November 1st, 1997: Underneath, Prisoner of Conscience, De Nada, Pastime @ 14115 Westholme Ct, Bowie, MD

This was the first show my first hardcore band ever played. I wanted it to sound like a mix of all the bands I was really into at the time, but it really just didn't sound that good at all. It was a pretty hodgepodge cast of characters, most of whom had already grown out of hardcore. The guitar player was really into Bad Brains (old and new), hip hop, and go-go, so his playing style had a bit of a groove element to it. He lives not too far from me these days and our circles of friends intersect a bit so I still see him around from time to time. The bass player was the first kid into any kind of punk or hardcore that I met when I started at UMBC. He took me to my first Baldwin Hall and 9:30 Club (the old one) shows. After college he headed west to fight forest fires and I believe that's what he's still doing. We've unfortunately lost touch over the years. The drummer pretty much had nothing to do with punk or hardcore but was up for anything, and just loved music, no matter what kind it was. He would end up being my roommate off and on for many years and I still see him around town from time to time as well. You'll only get to hear the demo if I ever break edge and get really drunk, so don't hold your breath.

We were a last minute addition to this show thanks to my friend John Waszak (Johnny X at the time), who sang for Prisoner of Conscience and I had met at UMBC. That's why the font for our name is different than the others. I was new to Photoshop and that was the closest I could get to Samhain lettering. I'm not sure who's house this show was at but I was psyched to get added cuz I was super into Underneath at the time. Members played in or went on to play in Longshot, No Justice, and Ampersand. Paul even got an offer to play drums for Hatebreed but he passed it up. The singer kind of dropped off the face of the earth after they broke up. No idea what he's up to these days. One of these days I'll get around to ripping that demo. This was my first time catching De Nada, and while they killed it, they were far from the machine of destruction they would become a couple years later.