Policy of 3 was one of the great (emo) hardcore bands of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Their sound was passionate and compelling, truly cutting edge; heavily influenced by the late ’80s Dischord hardcore sound. At the time, emotive hardcore was something new and exciting. It was all about passion, anger, and creating a DIY alternative to an increasingly violent and apolitical scene. Policy of 3 helped to define the sound/genre, long before emo was turned into frivolous pop punk.
In 1994, drummer Chris Fry & bassist Bull Gervasi (later of Four Hundred Years and RAMBO), alongside their Cabbage Collective cohorts, put on the very first punk show at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, laying the foundation for thirty plus years of all ages, independent music at what has grown to be among the most storied and world-renown non-traditional venues in the world.
On September 29th, almost 30 years to the day of their last show at ABC No Rio with Los Crudos & Shotmaker, Policy of 3 will reconvene on that same stage, joined by some very special guests.
Sleepytime Trio started out in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as a side project of the band Maximillian Colby in the beginning of 1995. The original lineup—Drew Ringo on guitar, Ben Davis on bass, and Jonathan Fuller on drums—quickly became more than just a side gig. They played shows around the mid-Atlantic region, building a reputation for their volatile, emotional sound and unpredictable live energy. In the summer of 1995, they added guitarist Dave Nesmith (also of Maximillian Colby), and as that band began to fade, Sleepytime Trio became the main focus for all involved.
By the summer of 1996, the no-longer-a-trio hit the road hard, playing 20 shows in 17 days across the eastern U.S. and into Canada—Virginia to Florida, Chicago to Quebec, and back to D.C.. Sleepytime Trio managed to control chaos at an almost uncontrollable point. Seeing them live was always a surprise: tangled limbs, busted gear, and the sense that everything might combust at any second.
The band took an extended hiatus in 1998 when Drew relocated to Seattle, while the remaining members went on to form or join influential projects like Engine Down, Rah Bras, and Milemarker. But Sleepytime Trio wasn’t finished. In May 1999, they reemerged for a burst of shows in Chapel Hill, D.C., Philadelphia, Worcester, and New York. That December, they hit the East Coast again with hose.got.cable—shows filled with manic kids, catharsis, a band member’s bruised head, and more than a little love. Those two reunion tours became the stuff of lore.
On December 1, 2007, the band reconvened for a one-off show during the Action Patrol reunion gig at Alley Katz in Richmond, VA. Then in 2014—almost two decades after they first formed—Sleepytime Trio took their chaos international, touring Japan with shows in Tokyo, Osaka, and beyond.
Sleepytime Trio remains a cult favorite, revered for their ability to channel disorder into something brutally honest and deeply human.
Being a teenager in the American suburbs of the 1980s and ‘90s often meant that your ideals seemed to outpace your surroundings. By the early 1990s, as a generation came of age that was too young to have seen Black Flag or Minor Threat, straight edge had started to take a militant approach, drawing lines to keep out people who would not blindly follow some of the genre’s shifting ideals. Frail, a straight-edge hardcore band from Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, who were active from spring 1993 to fall 1995, was more focused on communicating ideas and inclusion; they wanted to teach as much as learn, and this duality meant their music was the perfect vehicle to release the tension of that new generation. Their lineup — Mike Parsell and Don Devore on guitars, Brian Berwind on drums, Derek Zglenski on bass, and Eric Hammar on vocals — released 20 songs, a discography spread across a lone demo tape and a handful of small runs of vinyl on various DIY punk labels, all long out of print. Recognizing the impact the band had on their lives, the members of Frail are reuniting in their home state 30 years later to make their own noise once again.
Geeta. Leah. Katy. Guitar. Bass. Drums. Philadelphia.
