Ryan Hoffman - Chain Of Strength

This is part of an ongoing piece where we asked various people from bands over the years what they recall as the most memorable show they ever played (or attended, if they were never in a band), and why. What is posted here is only a sliver of what is to come, so be sure to check back. -DCXX

After playing many great shows, with thousands of fantastic bands, one stands out in my mind. The most memorable would have to be the first Chain of Strength show. Why? Probably because I am still good friends with people I met at that show (SD Glue Crew) and it was the birth of COS. My friend Trevor and I put on the show, which was a lot of work, but well worth the reward. It turned out that several great bands were on tour that summer and all in Southern California at the same time. I remember booking the show with Youth Of Today, Insted and CHAIN which alone would have been great, but I kept getting calls from other bands who wanted to play. The first call was Richie from Underdog, which was great so we added them to the bill. The second was Bobby from SoulSide. I love SoulSide, so how could I say no? The next was Zack from Hardstance, who knew he would soon become a big rock star (Rage Against The Machine) and forget about us punk rockers, but I said yes and that completed the lineup. That show was done in true D.I.Y. fashion, which helped make it so memorable, and everyone had the time of their lives.

And to add to the story, earlier that day while the sound guy was unloading the PA, Ray from Youth of Today and myself sat in my car in front of the venue and I played him the Chain of Strength demo. He asked me a few things about the quality and why the vocals were so low, and then follow up by saying "I want this on Revelation." I said "let's do it," and the rest is history. We considered remixing, but the master tape was lost so the demo Ray heard that day in my car was soon released as Rev:10 "True Till Death." A truly memorable day.