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John Joseph | |
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 McGowan with Cro-Mags in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Joseph McGowan |
| Born | October 3, 1962 New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Hardcore punk, crossover thrash |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, author |
| Formerly of | Cro-Mags |
John Joseph McGowan (born October 3, 1962) is an American musician and author, most famous for his work as the lead singer of the hardcore band Cro-Mags. He is currently the vocalist of Bloodclot. [1] [2]
McGowan was raised in foster care, [3] and grew up on the streets of New York City.
McGowan joined the New York City hardcore punk band Cro-Mags in 1981 as the lead singer and then again from 1984 until 1987, taking over on vocals from Eric Casanova. And rejoined in 1991 - He sang on a demo and wrote lyrics on the band's first, third, and fourth albums ( The Age of Quarrel , Alpha Omega , and Near Death Experience ). He also sings lead on the Before the Quarrel CD, essentially a reissue of the demo.
Before, during, and after his time in the Cro-Mags, McGowan served as a roadie for Bad Brains, and portrayed a mentally handicapped Santa Claus in a wheelchair pretending to beg for donations. He returned to the Cro-Mags briefly in the 1990s.
He also worked as a bicycle messenger in New York City from 1981 to 1991
McGowan has also sung for the bands Both Worlds and Bloodclot. His autobiography, The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon, published in 2007, details the major events in his life, including his extensive involvement with the hare krishnas, as well his experiences with the Cro-Mags and Bad Brains.
Interviews with McGowan were featured in the 1999 documentary N.Y.H.C. as well as the 2006 documentary American Hardcore. [4]
McGowan authored Evolution of a Cro-Magnon (2007) [5] and Meat Is for Pussies (2010). [6] [7]
McGowan follows a plant-based diet. He was a vegan prior to becoming plant-based. [8] He lives a straight edge lifestyle, but does not identify with its subculture. [9] [10]
McGowan is a triathlete competitor, he writes about his "positive mental attitude" and vegan lifestyle, and he is known for his anti-vaccine stance against mandatory vaccine policy requirements. [11]
Hardcore punk is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk scenes in San Francisco and Southern California which arose as a reaction against the still predominant hippie cultural climate of the time. It was also inspired by Washington, D.C., and New York punk rock and early proto-punk. Hardcore punk generally disavows commercialism, the established music industry and "anything similar to the characteristics of mainstream rock" and often addresses social and political topics with "confrontational, politically charged lyrics".
Bad Brains are an American band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1976. They are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk, heavy metal, hip hop, and soul. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the mother of all black hard-rock bands", and they have been cited as a seminal influence to numerous other subgenres in addition to hardcore punk, including various subgenres of heavy metal, such as thrash/speed metal, alternative metal, and funk metal. Bad Brains are followers of the Rastafari movement.
Karl Buechner is an American musician from Syracuse, New York, best known as the frontman for the hardcore band Earth Crisis. He is also the singer of Freya, Path of Resistance, Vehement Serenade, Apocalypse Tribe and 1000 Drops of Venom.
Youth crew is a music subculture of hardcore punk, which was particularly prominent during the New York hardcore scene of the late 1980s. Youth crew is distinguished from other punk styles by its optimism and moralistic outlook. The original youth crew bands and fans were predominantly straight edge.
Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with the punk subculture and punk rock. It is primarily concerned with concepts such as mutual aid, against selling out, hierarchy, white supremacy, authoritarianism, eugenics, class and classism, while supporting anti-consumerism, anti-corporatism, anti-war, anti-imperialism, leftism, anti-globalization, anti-gentrification, anti-racism, anti-sexism, gender equality, anti-homophobia, racial equality, animal rights, free-thought and non-conformity. One of its main tenets is a rejection of mainstream, corporate mass culture and its values. It continues to evolve its ideology as the movement spreads throughout North America from its origins in England and New York and embraces a range of anti-racist and anti-sexist belief systems. Punk does not necessarily lend itself to any particular political ideology as it is primarily anti-establishment although leftist punk is more common due to the prevalence of liberal and conservative ideologies in the status-quo.
Cro-Mags are an American hardcore punk band from New York City. The band, which has a strong cult following, has released six studio albums, with the first two considered the most influential. With a Hare Krishna background, they were among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal.
