Morning Again
Encyclopedia
Morning Again was a hardcore
band from Florida. They were known for their extreme metallic hardcore sound as well as for their straight edge
, vegan
and anti-government ideas. The band
was a "sister band" to Culture
, often switching members after one had left the other. Several members went on to play in other bands such as As Friends Rust
and Dead Blue Sky. The band was originally from Cooper City, Florida
, but moved to Fort Lauderdale
in 1998.
earlier that year wanted a band with more intense and personal views. In December 1995, Morning Again was formed with Damien Moyal
and Louie Long who had both been in Culture in the two prior years, on vocals and drums. Mike Wahls came in on second guitar, and Eric Ervin on bass. The band recorded an EP's worth of material which was sent to Conquer the World Records as it had released Born of You and the members were familiar with it. The label agreed to put it out, and the band made some promo tapes to help promote the upcoming release. Soon after the mini-album came out, Intention Records, who had also worked with Culture on their split with Roosevelt, asked John to release a 7" of new material. After landing a deal with the then-new label Good Life Recordings
(as the first American band on the label) in Belgium (H8000 area), a compilation of all the released material was compiled for the European market.
Tensions between Moyal and Wylie once again surfaced, as they had in Culture. During one of the last shows with Moyal, Morning Again played with Ohio band Outcast (which happened to be playing their final show) of which Kevin Byers played bass, Steve Looker guitar and Matt Thomas drums. Byers and Wylie were getting along well and he was asked to replace Moyal. Within a week Byers had moved to Cooper City and was the new vocalist. During this time Ervin was also replaced by Peter Bartsocas
(who was in Bird of Ill Omen
, a band that had toured with MA early that year, and was on Wylie's record label). Immediately they started working on new songs, which would be released on a split with Shoulder on Moo Cow Records
. Wahls and Bartsocas left almost immediately after, and Jerry Villarroel became the first stable bassist. They released another 7", as a four piece, on Immigrant Sun Records, My Statement of Life in a Dying World
. Joe Simmons would come in as second guitarist and would help to write most songs on the sophomore Good Life release, Martyr. Matt Thomas came in to replace Long and the band gained attention of Revelation Records
who quickly signed them to a single release contract. However, by the time As Tradition Dies Slowly
, not only did Steve Looker came in to replace Simmons, but Revelation was trying to move all the heavier bands on the label to their subdivision, Crisis Records. The band found a breach in their contract which prevented them from being moved or dropped, and the album was released appropriately.
They released their final record for Good Life, a split with 25 Ta Life, and went back to Europe to tour. Their final release was To Die a Bitter Death on Immigrant Sun. The band quickly fell apart but a last line-up was found resulting in Byers and Thomas still on vocals and drums respectively, while Aaron Hiser and Chris Commons moved from Ohio to join on guitars, and Floyd Beckham came in on bass. They wrote a single last song, "Innocence Forever Lost" and made shirts concerning it for their final tour. In 2000, Wylie's own label released a compilation of both Immigrant Sun Records 7"s as The Fallen... The Few That Remain.
The band has since done two reunion shows. The first was in 2000, where they played under the name "The Cleanest War", which featured Damien Moyal back on vocals as well as the original line-up. The second was under the name "Hand of Hope" in 2002, where they had merch made specially for the show in Orlando, Florida. First a compilation of Hand of Hope and Martyr, Hand of the Martyr and an appropriate shirt. The line up for that show was Moyal on vocals, Wylie on guitar, Ervin on bass and Wes Keely on drums.
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band from Florida. They were known for their extreme metallic hardcore sound as well as for their straight edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
, vegan
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
and anti-government ideas. The band
was a "sister band" to Culture
Culture (US band)
Culture was a Florida-based vegan/straight edge hardcore band. They formed in 1992, and lasted until 1998, when Damien Moyal merged the remaining members into the second incarnation of As Friends Rust.-History:...
