Biography:

Negative Element is an early 1980's Chicago area hardcore/punk band with heavy influence from the Los Angeles punk/skate scene and east coast (Washington D.C.) ethics. Their first show was on Halloween 1980 playing covers by the Germs, Dead Kennedys, Cockney Rejects and Richard Hell. The group at that time included former singer Scott (Sparky) and Little Guy on bass.
The original lineup was: Scott (Sparky) - vocals Barry - guitar Chopper - guitar Little Guy - bass Keith - Drums Later, Sparky was replaced with Western Springs native Tom Faulkner. Little Guy also left the band which forced Chopper to take over bass duties. The group was influenced by early punk bands but especially the newer hardcore bands coming out of Los Angeles like Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Adolescents, Fear and others. The band was also heavily influenced at that time by a number of Oi! groups like Cockney Rejects, Blitz, etc. Negative Elements first recording appeared on the Meathouse compilation on the Version Sound label from Ohio. They appeared along with Battalion of Saints, JFA, Minutemen, Rights of the Accused and others. This is the only recording released with Sparky on vocals.

With Tom taking over vocals and Little Guy out of the group, Negative Element played their first gig on August 15, 1982 at Exit in Chicago, with MDC, Six Feet Under and Rights of the Accused. They later played numerous local shows with groups like Articles of Faith, Big Black, Rights of the Accused, End Result, Anti-Bodies, Seismic Waves and others. The group also played with some larger groups like Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat and JFA. The group was heavily influence by the skate punk scene at the time. They released their debut EP on Version Sound called, Yes, We Have No Bananas with 8 songs in 1983. Steve Albini (Nirvana Producer) wrote that the EP was just brimming with real enthusiasm, joy, intelligence, wit and well-directed anger. Better than some of the early D.C. records at capturing the essence of being a teenager whos too smart too play the game in Matter Magazine. They also recorded several tracks for a Chicago Hardcore compilation produced by Articles of Faith that never saw the light of day. They also have three songs on the Starving Dogs compilation documenting the Chicago punk scene.

The group planned to release another singer on their own label called Negative Elements Very Own Record Label and No One Else Can Be on Here Except Us, So There, Inc. but the band broke up after half of its members moved to Peoria, Illinois. Barry and Chopper went on to play in a number of Central Illinois hardcore/punk bands including Caustic Defiance, Naked Hippy and the Outbreaks. Keith Lyons went on to play in Happy Toonz and is still involved in music and skateboarding. He is currently living in Germany. Tom Faulkner played with Rights of the Accused, Mystery Girls and the Rosehips. The group has survived the years by radio play and internet interest.

Number 33 of Roctober Magazine from Chicago featured Barry and Chopper’s numerous band projects in a larger interview and free CD in Summer 2002. The CD (Get in the Back with the Dogs!) included 17 of Barry and Chopper’s musical projects including unreleased Negative Element tracks. Negative Element lyrics are also quoted in the new book, “TV a-go-go: Rock On TV from American Bandstand to American Idol” by Jake Austin.

The group is also listed in the book, “American Hardcore” by Steven Blush. Negative Element played a reunion show at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago with End Result and the Mentally Ill on November 24, 2007. In the summer of 2009, Negative Element released a split CD with Caustic Defiance on Akashic Blue Label from Japan. Included is the original mix of the "Bananas" EP plus some rare, unreleased tracks. The band is featured in the "You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk 1977-1984" DVD in interviews, vintage live footage and a video from their Reunion show. The song "Anti-PacMan" is featured on the soundtrack vinyl release.