Initially the idea behind Prayer For A Fallen Angel was to be an all Erie straight edge hardcore group featuring numerous different friends on vocals and featuring me on guitar, Mike Ski on bass, and Bob Williams on drums, all 3 of which were in Brother's Keeper at the time. We even started writing some songs and took some really cool group photos that have been lost over the years. I still wish those would surface as they came out really bad ass. Anyway, the idea started to kind of change for some people and the initial design of an all Erie band started to get scrapped. I didn't want to have to tell my friends that they could no longer sing in the project. Then there was a suggestion for a 2nd guitarist who was a good friend of ours named Nate. Nate is an amazing guy and a great guitarist but he was no longer straight edge. So I decided that I didn't want to be a part of the project any longer as I felt like I was compromising what initially attracted me to the idea. It wasn't really that dramatic or anything as it was still in its infant stages idea wise. And to be honest, Nate wrote way better songs than I ever would have even dreamed of and made the band much much better!I think the idea got shelved for a little bit but Mike decided to pick up the pieces and got more momentum going again and enlisted some of our other friends to join in. The band added Dave Quiggle onto second guitar and asked some of my favorite vocalists/lyricists Chris Logan and DJ Rose. This band had nothing short of a super group resume at that point.
They wrote all 5 tracks and recorded them at our favorite local studio in Erie which was Miner Studios. Basically it was this old rocker dudes garage with a few mics and a tarp in it separating it in half. When I say garage I mean that he had to hit the automatic door opener when we wanted to go in or out. At the time every Erie hardcore band recorded there. The guys recorded the music and mailed off the recording to DJ and Chris who then penned some ideas down. The two eventually came down to Erie and they all put their ideas and lyrics together to finish out the songs. So basically the band never had a full practice with all of the members, not even one time in its existence. After all of the vocals were done a huge crew of us went out there and did the back up crew chants. It was a lot of fun with about 15 of us there encircling the microphone that was just sitting there in the middle of the floor. We all pointed our fingers angrily at it as we shouted our parts.
The band was later scheduled to appear at one of the highly successful Syracuse New Years shows but for one reason or another the band never got their act together and practiced, resulting in a cancellation even though most of the members were present seeing as how Brother's Keeper was on tour at the time with 78 Days (at least I think so). It's a shame too because I was very anxious to see them live and had plans on going completely apeshit. You see I just found this EP to be an awesome example of the hardcore that I grew up on and backed. It had all of the elements that make my heart pump a little faster and harder. Most of all I loved the lyrics, the originality, and the sincerity flowing through all of it. Granted the recording is a little rough and can be a little sloppy at times, the guitars have way too much treble (anyone remember those Line 6 pedals? ugh...), and the drums sound could be a bit better. I always looked past all of that and just enjoyed what my friends had created.
One of the singers Chris Logan released the CDep on his fledgling label at the time Goodfellow Records and I believe only 1,000 were pressed with no represses. Check out this gem and let me know what you think, I'm guessing a lot of people missed this one seeing as how it's over 11 years old.PRAYER FOR A FALLEN ANGEL was:
Chris Logan - Vocals (Chokehold, 78 Days)
DJ Rose - Vocals (Path of Resistance)
Dave Quiggle - Guitar (xDisciplex AD, Shockwave, No Innocent Victim, Jesus Wept)
Nate Black - Guitar (Abnegation, Run Devil Run, Problem Solver Revolver, Thick As Thieves)
Mike Ski - Bass / Vocals (Sumthin To Prove, Brother's Keeper, Run Devil Run, The AKAs)
Bob Williams - Drums (Brother's Keeper, Thick As Thieves, Problem Solver Revolver, The AKAs)
PRAYER FOR A FALLEN ANGEL "Drawing Near Armageddon" CDep
Released in 1997 on Goodfellow Records (GF004)
http://www.mediafire.com/download/r7zy213eyb5ac93/prayerforafallenangel.zip
1. Documentary
2. Losing Ground
3. The Jewel
4. Salvation's Voice
5. Bring It On
This is the show they were billed on but did not play:
