Indecision (band)

The band members—guitarist Justin Brannan, drummer Pat Flynn, bassist Steve Bago and vocalist Tom Sheehan (who was replaced by Artie Phillie in 1998)—met while attending Xaverian High School in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. The band added second guitarist Rachel Rosen after having met her while performing live on her infamous WNYU radio show, Crucial Chaos, in 1996.

Initially Indecision played mostly in local clubs. Over time, a lot of the venues in their neighborhood closed down, which prompted them to take a larger step and lead to the bands integration into the New York City hardcore scene. In the early days, the band would often show up to gigs all in one car, with their equipment tied to the roof with Bungee cords.

Justin Brannan recounts these early days in the liner notes to A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall:[9]

Fort Hamilton High School Auditorium in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York. The infamous "Battle of the Bands". Our first show as Indecision. Also playing was Out of Line (with Frank Collins (Rest in Peace), Louis Torres and Dennis Dever), Confusion (with Mike Price and Mike Fried) and Purge. Indecision had a different drummer, two guitarists and two bass players at the time. What the heck were we thinking? We used to tie Bago's bass cabinet to the roof of his car with fishing rope and drive to the shows like a caravan. 5 U.S. tours, 2 European tours, almost 300 shows and 5 years later - here we are. Indecision in late 1998. [...]

The band released their first recording in 1993 on a 7-inch released by R.P.P., a then small Belgian hardcore label. Over the next seven years, Indecision would tally over a dozen 7-inch singles on a number of different labels, including many limited color vinyl and special edition covers. The band got known on a very grassroots word-of-mouth level from New York City to Thailand, where Indecision remains one of the most popular underground American bands to this day.

In 1996 they signed with Exit (a Wreck-Age Records subsidiary) and would release three albums with the label over the next three years: "Unorthodox", "Most Precious Blood" and "To Live and Die in New York City".

The band was first noticed for its insane live shows at The Wetlands Preserve. Indecision, being a relatively new band at the time, would often open up the Sunday matinees. After they had finished their set, the club would quickly empty out. This only added to their mystique and quickly built a cult following.

In 1998, To Live and Die in New York City was their first album to feature the polarizing Artie Phillie on vocals (whom the band befriended and poached from noise-crust-punk labelmates, Milhouse), but the album retained the straight-ahead style that their other releases possessed. Tom Sheehan (Most Precious Blood) was singer previous.

The album featured an eerily prophetic manipulated photo of the Manhattan skyline engulfed in flames.

The song "Purgatory" features an audio sample about the Union Carbide tragedy in Bhopal, India. In December 1984, a gas leak at a Union Carbide India Limited plant in Bhopal, India, results in tragic loss of life in what is known as the Bhopal disaster, when up to 20,000 people lost their lives

In 2000, it was announced that Indecision would be taking part of the Metallica tribute series Crush 'Em All for Undecided Records.[10] Indecision was scheduled to share a split 7-inch vinyl with Walls of Jericho and recorded a cover of the song "Frayed Ends of Sanity".[11] The split was delayed and eventually shelved, but Undecided Records included Indecision's recording on the various artists compilation The Old, the New, the Unreleased, released in January 2005.[12][13]

Indecision disbanded after a show in El Paso, Texas, while on tour with Kill Your Idols on 7 June 2000.

In 2023, the band announced they'd be reuniting to support the second night of the Blacklisted reunion show at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia alongside Unbroken, Magnitude, and Scarab.

Relentless recording and touring kept the band relevant long after many of their contemporaries faded away. Inspired by bands like Black Flag, Indecision embarked on voracious trailblazing tours, and it became their trademark usually spending a solid 9 to 10 months a year on the road. They were dubbed "The Working Man's Band" for their affinity to tour cities and countries that other bands would not dare.

Indecision was the first American band to play in Zagreb after the Croatian War of Independence ended in 1995.

Indecision also showed its appreciation for its home Brooklyn as well as New York City—which they regularly labeled "Gotham City" on merchandise --.

The former Indecision-members Justin and Rachel are now in the hardcore band Most Precious Blood on Trustkill Records.

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