“Playing the early shit with Cooper and Jon is amazing! It’s really fun to get to play the songs from the beginning of the band.” – explains Chris Spencer, talking to IDIOTEQ. Commenting on getting the band together, Spencer, the founding member of a noise-rock trio explains: “During the pandemic, me and my friends Cooper[Made Out Of Babies] and Jon [Syverson – Daughters] started playing the early UNSANE material for fun”. – explains Spencer: “Now that the lockdown is over, we’re super excited to get out and play this stuff for people. The new line-up is much more high energy as is the early Unsane material. We’re fucking psyched to get out there!”
Forming in 1988, the trio created a relentless brand of rock with their well-versed influences of the Hardcore, Punk and Metal genres. The early days of UNSANE began in the late ’80s under the original incarnation of the band — Chris Spencer, Pete Shore (bass), and Charles Ondras (drums) — crawled larvally out of the practice space in 1989 and began playing New York’s seediest haunts. It was these graveyard slots at clubs like CBGB’s where the band developed and honed their trademark sound and delivered the goods with due intensity and volume.
Unsane’s growing intensity, combined with their strong DIY touring approach influenced this greatly iconic self-titled album [recently reissued by Lamb Unlimited]: “It seemed important to capture that aspect in recording. I was using a cassette recorder to record the live shows and actually put between song live noise on the album.” – explains Chris adding: “For me, getting to play the early material that I had written during a super chaotic period in my life and the city of New York feels amazing. UNSANE never did a majority of this stuff after Charlie (our drummer) passed away, so to have the chance to revisit it now really brings back a lot of the personal shit that was going on at the time. The uncompromising nature of the material is nightly catharsis that is much needed after the shutdown of the pandemic!”
UNSANE quickly became a mainstay in New York noise and heavy music scenes. Originating from New York scum rock scene, while still pushing their unique “extreme” sound, UNSANE’S relentless, non-stop touring established them as an important part of the Lower East side New York City music scene of the late 80s.
LAMB UNLIMITED has recently reissued two early albums of UNSANE:
1.Improvised Munitions & Demos
Chris has also unearthed the “long thought lost”, and unreleased first Unsane release titled “Improvised Munitions”. This was slated to be released in 1989 on defunct Long Island based label Circuit Records (Monster Magnet/Surgery/CopShootCop) but saw the light only in 2021 via Lamb Unlimited.
2.Self-Titled UNSANE LP
Originally released in 1991 on Matador Records with legendary train tracks crime photo, keep an eye out for limited special edition version available at these shows.
“We have manufactured a special, limited edition of 500 each on colored vinyl of as follows: Improvised Munitions album on oxblood red 180 gram vinyl and Self Titled Matador album on clear w/ blood splattered 180 gram vinyl. These will only be sold only while supplies last at the shows during October/November tour in Europe and UK.”
THE DATES OF THE UPCOMING TOUR INCLUDE:
04/05/2023 DE Osnabrück Bastard Club
05/05/2023 BE Eeklo N9
06/05/2023 UK London Desertfest London
07/05/2023 UK Southampton Suburbia
08/05/2023 UK Brighton Green Door Store
09/05/2023 UK Huddersfield Parish
11/05/2023 IE Cork Cyprus Avenue
12/05/2023 IE Dublin Lost Lane
13/05/2023 UK Belfast Voodoo
14/05/2023 UK Glasgow Nice N Sleazy
15/05/2023 UK Newcastle Anarchy Brewery
17/05/2023 BE Brussels LA SOURCE BEER CO.
18/05/2023 NL Rotterdam Baroeg
19/05/2023 DE Bochum Die Trompete
20/05/2023 DE Jena KuBA
21/05/2023 AT Wien Arena
22/05/2023 HU Budapest Robot
24/05/2023 SI Ljubljana Channel Zero
25/05/2023 AT Linz Kapu
26/05/2023 AT Ebensee Kino Ebensee
27/05/2023 CH Delémont SAS (Toxoplasmose Festival)
28/05/2023 CH Fribourg Nouveau Monde
30/05/2023 FR Marseille L’Embobineuse
31/05/2023 FR Bordeaux Mac 3
01/06/2023 FR Tours Le Foudre
02/06/2023 FR Clermont Ferrand Lieu-Dit
03/06/2023 IT Torino Spazio 211
05/06/2023 IT Recanati Dong
06/06/2023 IT Roma 30formiche
07/06/2023 IT Pescara Scumm
08/06/2023 IT Bologna Fermento In Villa
09/06/2023 IT Bergamo Rock in Riot
10/06/2023 IT Vicenza Bocciodromo
THE BAND IS CURRENTLY ON TOUR – check the upcoming North American shows here:
2/13/2023 Albany CA Ivy Room
2/14/2023 Albany CA Ivy Room
2/15/2023 Sacramento CA Cafe Colonial
2/17/2023 Seattle WA El Corazon
2/18/2023 Portland OR Mississippi Studios
2/19/2023 Boise ID Neurolux
2/20/2023 Salt Lake City UT Urban Lounge
2/21/2023 Laramie WY The Lair
2/22/2023 Denver CO HQ
2/23/2023 Omaha NE Reverb Lounge
2/24/2023 Kansas City MO Record Bar
2/25/2023 Dallas TX Amplified Live Inside Stage
2/26/2023 Austin TX The Lost Well
