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articles of faith (1981-1985)

 

discography

Buried Alive/False Security (LP 1982) In the early days of hardcore punk, compilation albums were the best way for bands from one part of the country to discover what was happening in other parts of the country. AOF, being from the Midwest, was isolated from what was happening in Southern California or on the East Coast. The first recordings by AOF to reach the public were released in 1981 on a compilation cassette entitled Charred Remains, featuring other Midwestern bands such as the Toxic Reasons, Husker Du, and Die Kreuzen. More widely distributed was the Mastertape album, put together by Paul Mahern, the leader of the Indianapolis punk group, Zero Boys. Featuring many of the same Midwestern punk bands as Charred Remains, Mastertape got AOF its first real national exposure. Click on the cover to hear Buried Alive, an example of the early midtempo punk we played, before we went thrash.

What We Want Is Free (EP 1982) The first AOF record; the first thrash record in the Chicago hardcore scene.Originally released on Version Sound, we re-released it on our own DIY label, Wasteland Records. The covers of the original 1000 pressings are in black and white; subsequent releases were against red and blue backgrounds. Mixed drunk, rolling around on the studio floor with Dave and Rhonda. Click on the cover to hear my paean to the joy of work, Everyday.
Wait (EP 1983) Three song-ep released on Wasteland. Very rare, only 1000 pressed. I thought at the time that Reagan was a used car salesman, offering discount war, and the public were mean-spirited suckers. Haven't changed my opinion much since then. Click on the cover to hear one of the best AOF songs, I've Got Mine. Joe Scudari plays the noise guitar; I'm on the staccato rhythm guitar. Dave Shield, bass; Virus X, drums.
Give Thanks (LP 1984) First full-length record released by AOF, and first recordings featuring Dorian Taskbasksh joined on third guitar. Produced by Bob Mould. We recorded this at Trax studio in Evanston, a very high-end, biz sort of place--it had a gym in it. While we were tracking, The Police called up wanting to take a few of our hours and mix some live tracks. Mould tapped his cigarette on the mixing board and said, "Nope. Fuck tha Police." Click on the cover to hear my tribute to America's stockbrokers, In Your Suit.
Five O'Clock (1984) The original hardcore scene in Chicago was divided. AOF started playing when the top punk band in town was the Effigies, a midtempo, imitation-Oi band from the suburbs of Evanston. The Effigies played over-21 shows, and attracted a lot of suburbanites and Northwestern students. AOF played hyperspeed thrash, organized underage shows and attracted a lot of people from the city, where we lived. AOF were also a left-wing band, and the Effigies were conservative, if not right-wing (a lot of northside skinheads went to their shows). Between those two poles, most of the scene divided. WNUR, the Northwestern radio station, managed to get all the groups from the scene on their Middle of America compilation. It was only time AOF and the Effigies appeared on the same record. Click on the cover to hear Five O'Clock, the AOF track on the record. There is a video of this song out there somewhere that I'd love to find a copy of.
In This Life (LP 1985) The last AOF record, released after the band broke up in 1985. Cover by the superb Chicago artist Wesley Kimmler. Also produced by Bob. One of the first "emocore" records. Rereleased for the first time as part of the AoF Complete Compiliation. Click on the cover to hear the opening track, Remain in Memory.
Core (CD 1991)This record is a remix and re-release of a lot of early AOF stuff. It came out on Bitzcore, a fine German label run by a nice fella named Jurgen Goldschmitt. Notice the "Hardcore Classics" label Jurgen has affixed to the corner. Punk as fuck, non? Click on this link to jump to Bitzcore and purchase the CD, or click on the cover to hear one of the earliest AOF tracks, Ghost in the House.
Give Thanks (CD 1992) Rereleased by Bitzcore. Contains two additional tracks not found on the original LP. Click on the cover to one of the most difficult songs I ever managed to pull out of me, Everyman for Himself.
Your Choice Live (1994) Recorded on the last night of the last tour by the band, a three-week 1991 reunion that took us across Europe. The record was released by Tobby Holzinger, a young German who has managed to create a fairly astonishing catalog of live European and American punk bands. Can't say much about his taste in cover art, though. Click on the cover to hear the very last song that will ever be recorded by AOF, In This Life.
AoF Complete Vol. 1 (2002) Rerelease of all AoF vinyl recorded between 1981 and 1983, including What We Want Is Free and Give Thanks. CD includes three bonus tracks. Click on the cover to hear one of them, the acoustic version of In This Life.
AoF Complete Vol. 2 (2002) Rerelease of all AoF vinyl recorded between 1983 and 1985, including Wait and In This Life. CD includes three bonus tracks. Click on the cover to hear one of them, the acoustic version of What We Want Is Free.
Fortunate Son (2003) Released the day the war in Iraq began. Like the majority of people in the world, I was furious about the preemptive attack on Iraq, and went into the studio and tracked one new cut, and a cover of Fogerty's Fortunate Son. Since many of the AoF tracks I had pulled together on the Complete series seemed unfortunately timely, I added them to this recording and released a split anti-war EP--the first recording I had done since 1997. Click on the cover to hear Fortunate Son.
 
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