Inside Out

ByLets Go Punk
Orange County hardcore band Inside Out ran from 1988 to 1991

Inside Out were a hardcore punk band from Orange County, California, active from August 1988 to around fall 1991, fronted by Zack de la Rocha, who later formed Rage Against the Machine.

During their short run they toured the West Coast regularly, made one trip to the East Coast, and left behind one official EP plus a trail of live recordings and unreleased songs that kept circulating for years.

Short Run, Big Push

Inside Out formed in 1988 and played steadily until 1991. Their only official release during that period was the 1990 7 inch EP No Spiritual Surrender on Revelation Records, later expanded to a six song CD version.

What They Were Writing Next

The band had begun working on material for a second release that was going to be titled Rage Against the Machine. The name carried forward when de la Rocha started his next band.

Inside Out ended not long after guitarist Vic DiCara left to become a Hare Krishna monk.

Ideas in the Lyrics and the Shift in Sound

Many songs leaned spiritual without being strictly religious. Some tracks aimed outward at social issues in the United States, while others were more personal to members of the band.

Near the end, the newer music they were writing pulled more from hip hop, with Run-DMC specifically named as a reference point.

Radio, Live Tapes, and Later Circulation

Inside Out performed on KXLU radio in California and used the set to try out newer songs. Recordings from that broadcast and from shows circulated widely through tape trading and later file sharing.

In early 2013, a higher quality recording of one of their final shows from May 1991 surfaced, was remastered, and was made publicly available. Lyrics for previously unreleased songs including “Rage Against the Machine” and “Darkness of Greed” were later pieced together from that material.

In October 2016, video from a 1990 show in Reading, Pennsylvania surfaced online and included multiple unreleased songs.

Side Projects and What Came After

After leaving Inside Out, DiCara started 108 and later played guitar in Burn while also playing in 108.

Remix Appearance

In 2006, the track “No Spiritual Surrender” appeared on the mashup album Threat: Music That Inspired the Movie in a version remixed by Oktopus from Dälek under the title “Ghost in the Machine.”

Members

EP lineup:

  • Zack de la Rocha, vocals
  • Vic DiCara, guitar
  • Mark Hayworth, bass
  • Chris Bratton, drums

Earlier members:

  • Rob Haworth, guitar
  • Alex Barreto, drums
  • Sterling Wilson, bass
  • Mike Down, guitar
  • Joey Piro, drums
  • Michael Rosas, guitar

Discography

  • No Spiritual Surrender (EP, 1990)

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