the freeze

There is more than one band with this name: 1) The Freeze is an east coast melodic hardcore band that has been a twisted beacon of energy in the hardcore punk scene for over 20 years. After their formation in 1979 and release of the "I Hate Tourists" Ep in 1980 they recorded the famous song "This Is Boston, Not LA" which became the title of the now infamous comp Lp. Although thought of as a Boston band they were actually from the Cape Cod area orignally. After forming while still in high school, the band went thru many shifting line-ups all revolving around singer/lyricist Clif Hanger and for most of the bands existence, guitarist and co-writer Bill Close. In 1983 they released the classic hardcore Lp "Land Of The Lost" and then were more or less successful at producing a new Lp every couple years or so up thru the "personal troubles" period of the "Misery Loves Company" record and ending with their last full-length in 1999, "One False Move" on Dr.Strange records. The Freeze music is driving hardcore at it's roots but always has a solid melodic ring thanks to the more-than-competent musical ability of guitarist Bill Close. Clif's lyrics are dark, twisted, unstable, paranoid and at their best are fantasy stories from the scary corners of his mind. 2) The Freeze is also a punk band formed in 1976. The Freeze formed in 1976 and initially consisted of Gordon Sharp (vocals), David Clancy (guitar), Keith Grant (bass), and Graeme Radin (drums). (Later line-ups would see the addition of a guitarist/saxophonist/clarinetist Tony Wallis, alternate drummer/keyboardist Neil Braidwood and alternate bassist Mike Moran.) The band was active from 1976 to 1982, gigging continuously throughout their homeland of Scotland, and supporting a wide range of acts, from the likes of Sham 69 to Echo & The Bunnymen. On stage they were quite the lively bunch - with an unusually diverse spectrum of sound, glam-punk gender-bending theatrics, and a knack for random song improvisation - it was a package that often left onlookers enthusiastically scratching their heads in astonishment. The group had two official releases – 1979’s debut 7-inch EP In Colour, and 1980’s 7-inch single Celebration, both of which were self-financed on their own A1 label. And although The Freeze would prove that they undoubtedly had both the musical talent and vision needed to propel their name into the greater new wave market, it was their eclectic and unpredictable nature that ultimately barred them from capturing proper label interest. Not to say their wasn't any interested… John Peel noticed the band and in late 1980 invited them to do their first BBC radio session, followed by another session in 1981, both of which have yet to see any official release. By 1982 Gordon had become increasingly dissatisfied with the confines of the band’s musical format, wishing to instead give focus to more experimental song structures, a desire which eventually lead him to forge a new union with fellow core-member David Clancy, move to London and change the band’s name to Cindytalk. (text taken from http://lifeonthedot.blogspot.com/2007/08/freeze-in-colour-ep-1979.html) Listen at Last.fm The Freeze began playing Punk Rock in 1979 and have been attempting to play what we began playing for the past 26 years, just trying to improve our Punk style with every new song we write. We have 12 studio albums out, we've headlined 2 tours of Europe and one tour of the states. We've recently signed a new contract with BEER CITY Records. This contract includes a guarantee of recording a New Studio CD of all NEW songs sometime later this year. We are already planning our first release on BEER CITY, a CD containing TWO Live in the studio perfromances on WERS, Boston's Emerson College Radio station. These two Live perfromances include one from 1985 where we previewed then NEW songs from our "forthcoming" album RABID REACTION, as well as many older cuts. The second Live session was recorded in July of 2005. It consists of 14 tracks including TWO Brand New songs that have NEVER been heard or played anywhere else. The two songs are "Somebody's Been Bleeding" and "New Eyes". Rounding out the remainder of this forthcoming CD release will be three seldom heard tracks from a split CD we did with the German Punk band The Killrays, and the 4 tracks we recorded for a split CD we did with the Chicago Punk band The Bollweevils, called A DEADLY DUO. It was released in 1996 by Dr Strange. Both of these splits are now long out-of-print! Also in the works is a 25 year comprehensive DVD tentatively titled "25 YEARS OF DEFIANCE". It will include hours of Live footage never before available, interviews with band members past and present, and many other "Special Features". BEER CITY should be set to release this early in 2006. Finally watch for other re-releases of ALL currently out-of-print Cds', never before released LIVE shows, Rare and alternate tracks, and then finally a Second Tour of the state and a third tour of Europe. The Freeze have a sound that, though influenced heavily by their hard-core roots, transcends those boundries. Cliff is an amazing lyricist with a knack for incredibly catchy melodies with a tough and dangerous undercurrent. This dichotomy wins them acceptance in the underground while allowing them to cross-over in to the mainstream. They formed in Boston in1979. They released a self-produced single "I Hate Tourists" in 1980 that received heavy local airplay, garnered much favorable local press, and led to their signing with Modern Method Records. In 1982-83 THE FREEZE were featured on three Modern Method compilations: "Wicked Good Time Volume Two" (featured "American Town" ), "This Is Boston Not L.A." (featured eight FREEZE songs including the title track), and "Unsafe At Any Speed" (featured "Refridgerator Heaven"). 1984 brought the release of the "Guilty Face" 7 inch as well as their first full-length LP "Land Of The Lost" . In 1985 THE FREEZE toured the country in a black hearse in support of their LP and contributed a track to the Flipside compilation. The tour was cut short in Minneapolis when Cliff dove off the stage, destroyed his face, and had to be rushed to the hospital. In 1986 THE FREEZE put out their second album "Rabid Reaction" and toured the U.S. and Canada extensively. On their sixth trip to Canada they were stopped and strip searched at the border; the authorities confiscated marijauna, switch-blades and pornography and banned them from Canada for a year. The band broke up in 1989, but then reunited for a benefit show in 1990 and decided to keep playing together. In1991 TAANG! Records approached THE FREEZE about re-relasing their out-of-print-material and were surprised to learn that there were four new FREEZE songs recorded. Curtis (TAANG!) listened to the new material and was so psyched on it that he offered to put out an entire new FREEZE album. The band returned immediately to the studio and recorded their awe-inspiring release, "Misery Loves Company" which received an incredible response from critics. They were on the cover of both Concrete Foundations and CMJ's Loud Rock Report, and charted in metal and alternative.