Double-O - the complete works

As I mentioned last blog post, I co-host the End On End podcast with Brian Gathy where we go record-by-record through the Dischord Records catalog.  So, this post is well-timed, because a few days from now, we'll be tackling Dischord 10 1/2 - the Double-O 7", released in 1983 as a split label release with R&B Records.  I anticipate that episode will be released into the world on Monday, July 27th - so please check it out.

Double-O's original line-up was formed in 1981 by vocalist Eric Lagdameo (ex-Red C (see last blog post)), guitarist Tom Clinton (Youth Brigade), bassist Bert Queiroz (ex-Untouchables & Youth Brigade), and drummer Rich Moore (ex-Untouchables).  So, again, a common theme of the Dischord Records bands were short lifespans with constant re-configurations into new line-ups and new bands.  So, you could consider Double-O a bit of a "second generation" D.C. hardcore band, although Bert was already onto band number three, and 1981 does seem a little early to be calling anything "second generation" anyway.

While Double-O existed at a time of evolution for the D.C. hardcore scene (i.e., Scream and the re-birth of Minor Threat), Double-O stayed true to the original, raw, straight-forward hardcore of the earlier bands these guys were in - at least on the early demos.

At some point in the band's history, and I'm a little unclear as to exactly when, guitarist Jason Carmer replaced Tom Clinton.  My ASSUMPTION is that this was at some point between the demos and the 7" - only because in THIS INTERVIEW, done before the release of the 7", but after Jason had joined the band, his entrance credited with a forward leap musically - and the 7" certainly bears that out.  The demos are raw in both music and sound, and while there is much song overlap across the five demo sessions, none of those demo-era songs ended up on the 7".  Four of the five 7" tracks stay true to the hardcore roots, but are more developed and tightened up, while one song in particular - "Death Of a Friend", almost sounds like a song from another band that accidentally found its way onto the record, sounding more like something that would have been on TSOL's 'Beneath the Shadows' or Bad Religion's 'Into The Unknown'.  It's a daring departure.  The 7" was a split label release between Dischord and R&B Records, the "R&B" standing for "Rich" and "Bert", who also released Second Wind's 'Security' 12", 9353's 'To Whom It May Consume' LP, and Gray Matter's 'Food For Thought' LP (later re-released as Dischord 48 in 1990).

Following the demise of Double-O, Eric would reconnect with his former Red C bandmate, Toni Young, to form Dove ("Ambivalence", which would appear on the Fountain of Youth 'Bouncing Babies' comp was apparently originally a Double-O song as it appears in the live set from Wilson Center), Jason would go onto play with 9353, James Williamson and a bunch of others and seemingly went onto win some Grammys (!), Bert played with Tesco Vee and the Meatmen, Second Wind, Rain, and Manifesto, and became a photographer who now resides in Germany,  Rich also did some time with Tesco Vee and would step out from behind the kit to sing for Second Wind.

All of this pre-7" stuff was culled from a few bootlegs:  the 'Double Barrelled' 2x7" (1993 - Burned in DC Records), 'Early DC Hardcore 1981-1983' (2006 - Tribute) and the split LP with Red C - 'XXX' (2016 - DC Sound Records).

In addition to the five demo sessions, I've included the version of "The End" that appeared on the 'Charred Remains' cassette comp (originally released in 1982 on both Noise Records and Version Sound, and then later released in 2014 by Radio Raheem) a live set from Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. (9/17/82) (also on the bill:  Social Distortion, Youth Brigade (LA), Effigies, Iron Cross and Faith), and a YouTube link to the 7" itself, which has never been re-released (or even bootlegged as far as I know) and which easily goes for over $100 these days, if you can find it at all (only 2000 pressed).

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

"The End" - from the Charred Remains comp.

Jeff Kaplan 1 · The End

Session 1 (demo)

1.  Take A Position

2.  No Reply

3.  The End

Jeff Kaplan 1 · Double-O - Session 1 (demo)

Putting DC On The Map (demo - '82)

1.  The End

2.  Take A Position

3.  No Limits

4.  No Reply

5.  Don't You Understand

6.  Putting DC On The Map

7.  Fade Out

Jeff Kaplan 1 · Double-O - 'Putting DC On The Map' demo (1982)

Session 3

1.  The End

2.  No Reply

3.  No Limits

4.  Take A Position

Jeff Kaplan 1 · Double-O - 'Session 3' (demo)

Session 4

1.  The End

2.  Take A Position

3.  No Limits

4.  No Reply

5.  Putting DC On The Map

6.  Fade Out

Jeff Kaplan 1 · Double-O - 'Session 4' (demo)

Session 5

1.  The End

2.  No Reply

3.  No Limits

4.  Take A Position

5.  No Reply

Jeff Kaplan 1 · Double-O - 'Session 5' demo

Live at Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. (9/17/82)

1.  Intro

2.  The End

3.  No Reply

4.  Darkside

5.  No Reason

6.  Your Image

7.  Funeral

8.  You've Lost

9.  Ambivalence

10.  Fade Out

11.  Putting DC On The Map

12.  Is It Better

13.  Take A Position

14.  Grey To Black

Jeff Kaplan 1 · Double-O - Live at Wilson Center, Washington, D.C. (9/17/82)

Double-O 7"

1.  You've Lost

2.  Is It Better

3.  Grey To Black

4.  Death Of A Friend

5.  There's No Reasoning