Epidemic (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with the band Epidemic from Brazil or Israel which played a similar style of music, or the mainstream act Epidemic with lead singer Boris Bouma who released an album on Elektra records in 2002 and have since disbanded, or the punk band from Boston called The Epidemic.
Epidemic
Origin Palo Alto, California, United States
Genre(s) Thrash metal , Heavy metal
Years active 1987–1994
Label(s) Metalcore/Metal Blade
Members
Carl Fulli
Mark Bodine
Erik Moggridge
Bobby Cochran
Former members
Guy Higbey
Geoff Bruce

Epidemic was a San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band of late 1980s and early 1990s.

Contents

[edit] History

The band was formed in early 1987 by Mark Bodine (bass), Guy Higbey (guitar), Erik Moggridge (guitar) and a friend (Ted Kamp) on drums to play the senior night talent show at their high school in Palo Alto, CA. After playing a set of two songs (a cover of Metallica's Creeping Death and an original song penned by Moggridge called No Mans Land) and enjoying the experience the guys decided to continue and pursue the band full time taking the Epidemic name from the Slayer song of the same name.

After recruiting drummer Geoff Bruce and vocalist Carl Fulli to complete the lineup, the band entered a Battle of the Bands contest held at the Mountain View Theater in September of 1987. Having only recruited Carl Fulli a couple of weeks prior, and having no previous experience, the band had no real expectations of winning the contest. After the first night of competition the band had reached the finals and subsequently won the competition the next night. They won an opening slot for Death Angel the following month.

The band recorded their first demo in December of 1987 called "Immortal Minority". Achieving minor success in the Bay Area and playing almost every thrash show at the Mountain View Theater, with the likes of Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Death Angel, DRI, etc, the band started to branch out further, playing shows at the Stone in San Francisco and the Omni Oakland.


In the fall of 1988 the band came to the conclusion that they needed a better drummer and asked Geoff Bruce to leave the band. They recruited Bobby Cochran, a longtime friend and former Punisher drummer, to take over duties. With this line-up, Epidemic went into Telluride Studios in Palo Alto to record their now classic demo "Demo '89". The band initially gave out 300 free demos after a Vio-lence show at the Omni and the buzz grew tremendously. The band sent out the demo to many magazines, radio stations and labels and created a name for themselves globally. The band estimates they sold roughly 5,000-7,000 demos on their own over the next two years. During this time the band's popularity grew and were able to headline venues on their own. Epidemic's first headline show at the Stone was filled at 90% capacity. During this time they also reached agreement with Marco Barbieri, current label head of Century Media Records, to become their manager. Also, a deal was reached with Metalcore Records in Europe for the release of "Demo '89" on CD and vinyl. This would be the first official CD released by the band under the title "The Truth of What Will Be...". It was only released in Europe.

In January of 1991, the band recorded their "Extremities '91" demo, which led to their signing a record contract with Metal Blade Records. The band recorded their debut album at HOS studios in Palo Alto and in the summer of 1992 "Decameron" was released. The band went on a two week East Coast tour with Malevolent Creation and Suffocation (band) in December of 1992 and eight weeks later headed out on a nationwide tour with Cannibal Corpse and Unleashed in early 1993. The band gained a lot exposure as well as experience, as this was what they thought was the beginning of their touring years.

After coming home from the tours the band focused on writing new material but asked guitarist Higbey to leave the band. This was a difficult decision for the band but they moved forward as a four piece and continued to write and prepare for their next album. Entering Razor's Edge studios in San Francisco in the fall of 1993 the band recorded what they feel was their best recording in the album "Exit Paradise". They released it in October 1994. Unfortunately the band decided to break up a couple months after the release of this album due to differences in the band and the label's lack of support.

[edit] Last line-up

  • Carl Fulli - vocals
  • Mark Bodine - Bass
  • Erik Moggridge - Guitar
  • Bobby Cochran - Drums

[edit] Former members

  • Guy Higbey - Guitar (1987-1993)
  • Geoff Bruce - Drums (1987-1988)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Demos

  • Immortal Minority - 1988
  • Demo '89 - 1989
  • Extremities '91 - 1991

[edit] Albums