It's A Grey World: The Story Of Attitude Adjustment
"Skate thrash" was a full on culture of its own across the US in the mid-'80s. Punks, heshers and skaters united and armed with Alva boards and ghetto blasters blaring the likes of Gang Green, DRI, Excel and more. The sound was fresh, and San Francisco's Attitude Adjustment were one of the best of the era playing it. While best known for their "American Paranoia" album on Pushead's Pusmort imprint, they also put out a raging follow up album entitled "Out Of Hand" on Kalv from Heresy's label In Your Face Records (not to mention their free flexi with subscription to Thrasher in '87).
In this interview, founding member and guitarist Eric McIntire gets deep about the band's history while sharing nuggets of info like AA members heading up the old Exodus fanclub, recording with Sothira from Crucifix on vocals, and of course talk about working with Pushead.
NI: Coming out of San Francisco, were you guys around for bands like Code of Honor, Sick Pleasure, Verbal Abuse, and all that? How did those groups influence you?
AA: Well, bands like Sick Pleasure and Code Of Honor were in their prime around 1981 and 1982, so they were a bit before our time, but Verbal abuse was around and active when all of us started going to shows. As far as those bands being a direct influence? Sure, to a degree but as far as local influences, I feel safe in saying that bands like Teenage Warning, Condemned To Death, Fang, Sacrilege BC, Crucifix, Social Unrest, Exodus, DKs and the Part-Time Christians were directly more in our wheelhouse so to speak.
NI: How much did DRI moving to SF play a role in the formation of Attitude Adjustment? Did DRI's "Crossover" album directly influence the Attitude Adjustment sound?
AA: DRI's moving to SF didn't play a role at all in our formation, and honestly by the time they released "Crossover", they were off and doing their own thing. They were definitely an influence to us but very early on, like from 1983 to 1986. We saw them often and played with them often in these years.
NI: San Francisco has a history of liberal activism. How did that impact the politics and lyrics of the band?
AA: As far as SF and its liberalism and politics, it didn't really have an influence directly because we were more of an East Bay band, but I'd say that global politics were more of an influence as far as our lyrics.
NI: How did the first lineup come together? Was everyone in the band already friends?
AA: The first lineup came together in 1984 with Chris Kontos and me starting the band in a garage in Concord, CA and calling ourselves "Homicidal Youth". We started as a two piece, and added vocalist Nick Koljian to the mix, but only played out maybe two or three times. We were fortunate enough to make a decent rehearsal/demo tape of a few songs. Chris and I decided to get a bassist (Rick Strahl), change our name and write a bunch of songs. We then recruited Kevin Reed (formerly of Teenage Warning) into the mix. This was in the fall of 1985.
NI: Early on there was some turnover on vocals with Nick Koljian initially joining the band, quickly followed by Kevin Reed on the demo, and then Andy Andersen on the LP. What was the reason for the changes?
AA: Nick was only in Homicidal Youth, and we never recorded an official demo with Kevin. Kevin was with us originally from the fall of 1985 until he left at the end of 1985. We immediately recruited Andy Anderson, as well as a second guitarist (Chris Scaparro) and ended up recording the "Dead Serious" demo at the end of 1985.
NI: How did you guys come to know Andy Anderson? Had he been in any bands prior?
AA: We came to know Andy Anderson through our bassist Rick Strahl. I believe they were doing the Exodus fan club mail at the time. They were both from the metal scene, and I don't believe Andy was in any bands before Attitude Adjustment.
NI: Speaking of Exodus, were guys from bands like Exodus, Autopsy, Death Angel, Death, Vio-Lence, Possessed, Heathen, etc. at hardcore shows ever? Were those bands supportive of hardcore?
AA: To the best of my knowledge, a lot of the guys in all of those bands didn't really "support" HC other than playing shows sometimes with other HC bands, or maybe wearing a shirt from a HC band. So I'd say they were supportive, but not really overly "involved". The one band that played on more HC Bill's than any of the bands you mentioned was Sacrilege BC. Great guys and great band.
NI: Andy's stage presence was pretty legendary with high flying jumps and tons of energy. Can you talk about the live aspect of Attitude Adjustment?
AA: Yes, Andy was a great frontman (and showman) and loved to jump around. We all did. We were young and full of energy and drive at the time.
NI: How did you guys first get in touch with Pushead? Were you fans of his columns in MRR and Thrasher?
AA: I'm not 100% on this, but it may have been Andy that had the contact with Brian (Pushead) back then. We had known of him prior from MRR and from Septic Death. Brian had the best taste in hardcore, and Pusmort was putting out great releases as well.
