This is Kenny and right now he's battling that rat bastard cancer (leukemia). One of the landmark bands of punk, Bad Brains (ROIR Records) teamed up with Kenny to release the above limited shirt with the classic Bad Brain logo and Kenny's own art work. The project was made possible by solo magician and Solitarian Yong-Ki Chang, a long time friend of Kenny's who stepped up on his own to help. Contributing his time, effort and skills to make this project a reality he exemplifies what being a true friend is. Giving himself freely and completely, we could use a lot more like Mr. Chang. Last reports have the shirts almost sold out (only smalls left), but supporting Kenny and his fight isn't about a shirt, it is about the similar stories we have in our families. How many of us have been touched by cancer at some point and felt the heartache and pain it has caused someone we care about? Kenny's story is no different from anyone else and I think that's what makes his one that needs to be supported. Buy the shirt or just donate what you can, anything and everything helps. Keep fighting Kenny! You can order a shirt here.
As many of you know, A documentary is in the works about the legendary hardcore bands, Bad Brains. I can't wait to check this out.
“BAD BRAINS has announced that it is in the final stages of production for its acclaimed documentary. No release date has been set yet. The yet-untitled film was directed by Mandy Stein and Ben Logan and traces the history of the band from their formation in Washington, D.C. in 1979 to the present day. In addition to tons of footage from the band’s vault, the movie includes interviews with all four members (vocalist HR, guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer and drummer Earl Hudson) and their manager Anthony Countey, as well as testimonials from Henry Rollins, ex-Minor Threat and Fugazi vocalist Ian MacKaye, ex-Minor Threat guitarist Lyle Preslar, ex-Cro Mags vocalist Jon Joseph and guitarist Harley Flanagan, Murphys Law guitarist Jimmy Gestapo and Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch, who produced Bad Brains 2007 album Build a Nation.
In addition to giving birth to the hardcore movement with their song “Pay to Cum” and inspiring all of the aforementioned musicians in the process, the Bad Brains had a huge influence on a new breed of late ‘80 and early ’90s metal bands, including Living Colour, Faith No More, 24-7 Spyz and Fishbone. While the Bad Brains flick is currently in post-production, it will be ready for release in a Jamaican minute.”
More Than A Witness resurrected this classic Bad Brains interview from Maximum Rock & Roll Radio conducted by the magazine’s founder, Tim Yohannon. You can download the interview here.
"This interview was captured soon after the Bad Brains migrated to Manhattan from their home base of Washington DC. 1982 also saw the first Bad Brains nationwide tour. The infamous encounter with Randy “Biscuit” Turner of the Big Boys occurred briefly before this interview took place. This incident has been written about extensively in a variety of publications such as American Hardcore. The synopsis of the story is that the Bad Brains stopped in Austin, Texas to play with the Big Boys and the Dicks. Immersed in Rastafarian ideology, the Brains took strong offense to the homosexual lifestyle of the Big Boys vocalist and they sure let him know it by defacing his property and leaving him a note that denounced homosexuality. They continued on their tour with a bag of stolen weed and with a new wing of detractors in Texas. This incident began to follow them as they hit subsequent cities on their ’82 tour."
Shepard Fairey is releasing the collaborative print with the legendary Bad Brains and photographer Glen E. Friedman. The 3 color print measures 24 x 18 and is signed by Shepard, Glen E Friedman, and all the original members of Bad Brains.
This is what Shepard had to say:
Bad Brains are one of my favorite punk/hardcore groups of all time. If you don’t have their self titled debut, “Rock For Light”, “I Agaist I”, or “Quickness”, they are all essential. I first heard Bad Brains at the beginning of 1984 when my friend lent me the brilliantly curated and titled Alternative Tentacles compilation “Let Then Eat Jellybeans”(A Reagan dessert favorite update to the Marie Antoinette slogan “Let them eat cake”). The Bad Brains song “Pay to Cum” from their first album was on the comp along with songs by Black Flag, The Dead Kennedys, The Circle Jerks, Flipper, etc.. I then went out to find full length records by all those bands. I soon discovered Minor Threat as well, and learned that Bad Brains had influenced their vocalist Ian MacKaye and Black flag vocalist Henry Rollins who were from Washington DC where Bad Brains had started as well. The Bad Brains were also a huge influence for the Beastie Boys. This collaboration ties into almost all of the bands I mentioned because they were almost all iconically shot at various times by photographer Glen E. Friedman. Glen shot a lot of great photos of Bad Brains and a few different shots were spliced together as the reference for this poster illustration. If you don’t know Glen’s work, and you should… go to burningflags.com. This poster is signed by Glen, me, and all the original members of Bad Brains. Keep that PMA. -Shepard
Here's a short trailer for an upcoming documentary on the legendary Bad Brains. The Bad Brains are considered the godfathers of modern day hardcore, and have influenced generations of bands.
