Editor’s note: This biography of Bird Of Ill Omen was originally written by Alexandre Julien, with collaboration from the band members, throughout 2007 for the band’s now -defunct official Myspace page. It has since been re-written and improved upon for Abridged Pause Blog.

-Chapter 1 (Summer 1996 – October 1996)

In the early summer of 1996, bass guitarist Thomas Rankine, who had previously played in Burning Strong and Stonecast, setup a jam with local Miami, Florida musicians for a new emotional hardcore band. He recruited George Rios (aka “Lil’ Jorge”) on drums, who had previously played in the doom-sludge metal band Floor and the metalcore band Brethren. The new band also featured Andrew Logan and José Martinez on guitars, and Carlos “Bundy” Perez and a Nicole Sorondo on dual vocals. This line-up named itself Crestfallen, after the Split Lip song from the 1993 album For The Love Of The Wounded.

Initially, Crestfallen had little direction and its sound mimicked bands like Ashes, Starkweather and Split Lip; it lacked that “Florida hardcore sound”. The band wrote about four songs and played its first and only show on July 13, 1996, at Cheers in Coconut Grove, Florida, with Reaching Out and Makeshift. Crestfallen dismembered by the end of July 1996. Perez went on to play in Night Of Broken Glass, Trust No One, To The Bitter End and Mekhago N.T., while Logan started the grindcore outfit Hondo.

Flyer of Crestfallen live at Cheer’s in Coconut Grove, Florida with Reaching Out and Makeshift

Rankine, Rios and Martinez, on the other hand, continued playing together and changed the direction of the music. They instead opted to write dark and sludgy metalcore, highly influenced by local Florida band Bloodlet. In August 1996, the threesome recruited vocalist Damien Moyal, who had already achieved considerable success fronting such hardcore and metalcore bands as U.S. Decline, Insist, Reach, HandOverFist, Culture, Shai Hulud and Morning Again. Moyal had been without a band for the previous two months after he was dismissed from Morning Again. This line-up originally used the name Fork In The Road prior to playing any shows. Moyal then recommended one of his friends, Joseph Simmons, to come in as second guitarist. Simmons had previously played in the bands Dinner Time and Lock Down.

After practicing for about a month as Fork In The Road, Moyal suggested changing the band’s name to Bird Of Ill Omen, a choice on which everyone quickly agreed. Moyal chose the name because it reflected the darkness and negativity that surrounded him at the time, and because it hinted to his misfortune being fired from or quitting so many bands over the years.

With its first five songs composed, including “Business Move” (a parody of the Morning Again song “God Framed Me” in which Moyal replaced the words “trash your god” with “thrash your face” in reference to Morning Again founder John Wylie), “Spoon”, “Pronoun” and “Now Ruin Is”, Bird Of Ill Omen booked its first show at Cheers. The lyrics to “Now Ruin Is” had been written by Moyal in 1995 for a Shai Hulud song, but guitarist Matt Fox ended up writing his own lyrics and the song became “My Heart Bleeds The Darkest Blood”. The lyrics were then taken to Moyal’s next band Morning Again and the band wrote a new song that took the title, which would have ended up the band’s split with Shoulder, had it not been for Moyal’s dismissal and the lyrics being dropped. Moyal reused the abandoned lyrics in Bird Of Ill Omen. In September 1996, Moyal joined another band named Wayside and quickly changed the band’s name to As Friends Rust, after a line of lyrics from “Now Ruin Is”. Moyal quick set the band’s image at the inaugural show; during the set, he chose the person most into the music and started wrapping the microphone chord around his neck while still screaming into the mic.

Several members of Morning Again attended this show, including bass guitarist Peter Bartsocas, who instantly became a fan of Bird Of Ill Omen. Already a friend of several members, he started attending the band’s practices. In October 1996, Bartsocas quit Morning Again because Wylie was planning several length tours, which he knew he would not be able to fulfill. At just about the same time, Martinez announced that he was moving to another city; before he even had time to quit, Rankine had asked Bartsocas to take his place in the band. Martinez went on to play in To The Bitter End and Poison The Well.

Bird of Ill Omen logo, designed by Damien Moyal. This logo would also be used on a limited run of t-shirts

One of these still early shows for the band was in October of 1996, at the Club Q in Davie, Florida. This event would continue to be talked about for years. Throughout the show, Moyal had been asking the audience if they wanted to see his genitals. After finally pulling them out, he realized that someone had been playing with the microphone volume, which he had been attempting to fix after every song. When he caught the guilty person in the act, he jumped onto him and started a fight before he was walked out of the venue to cool down. Before anyone knew what was going on, Moyal climbed up the brick wall from outside and leaped in from an open window right onto the head of the prankster, in time to start the next song. It was legendary.

