MKNZ, Monday, 07.02.2000:

GOOD CLEAN FUN (USA)

"This story starts in Nineteen Eighty Five, When posi-core was young and alive
And the world seemed to say `It s up to you`. So many things to make us shout
We knew what it was all about. We wanted to change things and we stil do…"
- (from the song Good Clean Fun)

Singer/songwriter and the most charismatic frontman in hardcore, Issa, started Good Clean fun as an idea way back in 1985. At that time he picked up a guitar, learned the entire 7Seconds album "The Crew" and began to formulate the idea of the perfect hardcore band. Then he put down the guitar. Years later, after bands like Crucial Youth and Youth of today broke up the timing was right to turn the idea into something more concrete. Hardcore had once again began to lose the primary reason Issa got involved with the subculture in the first place: fun.

Issa joined up with Peter McTernan, brother of Brian (Battery) and Mike (Damnation A.D.), John Robinson (Sick Of It All fan) and an old friend and New Jersey Straightedge legend, Seth Friedlander. The brand new Good Clean fun recorded a demo which ended up being released as the "Shopping for a Crew" 7" on Chicago punk label Underestimated Records. While awaiting the release of that 7", the band quickly returned to the studio to record their "Who Shares Wins" 7" for Issa`s longtime friend, Mike, from Phyte Records (Chokehold, Botch, Left For dead).

Both of the 7"s hit the streets in the summer of 1998, and the band began playing shows. They immediately did 2 tours up and down the east coast, also playing extensively in their hometown, Washington, DC. Issa then convinced his best friend (and the guy putting out their records!!!), Mike Phyte, to move from Santa Barbara, California, to the Nation`s Capital to play bass. At the same time they rectuited a new drummer, Andrew Black. After those line-up changes, they quickly became recognized as the hardest working band around. The band has played over 100 shows, pretty impresive for a group of guys that do it ALL themselves - from booking tours, to recording, to releasing their own records! Can you say D.I.Y.? Good Clean Fun can!

In conjunction with their summer tours, Good Clean Fun released all of their material to date on one CD. The "Shopping for a Crew" CD, released in May, 1999, combined the "Who Shares Wins" 7" with the re-recorded "Shopping for a Crew" demo 7" (which was released in Europe by Reflections Records) with three compilation tracks: "A Song for the Ladies" (a stinging anti-sexist song released on Ray Cappo`s SuperSoul Records compilation, Rebirth of Hardcore: 1999), "Hang up and Drive" (a not-quite-so-stinging song about the danger of cell phone use released on Punk Uprising/Victory Records) and "Bully" (7Seconds cover compilation, Reflections Records).

In May 1999 the band travelled to Europe for a one month tour, where they received a very warm welcome. Following that success, they returned to tour the US and to play the major summer Hardcore festivals (Syracuse Fest, Columbus More Than Music Festival, etc.).

If you enjoy good old fashioned hardcore/punk-rock with a modern twist, and if you have any sense of humor at all, you will love this band.

Their homepage: http://www.phyte.com/gcf