About Me
Dec 30th 2006 ; we – ENRAGE decided it was high time to do a reunion. Ironically it was I who basically put a stop to the band and was pretty much against the idea of doing any reunion. My buddy Giaco kinda pulled me out of "retirement" to form a new band El Diablo Bastardo, fast forward a couple of years later and the revolving line up consisted of core Enrage songwriter Pelle and myself. Pelle introduced me to My space and suggested we do a page for EDB.
When I got on My space, I saw so many old and defunct bands on there so for shits n giggles we made an Enrage page. I'll never forget calling Pelle and my brother, "This thing is taking off guys" ….
The response was overwhelming and the resounding opinion of doing a reunion show happened. Thanx to you all. The reunion show was a huge success and we followed it up with one more show playing with Godfathers Murphy's Law . But didn't I say all this before?
So what next?
During this whole time, Pelle was making some new tunes with yet another new version of EDB or whatever the hell we were gonna call it. Unlike the EDB stuff this was pretty heavy. I started laying down some more lyrics that I felt at home with (the self loathing kind LoL) and we had Maetta on bass … hmmm… that seems to be very close to our old band. After some looooong talks we decided it wasn't kicking a dead horse, it wasn't a bunch of has beens, it's what we like the best and yeah what people want to hear from us. After 10 years, Pelle and I decided to record some new songs as mutha fucking ENRAGE.
So for the past year, Pelle has been hittin' the lab and coming up with stuff, tossing stuff out and coming up with better stuff. I mean shit, how do you follow up something from 10 years ago? We have a lot to live up to. How do you stay relevant without sounding trendy? How do you stick to your roots without sounding dated or nostalgic?
Thus, this shit has GOT to come correct. Kinda feel like Stallone doing the last Rocky movie, he had to have his legacy capped with that film and not the dreadful Rocky 5 LoL….and just like Mr Balboa we ain't too old and we are gonna kick some major arse.
So hear is the announcement to commemorate the reunion show on Dec 28 :
Nearly 10 years later, Enrage is coming out with new music
We got some BIG shows to celebrate the new stuff as well as thank everyone who supported us since 1988 with a 20th anniversary show at years end !
Hope I didn't bore ya too much, hope to see you all at the shows and check out the new stuff this spring ! ! ! Shiiiiiiit, do people buy CDs anymore ? LoL
Happy New Year,
Jeff Enrage
I was just a kid when I started Enrage in High School. I grew up in a single family home, watching my mom work her tail off to make ends meet. This was my reality. I found escape in heavy metal but then I heard "Victim In Pain" by Agnostic Front and "Age OF Quarrel" by the Cro-Mags. It was my introduction to New York Hard Core and I found something to relate to. As trite as it sounds, sneaking into CBGB'S inspired me to make a band. By 1988 my feeble attempts turned into the seeds of a "real" band... In '91 our first "official" demo came out. Neri's, The Red Spot, Rock Palace, The Wave are special places to me. We got some exposure, and played a ton of gigs and by 1995 we had a CD out.
We were part of a movement and spear headed a “scene†(with bands such as Malcolm’s Lost, Muddfoot, Phallacy, Burnchild, Sarcasm, Sleeper /Serpico, Love Apaches - the list is pretty big and I know I'm forgetting a few... There were hardcore and metal bands before us and helluva lot better too but for lack of a better term we proudly waved the Metal flag as well and that enabled us to open for some pretty big bands.By the end of 95 we became jaded with the whole business of “making it." We had some legal hassles that almost drove us to end it but the SI scene rallied around us to raise money for legal expenses.