-Chapter 2 (November 1996 – March 1997)

In November, Moyal and Rankine attempted to extend the band to include a second vocalist. They asked Rob Augman to come try out and wrote a completely new song with him, “Scratch”. But Augman’s vibe wasn’t fitting with their music and he wasn’t asked to come back for another rehearsal. The Bird would play this new song live at The Warehouse with Discount and Shai Hulud. Bartsocas would assume Augman’s vocals live from that moment on. On December 26, 1996, Simmons filled in as bass guitarist for Morning Again at a show in Atlanta, Georgia.

On January 17th 1997, Bird Of Ill Omen played with Earth Crisis, Shai Hulud and Vision of Disorder at Cheer’s. The entire South Florida hardcore scene was present. After this show, John Wylie asked Simmons if he’d be interested to play guitar in Morning Again, as there was already a vacant spot in the band since November. Simmons eagerly jumped at the opportunity. But this started causing a problem for Rankine, who was making all the decisions in the band. Having already interchanged three members with Morning Again, he knew that they were getting too big to allow any free time for a second band. Without consulting everyone, he kicked out Simmons and asked Logan to come back into the line-up.

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live with Damien Moyal on vocals, August 1996 – March 1997

Moyal was busy in Gainesville, having reconciled with Richard Thurston, singing again in Culture. By the time that he got news that his friend had been kicked out, it was already March. He immediately quit The Bird after only eight months in the band. As Friends Rust had also called it quits the month before, so Moyal dedicated his time solely to Culture for the next several months.

-Chapter 3 (March 1997 – September 1997)

That March, Bird Of Ill Omen held an open-house audition at their jam space in north-Miami Beach (Where Brethren and Makeshift also practiced). Some of the ten or so people who tried out included Augman (again) and Alex Martinez (from Makeshift). The last audition of the night was by a new Florida resident, William Shane Post. Post was originally from Avon Lake, Ohio, where he had known Morning Again’s previous guitarist Ryan Stafford (Simmons replaced Stafford in Morning Again). Stafford and Post had both played guitar in the hardcore band Choice back home, though each at different times. Stafford moved to Florida in the last summer of 1996 and Post did the same by the end of that year. It was Stafford who recommended that Post try out for Bird Of Ill Omen, once he heard that Moyal had left the band. Post was an instant fit for Bird Of Ill Omen, and with him, the whole set list was revised. April 26, 1997 was potentially Post’s first show in the band. The concert was played at The Kitchen Club with Malevolent Creation, Mendacity and Radio Baghdad.

Bird of Ill Omen live in 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live in 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live in 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live in 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live in 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live in 1997

“Scratch” and “Trash Your Face” were dropped, and they provided Post with Moyal’s lyrics for “Spoon”, “Pronoun” and “Now Ruin Is”. In April three new songs were composed; “Mannequin”. “Paper Stains” and “Sharpshooter”. John Wylie then started his record label, Eulogy Recordings, funded by Morning Again’s success. Bird Of Ill Omen were the first band signed to the label, and John offered to pay for their first recording session. Bartsocas had already recorded at Studio 13 with Jeremy Staska, but for some reason the band found Mad Hatter Studios closer to home.

All the instruments to their full catalog (six songs) were recorded between May 11th and 12th with producers Marek Stycos and Moe. But after those two days, the money that John had provided was exhausted and the vocals and overdubs still needed to be tracked. After much begging, John provided one more day’s cash but refused to advance anything else to the band. Members were stuck having to sell whatever they could scramble from their parent’s house in order to make just enough (after negotiating) to finish the album (May 13th-15th). The band was so broke that the mixing was rushed. But it wasn’t that big of a deal because everyone liked the way the songs turned out.

The rest of May was spent putting together the layout for their first CD, “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?”. The album title was taken from Moyal’s lyrics in “Pronoun”. Each band member brought macabre pictures which they thought were reflective of the bands destructive music. They also included pictures taken by Dana C. and Stefanie Jones. Rankine, Rios and Nick Dominguez (of Strongarm) then sat down and created part of the layout. But eventually, by strong recommendation of John Wylie, they sent it off to Sean Mallinson (from Immigrant Sun Records) to finish it. After a few dial-up internet proofing that took hours each time, the layout was finished! Around this time, they also created their first website (http://www.icanect.net/sfhc/birdofillomen).

Bird of Ill Omen “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” tour tape, June 1997. Askone Productions

Bird of Ill Omen “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” tour tape, June 1997. Askone Productions. Lyrics insert

Meanwhile, John Wylie had booked a ten-day Morning Again tour through the eats coast, Canada and mid-west. He asked Eulogy’s first band to join them last minute, and therefore most flyers wouldn’t even credit them. Bird Of Ill Omen had no merch to take with them on these shows and Eulogy had already used the money to finance the upcoming tour. So The Bird dubbed cassette tapes with two songs (“Sharpshooter” and “Now Ruin Is”) with photocopied inserts and lyrics. The tape, released through Rios’s tape-dubbing company, Askone Productions, sold out within the first two shows in New York.

