False Prophets were formed in June
1980 by singer Stephan Ielpi, bassist Steve Wishnia, and guitarist Peter
Campbell. Matt Superty, Stephan's cousin and scion of a long line of drummers,
joined soon afterwards. We quickly made a name for ourselves with raw,
danceable energy and Stephan's welcome-to-my-nightmare theatrics, playing gigs
at Max's Kansas City and predawn sets at the A7 Club. Our first
single, 'Blind Obedience b/w Overkill' + Royal Slime' came out in June 1981. Musically,
we were part of punk-rock's second
generation, which included the Undead, Heart Attack, Reagan Youth and DC
transplants the Bad Brains in New York, and the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag,
D.O.A., and Minor Threat in the rest of the world. We also drew on British
post-punk bands like Joy Division, Public Image and the Gang of Four; pre-punk
rockers like the Kinks and Stones (Steve and Peter) and Alice Cooper and Mott
the Hoople (Stephan); and rap, reggae, and funk, the sounds of the boom boxes
on New
York's streets.
So we never quite fit the hardcore
stereotype, being too varied musically and not thuggish enough personally. 'Good Clean Fun', our second
single, released in 1982, was both our first hardcore-speed song and a
criticism of mosh-pit violence. Matt quit soon after, replaced by the Undead's
Patrick Blanck, Donna Baril, and Ned Brewster, who made his debut at an
all-night anarchist ball on New Year's Eve, 1983. We recorded our first album
the next summer, financed largely by Stephan's uncle hitting the triple at the
Aqueduct racetrack in Queens.
Alternative Tentacles put the album
out in early 1986. By then Peter was gone, having quit after a Southern tour in
the summer of 1985. The band toured heavily over the next two years with new
guitarists George Tabb and Debra DeSalvo, recording the 'Implosion' album in
early 1987. It broke up during a disastrous West Coast tour that fall. Stephan
and Debra then re-formed it with new musicians and kept it going for several
more years, releasing one EP. (Steve and George went on to form Iron Prostate,
while Ned eventually wound up in punk-blues stalwartst The Senders).
Ronald Reagan was inaugurated a
couple days before our first two-night stand at A7, ushering in a new era of
greed, puritanism, and hate. We wanted to rage against all that, and did. We
also wanted to write great songs, have fun, and get possessed and out of our
heads playing rock'n'roll. Listen to 'Blind Roaches and Fat Vultures' and see how
we did. [SOURCE: STEVE WISHNIA ON ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES.COM]
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