Judge (band)

Judgeis aNew York hardcoreband formed in 1987 byYouth of TodayguitaristJohn "Porcell" Porcellyand former Youth of Today drummer Mike "Judge" Ferraro.

Judge
Origin	New York City
Genres	Hardcore punk,tough guy hardcore
Years active	1987–1991, 2013–present
Labels	Revelation,Schism
Members	Mike Ferraro John Porcell Sammy Siegler Charlie Garriga Matt Pincus
Past members	Luke Abbey Jimmy Yu Lars Weiss Ryan Hoffman

History

Their first release was a 7-inchEPon Porcell's labelSchism(which he ran along with Side by Side/Gorilla Biscuitsguitar playerAlex Brown) entitledNew York Crew.The record featured five songs, one of which was a cover of "Warriors" by the Britishoi!/punkbandBlitz.On this recording, the band was merely a two-piece, featuring Porcelly on bass and guitar, and Ferraro on vocals and drums. But with the addition of bass-playerJimmy Yu(of Mike's former band Death Before Dishonor, which eventually evolved into Supertouch) and drummer "Lukey" Luke Abbey (Warzone/Gorilla Biscuits), they got together a fully functional live line-up.

The band received much criticism due to their militantstraight edgelyrics, especially from fanzines like San Francisco'sMaximum Rock'N'Roll.The militant lyrics were a conscious move on the band's part, as they were sick of seeing bands likeYouth of Today,who in reality had a very positive message, get slagged for being too militant. So they decided to give the nay-sayers exactly what they wanted – the most militant Straight Edge band imaginable. Mike Ferraro has later on admitted that provocation was an important aim for the band.

Judge was not just heavy in message, the music had verymetal-influenced riffing, but remained close to itshardcoreroots, without going all out metal, such as bands likeAgnostic FrontandD.R.I.

With a new line-up ofSammy Siegler(Side by Side/Youth of Today/Project Xetc.) on drums andMatt Pincuson bass, the band proceeded to record their full-length LPBringin' It DownforRevelation RecordsatChung King Studiosin New York City. The recording was finished, but the band were so unhappy with the result that they decided to scrap it and re-record it at Normandy Sound inRhode Island,where theCro-Magshad recorded theirBest Wishesalbum. Revelation did however put out a limited pressing of the original recording, fittingly titledChung King Can Suck It.It was given to people who had pre-ordered the record, and with only 110 copies pressed (all on white vinyl), it is one of the most sought-after hardcore records in existence, going for as much as $6,600 on online auction sites such aseBay. Eventually,Bringin' It Downwas released in 1989. Judge continued touring up until 1991, and even released another 7-inch EP,There Will Be Quiet,featuring "The Storm" and "Forget This Time" (the CD-version also contains a cover version of "When the Levee Breaks",originally byLed Zeppelin).

In May 2013, Judge reunited and played two shows in New York City. In 2014 and 2015, the band continued to play shows in United States as well as in South America and Europe.

Careers after Judge

John Porcellywent on to tour and record withHare Krishnahardcore bandShelter(featuringRay CappoofYouth of Today,as well as a revolving line-up of more and less well-known hardcore musicians, includingTom CaponeofBoldandQuicksand,andVic DiCaraof Beyond,Inside Out,and108). Porcelly later started the bands Never Surrender and Last of the Famous, and ran a record label called Fight Fire with Fire and the website TrueTillDeath, but all these projects seem to be either scrapped or inactive. He played with the reunitedBoldin 2005–06, and a book chronicling all issues of his fanzineSchismwas also released in late 2005.

Mike Ferraro (musician) (not to be confused with television and filmmakerMike Judge) formed the band Mike Judge & Old Smoke with Judge roadie Todd Schwartz, a band playingNeil Young-inspired acoustic as well as guitar driven music. They released a 12-inch "Sights onRevelation Recordsin 1993. In his free time, Ferraro now raises chickens on a family farm in West Virginia.

