Jonathan Anastas

Jonathan Anastas was an early influencer and participant (recording his first record at age 15) in the American musical movement known as hardcore punk. Anastas played bass in seminal "Boston hardcore" bands DYS and Slapshot, writing and playing on the records "Brotherhood," "DYS" and "Back on the Map," which are all currently on iTunes and for sale as physical product, having been re-issued by Taang! Records in various formats.

Jonathan and his bands, DYS and Slapshot, helped build and promote the "Straight Edge" movement (1), as made famous by Minor Threat, a call for youth to live an aware life, rejecting drugs, alcohol and smoking as expected and pre-packaged rebellion. DYS is also known for their role in the crossover thrash movement, recording the first Hardcore Power Ballad on their second - Heavy Metal-influenced - album (2).

Anastas also released "Slam" on Modern Method Record's "This is Boston, not LA" collection. The track "Slam" was used to score MTV's "Santa's Secret Life as a Slam Dancer" holiday promo which ran for over 15 years.

Jonathan's contributions to Hardcore Punk were documented in the books "American Hardcore, a Tribal History" by Steve Blush and "All Ages, Reflections on Straight Edge" by Beth Lahickey. Anastas is also featured in the film adaptation of "American Hardcore (film)" which was accepted into competition at Sundance in 2006 and released by Sony Pictures in the Fall of 2006. Additionally, Jonathan was interviewed for the DVD retrospective "Slapshot, Chip on my Shoulder" which is being released in 2008.

Following his career in music, Anastas became an early leader and innovator in the field of Digital (or Interactive) advertising and marketing, having held executive positions at DDB Worldwide, Mullen, Saatchi & Saatchi, Omnicom's Think New Ideas and - most recently - at Omnicom holding Red Urban, where he was President. Jonathan's work in the field has been recognized by the Silicon Alley Reporter, The Industry Standard, Adweek and Ad Age, among others - He has also spoken at dozens of conferences such as CTIA, Internet World, CMJ, Digital Hollywood and iMedia.

Anastas also restored several mid-century architectural homes in the Los Angeles area, included Richard Neutra's Bonnet House which has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Men's Vogue, Remodel magazine, California Home and Design and the coffee table book "High Style" published by Chronicle Books in October 2008.

Discography

* 1982 - Decadence "Slam" on the "This is Boston not LA" LP (Bass)
* 1983 - DYS "Brotherhood" (Bass, back-up vocals)
* 1985 - DYS "DYS" (Bass)
* 1986 - Slapshot "Back on the Map" (Bass, back-up vocals)
* 1993 - DYS "Fire And Ice" - the prior two records combined on one CD (Bass, back-up vocals)
* 1993 - Various Artists "Faster and Louder, Volume Two" (Contributed the track "Wolfpack" which was the band's unreleased first demo tape and a live favorite)
* 2005 - DYS "Wolfpack" - "Brotherhood," re-released with the band's original Wolfpack radio demo, featuring back-up vocals by legendary band Husker Du

Sources

1. "All Ages, Reflections on Straight Edge" by Beth Lahickey, 19972. "American Hardcore, a Tribal History" by Steve Blush, 2001

External links

* [http://www.sonyclassics.com/americanhardcore/ American Hardcore Official Movie Site]
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1889703001/ All Ages interview synopsis]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2156177/ IMDB entry]
* [http://gridskipper.com/61987/debriefer-ad-man-jonathan-anastas/ Jonathan Anastas' Los Angeles]