Chris Wrenn was interviewed this week on the Mid Life Punk Podcast, where he dials things back fifteen years to 2008 and discusses five of the records that came out that year. Give it a listen HERE!
Bridge Nine's First Official Record Store Day & Indie Label Market A Success
Chris Wrenn (L) with Chris Foley (Drummer, SSD), Al Barile (Vocalist, SSD), and Jaime Sciarappa (Bass, SSD). Photo by Nancy Barile.
Bridge Nine Records celebrated its first ever Record Store Day as an actual record store this past Saturday, April 22nd, and also with the label’s first ever official Record Store Day release. Agnostic Front released “United Blood (The Extended Sessions)”, a 19-song LP version of their original 10-song EP from 1983. We pressed 3,000 copies on clear vinyl and it was amazing to hear from so many other stores that this record was the only other record that sold out that day besides Taylor Swift. This was a great way to commemorate 40 years of United Blood.
The Bridge Nine store opened early at 10 am to a line of RSD supporters and the store quickly filled with excited shoppers. An indie label market, featuring local labels from the New England area, also took place in the store’s back warehouse. Participating labels were X-Claim! Records, Counter Intuitive Records, Crimewave Records, Tor Johnson Records, Sound Investment Records, Hellhound Publishing, and Iodine Recordings.
Al Barile was onsite with X-Claim! along with his wife, Nancy Barile, author of the book “I’m Not Holding Your Coat”. Photo by Nancy Barile
The market featured lots of other vendors and organizations from the punk community. Al Quint of Suburban Voice, an avid record collector and seller, set up shop with some awesome titles for sale. Women Of The Pit, a charity based organization established to highlight and promote bands and fans of the hardcore music scene, was also in attendance promoting their first compilation, Stronger Together Vol. 1, featuring various female led punk and hardcore bands. The team behind Hope Fest, a yearly benefit music festival that takes place in Salem each year, was also onsite to promote their September 2nd festival in support of nAGLY. Larry Kelley displayed items from the late Lexa Vonn, an activist, fashion designer and music memorabilia collector. Local educator and author Nancy Barile was onsite with her awesome book, I’m Not Holding Your Coat. And Al Barile, Jaime Sciarappa, and Chris Foley of SSD hung out for a few hours, telling stories and sharing memories.
Needless to say, it was an incredible day and the Bridge Nine team is grateful for a few hundred of our supportive customers coming through and all our amazing vendors. We hope to do more events like this in the future, so be sure to join our email list if you haven’t already and follow us on social media!
New Noise Magazine features Agnostic Front & Bridge Nine
BRIDGE NINE AND AGNOSTIC FRONT CELEBRATE RECORD STORE DAY
by Toni Elton
“Bridge Nine Records, a hardcore and punk music label hailing from the mid-90s, commemorates Record Store Day this Saturday with a remixed and remastered version of Agnostic Front’s “United Blood” EP. Agnostic Front helped pave the way for the hardcore scene in New York in the early 80s, with “United Blood” being their first release in 1983. The re-release of the EP by Bridge Nine, pays homage to the band and the early days of the scene that it was part of.” Click here to continue reading article on New Noise Magazine’s website…
Bridge Nine Records featured in Salem News
Vinyl roars back on Record Store Day
By Joel Barrett
“At Bridge Nine Records in Beverly, proprietors of the shop, which began as and continues to be a record label, are kicking out the jams for RSD 2023.
The day will feature the label’s release of a 40th anniversary expanded edition of legendary New York hardcore band Agnostic Front’s “United Blood” EP.
The extended version is a remaster of the original EP, as well as previously unreleased versions of the band’s earliest and classic recordings. Bridge Nine is also inviting other independent record labels to set up tables in its warehouse for a RSD market to sell vinyl and merchandise and network. It’s a way for these labels to gain extra exposure and new fans.” Click here to continue reading the article on Salem News…
AGNOSTIC FRONT "United Blood" Record Store Day: What To Know
This Saturday, make sure you visit your local record store carrying RSD releases to pick up this record (for the full list and to search, click HERE!)