Sammy Sieglerplayed in several late 1980s/early 1990s hardcore bands, either regularly or as a replacement. In the mid-late 1990s he recorded and toured with the bandCIV,featuringAnthony Civarelliand Arthur Smilios ofGorilla Biscuits.He has also appeared inShelter,and major label rock bandRival Schools,featuringWalter Schreifels(also ofGorilla Biscuits,as well asQuicksandand several other bands) He recorded Glassjaw first full-length. In 2005 he joinedLimp Bizkitas temporary replacement for drummerJohn Otto.

Matt Pincusis the Founder and former CEO ofSongs Music Publishingwhich, until its sale in 2017, was the leading contemporary independent music publisher in the United States. SONGS clients includedThe Weeknd,Lorde,Diplo,DJ Mustard,and many other songwriters in all genres of music. In 2017, SONGS was acquired by Kobalt Music Publishing.

Jimmy Yubecame aChan/ZenBuddhist monkin 1991 under the name Guogu, and now teachesBuddhismand meditation under the direction ofChan/ZenMasterSheng Yen.Yu is currently an Assistant Professor of Religion at Florida State University. Yu received his Ph.D. from Princeton University's Department of Religion in 2008. Yu teaches courses in East Asian religious traditions, specializing in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism and late imperial Chinese cultural history. His research interests include the cultural history of the body, Buddhist monasticism, Chan/Zen Buddhism, and popular religions within the broader context of fifteenth to seventeenth centuries China. Here is a 2008 Double Cross Hardcore fanzineinterviewwith Jimmy Yu in which he talks about growing up in the hardcore scene.

Members

Current

• Mike Ferraro – vocals(1987–1991, 2013–present),drums(1987)
• John Porcell– guitar1987–1991, 2013–present,bass(1987)
• Sammy Siegler– drums(1989–1991, 2013–present)
• Charlie Garriga – guitar(2013–present)
• Matt Pincus– bass(1989–1991, 2013–present)

Former

• Luke Abbey – drums(1988–1989)
• Jimmy Yu – bass(1988–1989)
• Lars Weiss – guitar(1990–1991)
• Ryan Hoffman – guitar(1991)

Discography

Official releases

• New York Crew7-inch EP (Schism Records(SKIZ-2) (1988) /Revelation Records(REV 14)) (1989)
  • 3000 copies in 3 pressings onSchism.
  • Later re-pressed on Revelation, with a picture label ofSammy Sieglerripping off a "have your id's ready" sign in front ofCBGB's.The 1st press was 4000 black and 1000 blue vinyl. It has later been repressed in the thousands.
• Chung King Can Suck ItLP (Revelation Records(REV −1) (REV200-1)
  • One-time press of 110 on white vinyl.
  • 2nd press in 2024, wich includes new photos by Jeffrey Ladd and a reversed-out version of the original white album cover. This remastered version marks as the 200th release on Revelation Records.
• Bringin' It DownLP (Revelation Records(REV 15)) (1989)
  • 1st press: 5458 black vinyl, 712 green vinyl, purple labels.
  • 2nd press: black vinyl, red labels.
  • 3rd press (and beyond): black vinyl, maroon labels.
  • Final press (2001): 333 orange vinyl.
• There Will Be Quiet...7-inch EP (Revelation Records(REV 20)) (1990)
  • 4000 black vinyl, 1000 gold vinyl.
• What It Meant: The Complete DiscographyCD/2×LP (Revelation Records(REV 122)
  • Contains all of Judge's recorded output, includingChung King Can Suck Itfor the first time on an official, non-limited Revelation release.

Bootlegs

• Revelation Can Suck It10-inch (Revoltation Records) (1992)
  • Contains the recording that appears on the limited'Chung King Can Suck It'LP, but on a 10-inch format.
• No Apologies: The Chung King SessionsLP (Lost & Found Records (LF033)) (1992)
  • Another bootleg of theChung King...LP. Also has 4 additional bonus tracks.
• Vivo En WNYU7-inch
  • Contains part of the band's 1988 appearance on the 'Crucial Chaos' radio-show on New York City's WNYU radio station.
  • 500 black vinyl, 50 red vinyl, xeroxed sleeve.