Strike Anywhere

Strike Anywhere is an American punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Formed in 1999 after the demise of frontman Thomas Barnett's previous band, Inquisition, they took their name from the Inquisition song "Strike Anywhere". Their music is characterized by fast tempos, catchy melodies, and emotionally charged vocals delivered via shouting and singing.

Strike Anywhere
Strike Anywhere performing in Virginia Beach on October 7, 2016.
Strike Anywhere performing in Virginia Beach on October 7, 2016.
Background information
OriginRichmond, Virginia, United States
GenresMelodic hardcore,[1][2][3] anarcho-punk,[1] punk rock[3]
Years active1999–present
LabelsPure Noise, Jade Tree, Fat Wreck Chords, Bridge Nine, No Idea, Chunksaah, Red Leader, Scene Police
MembersThomas Barnett
Matt Smith
Garth Petrie
Eric Kane
Mark Miller
Past membersMatt Sherwood
Websitewww.strikeanywherepunx.com

The band received an increased amount of attention after their music appeared in three Tony Hawk video games: Tony Hawk's Underground in 2003 ("Refusal"), Tony Hawk's American Wasteland in 2005 ("Question the Answer"), and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam in 2006 ("The Promise"). They were also featured in the documentary, Wake Up Screaming,[4] about the 2005 Vans Warped Tour.

History

The band embarked on their first tour, spanning four weeks from May 29 to June 30, 2000, across the entire United States with Florida melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust.[5][6] The tour included several cross-over shows with Glasseater, Mid Carson July and The Agency (the three of which were on tour together), as well as stops to play such festivals as Mixed Messages in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Pheer Festival in College Park, Maryland.[6] Strike Anywhere again teamed up with As Friends Rust for their first European and British tour, which spanned five weeks from October 29 to December 5, 2001.[7][8] A highlight performance at London, England's Camden Underworld from midway through the tour, on November 16, 2001, was filmed and later released on video and DVD by British home video company Punkervision in December 2002.[9][10]

The band played their last show with guitarist Matt Sherwood in Auckland, New Zealand on March 17, 2007, with Mark Miller replacing Sherwood. Since then, the band has continued its regimen of international touring, including the group's first South American tour, where they played Brazil and Colombia.[11] In an interview in December 2016, Barnett confirmed that the band is currently working on a fifth studio album.[12] On July 17, 2020 the band released an EP titled Nightmares of the West via Pure Noise Records. The EP contained seven newly recorded songs that were the result of ideas that had been exchanged between bandmates over the course of the 2010s decade.[13]

Political stance

Strike Anywhere lyrics touch on such issues as police brutality, anti-capitalism, women's rights, animal rights, and globalization. They have also contributed tracks to political benefit albums, such as a live version of "Sunset on 32nd" for 1157 Wheeler Avenue: A Memorial for Amadou Diallo and "To the World" for the Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 album. According to the liner notes for their album Change is a Sound, they support "the vegetarian lifestyle, the living wage movement and the fight against corporate globalization".[14] With its 2006 release Dead FM, the band expanded their political slogans to address "more sociological ideas about why these (events) happen".[15]

Their logo is similar to the Three Arrows symbol and the Antifascist Circle, and includes the logo of the former social democracy/antifascist German Iron Front, a paramilitary organization which existed in the last years of the Weimar Republic.

Strike Anywhere generally allows audience members to record their live performances for personal, non-commercial use, and has gone so far as to authorize the Internet Archive to create a section where fans can upload and share their recordings.[16]

Members
Strike Anywhere in Barcelona in 2010.

Current
  • Thomas Barnett - vocals (1999–present)
  • Matt Smith - guitar, vocals (1999–present)
  • Garth Petrie - bass (1999–present)
  • Eric Kane - drums (1999–present)
  • Mark Miller - guitar, vocals (2007–present)

Former
  • Matt Sherwood - guitar, vocals (1999–2007)

Discography

Studio albums

EPs
  • Chorus of One (Red Leader Records (CD)/No Idea Records (LP), 2000)
  • Fat Club (Fat Wreck Chords, 2001)
  • Underground Europe 2001: Genoa Benefit EP (The 1999 Demos) (Scene Police, 2001)
  • Iron Front EP (Bridge Nine Records 2009) - Digital EP
  • Live at the Montage Music Hall (Bridge Nine Records, 2012)
  • Nightmares of the West (Pure Noise Records, 2020)

Compilation albums

Live albums

Compilation appearances
  • Inquisition - Thomas Barnett
  • Great Collapse - Thomas Barnett
  • MAäSK - Thomas Barnett
  • Liars Academy - Matt Smith
  • Senses Fail - Matt Smith
  • Evening Shadows-Matt Smith
  • The Exploder - Eric Kane, Matt Smith
  • Pygmy Lush - Eric Kane
  • Widows - Eric Kane, Mark Miller
  • Sports Bar - Mark Miller
  • Count Me Out - Garth Petrie
  • Park Sparrows - Garth Petrie

References
  1. "Strike Anywhere: The Evolution of Punk Rock Angst: An Interview by Greg Barbera". Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  2. Paul, Aubin. "Exclusive: Strike Anywhere signed to Bridge 9". Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  3. Ensminger, David (1 July 2013). Left of the Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons. PM Press. p. 370. ISBN 978-1604866414.
  4. "Wake Up Screaming - Home". Wakeupscreamingmovie.com. Archived from the original on 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
  5. "As Friends Rust Interview". Music-Scan. February 18, 2002. Archived from the original on April 1, 2002. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  6. Julien, Alexandre (January 10, 2020). "As Friends Rust - A skeletal repository of As Friends Rust's timeline". Abridged Pause Blog. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. Aubin, Paul (October 18, 2001). "Strike Anywhere / As Friends Rust in Europe". Punk News. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  8. "Shows". As Friends Rust. October 2001. Archived from the original on November 20, 2001. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  9. Aubin, Paul (January 14, 2003). "As Friends Rust/Strike Anywhere live DVD". Punk News. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  10. "Punkervision Ad". Punk Planet 54. Punk Planet. March 2003.
  11. "Strike Anywhere's Thomas Barnett". www.exclaim.ca. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. Sacher, Andrew. "Strike Anywhere's Thomas Barnett talks protests, punk activism, first EP in 11 years, more in interview". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  14. Jade Tree Records Archived 2006-09-08 at the Wayback Machine: Change is a Sound, accessed 23 October 2006
  15. Aversion.com: Getting Personal, by Matt Schild, accessed 23 October 2006
  16. Strike Anywhere collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
  17. "Strike Anywhere :: Dead FM - Records: Fat Wreck Chords". Fatwreck.com. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
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