NI: Do you recall how it was proposed to do the "American Paranoia" album on Pusmort?
AA: I don't really. I ended up leaving the band in March/April of 1986, and they shortly afterwards recorded the album as a four piece.
NI: Did other labels express interest as well?
AA: No, not really. Labels that put out punk bands were just starting to grow, and all of the metal bands at that time in the Bay Area were starting to get signed by bigger labels...
NI: The song "Destruction's End" was an outtake from "American Paranoia" that was released on a flexi as a Thrasher mag subscription giveaway. I am assuming Pushead was the connection here. Were you guys pumped to do that? Were you guys into skateboarding?
AA: The song was an outtake from the "American Paranoia" session. I wrote that song while I was in Homicidal Youth. Brian [Pushead] was working with Thrasher mag with his friend Rick [Rotsaert, current Thrasher Mag product sales manager], and that's where the connection was. I know that Andy skated a lot, and Chris sometimes too, but the other members not so much.
NI: The "Dead Serious" demo was recorded by a guy from Heathen in the Exodus rehearsal space. How did this come to happen? Were you friendly with those bands?
AA: The "Dead Serious" demo was recorded by Doug Piercy (of the metal band Heathen) at Turk St. It came together because we were rehearsing at the same place and Doug had a 4-track with a 6-channel mixer so we gave it a shot. We were friendly with those bands, mainly because of Rick and Andy. They were from the metal scene, and me and Chris Kontos were from the punk scene, so when we started playing together we became friends with a lot of metalheads, and they became friends with a lot of punks. This is perhaps a big link in the "Bay Area crossover" chain.
NI: You did a rehearsal tape with Franco from M.D.C. in early 1986. Was M.D.C. a band you played shows with? Any memories of recording that tape?
AA: Yes, we rehearsed at his place in SF, and did play with MDC a handful of times as well. Franco was a great guy (RIP). I do remember recording that tape: it was just another rehearsal, but I remember Rick having this recording deck in the middle of the room and trying to put it in a certain spot to get the best sound from all instruments.
NI: Why’d you quit just before the recording of the LP?
AA: They let me go from my own band due to me not being happy with the direction they were going, equipment issues, etc. from what I can remember. They recorded that album around a month later. I wished I was on the album because of how well it did, but after hearing it I was glad that I wasn't on it because it sounds like crap but people love it.
NI: That fucking sucks. That must have been tough then because you obviously had a hand in writing those songs, but then the LP comes out and you're not credited for your work.
AA: Exactly. At least they were thoughtful enough to thank me on the record, haha!
NI: A little after a year later, Andy Anderson (vocals), Chris Scaparro (bass) and Rick Strahl (guitar) who all played on the "American Paranoia" LP left to form Condemned Attitude with former Condemned to Death guitarist Keith Chatham. Do you know why they decided to split off? Any comments on it?
AA: I don't know exactly why the split happened and I really don't care because in the grand scheme of things it was a godsend. If that didn't happen, we would have never continued on and written those other albums, etc.
NI: So Chris Kontos was the only guy left, and he brought yourself and Kevin Reed (vocals) back in the band, is that correct? Can you explain all this?
AA: The first official break up of A.A. was around December of 1986. They all formed a new band with Keith, and Chris Kontos kept the band alive by re-recruiting Kevin Reed and myself. We got Keith Madeiros on bass and starting immediately writing the material for the second album with a new fury. This is what we originally wanted to sound like.
NI: Who played drums when you re-joined the band?
AA: Chris was still drumming at that time.
NI: Was there friction between Attitude Adjustment and (Condemned) Attitude?
AA: Yes, there was a bit of competition and friction, but there was also underlying respect throughout. Shit, we even played a few shows together at that time.
NI: The tracks on Thrasher Skate Rock 5 (1987) from Condemned Attitude are called "Homeless Crew" and "When Worlds Collide" sound just like Attitude Adjustment tracks. Were these originally written as AA tracks, and were they something you had a hand in writing?
AA: A few may have been AA songs, but those were all written after I had already left.
NI: So then you started writing what became the "No More Mr. Nice Guy" 12" EP, which was on the A Matter Of Image label. Was it good to get back to writing hardcore again? Was there any interest from Pushead in releasing it do you recall?
AA: That was our goal after the first breakup. We really didn't have much contact with Brian [Pushead] as he was starting to make alot of money at that time, so we just kept moving forward and had our friends Gus Haney and Eric Yee at A Matter Of Image put out the second album.
NI: In Your Face Records in the U.K., which was run by Kalv from Heresy, did a pressing of the "No More Mr. Nice Guy" 12" and also released the "Out Of Hand" LP in 1991. Can you talk about how you got in touch with Kalv? Were you into the U.K. stuff like Heresy, Ripcord, The Stupids, etc.?
