Everything about Sick Of It All totally explained
Sick of It All (
SOIA) is a
New York hardcore band formed by brothers
Lou Koller (vocals) and
Pete Koller (
guitar),
Armand Majidi (
drums) and
Rich Capriano (
bass) in
1986.
History
Early career (1986-1992)
Hailing from
Queens,
New York, Sick of It All was formed alongside
New York hardcore bands
Straight Ahead
, and
Rest In Pieces which both featured Majidi and current Sick of It All bass player
Craig Setari. Majidi joined up with the Koller brothers and
Rich Capriano to record the Sick of It All
demo in
1986, after original bass player
Mark McNielly and drummer
David Lamb left. The band began to play Sunday afternoon matinees at renowned venue
CBGB's, and soon after released a self-titled
7" on
Revelation Records (which was later re-issued on the tenth anniversary of its release, in
1997).
In 1988, Sick of It All signed to
Relativity Records and recorded their first full-length,
Blood, Sweat and No Tears, which was released in the
following year. The album's follow-up,
Just Look Around, was released in
1992.
Increasing popularity (1993-1997)
Sick of It All released their record
Scratch the Surface on
major label EastWest Records. They also recorded a video for "Step Down" and the title track "Scratch The Surface". The record was the first recorded with long-time friend and former
Straight Ahead,
Rest In Pieces,
Youth of Today and
Agnostic Front bass player
Craig Setari, who had replaced
Rich Capriano in early 1993.
The band received bad publicity in December 1992 when
Wayne Lo, a young student, shot and killed two people and wounded several others at
Simon's Rock College in
Massachusetts. Widely-circulated photos of him at his arrest showed him wearing a Sick of It All t-shirt. After being inundated with claims that they initiated violence at shows and through their music, the band defended themselves in the press (particularly
The New York Times).
The fair success of
Scratch the Surface allowed the band to tour worldwide. In 1997 they released their second record on the EastWest label,
Built to Last. More
punk-inspired than their previous effort,
Built to Last produced a number of live staples for the band, including "Us vs. Them," "Busted" and "Good Lookin' Out." The album also marked the end of Sick of It All's contractual agreement with EastWest.
The Fat Wreck Chords years (1998-2004)
In 1998, Sick of It All signed to
independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, owned and run by
Fat Mike of
NOFX. After releasing the "Potential For A Fall" single - for which another video was filmed,
Call To Arms was released in February 1999.
The 2000 follow-up
Yours Truly was less critically acclaimed. Despite containing some of the bands favored live tracks, including "Blown Away," "The Bland Within," "District" and "America," some fans felt alienated by the album's progressive nature and in a recent interview, frontman
Lou Koller claimed that the album's cover art probably contributed to its poor reception.
1
In 2001, Sick of It All released their home video
The Story So Far, and a year later a live record was released as part of
Fat Wreck Chords'
Live In A Dive series. The album showcased tracks from Sick of It All's entire career up to that point in time.
2003 saw Sick of It All release their seventh studio album:
Life on the Ropes. In 2004, the band also released an album of
b-sides, covers and rare tracks entitled
Outtakes for the Outcast, which contains some Sick of It All recordings.
Recent activity and the future of the band (2005-present)
In early 2005, Sick of It All signed to
Abacus Recordings to record the follow-up to
Fat Wreck Chords'
Life on the Ropes. The new album, titled
Death to Tyrants, was released on
April 18,
2006. The band has recently toured with
AFI and
The Dear & Departed in early 2007.
A tribute to the band, titled
Our Impact Will Be Felt, was released on
April 24,
2007, and includes covers from artists such as
Bane,
Bleeding Through,
The Bouncing Souls,
Hatebreed,
Himsa,
Madball,
Most Precious Blood,
Napalm Death,
Pennywise,
Rise Against,
Sepultura,
Stretch Arm Strong,
Unearth, and
Walls of Jericho.
Sick of It All has begun writing new material for their next album, which is possibly due for release some time in 2008.
Miscellaneous
Numerous Sick of It All fans have tattoos of the "Alleyway Dragon", the band's official logo. The Dragon is from a sheet of Greg Irons flash. It is not, as some people have claimed, a misappropriated gang symbol, but then the Alleyway Crew was never a gang to begin with. It was, and is, a group of friends. The dragon is a symbol of friendship as well as a way that members would relate who was hanging out at a particular gathering. The "Alleyway" is in a school yard in Flushing, Queens, where the band and all of their friends would gather.
The band is credited with the "wall of death" (also known as the "Braveheart") in which the crowd would split into two sides and charge the other at the start of selected songs.
Toby Morse, a former Sick of It All roadie from suburban Maryland, went on to form the band H2O.
Former roadie, Tim Shaw, joined New Jersey's Ensign in 1995 and has been singing for them since.
Former roadie Danny Singer a.k.a Lord Ezec a.k.a. Danny Diablo, went on to form Crown of Thornz, Skarhead, and Icepick and now has started his solo rap career.
Former Sick of It All, Social Distortion, and L7 roadie Umbar died in early 1995 while on tour with L7.
Members
Image:Sick of it all mg 6893.jpg|Lou Koller
- vocals
Image:Sick of it all mg 6830.jpg|Pete Koller
- guitar
- back vocals (choirs etc.)
Image:Sick of it all mg 6907.jpg|Craig Setari
- bass
- vocals on few songs
- back vocals (choirs etc.)
Image:Sick Of It All Pic06.jpg|Armand Majidi
- drums
Discography
Full-lengths
EPs/Singles
Other releases
Guest appearances
Barcode - Course Of Action (ft. Lou Koller)
Bones, The - I Wanna Be Sedated (Ramones cover) (ft. Lou Koller & Roger Miret of Agnostic Front)
Born From Pain - Doomsday Clock (ft. Lou Koller)
CIV - Can't Wait One Minute More (ft. Lou Koller)
Devil In Me - Back Against The Wall (ft. Lou Koller & Craig Setari) /both on vocals/
Ensign - 15 Years (ft. Lou Koller)
Haunted, The - Who Will Decide (ft. Lou Koller)
Most Precious Blood - So Typical My Heart (ft. Lou Koller)
Warriors, The - Mankind Screams (ft. Lou Koller)
Video
The Story So Far (2001)
Music Video
District
Injustice System
Just Look Around
Potential For A Fall
Relentless
Scratch The Surface
Step Down
Take The Night Off
Us Vs ThemFurther Information
Get more info on 'Sick Of It All'.
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