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Toxic Reasons
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Project Name
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About
Dayton, Ohio’s Toxic Reasons were one of the originators of the U.S. hardcore punk movement. Formed in 1978, they were inspired by the first wave of punk and went on to make a pronounced mark on not only their own hometown region but inspire a national following of listeners and fellow musicians as well. Their debut album release “Independence” became a punk classic in the 1980’s.
The band’s logo showing the U.S., Canadian, and British flags joined not only represented their tri-national roots (Pearson from Canada, Clough and Lucjak from England, and Stuckey from the U.S.), but also came to symbolize the diversity of their sound, which mixed fast hardcore punk with melodic guitar lines and elements of punk-reggae.
On October 2nd, 1999, these Dayton punk rock heroes reunited to take the stage with their original line-up for the first time in nearly 17 years, as a way of showing their support and solidarity with fellow Dayton musician Gregg Spence, who was suffering from what proved to be a fatal illness at the time. From the very first power chord to the last note of the evening, Ed Pittman, Joel Agne, Bruce Stuckey, Rob Lucjak and J.J. Pearson were ON! The band wiped away the space of all those passing years with a powerful, inspired performance that arguably rivaled any of the best shows from the band's heydays of the early 80's (no small feat as veteran fans can attest to). The power and enthusiasm of the band was matched only by that of the crowd, which couldn't get enough of the Toxics' full-bore authentic punk rock & roll.
The event was produced and recorded in coordination with Big Beef Productions in order to document the event for further fundraising efforts for Gregg. This show and the others produced in support of The Gregg Spence Fund were some of the most successful and rewarding endeavors in the history of Big Beef Productions.
Recordings
A special up-close document of this rather amazing and legendary concert (setting Canal Street Tavern club records for both attendance and bar receipts!). The video also contains behind-the-scenes footage of the band while rehearsing the night before this historic event. The Toxic Reasons reunion was inspired by and in support of an aid fund for Gregg Spence - beloved musician and friend to so many in the Dayton music community who was fatally ill from cancer at the time. This video has since been released by Beer City Records as part of a special anniversary remaster re-release of the band’s groundbreaking debut release, “Independence.”
