saw the Beastie Boys and I remember thinking nit was cool they were taking bad brains on the road but Bad brains seemed done from the first night..?
HR is probably his own worst enemy. I hope he gets himself better together... I doubt he can do Bad brains shows anymore, even if he wanted to, I heard his habits finally took effect on his voice.
I remember seeing Darryl worked at a health food store in Vermont or something, and these guys probably live pretty lean to this day, except HR who was beyond Lean, I thought he was living abandoned buildings in Baltimore not so long ago...
I have the snare drum from the recording of i against I….GO!
Earl Hudson great drummer and his Wikipedia entry is five lines long. Clearly no one at Wikipedia understands the importance of drums. In one of my early bands we played Batman by Neal Hefti too, although we played The Jam version. They should have played him The Clash who could really play and speaking of great drummers Topper Headon also great so no surprise they found The Clash on their own as no band better at mixing punk and reggae. I know when I looked into the term years ago it is believed moshing comes from the late 70’s So Cal punks.
Do Fishbone!
THE most energetic, kinetic frontman in any music, in history. Makes Jagger or Daltry in their prime look like Raymond Burr in Ironsides. I say that having seen them live at least 5 times in their prime
I agree. Chi pig of S.N.F.U. Would be a close 2nd!
They created hard core
You didn't mention Human Right two LPs under Railroad Records, 1992 1994. I LUV & OUR FAITH. Short two years managed by Paul Cornwell owner of The Metroplex in Atlanta where the Bad Brains had often played. HR had lived in Atlanta for a few years. Earl lives there still. Three U.S., one European tour under Paul Cornwell. Some of the best Human Rights music and shows!
One of my fav bands oat
Hi mate, great stuff! I locve the bad brains, the first album is the cooler one for me, would love to find out more about their jazzy side...wanted to ask ou about the sources? you drop in a lot of quotes? do you have a book or where does this information come from? would be great for me to delve deeper . Thanks mate
It comes from a variety of places, but I’d recommend the documentary and book Finding Joseph 1 if you want to dig deeper
The mosh pit theory sounds pretty legit, Sid Vicious started the pogo, along with the Bromley contingent in London
bravo good sir!
Thanks!
Yeah their live album in Amsterdam, Youth are Getting Restless was my introduction to them and it was pure fire. I think Rollins Band played that same show, because they had a live track recorded there, Maybe "Do It"? or something off that EP.
That is such a vicious album, the hardcore right after the reggae......
The cat!😅
I saw Bad Brains with Leeway in 89 in Omaha. It was a vacant grocery store called Radial Hall. It was packed! Part of the stage collapsed and a light hit Darrel in the head so they stopped the show. Both bands were great. There were some nazi skins around starting trouble. That was common in O-town in those days. Props to the Trad. & S.H.A.R.P. skins that always tried To combat that B.S.. I’ll never forget that night! It was my last day of middle school.
I against I best album of all time
I have too much to say but one thing i will say i remember reading in spin magazine they were inflienced by bands like sabbath and budgie as well
I agree with you.
They were a light in a tunnel. The race didn’t matter. Just the words.
HUNTING ROD?!?
As much as I love the first record, I couldn't believe how much better the production was on _Pay to Cum_ off _Banned in DC._ And the 'slower' _Black Dots_ version.
why can't i find ONE video on the "I against I" remaster?
its called a skim board, and its the funnest thing you can do on the beach if you cant surf
Is there a new album coming ?
bad brains > the beatles
Nice review, I enjoyed it. I'm in my latter 40s and got really into punk in the 80s as a 11-15 year old skateboarder. Was into the misfits, circle jerks, and such, but remember hearing Bad Brains and being blown away by their sound. Still love the song Big Takeover! I knew that HR had some chronic serious mental health issues (assumed schizophrenia or bipolar) but did not know about some of the more homophobic stuff and all that. People were not as open minded back then for sure, but I would venture to guess that his mental health issues played a role in a lot of the reported unstable and erratic behavior. Good to hear he's been doing better. I think i recall that some big bands had a benefit show for him in recent years.
Mental issues mixed with cluster headaches which is also called suicide disease. It's so painfully most people kill themselves
David Vanian was born in 1956 not 1967
We got that PMA
Hardcore came out of LA or at least simultaneously around the US (so what genre did they create?), Bad Brains reggae influenced no one. So they are not the first, debatable if they're the goat (USHC Legend's of course) but best live, there's a great argument for that one for sure.
no one? how about 311 😂 ur so off
Heavy
Minor Threat Vid was killer! Thanks 4 all u Do
Thank you!
you're genuinely becoming one of my favorite youtubers, thank you very much for this one🙏 i'd love to see a video about the smashing pumpkins at some point too
That’s very nice - thank you!
got to do descendents next😢😢
That actually is next haha. It’ll still be a bit though - gotta finish up grad school work
FUCK YEAH!!!!!!
Doesn’t “phobia” indicate fear (as opposed to disapproval and/or disgust)?
Depends on what your talking about
@ Oh, I was referring to how “phobia” (and its indications) are defined as per the DSM-5-TR.