7 Seconds (band)
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7 Seconds (often stylized as 7Seconds) are an American
hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
band from
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
, that was formed in 1980 by two sets of brothers. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes over the subsequent years, with only Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth remaining constant members. The current lineup of 7 Seconds consists of Kevin Seconds (vocals), Steve Youth (bass), Troy Mowat (drums), and Bobby Adams (guitar).


History


Formation

7 Seconds was formed on January 17, 1980, by two sets of brothers; the Marvelli brothers, using the punk rock names "Kevin Seconds" and "Steve Youth", and the Borghino brothers, who were known as "Tom Munist" and "Dim Menace". Asked about the origins of the band's name in a December 1982 interview with ''Flipside'' magazine, Kevin Seconds recalled:
"...I was ordering
The Dils The Dils were an American punk rock band formed 1976 and active until 1980, originally from Carlsbad, California, and fronted by the brothers Chip Kinman and Tony Kinman. They appeared as the second act in the "battle of the bands" sequence i ...
single '198 Seconds of The Dils' from Bomp and I wrote it on a desk and the ink it said 97 Seconds; and then we saw this movie '' Day of the Jackals'' or something and all through it there were references to 7 Seconds, and the Dils were like our idols... So we were looking for a name and we were looking at this racing book and it said 7 seconds and we said, 'fuck it, must be an omen,' so we picked it. It's a short, intense name.""7 Seconds", ''Flipside'', whole no. 37 (Jan. 1983), pp. 22–23.
This story evolved over time. In the February 2005 issue of ''
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'', in an article titled, "7 Seconds: 25 Years of Our Core", Kevin Seconds told this tale:
"We were big fans of The Dils, they had this EP, 198 Seconds of The Dils and I was so in love with punk rock that I would just write album titles on my clothes. This was still when Steve and I lived with my mom. We had this desk in this room we shared and I wrote '197 seconds of The Dils,' I miswrote the title. Over time, everything else faded, but the 7 Seconds part was there, and I circled it, I thought it looked cool."
In 1981, Munist and Menace left to form a new band called Section 8.


Recording history

7 Seconds has floated across several genres of rock. The band's early releases were several EPs including 1982's ''Skins, Brains and Guts'', most of which were later re-released on the ''alt.music.hardcore'' and ''Old School'' compilation CDs.Martin C. Strong, ''The Great Alternative & Indie Discography'', Canongate, 1999; pp. 552-553 All three demos were released on a bootleg release named ''7 Seconds – Hardcore Rules, 80-82''. They also appeared on the 1985 hardcore compilation ''Cleanse the Bacteria'', in addition to numerous other compilations, such as ''Not So Quiet On the Western Front'' (Alt. Tentacles, 1982), ''Something to Believe In'' (BYO, 1984), ''Party or Go Home''/''We Got Power'' (Mystic, 1983), and ''Nuke Your Dink'' (Positive Force, 1984). They became closely associated with the Straight Edge movement and helped start the
Youth Crew Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original yout ...
movement in 1984 with The Crew. Their first full-length album, ''The Crew'', was recorded in 1983–84 and released by BYO Records, as was its successor – 1985's EP ''
Walk Together, Rock Together ''Walk Together, Rock Together'' is a studio album by hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, released in 1985. The album was originally released as an EP, but was later expanded into a full-length album. Background Walk Together, Rock Together was origi ...
'', which was expanded the next year into a full length album with live tracks on the b-side. With the ''New Wind'' album, the band dramatically expanded its sound and style with audible elements of a sometimes quieter, slower, more melodic and accessible sound. Many writers have credited this particular period of 7 Seconds' career as being highly influential on many
pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...
and
indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
bands that came along much later. Subsequent LPs moved deeper into mainstream territory with a U2-like sound. The ''7 Seconds'' album continued their musical experimentation. The band broke free in 1995 with ''The Music, The Message'', moving back somewhat into their roots. ''The Music, The Message'' was released on Sony (BMI), the first release on a major label throughout the band's history. Earlier material was on various homegrown labels, completely self-produced, or put out on Kevin Seconds own label, Positive Force Records (AKA United Front), before BYO Records housed them. However, the band returned to an old-school hardcore sound in 1999 with the ''Good to Go'' album. 2005 came the release of '' Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!'' on SideOneDummy, completing the evolution back to their Hardcore roots.


Legacy

7 Seconds is believed to be the first band to refer to themselves primarily as hardcore. After their first show on March 2, 1980, in Newsletter NWIN/SPUNK No. 1 they described their band as hardcore new wave. Vocalist Kevin Seconds has gone on to have a lengthy solo career, becoming an important folk punk singer too, doing releases with people including Matt Skiba of
Alkaline Trio Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Matt Skiba (vocals, guitar), Dan Andriano (vocals, bass) and Derek Grant (drums, vocals). Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob Do ...
and Mike Scott of
Lay It on the Line (band) Lay It On The Line are a British melodic hardcore band from London. They were formed in 2012 by Phinius Gage Phinius Gage were an English underground skate punk/melodic hardcore band who started up in 2001 and were active until 2008. The ...
. Dim Menace's fist-brandishing scowl on the cover of the ''Skins, Brains, & Guts'' EP is one of the most iconic images in hardcore. Sacramento News & Review speaks at length of their influence in the
positive hardcore Positive hardcore (sometimes shortened to posicore or posi-core) is a branch of the hardcore punk music scene, that is socially aware, or focuses on values, such as being inclusive, community-oriented, and anti-violent. The genre was created as a ...
movement and their positive effect on the punk culture. In May 2013 it was announced that 7 Seconds had signed to Rise Records, with plans to record a new 7" and a full-length album that summer in
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
.


