Necros was an early 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
Maumee, Ohio, although they are usually identified with the
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
music scene.
They were the first band to record for
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...
.
History
Necros was formed in mid-1975 by then-teenagers Barry Henssler (vocals), Andy Wendler (guitar), and Todd Swalla (drums).
After going through a handful of bassists (including Donny Brook, Jeff Allsop, David Cooke, Brian Hyland, Jeff Lake, and Brian Pollack), Corey Rusk joined the band. Barry Henssler had struck up a friendship with
Tesco Vee
Tesco Vee (born Robert Vermeulen; August 26, 1955) is an American, Michigan-based punk rock musician, and co-founder of Touch and Go Records zine. Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he is a former elementary school teacher and the founding member, an ...
and Dave Stimson of ''Touch and Go'' magazine after sending them a copy of his own 'zine, ''Smegma Journal''.
Vee and Stimson became fans and put out the band's first record, a self-titled 4-song 7" EP (recorded prior to Rusk joining) most commonly known as "Sex Drive". This was
Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...
' (then spelled "Rekords") first release and was limited to only 100 copies.
Andy Wendler left the band in 1981 (although he continued to write for them) and Brian Pollack joined on guitar. Later that year, the band recorded and released another self-titled 7" record known as "IQ32", produced by
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitar ...
vocalist
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label and the frontman of hardcore punk ...
. This nine-song effort was jointly released by Touch and Go (which Rusk now had a hand in running) and MacKaye's own
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idles. ...
. Wendler rejoined on guitar in late 1982 and, in 1983, the band recorded and released two more records, a 7" and LP both titled ''Conquest For Death''.
Early on, Necros played with many prominent punk bands, including
Black Flag,
Bad Brains
Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this t ...
,
Sonic Youth,
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitar ...
, and Tesco Vee's group
The Meatmen
The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee, originally existing from 1981 to 1988, before reforming in the mid-1990s, and again in the 2000s. They were known for their outrageous stage antics and offensive lyrics. They reformed ...
. Necros also toured as openers for
horror punk
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered b ...
band
the Misfits, including at the Misfits' last show in which Todd Swalla stepped in to play drums, when
Brian Damage
Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world.
It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word m ...
became too drunk to perform.
In 1983, Corey Rusk quit the group to concentrate on Touch and Go, after assuming full control of the label and bassist Ron Sakowski stepped in.
Despite the group's steady output at their onset, the band did not release another record for two years. In an interview with ''One Solution'' zine, vocalist Barry Henssler blamed the delay between releases on Rusk's refusal to give the band a definite answer as to whether or not they were still on Touch and Go. The label has since deleted their Necros releases from their catalogue.
The next Necros release came in 1985 as a split LP with
White Flag
White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.
Contemporary use
The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...
entitled ''Jail Jello'', on Gasatanka Records. Now featuring a more distinctly
post-hardcore sound, the band followed up the split with 1986's ''Tangled Up'' LP on
Restless Records
Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade R ...
,
along with a single of the same name on Gasatanka. After spending 1987 touring with first
Megadeth and then later the Circle Jerks, the group called it quits.
A live album, ''Live or Else'', appeared posthumously in 1989.
Post break up
Barry Henssler went on to form the band
Big Chief,
who recorded for the
Sub Pop label. Ron Sakowski and Todd Swalla reunited in the mid 1990s as part of the final line up of
Touch And Go artists
Laughing Hyenas
Laughing Hyenas was an American post-hardcore band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, that existed from 1985 to 1995, fronted by Negative Approach vocalist John Brannon. According to AllMusic, "At first, the band specialized in dirges overlaid with the t ...
. Andy Wendler played in a group called Gone In Sixty Seconds (also known as G.I.S.S.).
In 2002, a limited (only 450 copies pressed) split 10" with Authority Abuse was released by Wise Hoodlum Records featuring live Necros recordings from 1981–1983. The band's first demo was reissued as the "Ambionic Sound" 7" in 2012, named for the studio where it was recorded.
In 2005
Rykodisc
Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.
History
Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record la ...
reissued ''Tangled Up'' and ''Live or Else'' together on one CD, currently the only Necros material available on CD.
Former members
* Barry Henssler - vocals (1979-1987)
* Todd Swalla - drums (1979-1987)
* Andy Wendler - guitar (1979-1981; 1982-1987)
* David Cooke - bass (1979)
* Brian Hyland - bass (1979-1980)
* Jeff Lake - bass (1980)
* Brian Pollack - bass (1980-1981); guitar (1981-1982)
* Corey Rusk - bass (1981-1983)
* Ron Sakowski - bass (1983-1987)
Discography
Studio albums
*''Conquest for Death'' (1983, Touch and Go)
*''Tangled Up'' (1987, Restless)
*''Live or Else'' (1990, Medusa)
EPs and singles
*''Sex Drive'' 7" (1981, Touch and Go)
*''IQ32'' 7" (1981, Touch and Go)
*''Conquest for Death'' 7" (1983, Touch and Go)
*''Jail Jello'' split 12" with White Flag (1985, Gasatanka)
*''Tangled Up'' 7" (1985, Gasatanka)
*''Necros/Authority Abuse'' split 10" (2002, Wise Hoodlum)
*''Ambionic Sound'' 7" (2012, Alona' Dream)
*''Club House Session'' 7" (2013, Alona' Dream)
Compilation and live albums
*''Tangled Up/Live or Else'' compilation album (2005, Rykodisc)
*''Live in '85'' live album (2014, Jett Plastic Recordings)
References
External links
Necros at Touch and Go Records*
{{Authority control
Hardcore punk groups from Michigan
Hardcore punk groups from Ohio
Musical groups from Ohio
Touch and Go Records artists
1979 establishments in Ohio
Musical groups established in 1979