Shop for exclusive vinyl variants — including DARE's new LP Against All Odds in "transparent yellow" and Bad Brains' Quickness in "clear with white, red and black splatter" — at Revolver's store. Quantities are super limited — so grab yours now!
O.C. hardcore upstarts DARE are already one of the most exciting new forces in hardcore — and they haven't even dropped a full-length album yet.
Thanks to their attention-catching 2018 EP and 2019's killer Welcome to the OC 7-inch, the trio have gained a growing grassroots fan base and earned respect from OGs like Terror's Scott Vogel. Vogel showed his support by guesting on DARE's recent ripping single "Hard to Cope" from their highly-anticipated debut LP Against All Odds, which drops this Friday (August 20th) via Revelation Records.
DARE are dead-set on bringing a grooving, furious and infectiously fun energy to the scene — an attitude which, they say, is heavily inspired by one of the greatest hardcore innovators ever: Bad Brains.
On the eve of Against All Odds' release, we caught up with DARE singer Angel Garcia to discuss how the game-changing D.C. outfit inspired his own band's creative expressions.
HOW DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER HARDCORE PUNK?
ANGEL GARCIA I think I was like seven or eight, and I first heard Green Day and made my dad take me to buy American Idiot on CD — and that's pretty much what got me here today. [Laughs]
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU HEARD BAD BRAINS?
I first heard of them through family, and the first record I heard was the self-titled [1982's Bad Brains]. I heard "Banned in D.C." and was immediately hooked.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BAD BRAINS RECORD?
I Against I, it's so fluid and I just fucking love it. That "Intro" gets me every time. I don't know how they wrote such a perfect record.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE BAD BRAINS SONG?
For a while it's been "Re-Ignition," I love how bouncy and funky and singy it is. The guitar licks and drum fills are just so good.
HOW DID BAD BRAINS INFLUENCE THE WAY YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WRITING OR PERFORMING MUSIC?
It's definitely made me want to have more fun onstage and sort of create my own style. It also just makes me want my band to be funkier and just have that crazy groove they always have. [Singer] H.R. is a fucking legend and I don't think anyone will ever top his stage presence.
THOSE EARLY VIDEOS OF BAD BRAINS PLAYING LIVE WITH H.R. DOING BACKFLIPS ONSTAGE …
Oh yeah, it's fucking insane. I saw footage of [singer] Seb [Paba] from Regulate doing one a few weeks back and it was also fucking crazy. Bad Brains' live shows made me just want to push limits and have as much fun onstage as possible.
DO YOU REGULARLY LISTEN TO BAD BRAINS? OR DO THEY REPRESENT A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME IN YOUR HISTORY?
I listen to I Against I front to back at least once a week, can't get enough of it.
WHERE DO BAD BRAINS RANK FOR YOU AMONG THE MANY INFLUENTIAL OLD-SCHOOL HARDCORE BANDS?
Number 1, easy.
