Harrassitude Biography(1986-1993)Harrassitude: ArronThomson (Vocals/Bass)
*Steve Gilman(Vocals)
Johnny "Mad" Doggs (Bass/Guitar)
Dave Brown (Guitars)
Jimmy Doggs (Drums)Harrassitude was one of Indiana's HardCore/Thrash bands that never got respect during
their hayday. In the winter of 1986 when Heavy Metal began its rise to dominance,
Indy's underground metal scene was riding its waves. Five teens, influenced by the
music, came together in a friends garage and decided to jam together.
Once warmed up and sober, they put together the most atrocious, grinding, sick, Thrash music heard.
"Terrible" Troy, a rough-cut diamond vocalist, (and the first Black metal singer in Indy) belted
out the lyrics while "Nasty" Nathan would grind out wicked solos on his guitar along with "Brutal" Brian
backing him up. Johnny Doggs would slam the bass while his brother Jimmy would pound out
the drums. Thus, in the spring, "Fatal Scream" was born.Over the course of the summer they would put out tracks like "Nothing Left For You",
"Lizzy Borden (From the Hills)", and "X-Rated Queen". Although "Nasty" Nathan would leave
the band, "Ace" Godwin would take control of lead guitars, and by the fall the demo-tape
of "Ready to Kill" would be released. The demo put them in the mix with other up and comers.During the end of 86, The band would take another dose of reality while swimming with sharks.
Alcohol and the "Singer/Guitarist conflict" would soon begin its slow poisoning of the band.
Brutal" Brian would leave the band to join "Blues Corner", a Blues/Jazz band
so Johnny Doggs switched to guitars while "Angry" Arron Thompson would take over on bass.
By December of 86, Fatal Scream, released their "Christmas" Demo-tape, "Thrashing through-
The Snow." Songs like "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (So I shot him in the head)" and
"Jingle Hell" would put the band in the underground scene but no major fan-base.Things would begin to crumble at the offset of 87. Musical differences began to take form.
Fatal Scream added positive metal to thier style which did not catch on with whatever
fanbase they were building. "Ace" Godwin would leave the band and form "Heaven's Soldier"
with EX-FatalScream/Blues Corner "Brutal" Brian. Also, "Terrible" Troy decided to part ways,
leaving the band to join the Hip-Hop scene which was mounting a surprise attack as "T-Roy."So again, the band would change. New Frontman "Screamin' " Steve Gilman would take the helm
with Johnny Doggs and axe slinger "Rough Neck" Dave Brown handling the guitar work with
Thompson on bass. Dave "Drummin' " Morgan would replace Jimmy Doggs on drums.
(Who would embark on a project with former Fatalist "Nasty" Nathan, and "Midnyght Rose"
Bassist/Vox Skelly, Now Creepin' Charley.) Regrouped, they felt that the name should change
also. So "HaRrAsSiTuDe" was born out of the ashes. Now charged and ready to go, the band set its sights
on higher ground.Unfortunately, the disease would continue to spread among the band. "Crushed by Hate" would be
a rather lackluster EP-Demo. Songs like "Thrash Or Die" and "Love-Hole Baby" would prove
to be catchy, but the rest was quickly shunned. Fanfare began to crumble and mutiny would soon
take place. Thompson and Gilman clashed over music while Doggs and Morgan couldn't come
together with their styles. In the summer of 87, the band would again lose members. Morgan would join
"Unstable Fury" while Thompson and Johnny Doggs would exit to form "Lavender Elephant".
