If you’re visiting the Boston area this week for the Have Heart show on Saturday night, make sure to visit the Bridge Nine record store in Beverly, Massachusetts! We’re just 35 minutes north of the city, only 8 minutes door-to-door from with Witch City of Salem, and we’re on the commuter line (Newburyport/Rockport train). We’ll be open later than usual on Friday night (until 8pm!) and we’ve got some fun stuff planned with our friends at Trust Records on Sunday from 11am-2pm to help celebrate their re-issue of “Get It Away” by S.S. Decontrol! Store details can be found HERE!
SSD Breakfast at B9 on July 21st: Get It Away / Trust Records
Are you headed to Boston for Have Heart on July 20th? Need something to do Sunday morning? We’ve got you covered! From 11am to 2pm, come hang with the Trust Records crew at Bridge Nine in Beverly (35 minutes north of Boston) and celebrate the long-anticipated re-release of Get It Away. Bridge Nine has an exclusive variant of the LP, there will be coffee and donuts, and a few surprises!
Springa (SS Decontrol) on the New York Hardcore Chronicles Live! (Sunday, July 7th)
Catch the SS Decontrol’s wildcard, Springa, on the New York Hardcore Chronicles show, hosted by Drew Stone of Incendiary Device! Springa will be appearing live from the Bridge Nine warehouse. Details HERE.
S.S. DECONTROL "Get It Away" 12" EP (B9 Exclusive) Pre-Order NOW!
Bridge Nine’s exclusive “black with white stripe” variant is limited to 300 copies and can be pre-ordered HERE! Shipping the week of July 19th.
Universally recognized as the first straight-edge band, SSD's (Society System Decontrol) 1982 debut The Kids Will Have Their Say is considered a landmark release for hardcore music. However, many fans consider their 1983 sophomore effort Get It Away to be the band's most crucial release. Most notable is the addition of guitarist Francois Levesque who joined the classic lineup of the "Boston Crew": Guitarist Al Barile, vocalist David "Springa" Spring, bassist Jaime Sciarappa and drummer Chris Foley.
Another dramatic shift for Get It Away was the improved recording quality of this recording. While The Kids Will Have Their Say was recorded during multiple session on 8-track recorders, Get It Away was recorded on 24-tracks at Downtown Studios in Boston and produced by Mike Bastarche and Lou Giordano (the latter of whom would go on to work with everyone from Hüsker Dü to the Goo Goo Dolls). "It was much more organized as far as the sessions went and we were more prepared," Foley explains. The result is a seven-song collection, including a cover of the Buzzcocks' "No Reply," that finally captured the veracity of the band's legendary live performances. "When I listen back, it sounds like the vinyl can barely hold all the sound," he adds.
That said, Get It Away isn't an easy release to describe?and the fact that hardcore didn't exist yet allowed the band to approach aggressive music in a way that didn't sound like anyone else. From the distortion-drenched groove of the opener "Glue" to the blistering chaos of "Under The Influence" and the avant-tinged experimentation of "Xclaim," Get It Away effortlessly captures a moment of Boston at a time before the scene was codified.
Ultimately, Get It Away is the result of five people and a confluence of circumstances that had to come together in a very specific way in order to create this sonic document. "I think sometimes the arc of a band intersects with the arc of public taste and you have a moment," Foley says. "Whether it's the cover art by Pushead (Metallica, Septic Death) or the pictures of us playing at CBGB on the back or maybe it's just how unique we sounded in 1983. I think for some people it captured a moment in time." Sciarappa adds, "When we were kids doing this stuff, I don't remember thinking about future relevance. I've got to admit it's pretty cool nowadays to hear how much the album meant to them and many have it in their top five hardcore albums of all-time, which is a nice compliment."
Following the 2023 reissue of The Kids Will Have Their Say, Trust Records is set to re-release Get It Away on vinyl July 19 and across digital platforms for the first time ever. It features remastered audio of these songs by Dan Johnson at Audio Archiving Studios and immaculate deluxe packaging - the Trust Records touch. The album has been out of print for almost three decades and is massively in demand amongst the band's rabid fan base - this is the first officially sanctioned repress of the album since its initial pressing back in 1983. Whether Get It Away is already one of your favorite albums or you're hearing it for the very first time, this is the definitive version of one of hardcore's most important releases.
Al Barile (SSD, Gage) & Pat Flynn (Have Heart, Fiddlehead) Talk 40+ Years of Boston Hardcore at The B9HQ
Al Barile / Pat Flynn / Anthony Moreschi / Chris Wrenn
Bridge Nine was happy to host our friends Pat Flynn (Have Heart, Fiddlehead) and Al Barile (SSD, Gage) at our new HQ for a conversation that Trust Records organized, in support of their announcement of SSD finally re-issuing their first two albums via Trust. We had 40+ years of Boston hardcore in the room, and it was filmed by none other than Anthony “Wrench” Moreschi!
Pat Flynn (Have Heart, Fiddlehead) and Al Barile (SSD, Gage) at the B9HQ Warehouse
Have Heart, Defeater, SSD, Agnostic Front and Slapshot enamel pins now available
We just put up new enamel pins up at B9Store.com, each mounted with a double post with rubber backings on a hand numbered card. SSD, Defeater, Slapshot, Have Heart, and Agnostic Front designs, all limited to 200 each. Get 'em while you still can!