Murphy's Law
| Murphy's Law | |
|---|---|
 Murphy's Law (2007) |
|
| General information | |
| origin | New York (USA) |
| Genre (s) | Hardcore |
| founding | 1983 |
| Website | www.murphyslawnyc.com |
| Founding members | |
| Jimmy Gestapo | |
| Alex Morris (until 1987) | |
| Adam Mucci (1983) | |
| Harley Flanagan (1983) | |
| Current occupation | |
singing |
Jimmy Gestapo |
guitar |
Felipe |
| Raven | |
Drums |
Quincy |
| former members | |
Vocals, drums |
Petey Hinse (1986) |
guitar |
Todd "Todd Youth" (1986–1991, † 2018) |
Drums |
Doug E. Beans (1986-1991) |
guitar |
Jack Flanagan (1991) |
Drums |
Michael McDermott (since 1991) |
bass |
Chuck Valle (1989– † 1994) |
Murphy's Law is an American hardcore band from New York that has been active since the early 1980s.
Band history
Murphy's Law formed on New Years Eve 1983 and performed in an S&M club . Jimmy Gestapo (vocals), Alex Morris (guitar), Adam Mucci (bass) and Harley Flanagan (drums) only played three pieces that evening, but these over and over again: the two cover versions Steppin 'Stone (original by the Monkees ) , Wild Thing (original by The Troggs ) and their own composition Fun . The group then appeared several times in the CBGB . That same year they released the Demo Bong Blast , which featured these early appearances. During this time Harley Flanagan got out to found the Cro-Mags . In the following years the line-up kept falling apart, so that a large number of musicians were involved in the group. The self-titled debut album was released in 1986 with the participation of Jimmy Gestapo, Alex Morris, Petey Hines (drums) and Pete Martinez (bass). The latter later worked as a sound engineer for Hellcat Records and Garbage , among other things .
The band then played with Todd Youth (on second guitar) and Doug E. Beans (drums) on the Licensed-to-Ill tour in the opening act for the Beastie Boys (who also come from the hardcore scene), Public Enemy and Fishbone . Due to new line-up problems, Back with a Bong was not completed until 1989. The band now consisted of Jimmy Gestapo, Todd Youth (now sole guitarist), Chuck Valle on bass, who previously worked for Ludichrist and as the sound engineer on two Public Enemy albums, and Doug E. Beans on drums. Tours in support of the Red Hot Chili Peppers , the Ramones and Run-DMC followed.
The 1991 album Best of Times was recorded with the participation of numerous ex-members and guest musicians. Among other things, several members of the Cro-Mags as well as Christopher Dowd (from Earth, Wind and Fire ) and Vicki Calhoun (ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers) participated. In 1993 the single Good for Now was released with the participation of Jack Flanagan (guitar) and Michael McDermott (drums).
On July 17, 1994, Chuck Valle was murdered by an unknown perpetrator. The 1996 album Dedication was dedicated to him. Dean Rispler took over and Eric Acre became the new drummer.
In 2001 another album was released called The Party's Over . The line-up now consisted of Jimmy Gestapo, Sal Villaneuva (bass), Richard Bacchus (guitar) and Eric Acre (drums). Murphy's Law were also part of Matthew Barney's performance The Order . In 2005 Murphy's Law signed to Vinnie Stigma's label NYHC Tattoos , where they released a best-of album as well as the cover plate Covered , on which they released their own versions of songs by Deep Purple , The Clash and Circle Jerks .
Music style and lyrics
The group's first albums were still strong from the British Oi! influenced, while later, among other things through the collaboration with Fishbone, many Ska and Reggae influences were added. The first albums in particular were formative for New York Hardcore and influenced bands like Agnostic Front and the Cro-Mags. At the same time, Murphy's Law was one of the first Unity bands to preach cohesion in the hardcore scene. Their music puts a lot of emphasis on the fun aspect of the hardcore scene. Absurd cover versions, such as the Paul McCartney -Stück Ebony & Ivory and ironic songs like Secret Agent SKIN and California pipeline counteract the otherwise very serious hardcore scene. California Pipeline, for example, contains a line of text like Ronnie Reagan is my man / if he can't do it / no one can an ironic homage to Ronald Reagan , who was hated like no other in the hardcore punk scene. The group also works on more serious issues such as child abuse and incapacitation , especially on the last two albums .
controversy
Murphy's Law was one of the early skinhead bands on the New York punk scene. Both the singer's pseudonym, which was based on the Secret State Police in the Third Reich , as well as some song titles like America Rules , caused numerous problems with the more left-wing hardcore punk scene. Although the group appeared with numerous African-American musicians such as Public Enemy and Run DMC and had one of the most well-known engineers of hip-hop music of the 1980s in their ranks, Chuck Valle , it took them a very long time to get away from the allegations of right thought spread, release.
“ There were indeed some misunderstandings. (...) But there were only two or three record stores that didn't order our LP because there was an America flag on it and they thought that was why we were Nazis. If these people looked a little closer, they would have noticed that Gary from the Bad Brains helped me out on guitar and that Fishbone was playing the trumpet. It is very obvious that we are not a racist band. "
Discography
Albums
- 1983: Bong Blast (no label)
- 1986: Murphy's Law (Profile Records)
- 1989: Back with a Bong (Profile Records)
- 1991: The Best of Times ( Relativity Records )
- 1996: Dedicated (Another Planet Records)
- 2001: The Party's Over (The Age of Venus Records)
- 2005: Covered (NYHC Tattoos Records)
Singles and EPs
- Monster Mash (1991)
- Good for Now EP (1993)
- My Woman from Tokyo (1995)
- What Will The Neighbors Think? (1996)
- Kansai Woman (1996, Japan only)
Compilations
- Beer, Smoke and Live (2002)
- The Best (2005)
Web links
- Official website
- Murphy's Law at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ DeadPunkStars.com: Chuck Valle. Retrieved October 21, 2017 .
- ^ Matthias Mader: New York City Hardcore. The way it was…. P. 100