Judge

Formed in New York City in 1987 by Youth of Today guitarist John “Porcell” Porcelly and former Youth of Today drummer Mike “Judge” Ferraro, Judge became a hardcore band known for militant straight edge lyrics and heavy riffing that still stayed close to hardcore.

Starting Point

Judge began as a two piece, with Porcelly handling bass and guitar and Ferraro handling vocals and drums. The band’s first release was a 7 inch EP on Porcelly’s label Schism, which he ran with Alex Brown, a guitarist from Side by Side and Gorilla Biscuits. The EP, titled New York Crew, featured five songs, including a cover of “Warriors” by the British oi and punk band Blitz.

Early Lineups and Becoming a Live Band

After the initial recording, the band expanded into a full live lineup. Bass player Jimmy Yu, from Ferraro’s former band Death Before Dishonor, and drummer Luke “Lukey” Abbey, who had played in Warzone and Gorilla Biscuits, joined to round out the group for live shows.

Lyrics, Backlash, and Intent

The band drew criticism for militant straight edge lyrics, including from fanzines such as San Francisco’s Maximum Rock’N’Roll. According to the bio, the band intentionally leaned into that approach after seeing other bands with positive messages criticized as being too militant, and Ferraro later said that provocation was an important aim.

Sound and Influences

Musically, Judge used metal influenced riffing while staying grounded in hardcore, without fully shifting into metal in the way some crossover leaning groups did.

Bringin’ It Down and the Scrapped First Mix

With Sammy Siegler on drums and Matt Pincus on bass, Judge recorded their full length album Bringin’ It Down for Revelation Records at Chung King Studios in New York City. The band was unhappy with the results and chose to scrap that version, then re record the album at Normandy Sound in Rhode Island, where the Cro Mags had recorded Best Wishes. Revelation released a limited pressing of the original Chung King recording titled Chung King Can Suck It, which was distributed to people who pre ordered the album, with 110 copies pressed on white vinyl. The re recorded Bringin’ It Down was released in 1989.

Touring and Later Releases

Judge continued touring up through 1991 and released another 7 inch EP, There Will Be Quiet, featuring “The Storm” and “Forget This Time.” The CD version also includes a cover of “When the Levee Breaks,” originally by Led Zeppelin.

Reunion Shows

In May 2013, Judge reunited for two shows in New York City. The band continued to play shows in 2014 and 2015 in the United States, South America, and Europe.

What Members Did Next

After Judge, Porcelly toured and recorded with Shelter, a Hare Krishna hardcore band featuring Ray Cappo, and later started the bands Never Surrender and Last of the Famous. He also ran a record label called Fight Fire with Fire and the website TrueTillDeath.com, and he played with the reunited Bold in 2005 and 2006. A book collecting all issues of his fanzine Schism was released in late 2005.

Ferraro formed Mike Judge & Old Smoke with Judge roadie Todd Schwartz, playing Neil Young inspired acoustic and guitar driven music. The band released a 12 inch titled Sights on Revelation Records in 1993. The bio also notes that Ferraro raises chickens on a family farm in West Virginia.

Sammy Siegler played in several late 1980s and early 1990s hardcore bands, including as a replacement drummer. In the mid to late 1990s he recorded and toured with CIV, and he has also appeared in Shelter and the band Rival Schools. The bio states that he recorded Glassjaw’s first full length, and that in 2005 he joined Limp Bizkit as a temporary replacement for drummer John Otto.

Matt Pincus is described as the founder and former CEO of SONGS Music Publishing, a contemporary independent music publisher in the United States until its sale in 2017. The bio lists clients including The Weeknd, Lorde, Diplo, and DJ Mustard, and says SONGS was acquired by Kobalt Music Publishing in 2017.

Jimmy Yu became a Chan and Zen Buddhist monk in 1991 under the name Guogu, and later taught Buddhism and meditation under the direction of Chan and Zen Master Sheng Yen. The bio says he is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Florida State University, earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University’s Department of Religion in 2008, and teaches and researches East Asian religious traditions with a focus on Chinese and Japanese Buddhism and late imperial Chinese cultural history.

Members

• Mike Ferraro, vocals (1987 to 1991, 2013 to present), drums (1987)
• John Porcell, guitar (1987 to 1991, 2013 to present), bass (1987)
• Sammy Siegler, drums (1989 to 1991, 2013 to present)
• Charlie Garriga, guitar (2013 to present)
• Matt Pincus, bass (1989 to 1991, 2013 to present)

Former Members

• Luke Abbey, drums (1988 to 1989)
• Jimmy Yu, bass (1988 to 1989)
• Lars Weiss, guitar (1990 to 1991)
• Ryan Hoffman, guitar (1991)

Discography

• New York Crew, 7 inch EP (Schism Records, SKIZ 2, 1988; Revelation Records, REV 14, 1989)
  • 3000 copies in three pressings on Schism, later repressed on Revelation.
  • The Revelation version included a picture label described in the bio, and the first press is listed as 4000 black vinyl and 1000 blue vinyl.
• Chung King Can Suck It, LP (Revelation Records, REV −1, REV200 1)
  • Original one time press of 110 copies on white vinyl.
  • The bio notes a second press in 2024 with new photos by Jeffrey Ladd and a reversed out version of the original white cover, remastered as the 200th release on Revelation Records.
• Bringin’ It Down, LP (Revelation Records, REV 15, 1989)
  • Pressing details listed in the bio include: first press of 5458 black vinyl and 712 green vinyl with purple labels, a second press with red labels, later presses with maroon labels, and a final press in 2001 of 333 orange vinyl.
• There Will Be Quiet…, 7 inch EP (Revelation Records, REV 20, 1990)
  • 4000 black vinyl and 1000 gold vinyl.
• What It Meant: The Complete Discography, CD and 2×LP (Revelation Records, REV 122)
  • Includes all of Judge’s recorded output, including Chung King Can Suck It on an official Revelation release.
  • The bio notes that the CD sequence is: New York Crew, Bringin’ It Down, There Will Be Quiet…, Chung King Can Suck It, and “Like You” (Don Furey demo).
  • The LP versions are listed as chronological, plus three additional Don Furey demo tracks.