Take the year 1994, take 2 guys who met each other in highschool, take another guy & take a few instruments. Have the 2 guys meet up with the other guy and you have a band. Is it that simple? It's that simple! Give the boys the names of Jasper, Ronald & Bob and the band will be I against I.
Jasper was playing drums, Ronald guitar and Bob the bass. Now all they needed was a singer. Why not let Ronald sing 'till they've found one? When it's time for the first show, 2 months later, no singer has been found yet. It turned out that they didn't need one. Ronald was doing a good job, so the band stayed together as a three-piece. This first show was in DJS, Dordrecht in the afternoon of Nov. 20, 1994. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong, but it was good fun! That same night they played their 2nd show.
The next months they played some more and the free Saturday-afternoon was used for practicing. In July 1995 they recorded their first demo-tape. This demo featured 7 songs: Ordinary Fight, Ideals, Tough Guy, Time, Old Man, Rave On & Utopia. Some people liked it:
"...Huh, what? Oh sorry, y’all still there? I was just pogoin’ with my cats. I against I just sent me this great tape. I got this very demure guy on the phone, tellin’ me I could expect their demo in the mail... Well, I got it and it has captured me somehow. It reminds me of my days with the yellow hair and the red & black panther print on my clothes... Don’t remind me... But it sounds great! A VERY GOOD BUY! A VERY GOOD SIGN!! (as in SIGN ‘em! ya corporate twits!!)" - David Dylan, Tribe Magazine 1 - 96
After this demo they kept on playing & practicing as much as they could.
Since I against I wasn't satisfied with the production of the first demo, they decided to re-record four songs of the first demo. A gig with a very good Dutch band called Cooper was some sort of turning point. They gave them an address to record that second demo-tape. This was the address of Frank Reijgersberg, who later recorded "Top Of The World".
Those 4 songs are "Ordinary Fight", "Time", "Ideals" & "Utopia". This demo got some good reviews and it got them on a role. It reached Igor from Buro Gogo and he decided to start doing the bookings for the band. The result: a lot of shows & a lot of experience. When Epitaph heard the 4 songs & had seen the band play a few times, Mr. Brett gave his permission to sign the band. On June 9, 1997 the deal was closed. I against I officially was Epitaph's first European signing.
In the meantime I against I played some of the bigger festivals in Holland (Dynamo Open Air, Lowlands) and did some nice supports (Descendents, Bad Religion). The band's first release on Epitaph was the EP "Top Of The World". The songs Top Of The World, Chaos Days, Look Inside & I Wanna Hold Your Hand introduced I against I to Europe in August '97. Frank Reijgersberg was the producer.
In Octobre '97 the band went to Ft. Collins, CO, USA to record the first full-length in the Blasting Room with Bill Stevenson & Stephen Egerton. Also, Jason Livermore did some additional mixing. "Headcleaner" was given birth to.It was released on Feb. 13, 1998 in Europe and on Oct. 6, 1998 in the rest of the world. A lot of interviews, reviews & shows followed. A single was taken from this album: "Time". Another (previously unreleased) song, Mr. Loverman, is on it.
In April 1999 I against I recorded their 2nd album. They did that in Tienen, Belgium with Theo van Rock, who is known for his work with Rollins Band and recently Urban Dance Squad.
Source: http://www.iagainsti.nl/