The Morning Again / Bird Of Ill Omen summer tour started out at The Joint in Staten Island, New York on June 20th. The next day they played the Syracuse 3-Day Super Festival at Hungry Charley’s, alongside Culture, Coalesce, Endeavor, Beta Minus Mechanic, Burial Ground, Handful Of Dust, Indecision, Lockjaw, Order Of Deceit, Silent Majority and Today Is The Day. The other two days of the festival also featured 454 Big Block, Cast Iron Hike, Dirge, Dissolve, Snapcase, Sweetbelly Freakdown, Ten Yard Fight, Another Victim, Ascension, Birthright, Day Of Suffering, Despair, Drowning Room, Frodus, Groundzero, Hatebreed, One To Face and Tread.

On June 22nd they crossed the Canadian border to play a show in Oakville, Ontario with New Day Rising. At this show, everyone was so impressed with the recently reformed New Day Rising, that John signed them to Eulogy on the spot and Rankine discussed the possibility of doing their next tour with them. The two bands then headed back to the States to play in Canton, OH. On June 24rd they played Pharoh’s Golden Cup in Westland, Michigan with Grimlock, Holdstrong and Trephine.

They then went back to Ohio to play in Cincinnati, followed by the Knights Of Columbus Hall in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Then back one last time to Ohio for a show in Dayton. June 28th was one of the most memorable dates of this tour. Morning Again and Bird Of Ill Omen arrived in the middle of the three-day Indianapolis Hardcore Festival to play at the Emerson Theater. This event also featured Acrid, Anti-Flag, Cave In, Cavity, Charles Bronson, Drift, End of the Century Party, His Hero is Gone, Macara, Monster X, Palatka, Puritan, Racetraitor, Reversal of Man, Serotonin and Versailles. At the end of their set, Bartsocas became so involved in the madness of The Bird performance that he smashed his guitar across the floor, accidentally breaking his toe in the process.

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Bird of Ill Omen live at the Indianapolis Festival, June 28th 1997

Morning Again and The Bird were then joined by Cave In, who were also at the Indianapolis Hardcore Festival, for the last Morning Again show in Atlanta, Georgia. Cave In and Bird Of Ill Omen would continue alone for two more dates back home. On July 1st they played at the 403 Chaos in Tampa with Omegaman and Strike Three. After this show, Steve Heritage asked them to contribute a song for an upcoming benefit compilation for the club. Rankine  would send in “Sharpshooter” and the compilation, “403 Chaos Comp – Florida Fucking Hardcore”, would be released in the summer of 1998. On July 2nd they finished off at the Vero Beach Woman’s Club in Vero Beach, Florida with Carlisle and I Hate Myself.

“403 Chaos Comp – Florida Fucking Hardcore”, Schematics Records, summer 1998

-Chapter 4 (August 1997 – December 1997)

When the band got back from their first tour, Eulogy decided not to use the money made from these shows to release “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?”. John instead released the label’s second planned release, Red Letter Day’s EP. Red Letter Day had only recorded their five songs in July but they were put ahead of the line.

Bird of Ill Omen and Morning Again on tour,June 1997

Bird of Ill Omen,live in 1997

Bird of Ill Omen and New Day Rising in Gainesville, Florida, 1997

Additionally, Rios had been bashing heads with some of the members during the tour. There was certainly tension in the band but when Morning Again asked them to come back on the road in mid-July for the More Than Music Festival in Columbus, OH, they put their differences to the side. That year’s line up also featured Acrid, Al8, Anti-Flag, Armstrong’s Secret Nine, Ascension, Asshole Parade, Boy Sets Fire, Braid, Cerberus Shoal, Charles Bronson, Code 13, Dillinger Four, Hal Al Shedad, Harriet the Spy, Hellbender, Hellnation, His Hero is Gone, Hot Water Music, Mk-Ultra, Nema, Remington, Resin, Servitude, Shah Razad, Spazz, Standing 8, Supression, The Get Up Kids, The Great Unraveling, The Man I Fell in Love With and The Promise Ring.

But about a week after this weekend, Rios left Bird Of Ill Omen. His last show would be at Blue Note Records in North Miami Beach with Overcast and Defy. Through playing shows with Mendacity, they already knew José Flores, who happened to look somewhat like Rios. They therefore nicknamed him “Little Jorge”. Flores’ first show with the band was at the North Carolina Hardcore Festival in mid-August. This three-day festival was played with Acrid, Andromeda, Armstrong’s Secert Nine, Assfactor 4, Conephera, Dragbody, Facad Burned Black, Harriet the Spy, Her Sparkle Dims, Ire, Palatka, Party of Helicopters, Puritan, Racetraitor, Rentamerica, Rye, The Cookie Cartell and Ursa Minor.

