Breakdown (band)
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Breakdown was started in 1986, during the resurgence of the hardcore scene. Despite being a NYHC band, being based in Yonkers Breakdown didn't have the Lower East Side Crew-mentality of Warzone and Agnostic Front. By a similar token, unlike some of their other contemporaries like Gorilla Biscuits and Youth Of Today, Breakdown was not a straight edge positive band. They are considered more along the lines of Sheer Terror for their more metallic sound and less-than-positive lyrics. However, Breakdown always had somewhat of a tongue-in-cheek element to them, mostly due to singer Jeff Perlin's humorous live banter and lyrics.
Contrary to popular belief, the original Breakdown lineup only lasted for less than a year. The band continued on with new members through 2001, with Jeff Perlin being the only original member. Notable members include Mike Dijan (Crown of Thorns, Skarhead, Laws of Gravity), AJ Novello (Leeway, Cro-Mags), and virtuoso drummer Lou Medina.
Through all the years Breakdown never did a tour of the U.S., concentrating mostly on the Northeast and Canada. They toured Europe twice (1999 and 2001) with European bands Rykers and Backfire. They also visited Japan in 2001.
Perlin most recently was the front man for Slumlords a Baltimore-based hardcore band that broke up in January of 2007.
Mike Dijan, Harry Kazakos and Lou Medina currently play in the female-fronted alternative metal band 'Laws of Gravity'.
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[edit] Releases
Breakdown released a demo in 1987, as well as a track on the definitive NYHC compilation, Revelation Records New York City Hardcore: The Way It Is and the not-as-popular Blackout Records 'Where the Wild Things Are compilation. They also released a handful of LPs, the latest one in 2000, titled Battle Hymns for an Angry Planet, released by Thorp Records. Other notable releases include Blacklisted and Plus Minus. Breakdown performed at least four live sets on Crucial Chaos, WNYU's hardcore radio show between 1987 and 1994. Dead Serious Records has re-released the demo 7 with a modified artwork. This 7 re-release was a part of the NYHC HALL OF FAME series. The notorious Lost & Found Records also released an unauthorized bootleg of their material entitled "Dissed and Dismissed".
[edit] Members
[edit] Original demo era line-up
- Jeff Perlin – vocals
- Don Angellili – guitar
- Carl Porcaro – guitar
- Rich McLoughlin – bass
- Anthony Drago – drums
[edit] Classic Lineup
- Jeff Perlin - vocals
- Mike Dijan - guitars
- Harry Kazakos - bass
- Lou Medina - drums
This was Breakdown's lineup for the majority of their existence as a band.
Jeff Perlin is the only member to remain in the band from its inception through its demise.
[edit] Past members
- Larry Susi – bass (Subzero, Crusade(nyc))
- Ritchie Kennon – guitar (Subzero)
- Larry Kaplan – drums (now a leader of the Neo-conservatism movement)
- Mark Sisto – bass (Maximum Penalty, Joe Coffee)
- Mike Dijan – guitar (Skarhead, Laws of Gravity, Crown of Thornz, Cold Front)
- Harry Kazakos – bass (Cold Front, Laws of Gravity)
- Ray Green – drums (District 9, Laws of Gravity)
- Lou Medina – drums (Cold Front)
- Rob DeFrosia – guitar (Lethal Aggression, Ironbound NYC)
- Chris Ott – guitar (Clenched Fist)
- Joe Farley – drums
- A.J. Novello – guitar (Leeway, Cro-Mags, Both Worlds)
- Alec Walushka - guitar
[edit] Miscellanea
- Shortly after the demo release, Carl, Rich and Drago left the band and formed Raw Deal (later called Killing Time) with ex-Token Entry singer Anthony Comunale.[1]
- Terror covered the song "Kickback" on their "Rhythm Amongst The Chaos" EP
- The French hardcore band "Kickback" was named after the Breakdown song.
- Bitter End covered the song "Don't Give Up" on their "Mind In Chains" EP.
- Breakdown's classic song, "Sick People", was slated for inclusion in RockStar Games "Grand Theft Auto 4", but was taken out of the game after the band inadvertently made this information public. The integrity of the game (storyline, new features, characters) was compromised by this 'leak' because the lyrics of the song (written in 1986) included this protected and heavily fortified (with Vitamin C) information. Once this information was made public gamers from all over the world were able to figure out how to solve all of its super, superduper, and superpooperduper levels before the game was even released. This resulted in Breakdown band members foreclosing on their homes due to their expectation of receiving a $1,000 check in exchange for RockStars full ownership of the song. Since this money never arrived, the members of Breakdown are currently homeless and addicted to 'rock cocaine'. UPDATE: It has been announced that Breakdown songs will be included in all future RockStar Games releases. Game designers are currently evaluating Breakdown lyrics to obtain storylines that their games could be based on, similar to the method they used for Grand Theft Auto 4.
- Breakdown performed a reunion show at the Superbowl of Hardcore in NYC on 4-5-2008. This was their one and only U.S. show date in over 7 years. The band does not plan on playing any additional shows due to personal commitments.
