State of Alert


State of Alert was an American hardcore punk group formed in Washington, D.C. in October 1980, and disbanded in July 1981. S.O.A. was fronted by Henry Rollins, then using his original surname Garfield.

History

S.O.A. was formed in October 1980, after the members of a previous group, the Extorts, lost their vocalist Lyle Preslar and hired Rollins, then known by his birth name Henry Garfield. The original lineup consisted of Rollins, Michael Hampton, Wendel Blow and Simon Jacobsen.
During December 1980 and January 1981, the group recorded the 10-song 7" EP No Policy at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, produced by Skip Groff and engineered by Inner Ear owner Don Zientara. It was released on Dischord Records in March 1981, as the label's second release. No Policy was financed by Rollins, as Dischord was tied up in releasing Minor Threat's debut EP.
Circa April 1981, drummer Jacobsen was replaced by Ivor Hanson. At the time, Hanson's father was a top admiral in the US Navy and his family shared living quarters with the vice president in the Naval Observatory. The band held their practices there and had to be let in by Secret Service agents.
S.O.A. played a total of nine concerts in and around the eastern United States, the first on December 6, 1980 in Washington, D.C., and the last on July 10, 1981 in Philadelphia. Rollins later described their performances: "All of them were 11 to 14 minutes in duration because the songs were all like 40 seconds... and the rest of the time we were going, 'Are you ready? Are you ready?' Those gigs were poorly played songs in between 'Are you readys?"
Three S.O.A. songs were posthumously included on the influential Dischord compilation Flex Your Head, issued in January 1982.
No Policy was later included, in its entirety, on the Dischord compilations Four Old 7"s on a 12" and Dischord 1981: The Year in Seven Inches. In 2014, Dischord issued a 7" EP of early demos, titled First Demo 12/29/80.

Legacy and other projects

Today, S.O.A. is remembered primarily as Rollins' first band – before he joined Black Flag and then founded Rollins Band – but also as an example of early "DC hardcore" and an influence on other bands such as Detroit's Negative Approach and New York City's Agnostic Front.
Hampton and Hanson went on to form the Faith in 1981 with Alec MacKaye, and then Embrace with Ian MacKaye in 1985. In 1986, Hampton joined One Last Wish with Guy Picciotto and Brendan Canty., and also played in the Snakes. Moving to indie rock, Hampton joined forces again with Hanson to form Manifesto in 1988, and later played with members of Ivy in Paco.
Blow went on to play in Iron Cross and Lethal Intent.

Band members

Former members

EPs