We are proud to help Agnostic Front commemorate 40 years of United Blood by offering an expanded, 19-song LP version of their original 10-song EP from 1983. NYHC recording legend Don Fury, who produced the session, has returned to the original reels to remix and remaster United Blood to include unreleased and alternate tracks. For Record Store Day, we’ve pressed 3,000 copies on clear vinyl. Once these are sold out in stores, there WILL be a re-pressing, so don’t stress!
EUROPE and overseas fans: Due to a distributor error, all copies were committed to domestic, North American accounts. This is understandably disappointing to AF’s many fans overseas, so please know that we are working with our distributors to make a special pressing available for you as soon as possible.
Iron Chic: Three Shows in April!
Iron Chic will be playing three shows at the end of the month, April 27th-29th, in support of Screaming Females! Be sure to check them out if you’re in the Philly, Brooklyn, or Boston area! Tickets available here.
Terror to Begin Tour with Black Dahlia Murder and More
Terror hits the road this Saturday (4/15) with The Black Dahlia Murder, Frozen Soul, Fuming Mouth, and Phobophilic! First date is at the Roxian Theatre in Pittsburgh, PA. Check out dates and grab tickets HERE.
Record Store Day LABEL MARKET At Bridge Nine / April 22nd
SAVE THE DATE & JOIN US FOR RECORD STORE DAY: Saturday, April 22nd! We'll be opening early at 10:00 am and will have lots of RSD2023 exclusive releases in store, including the RSD exclusive extended edition of Agnostic Front's United Blood! In the spirit of Record Store Day, we've also invited local independent record labels to pop-up in our warehouse event space for the day. Visit with labels like X-Claim! Records, Crimewave Records, Tor Johnson Records, Sound Investment Records, Hellhound Publishing, Iodine Recordings, and more! If you have a label or know a label that might be interested, have them contact us - spots are free and we have plenty of space. We are also excited to announce that educator and author Nancy Barile will be here with her book, I'm Not Holding Your Coat!
See you on Record Store Day! More details are available on the Facebook event page HERE!
This Is Hardcore 2023 Lineup Announced
Tickets go on sale Monday, April 10th!
Roger Miret (Agnostic Front) Guided Tours / Punk Rock Museum (Vegas)
Roger Miret of Agnostic Front will be at The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas this weekend (Friday April 7th, Saturday April 8th, and Sunday April 9th), giving guided tours! If you’re in Vegas, you can grab tickets for a tour with Roger HERE!
Memorial Show to Benefit The Family of Sean Lipinski (Holding On) / June 3, 2023
A memorial show to benefit the family of Sean Lipinski, who released an album with the band Holding On in 2002. He passed away in December, more about that can be found HERE.
Tickets are available HERE.
All Ages Hardcore Matinee
Sunset (with Sean’s brother Mike on guitar)
Gnaw @gnawonyourmind
Harvest @harvest.hc
Empire Down @empiredownband
Blue Ox @blueox_mpls
Desperate Acts @desperateacts
Identity Crisis @identity_crisisband
Strike Anywhere Nightmares of the West European Tour 2023
Strike Anywhere is headed to Europe this September and October! Details below:
28.09.2023 NL Venlo, Grenswerk +
29.09.2023 BE Antwerp, Kavka +
01.10.2023 DE Hanover, Faust +
02.10.2023 DE Cologne, Helios37 +
03.10.2023 DE Wiesbaden, Schlachthof +
04.10.2023 DE Stuttgart, JuHa West +
05.10.2023 DE Zwiesel, Jugendcafe +
06.10.2023 DE Lindau, Club Vaudeville +*
07.10.2023 AT Graz, Erntepunk Fest
08.10.2023 SI Ljubljana, Club Gromka
10.10.2023 IT Milan, Legend Club
11.10.2023 CH Baden, Werkk
12.10.2023 DE Nuremberg, Desi
13.10.2023 DE Leipzig, Conne Island /
15.10.2023 DE Hamburg, Molotow /
🎫 Tickets & Info: Destiny Tourbooking
+ w/ Roughneck Riot (UK)
* w/ Moscow Death Brigade (RU)
/ w/ Bellyacher (DE)
DEFEATER to Play Two Shows for The 10 Year Anniversary of 'Letters Home'
DEFEATER will be playing a Boston and a New York show supported by Caspian, Stand Still, Rough Francis, Stay Inside, and Only Sibling to commemorate their album 'Letters Home', released a decade ago. Tickets will be available HERE starting 10AM EST on Friday 3/24.
