Useless ID () is an Israeli

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band, formed in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

in 1994.

History

Useless ID was founded in 1994 as a four-piece: Guy Carmel - vocal and guitar, Ralf Hober - drums, Adi Elkabets - lead guitar, Nadav Elkabets - Bass. At its first years, the band was mainly active in the Israeli punk scene, and released two studio albums independently, on its own label "Falafel Records", named after band member's favorite food, the

falafel Falafel (; , ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter of Egyptian origin that features in Middle Eastern cuisine, particularly Levantine cuisines. It is made from ground fava beans, chickpeas, or both, and mixed with herbs and spic ...

. The band's singer at the time was rhythm guitarist Guy Carmel. Two years after the band's formation, the four members decided to play shows in the United States and toured around the country for six months. This successful tour was followed by five more tours around North America, two around Europe and one in Japan. In 1996, upon returning to Israel from the tours, the band's bassist Adi Elkabets was replaced by Yotam Ben-Horin. The band's international breakthrough happened in 1999, after

The Ataris The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is '' So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting s ...

frontman,

Kris Roe The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting si ...

, heard the band and invited it to record a split album for

Kung Fu Records Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the l ...

. The album, titled '' Let It Burn'', featured nine songs by the Ataris and seven by Useless ID. The song "Too Bad You Don't Get It" was also featured on

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is an independent record label based in San Francisco focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) and his wife at the time, Erin Burkett in 1990. ...

' compilation, ''

Short Music for Short People Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known a ...

'' that same year. After the release of ''Let It Burn'', the band signed to Kung Fu Records, and in 2001 the band's third studio album, '' Bad Story, Happy Ending'', was released. The album was produced by Kris Roe. This was the first album by the band to feature bassist Yotam Ben-Horin on lead vocals. Ben-Horin eventually became the band's frontman and main composer and lyricist. In 2003 the band released another album via Kung Fu, titled '' No Vacation from the World'', with

Angus Cooke The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting si ...

co-producing the album with the band, and additional production by

Tony Sly Anthony James Sly (November 4, 1970 – July 31, 2012) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic mu ...

No Use for a Name No Use for a Name (sometimes abbreviated NUFAN or No Use) was an American punk rock band from Sunnyvale, California, formed in 1986 by Chris Dodge (guitar), Steve Papoutsis (bass) and Rory Koff (drums). The band's sound evolved considerably throu ...

. A year later, the band was featured in the Fat Wreck Chords' '' Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2'' compilation, with the song "State of Fear". After returning to Israel, the band released its fifth album, '' Redemption'', in December 2004 in Israel and Japan, and July 2005 in the rest of the world. This album was produced by Bill Stevenson of

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

fame, and recorded at

The Blasting Room The Blasting Room is a recording studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. Founded by members of the punk rock band All in 1994, it is owned and operated by musician Bill Stevenson ( Descendents, Black Flag, All, Only Crime) and Jason Livermore. T ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

between March and April 2004. Drummer Ido Blaustein left the band prior to the recording of the album. Moshe Liberman played drums on the album, but Yonatan Harpak of Israeli punk band Punkache joined as the official drummer prior to the release of the album. Still in 2004, the band took part in the movie " Jericho's Echo", directed by Liz Nord, which dealt with the Israeli

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 ...

and hardcore scene. In September 2006, the band released a DVD, titled '' Ratfaces Home Videos Presents Useless ID'', containing live and studio video clips of the band. In 2008 the band returned to the Blasting Room, to record its sixth studio album, again with Stevenson as producer. On July 24, 2008, it was announced that the album, entitled '' The Lost Broken Bones'', would be released via

Suburban Home Records Suburban Home Records and Distribution is a record label based in Denver, Colorado, United States. The label was founded in 1995 by Virgil Dickerson, and is known for focusing on vinyl releases and bands in the pop-punk and alt-country genres. Its ...

in October of that year. After the recording of the album, the band left for a brief tour around the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and in June 2008, the band played live in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

, London, as part of the "Salute to Israel" event. After another tour in Japan and China in September, the band returned to Israel for a special release show of ''The Lost Broken Bones'' on October 18, 2008, at the Barby club in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, joined by famous musicians from the Israeli mainstream music scene, including

Danny Sanderson Danny Sanderson (; born November 30, 1950) is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist. In 2005, Sanderson received a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Israeli music. Biography Sanderson was born in Kibbutz Kfar B ...

