1.Brother
2.Generic Dilemma
3.Apart
4.destined for obscurity
5.don't believe
Affirmative Action were a late 80's hardcore punk band who were from the college town of New Paltz New York. Great guys that I quickly became friends with soon after seeing them for my first time in around 1989-1990 in Albany. The bass player/vocalist Jim MacNaughton is still to this day one of my best friends. Jim and I later went on to start Devoid Of Faith together after AA, and my band Intent broke up in around 1992. Affirmative Action were one of those bands that were on the out skirts of what was happening in the NYHC scene in the 80's. They were one of the black sheep to the NY scene, due to the fact that they didn't want/need to fit in with the jockcore youth crew mentallity that was happening on the East coast at that time. If you weren't down with these scene types, you'd land shit shows, and play to know one. AA didn't care. These guys stuck out like a sore thumb on some of the bills they played, and found they fit in better playing with metal bands, or hardcore bands from the left coast.
This is a live demo from 1989, that has a really great sound(almost studio sounding), and prolly is why they released it as a tape. the song "Apart " sounds very much like some early Breakdown tune. While the song "brother" is about the stupidity of the sXe scene during this time period. Jim and Dan(the guitarist)split the vocal duties. Comment if you download.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zftgmlonjnb
Posts
Yet another excellent post Nate, I was the 17th person to download it. Keep the music and the stories coming dude, I for one really appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteDude I really love your demos that you post on your blog. I'm a punk fan, and skip most of the headbanging shit. I Really love the Affirmative=Action demo. I'd never heard of these guys. thank you.
ReplyDeleteGlen
thanks Justin.
ReplyDeleteNate
Amazing demos, true punk fan dont like new music, you got an amazing collection.
ReplyDeleteWill keep in touch.
Thanks
SydneyBlack
you're so awesome for doing this, man. seriously i appreciate so many bands on your blog.
ReplyDeletebands like this i can especially relate to - black sheep fighting the current of edgers. that was my life in high school haha and then i moved to boston.
you should check out some of the local punk/crust bands from up here. even though they're new they have super old sounds from bands like crossed out. good shit.
thanks agaiN!!!!
You know, I heard these guys first on some HC comp which i forget the name (it had the uprise and a bunch of other bands) around 87 or 88. Then I saw them in newark new jersey where not to many people came out, I still have the tape but im downloading the mp3's anyway.
ReplyDeleteGood shit.
Cheers
no one was ever at their gigs...ha ha
ReplyDeleteSo glad i stumbled apon this,I used to go see them play in Middletown,NY back in the 80's. The old factory 3rd floor up the fire excape, which was usually quite challenging to come down by the end of the night. The guys might remember Shawn Sullivan(ivan)and Tony Tufano(paul z water)of Sonic Eppilepsy.One of my favorite times with AA was when they played on the deck of a friend of ours trailer in a trailer park just outside Port Jervis,NY in SparrowBush.That was until the cops interveined, then the party just moved to another friends garage in Port. Anyway glad to get some of their shit back in my library,lost everything i had,those days were a blur. thanks
ReplyDeleteHi Nate,
ReplyDeleteI know you posted this a long time ago, but I was trolling blogs and saw you had this. I've recently become friendly with Danny. He has a great band called Crank that my band (Ultrabastard!) has played with twice. The first time we played together at Otto's Shrunken Head where he pulled me aside to the bar and said he wanted to bring us upstate. He followed through and we played a show in a BBQ restaurant in Newburgh two weeks ago. That night, their drummer told me how Dan was in Affirmative Action and now I find this demo here.
I totally get the sticking out like a sore thumb thing, which is why I think Danny likes us so much. I live in Brooklyn now, but the band is really based on Long Island and we never fit in at any of the punk shows we played. I'm big into My War and the other later Black Flag stuff and that doesn't fly with the peacock punk scene on LI. It's when we find bands like Crank or Libyan Hit Squad from Orlando, FL that things make sense and the real friendships occur.
My band played with them at the electric banana in Pittsburgh, Feb 1987. I had their demo on tape called "A Guide to Excellence", was wondering if you have that and could post.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
The link doesn't work anymore. What a pity. Is there a way to get this tape? I remember listening to it in 1993, it was given to me by a friend. Very good.
ReplyDeleteI recently bought their LP Thought Ration from a thrift store. Great album!. No that many info out there about the band.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.