Ink & Dagger

Ink & Dagger
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Genres Emo, Post-hardcore, punk rock[1]
Years active 1995–1999,[2] 2010–2011
Labels Initial
Associated acts Cut Throat Tactics
Members Don Devore
Sean Patrick McCabe

Ink & Dagger were a punk band from Philadelphia that was active in the 1990s. The two permanent members throughout the band's career were guitarist Don Devore and vocalist Sean Patrick McCabe. Other members included Ashli State, Terry Yerves, Ryan McLaughlin, Joshua Brown, Jennifer Layne Park , Dave Wagenschutz, and Eric Wareheim. Band members frequently incorporated references to vampires in their music, painted their faces, and played with fake blood. Some members were previously in Crud is a Cult, The Mandela Strike Force and Frail.

On-stage theatrics

On one occasion, the band vomited on Christmas trees on stage.[3] McCabe was also infamous for egging Hare Krishna devotees and throwing yogurt at Earth Crisis.

The band's first Halloween show in New Brunswick, NJ was one their most notorious shows. In the words of Robby Redcheeks, "Trope built a coffin to carry Jenny Jamz (Jennifer Layne Park) out to into the show. The show was PACKED. So we put Jenny in the coffin outside of the show, me and 3 other dudes carried her in pushing through the crowd. People were like “WHAT THE F*CK IS THAT?!" We were all in Dagger makeup also. We set the coffin down in front of the crowd. Jenny got out wearing a black leather body suit and started reciting the oath she wrote in the Drive This 7”. Reciting, im sorry, more like inciting a riot. She was pushing people and yelling in their faces. I had previously prepared a batch of Dagger blood, (this was actually the first time it was used), a mix of 1 bottle of club soda & 1 red color food dye. We made 4 bottles of it and perched on each side of the band for when Jenny was done. When she reached the end, Dagger had already been building up feedback and noise. She finished, and they started off with the beginning to "Changeling" (if I remember correctly) . Then BLAM~ we covered the crowd with blood. And chaos erupted throughout. Needless to say, anyone that was at that show will remember that show forever. Including me." [4]

Influence

An example of their influence can be seen on the record The Fine Art of Original Sin which featured several tracks breaking completely from established norms of post-hardcore, incorporating aspects of techno, or drum and bass music.

Initially the band had a post-hardcore sound akin to Swiz and DC-focused rhythms, Ink & Dagger grew to be a popular band in Philadelphia. Additionally, the influences of past emotional hardcore band Frail can still be heard in the yelps and falsettos on Ink & Dagger's 7"s.

Known members

After the group's demise

In 1999, Ink & Dagger formally announced that they were disbanding. Shortly after recording what was to be the band's final album, singer Sean Patrick McCabe was found dead in a motel room in Indiana in 2000, at age 27. The final and self-titled album was released on Buddyhead Records with a picture of a young Sean in a vampire costume featured in the CD booklet.

Don Devore currently plays in the band Sick Feeling. He has also played in Amazing Baby, The Icarus Line, Lilys and others.

Joshua Brown went on to play in Lenola and Like A Fox. He currently plays bass in The Midnight Sounds.

Terry Yerves put playing music aside for a bit to focus more on sound engineering in both the recording studio as well as live concert sound. He is currently residing in San Francisco, managing the audio dept at The Independent and playing drums in new project called Sporting Life.

Microsoft Xbox videogame Amped uses three songs from The Fine Art of Original Sin. In 2005, former drummer Ryan McLaughlin sued Microsoft, claiming that they were used without the band's knowledge. The suit was settled out of court in 2006.[5][6][7]

Reunion with Geoff Rickly (2010–2011)

In August 2010, Ink & Dagger headlined the 2010 This Is Hardcore festival.[8] Geoff Rickly of Thursday fame sang for this show.[9] All of Ink & Dagger's profits earned from tickets and merchandise at This Is Hardcore benefited Maks Zielanski, a child diagnosed with cancer. Maks is the son of Ed Zielanski who was a member of Crud Is a Cult and Flagman.[10] Ink & Dagger also played a small number of additional shows in Brooklyn,[11] LA and Philadelphia.[12] Rickly's vocals were generally warmly received as a replacement for McCabe. Jon Reiss of New York Press commented, "The band seemed pretty tight and the choice of Rickly for a singer worked about eighty percent of the time. It's impossible to replace a front man so dynamic as McCabe."[11] Ink & Dagger also toured the UK with Rickly in January 2011.[13]

The brief reunion lead to the creation of a new band called Cut Throat Tactics featuring members of Ink & Dagger, Thursday, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Cut Throat Tactics will begin work on their debut album once all of the members finish work with their primary bands have finished touring.[2]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

EPs

Splits

Compilation appearances

Year Song Album
2004 "Shadowtalker/The History in Ecstasy" Buddyhead Suicide[14]
2004 "Catch the Flashback" Initial Records: Worst Label Ever![15]

References

  1. ↑ "Ink & Dagger bio at Allmusic.com".
  2. 1 2 Pettigrew, Jason (July 2011). "Reunited, and it Sounds So Good". Alternative Press 276 (26): 84. ISSN 1065-1667.
  3. ↑ "X Marks the Box".
  4. ↑ http://allphillyallday.blogspot.com/2007/11/ladies-and-gentlemenrobby-redcheeks.html
  5. ↑ "Microsoft hauled into court in piracy case".
  6. ↑ "Philadelphia Daily News Dan Gross column: Ink & Dagger suit settled.". The Philadelphia Daily News. July 26, 2006.
  7. ↑ "Ex-Ink & Dagger sues Microsoft". Philadelphia Daily News. October 26, 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-11-02.
  8. ↑ August, Justin (May 31, 2010). "Kid Dynamite, Ink & Dagger, BANE and many more at This Is Hardcore 2010". Punknews.org. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  9. ↑ Karan, Tim (June 1, 2010). "Kid Dynamite, Sheer Terror, Ink & Dagger, more to reunite at This Is Hardcore Fest". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  10. ↑ Gross, Dan (June 2, 2010). "Dan Gross: Kid Dynamite to play at fest". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  11. 1 2 Reiss, Jon (August 13, 2010). "True Blood Lust: Ink and Dagger at Party Expo in Bushwick". New York Press. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Ink & Dagger played Party Expo w/ Primitive Weapons (pics, video), add Philly show (TONIGHT) + updated LA dates". Brooklyn Vegan. August 13, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  13. ↑ Fowler, Aaron (November 1, 2010). "Ink & Dagger (featuring Geoff Rickly of Thursday) announce UK tour". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 2, 2010.
  14. ↑ Buddyhead Suicide
  15. ↑ Initial Records: Worst Label Ever!

External links

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