California's Bay Area has long been regarded as a hotbed for hardcore and punk acts. From the Dead Kennedys in the late '70s to Operation Ivy in the '80s and AFI and Rancid in the '90s, the region's history speaks for itself. With legacy acts like Powerhouse and Ceremony still going strong and newer bands like Sunami and Big Boy finding success, Northern California continues to make room for bands looking to add to that lineage.
Sunblind came together in the mind of East Bay mainstay RJ Leimpeter (Rely, Living Eyes), who assembled a lineup rooted in that very Bay Area hardcore tradition. RJ initially tapped Duane Harris (Allegiance, Caged View, Malinformants) for the group.
"RJ hit me up last year asking if I’d have interest in doing a NYHC-sounding band, like Judge, and mentioned that he had a lineup in mind. Based on the people he mentioned who would be involved, I was super down." Duane had actually been sitting on some hardcore songs written during the COVID-19 pandemic—songs in the vein of Lowest of the Low-era Terror mixed with early 2000s Ringworm, while also taking cues from thrash metal and classic NYHC. "I gotta admit, the guitar leads that Clark [Todd] brought to the table were really the icing on the cake and pushed it in the direction that I envisioned." Duane and Clark had previously collaborated in Duane's post-Allegiance project, Foreign Nature.
Rounding out the lineup in the rhythm section are Casey Watson on bass (Old Firm Casuals, Look Back and Laugh, Yaphet Kotto) and Andrew Black on drums (The Explosion, Good Clean Fun, Be Well, Scream, Rocket From The Crypt). The band started practicing in mid-July of last year.
Although Sunblind's members have been involved in countless bands over the years, this project still feels fresh for them. "One thing that is great about this band, and new territory in a way in terms of our writing, is the willingness to take a part or an idea and see it through, no matter what. We have a direction, a sound, and an idea of who we are, but we're willing to push a little further or try something new. The spirit is very collaborative, and I think it is already really exciting and freeing," says Clark.
For RJ, he has always wanted to do more of a NYHC-style band, which is a style of hardcore he listens to consistently. Casey thinks the project sounds like Portishead meets Crimpshrine on LSD. This particular configuration of musicians was also new to Casey, who had been talking to Andrew for a while about jamming. "I’ve never done a project with RJ, Duane, and Clark, so I was pretty stoked to get to join up."
"These tunes Duane and RJ started sharing with me felt pretty powerful," says Andrew. He continues, "We ran them for months and let them breathe and evolve a little. When the layers started being heard and coming into focus while Ry Ellery, engineer at Sharkbite Records, and singer for Greyhound, was engineering the record, I had an overwhelming wave of gratitude not only for how well everything was lining up, but how the recording was really capturing our collective spirits in a recorded document."
The band linked up with Indecision Records for its forthcoming debut LP, The Undertow. "After I asked Duane and Andrew to do this band, the next people I called were Indecision," says RJ, who has been friends with Dave Mandel and Dave Itow for decades. "I personally needed to get something out on the label, as I already felt part of the family. This just solidified it. Indecision is simply the best."
Describing the sound of the record, he says, "This record is pissed, mean, and makes me want to punch through a wall. Just the way I like my hardcore." Andrew adds his own take on the feel of the release: "I think Duane and Clark's writing gave us a place where that mutual respect and friendship were free to exist. I know it’s just a record, but it’s remarkable to me that we get to share our collective hope, pain, love, fear, positivity, hate, wonder, compassion, empathy, and solidarity with others."
The band will play its first gig this weekend at Stay Gold in Oakland, California. R’N’RG Presents is handling the show, which features a solid mixed-bill lineup with Second Coming, The Difference, Lose Sight, Eliminators, and Adjudicator. More shows are expected to be announced soon.
On the topic of Bay Area hardcore, Duane says:
"From where I stand, the hardcore scene in the Bay is crazy strong. There seems to be a place for every kind of hardcore and hardcore-adjacent band. We have a great mix of both younger people and older people in bands that seem to exist in their own micro-scenes, but they also seem to cross-pollinate together in a larger scene as well."
For a band whose members have been doing this for a long time, Sunblind still brings out that same sense of excitement. "Hardcore has always been my main release in life," says RJ. "Whether it’s still being up front singing along to bands that mean the world to me or getting to do this project with people I love."
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The Undertow will be out this fall via Indecision Records.
Sunblind on social media: Instagram
Tagged: allegiance, caged view, look back and laugh, malinformants, old firm casuals, sunblind, yaphet kotto
