As Friends Rust
As Friends Rust is an American melodic hardcore band based in Gainesville, Florida. The original line-up, which included vocalist Damien Moyal, guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez and drummer Matthew Crum, formed in Davie, Florida in September 1996. After recording a demo tape but failing to secure a record deal, the band parted ways in February 1997. Following his move to Gainesville, Florida in mid-1997, Moyal reformed As Friends Rust with a new line-up (made-up mostly of then-members of his other band Culture), ultimately stabilizing the band with drummer Timothy Kirkpatrick, guitarists  Gordon Tarpley and Joseph Simmons and bass guitarist and backing vocalist Kaleb Stewart. The band released its debut EP "The Fists of Time" via Good Life Recordings in 1998, prior to which Tarpley was replaced by Peter Bartsocas. After an American tour, Bartsocas was replaced by James Glayat and As Friends Rust released a split with Discount, also on Good Life in 1998, supported by a European tour. The band signed with Doghouse Records and released the 1999 EP "As Friends Rust", ensuing a series of American, European and British tours for the next two years, along with reissues of  early material. Inner tensions caused line-up changes in 2000, culminating with Glayat, Kirkpatrick and Stewart quitting. Moyal and Simmons reconstructed the band by recruiting guitarist and backing vocalist Floyd Beckham, drummer Zachary Swain and bass guitarist Thomas Rankine. The new line-up recorded As Friends Rust's debut full-length album "Won" for Doghouse / Defiance in 2001 and embarked on extensive American, European and British tours. As Friends Rust signed with Equal Vision Records and released the 2002 EP "A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times", by which time tensions had again surfaced, resulting with Moyal  quitting the band at the peak of its popularity. Beckham first took up vocals, until Adam D'Zurilla was welcomed as Moyal's replacement. With D'Zurilla, As Friends Rust toured North America, Europe and the United Kingdom several times, before Beckham, too, quit the band. In September 2002, the remaining members of As Friends Rust announced their continuation under a new band name, Salem. As Friends Rust first reunited in 2008, with Moyal, Kirkpatrick, Stewart, Simmons and Glayat reprising their 1998–2000 line-up for a European tour. The band again regrouped for a Japanese tour in 2014, followed by a series  of American and European festival dates in 2015 and 2019, supporting their "Greatest Hits?" and "" compilations. In 2020, Stewart was replaced by bass guitarist Chad Darby and As Friends Rust released the EP "Up From the Muck", containing their first-recorded material in eighteen years, on Unity Worldwide Records. History. First incarnation (1996–1997). In September 1996, vocalist Damien Moyal was invited to a band practice in Davie, Florida by guitarist Henry Olmino, bass guitarist Jeronimo Gomez and drummer Matthew Crum; the three had been rehearsing under the name Wayside (originally with vocalist Robert Rudas). Moyal had previously been the vocalist  in Shai Hulud and Morning Again, and was then simultaneously playing in Bird of Ill Omen and had recently rejoined Culture (having originally left that band in April 1995). Moyal named the new melodic hardcore band As Friends Rust, after lyrics from the song "Now Ruin Is", which he had penned in 1995, originally planned as a Shai Hulud song, then reserved for a Morning Again song, but ultimately used with a Bird of Ill Omen song. As Friends Rust recorded six songs, "Encante", "Ruffian", "Broken Brain", "When People Resort to Name Calling", "The Only Point" and an untitled instrumental  acoustic song, at Wisner Productions in Davie, Florida from November 19–22, 1996 with producer James Paul Wisner. Three of the songs, "Encante", "Ruffian" and "Broken Brain", were used on a well-circulated demo tape shopped to record labels. By February 1997, this incarnation of As Friends Rust had fallen apart as Moyal dedicated more time to Culture and Bird of Ill Omen. Olmino, Gomez and Crum opted to continue playing together, renaming the band Red Letter Day and asking Rudas to return as vocalist. The same core members later played in The Rocking Horse Winner, while Olmino also played with  Anchorman and Gomez also played with Poison the Well. The "Porch House" era (1997–2000). Moyal reformed As Friends Rust after moving to