Bl’ast
On the earlier Black Flag someone asked that I resurrect my Bl’ast! post from a couple years back over. I’m game. Bl’ast were one of my late 80’s favorites - I would bust out It’s In My Blood for anyone that would listen. Forming in Santa Cruz in the early ’80’s as M.A.D. (check their track on the Not So Quiet on the Western Front compilation below) before adding guitarist Mike Neider and becoming Bl’ast in 1984. I originally wrote:
a group of Santa Cruz skaters that absorbed all of the lessons that Black Flag could teach and then took it to the next level. Using Flag’s Damaged as a starting point, the band layered varying rhythm shifts, unique guitar sounds, and powerful drumming that resulted in satisfying hardcore… while the Black Flag influence is appreciable on some of the bands earlierwork, I never considered them derivative. And what the hell, after Damaged Black Flag produced a lot of dreck.
The piledriving Ginn-inspired guitar is obvious, especially on the band’s 1986 Power Of Expression LP. Not a bad thing at all, in my opinion:
Bl’ast - Our Explanation.mp3
Bl’ast - Break It Down.mp3
Bl’ast - Look Into Myself.mp3
Original guitarist Steve Stevenson left the band prior to the recording of 1987’s It’s In My Blood. Even with one guitarist the sound is still big and powerful, benefitting from more original material:
Bl’ast - Sometimes.mp3
Bl’ast - Tomorrow.mp3
Bl’ast - Something Beyond.mp3
1989’s Take The Manic Ride was the band’s last LP and was a let down, hindered by crappy production. The drums sound hollow, the guitars muffled, and Clifford Dinsmore’s vocals, rough and raw on the first two albums, at times sound muted and whispered.
Bl’ast - Overdrive.mp3
Bl’ast - Out of Alignment.mp3
For reference, here’s the MAD cut from Not So Quiet…
Notes:
** Bl’ast on Myspace (source of image)
** Informative Wikipedia entry
** Buy Bl’ast releases
21 Comments so far
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Oh yes, Sir - you’re very much right here. What a steamroller! Great yet maybe still under-appreciated band. They sure as hell wouldn’t win a prize for originality though. Saw them live in 86, and was blown away. And the guitarist had a plexiglass see-through-bodied geetar. What more could you ask for?
BLAST fucking rocks !. Check out the band ANNHILIATION TIME for more Ginn-isms. They even have Pettibon sleeve art on their first album.
ans is rad too
and have you heard rabies
Well well well. You have done it again. Always adding badass tunes right when I am just getting into a band and looking for all their stuff. It’s in my blood is on it’s way to my house as we speak.
If I’m correct, the guitarist w/ the see-through guitar was William “Kip” Duvall formerly of Neon Christ. He just got off tour, believe it or not, with the reunited Alice in Chains. He sang and did some guitar work.
Anyway, this site (http://nx.motherbuster.com) is the current one for a documentary project on Neon Christ that he and I are working on. They should be in the studio again sometime this year to record some tracks that never got put out when William took off to the West Coast to do his thing w/ Bl’ast.
AHhh URhhh BLuhh
THANK YOU!!!
Wow!
Funny thing: Yesterday I got “Take The Wild Ride” at a local record shop NEW for 4 bucks!
Hey! Check out my new thing sSQUIRMm for my Ginn worship!
Need members!!! ATL!!
Take The MANIC Ride,
Okayyyy!!
The Dan Armstrong slinging Ginn Twinn wasn’t Duvall (not that he didn’t play one), but Neider (there’s pics all over the inner sleeve of ‘Manic’.
Saw AiC on the Heart thing on VH1 @ work. Had no idea that was who that was. Weird. He did a good job. Always good to see another brother in rock music.
If you wanna hear what AiC were like pre-Soundgarden (let’s face it, that was the catylist for most metal bands to ‘go grunge’ - it sure as hell wasn’t Mudhoney), you should head on over to lamestainnorthwest.blogspot.com and get ready to LAUGH!!!
1986 would have been about the time they played St. Louis with JFA. All the punkers were pissed at the (I believe) $7 door price. My friend told them to take it up with JFA because they were getting paid $1500 + some of the door (not to talk shit, but I believe that was the figure) which seemed outlandish to my 15 year old mind. Of course they also bitched about the heat- with a straight face- even though nobody would take off their leather jackets. That’s the price of punk, buddy, sometimes you gotta suffer to look cool I guess.
For the record- Both Mike and Steve had their own Dan Armstrongs before Kip ever joined the band.
Too Black Flag inspired for me. The see through glass guitar was directly borrowed from Greg Ginn who had one too. They where insanely hyped in the 80’s. Never got that.
Thanks for the info. I know Kip was with them from 86 to 87, but not a lot beyond that. That’s not something we’ve interviewed him about as yet, but hope to next time he’s in from LA. What recorded material did he appear in, if any?
Kip wasn’t on any of the Blast recordings. Nice guy, though.
Post-blast:
Mike formed LAB with Bill and Cliff’s bro, Dave. Dave was in early Unida, post-LAB, and was also in the Brant Bjork project, Che (amazing album). Mike also does shirts and band merch, Rrise.
Cliff started Spaceboy and is now in Gargantula.
Blast did a brief reunion tour in 2001, and played some dates up and down the west coast. There are talks of another reunion, but a new project with some of the members and other stoner rock luminaries is in the works. Stay tuned!
Blast! ruled, at least intially with thier original five piece lineup with Stevenson. Yeah, it wasnt the most original band in the world but fucking A were they powerful. Honestly, Flag was starting to wind down anyways so what the fuck? I loved the fact that both Mike and Steve had Dan Armstrongs and that Bill had a huge drumset. They blew me away for at least two years before Steve quit.
Kip replaced Steve and I saw this version of the band once and they were still great.
When they became a four piece for some reason it just wasnt as potent, and the new material wasnt quite as lethal. Just my opinion.
“The Power of Expression” s still one of my favorites, Black Flag influence or not.
They also did a amazing version of “12xU”, at it was brutal and didnt really sound like either the Minor Threat version nor the Bad Brains version nor the Wire original.
does anyone have any early 5 piece BL’AST! photos or videos footage??? i will pay big bucks…
pete.
I’ve seen a video of them at the Anti Club as a 5 piece, Clifford is wearing glue on devil horns!! ‘Power of Expression’ despite it’s obvious influences, is just immense, that’s quite an achievement. Rollins was an ass anyway…
someone needs to post up the lyrics to Surf and Destroy
Kip has writing credit on a song from “It’s In My Blood”.
The first album caught their energy well. The next two,
though favorites of mine, were a bit overproduced. They
were AWESOME live. At one point, the whole band was
playing clear instruments. One show at Gilman that I
recall, there new bass player, a really tall guy with a
shaved head named Bill, pounded a 40oz on stage and
almost got the band kicked out before they even started. The more you listen to them the less you think of the similarities with Black Flag. Some people really need to get over the “too derivative” BS. Most hardcore is derivative in one way or another IMO. Not to mention
punk in general.
Just a shot in th dark here, but does anyone have any of the later “funk” stuff? I would like to give it a listen. I’m working on a magazine article on it right now actually. Please any info- email me
smc_jab85 (at) hotmail.com
They have BLAST! merch over at this website-
http://www.rrise.com/
Some t-shirts and a skateboard, NEW not used.
Tahnks for giving me a reason to listen to Bl”ast this saturday evening
Great blog.
Bl’ast! were fantastic and The Power Of Expression, for my money, is slightly better than Damaged or My War.
The M.A.D demo is great too.