What Have We Wrought: A Mike Atta Benefit Compilation (Limited-Edition) auf 2 LPs

Product Information

"When the good guys at Burger Records asked me to curate this compilation, a benefit for Middle Class guitarist Mike Atta's cancer treatments, I said yes in a heartbeat. Middle Class changed my life, and the sound of every other punk and hardcore band living in the shadow of their brilliant 1978 debut 7" EP "Out Of Vogue"; I owed this to Mike Atta. We all did. Middle Class, consisting of the three Atta brothers: Jeff on vocals, Bruce on drums, Mike on guitar, and their school friend Mike Patton on bass (and later Matt Simon on drums), were already turning heads in the nascent 1977 LA punk scene, as the first band from "Behind The Orange Curtain" to be accepted as genuine in the clique-laden Hollywood punk rock scene of 1977. Middle Class were the "real" deal. Respected and revered by the well earned egos of the "Hollywood Scene" punks, pale imitation groups surfaced around their original "sound", and generic "hardcore" bands appeared, while they matured and changed, leaving inspired people like Keith Morris in their happy wake encouraged to start bands themselves. When I started making calls about this benefit record, every band I contacted said "yes", including bands that normally do not give songs to compilations. Barry Henssler of the Necros summed up succinctly what every band basically said when I asked if they'd participate: "That first record is crucial, of course." Bands picked classic tracks from their back catalogs, some even chose unreleased tracks or rarities, and some were so enthused they recorded new songs in no time flat. Mike Atta even came up with an unreleased outtake from the "Homeland" sessions. Mike's cancer had been in remission, but came back shortly after that reunion gig. The band has kept playing, before, after and in between some very intense cancer treatments, and hopefully will continue to do so. " Pat Fear - White Flag