AA: Yes, we were into those bands at the time, but I really don't know if he contacted us first or what. We were and are very grateful that he released those albums for us, but we never got the original artwork back from the "Out Of Hand" LP. He told us that he lost it, but we think otherwise...
NI: Your final release before your long hiatus was the "True To The Trade" EP from 1995. The recordings from October 1995 on it include the Crucifix songs "Prejudice" and "Skinned Alive" with Sothira from Crucifix on vocals. How did this come together, and what was it like? Were you guys friends with him?
AA: I had written the song "True To The Trade" in 1991 after the "Out Of Hand" album, but we never recorded it so basically that is how the session came to be. We didn't have anything else to record, so we asked Sothira if we could do a little Crucifix ditties with him and he obliged. He is a dear friend of mine (still to this day) and a huge influence on the band.
NI: The "True To The Trade" EP from 1995 lists Kevin Reed on vocals, yourself on guitar and bass, and Chris Kontos on drums as the lineup with the most recent recordings being from October 1995. But then you started Deface with Kevin Reed and other former Attitude Adjustment member Sean Sutton and released two EPs In 1996. Why not just keep the name Attitude Adjustment?
AA: As far as Deface, I remember Sean Sutton handing me a tape of a bunch of songs, and after hearing them, I decided to join. There were no lyrics so basically he/they wrote all the music, and I wrote all the lyrics and phrasing. Attitude Adjustment had been broken up for a few years at that point.
NI: Spike from DRI recorded the Deface stuff. How did this come together? Was it easy working with him due to him knowing what you were doing for? What is he like to work with?
AA: As far as Spike helping us with the recording, Spike is an old friend and I think our guitarist Will Heppner asked him to help us out, since he knows him well. He is a good guy, and the experience was great.
NI: So how did Attitude Adjustment come back together?
AA: We had been broken up for a few years in 1995 when we recorded those two songs. The band didn't get back together officially until 2006 or 2007. Kevin and I were playing together in a band called Deathtoll, and had Chris come and play with us for a bit. We started also playing a few old songs and then at a Raw Power gig, we did a half and half set and decided to morph into another creation of Attitude Adjustment.
NI: Your newest album, "Terrorize" came out in 2016 on Beer City. Can you talk about the sound on this and why old fans should check out your new stuff?
AA: With "Terrorize" we wanted to get back to a more meat and potatoes type hardcore sound. Chris had quit, so we recruited Walter Ryan on drums (who'd played in DRI, Possessed and Madball) and wrote the songs pretty quickly. We recorded them with Steve Green (Skinlab, The Devil In California) at his studio for Beer City, and old fans should check out the newer material because we think it's still relevant and enjoyable. Plus we still need to let everyone know that that there is more to the band than just the "American Paranoia" LP.
NI: How do you think the Attitude Adjustment sound has evolved over time?
AA: Well, obviously with different members comes a different vibe and overall sound, so every album has it's own entity. We never tried to change the world or break down any barriers, we just love hardcore and enjoy playing it too.
NI: What made you guys decide to re-recorded "Dead Serious" for the album?
AA: We decided to then-record that song mainly because we wanted to have a version with Kevin's vocals. We also re-recorded the song "In The Center" for the same reason.
NI: You mentioned Beer City is reissuing your back catalog. Will that be on vinyl, and when will that start happening?
AA: Yes, we are with Beer City currently and they'll be re-releasing the back catalog in the next few years here, but it may take a bit longer due to the whole pressing plant issue. Now if we can just get Curtis over at Taang! to do a vinyl release of the No Way Back release, we will be over the moon!!!
NI: Any plans for new releases coming up? Are you guys writing new material?
AA: No "new" releases are planned, and no "new" material has been written either as we are on another official hiatus currently, but you never know what the future holds! Everyone can still get our last LP "Terrorize" from Beer City records, and they can purchase the "American Paranoia" LP with bonus DVD right now at Taang! Records.
NI: Any final words or anything else to add?
AA: Lastly we just want to thank all of the friends, fans, families and bands that we've had dealings with. It really is all about them. And please feel free to check out any or all A.A. albums that you may NOT have heard and enjoy those! Cheers everyone!
Band photos from the personal archives of Eric McIntire of Attitude Adjustment
Photos of "American Paranoia" test pressing on Pusmort and the Japanese domestic version on VAP from the collection of Fab who has one of the ILLEST Pusmort collections going
Attitude Adjustment's "American Paranoia" LP reissue on Taang! Records can be purchased here.
