Formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1981. The band is considered among of the pioneers of hardcore punk, particularly in the Midwest region. Like most hardcore bands, Negative Approach was little known in its day outside of its hometown. It is now idolized in the Detroit rock underground and the punk subculture, considered to be one of the elite bands of the "old school" era, and continues to be influential. Negative Approach initially broke up in 1983 with singer John Brannon moving onto Laughing Hyenas, and later Easy Action, but the band has reformed as of 2006 and continues to tour sporadically
Negative Approach was formed in August 1981 in Detroit, Michigan by John Brannon and Pete Zelewski, supposedly after seeing a Black Flag/Necros show. The first NA lineup consisted of Brannon on vocals, Rob McCulloch on guitar, Pete Zelewski on bass and Zuheir on drums. Not long after, Zelewski left the band to form the Allied and was replaced by Rob McCulloch's brother Graham. Zuheir was later replaced by Chris "Opie" Moore. The lineup of Brannon/McCulloch/McCulloch/Moore would remain unchanged until NA disbanded.
NA's first gig was in the basement of Necros drummer Todd Swalla's mother's home. Soon after, they recorded a demo, and followed that up with an appearance on the Process of Elimination compilation 7in EP, released on Meatmen frontman Tesco Vee's fledgling Touch & Go label, named after his fanzine of the same name. The comp also featured the Necros and the Meatmen, among others. NA, the Necros and the Meatmen then embarked on the Process of Elimination tour. Though this tour consisted of a mere three shows (Boston, New York City and Washington, DC), it is cited as being a key event in the early spread of hardcore.
The first proper Negative Approach studio release came in 1982 with their self-titled 7in EP, also on Touch & Go. It contained some now-legendary songs such as Can't Tell No One, Ready To Fight and Nothing, which is considered by many to be the quintessential NA song. The quality of the recording is quite poor, but the performances themselves are powerful, and the record is now held in nearly universal high regard by hardcore fans.
The following year saw the release of the Tied Down LP, also venerated as a hardcore classic. While it mostly contains more of the same ultra-fast, angry music as the 7inch, the band also branched out somewhat and included a plodding dirge (Evacuate) and a (relatively) mid-tempo rocker (Dead Stop) on the album.
The classic line-up fell apart in 1983. Rob McCulloch claims that the band had grown weary of the group's reputation for writing negative lyrics but that John Brannon was not comfortable writing differently. Also, Rob has stated that John's involvement with Larissa Stolarchuk from L-Seven was another source of tension for the group . The band re-grouped long enough to record the Tied Down LP, then split for good.
Afterwards, Brannon assembled a new line-up with members Kelly Dermody (guitar), Dave (bass) and Mike (drums). This version of Negative Approach played a series of live shows throughout 1984 which featured some new songs, such as "Obsession," "Tunnel Vision," "Kiss Me Kill Me" and a cover of "I Got A Right" by the Stooges. This line-up can be heard on the Live at the Newtown Theater bootleg 7" and some live tracks recorded at Boston's Paradise club that appear on the Total Recall. discography CD. The new line-up of the band split during the first week of their tour in support of Tied Down, playing their last show in Memphis.
It was announced in May 2006 that Brannon and Moore would play a Negative Approach reunion show, of sorts, for Touch & Go's 25th Anniversary show on September 9, 2006, as well as two later shows in the UK - London on December 7 and at All Tomorrow's Parties on December 10. Despite repeated efforts by Rob and Graham McCulloch to be a part of the reunion and have the classic NA lineup play, John refused. It was instead announced that Harold Richardson (of Brannon's current band Easy Action) and Ron Sakowski (formerly of Easy Action, Laughing Hyenas, and Necros) would complete the lineup. Rob and Graham maintain that the appearance shouldn't be labeled as Negative Approach without the classic NA lineup. John asserts that his talks with the McCullochs deteriorated early on, and that they conceded that they were unprepared to play after years away from the music business. The whole affair has generated considerable controversy, and there is little agreement as to exactly who is in the right and for what reasons. Negative Approach closed out the No Fun Fest in Brooklyn, NY on May 20, 2007. Thurston Moore played guitar on two songs at the start of their set.
Negative Approach did a brief reunion tour in the northeast United States in April 2008, performing in Brooklyn and Providence. They also played the wedding of Anal Cunt founder Seth Putnam.
The band did a lengthier tour of Europe in June 2008, playing in Amsterdam, Antwerp, London, Barcelona, Manchester, Milan, Muenster and Hamburg. Later in 2008, they did a show in Los Angeles. In 2009, they played a string of shows in Long Branch NJ, Baltimore MD, Richmond VA, and Philidelphia, PA.
DISCOGRAPHY
Studio albums
Tied Down (1983, Touch & Go)
EPs
Negative Approach (1982, 7", Touch & Go)
Demos
1st Demo (5/81)
Lost Cause Demo (8/81)
EP Demo First Version (late '81/early '82)
Tied Down Demo (6/83) [a.k.a. Rice City Demo]
Compilation albums
Total Recall (1992, Touch & Go)
Ready to Fight: Demos, Live and Unreleased 1981-83 (2005, Reptilian)
Video
Fair Warning, Vol. 1 (2006)
Fair Warning, Vol. 2 (2007)
Can't Tell No One (2008)
Other appereances
"Lost Cause" on Process of Elimination (1981, 7" EP, Touch & Go)
"Can't Tell No One" on Reagan Regime Review (Selfless) (1992, a compilation of live tracks, released with the last issue of Touch & Go fanzine)