Gainesville, Florida in 1997, with guitarists Stephen Looker and Gordon Tarpley; all three were then-members of Culture. In September 1997, drummer Timothy Kirkpatrick (formerly of the emo band Roosevelt) joined both As Friends Rust and Culture. Though Looker and Kirkpatrick wrote a handful of songs together, the band came to a halt when Looker quit both As Friends Rust and Culture to join Morning Again, moving to Coral Springs, Florida in March 1998. Looker would later join  ex-As Friends Rust members in Red Letter Day (with Chris Carrabba having replaced Rudas), and play in Poison the Well and Reggie and the Full Effect, until he became a band manager, representing such artists as Further Seems Forever and Salem. Moyal quickly asked ex-Morning Again and ex-Bird of Ill Omen guitarist Joseph Simmons to join both Culture and As Friends Rust, and recruited Kaleb Stewart as bass guitarist. With an intact line-up, As Friends Rust recorded the song "Home Is Where the Heart Aches" at Goldentone Studios in Gainesville, Florida in late March 1998 with  producer Rob McGregor. Three members of Hot Water Music; Chuck Ragan, George Rebelo and Chris Wollard; provided backup vocals on the recording. "Home Is Where the Heart Aches" was combined with four songs from the 1996 recording session ("Encante", "Ruffian", "When People Resort to Name Calling" and "Broken Brain") to make up the band's debut extended play, "The Fists of Time", released by Good Life Recordings on compact disc and 10" vinyl on July 13, 1998. Good Life Recordings had previously released material by Culture and Morning Again, so As Friends Rust was a natural fit on the record  label. The cover art of "The Fists of Time" was designed by Moyal. In April 1998, Tarpley quit both As Friends Rust and Culture simultaneously, leading Moyal to recruit ex-Morning Again bass guitarist and then-guitarist of Bird of Ill Omen (though the band was on hiatus) Peter Bartsocas as As Friends Rust's new guitarist and backing vocalist. In promotion of the new line-up, recording and forthcoming release, the band embarked on a five-week tour of the United States in June and July 1998, accompanied by Discount and Dillinger Four. The tour included stops to perform  at such festivals as More Than Music in Columbus, Ohio, Tin Can Full of Dreams in Lawrence, Massachusetts and Wilkes-Barre Festival in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. As Friends Rust was put on hold for a month as Moyal, Kirkpatrick and Simmons toured Europe with their other band Culture from mid-August to mid-September 1998. After replacing Bartsocas with guitarist James Glayat (who had previously played in Roosevelt with Kirkpatrick) in October 1998, As Friends Rust returned to Goldentone Studios to record "The First Song on the Tape You Make Her" with McGregor. McGregor, Stewart and Keith Welsh provided backing  vocals on the recording. The song, which had been partly written with Bartsocas, would appear on a split CD and 7" vinyl with Discount, released by Good Life Recordings in December 1998. The two bands toured Europe from December 1998 to January 1999 in promotion of the release, accompanied by Swedish hardcore band Purusam. In late 1998, As Friends Rust was signed to a three-record deal by American record label Doghouse Records, and on May 9, 1999 returned to Goldentone Studios to record six songs with McGregor. The new material included the songs "Half Friend Town", "Like Strings (Spell  It with a K)", "Fire on 8th and 3rd", "Coffee Black", "Scapegoat Wets the Whistle" and a cover of Circle Jerks' "Operation", all with backing vocals provided by Stewart. The songs were released on a self-titled compact disc and 8" vinyl by Doghouse Records on September 17, 1999; the European version released on compact disc and double 7" vinyl was erroneously promoted under the titles "God Hour" and "6-Song CD", by Good Life Recordings in July 1999. As Friends Rust toured the east coast of the United States during three weeks in June 1999 accompanied by acoustic musician  Keith Welsh. The tour included stops to play the Wilkes-Barre Summer Music Festival in Kingston, Pennsylvania and Syracuse Hell Fest in Syracuse, New York. The band quickly followed up with a five-week European tour in July and August 1999, playing at such festivals as Good Life Midsummer Hardcore Festival in Kuurne, Belgium, Festival Hardcore in Sant Feliu De Guíxols, Spain and Ieperfest in Ypres, Belgium. The European tour