Ochre weren't around for an incredibly long time, but they left some killer releases in their wake. There was the divedowndeepnine 7" and the split 7" with Left For Dead; both of which were on bass player Mike Mowery's label, Phyte Records. Pre-dating both of those 7"s, though, was this demo tape from 1995. With eight tracks, and a raw production, the demo was a great sign of what was to come down the pipeline from Ochre within the next two years.
Ochre - Demo 1995
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2 comments:
Outstanding! That 7 inch was great--the split less so, mainly because replacing Rob Fracisco with two other singers didn't really work. Pretty stoked to hear this demo, though.
I actually WAS one of those other singers (the other being Mike Phyte, Rob Fracisco's former roomate, and the guy who released all the Ochre records)! Small world.
You're correct though, the original 7" was better than the split, but that's probably more a function of the band had already broken up, Rob was no longer around, certainly not involved in anything "hardcore" related, and Mike and I found ourselves living together in Isla Vista for a summer (well, a summer for me, a few years for him). He mentioned that Ochre had a handful of unfinished songs they had recorded for that first 7", and we hatched an idea to throw some vocals on them to see what it would sound like. The lyrics were Rob's (from the demo versions), or slight reworkings of his lyrics, with a one song being "new".
A mutual friend of ours from the Chokehold days had talked to Mike about releasing some stuff by his new band Left For Dead, so the split record seemed like a good idea.
You could argue if it was or wasn't, but hey...it was hardcore in the halcyon middle 90's...there were lots of questionable ideas floating about.
Anyway, just thought I'd add that historical footnote, and also mention that this demo slays balls, just as the other Ochre record does. Good shit.
-Gray
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