SS Decontrol (aka Society System Decontrol) led the charge of Boston HC bands that blew up close on the heels of the DC scene. Their take on hardcore and the new straight edge ideology was extremely aggressive, and would change the way punk was played forever. Comprised of guitarist Al Barile, vocalist David Spring ("Springa"), bassist Jamie Sciarappa, and drummer Chris Foley, they were one of the first Boston hardcore bands and the core of the infamous "Boston Crew." From what I understand, Al wrote most of the music and lyrics, but the heart of SSD is the insane vocal work of Springa, whose unique growl and heavy Massachusettes accent make for a totally distinct sound.
Influenced by Discharge and Minor Threat, SS Decontrol began their career as strict adherants to and (very strict) proponents of "the straight edge." Also advocates of the nascent DIY hardcore philosophy, the band started their own independent record label, XClaim, and did not appear on (larger label) Modern Method's seminal compilation, This is Boston Not L.A. This is also possibly due to the large divide between the Boston Crew and less "hardcore" bands like the Proletariat and the Freeze. It's also been told that SS Decontrol are the "narrow minds who think the narrow way" mentioned in the liner notes to Boston Not LA.
Along with fellow band DYS and the rest of the Boston Crew, SS Decontrol quickly gained a reputation for hardline straight edge militancy. Although their lyrics depicted "the Choice" as one of free-thinking youth dedicated to improving society, rumors spread across the country of straight edge Boston skinheads knocking beers out of people's hands and harassing and beating up non-straightedgers. Most famous was the Boston-New York rivalry (where Boston kids at a show in New York would draw X's on their foreheads, "so if you grabbed a bald head in the pit and saw no X you'd know to punch them as they were from NYC.").
In 1982, SS Decontrol recorded the classic The Kids Will Have Their Say 12". By putting out the record as a split release with Minor Threat's Dischord Records, the band hoped to use the Washington, D.C. label's already established reputation to jumpstart XClaim. It worked, as XClaim would later put out SS Decontrol's Get It Away 12", as well as records for fellow Boston bands DYS, the F.U.'s, and Jerry's Kids.
Somewhere along the line, the band officially changed their name to SSD, added a second guitar player, and began "evolving" away from their original hardcore sound. Similarly, most of the band members all but forgot about their previously adamant views on straight edge. Their final two LP's are testements to the power of the Boston punk curse - chunky metal with boring songwriting and little to none of the wild energy that made them so amazing before. 1984's How We Rock saw the band upgrading their equipment to full stack amplifiers and wireless guitars, and they were soon doing straight covers of wanky 70's rock songs. SSD never exploded into the mainstream, however, and broke up mid-way through 1985 (posthumously releasing the aptly titled Break It Up later that year). Their bass player Jaime went on to play in Slapshot, and members went onto some other lesser known non-hardcore bands. XClaim has let all of the records go long out of print, so unless you're very rich or lucky you won't find them. Taang! reissued a random sampler called Power which may take the coveted title of shittiest Taang! reissue ever, jumbling good and bad songs into an unlistenable mess. There is a listenable bootleg CD of the first two records that is floating around, as well as a rare bootleg (allegedly done by Revelation Records) of The Kids Will Have Their Say.
Releases
THE KIDS WILL HAVE THEIR SAY 12" (Dischord/X-Claim, 1982)
GET IT AWAY 12" (X-Claim, 1983)
HOW WE ROCK 12" (Modern Method, 1984)
BREAK IT UP LP (Homestead, 1985)
Reissues
POWER (Taang!, compilation of prev. released and new tracks)
Bootlegs
THE KIDS WILL HAVE THEIR SAY LP (Ex-Claim/Discord)
THE KIDS HAVE HAD THEIR SAY 7" (1990 - live)
X-CLAIM LP (has all songs from the first 12" not included on Power, and live songs)
3 12" RECORDS ON A CD (has first three 12"s)
Compilations
A BOSTON ROCK CHRISTMAS 12" (Boston Rock, 1983)
INFO
Lyrics for The Kids Will Have Their Say - Get It Away (thanks to Ken)
Interview from Forced Exposure #2
A great in-depth interview from 1982 in this Boston zine. On the Dementlieu Punk Archive.
Interview from Ink Disease #6
A somewhat disjointed interview, but interesting nonetheless. From 1984 -- just about the time SSD was starting to change their style.
Interview from Suburban Voice #33/34
A great interview with Springa from 1993 about his days in SSD. By Al Quint.
SSD Page on OldTimeHardcore.com
There's a nicely done SSD biography on the Slapshot website, with plenty of other stuff to read about the old Boston scene.
X-Claim Records Website
Believe it or not they are still active, though none of the early HC records remain in print you can check out SSD's 'official' site and buy a t-shirt "as worn by the Beastie Boys."