was intended to be shared with Hot Water Music, but due to disagreements over top-billing, the two bands ended up booking separate tours. In October 1999, Japanese record label  Howling Bull Entertainment released the compact disc compilation "Eleven Songs", which included a selection of the band's recorded material from 1996, 1998 and 1999. In December 1999, the band played Gainesvillefest in Gainesville, Florida. A December 1999-January 2000 tour with The August Prophecy and Dragbody was booked but cancelled at the last minute. During the first half of 2000, As Friends Rust went on mini tours with New Jersey hardcore band Fast Times and Washington D.C. hardcore band Good Clean Fun, and also played The Copper Sun Indie Records Winter Festival in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the Detroit Festival , in Detroit, Michigan and Krazyfest in Louisville, Kentucky. On June 22, 2000, Doghouse Records re-issued "" on compact disc, 12" vinyl and digitally, adding the songs "The First Song on the Tape You Make Her" and "Operation", which had previously been exclusive to Good Life Recordings. The re-issue did not count towards the band's existing Doghouse Records three-record contract (which counted "As Friends Rust" and two full-length albums). As Friends Rust immediately embarked on a four-week tour to promote the release, playing shows across the entire United States with Virginia hardcore band Strike Anywhere. The  tour included stops to play such festivals as Mixed Messages in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Pheer Festival, in College Park, Maryland and Hellfest 2K in Auburn, New York (which As Friends Rust did not play due to a last-minute change in venue). In July 2000, Good Life Recordings invited As Friends Rust back to Europe for a week's worth of shows in Belgium and the Netherlands, including a performance at Dour Festival in Dour, Belgium and another at Metropolis Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In mid-August 2000, the band returned to Europe for a full five-week tour, which  included a handful of cross-over shows with Canadian melodic hardcore band Grade, New Jersey melodic hardcore band Ensign and Massachusetts post-hardcore band Garrison. This European tour also included stops at Ieperfest in Ypres, Belgium and TurboPunk Festival, in Poznań, Poland. Prior to leaving on their European tour, Glayat and Kirkpatrick announced their desire to leave the band upon returning home. However, tensions during the tour ultimately caused a much bigger change in membership. Ex-guitarist Bartsocas was visiting Europe at the same time and decided to travel with the band. When Glayat broke his leg during the first  week of the tour and flew home early, Bartsocas filled the vacant guitarist position. Several shows later, Moyal lost his voice, leading Stewart to switch from bass guitar to vocals, and Bartsocas temporarily filling in as bass guitarist. Moyal and Simmons called ex-Culture, ex-Morning Again and ex-Crucible bass guitarist Floyd Beckham (Glayat's at-the-time roommate) from Europe, asking him to join As Friends Rust as their new guitarist upon their return home, much to Stewart's dismay, leading the latter to quit the band. Moyal and Stewart were initially to stay over in Europe following  As Friends Rust's tour, for a second tour with their other band Bridgeburne R, but Moyal was forced to find a new bass guitarist for Bridgeburne R as well. Glayat and Kirkpatrick went on to play in Moments in Grace, while Stewart started Grey Goose and The Sheryl Cro(w) Mags. Section::::"Won" (2001). In February 2001, Moyal, Simmons and Beckham recruited former Twelve Tribes drummer Alexander Vernon and future Rehasher bass guitarist Guillermo Amador. This line-up wrote and recorded two songs, "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You", at Goldentone Studios with McGregor in late February 2001, both of  which were released by Doghouse Records as part of its 7" vinyl Fan Series in March 2001. Further line-up changes resulted with Zachary Swain (formerly of Rosalind, Adversary and Carlisle) replacing Vernon on drums in March 2001, and Thomas Rankine (formerly of Crestfallen, Bird of Ill Omen, Dead Men's Theory, Anchorman and Crucible) replacing Amador on bass guitar in April 2001. Within five months, the band had written enough new songs for a full-length album. As Friends Rust recorded ten songs for its debut full-length "Won" in July 2001, with