A Short History of Bad Brains

Bad Brains were a hardcore punk band with a difference. They could be described, though, as being a band with two distinct styles which they merged within their songs to great effect. Firstly they were a hardcore band, playing fast and aggressive speed-punk just like a squillion other bands have done. Secondly, and what set them apart, they were a pure reggae band.

They were one of the first hardcore bands to come out of east coast America and had a definite influence on many hardcore bands to come. For example, Bad Brains played alongside the Damned in 1979. The gig was at the Bayou, Washington DC. In the audience were Ian MacKaye, who would go on to form Minor Threat, and Mr. Henry Rollins who would go on to join Black Flag. Two seminal American hardcore bands who were important in their own right, and both were influenced by Bad Brains. The schizophrenic hardcore pioneers were described by New York Rocker magazine as 'the perfect one-two punch in a live show; just at the point your heart might stop pumping come a skanking bass line to delight head and feet simultaneously'. The other thing that set Bad Brains apart was that all the members of the band were black. Unheard of at the time.

Having played with the Damned they were invited over to Britain to play, what must have been seen as, an important gig in their short career. However the band were denied entry to the country and only got as far as Heathrow Airport. They forget to get their work permits. So, without any opportunity to make a name for themselves on the important live circuit in Britain, Bad Brains went back to concentrating on the US instead. The only way they could tour was to organize the shows themselves. The alternative infrastructure which helped future non-mainstream bands when they first started out was simply not in place at the time. They set up their own record label also. It was the punk DIY ethic in action. Their debut album, a cassette-only release on their own fledgling label, led to a good deal of indie label interest. It was backed up by the excellent singles 'Big Takeover' and 'Pay To Cum'. But the band made another mistake, but this one a bit more serious than forgetting to organize work permits. They started to express homophobic views to all who would listen. At the time there was a growing interest in hardcore from San Francisco's gay community, so the comments didn't go down too well in a scene which partly prided itself in open acceptance of anything that was seen as non-mainstream.

So first and foremost, Bad Brains should be remembered for having members who were horribly homophobic. That said, musically they were a great band. The hardcore they played was spot-on. It all came from Earl Hudson's driving drums and the excellent guitar work of Dr Know. Their take on reggae was founded in the bass (as you'd expect with reggae) of Darryl Jenifer. The reggae tunes 'Leaving Babylon' and 'I Love I Jah' were particularly good by anyone's standards.

The next release by Bad Brains was the album 'Rock For Light' and it was pretty much the same sort of stuff as their debut cassette. It had a little more studio sheen as it was produced by Rik Ocasek. This was followed with 'I Against I' which was a bit more rock orientated, which gave many hardcore fans another excuse to walk away from the band, if they needed any more excuses. Well, other excuses were that Bad Brains started preaching. Preaching fundamentalist religious and fundamentalist political beliefs. It was all a lot of bad vibe stuff, and the hardcore and alternative crowd didn't want a lot of bad vibes thrown in their faces. And who can blame them. The real shame though is that the guitar playing of Dr Know never received the musical recognition it really deserved. All through the rest of their recording career it was his guitar which drove the band on. But it was only really their first, and maybe second, albums which showed what the band were capable of. But then again, beliefs that are offensive are just that. Offensive. And the band became just another rock band.