Robert L. Bryant

Slow Intentional Damage

SID was actually the third band that I was in, but only the second that I actually have recordings of. The recordings from the studio never got mastered properly, and everything else was recorded off a jam box I think. I believe we could've gone all the way and been semi-famous had we not been so damn lazy... and drunk.

There are actually more iterations of this band than I have listed here, as when we were trying to get started we had other people trying out and such. The two main ones, though, can be divided into two sections: The three year band, and the... uh... asterisk(*) band.

Lineup

The Three Year Lineup

• Ian Reed - Vocals
• Phil Polezoes - Guitar
• Brad Lamb - Guitar/Backups
• Douglas Howell Jr. - Drums
• Rob Bryant - Bass

The Asterisk(*) Lineup

• Charlie - Vocals
• Brad Lamb - Guitar/Backups
• Liquid Joey - Drums
• Rob Bryant - Bass

Songs

We had so many songs in this band. I'm 100% positive that not all of them are present on this page. One of my favorites is missing because I can't find a recording of it ANYWHERE. Maybe I'll happen upon it, or Phil or someone has a copy floating around. The songs that have an asterisk (*) next to them denote a different period of this band. I'll have some stories to put up about all that, but let it be known that after I heard some of the vocal lyrics on those songs, I quit about a week later :P Those songs are also alot quieter than the rest, so you need to turn it up if you want to hear them. I am too lazy to amplify the sound in Audacity right now hehe

Audio

Inside You (4:31)

This song was our opening song for gigs for a really long time. It had so much drive that it just got the audience really pumped and into it right from the start. Brad had a couple of riffs that he had, and the whole band built the song from there. Douglas Jr. had some awesome drums spots in this song. If you pay attention during the drum/bass break, you can hear me fuck up and get out of sync with Dougie... heh

Put It Down (3:59)

This is the second song that Brad wrote for the band. It's about a crack-head broad, thus Put It Down. I'm especially proud of the bass line during the "white ghost" part. This song eventually got played less and less as we went on, even though it's a really cool tune. Check out the punk-ish part at the end.

Hide The Bruises (4:52)

Phil wrote this song from start to finish. The lyrics are about Ian's stepfather for the most part. This song had alot of pick-up when going from the slow muted part to the upbeat version of it. I really got into playing this song. The harmony at the end is sick as hell! I originally wanted to play the notes with the guitar players, but Phil wanted me to keep chuggin' on some low notes. I'm glad he had that idea, because it turned out really good without the bottom dropping out.

War (3:05)

This is the first song I ever wrote in my life. It was originally a Red Ball Jetts tune, but the band liked it enough to bring it to SID. It's got some really off-time stuff in it, which is what I really like to do :) Ian liked the name of the tune, so he kept it and just did the vocals in a different style.

Psychiatric Care (3:22)

I believe this was the second song that Phil had written, and was also from Red Ball Jetts. When Ian joined the band he redid the vocals to make it more appealing than just the screaming that was going on during the whole song. We ended up keeping the screams at the end of the song though... screaming can be fun.

I Spit (4:02)

Classic SID song right here. We used to try and play this song as fast as we could. This recording wasn't one of those times, but we used to play it SO fast. There isn't too much to say about this song... it speaks for itself I think.

Intermission (6:49)

I wrote this song because I love funk. I was listening to alot of Parliament and RHCP around the time I started this tune. We didn't even put lyrics to it, and just used it as a segue into the more light songs that we played. It was fun.

Inside The Mind (5:24)

This is the second song that I ever wrote, and it took me awhile to get it how I wanted it structure-wise. I had these ideas for Douglas Jr. to play the drum parts in a certain way, but the funny part is, I didn't have to tell him! He played everything exactly as I was hearing in my head while writing it. Pretty tight. This was a huge song for the crowd, and used to get some big pits going.

Slam (4:16)

This tune is about judges and the legal system. This is the first song Brad wrote for the band when he joined. It's a pretty basic song, but has some good drive. The sludgy part towards the end is particularly awesome for a pit.

Phoenix (4:11)

This is actually the first song that Phil had written. It was something that he had written and we used in Red Ball Jetts, but since that band went nowhere, it was another bring-over. This song also sports the first solo that Phil wrote. It's a basic song, but the way Ian sang it put new life into it.

Ho Down (5:14)

Funk song that Phil and I wrote. Good times. We brought in a sax player that Dougie knew to play on this song... though he did overplay a tad, it was awesome.