producer James Paul Wisner at Wisner  Productions. Recorded material included new versions of "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You", newly-written songs "We on Some Next Level Shit", "Fourteen or So", "Austin, We Have a Problem", "Won't Be the First Time", "Perfect Stranglers", "Laughing Out Loud" and "Last Call", as well as "Ten" for which Moyal improvised lyrics in the studio. Former As Friends Rust drummer Matthew Crum contributed additional percussion, while backing vocals were provided by Further Seems Forever bass guitarist Chad Neptune. "Won" was delayed by several months, ultimately being released on October 5, 2001 in Japan by Howling Bull Entertainment, on  October 15, 2001 in Europe by German record label Defiance Records and on October 23, 2001 in the United States by Doghouse Records. As Friends Rust began touring full-time in support of "Won", starting with an American summer tour with Vangard, Keepsake and Further Seems Forever from early August to mid-September 2001. The last leg of the American tour was cut short due to the September 11 attacks in New York City (As Friends Rust was scheduled to play the city three days later), but the band managed to perform at the Orlando Magicfest in Orlando, Florida, Furnace  Fest in Birmingham, Alabama, and Philly Music Festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Another North American tour with Where Fear and Weapons Meet was initially booked for October to December 2001, but was cancelled when Where Fear and Weapons Meet's original vocalist quit and the band announced their breakup (they would ultimately reform). As Friends Rust then reunited with Strike Anywhere for a five-week European tour from late October to early December 2001. In promotion of these shows, British record label Golf Records reissued the band's earlier compilation album "Eleven Songs" on compact disc on October 22, 2001. A  highlight performance at London, England's Camden Underworld from November 16, 2001, was filmed and later released on video and DVD by British home video company Punkervision on December 17, 2002. As Friends Rust played its last show of 2001 at Gainesvillefest in Gainesville, Florida. Moyal's departure and transition into Salem (2002). In mid-February 2002, As Friends Rust recorded five songs, "More Than Just Music, It's a Hairstyle", "The Most Americanest", "Temporary Living", "Born With a Silver Spoon Up Your Ass" and "Where the Wild Things Were", at Wisner Productions with producer James Paul Wisner, as part  of a one-off loan-out to Equal Vision Records. Tension within the band resulted with Moyal recording his vocals separately and co-producing the material without the other four members' presence. During the studio sessions, Moyal also recorded the interlude "Up and Went" with Wisner performing keyboards and guitar. Less than two weeks following the recording session, Moyal quit As Friends Rust, citing dissatisfaction with touring and wanting to focus on school and his then-fiance. In retrospective interviews, Moyal also stated that the new members, Beckham, Swain and Rankine, were taking As Friends Rust in a more mainstream  and polished direction, which in turn led to his loss of interest. In an interview conducted shortly after Moyal's departure, Rankine revealed that frictions with Moyal had become increasingly problematic, especially since their European tour from October–December 2001. Rankine pointed out that Moyal's attitude had been negative and holding back the band from progressing in a natural direction, and that by leaving suddenly, he had left the band in a difficult situation with record label and touring obligations to fulfill. At the time of Moyal's departure, As Friends Rust already had several upcoming shows scheduled and  was in the midst of booking an entire year's worth of tours. The band was also talking about writing a second full-length album (to fulfill their Doghouse Records contract) and was in discussion with other important record labels. Moyal, nevertheless, encouraged the band to find a new vocalist and continue under the established name. Moyal went on to form Damien Done, a solo project which eventually expanded into a full band. Beckham initially stepped up as temporary vocalist and Tarpley returned to fill the vacant guitarist position, as the band embarked on a short midwest tour supporting Sick  of It All, Shai Hulud and Thursday during the first week of March 2002. This was