We had roughly 1000 people help come to the shows in two days... I know it sounds corny, but all that love gave us the burst of enthusiasm we needed to keep the band going. It also gave us a new attitude. We didn't care any longer about getting signed. We were growing up and getting jobs. Funny thing is you would think that starting a career would be a death blow to a band. In fact, it did the opposite. The music became fun again, we were writing lots of... We got on some great comps and videos, with some great bands. We decided to take all the new songs we had on these separate releases and put them all together on a full length. We added a couple of more new tunes, some old demo versions of other songs and we had a great discography... Released Power put the "Definitive Landfill Kings" out. I literally wrote up a contract with RPP and asked for NO ROYALTIES in exchange for the ownership of the songs. So for all the naysayers, stick that up your punk rock ass. We had everything on one CD. I knew it would be our swan song because we accomplished pretty much all our goals... We opened for the Bad Brains, were on a CD with Motorhead. I could have "retired" in my twenties! We were so fortunate enough to open for so many bands, play all the marquee places, travel, headline our home town and most importantly meet so many people and make new friends...It's funny I never realized the impact the band had. I've met people over the years who told me how the lyrics I wrote have affected their lives, how my lyrics, helped people get through some turbulent times, and how people got amped to the band. People tell me that their first show was an Enrage show?!? It is humbling. I've learned now years later how Enrage inspired people to make a band, How Enrage put our little Island on the map. I mean, if you're in a band and you're playing for 13 years and over the years (like I said, the scene was much bigger) you're playing to 500-700 people a show, you're going to affect these people negatively and positively.Ya know, we never had a big fight; we never had this huge blow out or "musical differences." My own brother was in the band with me and the other members are literally like brothers to me. So why end it? Well, as stated above, we really did everything we could do and most of the guys simply couldn't find the time to concentrate on the band any longer...That being said, we found ourselves just doing a lot less. I mean, we never called it quits, but if you're in a band and you're not playing, you're not recording, you're not practicing, writing, well are you a band? We were getting on the occasional cool show but I was noticing how the shows were packed yet the venues for all the bands were smaller. I understand how bands are happy with 100 plus turnouts. That is great. Not to dwell on the past but it ain't nothing to 600, 700 kids a gig...Yet in all honesty, we really were not a band any longer especially since we weren't contributing to a scene. I didn't want to go down like that. So how do ya end it? Well, the question was kinda answered for me. Some time ago, a very dear friend to me and to many of the band members of the SI scene, passed away. At 27 this sweet gentle man took his own life. He always had this idea of doing a big Christmas show where we would give toys out to charity. He never got to see his idea come to fruition because no club was willing to give up their take of the door...I started promoting shows at this place called Dock Street here on SI. It's a small cool place. There are different people booking shows there and people are coming to shows again. At the time, the owner David, was letting me do all age shows. I brought up the idea to Dave of doing a benefit and he was totally game for it which was really generous of him. I know this sounds crazy, but I felt that this was more than just a show. It was something positive in my life, in honoring a friend...We got the local paper to promote the show and the event was getting a lot of exposure. I invited friends of the old bands who used to play with us to join us for the evening. These guys were more than willing. Members of the bands reunited for all the right reasons and our first show in months was turning into a very special event...Nothing could have prepared us for the enormity of the show on December 22, 2000. The room was packed well beyond capacity, completely sold out. It was free admission with a toy or can of food...This wasn't entirely because of the "return" of Enrage by any means. The crowd that gathered was there to see a reunion of members from past bands that played on SI. With former members of Muddfoot and Burnchild taking the stage after the openers All For Nothing everyone in that packed room knew that the show was turning into something very special. I was overwhelmed with the love Enrage got and as expected when all the members of Phallacy hit the stage the room exploded...Maybe it was because of the holiday vibe, or the high school reunion type of vibe, or more importantly maybe it was because we were all there for someone we loved who isn't with us anymore -- because the show had such a positive feel to it. Seeing the generosity of everyone who participated, lent their time, came to the show, and donated to charity, was truly fantastic. We got such a great reception. We were the only band who didn't reunite that night. The next day my brother and I personally went to hospitals to give out toys and give food to a local church... I thought, "What a great way to celebrate the holidays and end the year..."Then I thought some more, "How do I top this?" I mean if there was ever a time for there to be a final Enrage show was this not it? This was a show for love not $. We had old friends; we had a great, warm reception. The night was so positive. If I did a final Enrage show it could never match this...Why not end it on top, with a positive note, with a great show, why not end it with the belt on, cuz we are The Shaolin Landfill Kings...In 2003 we did a low key impromptu show in honor of our fallen brother Mike, and for the unfortunate list of friends taken away from us while still way too young...There are too many people to thank over 13 years; I'd like to thank all the people who have supported the band for so long. You have all changed my life for the better and I thank you so much for that!To me, it makes sense to thank the ex members, Paul and Mike J. But more importantly I would like to thank the members of my enrage family: You guys have been part of the best times in my life and I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me. To play with my brother for so many years has been nothing short of beautiful and being able to bond with all the band members for all these years has been incredible. You guys are my brothers and I love ya.................