, Muki and more. The band finished off 2008 with an Israeli tour supporting ''The Lost Broken Bones'', playing in Haifa, with Betzefer and Friday Night Sissy Fight, in Tel Aviv with Got No Shame and Kill the Drive, and in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

with Man Alive, Mondo Gecko and Evenyaru. In

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

2009, the band joined Betzefer and Almana Shchora for a special show in Tel Aviv. After opening for No Use for a Name for two shows in Tel Aviv, Israel, Useless ID joined them as support on the remainder of their summer European dates during June and July. In the summer of 2009, the band recorded an album in Hebrew, with Israeli

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artist Muki, in which the band wrote and played all the music, and Muki was responsible for all the lyrics. Useless ID singer Yotam Ben-Horin co-sings on some songs. The band celebrated the launch of the project with a tour across Israel, starting with the first show on August 15, 2009, at the Barzilay Club in Tel Aviv. The collaboration's launch show was on September 30, 2009, at the ''Reading 3'' club at the Tel Aviv port. In September 2009, Yotam Ben-Horin has finished recording his solo acoustic album, and started writing material for the next Useless ID album. The Muki and Useless ID collaboration album was released on January 7, 2010, followed by an official release show on January 28, 2010, at the Barby club in Tel Aviv. In May 2010, frontman Yotam Ben-Horin confirmed that he had written most of the material for the band's next album, with only some writing left and plans to record the album in the end of 2010. In July 2010, the band went on a European tour with Gideon Berger of Kill the Drive filling in on drums, as the band's drummer Yonatan Harpak could not leave the country. In February 2011, the band recorded and mixed their next album at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado with producer Bill Stevenson, with whom they had worked on their previous two albums. On January 30, 2011, Yotam Ben-Horin announced on his

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page that songwriting for the new Useless ID album was complete. On February 16, 2011, the band released a compilation album, entitled '' The Lost Broken Tunes: Vol. 1''. The compilation was released exclusively in Japan, and featured demos, outtakes, acoustic tracks and other rare tracks that didn't make the band's last album ''The Lost Broken Bones''. A second volume, entitled '' The Lost Broken Tunes: Vol. 2'' followed a month later, on March 16, 2011, and included older demos and unreleased material that dated back to 1999. Useless ID planned to perform as a supporting act to

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine is a punk rock band led by Jello Biafra. They released their debut album, '' The Audacity of Hype'' in October 2009. Biography Inspired by Iggy Pop's 60th birthday gig at the Warfield in San F ...

on July 2, 2011, at the Barby club in Tel Aviv, Israel, but three days before the show, Biafra announced that he would be cancelling his appearance for political reasons. In response, the band turned the concert into a free show, with supporting acts Bo La'Bar and Mondo Gecko, for all the disappointed fans. On November 28, 2011, it was announced that Fat Wreck Chords had signed Useless ID and would release their next album. The resulting album, their seventh, was entitled ''

Symptoms Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

'' and was released on February 14, 2012. On January 10, 2012, the song "Before It Kills" was released as the first single off the new album, on the Fat Wreck Chords website, while the band debuted another new song, "New Misery", while playing a

Vans Vans (originally called the Van Doren Rubber Company) is an American apparel, accessories, and skateboarding shoes brand, established in Anaheim, California, and owned by VF Corporation. The company also sponsors surf, snowboarding, BMX, and ...

sponsored show with Betzefer, on January 5, 2012. On February 21, 2012,

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

premiered the music video for "Before It Kills", the first single off ''Symptoms''. The same day, the band also released the

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner. Balla ...

"Somewhere" as a radio single, being the second single off ''Symptoms''. On March 7, 2012, it was announced that drummer Jonathan Harpak would be leaving the band after eight years, to pursue other musical projects. His replacement was announced to be guitarist Ishay Berger's younger brother Gilad Gilad - Gideon Berger, who is also the drummer for Haifa-based

skate punk Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skateboarding, skater subculture and punk rock Music genre, subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, sk ...

band Kill the Drive, and had played with Useless ID before, in 2010, as a touring member. In June–July 2012, the band embarked on a European tour supporting

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the ba ...

, with a few headlining dates in between, supported by

Gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

and

Adept An adept is an individual identified as having attained a specific level of knowledge, skill, or aptitude in doctrines relevant to a particular occult discipline, such as alchemy or magic. According to magical tradition, adepts stand out from ...

. In October 2012, the band embarked on another tour supporting Lagwagon, along with

The Flatliners The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows. History ...

and Dead to Me, this time touring the US and Canada. In November, they supported the German punk band

Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...

on their

Ballast der Republik ''Ballast der Republik'' (Burden Of The Republic, pun on Pallast der Republik) is a 2012 album by the German punk band Die Toten Hosen. It was their first studio album since 2008's '' In aller Stille''. In order to commemorate the band's 30th anni ...

