Artificial Peace Release Live At The Wilson Center LP Via Alona’s Dream Records

Released on the 40th Anniversary of Artificial Peace’s best live show ever, this album features 15 tracks. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Tom Lyle of Government Issue. For anyone who was there that night, they can close their eyes and practically re-live the experience. For those who weren’t, they can sonically experience the intensity of Artificial Peace live!

The release of this live recording documents this important, influential band of the early DC hardcore punk scene, and in a more authentic way than their well-known studio recordings.

In addition to the live album, “Artificial Peace in Words and Images” is a hardcover book companion piece. The book contains more than 50 pages and features 17 essays from key members of the DC scene, 18 photos taken by Malcolm Riviera (many never seen before), plus 36 video stills of the June 25 1982 show, flyers and other ephemera.

Contributors include Alec Bourgeois, Barry Henssler, Brendan Canty, Brian Gay, Brian Kiviat, Chris Stover, Danny Ingram, Donald Keesing, Ian MacKaye, Ivor Hanson, Jason Carmer, Marc Alberstadt, Mark Haggerty, Tom Berard and Tom Lyle.

Get the album and book HERE

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“… the first time I really remember seeing them (Artificial Peace) I was blown away. It was so exciting to hear their music and see the progression of what I would call the DC sound, though I think the AP members might refer to it as the Bethesda sound …. there seemed to be a bit of a regional skirmish going on between the DC punks and the B-Town thrasher contingent.

Like most of the early DC bands, Artificial Peace’s time on earth wasn’t long and they broke up towards the end of 1982, but they left an indelible mark on me. I was a fan.” – Ian MacKaye

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“I first heard Artificial Peace in early 1982 via a live tape recorded by my friend Al Pike, of Reagan Youth. The sound was more than a few steps forward from 1981. Crazy how quickly things progressed back then. Sounds and ideas in the punk scene were evolving from month to month, with new bands popping up and changing the scene and our perceptions of the music. Artificial Peace was one of those bands.” – Bary Henssler, Necros

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“It was all a blur, but I do remember being young. Fifteen in ’81. I was in Deadline at the time. Artificial Peace were kind of immediately great, but super short lived. I remember swinging around the pole in the middle of the room at Janelle’s basement … The scene was bustling, thriving, growing.

We were actually younger than I can now imagine. … Artificial Peace wrote songs about the social scene that reflected what I was seeing, wrote songs that spoke to me about the world, about social anxiety. They sounded fantastic, and played super fast songs that got across what mattered.” – Brendan Canty, Deadline, Rites of Spring, Fugazi

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“… you could see in Artificial Peace and the other bands on the bill that night that a change was taking place. The bands were tighter – the songs catchier – and the scene was exploding around them. Artificial Peace was a short-lived but vital part of DC’s musical evolution.” – Danny Ingram, Untouchables, Youth Brigade, Madhouse, Dot Dash

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“This album is made from a tape I recorded that night, mostly off the soundboard but also with a microphone to capture the hot and humid ambience of that packed and sweaty show.

Those who weren’t there can sonically experience the intensity of Artificial Peace’s live set. For those who were there, they can close their eyes and practically re-live the experience. Minus the heat, humidity, and fear that some combat-booted kid will land on their head.” – Tom Lyle, Government Issue