WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Photo from Hirax circa 1987. We were one thing on records, but there was a whole other side to the band live. There was nothing we loved better than playing live.
Venom / Exodus / HIRAX
Flyer from a 1986 concert.
There were 3800 screaming maniacs
in the auditorium that night
The reason there aren't too many promo photos of HIRAX is because we never really liked standing still for cameras. We only did photo shoots because we had to. The record companies practically had to beg us. Usually it would work if there was enough alcohol. It was hard to keep us all sitting still, unless we were drinking.
A very rare 1987 HIRAX promo photo taken by Naomi Petersen. She was one of the unsung heroes of the LA hardcore scene. She took pictures of everybody: Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains. She had a great photographer's eye.
Downtown Long Beach, at Fender's Ballroom, one of the best clubs we ever played! The first show we ever played there was with a new band called, Megadeth. We knew the singer, Dave Mustaine from when he used to be in Metallica.
Live at Fender's, 1987, near the end. We had a lot of 'personal' problems. But the shows were still packed and the crowds were getting wilder. We were the first metal punk crossover band to have headbangers, slam pits, as well as stagedivers. It was pretty normal to see long haired metal kids running across the stage as well as short haired punks. We loved it.
Our first trip to San Francisco, we were young kids and the city brought out the best in us and the worst...