immediately followed by a week-long east coast tour with This Day Forward, Coheed and Cambria, The Stryder, Fairweather, Liars Academy and Prevent Falls as part of the "Equal Vision Records Presents: Spring Showcase 2002 Tour", and a one-off date opening for Agnostic Front in New York. Adam D'Zurilla (formerly of Short Order, Esteem, Die Tomorrow and Kumite) was finally welcomed as Moyal's replacement in late March 2002, allowing Beckham to return to playing guitar. D'Zurilla's first show was at the  Hell City Tattoo Festival in Columbus, Ohio on April 5, 2002, followed by a week-long east coast tour with Bloodlet and a performance at Gorefest in Miami, Florida. In the last week of May 2002, As Friends Rust played a week's worth of Florida shows supporting Prevent Falls. The final recordings with Moyal were released on the extended play "A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times" on compact disc and 12" vinyl on May 27, 2002 by Defiance Records in Europe and on May 28, 2002 by Equal Vision Records in the United States. The  band immediately hit the road non-stop for the next six months, beginning with a two-week Canadian tour in early June 2002, followed by a month and a half-long American tour with Prevent Falls, Garrison and Clark, spanning from mid-June to late July 2002. During this tour, As Friends Rust played Krazyfest in Louisville, Kentucky, and three Van's Warped Tour dates in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. Upon returning home in late July 2002, Beckham quit the band; he went on to play in J. Page. As Friends Rust travelled as a four-piece, with  Simmons as sole guitarist, for their month-long European tour, which spanned from early August to early September 2002. The tour included dates at the Defiance Records Festival in Cologne, Germany, the Sommerspektakel Open Air Festival in Sarstedt, Germany and the Ieper Hardcore Festival in Ypres, Belgium. The band was supported by The Copperpot Journals on their ten-date United Kingdom leg. Prior to leaving for Europe, the band had already discussed abandoning the name As Friends Rust in favor of one that better reflected their new musical direction. It was on their European tour that they began announcing to  fans that this would be As Friends Rust's final tour and that the band would be officially changing its name to Salem upon returning home. Although As Friends Rust officially played its last show on September 11, 2002 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the band would continue to be billed under its old name, as additional tours had been booked well-in-advance into November 2002. As such, Salem continued to play As Friends Rust songs and tour in promotion of "Won" and "A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times" for several more months. Back in the United  States, Salem was supposed to go on tour with Florida emo band The Remedy Session, from mid-September to early October 2002, but the tour was cancelled. Salem officially played its first show on September 28, 2002 at The Factory in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opening for Further Seems Forever, though they were billed as As Friends Rust. Salem was again billed as As Friends Rust during their week-long south-eastern American tour with Fairweather, Liars Academy, Open Hand and Codeseven, and during another week-long south-eastern American tour with Shelter, Keepsake and Running from Dharma, which together spanned  most of mid-October 2002. It was only once they began touring with The Movielife and Brand New in late October 2002 that the previously-booked billing was corrected to feature the band's new name. Upon returning home from this tour in mid-November 2002, Swain quit the band and Salem properly began moving onto new things away from As Friends Rust. Reunions (2008, 2011, 2014–2015, 2019–present). In March 2008, Moyal announced that As Friends Rust would regroup for a series of European shows as part of the band's "Back in Coffee Black Tour '08". It was  further revealed that the band would be performing with its 1998–2000 line-up (referred to as "The Porch Days" line-up), including Kirkpatrick, Simmons, Stewart and Glayat, for a total of six European shows (including Ieperfest in Ypres, Belgium) and a single American show at The Atlantic in Gainesville, Florida (a venue co-owned by Simmons and Rankine). At the time, Simmons and Stewart were still living in Gainesville, Florida, but Moyal had