Hailing from Boston in the early eighties, Negative FX is remembered primarily as Choke's first band. But besides holding claim to this dubious honor, however, the band has also musically left its mark. They pushed hardcore closer to its logical conclusion, playing as fast as possible while leaving traditional song structure in the dust. Their short bursts of barely contained aggression, complete with furious, indecipherable vocals from Choke, epitomized a style that would later be built upon by those experimenting with other styles of "extreme hardcore" (like grindcore, "power-violence," etc. etc.).
Negative FX was one of the bands associated with the "Boston Crew" - a tight-knit group of young, sometimes violent, straightedge skinheads. They played a total of six times, the most famous being one of the final Mission of Burma shows where the crowd beat up the soundman for trying to pull the plug on Negative FX. The band recorded 18 songs in 1982, and released them on fledgling Boston label Taang! in 1984.
After Negative FX's demise, Choke (aka Jack Kelly) formed the short-lived Last Rights. Musically Last Rights took a more measured approach, as opposed to Negative FX's all-out rush to start and finish a song as quickly as possible. And you could actually understand what Choke was screaming. The band lasted one show, and managed to put out a two song 7". This record featured several different covers, the most controversial being a photo of Adolf Hitler. Taang! eventually rereleased the Last Rights 7", along with four other songs, and the entire Negative FX LP, on one CD.
By the mid-eighties, all of Boston's original hardcore bands had either changed their sound or broken up (usually both). It was with this in mind that Choke assembled his next band, Slapshot. In its first years, Slapshot included former members of DYS, SSD, and Deathwish, and purposely went for an "old-school" hardcore sound (their first record was titled Back On The Map). Despite numerous lineup changes, Slapshot continues on, in one form or another, to this day. Choke has always been a controversial figure in the hardcore scene. Since starting Slapshot, his lyrics have become increasingly conservative (culminating in his ridiculously right-wing Oi side-project, Stars and Stripes). If you've lived in Boston (like I did for many years), you've probably heard any number of rumors (disavowed by at least one member of the band who wrote to me), from his alleged use of a hockey stick to swing at the audience at early shows, to his stint as a hairdresser in a salon on Boston's Newbury Street.
Releases
NEGATIVE FX LP (Taang!, 1984)
Reissues
NEGATIVE FX CD (Taang!, includes all Last Rights tracks)
GOVERNMENT WAR PLANS EP (Distortions, 2003)
LAST RIGHTS DISCOGRAPHY
Releases
Chunks/So Ends Our Night 7" (Taang!, 1984)
INFO
Lyrics
These were typed from the insert of Reflex Records' reissue of the Negative FX LP.
Interview from Boiling Point #2 1/2
By this time, Choke was in Slapshot, but the guys from Boiling Point ask him about the old Boston days. There's quite a few good lines in this interview... "Right now, I'm on a big anti-freak thing. I would like to make hardcore a thing that I could take my mother to and not be embarrassed. It's about time these fuckin' kids with triple mohawks and dyed orange hair fuckin' got their shit together, grew up and fuckin' got a job and became human beings." OK...
Slapshot Website
For any and all questions about Choke's current band (they are still together I believe), visit this site.