Moss Icon

Moss Icon is an American post-hardcore band formed in late 1986 in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. Its original lineup comprised vocalist Jonathan Vance, guitarist Tonie Joy, bassist Monica DiGialleonardo, and drummer Mark Laurence. Alex Badertscher joined as the second guitarist in 1990. Moss Icon is considered to be an early influence on the hardcore punk splinter genre known as post-hardcore, as well as on the eventual development of emo. However, the band members themselves have repeatedly denied knowingly contributing to the latter genre in any way.

History and background

Formation to breakup

The band's identifying characteristics, and those that distinguished them from their contemporaries, included noticeable and abrupt transitions from loud to quiet, and Vance's esoteric stream of conscious lyrical content. Earlier recordings of the band are reminiscent of early Joy Division, while later songs embodied a less blunt approach with more exploratory arrangements and riffage. Vance's lyrics touched upon vaguely, among other issues, the plight of indigenous peoples of the Americas, and opposed the U.S. government's involvement in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

The band played frequently with fellow Annapolis band The Hated. Moss Icon recorded their debut 7", "Hate in Me", in January 1988, and entered the studio several months later to record their second 7", "Mahpiua Luta". Their ''Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly'' LP was recorded by Les Lentz (who engineered all of their studio recordings) throughout 1988 but was not released until mid-1994, three years after the band's break-up, by Vermiform Records. Moss Icon's third 7", entitled "Memorial", was recorded in January 1991 along with a split LP with Silver Bearing. In 1994, Ebullition Records released the ''It Disappears'' LP, compiling songs from "Memorial" with live versions of several songs.

In 1990, a splinter project of Moss Icon was formed called Breathing Walker, containing all four members of Moss Icon plus Alex Badertscher on bass, Zak Fusciello on percussion, and Tim Horner on violin. Breathing Walker released a cassette that was re-released on vinyl and CD in 2001 by the Vermin Scum label, along with live tracks.

Post-breakup and 2001 reformation

After the dissolution of Moss Icon, guitarist Tonie Joy was a member of the bands Universal Order of Armageddon, Born Against, and The Convocation Of.... (later christened The Convocation). Other band members were less involved in music, except for Laurence's drums in Lava, DiGialleonardo's Blue Condors, and Vance's solo debut LP.

Moss Icon reunited to play two shows with Zak Fusciello on drums, one at the 2001 More Than Music Fest in Columbus, Ohio and the other at the renovated Charles Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland.

Recent activity

In July 2008, Moss Icon was named one of the "23 Bands Who Shaped Punk" by '' Alternative Press'' magazine in issue No. 240. Vance's first officially released book, ''Tulip Has a Room,'' was published by Easysubcult.

Since 2007, Joy, Vance, Zak Fusciello, and Alex Badertscher have been occasionally working on new material in Baltimore, MD, for a possible new recording. In May 2012, a discography was released through Temporary Residence Limited, featuring two discs along with photos and lyrics. The band also played a couple of live shows (NYC and Washington, DC) in December 2014.

A 30th anniversary edition of ''Lyburnum Wits'' was released by Temporary Residence Limited.

Notable album art

Although neither Tonie Joy nor Jonathan Vance recall the specifics of how they discovered the iconic image for their full length ''Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly'' LP, its origin can be traced to a 1971 Scientific American article, which includes an illustration depicting a figure of a warrior modeled in clay is from the final period of occupation at Tepe Yahyii, when a Sassanian military outpost stood on the top of the mound from sometime in the third century B.C. to about A.D. 400. Thereafter only nomads visited the dead city." Tepe Yahya, midway between Mesopotamia and India, was a busy center of trade 5,500 years ago. An outpost of Mesopotamian urban culture, it played a key role in the spread of civilization from west to east.

Discography

*''Demo Tape'' (1987)
*''Hate in Me'' (1988, Vermin Scum/Dancing Song)
*''Mahpiua Luta'' (1989, Vermin Scum)
*''Memorial'' (1991, Vermin Scum)
*Split with Silver Bearing (1991, Vermin Scum)
*'' Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly'' (1994, Vermiform Records)
*''It Disappears'' (1994, Ebullition Records/Vermin Scum)

Compilation appearances

*Panx Zine No. 3 compilation 7" - song "Mirror" (1988, Panx)
*''Life is Change'' comp CD - song "Guatemala" (1991, Bari Beri)
*''Superpowers'' cassette compilation - song "Sioux Day" (1992, Troubleman Unlimited)
*''Powerless II'' comp LP - song "Divinity Cove" (1992)
*''Fear of Smell'' comp LP - song "Excerpt From It Disappears" (1993, Vermiform)
*''False Object Sensor'' comp LP/CD - song "Cornflower Blue" with Daniel Littleton of The Hated and Ida, and Michael Littleton of Ida (2001, Vermiform—also appears on The Hated "unreleased songs" bootleg LP)

References

External links

Temporary Residence reissues websiteMoss Icon - BandToBand.comReview of the Hate In Me 7"Moss Icon's Official Myspace page

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American post-hardcore musical groups
Hardcore punk groups from Maryland
Musical groups established in 1986
1986 establishments in Maryland
American emo musical groups
First-wave emo bands