CANCER ALLEY

CANCER ALLEY was a brief flash in Oakland in 1995, a time when I was paralyzed by a double decker bridge and excessive amounts of amphetamines and rarely left my neighborhood, much less San Francisco. There were plenty of shows to see in SF, my band had managed to get blacklisted from 924 Gilman without ever playing there (something I'm still simultaneously proud of and confused by), so I figured I didn't need to cross the bridge for much of anything, and certainly not a punk show. I do not always make good decisions. CANCER ALLEY was made up of the rhythm section from GRIMPLE, the guitarist from ECONOCHRIST and Adam Thompson on vocals.  I loved every band that each member of CANCER ALLEY had been in, and I knew they existed at the time, but still I chose to stay in The Mission and get high and go see MENSCLUB in a bar. Don't get me wrong, MENSCLUB were great, but they aren't this. Adam's vocals perfectly capture the BORN AGAINST/ECONOCHRIST all consuming frustration, and as good as the songs are, those yowls are still the highlight for me. CANCER ALLEY were through after just a few shows (Adam quit, he does important things now), but the rest of the band continued after Adam left, adding the vocalist from MULTI FACET (one of the most underrated bands from that era of Oakland punk) and a second guitarist (Grant ex-ANIMAL FARM, pre-TALK IS POISON). They renamed themselves OJOROJO and several of these songs made it onto OJOROJO's full length. Only 7 songs here, but this demo is mandatory listening...dark and desperate.

CANCER ALLEY