, often switching members after one had left the other. Several members went on to play in other bands such as As Friends Rust
As Friends Rust
As Friends Rust is a punk band from Gainesville, Florida.-History:In early 1996 Jeronimo, Henry, and Matt were jamming under the name Wayside. Soon after Damien was recruited from Bird of Ill Omen to step in on vocals...
and Dead Blue Sky. The band was originally from Cooper City, Florida
Cooper City, Florida
Cooper City is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named for Morris Cooper, who founded the community in 1959. The city's population was 28,547 at the 2010 census...
, but moved to Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
in 1998.
History
John Wylie who had left CultureCulture (US band)
Culture was a Florida-based vegan/straight edge hardcore band. They formed in 1992, and lasted until 1998, when Damien Moyal merged the remaining members into the second incarnation of As Friends Rust.-History:...
earlier that year wanted a band with more intense and personal views. In December 1995, Morning Again was formed with Damien Moyal
Damien Moyal
Damien Moyal is a musician, designer and artist originally from Florida, now relocated to Michigan, mostly known within the hardcore genre, for his distinctive vocals in the influential bands Culture, Morning Again, and As Friends Rust. He has contributed to over 15 bands, though only a few have...
and Louie Long who had both been in Culture in the two prior years, on vocals and drums. Mike Wahls came in on second guitar, and Eric Ervin on bass. The band recorded an EP's worth of material which was sent to Conquer the World Records as it had released Born of You and the members were familiar with it. The label agreed to put it out, and the band made some promo tapes to help promote the upcoming release. Soon after the mini-album came out, Intention Records, who had also worked with Culture on their split with Roosevelt, asked John to release a 7" of new material. After landing a deal with the then-new label Good Life Recordings
Good Life Recordings
Good Life Recordings is a record label based in Belgium. It was founded in 1996 by Edward Verhaeghe who had been the lead vocalist in Nations On Fire. The label specializes in hardcore bands. It has released many highly significant bands of the second and third wave of hardcore, as well as the...
(as the first American band on the label) in Belgium (H8000 area), a compilation of all the released material was compiled for the European market.
Tensions between Moyal and Wylie once again surfaced, as they had in Culture. During one of the last shows with Moyal, Morning Again played with Ohio band Outcast (which happened to be playing their final show) of which Kevin Byers played bass, Steve Looker guitar and Matt Thomas drums. Byers and Wylie were getting along well and he was asked to replace Moyal. Within a week Byers had moved to Cooper City and was the new vocalist. During this time Ervin was also replaced by Peter Bartsocas
Peter Bartsocas
Peter Bartsocas was born in Key West, Florida, but moved to Athens, Greece at a very early age. He moved back to South Florida around the age 11. He is mostly known for his performance in the group Bird of Ill Omen. He has worked in several projects of noisecore, which was a purpose of making the...
(who was in Bird of Ill Omen
Bird of Ill Omen (band)
For other uses see Bird of Ill Omen Bird of Ill Omen was a metalcore band from Florida. The band was only around for a few years in the late 90's.-History:...
, a band that had toured with MA early that year, and was on Wylie's record label). Immediately they started working on new songs, which would be released on a split with Shoulder on Moo Cow Records
Moo Cow Records
Moo Cow Records is an independent record label that was formed in 1992 releasing largely, but not solely, hardcore and punk vinyl. It has been based over the years in Burlington, VT , Boston, MA , and Madison, WI...
. Wahls and Bartsocas left almost immediately after, and Jerry Villarroel became the first stable bassist. They released another 7", as a four piece, on Immigrant Sun Records, My Statement of Life in a Dying World
My Statement of Life in a Dying World
My Statement of Life in a Dying World was Morning Again's first release on Immigrant Sun Records. It was released as a 7" EP. The album was later compiled with the other Immigrant Sun release and released as The Fallen... The Few That Remain, on Eulogy Recordings...
