HARDBALL demo, militant sxe here, members went on to WARCRY - WARPATH etc.
Im sure alot of you ar familar with the band and the history and their involvement with the hardline movement. Thanks alot manuel for the demo again.
http://www.mediafire.com/?yy1yl0wqzud
Hardball fucking rules! THE original hard-edge band. This shit is how old..? ´90?
SvarSletHey Henrik, here is the old Hardball story I saved from the Indy Hardcore site - when it was still online:
SvarSlet"1989-1991
Taking a cue from the harder edged pseudo-philosophical leanings of The Cro-Mags and Cleveland's Die Hard, Hardball formed from the nucleus of the short-lived, posi-straight edge band Clear Sight. Clear Sight guitarist John Johnson- a chief architect of the Indianapolis hardcore scene who promoted perhaps the city's first true "hardcore" show, Even Score (featuring Tony Victory on vocals, who had then released only 3 7"s on his label) and With Authority in Beech Grove- and vocalist Ryan Downey decided they were tired of being pushed around for their beliefs. Jocks at Beech Grove High School impaled a squirrel's head on Johnson's car antenna in an effort to mock his vegetarianism; alternately, members of the band Radiation Sickness regularly taunted Downey at his school for his choosing to lead a drug free life style. Hardball was born as a militant response to this, adopting a "hard" (though adolescent) outlook on straight edge and animal rights (and laughably carrying baseball bats on stage) after linking up with drummer Keith Steele and bassist/Split Lip roadie Matt Reece. Hailing from the Southside of Indy, Hardball often performed with their pals in Carmel's Split Lip, forged tight and enduring friendships with Louisville's Endpoint and Cleveland's Integrity, and released a demo called "My Fist, Your Face." This demo got them noticed by Michigan's Progression Records, who included Hardball on their "By All Means" compilation and offered to release the band's debut 7". Hardball eventually replaced Reece with bassist Johnny "Toad" Wayman, and briefly added Mark Baker (later of Payday/ Jackhammer) as second guitarist. The group made three attempts at recording their debut EP, laced with heavy metal guitar solos and mosh riffs, before it finally surfaced on North Carolina's New Start Records. Lyrically, the record tackled subjects such as racism, sexism, animal exploitation, environmental devastation, drugs and alcohol- topics being touched upon only by Vegan Reich, Raid, and Statement at that time in the hardcore scene. Incidentally, New Start honcho Rob R. Rock failed to deliver ONE copy of the "One on One" 7" to the band, let alone any of the t-shirts he made without their consent. Eventually Steele fell away from straight edge, and fill-in drummer Brian "Bob" Fouts was asked to play with them at 1990's "Survival of the Fittest" gathering in Memphis, Tennessee alongside Raid. As Downey and Johnson's interest in militant activism increased, their activity with the group faded. Hardball performed two songs in Lafayette, Indiana with Split Lip's Chuck Walker and Clay Snyder on drums and guitar, respectively, and future Jackhammer bassist Damien Sullivan. They played their final show with Downey, Wayman, Steele, and Johnson at the Amsterdam Cafe in 1991. The "One on One" 7" was later repressed as "Any Means Necessary" by the Hardline Musical Collective in 1993. Wayman and Downey briefly played in the band Drophook, later known as Water, together with the original drummer from Phallics/Phalanx. Hardball briefly reunited at the Sitcom in 1993, with Dead Dizney's Sam Clevenger and Bob Fouts stepping in for a couple of songs. Downey, Johnson and Fouts all eventually reunited in Burn it Down. At various intervals during Hardball’s tenure, Johnson and Steele would perform double duty in Dead Dizney.
Direct Connections: 7734 Trolls, Burn It Down, Circle of Nations, Clear Sight, Dead America, Dead Dizney, Drophook, Hurst, Shiva Slow Dance AKA The Fuckmachine, R.F.U., Split Lip, Jackhammer, Warpath, Water.
Fun Fact: Integrity frontman Dwid lent Hardball the use of Die Hard's crossed bats "X" logo, allowing the band to use it in early Progression Records ads and even handing over a silk-screen used on primitive Die Hard t-shirts."
And here are the liner notes by Ryan:
SvarSlethttp://ryanjdowney.blogspot.com/2007/07/hardball-liner-notes.html
actually that whole story is included in the zipfile, but thanks alot for providing it anyway.
SvarSletOP yeah its old as hell, by the way didnt I trade you my old hardball longsleeve to you years ago?? I think it was you?. But I has it as a bootleg now instead ha ha
In the ZIP file is the 7" not the demo!
SvarSletyeah I just checked that, my mistake, I got the recording from someone else and havent checked out the recording
SvarSlet7" was good, still pops up on ebay once in awhile for fairly cheap
SvarSlethahaha just came across this. funny my father is keith steele from hardball.
SvarSlet