On August 21st they played The House of (Punk) Rock in Lighthouse Point,FL with Shai Hulud, Dead Patriot and Keith Welsh. After a summer spent promoting their unreleased album, The Bird started working on some new material. In the fall, two new songs were written and first shown off at the Vero Beach Woman’s Club in Vero Beach, FL. That October 11th show was played with Shai Hulud, Strongarm, Peterbuilt, Carlisle and Destro.

Bird of Ill Omen live on Halloween 1997

On Friday, October 31st, the band dressed up as nuns for their Halloween show. They usually didn’t play covers but that night they played three very appropriate Misfits songs; “Bullet”, “Die Die My Darling” and another which could not be remembered. During the last song, Logan’s friend, Alex “Bubba C” Ceballos hid behind the guitar amps and jumped out with a bucket of fake blood to throw all over the audience.

Winter was approaching and the band wanted to tour again. Rankine made all the arrangements for a two week trip up the mid-west to Ontario for a few more shows with New Day Rising and back down through the east coast, hitting a lot of the same venues they had played that summer. The band rented a van from some guy in Pompano Beach and Ralph Rodriguez, the guitarist in Mendacity, was to be the bands roadie on the trip. In mid-November, The Bird played at The Prop Room in Fort Lauderdale with Bloodlet, Shai Hulud and Brethren.

Bird of Ill Omen “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” tour CD, December 1997. Askone Productions

Bird of Ill Omen “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” t-shirt design, circa 1997

Bird of Ill Omen “Your New Role Models” t-shirt design, circa 1997

The tour was ready, but not Bird Of Ill Omen’s merch. Eulogy was still putting off the release of their debut CD, opting instead to send New Day Rising’s album “Memoirs of Cynicism” to the pressing plant. Alex Kenny and Erica Scull were then approached by Rankine to release “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” on vinyl through their label Think Tank Records. Think Thank Records was still a new label which had only released Keith Welsh’s 7″ “9:35 A.M.” the year before. So they needed time to collect funds to release it, which gave the band a chance to design a brand new layout for it.

With only a few days to prepare new merchandise for the tour, the band photocopied some completely new artwork for home burnt CD-Rs. Only one hundred were made and were packed with razor blades and metal strings which the band had soaked in salt water to make them rust. The packaging would be another selling-out success. By this time the band also had two varieties of t-shirts to sell.

Most of the shows from the December 1997 tour were not fully recovered. But from the little that has survived, The Bird played The Deer Lake in Knoxville, Tennessee with Fallen Grace and 66 Drop Off on December 6th. Two days later they were booked at the Legion of Doom house in Columbus, Ohio with Adam’s Fall. Later that week they crossed the border into Ontario, Canada to play four shows; two with New Day Rising, two with Brutal Truth

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

Bird of Ill Omen on their second tour, December 1997

On December 14th they played at The Generator, in Toronto, with Brutal Truth, Dirge, Xanax and Inertia. The following day they played at The Embassy with Brutal Truth again. This was followed by a barn show in Oakville and a church show Mississauga, both with Karenza. It was at at one of these shows that Post fell in love and started a long distance relationship with a Canadian girl.

It was the intended for The Bird to play one more week’s worth of shows down the east coast. Some of the shows from this leg would have been at The Joint in Staten Island with Indecision, Milhouse, Sons of Abraham, Watership Down and SkyCameFalling, a radio station in New Jersey, and Stalag 13 in Philadelphia. Their tour was to finish in Florida on the 19th, just in time for Alex Kenny’s Gainesville Festival. But when they reached the boarder, they were surprised to find out that Flores’ student visa had expired and he had failed to renew it. Flores was denied access back to the States. Knowing that their tour was over without a drummer, the band found a hotel in the Niagara Falls region and spent a couple of days trying to figure out how Flores was going to get back into the country. Eventually they realized that they had no choice but to leave him behind and make their way back home alone. Flores  had some relatives in Montreal, Quebec, where he wound up going to stay for a few months.

-Chapter 5 (January 1998 – August 1998)

Bird of Ill Omen “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” CD, February 1998. Eulogy Recordings

With Flores stuck in Canada, Mendacity and Bird Of Ill Omen were on an inevitable hiatus. But there was finally good news from Eulogy. In February John announced that “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” was out on CD. An initial one thousand copies were pressed, which over the next couple of years sold out. Without the band’s permission, John repressed the CDs at least two more times to keep up with the demand through out the 2000’s.

