Deep Wound was an American
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
band formed in 1982 in
Westfield, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...
.
They released one self-titled 7-inch and contributed two songs to the compilation LP, ''
Bands That Could Be God'',
both of which are sought after by fans and record collectors alike. The band influenced the Massachusetts hardcore scene and the development of
grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...
.
History
In the early 1980s,
J Mascis
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. (born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist a ...
and Deep Wound vocalist Charlie Nakajima lived in
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...
, and attended the same high school. In 1982, guitarist
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock ...
met bassist
Scott Helland
Scott Helland is an American alternative rock musician, acoustic guitarist, bassist and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Outpatients, and Frenchy and the Punk. He also performs instrumental music as Guitarmy of One. Hell ...
at the
Oi!
Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement wa ...
singles bin in a local record shop. Soon after, Helland posted a flier looking for musicians who were influenced by bands such as
Anti-Pasti
Anti-Pasti was a British punk rock band, founded by vocalist Martin Roper and guitarist Dugi Bell in 1978, featuring Kev Nixon on drums and Will Hoon on bass guitar. Later they were joined by a second guitarist, Ollie Hoon. Their first album, ...
and
Discharge. Mascis responded to the ad and was driven by his father to Barlow's place in Westfield to audition as the band’s drummer. Although the band already had a singer, Mascis convinced them to replace him with Nakajima, and Deep Wound's line-up was complete.
The band quickly recorded a demo cassette and began to play shows in Boston with local hardcore bands such as
SSD
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a type of solid-state storage device that uses Integrated circuit, integrated circuits to store data persistence (computer science), persistently. It is sometimes called semiconductor storage device, solid-stat ...
,
The F.U.'s,
Jerry's Kids, etc., and often opened for
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
bands playing in Western Massachusetts. Shortly thereafter, the band recorded its self-titled EP, released on Radiobeat Records, and contributed two tracks to
Gerard Cosloy's ''Bands That Could Be God'' compilation LP. Studio recordings of a later session with Gerard singing have apparently been lost. As the band progressed, they began playing faster and faster, eventually developing a blur-type sound that could verge on experimental noise.
Deep Wound disbanded in 1984 with J Mascis and Lou Barlow going on to form
Dinosaur Jr. Barlow later left Dinosaur Jr. and formed
Sebadoh
Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for his ...
,
Sentridoh, and
Folk Implosion. Scott Helland formed the
Outpatients,
played bass in Darkside NYC and is now the guitarist for
Frenchy and the Punk. Charlie Nakajima later formed
GobbleHoof. J Mascis can often be seen sporting a 'Deep Wound' sweater (knitted by his mother) in Dinosaur Jr. photographs.
In April 2004,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
played a show at John Green Hall on the
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
campus in
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...
with J Mascis and Sebadoh as the opening acts and the anticipation was that the two would reunite for a few Dinosaur Jr. songs. Unexpectedly though, after J Mascis' set, he returned to the stage on drums and Charlie Nakajima came out to address the crowd. Lou Barlow and Scott Helland soon appeared and the stunned audience witnessed a one-song Deep Wound reunion.
In 2005, British record label
Damaged Goods released a Discography LP compiling the 1982 demo, self-titled 7-inch and the tracks from ''Bands That Could Be God''.
In June 2013 Helland joined the members of Dinosaur Jr. to perform the song "Training Ground" at the Governor's Ball in New York City.
Lineup
*
J Mascis
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. (born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist a ...
- drums (1982–1984, 2004, 2013)
*
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock ...
- guitar (1982–1984, 2004, 2013)
*
Scott Helland
Scott Helland is an American alternative rock musician, acoustic guitarist, bassist and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Outpatients, and Frenchy and the Punk. He also performs instrumental music as Guitarmy of One. Hell ...
- bass (1982–1984, 2004, 2013)
* Charlie Nakajima - vocals (1982–1984, 2004, 2013)
Discography
EPs
*''Demo'' Cassette (1983, Self-released)
*''Deep Wound'' 7-inch EP (1983, Radiobeat)
Compilation albums
*''Deep Wound'' LP (1997,
Damaged Goods)
*''Almost Complete'' CD (2006, Baked Goods)
Compilation appearances
*''Bands That Could Be God'' (1984, Conflict/Radiobeat) - "Time to Stand", "You're False"
References
External links
Scott Helland official siteDamaged Goods RecordsDeep Wound at FLEX!
{{Authority control
Hardcore punk groups from Massachusetts
Musical groups established in 1982
Musical groups disestablished in 1984
1982 establishments in Massachusetts