Gone is a three-piece
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
-based
instrumental rock
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular f ...
band, formed by
Greg Ginn in late 1985. Originally, Gone was a
side project
In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style.
Usually these projects emphasize ...
to his main group
Black Flag.
Biography
Before forming Gone, Ginn had been performing some instrumental compositions with Black Flag themselves. For Gone, Ginn tapped bassist
Andrew Weiss and drummer
Sim Cain, who had previously played together in the band
Regressive Aid. They recorded their first album, ''
Let's Get Gone, Real Gone for a Change'', in late 1985 and released it in 1986 on Ginn's
SST Records
SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters, a small business through which he sold elec ...
label. The album title comes from an
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
quote uttered on his Sun Records-era recording "Milkcow Blues Boogie"; the actual quote is both attributed on the back cover of the album, and sampled into the album's second song, "Get Gone".
Gone were the opening act for Black Flag's entire 1986 tour, which lasted for the first six months of the year. On a typical day during the tour, Gone would perform one set at an in-store appearance, then go down to the venue where Black Flag were headlining, set up, and open the show. Ginn's only break in the evening would be when the second opening band,
Painted Willie, performed; he would then get onstage with Black Flag and play a 90-minute set.
During a break between 1986 tour legs, Gone recorded their second album, ''Gone II: But Never Too Gone''.
In August 1986, Ginn disbanded Black Flag after ten years, presumably to concentrate on Gone and on running SST, but Ginn suddenly disbanded the group not long after ''Gone II But Not Too Gone'' was released. By the time the new year started, Weiss and Cain would join former Black Flag singer
Henry Rollins
Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, comedian, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1 ...
in the
Rollins Band
Rollins Band was an American rock band formed in Van Nuys, California. The band was active from 1987 to 2006 and was led by former Black Flag (band), Black Flag vocalist Henry Rollins. They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "L ...
.
In 1993, Ginn revived the Gone name and recruited a new rhythm section, bassist Steve Sharp and drummer Gregory Moore, both of whom had played on instrumental tracks Ginn recorded and released on his second and third solo albums, ''Dick'' and ''Let It Burn''. This line up recorded four albums. Gone went quiet in 1998, coinciding with a near decade of silence from SST Records. Ginn and Gone returned in 2007 with ''The Epic Trilogy'', a double CD consisting of 3 lengthy tracks (disc one featured instrumental versions of the songs and disc two featured guest vocals from
Bad Brains
Bad Brains are an American punk rock 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 ade ...
vocalist
H.R.). Greg played both guitar and bass, Andy Batwinas (who was engineer on a number of albums for SST in the 1990s) provided keyboards and percussion, and the drums were handled by Moore, who now performs under the pseudonym "Drummer".
Another band called "Gone" exists, and their two albums have mistakenly been combined with the original band's on the
AllMusic.com database. However, they have absolutely no connection whatsoever to either Ginn or his record label.
Members
*
Greg Ginn - guitar (1985-1986, 1993-1998, 2007), bass (2007)
*
Sim Cain - drums (1985–1986)
*
Andrew Weiss - bass (1985–1986)
*Steve Sharp - bass (1993–1998)
*Gregory Moore aka "Drummer" - drums (1993-1998, 2007)
*Andy Batwinas - engineer (1994-1998, 2007), keys and percussion (2007)
Discography
*''
Let's Get Gone, Real Gone for a Change, LP (SST Records, 1986)
*''
Gone II - But Never Too Gone!'' LP (SST Records, 1986)
*''
Criminal Mind'' LP (SST Records, 1994)
*''Smoking Gun'' remix EP (SST Records, 1994)
*''
All The Dirt That's Fit To Print'' LP (SST Records, 1994)
*''Damage Control'' remix EP (SST Records, 1995)
*''
Best Left Unsaid'' LP (SST Records, 1996)
*''
Country Dumb'' LP (SST Records, 1998)
*''
The Epic Trilogy'' double CD (SST Records, 2007)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gone
Musical groups established in 1985
SST Records artists