The Virus

The Virus formed in Feb. 1998, with Mike Virus on vocals, Chris on lead guitar, Fat Dave on guitar, Jarrod on drums, and Geoff on bass. The band played their first, of many shows only a month later. During the first 6 months that the band was together, they got to play quite a few great shows including a show in Philadelphia, PA with Special Duties, and a show at now closed Coney Island High in NYC. In July 1998 they recorded 2 songs for a split CD with New York band- The Manix (with members of the Devotchkas &Casualties). Only 130 copies of the CD were made and they sold out quickly. Shortly there after original bass player Geoff was asked to leave the band. After trying out several bass players, it was decided that Fat Daves long time friend Paul would join. Strong as ever the band went on. In Feb. 1999 the band recorded 5 songs for their first 7" titled Global Crisis and for the Punx Unite 2 compilation on Charged Records. The 7" sold out pretty quickly and they started getting a lot more show offers. However in May the band suffered another trying time, when lead guitar player Chris and the band had a falling out. This ended with Chris leaving the band. With this the band continued to play regularly all over the East Coast, as a four piece. In Sept the band added a new member. Brought into replace Chris, guitar player Mike Authority of local Philly band, No Authority. Mike was a good addition to the band. Bringing the band back to a five piece things where looking up and the band took full advantage and seized every change they where offered. March 2000 the band went back into the studio and recorded 12 songs for their first full length CD/LP titled Still Fighting For A Future on Charged Records. After the album was recorded singer Mike Virus left the band and Paul took over on vocals. With Paul taking over on vocals, the band recruited band friend Tim from the Jersey band the Oi Scouts. Later that year, in June, the band left for a six week USA tour with: Casualties, Endless Struggle, Antidote, & Funeral Dress. This tour helped out the band tremendously because they made a lot of new fans and contacts. But with the good comes the bad. After returning from tour, Tim informed the band that the road life wasnt for him. He agreed to help out until the band replaced him. In Dec that time came and the band agreed to bring in Josh, a local from PA who had been a fan of the band for a long time. So once again the band would regroup and go at it again. In March 2001 the band went back into the studio once again to record 4 new songs for a limited picture disc 7" to be released on Charged Records. After the songs were recorded, Punk Core Records bought the rights to release the picture disc from Charged Records. PunkCore Records released the 7" in October of 2001 along with a Singles & Rarities CD which was a collection of the entire bands 7"s, and compilation tracks. In June of 2000 the band played the 2-day Promote Chaos festival in Atlanta, GA alongside bands like: Anti-Nowhere League, Crack, and Peter and The Test Tube Babies. A month later it was off to Morecambe, England to play the Holidays In The Sun festival alongside bands like: Exploited, Partisans, GBH, UK Subs, Resistance 77, Threats, Cock Sparrer, plus many others. Late August saw the band on a short East Coast tour with Antidote from Holland. This tour was nothing short of a disaster with van problems and show cancellations. However, the shows we got to play were great so that made up for the other problems. After returning from tour the band took the next the next five months off to write and record their second 12 song CD/LP titled Nowhere To Hide on Punk Core Records. During those five months there was yet another line up change. This time the band would have to say goodbye to original member and friend Fat Dave. He could not juggle both personal and band live. The band decided to remain a four piece until they went back to playing shows. Feb 2002 saw the band back in the studio to record our second full-length album. It was at this time that the band brought in its newest member, Drew. Drew was a bass player by trade so they moved Josh to guitar and Drew took over on bass. Then on Feb 15th, the band played in Philadelphia, PA with Slaughter & The Dogs, which was their first show in nearly 5 months! After that, they were back to playing regular weekend shows all over the east coast. In April, the "Nowhere To Hide" CD & LP was released. "Nowhere to Hide" was received well by both fans and critics. In July it was back to the Holidays In The Sun festival in England. Once they got home the band only had a week to rest before it was time to head off across country for a short West Coast tour with The Riffs from Portland. This was definitely the bands most successful tour to date. Then the band played the HITS fest in Asbury Park, NJ. , in early September. The festival went over well and it was sort of like a family reunion for the band because most of the U.S. bands that the band had been playing shows with early on (Casualties, Unseen, Violent Society, Boils, Endless Struggle, Devotchkas) were also playing the festival. The highlight of the festival for the band was having Wattie from the Exploited, join the band on stage to sing their cover version of The Exploiteds "I Believe In Anarchy". The band decided to return to California at the end of the year to play three shows in Hollywood, Pomona, and San Diego with the Riffs & The Voids. All three shows were very successful and it was a great way to end the year.



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