 Talk now
of all the 'great' European Oi! Bands coming thru as the 21st century sets
in, and at some point you'll be sure to hear the name of HEADCASE mentioned
somewhere in the conversation, and deservedly so, but HEADCASE are not a
'new' band, and it has been a long hard road of struggle over 12 years for
this likeable bunch of Belgians.
Originally formed in 1986 they immediately found it hard to take a foothold
on an Oi! scene which at that time was wavering to say the least, not
to mention the usual line-up problems due to lack of dedication from some
of the band members. Eventually enough was enough and the original HEADCASE
decided to call it a day. Each went there own way and formed new bands.
In 1993 Face (drums) and vocalist Nick Hoste, both wanting to get back
into the Oi! scene, joined on guitar by Kris and by kidnapping the PRIDE's
bass player, Chris, started playing a metal / rock blend with punk and
Oi! influences under the name of CAT O'NINE TAILS. They played several
gigs and even managed to record a couple of demo's which attracted record
label interest, but still they realised that this wasn't really the direction
that they wanted to take. In '96 they decided to go back to their 100%
Oi! Oi! roots. Original HEADCASE stringsman Henk rejoined as a 2nd guitarist
and the band re-emerged as HEADCASE once more.
It was this line up which recorded the 5 songs which featured on the
"Still fighting" mini-CD which appeared on Pure Impact Records
in 1997. Unfortunately, soon after these recordings Henk left the band
once again and Chris returned to his 'number one job' with the PRIDE.
Finding a good replacement bassist proved to be an arduous task and after
trying out several alternatives Chuck joined the band in 1998. Chuck has
been with the band ever since and this line-up, Nick - vocals, Kris -
guitar, Face - drums, Chuck - bass, recorded HEADCASE's much acclaimed
1999 debut album "Coming home", also for Pure Impact.
To date as well as playing regular gigs around Belgium and Holland as
a few in Britain and Austria, HEADCASE have appeared on stage, on occasions,
with The Pride, The Business, Condemned 84, Anti-Heroes, Gundog, Major
Accident, On File, Crashed Out, Section 5, Demented Are Go, Ultima Thule,
Argy Bargy, Bitter Grin, and many other German, French, Belgian, and Dutch
bands of course.
For more info, interviews and gig offers, you can contact Pure Impact
or the band direct at Nick Hoste, Weidestraat 77, 8310 Assebroek, Belgium.
http://www.headcase.be
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