Strike Anywhere is an American punk rock band from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band,

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is characterized by fast tempos, catchy melodies, and emotionally charged vocals delivered via shouting and singing. The band received an increased amount of attention after their music appeared in three

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

video games: ''

Tony Hawk's Underground ''Tony Hawk's Underground'' is a skateboarding video game and the fifth entry in the ''Tony Hawk's'' series after '' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4''. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2003 for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, ...

'' in 2003 ("Refusal"), ''

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'' is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh entry in the ''Tony Hawk's'' series and was released initially for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in ...

'' in 2005 ("Question the Answer"), and '' Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam'' in 2006 ("The Promise"). They were also featured in the documentary, ''Wake Up Screaming'', about the 2005

Vans Vans is an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and motocross teams. From 1996 to 2019, the comp ...

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touri ...

History

The band embarked on their first tour, spanning four weeks from May 29 to June 30, 2000, across the entire United States with Florida melodic hardcore band

As Friends Rust As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, ...

. The tour included several cross-over shows with

Glasseater Glasseater was a post-hardcore band from Miami, Florida. The band formed in 1998 as a duo, eventually expanding to a quintet. History The band signed to Matt Fox's record label Ides of March in 1999, releasing their debut album ''Miles Ahea ...

, Mid Carson July and The Agency (the three of which were on tour together), as well as stops to play such festivals as Mixed Messages in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Pheer Festival in College Park, Maryland. Strike Anywhere again teamed up with As Friends Rust for their first European and British tour, which spanned five weeks from October 29 to December 5, 2001. A highlight performance at London, England's

Camden Underworld Camden Underworld is a music venue in Camden Town, London, England. The venue is a part of the World's End pub, situated in the basement of the building. It has a capacity of 500 people. History Over the years The Underworld has become th ...

from midway through the tour, on November 16, 2001, was filmed and later released on video and DVD by British home video company Punkervision in December 2002. The band played their last show with guitarist Matt Sherwood in Auckland, New Zealand on March 17, 2007, with Mark Miller replacing Sherwood. Since then, the band has continued its regimen of international touring, including the group's first South American tour, where they played Brazil and Colombia. In an interview in December 2016, Barnett confirmed that the band is currently working on a fifth studio album. On July 17, 2020 the band released an EP titled ''Nightmares of the West'' via Pure Noise Records. The EP contained seven newly recorded songs that were the result of ideas that had been exchanged between bandmates over the course of the 2010s decade.

Political stance

Strike Anywhere lyrics touch on such issues as

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to ...

anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countri ...

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

, and

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

. They have also contributed tracks to political benefit albums, such as a live version of "Sunset on 32nd" for ''1157 Wheeler Avenue: A Memorial for

Amadou Diallo In the early hours of February 4, 1999, an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean student named Amadou Diallo (born September 2, 1975) was fired upon with 41 rounds and shot a total of 19 times by four New York City Police Department plainclothes offi ...

'' and "To the World" for the '' Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1'' album. According to the liner notes for their album '' Change is a Sound'', they support "the vegetarian lifestyle, the living wage movement and the fight against corporate globalization".Jade Tree Records
: Change is a Sound, accessed 23 October 2006 With its 2006 release

Dead FM ''Dead FM'' is the third studio album by Strike Anywhere. Background In February and March 2006, the band went on a brief East Coast tour with A Global Threat, With Honor, and Subhumans. It was recorded April 2006 at Salad Days Studios by Bria ...

, the band expanded their political slogans to address "more sociological ideas about why these (events) happen".Aversion.com
Getting Personal, by Matt Schild, accessed 23 October 2006 Their logo is similar to the

Three Arrows The Three Arrows (german: Drei Pfeile) is a social democratic political symbol associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), used in the late history of the Weimar Republic. First conceived for the SPD-dominated Iron Front as ...

symbol and the Antifascist Circle, and includes the logo of the former

social democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...

/antifascist German

Iron Front The Iron Front (german: Eiserne Front) was a German paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic which consisted of social democrats, trade unionists, and liberals. Its main goal was to defend liberal democracy against totalitarian ide ...

, a paramilitary organization which existed in the last years of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

. Strike Anywhere generally allows audience members to record their live performances for personal, non-commercial use, and has gone so far as to authorize the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

to create a section where fans can upload and share their recordings.

Members

Current

* Thomas Barnett - vocals (1999–present) *Matt Smith - guitar, vocals (1999–present) *Garth Petrie - bass (1999–present) *Eric Kane - drums (1999–present) *Mark Miller - guitar, vocals (2007–present)

Former

*Matt Sherwood - guitar, vocals (1999–2007)

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Change is a Sound'' (

Jade Tree Records Jade Tree International, Inc. is an independent record label formed by Darren Walters and Tim Owen in 1990 in Wilmington, Delaware. History Origin (1987–1990) In 1987, Tim Owen and Darren Walters were introduced during a punk show in Washing ...

