- Killing Time (band)
Infobox musical artist
Name = Killing Time
Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin =New York ,USA
Genre =Hardcore punk
Years_active = 1988 – 1989 (as Raw Deal)
1989 – 1998
2001 – 2005 (reunions)
Label = In Effect Records
Lost & Found (reissue)Victory Records (reissue)Blackout Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.killingtimenyhc.com www.killingtimenyhc.com]
Current_members = Anthony Comunale
Anthony Drago
Rich McLoughlin
Sean O'Brien
Carl Porcaro
Past_members = Dave Franklin
Alex Gopian
Mike Sentkiewitz
Lars Weiss
Notable_instruments =Killing Time was an influential
New York Hardcore band. From their beginnings in 1988, under the name Raw Deal, they went on to record two full-length albums and severalEP s, singles, and compilation tracks. The band went through three hiatus before formally disbanding in 1998. However, the band is still sporadically active with several reunions taking place right up until the present day.History
1988 – Raw Deal
Raw Deal was formed in 1988 by Carl Porcaro, Rich McLoughlin, and Anthony Drago after their former band, Breakdown – another
New York hardcore band – split through personal differences. While Breakdown continued as a band without them, Anthony Comunale – formerly of Token Entry – was recruited on vocals and Mike Sentkiewitz – formerly ofSick Of It All – on guitar to round out the Raw Deal line-up.The band then recorded a demo cassette and set about playing at various venues in
New York – most notably atCBGB 's which was home to manyhardcore punk acts at the time, includingAgnostic Front , Warzone,Sick Of It All ,Gorilla Biscuits , and Murphy's Law. They also created a second demo which remained uncirculated because, after a show at the Ritz Theatre inNew York City , they were signed to the In Effect Records label – a part ofRelativity Records – with a view to recording their first full-length album.1989 – Killing Time and Brightside
Mike Sentkiewitz left the band and they were forced to change their name to Killing Time after legal action was threatened by a
heavy metal band of the same name. They entered the Normandy Sound studio inWarren, Rhode Island with famed hardcore producer, Tom Soares – he had previously been involved with recordingCro-Mags ' "Best Wishes " andGang Green 's "Older... Budweiser " to name but a few. The band performed as a four-piece and re-recorded some of the tracks from their first demo and a few new ones which resulted in the "Brightside" album being released in November, 1989.Also, on
Blackout Records , aNew York hardcore compilation was released which contained two of the band's tracks – "Backtrack" and "Brightside". Called "Where the Wild Things Are", it also carried a photograph of the band performing live on the cover – the exact same show where they were picked up by In Effect Records.1990 – 1991 The first hiatus
After the album was released, Rich McLoughlin expressed a desire to switch from bass to guitar but the rest of the band were not so enthusiastic about this. McLoughlin left and his place was filled by ex-Inside Out bassist, Alex Gopian. The band played a show in
California – this being their first and last show on the west coast of America – from which arose a 7" single entitled "East Meets West" which included the Killing Time track, "Wall of Hate", and tracks bySick Of It All , Vision, Carry Nation, and Point Blank. However, for most of this period, the band was considered to be in hiatus as they neither recorded nor toured.1991 – 1992 Happy Hour
In late 1991, Rich McLoughlin rejoined the band in the second guitarist slot for which he had craved and the band entered the studio to record an
EP , entitled "Happy Hour". It contained four tracks and was released in July, 1992 onBlackout Records . It was also released in Europe on Semaphore Records as a 12" – complete with the second, previously unreleased demo material which the band had recorded before signing for In Effect.1992 – 1993 The second hiatus
A combination of a bad response to the different musical direction displayed in the material on "Happy Hour", compounded by general problems of violence in the
New York hardcore scene, resulted in the band again calling time on Killing Time. Joey I, roadie and author of the biography on the band's official website, explained it thus, "...the Hardcore scene itself was changing - becoming more violent and the music becoming secondary to the socializing and posing, they decided to call it quits". The band members joined or formed other bands. Porcaro and McLoughlin started the Rope-A-Dope record label, while Gopian joined a hip-hop band, Justice System. Drago became a police officer inWhite Plains, New York and Comunale became involved in the financial sector of business.1994 – European tour
The band reformed briefly in 1994 for a European tour. However, Comunale was unable to resume duties due to job commitments and Gopian's Justice System had signed to
MCA Records . They were replaced by ex-Vision vocalist, Dave Franklin, and ex-Judge and Uppercut bassist Lars Weiss.1994 – 1995 The third hiatus
The band's unfamiliar line-up and general appearance caused mixed reviews from the European music press, and so the band rested yet again. But a flurry of activity was just on the horizon as a renewed interest in
