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Birds Of A Feather

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"This story starts way back, somewhere in the mid 80-ies. When Bigma turned straight edge. In his local squat (first an old policestation - ironcally - and later an old bank-office) he met Michael, who later started Profound. Profound turned into Manliftingbanner when Bigma joined. After the demise of Manliftingbanner, Bigma continued his straight edge crusade of a responsible, self controlled fullfilled life with Mainstrike, europe's #1 straight edge outfit from the late 90-ies. After Mainstrike Bigma went on with No Denial and Strike First. In 2005, after some disappointments, he was stuck without a band.

Pushing towards 40, Bigma wasn't rethinking his ideals for a better society, instead his urgency to get out his message was growing stronger and stronger. He wanted to address the current hardcore scene, where the true spirit and meanings of the orginal first wave of straight edge were lost. Strangely enough, just around the corner from Bigma's house, about a two minute walk, JP, from Value Of Strength magazine, had mutual feelings. He wanted to startle up the scene with a 30+ straight edge band, showing that the ideas behind straight edge still hold true, even in 'real life'. So Bigma teamed up with Pepijn en Jonas all hailing from Mainstrike to start Birds Of A Feather, a straight edge band with members over 30 (hmm, well at that time Pepijn was 29). Fortunately Peter of Crucial Response
Records really loved the idea, so as a one time project they recorded the Our Aim 7" for Peters Voice Of A Generation fanzine in 2005. In the meantime JP, a die-hard scenester who had been active in the worldwide straight edge/hardcore community since the late 80-ies, varying from booking shows and doing festivals to working for a Chicago based record label but who never was a serious musician, picked up the bass again, and practiced until his fingers became sore. A bass-player was born again. To complete the band they need to add a guitarplayer, so the four of them started looking for someone to take that position.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe we go back to the mid 80-ies again. Marc was playing in BTD, a now classic dutch hardcore band. Hanging out with the locals of Lärm, he caught the straight edge virus in 1985. When BTD folded, Marc was really anxious to jump the bandwagon and start a dutch straight edge band, in an atmosphere were Profound was leading the pack and bands like Feeding the Fire and The Crivits also emerging. Betray was born. After Betray stopped to be in 1991, Marc held on to the straight edge message, both in his following bands (2 ska bands, 1 alternative rock band and his current punk/hc outfit Nixnieuwz) as in his personal life. Sailin' On, a dutch fanzine focused on straight edge, did an interview in 2005 with all the tracked down former members of Betray. When Bigma and JP flipped thru that particular issue of the fanzine, they knew they had found their guitarplayer.

Birds Of A Feather was now a five-piece band, ready to rock. Besides Marc's short stint in the US in early 2006, everything seemed to be 'sunny side up'. But, as everyone knows, when a band matures, problems arise. Pepijn lived 130 miles away from the pratice space, and playing the drums, starting a new career and the travelling was too much for him. A replacement was found in Gijs, former drummer of A Step Apart, and the vocalist for the Tenement Kids. The five went out for a short mini-tour in the summer of 2006 to Poland and Germany. Again, the Birds were struggling after this successfull trip. Gijs' other band Tenement Kids had recorded a beautiful album, but promoting that album, attending school and pursuing a career were too timeconsuming for Gijs, so he had to quit. At the same time Jonas decided to quit. To juggle between his marriage, child, career, Birds Of A Feather and possibly his disappointment in todays hardcore scene made it impossible for Jonas to keep going on with the band.

Are these the risks you face for being "old" and in a hardcore band? Well, what doens't kill Birds Of A Feather makes the band stronger. Bigma found a new drummer in Paul, a 30 year newjack, high strung on natural adrenalin! To fullfill the quest for a new guitarplayer they knew they really needed someone that, besides playing the guitar, really understood what Birds Of A Feather is all about. Only one guy could do the job, and with him the original pioneer stage of dutch straight edge would be brought together in Birds Of A Feather. So we asked Jeff, orginal co-founder of the Crivits, and just like the rest of us, the urge to bring the message and music (and a little help of his wife) did overwin mundane time problems of aforementioned types (house, job, marriage, children).

So Birds Of A Feather is ready. Full-forced. Working on a full length album that just got completed at Bunt Studio's in the Netherlands. Watch out for 80-ies style, youth crew singalong hardcore, bringing an ever urgent message for a positive lifestyle and a better society. If you don't, they will get to you anyhow."

Contact
Website	http://www.myspace.com/xbirdsofafeatherx

Latest news

Title (comments)	Date
Birds of A Feather LP + book pre-orders up now (45)	12 May 2009
Eye Of Judgement & Birds Of A Feather tour (11)	13 April 2008
Birds Of A Feather sign with Refuse Records (10)	2 April 2008
Birds Of A Feather update & new records coming up! (11)	26 November 2007
Crucial Response Showcase July 1st (7)	29 May 2007
Birds Of A Feather news (2)	17 November 2006
Birds Of A Feather - Our Aim CD out on Crucial Response (7)	14 August 2006
More Birds Of A Feather news (16)	27 July 2006
Abusive Action and Birds Of A Feather tour Germany and Poland (3)	27 July 2006
Crucial Response update (12)	22 May 2006

Reviews

Birds Of A Feather - The Past The Present

24 October 2008 · Birds Of A Feather is an old school hardcore band from Amsterdam and Rotterdam with an average age well over thirty which makes it probably the hardcore band with the oldest average age in the... »

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Birds Of A Feather - Chapter 5

13 April 2008 · Two years after the first 7” BOAF is back with a new 7”, this time on good old Commitment Records. Birds Of A Feather have seen a lot of line up changes these last two years and turned into a real... »

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Birds Of A Feather - Our Aim

23 September 2006 · After an initial release as a bonus 7" together with the Voice of a Generation zine, the Birds of a Feather 7" is finally available on a compact disc. This five piece straight edge band with an... »

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v/a - Light The Fuse compilation 2006

18 August 2006 · As with the previous Light The Fuse edition this year there also was a compilation 7". This time Abusive Action, Birds Of A Feather, Strike First, True Colors, Remain & New Morality contributed a... »

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v/a - Voice Of A Generation zine #1

15 January 2006 · This is the first issue of the "Voice Of A Generation"- fanzine. The people behind VOAG zine are Peter and Arne. Peter is best known for being the driving force behind Crucial Response Records for... »

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Specials

Birds Of A Feather: The Past, The Present, The Contest.

11 June 2009 · Are you curious about the new record and the book? You can win it here. »

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Birds Of A Feather: The Past, The Present, The Interview.

25 May 2009 · Recently BOAF finished their concept record. It contains their record from last year released on LP with a large book on the European hardcore scene. This for me was primarily the reason to ask them... »

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