Meanwhile, Bartsocas started a side-project in January 1998 named Wishes for World War III. The side-project featured Bartsocas and John Wylie on guitar and Chris Hornbrook (formerly of Last Minute and Doubting Thomas) on drums. The band played a single show on February 6, 1998 at the Vero Beach Woman’s Club in Vero Beach, Florida opening for Morning Again, Cease, Shai Hulud, Disembodied, Reversal of Man and Degrade. Bartsocas was so impressed with Hornbrook’s drumming that he offered him the position as Bird Of Ill Omen’s new drummer, but things did not work out. Instead, Hornbrook re-joined Doubting Thomas, which had by this time changed name to An Acre Lost. Just a couple of months later, In June 1998, An Acre Lost changed name to Poison the Well.

Eulogy Recordings ad from a 1998 issue of the HeartattaCk fanzine.

Bird Of Ill Omen were still hopeful that Flores would be back to Florida in the next few months. The previous two songs that had been written in a short month lead them to believe that they could easily write four more for their second release. In an April 1998 interview, they stated that they planned to record at Studio 13 with Jeremy Staska in October for a six-song CD, four-song 7″ EP. There was also talk of a full New Day Rising / Bird Of Ill Omen tour for August and then a European tour in February of 1999, in support for Good Life Recordings’ distribution of the album on Eulogy. Rankine and Nick Dominguez then spent the rest of April and May putting together the new layout for the vinyl version of “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?”. The six songs were then sent off to Dan at S.O.B. for mastering.

But Flores wasn’t coming back and complications eventually forced him to move to Spain. Post was also moving back to Ohio to be closer to his fiance who he was marrying later that year. So in March of 1998, Bartsocas, Logan and Rankine then went off to various side projects. Logan reformed The Springfields with Rankine on bass and Bartsocas  on guitar and played a few shows with this lineup. But the most impressive side-project would be Dead Mens’ Theory, featuring Alex Ceballos on vocals, Rankine on vocals, bass and guitar and Logan on drums. Bartsocas would play bass at all their shows, but was mostly busy as the new second guitarist in As Friends Rust (his time in the band would be short lived). This band was quickly picked up by Ohev Records out of Boca Raton, Florida, who unlike Eulogy Recordings, wasted no time in pressing up merchandise for the band. At this time, both Bird Of Ill Omen and Dead Mens’ Theory created new websites (http://www.thebird666.tripod.com and http://www.thebird666.tripod.com/dmt).

Bird of Ill Omen “Self, Dare You Still Breathe?” 12″ vinyl, July 1998. Think Tank Records

In early July, Erika Scull finally came out with the vinyl version of their first release. The 12″ was pressed in five hundred copies on black and another five hundred on transparent gold. Then from July 27th – 31st, Dead Men’s Theory recorded nine songs at Android’s Dungeon for their 7″ EP, financed by Gabe Ermine for Ohev. The songs were mastered on August 5th and the EP, “To Never Love Again”, was out later that month on a splattered grey vinyl. Dead Mens’ Theory had then booked a tour from late September to early October. But days before they were set to leave, Rankine disappeared for a few days and the tour was cancelled. Apparently he came back with tons of vinyls for his distro.

Dead Mens’ Theory “To Never Love Again” 7″ vinyl. Ohev Records, August 1998

Bird Of Ill Omen were still receiving offers to play shows but without a drummer, nothing could happen. Bartsocas and Logan had occasionally gotten together to jam The Bird’s songs. The two newest songs written with Flores on drums were evolved from slower, more sludgy sounding songs, comparable to their first release, into faster, more chaotic ones, which would be reflected on their second release. With this, Bartsocas and Logan started considering reforming Bird Of Ill Omen.

“Better Luck Next Time” compilation, Witching Hour Records, 1999. Dead Mens’ Theory booklet page

Dead Mens’ Theory t-shirt design

But Dead Mens’ Theory was still active, talking of doing a split with Hondo and printing a new t-shirt design to sell at shows. Additionally, Chris Williams asked them for a song to put on the upcoming Witching Hour Records compilation, “Better Luck Next Time”. They would send him the song “Broken Home”.

-Chapter 6 (August 1998 – June 1999)

In August, Rankine found Nahuel Gauna, who was at the time playing drums in Milkshed and had previously played in To The Bitter End with Perez and Martinez. He was the perfect fit for The Bird’s new fast and chaotic songs. They practiced for about a month at Logan’s mother’s house in Miami Springs and started planning and booking shows and a mini east coast tour. Hardly any dates of this have survive but one was to be on September 5th at Stalag 13 in Philadelphia with Grief, 16, Twenty Third Chapter and Abnegation.

