Al Barile (1962-2025) - The Vinyl Guide Interview

The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds

Nate Goyer

Music, Music History, Music Interviews

4.7 • 579 Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Replay of our 2024 interview with hardore legend Al Barile of SSD and X-Claim! Records.

Photos by Alison Braun

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Society System Decontrol (SSD) self-released several landmark hardcore punk records in the early 80s. Out of print for over 4 decades, SSD has only recently reissued their two masterpieces "The Kids Will Have Their Say" and "Get It Away" on vinyl. SSD founder Al Barile takes us through the making of those records.

Topic Include:

Interview start
The continued popularity of SS Decontrol music
Al was a natural leader for the hardcore scene
Naturally managing risk
Jumping to an album – no singles for SSD
1900 units of "The Kids Will Have Their Say"
Self-funding the album, selling the initial pressing
Recording "The Kids Will Have Their Say"
Was Al happy with the original recordings?
Al doesn't enjoy listening to "The Kids Will Have Their Say"
Comparing Trust reissue with original Xclaim
Issues getting the tapes back from a label
Original pressing of "The Kids…." goes for > $1k
Why were there no repressings before the recent Trust reissue
CD issue of "Power"
Has Al hung onto his records?
White cover of "The Kids Will Have Their Say" designed by Bryan Ray Turcotte
Original concept & artwork for "The Kids Will Have Their Say"
The difference in recording "Get It Away"
Was "Get It Away" always envisioned as an EP?
The cover songs that SSD performed
Original 4800 copies of "Get It Away"
Running the X-Claim! label/imprint
All X-Claim! bands ran their own vinyl pressings
What is the source of the "Get It Away" reissue
Will there be reissues of "How We Rock" and "Break it Up"
Al's health update
Al wants everyone to get a colonoscopy
The SSD book "How Much Art Can You Take?"
Interview wrap up

Order "The Kids Will Have Their Say" and "Get It Away" on vinyl here.

Order the book "How Much Art Can You Take" here.

EXTENDED, Commercial free, high resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide

Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0
Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Good morning, everyone.
0:03.2	It's Nate.
0:04.5	Right now it is April 7th in Sydney, Australia, early morning.
0:09.8	It's April 6th in the U.S., most other places.
0:12.9	And got a bit of tough news.
0:15.8	Al Barill of the band SSD and Exclaim Records passed away in the last day, last several hours, I think.
0:25.8	Al was a huge figure in the hardcore scene of the early 80s, certainly in Boston, but well beyond as well.
0:33.8	He was a hero to just about everyone who met him.
0:37.4	Huge heart, very strong personality, very definite point of view.
0:43.7	And he and his wife, Nancy, were very generous with their time and energy, especially over the last few years with Al battling cancer.
0:52.7	He and I were supposed to connect in Los Angeles last year for an interview,
0:57.1	but Al was too sick to travel. And when we finally arranged this conversation in July of 2024,
1:03.9	it had to be done in two parts. We started the interview, and partway through, he was really
1:09.2	struggling. He was having a tough time. We had to
1:11.7	pause it and he ended up going to the hospital for several days. When he got discharged,
1:17.2	it was they who reached out and said, let's finish this interview. Al was having a good time. He
1:21.5	wanted to get back into it. That gives you an idea of the sort of tenacity and spirit that this man
1:26.6	had.
1:33.8	So we finished the interview and presented to everyone today in memory of Al.
1:42.1	The last few years weren't easy on Al or Nancy, but they did manage to reissue the SSD records.
1:45.4	The kids will have their say and get it away. Both of those are on trust records. If you don't have them as part of your collection, that's something to consider.
1:50.1	Definitely something to check out. They also really managed to secure the legacy of SSD. It's one of the
	...

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