If you were a fan of post-hardcore with a melodic rock bent back in the '90s and early '00s, there's a great chance you were listening to No Motiv. The Oxnard, California outfit was on Vagrant Records during the label's heyday, rubbing elbows on the roster alongside such heavy-hitters as Alkaline Trio, Dashboard Confessional, and Saves the Day.
But before that, No Motiv released two 7"s on Fred Hammer's It's Alive Records, and then dropped their debut album, Cynical, in 1996 via The Edge Recordz. Since it was issued through a tiny label, the album never got its due. But there's a song on the LP called "Never Ending Cloudy Day" that is near and dear to the hearts of the guys in the band so they've decided to re-record it and give it its flowers.
"I think it was about 1995 or so. I just remember there was a lot of homophobia growing up around my hometown," guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Palaszewski told me about the song's lyrics.
"Friends and older brothers, even dads were always calling people homos and fags in a derogatory way. My brother was gay, so it was very abrasive for me to hear people talk so shallow and cheaply about people they don’t even know. I guess I just got sick of hearing talk like that, so naturally, I wrote a song about someone coming out of the closet. Who cares if anyone is gay anyways? Shouldn’t even matter or be an issue when it comes to common decency and friendship."
The new version of "Never Ending Cloudy Day" hits music streaming outlets tomorrow (February 21), but here's an early jump on the track for No Echo readers to dig into:
"It’s a trip going back and listening to the original version of 'Never Ending Cloudy Day'," says No Motiv bassist Roger Camero.
"During high school, before I joined the band, I was watching the band do special things that the rest of us really looked up to. They were playing shows outside of Oxnard, recording at studios like Fat Planet, and putting out records. This era of No Motiv helped pave the way for the next generation of Nardcore bands to carry the torch that was lit by the OG bands, like Ill Repute, Dr. Know, and Agression.
"To be able to bring this song back, at a time in our lives that is seeing diversity and free love being challenged like nothing we’ve ever seen before…It’s important to show love towards the people that are once again being silenced."
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The re-recorded version of "Never Ending Cloudy Day" drops on music streaming outlets tomorrow (February 21) via Wiretap Records.
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