Here is the recording: Act of Faith - Forward
Act of Faith was more like a vicious hardcore monster back in their heyday than a local Atlanta band. They would headline over touring acts and bring HUNDREDS of kids from god knows where (i.e. Gwinnett) and tear the place up. It could be the Wreck Room, it could be The Somber Reptile, or wherever, they always packed the place out and gave a good show. Circle pits, stagediving, the whole package. Music-wise they weren't my absolute favorite in Atlanta, but these guys were some of the nicest you could meet and invited Car Vs. Driver to open for them on several occasions, including their CD release show at the Somber, which was probably the largest audience we played to at that time.
So this is their tape from 1993, recorded by Issa at Sleepless Nights (where else?). I believe the studio was in Candler Park at the time across from Full Moon Records. This is also where the Midget Farmers recorded the "Weblo" 7", also in 1993. The recording is actually not half bad for an Issa-engineered joint, and it has some songs I remember well. My favorite is probably Flashback "You're Wasting My Time - In Your State of Mind". The classics. I wish I had their first demo with the original singer (before Rob), which was in their O.C.B. phase. They played a skate competition that I competed in at around that time (got 1st place in my age group!). I just turned 16 then, so it was 1991. I also wish I had that O.C.B. demo. If you have either - send me a copy!
Front side of the tape - Standfast Records #2
Back side of the tape - obligatory huge thank you list.
i'd love to get my hands on some OCB... i loved that band. act of faith were definately OCB derivative when they came out, but got into more of the harder edged hardcore sound later on.
ReplyDeletedid i ever tell you that i jammed with act of faith a couple of times when they were between singers, but ultimately i wasn't what they were looking for... i think it worked out better for both parties though...
I remember that contest. James had his finger in his eye the whole time and still won. I had both eyes open, and couldn't stay on my board.
ReplyDelete"James your friend fell!"
It was that feeble grind down the handrail that clinched it. Those were really easy for me back then, but nowadays I couldn't even imagine doing something like that. E$ I remember you doing a lot of your own invented footwork tricks and everyone just getting confused. You definitely invented more tricks than any of us combined back then.
ReplyDeleteNeighbor and I have been searching for this on Mp3...
ReplyDeleteSTOKED.
Well written article.
ReplyDeleteSorry Chaeli, if you were being sarcastic there. I'm not a big writer, even with a name like James Joyce, but I just throw it all out and that's what you get. Actually, the bio on hotatldiy.com is really amazing on AOF, so I would recommend that. Still looking for that first demo.
ReplyDeleteI was sweating AOF so hard back then... but who wasn't?
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