But Post was still living in Ohio and he wasn’t able to make it out for the tour due to personal obligations with his girlfriend. So no shows were played. By October the four new Bird Of Ill Omen songs were finished and Rankine booked a recording session at Studio 13 to record with Jeremy Staska. Post flew in specifically to record the EP from November 1st to the 8th, and then returned home to finalize his wedding, which ultimately killed any chance of touring. Jeremy Staska seemed to understand the sound the band was going for and provided a true Florida-sounding record. Mastering of the four songs happened on November 9th. For the rest of the month, Rankine and Sean Mallinson (owner of Immigrant Sun Records) designed the layout for CD EP. Meanwhile, Bartsocas moved back up north of Florida to tour with As Friends Rust and Logan took care of his sick mother. John offered to release Bird Of Ill Omen’s new EP on CD as well and a few shows to promote it were quickly proposed.

Bird of Ill Omen “When Love Would’ve Shown Interest in Us Both”. CD by Eulogy Recordings (April 1st 1999), 7″ vinyl by One Day Savior Recordings (August 1999)

On April 1st of 1999, Eulogy Recordings finally released Bird Of Ill Omen’s second recordings, “When Love Would’ve Show Interest in Us Both”. As per the first release, an initial one thousand copies were pressed but over time an additional two to three thousands were repressed throughout the 2000’s. John Wylie claims to have made payments to one of the members of the band for the represses of both CDs but cannot remember the name of the person. But after asking each of them, none of the members of the band have ever received money from John at any point in time.

After the CD was released, Chris Tzompanakis from SkyCameFalling approached Rankine about putting out the last release on 7″ vinyl through his label One Day Savior Recordings. This finally hit the streets in August of 1999 and on five different vinyl colors:

1. 3 test press on black vinyl
2. 638 on black vinyl
3. 200 on black/red swirl vinyl (for distributors only)
4. 102 on translucent green vinyl
5. 117 on clear vinyl (hand-numbered, 102 in 1999, 15 in 2000)

The red and black swirl record was reserved for distributors and was not sold through One Day Savior Recordings. The hand-numbered clear record was originally only pressed in 102 copies in 1999 and sold only through mail-order. But sometime in 2000, the pressing plant sent in fifteen extra copies which they found and had somehow failed to get packaged when it was first sent out. These were labeled by One Day Savior Recordings as a second pressing, and numbered out of 15, but were actually part of the 117 clear vinyls that were ordered in 1999.

-Chapter 7: The Bird Reunion (July 2012 – September 2012)

Bird of Ill Omen practicing for the first time in fourteen years on August 20th 2012

Bird of Ill Omen practicing for the first time in fourteen years on August 20th 2012

Bird of Ill Omen practicing for the second time in fourteen years on September 14th 2012

Bird of Ill Omen practicing for the second time in fourteen years on September 14th 2012

Bird of Ill Omen practicing for the second time in fourteen years on September 14th 2012

Bird of Ill Omen’s merch for their reunion show

Bird of Ill Omen’s reunion show t-shirt design by Kyle Borchgardt

Bird of Ill Omen’s reunion show t-shirt design by Kyle Borchgardt

Bird of Ill Omen’s reunion show t-shirt design by Kyle Borchgardt

Bird of Ill Omen’s reunion show t-shirt design by Kyle Borchgardt

In the summer of 2012, The Bird was asked to perform a reunion show for the Reel and Restless Festival in September. On August 20, 2012, Bartsocas , Rankine and Gauna got together to practice their first live show in fifteen years. After spending three days rehearsing, they met back again, as a full band with Logan and Post, on September 14th, two days before playing the show. Their only reunion show was played at Churchill’s Pub in Miami, and for this the band repressed their razor blade t-shirts, pressed stickers and had an all new shirt designed by Kyle Borchgardt.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

Bird of Ill Omen live at Churchill’s Pub, Miami, Florida. September 16th 2012.

-Complete show listing and flyer archive (work-in-progress)

January 17th 1997, Cheers, Miami, Florida. Bird of Ill Omen with Earth Crisis, Shai Hulud and Vision of Disorder

1997-04-26 The Kitchen Club (Miami, FL) Malevolent Creation, Mendacity, Radio Baghdad