For Pain (4:26)

This is the first song that I wrote in drop D (well, drop C). I never did find out exactly what Ian was talking about on this song, so I'm really not sure :P This song has some cool guitar parts in it that make it sound... I don't know how to explain it... but they're cool.

Within (6:25)

This is another song where Brad had a couple of riffs and we built off of them. It turned into one of our most recognized songs when we played out. All the women liked to sing the middle part while we played, so it was cool getting the audience into it that much. The bassline I wrote for that part was based off of Cliff Burton's smooth bassline in the song Orion. In retrospect the "I Feel Trapped" parts of this song drag on and are played too many times, but it worked.

The Valley (6:58)

Once again, another whole band collaboration based off of a couple of riffs. The song itself was originally supposed to be a kind of "Phoenix Part II," but I'm not sure if Ian ever got the vocals down to make it that way. This recording is a jam box recording, but I _think_ it's audible enough... or maybe I think that because I know the song.

Disco (14:43)

This is the song that we started opening up our shows with. We were trying to branch out to other musical aspects, and this song was a conglomerate of a lot of them. It was our longest song by far. We never knew how we wanted to stop the song, so you'll probably hear it just come to a halt with some trailing notes or whatever.

Super Slow Tune (3:12)

I wrote an INCREDIBLY slow song, but we never got around to polishing it up. There was more to this song than is here, and it pisses me off. Right where the song breaks is the point we kick into a punk-style breakdown. There were never any finished lyrics.

Experimental Tune (3:14)

A song that Phil brought to the band and never got finished. I was experimenting with using different bass chords on this song, so you'll hear some sour notes from trying different major and minor chords.

From Where I Sit (4:08)

Brad wrote this song, and we did have it finished. Unfortunately, I can't find the finished product. The whole feel and the style of the lyrics reminded me of Alice in Chains. I'm not sure if we ever played this song out... I'll have to check some of my vids.

*Within (6:45)

I play pretty sloppy on this take, but whatever. There were like, ten people there. I decided I'd mess around with a few things on it that I hadn't tried yet, and you can hear the stumbling hehe Everything was off to a bad start at this gig. My mic wasn't on at the board at first, and then my cord even comes unplugged from the amp at one point. I used a bass synth wah on the middle part to make it a bit more pretty sounding.

*Put It Down (4:14)

haha! Liquid Joey gets lost in the song. It fell apart for a couple seconds. Besides that, I think the whole song is pretty much the same as the way he had played it before.

*RX (5:04)

I used my crybaby wah at the beginning of this tune, like I'd wanted to in the past and never did. It sounds alright I guess. I remember missing Phil's solo on the middle part :'( It's still awkward to listen to it now. The other change in the tune is changing the part at around 4:15 to a straight feel instead of off-beat.

*Charlie (3:18)

Here is a song that Brad wrote. I liked the solid foundation of the bassline. He wanted it really simple, and I think he made the right call with that. Anyway, as it turns out, the female vocalist that we ended up meeting was actually named Charlie, so the song ended up being about her... or something.

*ummmm... swallowed cum. Huh. (4:23)

Man, if you actually listen to this before I get the story section of this band up, I am sorry! The vocals are crude! Long story short (before I make the story section), I didn't know how the vocals went on this song when we played this live. Enough said for now :P I like the music to it though. I loved my bass intro on it, it was one of my favorite things to do hehe

*Run Away (5:46)

This is a song I really liked. I had fun writing the bassline to all the parts. I even have a section where I get to do a kind of solo, but I kept it mellow to match the song. When I listen back to it now, it sounds like the song empties out, though. You live and you learn! On the other hand, there are some things I really liked doing in this tune for sure.

*Nonsense (4:29)

I remember when we were writing the verse of this, I was going for a Mudvayne kind of bass feel. Heh, I could've really used a compressor during this show. All of the asterisk(*) recordings, you can hear when I switch back and forth between fingers and slapping. Whatever hehe It's all in the moment anyway I guess.

Images

I'd like to note here that the images under the 'Pics' section are all from a camcorder, and one that recorded tape at that. So, they look pretty bad altogether. My buddy Shawn made a website for us back when we were playing, and did a great job! Anyway, it's from an angelfire site, so there are ads and pop ups and the like. I figured I would rip them from there and put them here. If you'd like to visit the original site, here it is: The original Slow Intentional Damage website

Pics

Flyers