hardcore punk was on its way.1995 – Records, records and more records
1995 saw the beginning of an upturn in the market for
hardcore punk . It was not just on the east coast, withBlackout Records leading the way with theNew York hardcore and neighboringNew Jersey releases – re-issuing a lot of 1980s hardcore and eventually launching the recording careers of bands like H2O – but also the west coast with labels such asIndecision Records andNitro Records springing up.Victory Records were also prolific releasers of punk from theirChicago ,Illinois home in the mid-eastern states.Comunale returned to the Killing Time fold and also Sean O'Brien came in on bass. Again the band entered the studio and released the "Unavoidable" EP on
Blackout Records in March, 1995. They also recorded acover version of theSex Pistols song, "Bodies" which appeared on the compilation, "Punk Rock Jukebox" – also onBlackout Records . In addition, "Brightside" was re-released simultaneously in the USA and Europe. On Lost & Found Records, it also contained three of the tracks from the "Happy Hour" EP. On Victory Records, it contained those three extra tracks plus the material from the band's first demo way back in 1988. The new EP was generally well received and seen as a return from the experimentations which had taken place in the "Happy Hour" era.1996 – 1997 The Method
The band entered the LoHo Studio,
New York City , in June, 1996 and emerged in August having recorded their second – and what proved to be last – album, "The Method". It was released in April, 1997 and marked a return to the harder sound created on the "Brightside" album, but also a more melodic and intricate element with the addition of short guitar solos.1998 and beyond – Terminal hiatus
In spite of the success of "The Method" and the re-emergence of second-wave
New York hardcore bands into the third wave of late 1990s hardcore – even first wave veterans,Agnostic Front , were tempted back to the studio – the band played its last show inNewburgh, New York in 1997 and finally brought the band to a rest in 1998.Drago and Communale continued the professions they had started during their second hiatus; Porcaro now manages and produces local bands and was in the band
Electric Frankenstein ; McLoughlin went on to perform with Maximum Penaly before forming Skin Kandy with O'Brien – who also played for, amongst others,Electric Frankenstein . Porcaro also plays in two bands, Scream & Scream Again with his wife, and The Monumentals. In 2001, the band reunited to play at Anthony Communales' wedding. In May 2005, the band played two reunion dates at NorthsixBrooklyn, New York on a bill that included The Slumlords - a band that included the singer of Breakdown, the first hardcore band that Rich, Carl, and Drago played in. The band was scheduled to play later in 2005 at Posi-Numbers Festival in July, headlining the third and last day of the fest. However they never ended up playing due to the event being shut down only hours before they were scheduled to play due to a fight that broke out. They were also scheduled to play at the Hellfest inNew Jersey in August, 2005 before the event was canceled indefinitely. [http://www.hellfest.com/] [http://www.blackoutrecords.com/news.asp?id=&intbandid=21]They have played numerous shows since 2005 in the US and are scheduled to play in Haverhill, MA on September 6th 2008 [http://www.myspace.com/mvhcshows]
Official members
* Anthony Comunale – vocals
* Carl Porcaro – guitar
* Rich McLoughlin – guitar
* Sean O'Brien – bass
* Anthony Drago – drumsPrevious members
* Mike Sentkiewitz – guitar (c.1988 – 1989)
* Alex Gopian – bass (c. 1990 – 1992)
* Dave Franklin – vocals (1994)
* Lars Weiss – bass (1994)Discography
Albums/EPs
* "Brightside" (November, 1989) In Effect Records
* "Happy Hour" EP (July, 1992)Blackout Records
* "Unavoidable" EP (March, 1995)Blackout Records
* "The Method" (April, 1997)Blackout Records
* "Raw Deal demo EP" (May, 2005)Dead Serious Records ingles
* "East Meets West" 7" (1991) Nemesis Records – "Wall Of Hate" in
California , USA
* "Killing Time/Profound Effect" 7" (?) ? – split, contains "Fools Die"Compilations
* "Where the Wild Things Are" (1989)
Blackout Records – "Backtrack" and "Brightside"
* "Punk Rock Jukebox" (1995)Blackout Records –Sex Pistols 's "Bodies"
* "Satisfaction Guaranteed" (?) Nawpost – Major Conflict's "Outgroup"
* "Creepy Crawl" (1997) Another Planet – "Fools Die" liveReissues
* "Happy Hour" 12" EP (1992) Blackout/Semaphore Records – European import contains 2nd Raw Deal demo
* "Brightside" (1995) Lost & Found – contains "Happy Hour" EP
* "Brightside" (1995) Victory Records – contains "Happy Hour" EP and 1st Raw Deal demoTrivia
* In 2003, Carl Porcaro contributed some additional guitar work on a
cover version of "Tell Tale" byNew Jersey hardcore punk band, Ensign, on their album "Love the Music, Hate the Kids "External links
* [http://www.killingtimenyhc.com/ Killing Time official website]
* [http://www.blackoutrecords.com/bands.asp?id=21 Blackout Records band page]
* [http://www.blackoutrecords.com/releasedetail.asp?id=32 Blackout Records The Method page]
* [http://www.blackoutrecords.com/releasedetail.asp?id=34 Blackout Records Unavoidable EP page]
* [http://www.blackoutrecords.com/releasedetail.asp?id=33 Blackout Records Happy Hour EP page]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.