SLAPSHOT hitting the Road with Sheer Terror This Week!
Slapshot is hitting the road with the mighty Sheer Terror starting tomorrow in Baltimore. Catch them on their way back up the East Coast this week!
New Found Glory helps open the B9 Warehouse Matinee Series
Ceremonial “Ribbon Cutting” with New Found Glory, who performed at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Dominic DiNardo
Two years after getting the keys to our new HQ in Beverly, Mass and just six months after opening our record store here on Rantoul Street, Bridge Nine hosted our inaugural fully-plugged-in live performance with the band New Found Glory, who very graciously kicked off our first Warehouse Matinee just hours before doing double-duty at their sold-out show at the 900-seat Somerville Theatre.
Deciding to open a record store was a conscious effort to engage with people more. Our last HQ was hidden away in an industrial complex. Now that we’re on a busy street in a cool downtown area, we wanted to create opportunities for people to get together. And what better way then by inviting one of our favorite bands to perform for the most intimate of audiences?
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Chris Padgett
Bridge Nine has had a long history with New Found Glory, going back to when we first met them in 2004, in Australia of all places. Chris B9 was with a band doing a club tour, and New Found Glory had just landed in the same city about to start their own tour the following day. Once they realized an American hardcore band was playing in town, they came to the show to check it out and say hello. We stayed in touch, and three years later when NFG guitarist Chad Gilbert produced our first release for H2O, the Nothing To Prove album, we started talking about releasing something for International Superheroes of Hardcore, the heavier alter-ego of NFG. That turned into the dual-release Tip Of The Iceberg 7” and ISHC LP, which came out in the spring of 2008, and the first of eleven different releases with the New Found Glory camp over the next five years.
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Chris Padgett
New Found Glory is currently on tour supporting their new album on Revelation Records called Make The Most Of It, which is an acoustic album written by the band in the wake of Chad Gilbert’s cancer diagnosis. He has been receiving treatment for a rare form of cancer called Pheochromocytoma, and has sat out the second half of the tour, with Dan from Four Year Strong filling in for him. We had asked Chad if NFG would be down to play our store, and the band agreed to do it, so we created an exclusive cover for their new album in homage to the famous Judge Chung King Can Suck It LP and updated it with the Cancer Can Suck It slogan that Chad had been using on tour. These LP’s were made in a limited quantity, hand-numbered, and only available in-person at the Bridge Nine store. The bonus though, was it came with admission to see the band perform fully plugged-in less than a week later!
New Found Glory’s Make The Most Of It with limited-edition Cancer Can Suck It cover
To get the warehouse ready, long-time supporter Larry Kelley built a drum riser and tracked down a drum set and much of the backline that was needed for the band to perform. Chris picked the band up at the Somerville Theatre in a 12-passenger van, and rushed them back to the Bridge Nine store. After a short sound check, they ripped through twelve songs in just over thirty minutes.
Everyone here at Bridge Nine wants to thank New Found Glory for playing our store and warehouse, and wish Chad Gilbert well as he continues to receive treatment for Pheochromocytoma. You were missed, and we hope you can make it out to the B9HQ on your next tour!
Did you miss out on the NFG show? Don’t miss our next event! Make sure to follow us on Instagram, and get on our Mailing List!
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Dominic DiNardo
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Elena de Soto
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Dominic DiNardo
New Found Glory performing LIVE at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Elena de Soto
New Found Glory at Bridge Nine on 3/16/23. Photo by Ana Massard