For other uses of the word, see Endpoint

Endpoint

An endpoint or end point is a mark of termination or completion.* In geometry, an endpoint is a point at which a line segment or ray terminates* Endpoint , the conclusion of a chemical reaction, particularly for titration...

Endpoint was a hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 band from Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

.

Endpoint was one of the most popular underground bands to come out of Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. Their initial sound developed from speed-orientated punk/hardcore, with songs inducing audience sing-alongs. Eventually, the band's sound transformed into the heavier sound that defined modern hardcore in the 1990s.

Endpoint was part of a hardcore movement that had been building since the mid-1970s, including west coast bands like Black Flag and the Dead Kennedys, and east coasters Minor Threat and Bad Brains. They were especially influenced by the New York style of hardcore that sprouted in the mid-1980s with bands such as Agnostic Front, Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits. These groups most influenced Endpoint through their metal riffs and positive lyrics, and they are considered founders of the modern sound of hardcore. Yet unlike many midwestern bands during this era, Endpoint did not just ape their influences. Instead, they forged a unique sound, thanks in large part to the high-pitched warble of singer Rob Pennington.

A considerable number of their songs dealt with social and political issues, about which the band felt strongly. Like many bands in the punk and hardcore genre, they focused upon issues of social justice, and like emo and straightedge bands they stressed self improvement and personal transformation. In their lyrics and in the liner notes of their albums, they discussed issues dealing with government policies and women’s rights and abuse.

For example, an Endpoint t-shirt from 1993 read: "Warning: Every 26 seconds a woman is beaten in the United States. This statistic is based solely on the incidents of abuse that are reported. In truth, this number may represent only one tenth of the crimes committed against women. And this number will only increase unless people speak out against these atrocities. Please take a stand and help us smash this disgusting cycle." On the back was an outline of a woman lying face down and the band's logo.

Prior to becoming known as Endpoint, the band's original name was Deathwatch. They released only one record, posthumously in 1991, which was a split 7” with another local band named Crain. In 1988, the band changed their name and with most of the original line-up, they released a 17-song album on cassette through the Slamdek Record Company label. The album, called "If The Spirits Are Willing," was available in Louisville area stores in May 1989. However, following this release, the band only performed twice for the remainder of the year, and then practically disappeared.

Released on local label Slamdek, "If The Spirits Are Willing" unleashes the speed and the fury of Endpoint's early hardcore/punk/heavy metal blend. Later Louisville bands, such as Falling Forward and Enkindel (later The Enkindels) greatly based their own sound upon Endpoint. In fact, in the late 1980s and early 1990s the hardcore "Louisville sound" was Endpoint's sound.

Within a year of its release, "If The Spirits Are Willing" replaced other bands as the cornerstone of Slamdek’s mail order business, eventually selling more than any other hardcore cassette on the label. Like any other Slamdek release, it was a truly independent affair. The cassette constantly went in and out of print, sometimes being unavailable for months at a time; it would then return with completely different packaging. Unlike other bands on the Slamdek label, "If The Spirits Are Willing" was never carried by any national distributors. As a result, the album was essentially available only in Louisville stores, by mail order, at Endpoint shows and in out of town stores that bought directly from Slamdek. Its definitive and most common version is its 1994 reissue on compact disc. The compilation disc contains twenty five songs, documenting Endpoint's first seventeen song cassette, their tracks from the first Endpoint/Sunspring 7", their contribution to the Slamdek Christmas 1990 tape and five of the seven songs they recorded in 1988 under the name Deathwatch.

Although Slamdek was a local and regional favorite, neither the label nor most of its bands ever gained the national and international popularity of other independent punk labels, such as Dischord, Alternative Tentacles and Victory Records. Yet Endpoint did move on to the national spotlight, if in a limited way.

For the Endpoint and Sunspring 7", Endpoint recorded two songs in November 1990. One of them, "Promise," was for a 7" compilation, A Change For The Better, on Vicious Circle Records. The other, "Priorities", was a spare song that was recorded just because the band was in the studio. The split 7" created a bond between the two bands that lasted up until the two played their final shows several years later. In December 1993, a second split record was released with Sunspring. "Written In Rock" paid tribute to Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield

Rick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...

, an early - if ironic - inspiration for both bands.

After a bit of a line-up change and finally being able to secure a new drummer, the band released "In A Time Of Hate" through on Conversion Records, based in Huntington Beach, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The album did not receive as much acclaim as the previous releases or the future albums, perhaps due to the lesser quality of the recording, but the songs were well constructed, and the record continued their punk/hardcore influence.

Later, the band signed to Doghouse Records

Doghouse Records

Doghouse Records is a Toledo, Ohio based record label, now run out of the New York City office. Since 2004 Doghouse has been a part of the Warner Music Group....

, which was at the time a small independent label in Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

. After being signed, Endpoint released their "Catharsis" album in 1992. Endpoint soon became one of the more popular bands on the Doghouse label and contributed the rise of the company. Later that same year, the band released a vinyl EP that was in many ways very similar to the popular thrash metal band Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

’s "Garage Days." Endpoint’s EP paid tribute to early punk bands that influenced them and was composed of covers of one song each by The Misfits, Rites of Spring, Ian Mackaye

Ian MacKaye

Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...

’s (Minor Threat

Minor Threat

Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...

) Embrace, and Louisville's Malignant Growth.