1997-06-05 Cheers (Miami, FL) Bloodlet, Mendacity

More Than Music Festival 1997

1. 1996 House Fest (???) Shai Hulud, Discount
2. 1996-10-11 Club Q (Davie, FL) Shai Hulud, Night Of Broken Glass, Set Apart
3. 1996-10-13 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Overthrow, Set Apart
4. 1996-11-10 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Shai Hulud, The Vacant Andy’s, Last Minute, Endeavored Establishment
5. 1996-11-22 Club Q (Davie, FL) Dragbody, Pain Principle, Cain Rose Up
6. 1996-12-14 Old Schoolhouse (Fort Pierce, FL) Morning Again, Shai Hulud, Dinner Of 1933, Palatka, The End Of the Century Party, Cain Rose Up, Jug-Or-Not, Us & Them, Hudson, Nobujest, Stizzle, Discount, Skaladays, Pivot, My Pal Trigger, Strongarm, The Next Crisis, Clairamel, Kai-Check, The Vacant Andy’s, Spicoli, Project Hardcore, Ed Matus’ Struggle
7. 1997-01-17 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Vision Of Disorder, Earth Crisis, Shai Hulud
8. 1997-02-22 South Beach Pub (South Beach, FL) Morning Again, Mendacity, Set Apart
9. 1997-03-06 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Zao, Strongarm, Out Of Spite
10. 1997-04-02 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Cavity, Third Of May, Last Minute
11. 1997-04-26 The Kitchen Club (Miami, FL) Malevolent Creation, Mendacity, Radio Baghdad
12. 1997-05-17 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Morning Again, Brethren, The Vacant Andy’s, Last Minute
13. 1997-05-28 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Timescape Zero, Out Of Spite, Anger 8
14. 1997-06-05 Cheer’s (Coconut Grove, FL) Bloodlet, Mendacity
15. 1997-06-16 Space Cadette (Miami, FL) Inept, Cavity, Al8
16. 1997-06-20 The Joint (Staten Island, NY) Morning Again, Endeavor, Voorhees, Coalesce, Hour of the Star, Tripface, Harvest
17. 1997-06-21 Syracuse Hardcore Festival/Syracuse 3-Day Super Festival, Hungry Charley’s (Syracuse, NY) Morning Again, Culture, Coalesce, Today Is The Day, Indecision, Burial Ground, Order Of Deceit, Beta Minus Mechanic, Lockjaw, Silent Majority, Handful Of Dust (On 20th: 454 Big Block, Cast Iron Hike, Dirge, Dissolve, Snapcase, Sweetbelly Freakdown, Ten Yard Fight. On 22nd: Culture, Another Victim, Ascension, Birthright, Day Of Suffering, Despair, Drowning Room, Endeavor, Frodus, Groundzero, Hatebreed, One To Face, Tread)
18. 1997-06-22 Oakville YMCA (Oakville, ON) Morning Again, Coalesce, Endeavor, Karenza, Sons Of Abraham, Harvest
19. 1997-06-23 The Fort (Canton, OH) Morning Again, Despair, Hatebreed
20. 1997-06-24 Pharaoh’s Golden Cup (Westland, MI) Morning Again, Grimlock, Holdstrong, Trephine
21. 1997-06-25 ??? (Cincinnati, OH) Morning Again
22. 1997-06-26 Knights Of Columbus Hall (Arlington Heights, IL) Morning Again, Despair, Hatebreed, Culture Of Violence
23. 1997-06-27 Magic Stick (Detroit, MI) Morning Again, Despair, Hatebreed, Placenta, Trephine
24. 1997-06-27 Circle Underground (Dayton, OH) Morning Again
25. 1997-06-28 Indianapolis Hardcore Festival, Emerson Theater (Indianapolis, IN) Morning Again, Cave In, Birthright, Day Of Suffering, Dragbody, Los Crudos, His Hero Is Gone, Early Grace, Absinthe, Asshole Parade, Armstrong Secret Nine, Agna Moraine’s Authobiography, Caniphera, Coalesce, Damad, Despair, End of Century Party, Grade, Charles Bronson, Inept, Jenny Piccolo, Karenza, Khmer Rouge, MK Ultra, Makra, My Lai, Man I Fell In Love With, Palatka, Prevail, Roswell, Reversal of Man, Racebannon, Racetraitor, Supression, Shahrazad, Versailles, 400 Years (Pete slammed his guitar on his foot and broke it. spent rest of tour playing sitting down)
26. 1997-06-29 Buford Civic Center (Buford, GA) Morning Again, Ex-Members Of…, Portrait
27. 1997-06-29 The Point (Atlanta, GA) Morning Again, Ex-Members Of…, Portrait, Cave In, Snapcase
28. 1997-07-01 403 Chaos (Tampa, FL) Cave In, Omega Man, Strike Three
29. 1997-07-02 Vero Beach Woman’s Club (Vero Beach, FL) Cave In, Carlisle, I Hate Myself
30. 1997-07-05 Happy Days Cafe (West Palm Beach, FL) Morning Again, Stalkbreed
