Sick Of It All
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
| Sick Of It All | |
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| Music genre(s) | Hardcore, Punk |
| Homebase | New York, NY |
| Years active | 1984 - Present |
| Current Status | Active |
| Notable Records | |
| Label(s) | |
| Website | www.sickofitall.com |
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Sick Of It All (SOIA) is a New York Hardcore band formed by brothers Lou Koller (vocals) and Pete Koller (guitar), Armand Majidi (drums) and Rich Capriano (bass) in 1984.
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[edit] Early career (1984-1992)
Hailing from Tarrytown in Westchester County, NY, Sick of It All was formed alongside New York hardcore bands Straight Ahead, and Rest In Pieces which both featured Majidi and current Sick Of It All bass player Craig Setari. Majidi joined up with the Koller brothers and Rich Capriano to record the Sick Of It All demo in 1986, after original bass player Mark McNielly and drummer David Lamb left. The band began to play Sunday afternoon matinees at renowned venue CBGB's, and soon after released a self-titled 7" on Revelation Records (which was later re-issued on the tenth anniversary of its release, in 1997).
In 1988, Sick of It All signed to Relativity Records and recorded their first full-length, Blood, Sweat and No Tears, which was released in the following year. The album's follow-up, Just Look Around, was released in 1992.
[edit] Increasing popularity (1993-1997)
Although accused of selling out, Sick Of It All released their heaviest record to date on major label EastWest Records, titled Scratch the Surface. The record was a surprise to those who assumed the band would create a more radio-friendly sound. They also recorded a video for "Step Down" and the titletrack "Scratch The Surface". The record was also the first recorded with long-time friend and former Straight Ahead, Rest In Pieces, Youth of Today and Agnostic Front bass player Craig Setari, who had replaced Rich Capriano in early 1993.
The band received bad publicity in December 1992 when Wayne Lo, a mentally-ill student wearing a Sick Of It All t-shirt, shot and killed two people and wounded several others at Simon's Rock College in Massachusetts. After being inundated with claims that they initiated violence at shows and through their music, the band defended themselves in the press (particularly The New York Times).
The fair success of Scratch the Surface allowed the band to tour worldwide, and it was not until 1997 that they released their second record on the EastWest label, Built to Last. More punk-inspired than their previous effort, Built to Last produced a number of live staples for the band, including "Us vs. Them," "Busted" and "Good Lookin' Out." The album also marked the end of Sick Of It All's contractual agreement with EastWest.
[edit] The Fat Wreck Chords years (1998-2004)
In 1998, Sick of It All signed to independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, owned and run by Fat Mike of Californian band NOFX. After releasing the "Potential For A Fall" single - for which another video was filmed, Call To Arms was released in February 1999. The album featured relatively few traditional hardcore tracks, as the intensely personal lyrics of songs like "Let Go," "The Future Is Mine," "Morally Confused" "Hindsight," and "Martin" shone through.
The 2000 follow-up Yours Truly was less critically acclaimed. Despite containing some of the bands favored live tracks, including "Blown Away," "The Bland Within," "District" and "America," some fans felt alienated by the album's progressive nature and in a recent interview, frontman Lou Koller claimed that the album's cover art probably contributed to its poor reception.
In 2001, Sick Of It All released their home video The Story So Far, and a year later a live record was released as part of Fat Wreck Chords' Live In A Dive series. The album showcased tracks from Sick Of It All's entire career up to that point in time.
2003 saw Sick Of It All release their seventh studio album: Life on the Ropes. In 2004, the band also released an album of b-sides, covers and rare tracks entitled Outtakes for the Outcast, which contains some Sick Of It All recordings.
[edit] Recent activity and the future of the band (2005-present)
In early 2005, Sick Of It All signed to Abacus Recordings to record the follow-up to Fat Wreck Chords' Life on the Ropes. The new album, titled Death to Tyrants, was released on April 18, 2006. The band is recently went on tour with AFI and The Dear & Departed in early 2007.
A tribute to the band, titled Our Impact Will Be Felt, was released on April 24, 2007, and includes covers from artists such as Bane, Bleeding Through, The Bouncing Souls, Hatebreed, Himsa, Madball, Most Precious Blood, Napalm Death, Pennywise, Rise Against, Sepultura, Stretch Arm Strong, Unearth, and Walls of Jericho.
Sick of It All has begun writing new material for their next album, which is possibly due for release sometime in 2008.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- In 1995, the somewhat dubious German label Lost And Found Records released in Europe only, Spreading The Hardcore Reality and Live In A World Full Of Hate, the latter of which was supposedly recorded live in New Jersey in 1993, but was actually recorded at a chaotic show in Berlin in 1994. This bootleg ruse was created because of the band's contractual obligations at the time.
- Numerous Sick Of It All fans have tattoos of the "Alleyway Dragon" - the band's official logo. The Dragon is from a sheet of Greg Irons flash. It is not, as some people have claimed, a misappropriated gang symbol, but then the Alleyway Crew was never a gang to begin with. It was, and is, a group of friends. The dragon is a symbol of friendship as well as a way that members would relate who was hanging out at a particular gathering. The "Alleyway" is in a school yard in Flushing, Queens, where the band and all of their friends would gather.
- The band is credited with the "Wall of death (moshing)" (also known as the Braveheart) in which the crowd would split into 2 sides and charge the other at the start of selected songs.
- Toby Morse, a former Sick Of It All roadie from suburban Maryland, went on to form the band H2O.
- Former roadie Danny Singer a.k.a Lord Ezec a.k.a. Danny Diablo, went on to form Crown of Thornz, Skarhead, and Icepick and now has started his solo rap career.
- Former Sick Of It All, Social Distortion, and L7 roadie, Umbar, died in early 1995 while on tour with L7.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Members
Current Members:
Lou Koller - vocals
Pete Koller - guitar, backing Vocals
Craig Setari - bass, vocals, backing vocals
Armand Majidi - drums
Past Members:
[edit] Other Projects
[edit] Video
Step Down
[edit] Links
Official Website
Sick Of It All on Myspace
Armand Sick of it All interview
