Bauhaus

English rock band formed in North Hampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy (vocals), Daniel Ash (guitar), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation. With their dark and gloomy sound and image, Bauhaus are generally considered the first Gothic rock group.

Bauhaus first broke up in 1983. Peter Murphy began a solo career while the other members continued as Tones on Tail and, later, Love and Rockets. Both enjoyed greater commercial success in the United States than Bauhaus had, but disappeared from the charts in their homeland. The band reunited for a 1998 tour and on a more permanent basis in 2005. The group announced plans to disband again following the release of their final album, Go Away White, in 2008.

Mischief Brew

band from Philadelphia which plays DIY anarcho-punk music, also incorporating a variety of styles including American folk, swing, gypsy-punk and country. It was started by Erik Petersen as a solo project, but eventually grew into a band. Petersen draws inspiration from the protest movements of the 1960s, “the idea that rebellion in music didn’t originate in punk rock” (Profane Existence #54, 2007), and anti-establishment artists like Woody Guthrie and Crass. Petersen’s lyrics often pay homage to American labor radicalism of the early 20th century. Mischief Brew has released albums and EPs on many different labels, notably Art of the Underground, Gunner Records, and Fistolo Records. In support of these records, Mischief Brew has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe. When playing live, they have performed with four to five people, incorporating such instruments as junk/found percussion, trumpet, accordion, violin, mandolin, and vibraphone into their set.

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Dead Kennedys

American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the Americanhardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene.

Their music mixed the more experimental elements of British 1970s punk with the raw energy of the 1980s American hardcore punk scene. Dead Kennedys’ songs mixed deliberately extreme lyrics with satire, sarcasm, and irony of social and political issues of the 1980s.

In the late 1980s, the band was embroiled in an obscenity trial in the United States over the artwork of their album Frankenchrist (1985), which included the explicit titular subject of H.R. Geiger’s Penis Landscape. The band was charged with distribution of harmful matter to minors, but the trial ended with ahung jury.

Dead Kennedys released five studio albums before disbanding in 1986. In 2001, the band reformed without original singer Jello Biafra, who had been in a legal dispute with the other members over royalties.

The band played three performances in October 2010.At one of the concerts, they debuted their first new song since 1986, “You’re Such a Fake”.

Since the dissolution of Dead Kennedys, Biafra has continued to collaborate and record with other artists, including Mojo Nixon, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, and the Melvins, and has become a spoken word performer, covering political topics in particular.

The Smiths

English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey (vocals) and Johnny Marr (guitar), the band also included Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). Critics have called them the most important alternative rock band to emerge from the British independent music scene of the 1980s. The group was signed to the independent record label Rough Trade Records, for whom they released four studio albums and several compilations, as well as numerous non-LP singles. Although they had limited commercial success outside the UK while they were still together, and never released a single that charted higher than number 10 in their home country during their existence, The Smiths won a growing following, and remain cult and commercial favorites. The band broke up in 1987 and have turned down several offers to reunite since then.

Defiance, Ohio

Acoustic punk rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They are known for their extensive touring and intense, enthusiastic live shows. They are named after the real town Defiance, Ohio. The band features a violin,cello, and double bass. The band is also known for being involved with fellow DIY-minded record label Plan-It-X Records (often touring with many bands on Plan-It-X Records and participating in multiple Plan-It-X fest), as well as reoccurring anti-capitalist themes.

They have released four full length LPs, Share What Ya Got, The Great Depression, The Fear, the Fear, the Fear, and Midwestern Minutes in 2010, as well as a handful of split recordings. In the DIY spirit, much of their music is put out by the band themselves, producing their own CDs and CDRs, as well as allowing anyone to download all of their music for free from their website under a Creative Commons Attribute-NonCommerical-ShareAlike license . When not releasing their own music, the band works with independent record labels in order to produce their releases. Typically these have been smaller independent labels. However, the band has worked with the more notable though still staunchly independent No Idea Records.

After making the decisions to work with No Idea, the band felt a need to explain their actions and maintain the sense of dialogue that they feel has been consistent in how they’ve operated themselves as a band. They said that they would have preferred to release the album themselves, but that they did not have the capacity to do so while continuing to keep older releases in print. Their song “Sometimes Motion” was featured in the 2008 Irish documentary Roll Up Your Sleeves.

Most of the members of Defiance, Ohio also participate in other bands, such as Nana Grizol, Pretty Hot, Landlord, Pink Houses, Hymns, Disaster, Memento Mori (now defunct) and other musical projects. Ryan Woods the bassist is also part owner of the popular vegan restaurant The Owlery in Bloomington.

Crass

English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularized the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism. The band both utilised and advocated a DYI punk ethnic approach, producing sound collages, graphics, albums, and films. Crass also criticised mainstream culture and attempted to subvert it with messages promoting feminism, anti-racism, anti-war, and anti-globalization.

Crass practiced “direct action” by spray-painting stenciled graffiti messages around the London Underground system and on advertising billboards, coordinating squats, and organising political action. The band also expressed its ideals by dressing in black, military surplus-style clothing, and using a stage backdrop which amalgamated several “icons of authority” including the Christian Cross, the swastika, the Union Flag, and an Ouroboros.

The band were critical of punk subculture itself, as well as wider youth culture in general. Crass promoted the type of anarcho-pascifism that eventually became more common in the punk music scene (seeanarcho-punk). They are also considered involved with the art-punk genre, due to their use of tape collages, graphics, spoken word releases, poetry and improvisation.

Joy Division

Originally named Warsaw, “Joy Division” were a new wave band from Salford, Greater Manchester in Great Britain. The band consisted of  Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backup vocals), and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion). Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post punk movement of the late 1970s. The band was not punk but was directly inspired by its energy.

    Joy Division’s debut album, Unknown Pleasures, was released in 1979. Despite the band’s growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis of epilepsy. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances. On the eve of the band’s first American tour in May 1980, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division’s posthumously released second album, Closer (1980), and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” became the band’s highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the remaining members continued as New Order, achieving critical and commercial success.