| End of a Year Self Defense Family | |
|---|---|
End of a Year in Fargo, North Dakota, July 2006 |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Barf Spectrum, The Actuaries, World Shut Your Mouth, Comforter, Weird Field, Pewter Wizards, |
| Origin | Cohoes, New York |
| Genres | Post-hardcore Post-Punk Punk rock |
| Years active | 2003 - Present |
| Labels | Deathwish Inc., Revelation, Oneohfive, Losingface, Slave Union, CobraxRecords, Blacktop Records, Closed Casket Activities, Alliance Trax, Hex Records, Runner Up Records, Disposable Culture, Cumhard420 |
| Associated acts | Self Defense Music, Hang On Safari Hunt, Aficionado, Chinese Drywall, Cops Love Their Jobs, Pleasure Culture |
| Website | http://selfdefensemusic.com |
| Members | |
| Sean Doody Andrew Duggan Patrick Kindlon Chris Tenerowicz Nick Warchol Mark O'Brien Benjamin Tate Seth Sauca Alan Huck Kaila Stone Adam McIIwee Caroline Corrigan Jamey Jasta Andy Rice E. Tobin Mary Brulatour |
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| Past members | |
| David Zeidman Mike Brandenburg Steve Hegner John Van Urgent Eric Busta Hans Leibold |
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End of a Year (now known as End of a Year Self Defense Family or Self Defense Music or shortened to Self Defense) are a post-hardcore/punk outfit based in Cohoes, New York. The band has released three full length albums and several EPs.
Contents |
End of a Year started as a side project for a number of Albany musicians already involved in full-time bands. Having spent time in heavier bands, the initial End of a Year line-up was interested in trying something more overtly melodic. Taking their name from an Embrace song, the band's original sound was highly influenced by the Revolution Summer-era DC bands.
The band recorded a boombox demo to give out at their first show, which took place at SUNY Albany. Shortly thereafter, a more formal demo entitled "Warm" was recorded. A full-length, Disappear Here, appeared on local labels Oneohfive and Losingface Records. The band later released a split 7" with western Massachusetts band Three Fifteen on another local label, Slave Union. It was this record that caught the attention of Revelation Records, and the band made the jump in 2006, recording their first full-length for the California label in the spring of that year.
Sincerely was recorded with Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studio, adding to the perception that the band was striving for a DC-centered sound; the actual music, however, strayed further from that model than on previous releases.
In the spring of 2009 the band released an EP for Deathwish Inc. and announced plans for a full-length release for the label.
The band regularly names songs after actual people with lyrical content that, though oblique, seems to reference the person. Some people the band has given song titles to include:
In late 2010, the band announced that they would be "reformatting" the group to officially include all touring and session musicians they had worked with up to that point. That brings the number of active musicians in the band to fifteen. It's unclear what that means for the band's live performance and future recorded output.
The group formed in 2003 under the name "End of a Year" derived from an Embrace song of the same name. After the release of their 2010 album You Are Beneath Me, the group wanted to change their name to "Self Defense". As an interim name to ease the transition between names, Self Defense went by the name "End Of A Year Self Defense Family," and occasionally "Self Defense Music." Vocalist Patrick Kindlon likened the transition to Will Oldham's name changes. According to Kindlon, Oldham's band name went from "Palace Brothers to Palace Songs to Palace Music to Bonnie Prince Billy to Will Oldham."[1] On various vinyl releases, Self Defense used several "also known as" monikers including: Barf Spectrum, Comforter, Pewter Wizards, and Weird Field.[1]
The band is known for its prodigious output and has likened splits and EPs to "one night stands."
| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 3 | |
| ↙EPs | 7 | |
| ↙Splits | 7 | |
| ↙Digital Only | 1 | |
| ↙Demo | 2 | |