With the band in disarray, Jimmy Doggs came back into the foray along with "Ace" Godwin, who
took time off from "Heaven's Soldier." Jack Biles, from "Heavy Burden" (Delaware) would
take over on bass temporarly.By the end of Summer and into the fall, The new Line-up would bring back some heat and
another Demo was released. "Fall out, Fall in" would garner enough fanfare to attract slight
attention, especially on the emerging Hardcore/Thrash scene. Songs like "Get em' while you can",
"Motor Brain", and "Racist Pig" would prove to be favs. But New Years Eve of 87 would put the band
on hiatus when Godwin and Biles went back to thier respective bands. Thompson and Johnny Doggs
disbanded "Lavender Elephant" only to return to HaRrAsSiTuDe while Gilman and Jimmy formed the
highly punk/hardcore band "Verbal Threat". With Gilman and Jimmy Doggs gone, Thompson took
over on vocals and Johhny Doggs went back to the bass, while "Rough Neck" Brown handled the
lead guitars. Also newcomer Jay Knight from "Black Hole Destiny" filled in on the drums.1988-89 proved to be the Dark Ages for HaRrAsSiTuDe and its members. With another line-up, the
Demo "Voodoo Politics And Plastic Suiters" would be put out. Thompson's screeching vocals and
Browns wailing guitar sounds soon gained some momentum on the Hardcore/Thrash scene.
The song "Private Justice" produced heat but quickly faded under the radar. Thompson quickly
left the band, leaving them high and dry. (Rumor had it the "Singer/Guitarist" bug had gotten to
Thompson and Doggs, causing the split.) In midst of all that, Knight also split and went back to
"Black Hole Destiny." Once more, HaRrAsSiTuDe was put on the shelf.Johnny Doggs and Dave Brown would soon join Steve and Jimmy in "Verbal Threat" producing
the Demo "Verbal Threat." Songs like "Multitude Of Hate" and "People" put them in the open.
Things changed over the course of 89, when, again, stuff went sour. Demos were being mishandled
and venues being cancelled. The band never really achieved the status generated before,
causing another breakdown. 1989 proved to be the year of projects for each member. Shifting
from band to band finally starting to take its toll.In 1990, the bright side returned. Old HaRrAsSiTuDe material as well as Verbal Threat started
to take off, causing Johnny Doggs to gather up the members in a last chance effort to get
things going. Backed by his brother Jimmy, Johhny was able to bring "Screamin' "Gilman
and "Roughneck" Brown back into the mix for a run. Finally stable and secure, HaRrAsSiTuDe
released "Dead Sex" which caught on to the Hardcore Scene. Hard and fast, with a twist of
S.O.D., "Dead Sex" proved to be a doozy for them. Fans were forming and the music was
finally getting respect it deserved.But in the winter of 1991, The last straw broke the camels back. Comming off a few gigs,
HaRrAsSiTuDe would succumb to their downfall. The music scene was changing, and Gilman
stepped down abruptly from the band, causing a stir. Brown was unhappy with his status and
the band suffered from lack of promotion. "Angry" Thompson would step in and take command
of the vocals again. After regrouping, Harrassitude finally recorded their first EP called
"Harrassed And Violated." "I Wanna Be A Rock Star" was a success, punking the ever growing
glam scene starting to take shape. But the damage had been done.Harrassitude's last show took place at the Smith Valley Center, where they opened up for
Indiana's then Thrash-masters "Acid Indigestion" in 1993. After that, they released their
second and final EP, "My Decayed Reality". Only the title track was released to the dying
fans.It wasn't until 2008, that some of these songs would be reworked and re-released. As the last
member of a band that holds dear to my heart, I figured it would be nice to re-put some
of the Classics back out there, even if people never heard of Harrassitude or their songs.
Some of the suriving members have moved on, such as Thompson, who still messes around
on the music scene and Johnny Doggs, who still cranks Trash/Punk music with the heavy hitting
"Death Union." "Screamin' " Gilman has ventured in MMA off and on, but after growing talks
with Jimmy Doggs (Me) he's growling and waiting to tear up his throat once more, should
the opportuniy arrive. As for me, I've taken the Liberty of guitar as well as the drums to
rehash some of our old material and I've even picked up mean female bassist Angie
Steward from "Angels Of Fury."
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