Bad Brains’ First Studio Recording From 1979 Is Finally Getting an Official Release
Hardcore pioneers Bad Brains released their self-titled debut studio album in 1982, but now they’re reaching even deeper into their catalog with Are You Ready: the First Studio Recording (Inner Ear – March 1979). The six-song EP features their long-bootlegged first recording session at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia. Bad Brains, anchored by bassist Darryl Jenifer, recorded the session in a “single frantic hour,” according to an Instagram post.
Fellow D.C. punk legend Ian MacKaye remixed the music, and Pete Lyman mastered it at Infrasonic. Jenifer provided the new artwork. The 45RPM 12-inch vinyl comes with a double-sided insert and rare images from the band’s archive. Alec MacKaye provides liner notes.
Bad Brains have released the first track from Are You Ready with “Pay to C*m.”
“The riff for ‘Pay To C*m’ started as a stream of punk rock vibes fueled by the Ramones, The Damned and Return to Forever,” says Jenifer. “It was a gift that served as a springboard into our sound — sheer, straight-ahead three-chord mayhem with a few breaks and a stop. The title actually meant nothing to us; it was just a fun-loving play on words.”
Are You Ready: the First Studio Recording (Inner Ear – March 1979) will be out on November 6th on cassette, vinyl and as a digital download (Apple Music, and Amazon Music). On November 5th, Jenifer and MacKaye will be at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. to discuss the session and the band’s history.
Are You Ready: the First Studio Recording (Inner Ear – March 1979) Track List:
- Jammin’ At the Atlantis
- Pay to Cum
- Don’t Bother Me
- Black Dots
- Migraine
- Send No Flowers
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