Tour in Germany, playing major arenas, in front of big crowds. On June 17, 2013, the band released "Symptoms" as their third single of their album of the same name. An animated music video by young Israeli animation artist Yotam Goren was released for the single. On October 4, 2015, the band played a special show at the Barby club in Tel Aviv, celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their 2005 album ''Redemption''. During the show, the band announced they would be flying to the United States to record a new album in December. On December 3, 2015, the band announced via their official Facebook page that it had begun recording a new studio album at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, with producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, who produced the band's previous three albums. Recording and mixing for the album was complete by December 19, 2015. On April 15, 2016, the band announced that their eighth studio album - '' State Is Burning'' would be released on July 1, 2016, and released the first single off the album, " We Don't Want the Airwaves". It was announced that the single would be released on a 7-inch EP on May 6, 2016, that would feature the single, as well as three exclusive tracks: an album B-side that didn't make the cut for the album, as well as two acoustic outtakes, one of which is for the title track of the album.

Band members

;Current members * Yotam Ben-Horin - bass (1996–present), lead vocals (2000–present), backing vocals (1996–2000) * Ishay Berger - lead guitar, backing vocals (1996–present) * Guy Carmel - rhythm guitar (1994–present), lead vocals (1994–2000), backing vocals (2000–present) * Corey Ben Yehuda - drums (2016–present) ;Former members * Gideon Berger - drums (2012–2016) * Jonathan Harpak - drums (2004–2012) * Moshe Liberman - drums (2004) * Ido Blaustein - drums (2000–2004) * Ralph Huber - drums (1994–2000) * Adi Alkabetz - bass, backing vocals (1994–1996) * Nadav Alkabetz - lead guitar, backing vocals (1994–1996) ;Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

- ''Dead's Not Punk'' (Falafel Records/Yo-Yo Records) *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

- ''Get in the Pita Bread Pit'' (Falafel Records) *

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

- ''Bad Story, Happy Ending'' (

) *

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

- ''No Vacation From The World'' (Kung Fu Records) *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

- ''Redemption'' (Kung Fu Records) *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

- '' The Lost Broken Bones'' (

) *

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

- ''

'' (Fat Wreck Chords) *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

- '' State Is Burning'' (Fat Wreck Chords)

EPs and splits

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

- ''Demo (Hashsub)'' (Falafel Records) * 1995 - ''Room of Anger'' (Falafel Records) *

- Split with All You Can Eat (Farmhouse Records) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

- Split with Spyhole (Yo-Yo Records) *

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

- Split with Tagtraum (Vitaminepillen Records) * 2000 - ''Let It Burn'', split with

(Kung Fu Records/Yo-Yo Records) *

- Split with Man Alive (Dying Is Deadly Records) *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

- ''Attack of the B-Killers'', split with Man Alive,

Yidcore Yidcore are an Australian Jewish punk rock band from Melbourne, formed in 1998. Known primarily for playing punk covers of Jewish and Israeli songs, the band started writing more of its own material in later albums. Logo The band's logo is ...

and

Atom and His Package Adam Goren (born January 14, 1975), known by his stage name Atom and His Package, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and teacher. He has released more than 18 albums under various aliases. His music is identifiable by its heavy use of ...

(Boomtown/MGM) *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

- ''Muki & Useless ID'' (Hatav Hashmini) *

- '' We Don't Want the Airwaves'' (Fat Wreck Chords) *

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

- Split with Topsy Turvy's (Jerkoff Records/Ratgirl Records) * 2018 - ''Among Other Zeros and Ones'', split with Tarakany! (Jerkoff Records/Ratgirl Records) *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

- ''7 Hits From Hell'' (Fat Wreck Chords)

Compilations

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

- ''The Lost Broken Tunes: Vol. 1'' * 2011 - ''The Lost Broken Tunes: Vol. 2'' *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

- ''Most Useless Songs'' (Fat Wreck Chords)

Compilations contributions

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

- ''Breaking the Cultural Curfew'' - "Is It Right" (Beer City Records) *

- ''No Fate Vol. IV'' - "Something" (H.G. Fact Records) *

- ''

'' - "Too Bad You Don't Get It" (Fat Wreck Chords) *

- ''You Call This Music?! Volume 1'' - "Lonely Heart" ( Geykido Comet Records) *

- '' Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2'' - "State of Fear" (Fat Wreck Chords) *

- '' Avoda Ivrit'' (''Hebrew Work'') - "Lu Hayiti Pirat" ("If I Was a Pirate") **A four-CD compilation of Israeli songs celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Israel.

DVDs

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

- '' Ratfaces Home Videos Presents Useless ID''

References

External links

Official websiteFan-powered Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Useless Id Israeli punk rock groups Israeli pop punk groups Israeli alternative rock groups Fat Wreck Chords artists Musical groups established in 1994 Shield Recordings artists