31. 1997-07-11/13 More Than Music Fest (Columbus, OH)
32. 1997-08-15/17 North Carolina Hardcore Festival (Greenville, NC) Assfactor 4, Rye, Harriet the Spy, Armstrong’s Secret Nine, Party Of Helicopters, Ire, Puritan, Dragbody, Acrid, Andromeda, Facad Burned Black, Conephera, Racetraitor, Palatka, Ursa Minor, Her Sparkle Dims, Rentamerica, The Cookie Cartel (booked by some Alex in North Carolina)
33. 1997-08-18 Blue Note Records (Miami, FL) Overcast, Defy
34. 1997-08-21 The House Of (Punk) Rock (Lighthouse Point, FL) Shai Hulud, Bleed, Dead Patriot, Keith Welsh
35. 1997-10-11 Vero Beach Woman’s Club (Vero Beach, FL) Shai Hulud, Strongarm, Peterbuilt, Carlisle, Destro
36. 1997-10-31 Happy Days Cafe (West Palm Beach, FL) Morning Again, Shai Hulud, Red Letter Day, Stalkbreed
37. 1997-11-08 The Theater (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Bloodlet, Shai Hulud, Brethren
38. 1997-12-02 403 Chaos (Tampa, FL) Hail Mary
39. 1997-12-06 The Deer Lake (Knoxville, TN) Fallen Grace, 66 Drop Off (booked by Will of Fallen Grace)
40. 1997-12-08 Legion Of Doom (Columbus, OH) Adam’s Fall
41. 1997-12-?? some radio station (???, NJ)
42. 1997-12-?? Stalag 13 (Philadelphia, PA)
43. 1997-12-12 The Joint (Staten Island, NY) Indecision, Milhouse, Sons Of Abraham, Watership Down, Sky Came Falling
44. 1997-12-14 The Generator (Toronto, ON) Brutal Truth, Dirge, Xanax, Inertia
45. 1997-12-15 The Embassy (London, ON) Brutal Truth
46. 1997-12-?? Dustin Titus’ Barn (Oakville, ON) Karenza
47. 1997-12-18 Knights Of Columbus Hall (Valdosta, GA) Dawn Of Orion, Bloodshovel, Indignation, Out Of Reach
48. 1997-12-20 Gainesville Hardcore Festival, YMCA Camp McConnell, Micanopy YMCA (Micanopy, FL) On 19th: Serotonin, Kossabone Red, The Grey A.M., Mid Carson July, Discount, The Jazz June, Peterbuilt, The Blacktop Cadence, Hankshaw, Hot Water Music. On 20th: Dark Angel Divine, Ed Matus’ Struggle, Omega Man, Culture, Keith Welsh, Madison, Dawn Of Orion, Early Grace, New Day Rising, Carisle, Fairchild, The Vacant Andy’s. On 21st: Fairchild (second set), M.I.J., Song Of Kerman, Red Letter Day, A New Found Glory, Cease, Sons Of Abraham, Indecision, Shai Hulud, Prevail, Remington, Reversal Of Man. On unknown date or did not play: Skaladays, Brethren, Chaklike, Failsafe, Karenza, Piebald, Jesuit, Grade, Cerberus Shoal, Dead Patriot, Inhumanity, Battery, Frodus, Mancake, Dragbody, Boy Sets Fire, Cavity, Canephora, Chapman Park, Mahoney, Carlisle, Milhouse, Irony Of Lightfoot, Morning Again)
49. 1998-01-10 ??? (Knoxville, TN) Brother’s Keeper, Today is the Day, Process is Dead, Frodus, Fallen Grace (booked by Will of Fallen Grace)
50. 1998-09-30 Stalag 13 (Philadelphia, PA) Grief, 16, Twenty Third Chapter, Abnegation
51. 1998-11-24 The Hardback Cafe (Gainesville, FL) As Friends Rust, Carlisle
52. 1998-12-19 Gainesville Hardcore Festival, YMCA Camp McConnell (Micanopy, FL) Skycamefalling, Damad, Milemarker, Dragbody, Red Scare, Mid Carson July, To Dream Of Autumn, Reach The Sky, Panthro U.K. United 13, Linus, Lewistown, Code 7 (On 18th: The Kassabone Red, Where Fear And Weapons Meet, Asshole Parade, Carlisle, Long Way Home, Target For Aggression, Portrait, The Mercury Program, Andromeda, Keith Welsh, Brethren. On 20th: Hankshaw, Shai Hulud, Dawn Of Orion, Ashaka, Blood Shovel, Cascade, The Mercury Program, The Grey A.M., Poison The Well, Ottoman Fall.)
53. 1999-12-18 Gainesville Festival, Gainesville YMCA Campground (Gainesville, FL) Morning Again, Indecision, Carlisle, Reversal Of Man, Combat Wounded Veteran, Walls Of Jericho, Panthro UK United 13, Error Type 11, Buried Alive, A New Found Glory, Keith Welsh, Destination Daybreak, Strike Anywhere, Discount (On 17th: Saves The Day, Ensign, Glasseater, Red Roses For A Blue Lady, As Friends Rust, Kill Your Idols, Dragbody, Codeseven, Standing Tall, Crucible, Mid Carson July, The Radar Mercury, Further Seems Forever, The August Prophecy
54. 2012-09-16 Reel and Restless Festival, Churchill’s Pub (Miami, FL)
55. 2017-11-18 Gramps (Miami, FL) Bloodlet, Other Body