Around this same time, the band went through a major line-up change, going through two bassists and yet another drummer. This line-up stayed strong through 1993 with the band's ninth release "Aftertaste." This particular album was not considered by many to be one of their best, but at the same time it showcased the band's talents by being a considerably different style than previous releases. This record featured songs with much slower tempos, less streamlined song writing, less furious lyrics and even an acoustic song. This steady dissolve from frantic paces to more intricate material became prevalent in their genre. Even though the band had changed their sound, their lyrics and opinions remained strongly political, with continuing messages concerning women’s rights in their printed material.

While Endpoint continued, band members became involved in many side projects. Guitarist and co-founder of Endpoint, Duncan Barlow, and bassist Kyle Noltemeyer became involved with a band called Step Down, that eventually became Guilt. Guilt was probably the most popular of the side projects with which any Endpoint members became involved. Guilt was later signed to the major label Victory, known for popular hardcore bands like Snapcase and Earth Crisis, and recently Hawthorne Heights and Spitalfield. Bassist Pat McClimans was front man of the band Scab prior to joining Endpoint, later a guitarist for Falling Forward, and ultimately played for another major Louisville local band, Metroschifter. By the end of Endpoint's existence Metroschifter was still a major player in the Louisville scene and continued for several years, eventually also signing with Doghouse Records

Doghouse Records

Doghouse Records is a Toledo, Ohio based record label, now run out of the New York City office. Since 2004 Doghouse has been a part of the Warner Music Group....

.

In 1994, the band finally decided to call it quits after a seven-year career. On December 31, the band played their last and largest show for over two thousand people in, of course, Louisville. In 1995, the band released their last record, appropriately entitled "The Last Record." This EP, although nowhere near as influential as Catharsis, is arguably the most accomplished work from the band.

Duncan Barlow’s Guilt project eventually broke up and reunited with Endpoint front man Rob Pennington to form another major band called By The Grace of God until the year 2000. Pat McClimans formed a southern-inspired rock band called MT Rhoades and His Lonesome Woods Band in 2000, and continues to perform today, as The Pat McClimans Group, or The PMG. Rob Pennington formed a band called Black Widows in 2001, which eventually changed their name to Black Cross due to a dispute with another band of the same name. Black Cross was the unification of two fallen bands, By The Grace Of God and another Louisville local The National Acrobat. The appreciation of early 90’s hardcore (or DC hardcore) and association of Black Flag’s aggressive period created as what people know today as Black Cross.
The Band reunited in Louisville, Ky for three shows (May 14 and 15 @ Headliner's Music Hall and May 16 at Skull Alley) with support from Cerebellum (Pre-Crain), Sunspring, and Coliseum. It is a show to raise money for Jason Noble, of the bands Rodan and Shipping News, who is currently battling cancer. Some of the members confirmed this is a once-only reunion and they won't be doing any more shows after this.

Members

• Rob Pennington - vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Duncan Barlow - Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Lee Fetzer - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Rusty Sohm - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Chad Castetter - Guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Pat McClimans - Bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Kyle Crabtree - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Kyle Noltemeyer - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Jason Graff - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Jason Hayden - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Curtis Mead - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• David Wagenschutz - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Ben Clark - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Thommy Browne - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  

Albums

• Crain And Deathwatch Split 7" - Slamdek
• If The Spirits Are Willing - Slamdek
• Endpoint and Sunspring Split 7"- Slamdek
• Endpoint And Sunspring Split 7"-Written In Rock: Songs Of Rick Sprinfield - Slamdek
• EP2 7" - Break Even Point
• Idiots 7"/CD - Doghouse
• Every 26 Seconds 7" - Doghouse
• Slamdek Discography 1988-1991 - Slamdek
• In a Time of Hate
• Catharsis - Doghouse
• After Taste - Doghouse
• The Last Record

Compilations

• Super J Records 7" - Super J Records
• Change For The Better 7"
• Voice Of The Voiceless
• Live At The New Space
• Only The Strong 1993
• Christmas 1989 Cassette - Slamdek
• Merry Christmas 1990 Cassette - Slamdek
• Merry Christmas Is For Rockers Cassette - Slamdek
• Slamdek Singles 2x Cassette - Slamdek
• Doghouse 50 - Doghouse

Related artists:
Amaroq, By the Grace of God, Guilt

Guilt

Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...

, Scab

Scab

Scab can refer to the following:* Scab, a hard coating on the skin formed during the wound healing reconstruction phase* Derogatory term for a strikebreaker, a person who works despite strike action or against the will of other employees...

, Falling Forward

Falling Forward

Falling Forward is the audio companion to Sandi Patty`s autobiographical book of the same name presenting a collection of the singer's Christian pop songs.-Track listings:# "Made Me Glad"# "Sing to the King"# "Falling Forward"...

, Elliott

Elliott (band)

Elliot is a rock band from the United States. They have released six albums and several singles in their eight-year existence, and are signed to Ten City Music. The band was created in Bend, Oregon....

, Black Cross

Black Cross

"Black Cross" is 45 Grave's debut single. It was not featured on an album but was later included on their 1987 compilation "Autopsy", and remains a staple of their live performances. It is a good example of 45 Grave's style: a blend of goth and punk rock....

, Metroschifter, Enkindel, Tramlaw, 7 Train, Empathy

Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...

, The National Acrobat, The Pat McClimans Group.

References:
1. Slamdek A to Z: The Illustrated History of Louisville's Slamdek Record Company 1986-1995 by K. Scott Ritcher
2. http://history.louisvillehardcore.com/index.php?title=Endpoint