On Saturday, December 7th, Bridge Nine had the honor of hosting the Godfathers of Hardcore, Vinnie Stigma and Roger Miret of Agnostic Front, for the highly anticipated release of both of their new books at an event that culminated with a very special performance.
To properly launch Vinnie’s memoir The Most Interesting Man In The World and Roger’s With Time: The Roger Miret Archives, Bridge Nine hosted a conversation with Vinnie and Roger (Howie had to cancel due to illness) that was moderated by Drew Stone (Incendiary Device). For over an hour, the three talked about the early years of the band, how it shaped their lives in the 4+ decades since, and the importance of properly documenting that early spark, the output of which became part of the foundation that Bridge Nine and many of our artists have been inspired by.
Agnostic Front: From A7 to B9. Photo courtesy of Dave Boccio (12/07/2024)
Billed From A7 to B9 to reference the iconic A7 venue that is known as the birthplace of New York Hardcore where Agnostic Front played their first show, Bridge Nine wanted to recreate the intimate experience of seeing the band perform on the floor of a backroom as they once did in the early days while supporting the release of their first album, Victim In Pain, forty years ago. Mike Gallo and Danny Lamagna were unable to make it for the weekend, so Roger recruited A7-era peers Mark McKay (OG Slapshot, The Long Wait) to play drums and Jaime Sciarappa (S.S. Decontrol, The Long Wait) to play bass in what became an iconic, one-off half-Boston, half-New York lineup of Agnostic Front. They ripped through a fourteen-song set made up of AF’s earliest material:
With Jaime helping round out Agnostic Front, they included a cover of S.S. Decontrol’s song “Glue” in the middle of the setlist, and recruited SSD drummer Chris Foley to perform the song, making it the first time since 1985 that Chris and Jaime (and SSD) had played it together.
L to R: Craig Silverman, Vinnie Stigma, Mark McKay, Roger Miret, Jaime Sciarappa.
Photo courtesy of Steven J. Messina
As caught on video by Drew Stone here:
They also invited longtime fan and friend Eugene Hutz of the band Gogol Bordello to join Vinnie Stigma in singing “Power,” which Vinnie had originally written in 1977 for his band The Eliminators, but had never recorded. It became an Agnostic Front song when finally recorded during the Victim In Pain recording session with Don Fury.
Vinnie Stigma and Eugene Hutz (Gogol Bordello) performing “Power.” Photo by Dave Boccio.
To help commemorate the event, Bridge Nine made a limited-edition T-shirt and poster. We have some leftovers and they are available to purchase while supplies last HERE.
Agnostic Front finished the set with their cover of “Crucified” by the band Iron Cross (footage courtesy of Drew Stone):
A lot of people worked behind the scenes to make this event happen and run smoothly. From left to right in the below photo you have Larry Kelley, Craig Silverman, Roger Miret, Todd Huber, Drew Stone, Mark McKay, Vinnie Stigma, Jaime Sciarappa, and Chris Wrenn:
Photo courtesy of Steven J. Messina
Not pictured but equally important to making this event happen (and run smoothly) was Kat Batten, Chris Padgett, Chris Foley of S.S. Decontrol, Anthony Moreschi, and Zach Weeks / Godcity!
Check out the full set as captured by Dirt The Sixth for their Youtube channel:
Agnostic Front: From A7 to B9 photo gallery courtesy of Chris Padgett:
Agnostic Front: From A7 to B9 photo gallery courtesy of Dave Boccio:
Agnostic Front: From A7 to B9 photo gallery courtesy of Adam Tanner:
Agnostic Front: From A7 to B9 photo gallery courtesy of Steven J. Messina:
Agnostic Front: From A7 to B9 video courtesy of Steven J. Messina:
Were you one of the lucky few that made it in to this event? Got some good photos or video? Hit us up so we can include them in this recap!