Harley Francis Flanagan (born March 8, 1967) is an American musician. He is the founder of
New York hardcore
New York hardcore (also known as NYHC) is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Wa ...
band
Cro-Mags
Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among th ...
.
At age 12, Flanagan was the drummer for New York punk band
the Stimulators. When he was nine years old, Flanagan published a book of poetry and drawings written when he was seven years old, with a foreword written by family friend
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
.
Influences
Flanagan cited
Darryl Jenifer
Darryl Jenifer (born October 22, 1960) is an American musician, widely known as the bassist for the hardcore punk band Bad Brains and for the rap-rock group The White Mandingos. He appeared in ''TV's Illest Minority Moments presented by ego tri ...
,
Geezer Butler
Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...
, and
Lemmy
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...
as his biggest bass influences. He also stated that
Cronos of
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
,
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bass guitar, bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1 ...
(Flanagan owns one of his basses), and
Stanley Clarke
Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...
inspired him, trying to "bring all that stuff together" in his own music, mixed with hardcore's intensity.
Autobiography and reclamation of the Cro-Mags name
Flanagan's autobiography, ''Hard-Core: Life of My Own'', published by
Feral House
Feral House is an American book publisher founded in 1989 by Adam Parfrey and based in Port Townsend, Washington.
Early history
The company's first book was '' The Satanic Witch'' (1989; originally published in 1971 by Dodd, Mead & Company) by A ...
in 2016, contains an introduction by
Steven Blush
Steven Blush is an American author, journalist, record collector and film maker who is best known for his book ''American Hardcore'' and the movie of the same name. Blush has written five books, is the founder of ''Seconds'' magazine and has w ...
. Once published, the book spent over six months as the No. 1 seller in martial arts biographies on
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
.
On May 19, 2018, Flanagan's band was one of four classic punk/hardcore acts to play the
Prudential Center
Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...
in Newark, New Jersey, along with
Murphy's Law,
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...
, and
the Original Misfits. Flanagan also released two recordings: ''The Dr. Know EP'', proceeds of which benefit the titular
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 ...
member, who has medical expenses; and, released on July 6, 2018, ''The Original Cro-Mags Demos, 1982/83'', which documents Flanagan's work writing the songs, playing all instruments and singing early versions of the songs that are blueprint for the Cro-Mags sound. That same year, Flanagan filed a federal trademark infringement action against former Cro-Mags bandmates, John Joseph and Mackie Jayson who had been touring under the Cro-Mags band name with other musicians against Flanagan's wishes.
In April 2019 Flanagan announced a settlement wherein he would own exclusive use of the name "Cro-Mags"; simultaneously, Joseph announced his recognition of the settlement, and that he and his band would instead perform as Cro-Mags "JM", beginning in August 2019. Flanagan is preparing a new Cro-Mags album with producer, Arthur Rizk for a planned 2019 release date. Subsequently, on June 28, 2019, Flanagan's Cro-Mags released their first new music in twenty years, three new songs "Don't Give In," "Drag You Under" and "No One's Victim." Flanagan is preparing a new Cro-Mags album with producer, Arthur Rizk for a planned 2019 release date. Cro-Mags are reportedly working on a new album — their first since 2000's Revenge — and were named as an opening act for the Original Misfits for four shows in 2019.
Personal life
Flanagan is the father of two sons and is married to Laura Lee Flanagan, who is an attorney and serves as Flanagan's business manager and also works as general counsel and CCO to investment advisory firms.
Flanagan is a black-belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and currently works as a professor for
Renzo Gracie Academy
Renzo Gracie Academy is a martial arts school headed by Renzo Gracie, located in Midtown Manhattan.
Overview
Renzo Gracie founded the academy in 1996. It was originally above a methadone clinic before it moved to its current location at 224 Wes ...
in New York City. His students include the daughter of
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...
, who coincidentally attended NYC Stimulators concerts in the early 1980s, and was a fan of the then preteen drummer.
Flanagan has been a
vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism m ...
since 1982.
Legal issues
On July 6, 2012, Flanagan was arrested for allegedly stabbing two current members of Cro-Mags, and biting one of them, backstage at the Webster Hall in New York City. Allegedly, Flanagan had been attacked in the dressing room.
Flanagan was stabbed in the leg. Flanagan stated he drew the knife to defend himself and that the wound to his leg required 30 stitches. Charges were dropped in December 2012, due to a lack of cooperating witnesses. Flanagan was later sued in a civil action over the incident, but this suit was also dropped.
In 2018, Flanagan filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York, charging former band members John McGowan and Maxwell Jayson with trademark infringement. Flanagan won the lawsuit in April 2019, giving ownership and exclusive rights to the Cro-Mags band name.
Discography
with The Stimulators
* ''Loud, Fast Rules!/Run Run Run'' (studio single, 1980)
* ''Loud, Fast Rules!'' (live concert recording, 1982)
* ''
New York Thrash
''New York Thrash'' is a hardcore punk compilation album released by ROIR in 1982.
Considered a definitive document of the early New York hardcore and late 1970s punk scene, ''New York Thrash'' features rare and otherwise unreleased recordings, ...
'' (various artists compilation, 1982)
with Cro-Mags
* ''
The Age of Quarrel
''The Age of Quarrel'' is the first album by the New York hardcore band Cro-Mags. It was released on then-independent Profile Records in September 1986. It was subsequently re-released by Another Planet in 1994, along with the band's second alb ...
'' (1986)
* ''
Best Wishes'' (1989)
* ''
Alpha Omega'' (1992)
* ''
Near Death Experience
A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...
'' (1993)
* ''
Revenge
Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
'' (2000)
* ''
In the Beginning'' (2020)
with White Devil
* ''Reincarnation'' (1995)
with Harley's War
*''Cro-Mag'' (2003)
*''Hardcore All-Stars'' (2009)
*''2012'' (2012)
Harley Flanagan solo work
*''Cro-Mags'' (2016)
*''Hard Core Dr. Know'' EP (2018)
*''Cro Mags Demos'' (2018; recorded 1982–1983)
References
External links
HARLEY FLANAGAN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, Harley
1967 births
Living people
American punk rock bass guitarists
Place of birth missing (living people)
Cro-Mags members
20th-century American bass guitarists