Artist Detailed Info: Bold

Bold is an American hardcore punk band from Katonah, New York, associated closely with the straight edge–oriented youth crew movement of the mid-to-late 1980s. Originally formed in 1983 under the name Crippled Youth, the group emerged from the vibrant New York hardcore scene centered around the Revelation Records roster and the influential all-ages culture surrounding venues such as CBGB and the Anthrax Club. The band consisted of vocalist Matt Warnke, guitarist John Zuluaga, bassist Tim Brooks, and drummer Drew Thomas.

The band first gained attention with the Join the Fight EP in 1986, released while they were still performing as Crippled Youth. Shortly afterward, they adopted the name Bold, signaling a move toward a more mature presentation while maintaining the foundational themes of straight edge, unity, and positivity.

Bold’s debut studio album, Speak Out, released in 1988, becoming one of Revelation Records’ defining releases. Its melodic but forceful style, tight musicianship, and earnest lyrical tone helped cement the youth crew sound alongside contemporaries such as Youth of Today, Gorilla Biscuits, and Side by Side. The band’s music is characterized by fast tempos, shouted gang vocals, and brief, high-energy compositions typical of late-1980s hardcore.

Though Bold disbanded at the end of the decade, its members occasionally reunited for performances in the 2000s and 2010s, reflecting the band’s enduring influence on straight edge and youth crew revival scenes. Their recordings remain highly regarded within hardcore punk circles, both for their musical impact and their role in shaping the ethos of the era.

There are multiple artists tracked as "Bold" on . The following are listed in order of prominence.

2. Bold released one obscure, self-titled psychedelic album on ABC in 1969, though earlier they'd released two hard garage rock singles on Cameo and Dynovoice (one of them credited to Steve Walker & the Bold). One of those singles, the group original "Gotta Get Some," was very much like Paul Revere & the Raiders at their toughest, and became a favorite among '60s garage collectors after its inclusion on Pebbles, Vol. 9. Another -- a less distinctive cover of "The Train Kept a Rollin'," showed up on Pebbles, Vol. 10. By the time of their ABC album, they'd gone psychedelic, and dropped the "the" from their "the Bold" billing. Produced by a young Bill Szymczyk (later to produce the Eagles, the Who, and several other stars), Bold is a minor but respectable and diverse LP, mixing harmony vocals, classically-influenced organ, and some of the folk-rock sensibility of Buffalo Springfield in that band's harder-rocking moments.

Bold grew out of the Esquires, who formed at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, where one of their friends was the young, then-university student Taj Mahal. The Esquires released a pretty forgettable, early British Invasion-influenced single before changing their personnel, changing their name to Bold, and releasing their Cameo and Dynovoice singles in 1966 and 1967, respectively. Although they were popular regionally, opening for stars like Mahal, Big Brother & the Holding Company, and Jimi Hendrix, their ABC album didn't break them to a bigger audience, and they disbanded shortly afterward. Lead guitarist Bob LaPalm and drummer Tim Griffin formed Clean Living, who put out a couple of albums on Vanguard in the early 1970s, and Griffin briefly played drums for James Taylor. Everything released by Bold -- including the ABC album, the two pre-ABC singles, and the Esquires single -- is included on the Misty Lane CD compilation Lullaby Opus Four.

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