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Courtesy of Trust Records |
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7Seconds shred Seattle in 2014. (Cat Rose photo) |
By Andy
When my old punk band Sorex rolled into Reno, NV, in the fall of 1985, we were ultra stoked to be sharing a bill with 7Seconds, Circle Jerks and the Yobs that evening.
The day was Oct. 25 and the location was the Sparks Recreation Hall, and I know this now because a framed flyer hangs behind me in our Seattle home. It was a memorable gig for our little band from Redondo Beach, CA, to be playing that night after driving fucking forever to land on 7Seconds' turf.
A "New Wind" would soon be blowing our way.
We heard that 7Seconds had recently recorded some new songs with Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios in Washington, D.C., and were primed to get a taste of those latest tunes in the live setting.
I don't remember the names of the new tunes, but I do recall being floored by the heaps of melody cemented within the punk infrastructure. Sure, there was melody before, but way more than on their earlier offerings.
Checking out the back of my "New Wind" album now, it notes that the songs recorded in D.C. were the title track, "Grown Apart," "Still Believe" and "Put These Words to Music." Those were probably the ones 7Seconds performed live that night, and there may have been some other fresh songs as well (the album features 13 songs in all). Whatever tunes they blasted out of their amps were pure gold that evening.
As always, I wedged my way up close to fully experience the action and sing along with energetic and passionate frontman Kevin Seconds. On this night, the tip of one of drummer Belvy K's sticks snapped and belted me just under my right eye. I reached down to grab the tip and held onto it for the rest of their set (it's long gone now). So, I had a black mark under my eye for a while and some killer new 7Seconds songs in my brain. Not bad!
As I write these words, those "New Wind" songs rush through my head once again and take me back to that Sparks night.
That's because Trust Records has announced that it will soon be reissuing a Michael Graves-remastered "New Wind," along with a 24-page oral history with unseen photographs, flyers and rare memorabilia. The gem was originally released on Better Youth Organization and Positive Force in 1986.
A bonus wind will roar into buyers' hands as "Change in My Head," which is the original "New Wind" set mixed by MacKaye and Zientara and mastered by Pete Lyman. That album will feature two additional songs from the 1985 D.C. session: "Compro" and "Change in My Head."
It's a two-for-one 7Seconds package for us all. To pre-order, visit https://trustrecords.com/pages/7-seconds. The release will begin shipping the week of May 19. (Fans can now stream the song "Change in My Head" on all the usual platforms.)
On a historical note, I had seen 7Seconds live in 1983 at Lazarro's Ballroom in Los Angeles and they were stellar. However, unleashing our punk power on the same stage as 7Seconds was a special time for us teens. Nobody knew who we were, but I was told by some locals that we made an impression on the punks.
In fact, Kevin Seconds told me so when I met up with him in the parking lot for a chat and trade of the Sorex "Portrait of a Prisoner" EP for 7Seconds' "Blasts From the Past" EP. He said he was sorry to have missed our set, but the Yobs guys informed him that we rocked the house.
I thanked him and said I was looking forward to hearing the new tunes and album when it was released. A year or so later, "New Wind" was blasting through my bedroom stereo upon its entry into the punk music world.
** To further add to the "New Wind" bonanza, Kevin Seconds and MacKaye will discuss the new release in person at 7 p.m. on April 15 at Braindead Studios (611 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, CA). This event will be streaming live on the Trust Records YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@trustrecordsofficial.
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