Question for HC fans~~~~Especially Carl

[JayStarr]

I've recently learned that Youth Brigade did a song called "Duke of Earl." I also understand it to have been a pisstake of the Gene Chandler song. Me no like, as I'm a huge street-corner fan. Could someone please enlighten me. Thank you.

Duke Duke Duke Duke of Earl...

[Carl I.]

Never got into Youth Brigade, what years are they from approximately? My foray into the HC scene ended around '89, and completely vanished in '91 when I went to see 7 Seconds and spent the entire show being harrassed by the Punks in attendance, and even ending up with gun thrown in my hair. My Punk friends, during the height of my Punk-days (circa '85-'88) nevet understood my love of Glam. I never understood how a genre that was supposedly so much about "individuality" and being what you want to be, could be so fucking closed minded to anybody without a mohawk or the "Punk 101" look.

I am guessing Youth Brigade was Straight Edge? I was a part of the Straight Edge movement when I was into the stuff. I later found out that most of the bands were in it as a joke or fad. Minor Threat was never serious about it. Brian Baker from Minor (and about 6000 other bands) later joined Junkyard and was seen swilling beer quite often. At that aforementioned 7 Seconds show I was at, Steve Youth the bassist bummed cigarettes off me. I asked him "Steve...I thought you guys were Straight Edge", he laughed and said "yeah, give me a fucking break".

[JayStarr]

Well, they were a SoCal HC band that started in 1980. They formed the "Better Youth Organisation," whatever that's supposed to mean.

They may have been SE, I don't know.

[Carl I.]

Heh, I always wondered who started the BYO and I had always presumed it was Kevin Seconds. But nope, guess not. They're behind the BYO, then yes, they are Straight Edge almost without a doubt. Or they were very much a part of the beginnings of the movement in one way or another.

I'll look into the song for you. I could go for some classic stuff right about now. Some of these early bands were actually very good, and not at all what you hate about the style as far as attitude. The California scene in the early 80's was not a corporate scam and was not out to destroy any style of music. It was all about kids finding their way. By the early 80's (and through out most of the 80's for that matter) the Punk scene became what many thought the original scene was about. Nobody in the US was putting the bands together aside from the people in the bands. There were no Wattie's out there answering corporate "want ads" looking for people to front a Punk band that was designed by a label, ala The Exploited. The heart was in the right place, especially with the Straight Edge scene, and much of the DIY scene that started springing up all over.

[Carl I.]

Not sure about it being a "pisstake", it seems pretty legit to start with, but then spirals into being a "Punk" tune at the end. Granted, it's only about 2 minutes long, but during the "Duke Of Earl" part they actually seem to being trying to do it right. I'm checking to see if this is the whole song though.

http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3...8142SX72V5QLRW

One thing to keep in mind, many of these bands actually were fans of the songs they did "pisstakes" of. They only did them in the way they did because many of them lacked the actual talent to do legit versions. Or one or two of the members actually loved the song, but the others in the band didn't (usually because they were too "Punk" to like that kind of crap), so it had to turn into what it was. Then there were bands like 7 Seconds who had a ton of talent and could pull off amazing covers such as their brilliant version of "99 Red Balloons".

[JayStarr]

I listened to it. Even in the section more musically "faithful," they did change some of the lyrics.

Pisstake, yes. I realise a lot of those bands didn't knowe how to play, so they more or less improvised.

BTW...I take it you didn't like "bike-core." For those who don't know, that was the UK's HC section that was like ChargeGBH, Discharge, ANL, and Vice Squad.

[Carl I.]

I love Charged GBH. In fact, three of their albums are damn near masterpieces, IMO. "City Baby Attacked By Rats", "Midnight Madness" and "No Need To Panic" are amazing.

I like Discharge.

[JayStarr]

What, no "Streets of London?" No cute l'i'l' Bekka Bond?

[Carl I.]

Vice Squad had a few good songs, but that was about it. Ms. Bondage was (still is actually) damn cute, but her musical talent was just not there, nor is it still there at all. Decent voice, but she surrounds herself with crap talent.

[JayStarr]

No ANL.

As for Beki, did you ever hear any of her music with The Bombshells? That was her and several of that group of female musicians that made up those all female bands in the late 1970s/early 1980s, most notably Kim McAuliffe of Girlschool.