Anthony Champa, Bassist Of Go!

Anthony from back in the day, he's the kid with the dreads flailing next to Mike B.S. in the lower left hand of the flyer

Here's Anthony from Go!'s reflection on the ABC days!

It's always about a girl, or boy isn't it? The first show I saw at the 'RIO seems to be the same as almost everyone's. Krackdown, Moondog etc. A girl I had a crush on told me about this new place, and recovering from one of three times my nose was broken at a show, I was glad to find a respite from the gladiatorial aspects of both CBs and L'Amour. Taking my life into my hands every time I wanted to see some hardcore was losing its, at best, dubious charm and a club with a new attitude seemed to be the ideal solution to this.
The early days of ABC seemed an oasis of geek lunacy welcome in the testosterone soaked environs of NYHC. Nothing against testosterone per se, except when it was either kicking me in the head or lobbing bottles into the crowd. It was a place where you could see four bands play that somehow had seven of the same people in them. There was an openness of attitude and a willingness on anyones part to make an utter ass of themselves that really resonated with me at the time.
I have no single fondest or worst memories from that time. In some ways they might be two sides of the same thing. As Brendan has mentioned in his typically blunt and honest manner we became a scene unto ourselves to the exclusion of many. In creating a community that we saw as ideal we left no room for opposing viewpoints. I agree that hate, phobia, and "isms" had no place there, but I'm not sure how we thought that we were taking the moral high ground in some of our own behavior. There was a pride which I felt in being one of the few "ABC kids/funcrew"/whatever but in retrospect I'm not sure that was always a good thing. On the other hand, the bands that came out of that time and place were some of the best I have ever seen and played with or in. Many could not have gotten out of the basement but for the existence of a place like ABC and I ultimately feel that so much more positive than negative grew from the place and scene there.
Anthony Champa,
Belfast, Northern Ireland

Here's Anthony today, from his Facebook pics, he's the guy standing with the guitar