Break up

On March 20, 2018, 7 Seconds announced their breakup via their official Facebook page.


2022 North American Tour

On October 4, 2021, 7 Seconds announced via Facebook that they will be going on tour in 2022 alongside Circle Jerks (headliner) and Negative Approach (opener). Due to health reasons, longtime drummer Troy Mowat will not be joining the band. His replacement for the tour will be
Sammy Siegler Sammy Siegler (born March 21, 1973) is an American rock drummer, notable for his many contributions to the New York hardcore scene. He is currently living in Venice, California with his wife, model Siew Longhorn. Discography With Project X * ...
(
Youth of Today Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk band, initially active from 1985 to 1990 before reforming in 2010. The band played a major role in establishing the "Youth Crew" subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies o ...
, Judge).


Discography


Demos

*''Drastic Measures'' (cassette), 1980 *''Socially Fucked Up'' (cassette), 1981 *''Three Chord Politics'' (cassette), 1981


EPs

*''Skins, Brains and Guts'' (
Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single " California Über Alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, ...
, 1982) *''Committed for Life'' (Squirtdown, 1983) *''Blasts from the Past'' ( Positive Force, 1985) *''
Walk Together, Rock Together ''Walk Together, Rock Together'' is a studio album by hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, released in 1985. The album was originally released as an EP, but was later expanded into a full-length album. Background Walk Together, Rock Together was origi ...
'' (Positive Force/BYO, 1985) *''Praise'' ( Positive Force Records, 1987) *''1980 Reissue'' ( Official Bootleg, 1991) *''Happy Rain/Naked'' (Eating Blur, 1993) *''Split with Kill Your Idols'' ( SideOneDummy, 2004) *''My Aim Is You/Slogan On A Shirt'' (Rise, 2013)


Studio albums

*''United We Stand'' (unreleased and later re-issued as ''Old School'' - Headhunter Records/Cargo Records, 1983) *'' The Crew'' ( BYO, 1984) *''New Wind'' (Positive Force/BYO, 1986) *'' Ourselves'' ( Restless, 1988) *'' Soulforce Revolution'' (Restless, 1989); No. 153 on the 1989 '' Billboard'' 200 *''Out the Shizzy'' (Headhunter/Cargo, 1993) *''The Music, the Message'' (Sony/BMI, 1995) *'' Good to Go'' ( SideOneDummy, 1999) *'' Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!'' ( SideOneDummy, 2005) *''Leave a Light On'' (Rise, 2014)


Compilation albums

*''
Walk Together, Rock Together ''Walk Together, Rock Together'' is a studio album by hardcore punk band 7 Seconds, released in 1985. The album was originally released as an EP, but was later expanded into a full-length album. Background Walk Together, Rock Together was origi ...
'' (Positive Force/BYO, 1986) *'' alt.music.hardcore'' (Headhunter/Cargo, 1995)


Live albums

*''Live! One Plus One'' (Positive Force/Giant, 1987) *'' Scream Real Loud...Live!'' (SideOneDummy, 2000) *''Live at Cindy's 1980'' (Eyebar Records, 2022)


Compilation appearances

*''Not So Quiet on the Western Front'' (MRR/Alternative Tentacles, 1982) *''We Got Power: Party or Go Home'' (Mystic, 1983) *''Something to Believe In'' (BYO, 1984) *''Nuke Your Dink'' (Positive Force, 1984) *''Cleanse the Bacteria'' (Pusmort, 1985) *''Another Shot for Bracken'' (Positive Force, 1986) *''Four Bands That Could Change the World'' (Gasatanka, 1987) *''Flipside Vinyl Fanzine, vol. 3'' (Flipside, 1987) *''Human Polity'' (One World Communications, 1993) *''The Song Retains the Name, vol. 2'' (Safe House, 1993) *''Ten Years Later'' (Bossa Nova, 1997) *''Short Music for Short People'' (Fat Wreck Chords, 1999) *'' Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records'' (BYO, 2009) *''Old School Punk Vol.1'' (Walk Together, Rock Together)


References


External links


"The Subversive History of the Original 7 Seconds"Kevin Seconds Podcast Radio Show
on ipadio {{DEFAULTSORT:7 Seconds Hardcore punk groups from Nevada Straight edge groups Musical quartets Alternative Tentacles artists Epic Records artists BYO Records artists Rise Records artists Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 2018 Musical groups reestablished in 2021 Sibling musical groups Restless Records artists