InEffect was fortunate enough to get a preview chapter from the author. Dive into Chapter 43 called “Breakdown: Life Of Bullshit-Just Another Raw Deal” and more exclusive content below, and order your copy via this location.
BOOK SIGNING EVENTS:
November 22, 2014 @ Natural Habitat in Asbury Park, NJ with artist Sean Taggart.
December 14, 2014 @ Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ with Mike Judge.
Pre-order NYHC with limited edition Sean Taggart artwork patch.
43. BREAKDOWN: LIFE OF BULLSHIT—JUST ANOTHER RAW DEAL
Carl Porcaro: Breakdown was started by me and my friend Don Angelilli. We started getting into hardcore in the mid ’80s. Back then, you could pretty much identify someone who was into hardcore by what they wearing; like patches or T-shirts or whatever. There was a small crew around Yonkers who found themselves that way, and through a record store called Mad Platters. Bill Wilson who started Blackout Records was a lifeguard at the public pool in Yonkers, and Don hung out there too. I think that’s where they met Rich McCloughin. That’s pretty much how Breakdown came together. We started jamming in my parents’ basement or Rich’s garage, and then we settled into Drago’s garage and spent decades there.
Anthony Drago: The early Breakdown line-up started in 1986 and lasted a year or even less than that. The drummer wasn’t cutting it, so I slid in there. The next week, we had three songs down: “Your Problems,” “Vengeance,” and “Life of Bullshit.” The lyrics Jeff was writing were real tough guy shit. I guess that was different, because I think Breakdown is considered one of the first “tough guy” bands to come out of New York.
Jeff Perlin: When Breakdown first started playing, the Sick of It All demo had just come out a few months earlier. Sheer Terror was still slogging it out with demos trying to make a name for themselves. The Krakdown demo had just come out, along with Leeway’s “Enforcer” demo, plus Rest in Pieces, and stuff like that. Some of the original NYHC bands were slowly disappearing, like Major Conflict, Reagan Youth, and Antidote. Around 1986 and 1987 a whole new wave of bands emerged that were influenced by all the original New York bands but also added something new.
Anthony Drago: We had the music together for that whole first demo within four weeks. We played in Connecticut and VFW Halls in upstate New York, bingo halls, or whatever. We played a decent amount of shows in that small time. Rich made our shirts himself. He used to work at a T-shirt factory in White Plains. We paid for the ink, and his boss let us do the shirts there. It was some real do-it-yourself shit.
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