, 2001) *''

Exit English ''Exit English'' is the second album by the American melodic hardcore band Strike Anywhere, released in 2003. Background Strike Anywhere released their debut studio album '' Change Is a Sound'' in August 2001. In between various tours supporting i ...

'' (Jade Tree Records, 2003) *''

'' (

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990. The label has released mater ...

, 2006) *''

'' ( Bridge Nine Records, 2009)

EPs

*''

Chorus of One ''Chorus of One'' is a punk rock EP by the band Strike Anywhere, released in 2000. The entirety of its content has since been made available as part of Strike Anywhere's ''To Live in Discontent'' rarities compilation album. The EP's artwork was ...

'' (Red Leader Records (CD)/

No Idea Records No Idea Records is an American independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which focuses on punk rock and its sub-styles and produces both vinyl records and compact discs. The label also organizes The Fest, an independently operated ...

(LP), 2000) *'' Fat Club'' (Fat Wreck Chords, 2001) *''Underground Europe 2001: Genoa Benefit EP (The 1999 Demos)'' (Scene Police, 2001) *''Iron Front EP'' (Bridge Nine Records 2009) - Digital EP *''Live at the Montage Music Hall'' (Bridge Nine Records, 2012) *''Nightmares of the West'' (Pure Noise Records, 2020)

Compilation albums

*''

To Live in Discontent ''To Live in Discontent'' is a compilation album released by Strike Anywhere. It collects various rare, live and unreleased tracks by the band including the entirety of their out of print __NOTOC__ An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item ...

'' (Jade Tree Records (CD)/ Chunksaah Records (LP), 2005)

Live albums

* '' Live at Camden Underworld'' (2001, Split live album with

) * ''In Defiance of Empty Times'' (Bridge Nine Records (CD/LP), 2012, Acoustic live album)

Compilation appearances

*''1157 Wheeler Avenue: A Memorial for Amadou Diallo'' (Failed Experiment, 2002) ** Includes the exclusive "Sunset on 32nd ive *''

Punk Goes Acoustic ''Punk Goes Acoustic'' is the third album in the '' Punk Goes...'' series and the first installment in the ''Punk Goes Acoustic'' series created by Fearless Records. It contains a collection of both previously released and unreleased songs by vari ...

'' (

Fearless Records Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...

, 2003) ** Includes the exclusive "Chalk Line" *''Prisoners Of War: A Benefit For Peter Young'' (The Saturday Team, 2007) ** Includes "You Are Not Collateral Damage", later included on ''

Keep Singing! A Benefit Compilation for Compassion Over Killing ''Keep Singing! A Benefit Compilation for Compassion Over Killing'' is a benefit album by Exotic Fever Records supporting the non-profit animal rights advocacy group, Compassion Over Killing (now known as Animal Outlook). It compiles fifteen tr ...

'' (2008) *''

Wrecktrospective ''Wrecktrospective'' is a three-disc compilation album released December 8, 2009 by Fat Wreck Chords. Subtitled "Twenty Years...and Counting!", it compiles tracks spanning the label's catalog from 1990 to 2009. The first disc, titled ''Fattest Hit ...

'' (Fat Wreck, 2009) ** Includes both tracks from the ''Fat Club'' 7"

Related bands

*Park Sparrows - Garth Petrie * The Exploder - Eric Kane, Matt Smith *

- Thomas Barnett *Great Collapse - Thomas Barnett *MAäSK - Thomas Barnett * Liars Academy - Matt Smith *

Senses Fail Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Founded by vocalist James "Buddy" Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly af ...

- Matt Smith *

Pygmy Lush Pygmy Lush (sometimes spelled as one word) is a band from Sterling, Virginia formed by ex-Pg. 99 members Mike and Chris Taylor and Johnny Ward. Other members include Mike Widman and Eric Kane, and previous associated acts include Malady, Mannequin ...

- Eric Kane *Widows - Eric Kane, Mark Miller *Sports Bar - Mark Miller * Evening Shadows-Matt Smith * Count Me Out - Garth Petrie

References

External links

*
Interview with Thomas Barnett (2008)Strike Anywhere interviewInterview with Thomas & Dave from The Loved OnesInterview with Thomas BarnettStrike Anywhere - BandToBand.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strike Anywhere Punk rock groups from Virginia Musical groups established in 1999 Melodic hardcore groups Music of Richmond, Virginia Fat Wreck Chords artists Jade Tree (record label) artists Bridge 9 Records artists Hardcore punk groups from Virginia 1999 establishments in Virginia