| 7 Seconds | |
|---|---|
Kevin Seconds |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Reno, Nevada, United States |
| Genres | Hardcore punk, punk rock |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | SideOneDummy Records BYO Records |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Kevin Seconds Steve Youth Troy Mowat Bobby Adams |
|
| Past members | |
| Tom Munist Dim Menace Jim Diederichsen Alan White Tony Toxic Dan Pozniak Ron Doig Belvy K Spiz Hughes Josef Bansuelo Chris Carnahan |
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7 Seconds is an American hardcore punk band from Reno, Nevada. Formed on January 17, 1980 by two sets of brothers; the Marvelli brothers, Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth in combination with the Borghino brothers, Tom Munist and Dim Menace. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes with the exception brothers Kevin Seconds and Steve Youth who have remained a constant throughout the band's history. Notably in 1981, brothers Tom and Dim left to form Section 8. The current lineup of 7 Seconds consists of Kevin Seconds (vocals), Steve Youth (bass), Troy Mowat (drums), and Bobby Adams (guitar).
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7 Seconds is one of the longest standing bands in hardcore. They have been touring and recording for three decades. Because of the positive message in their music they are constantly being categorized as a Straight Edge band, though they have never claimed the label for themselves. The band has continually rejected this label, but embraced the values fully, especially frontman Kevin Seconds. "I'm a bit out of touch with the newer Straight Edge scene so I can't comment too much on it, but being drug/alcohol/abuse-free, I certainly have no problems with people taking control of their lives and not letting stuff like drugs and booze run it for them, but I do have problems with people who try and change other people's lives in a militant fashion". They helped push and start the Youth Crew movement in 1984 with The Crew, focusing on brotherhood, the Reno HC scene, and unity between one another.[1][2]
The band started by releasing some poorly-recorded but highly energetic EPs such as 1982's "Skins, Brains and Guts," most of which were later re-released as "alt.music.hardcore" and "Old School" compilation CDs. All three demos were released on a bootleg 12 named "7 Seconds - Hardcore Rules, 80-82". They also appeared on the 1985 hardcore compilation "Cleanse the Bacteria", in addition to numerous other compilations, such as "Not So Quiet On the Western Front (Alt. Tentacles, 1982)", "Something to Believe In (BYO, 1984)", "Party or Go Home/We Got Power (Mystic, 1983)", and "Nuke Your Dink (Positive Force, 1984)".
7 Seconds has floated across several genres of rock. Their first full-length LP "The Crew" was recorded in 1983-84 and released by BYO Records, as was its successor - the classic hardcore EP "Walk Together Rock Together". With the "New Wind" LP, the band dramatically expanded its sound and style with audible elements of a sometimes quieter, slower, more melodic and accessible sound. Many writers have credited this particular period of 7 Seconds' career as being highly influential on many pop punk and indie rock bands that came along much later. Subsequent LPs moved deeper into mainstream territory with a U2-like sound. The "7 Seconds" LP continued their musical experimentation. The band broke free in 1995 with The Music, The Message, moving back somewhat into their roots. The Music, The Message was released on Sony (BMI), the first release on a major label throughout the bands history. Earlier material was on various homegrown labels, completely self produced, or put out on Kevin Seconds own label, Positive Force Records (AKA United Front), before BYO Records housed them. However, the band returned to an old-school hardcore sound in 1999 with the "Good to Go" album. 2005 came the release of Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over! on SideOneDummy, completing the revelation back to their Hardcore roots.
In the February, 2005 issue of AMP magazine, in an article titled, "7 Seconds: 25 Years of Our Core," Kevin Seconds explained how the band's name originated:
“We were big fans of The Dils, they had this EP, 198 Seconds of The Dils and I was so in love with punk rock that I would just write album titles on my clothes. This was still when Steve and I lived with my mom. We had this desk in this room we shared and I wrote ‘197 seconds of The Dils’, I miswrote the title. Over time, everything else faded, but the 7 Seconds part was there, and I circled it, I thought it looked cool.”
7 Seconds is believed to be the first band to refer to themselves primarily as hardcore. After their first show on March 2, 1980, in Newsletter NWIN/SPUNK #1 they described their band as hardcore new wave.[3]
Dim Menace's fist-brandishing scowl on the cover of the Skins, Brains, & Guts EP is one of the most iconic images in hardcore.[3] Sacramento News & Review speaks at length of their influence in the positive hardcore movement and their positive effect on the Punk Culture.[4]