been living in Ann Arbor, Michigan since 2006; Kirkpatrick was living in Los Angeles, California; and Glayat was based in Brooklyn, New York. On April 24, 2011 , new As Friends Rust accounts were created on Facebook and Twitter. On June 6, 2011, As Friends Rust recorded demos of six new songs, though the band was not satisfied with the material and ultimately shelved the material. In June 2014, As Friends Rust regrouped for the four-date "Japan Tour 2014", supported by Japanese hardcore bands Endzweck and Noy. In promotion of the tour, Japanese record label Cosmic Note released a best of compilation on compact disc titled "Greatest Hits?" on June 4, 2014, which included a selection of the band's recordings from 1996 to 2002, hand-picked  by Moyal. The compilation was also released on compact cassette by Indonesian record label D'Kolektif on December 27, 2014, and on 12" vinyl by Dutch record label Shield Recordings on April 29, 2015. As Friends Rust regrouped again for three shows in 2015: the first at the Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, New York in April 2015 (during which Bartsocas played a song in place of Glayat); the second at Groezrock festival in Meerhout, Belgium in May 2015; and the last at The Fest in Gainesville, Florida in October 2015. On May 22, 2015, German record label Demons Run Amok Entertainment  released <bdi>"" on 12" vinyl.</bdi> <bdi>The release compiled all of the band's studio recordings from 1998 to 2000, a</bdi>s well as previously unreleased live recordings of two of the three songs composed-but-never-properly-recorded by the band with that line-up. In January 2019, As Friends Rust announced that they had been writing, demoing and working on new songs since 2008 for a full-length album, and that they were finally proud of and happy enough with the current material to want to record and release it. Kirkpatrick had  moved St. Augustine, Florida in 2018, and with three members living in Florida, the logistics of getting together to record material became more feasible. Moyal also announced that the band would be recording and releasing a two-song extended play as a precursor to the album in mid-2019 (though this was delayed by a year). As Friends Rust performed two shows in 2019: one at The Kingsland in Brooklyn, New York on April 25, 2019, and another at Booze Cruise Festival in Hamburg, Germany on June 6, 2019 (where they played two sets). Upon returning from Booze Cruise, the band  parted ways with Stewart, though they did not immediately look for a replacement bass guitarist. As Friends Rust recorded two songs, "Up From the Muck" and "Last of the Famous International Scumbags", for their planned comeback extended play in early March 2020 at various studios across the country; Kirkpatrick recorded his drum tracks at Warhouse Studio in Gainesville, Florida; Simmons recorded his guitar tracks at Jazzberry Jam Audio in Tampa, Florida; Glayat recorded his guitar tracks at Tall Pine in Brooklyn, New York (engineered by Bartsocas); and Moyal recorded his vocal tracks at Wisner Productions in St. Cloud, Florida (Wisner  having since relocated from Davie, Florida). The songs featured bass guitarist Chad Darby, of Samiam and Ship Thieves, who recorded his tracks at his house in Gainesville, Florida. The songs were then mixed by James Paul Wisner at Wisner Productions. "Up From the Muck" premiered digitally on March 23, 2020, while "Last of the Famous International Scumbags" premiered digitally a week later on March 30, 2020. Both songs were released on a 7" vinyl by Unity Worldwide Records on July 3, 2020. In January 2020, it was announced that As Friends Rust would perform at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama  on September 20, 2020, though the festival was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As Friends Rust was re-booked to perform at the next year's edition on September 26, 2021, but the band cancelled their appearance due to the prolonged pandemic. As Friends Rust is currently booked and scheduled to appear at Furnace Fest 2022. In a September 2021 interview, Moyal noted that the band is still working on their planned full-length album. Moyal also explained that the band had hoped to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Won" in 2021, but that due to last-minute  planning, the celebration had been postponed to the album's 25th anniversary in 2026. Members. Current lineup Former members and touring musicians