We often get new bands rising from the ashes of old ones. Yet, it’s rare that we get the opposite: old bands rising up from the ending of newer ones. With Live Fast, Die Fast, however, that’s just the case. Originally formed in 2008, Live Fast, Die Fast released two full-lengths, 2013's Keep Your Fingers Crossed (produced in part by George Reynolds of Mind Over Matter and Agnostic Front’s Mike Gallo) and its predecessor, 2011's The End of What We Know (also produced by Gallo). Soon thereafter, though, the band ended up splitting for a variety of reasons. Then came Out Live Death for Paul, Rich and Lenny. Out Live Death had a wonderful run that included their own full-length, Has the Past Taught Us Nothing?, but they recently closed up shop. And that’s when Paul and Rich decided that moving forward meant going backwards, in a sense.
“When everything was happening with Out Live Death, Rich and I were talking about how we weren’t ready to walk away from music just yet. I forgot who said it to who, but we were reminiscing about how much we loved playing the LFDF songs. We kicked the tires to see if Lenny was interested and he was, so we reached out to Marc who was wrapping up stuff with a project he was involved in and he wanted to play again,” says Paul, the band’s singer. So began their interesting inverse equation. While Out Live Death was born from Live Fast, Die Fast, it would be LF, DF that came back to life after all was said and done. And things have moved pretty quickly since.
The latest iteration of Live Fast, Die Fast now includes Branden Gallagher on bass, who played bass in Out Live Death and does vocals in Bore. They’ve also already begun writing, since it’s been six years since the release of their lone LP. “We have two new songs written and ready to go. With Branden on bass, he brings a great sound and does amazing background vocals so it gives us more room to be creative,” offers Paul. And true to form, Paul has maintained his sense of the socio-political in his lyrics, adding, “I write about what’s important to me, and there’s nothing more important than the world we’re living in.
"The current political climate in our country, and even around the world, needs to be spoken about to hopefully bring about some type of change. We collectively need to find ways to offset the damage that’s been caused by the racist oligarch that’s occupied the White House. Our children need to inherit a better place than this, and I know I can’t just walk away with my tail between my legs knowing I didn’t try to bring some change.”
As a father, family man, and coach among other things, Paul is a man of his word. That’s always shined through in his lyrical content.
The band’s crafty sound, filled with melody and fast-paced riffage, is one that will always have a place in the hardcore underground. They draw as much from the melodic sensibilities of early Epitaph punk releases as they do from the grittier New York hardcore stylings of Warzone and Agnostic Front. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a Live Fast, Die Fast song that breaks three minutes in length. But they pack a punch in every one of their frenetic songs.
So it seems that getting Live Fast, Die Fast back together just made more sense than starting something new, again, for Paul and the band. They’re not all that young as far as hardcore musicians go, but they still have that itch to stay connected. Paul jokes, “To be honest, not to sound like an old man, I just didn’t have the patience to start something new from the ground up. We just knew we wanted to bring this back.”
Live Fast, Die Fast’s first show back will go down Sept. 27 at Amityville Music Hall in Amityville, NY with Two Man Advantage, Hot Blood, Held Hostage, and Controlled Substance:
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