A.I.D.S. was made up of bassist/vocalist/partime guitarist “Sanchez” (perhaps Ramon Rodriguez, who was the group’s contact at 1108 North Ave, Elizabeth, NJ), guitarist John, and drummer Nelson. While Ramon Rodriguez is a common name, he may now be a realtor in North Arlington, NJ, just 10 miles from where A.I.D.S. received their mail (wrong guy – see comments).

This demo, made up of songs written between 1985 and 1987, was recorded at JMM Studios in NJ in August of 1987. It was engineered by Jerry Manno (currently a popular professor at DeVry). The cover a mixture of a hand-drawn logo and typewriter text, photocopied on standard weight paper. The cassette is a normal bias Radio Shack Supertape LN-60 with a typewritten sticker. The recording tabs are still in tact.

As is typical with demo bands, A.I.D.S. included a “no thanx” section in the liner notes. It read: “No thanx: Those of you who never took the time to listen or even tried to understand. You’re all uninformed!” They also offer “A Mighty F.O.A.D. [Fuck Off And Die, I assume?] to Peter Tursha and all at Billy O’s!” Billy O’s was apparently a venue in NJ. Please note, lastly, that “Unauthorized Reproduction [is] Prohibited. (But it makes us a hell of a lot bigger!).” I guess I’m helping to make them bigger by posting this?

In terms of the music, I’m not all that well versed in punk history. While this was recorded well after punk’s early 80′s heyday, it still sounds good and has some good tracks. I’m particularly fond of “Fuck the Cops,” which could easily be the motto of any punk band, ever. Here’s a link to the full album and a one song preview:

Download A.I.D.S.: 1987 Demo

For fun, here’s a scan of the case itself, complete with comments from an anonymous WMWC staffer (click for full-size):

“OK, only two songs here but boy are they great. Intense, passionate, balancing that tenuous line between euphoria and rage. In my opinion. And they’re from F-burg!

Fly Further Into Light [ download ]:

Junky [ download ]: