Rock is full of “shoulda made it” stories, but this isn’t one of them. In the D.C. punk scene, 9353 were the bad guys. They were also eerily gripping and wildly popular. What went wrong? Everything.
They were a tiny bit before my time, however. I did actually buy the second album when it came out in 1985.
....and they were gone before I even got a single chance to see them live in the 80s.
However they did reunite for a small set of shows in 1993, and I saw them live in Richmond, VA at the Floodzone (without Dan though, he had split before that)
Count Gore De Val featured a 9353 music video on late night Channel 20 as well.
Feel that, and I was a year or three behind you myself. On a side note, I count it as a lifetime achievement that I'm friends with Dick Dyszel on Facebook....
Oh, and I still have the 9353 tshirt that I bought at that 1993 show, black shirt with neon green and yellow printing on the front and the back, same design on both sides. It's in very rough shape. :P
Thanx for article...Still enjoy immersing in their sound and was grateful when the music was reissued on CD with help of Jeff Nelson in late 90s. He was kind enough to go down to a club in VA and hand off copies to a friend on tour to save me postage! Was a big fan of the mysterious 9353 and their unique sound back in the day, when i was a teenage kid in DC hardcore scene, jeez now 40 years ago(!). So kinda like Damon, recall just seeing all the impactful oversize and color postering, checking them out from afar on bills as they were squeezed between bands like Scream and Gray Matter ... In late 80's finally hung out with Dan Joseph when he stayed at same pad as I in San Francisco, and got to hang and hear some of the first hand lore. Ironically, almost decade later Damon, stayed at my house on tour once in the 90s with Trenchmouth from Chicago... never knew he was a 9353 fan at the time, so Fred Armisen and I just spent day talking about ferrets!
This is excellent, thanks Seth. I was late to the game... just discovering them as they were spinning into oblivion. But I listened to those albums a ton. If I were to make a mixtape of what music defined me in high school, "Famous Last Words" and "Ten Witches" would be on there for sure. Quintessentially Arlington 80s. While I liked the DC scene at the time, I was definitely more inclined to the "outsider within the outsider" vibe from 9353.
I did finally catch them during that 1993 revivial, had one of those garish neon green shirts, and still have their CDs (though nothing left to play them on).
Ha! Feel that, Jim. And: Thanks for reading! I'm in the exact same boat, timewise. Pretty sure I saw them at the Sylvan Theatre @ Washington Monument, of all places....
"Opportunity is when you get the chance to get screwed over by somebody." - Brilliant! That's about the most punk rock sentiment ever.
Sigh. Sad but true!
Definitely one of my favorite DC area bands.
They were a tiny bit before my time, however. I did actually buy the second album when it came out in 1985.
....and they were gone before I even got a single chance to see them live in the 80s.
However they did reunite for a small set of shows in 1993, and I saw them live in Richmond, VA at the Floodzone (without Dan though, he had split before that)
Count Gore De Val featured a 9353 music video on late night Channel 20 as well.
Good times. <3
Feel that, and I was a year or three behind you myself. On a side note, I count it as a lifetime achievement that I'm friends with Dick Dyszel on Facebook....
Found it!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUdEt9MbRj8
Oh, and I still have the 9353 tshirt that I bought at that 1993 show, black shirt with neon green and yellow printing on the front and the back, same design on both sides. It's in very rough shape. :P
Maybe I need to get that framed or something. :)
Thanx for article...Still enjoy immersing in their sound and was grateful when the music was reissued on CD with help of Jeff Nelson in late 90s. He was kind enough to go down to a club in VA and hand off copies to a friend on tour to save me postage! Was a big fan of the mysterious 9353 and their unique sound back in the day, when i was a teenage kid in DC hardcore scene, jeez now 40 years ago(!). So kinda like Damon, recall just seeing all the impactful oversize and color postering, checking them out from afar on bills as they were squeezed between bands like Scream and Gray Matter ... In late 80's finally hung out with Dan Joseph when he stayed at same pad as I in San Francisco, and got to hang and hear some of the first hand lore. Ironically, almost decade later Damon, stayed at my house on tour once in the 90s with Trenchmouth from Chicago... never knew he was a 9353 fan at the time, so Fred Armisen and I just spent day talking about ferrets!
Well sure, the whole ferret thing.....
Awesome! I have both of the CD editions, and a few other ones that Bruce himself sent me. Even a CDR that he burned himself!
This is excellent, thanks Seth. I was late to the game... just discovering them as they were spinning into oblivion. But I listened to those albums a ton. If I were to make a mixtape of what music defined me in high school, "Famous Last Words" and "Ten Witches" would be on there for sure. Quintessentially Arlington 80s. While I liked the DC scene at the time, I was definitely more inclined to the "outsider within the outsider" vibe from 9353.
I did finally catch them during that 1993 revivial, had one of those garish neon green shirts, and still have their CDs (though nothing left to play them on).
Ha! Feel that, Jim. And: Thanks for reading! I'm in the exact same boat, timewise. Pretty sure I saw them at the Sylvan Theatre @ Washington Monument, of all places....
Loved them so much… they were so fun live… thanks for this, Seth!
Thank YOU, deeply appreciate this!
Rick Rodine did not design the flyer first shown. It was by Bruce who decided to up the ante with COLOR XeroxⒸ.
Hey appreciate that Rick! I’ve corrected the citation….
Very enjoyable. I remember the graphics but learned the rest here.
Thank you for writing this. 9353 are really important.