Gang Green - AA Sides

Probably the band I wish I had seen in their heyday the most. And unlike every (other) hardcore fossil on the internet, I consider their heyday to be their late 80's crossover years. If you've ever seen the video for "Born To Rock," that's how I imagine their shows were back then. And apparently their You Got It tour was supposed to look like that, with walls of speakers and skate ramps, but the production costs were too much and that idea had to be scrapped.

Gang Green started out as a 3 piece, playing rough, fast hardcore similar to their fellow peers in the Boston Hardcore scene. At some point, the hard rock bug bit Boston (alliteration and shit!) and bands like DYS, SSD and the F.U.'s tried their own take on the sound, with mixed results. I've never been a fan of any DYS or SSD material really, but I think their rock stuff was especially bad. The F.U.'s morphed into Straw Dogs, but retained some of their later punk sound. Jerry's Kids probably pulled off the transition best, with a fast and powerful followup adding better production and more guitar solos. And The Freeze pretty much stayed constant and awesome throughout their entire career.

But Gang Green will always be my favorite of the bunch. They're basically my AC/DC, covering the essential rock themes like sex, drugs and rockin' out. But add skateboarding and a faster hardcore sound to the equation? Sign me up! It's hard to pick a favorite album of theirs. Of course "Alcohol" and "Skate To Hell" are awesome. But "Bomb" and "LDSB" from You Got It, or "Flight 911" and "Ballad" from Older...Budweiser are just as classic to me.

So I've compiled their non-album tracks here, mostly from their aforementioned heyday. I thought they were following up their 2011 7" with an eventual album, but haven't heard anything about that in a while. They recently canceled a tour of Barcelona where I was hoping to see them. I was working in Pittsburgh one time and they were supposed to play, but that show was canceled as well. I'm not sure if they're the most reliable band. I remember reading about their exploits in Thrasher a long time ago, touring with DRI and getting thrown off planes. But I like to imagine that Chris Doherty still cancels shows due to being hungover or spraining his wrist skateboarding. I'm happy just to have the music all these years.

VA - Drop The Needle: Boston Hardcore Anthology (2013)
   01) Let's Drink Some Beer (Original Version, 1985)
Another Wasted Night (Funhouse Records, 1989)
   02) Another Bomb (Original Version)
Living Loving Maid 12" (1987)
   03) Living Loving Maid (Led Zeppelin)
I81B4U ep (1988)
   04) Bartender
   05) Lost Chapter
   06) Rent
   07) Put Her On Top
   08) Cum In U
King Of Bands (1991)
   09) Thunder
   10) Rub It In Your Face
Back & Gacked ep (1997)
   11) You Tucked It To Me
   12) Deflect And Swerve
I Fear 7" (2011)
   13) I Fear
   14) The Other Place

Gang Green - AA Sides (vbr 0)