New York hardcore is both the hardcore punk music created in New York City and the subculture and lifestyle associated with that music. New York hardcore grew out of the hardcore scene established in Washington, D.C., by bands such as Bad Brains and Minor Threat. Initially a local phenomenon of the 1980s and 1990s, New York hardcore eventually grew to establish an international reputation with little to moderate mainstream popularity but with a dedicated and enthusiastic underground following, primarily in Europe and the United States. With a history spanning over more than four decades, many of the early New York hardcore bands are still in activity to this day. Some of them have been continuously or almost continuously active since their formation as well as having reunion shows.
Paul D. Hudson, known professionally as H.R., is an American musician who leads the hardcore punk band Bad Brains, and is an instrumental figure in the development of the genre. His vocal delivery has been described as diverse, ranging from a rapid-fire nasal whine, to feral growling and screeches, to smooth near-crooning or staccato reggae rhymes. He has departed the band periodically to pursue solo efforts that are more reggae than Bad Brains' punk sound. He is the older brother of Earl Hudson, Bad Brains' drummer.
Gary Miller, better known by his stage name Dr. Know, is an American musician, who rose to prominence as the guitarist for the Washington D.C. hardcore punk band Bad Brains, who were critically acclaimed for their innovative musical style and are regarded as one of the greatest and most influential punk rock bands of all time. Critic Rick Anderson praises Miller's "ability to meld the raw directness of hardcore punk with an almost supernatural virtuosity without sacrificing the power of either approach".
Todd Schofield, known as Todd Youth, was an American guitarist, best known for his work with Warzone, Murphy's Law and Danzig.
Harley Francis Flanagan is an American musician. He is currently the bassist, vocalist and sole remaining founding member of New York hardcore band the Cro-Mags.
American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980–1986 is a documentary directed and produced by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush. It is based on the 2001 book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush. It world premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on September 22, 2006 on a limited basis by Sony Pictures Classics. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on February 20, 2007.
The Age of Quarrel is the first album by the New York hardcore band Cro-Mags. It was released on then-independent Profile Records in September 1986. It was subsequently re-released by Another Planet in 1994, along with the band's second album, Best Wishes, on the same disc.
Alpha Omega is the third album by the New York hardcore band Cro-Mags. It was released in 1992 on Century Media Records. In 2013, German record label Demons Run Amok Entertainment re-issued it on vinyl. The album features their former vocalist John Joseph who had been expelled from the band in 1987.
Krishnacore is a subgenre of hardcore punk that draws inspiration from the Hare Krishna tradition. Although some hardcore punk bands had already made references to Krishna Consciousness in the 1980s, the subgenre was established in the early 1990s by the bands Shelter and 108. The name is a portmanteau of "Krishna" and "hardcore".
Steven Blush is an American author, journalist, record collector and film maker who is best known for his book American Hardcore and the movie of the same name. Blush has written five books, is the founder of Seconds magazine and has written articles for many magazines. Two of his books have been made into movies. Blush's work mainly specializes in hardcore punk music.
Animal rights are closely associated with two ideologies of the punk subculture: anarcho-punk and straight edge. This association dates back to the 1980s and has been expressed in areas that include song lyrics, benefit concerts for animal rights organisations, and militant actions of activists influenced by punk music. Among the latter, Rod Coronado, Peter Daniel Young and members of SHAC are notable. This issue spread into various punk rock and hardcore subgenres, e.g. crust punk, metalcore and grindcore, eventually becoming a distinctive feature of punk culture.
In the Beginning is the sixth studio album by the New York hardcore band Cro-Mags. It was released on June 19, 2020 and marks the band's first album in two decades.
Kevin Mayhew, known professionally as Parris Mayhew or Parris Mitchell Mayhew, is an American musician, songwriter, director and camera operator. He is best known as a founding member of the New York Hardcore band Cro-Mags, in which he played guitar. He has also played in a number of other bands, including White Devil, the MAD, Sămsära, Psychic Orgy, and Aggros.
[...] I don't put X's on my hands but I'm straight edge all the fucking way. [...] I accepted the positivity, but like I said I don't need to wear my shit like a badge. [...]
Straight edge, this and that. [...] I'm just saying, be yourself, I don't need a crew, I never needed a crew [...]
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