. Joe Simmons would come in as second guitarist and would help to write most songs on the sophomore Good Life release, Martyr. Matt Thomas came in to replace Long and the band gained attention of Revelation Records
Revelation Records
Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for its role in the evolution of hardcore and metallic post-hardcore with important releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side,...
who quickly signed them to a single release contract. However, by the time As Tradition Dies Slowly
As Tradition Dies Slowly
As Traditions Die Slowly is the only full length album released by Morning Again. It is also the last album to feature Joe Simmons on guitar.- Track listing :# "Stones" # "Seasons" # "Murder You Call War"...
, not only did Steve Looker came in to replace Simmons, but Revelation was trying to move all the heavier bands on the label to their subdivision, Crisis Records. The band found a breach in their contract which prevented them from being moved or dropped, and the album was released appropriately.
They released their final record for Good Life, a split with 25 Ta Life, and went back to Europe to tour. Their final release was To Die a Bitter Death on Immigrant Sun. The band quickly fell apart but a last line-up was found resulting in Byers and Thomas still on vocals and drums respectively, while Aaron Hiser and Chris Commons moved from Ohio to join on guitars, and Floyd Beckham came in on bass. They wrote a single last song, "Innocence Forever Lost" and made shirts concerning it for their final tour. In 2000, Wylie's own label released a compilation of both Immigrant Sun Records 7"s as The Fallen... The Few That Remain.
The band has since done two reunion shows. The first was in 2000, where they played under the name "The Cleanest War", which featured Damien Moyal back on vocals as well as the original line-up. The second was under the name "Hand of Hope" in 2002, where they had merch made specially for the show in Orlando, Florida. First a compilation of Hand of Hope and Martyr, Hand of the Martyr and an appropriate shirt. The line up for that show was Moyal on vocals, Wylie on guitar, Ervin on bass and Wes Keely on drums.
Discography
- The Cleanest WarThe Cleanest WarThe Cleanest War was Morning Again's first release. It was released on Conquer The World Records who had previously released Born of You from Culture, had had kept in touch with the members since then. It was originally planned to be on MCD and 10" vinyl, but was ultimately moved to a 12" format...
(1996) - Morning Again (1996)
- Hand of HopeHand of HopeHand of Hope was Morning Again's third release. It was a compilation of the two American releases, The Cleanest War & Morning Again, available for the first time in Europe, by the Belgium label, Good Life.-Track listing:# "Turning Over" - 3:12...
(1996) - Split w/ Shoulder (1997)
- My Statement of Life in a Dying WorldMy Statement of Life in a Dying WorldMy Statement of Life in a Dying World was Morning Again's first release on Immigrant Sun Records. It was released as a 7" EP. The album was later compiled with the other Immigrant Sun release and released as The Fallen... The Few That Remain, on Eulogy Recordings...
(1997) - Martyr (1997)
- As Tradition Dies SlowlyAs Tradition Dies SlowlyAs Traditions Die Slowly is the only full length album released by Morning Again. It is also the last album to feature Joe Simmons on guitar.- Track listing :# "Stones" # "Seasons" # "Murder You Call War"...
(1998) - Split w/ 25 Ta Life25 ta Life25 ta Life is an American band from New York City, originally formed in Queens, N.Y. in mid-1991.- History :The band was started by Frank Smarra and Harry Minas in Astoria, Queens, N.Y., they were soon joined by Fred Mesk and together wrote most of the material that would be on their early...
(1998) - To Die a Bitter Death (1999)
- The Fallen... The Few That Remain (2000)
- Hand of the Martyr (2003)
Other contributions
- "Martyr" - Appeared on You, who are Innocent, what Have You Done Worthy of Death? (1997)
- "Stones" - Appeared on West Coast Hardcore vs. East Coast Hardcore (1998)
- "To Die a Bitter Death" - Appeared on Sweet Deal! (2000)
- "Turning Over" - Appeared on Transcend (2002)
- "Turning Over" - Appeared on The Anti-Pop Sampler (2003)