lost it

LOST IT started bare bones in the fall of 2000 from the angst that arose in three Baltimore college kids, Dan Owen, Scott Nussman, and Nick Riddle. Dan and Scott had come from grindcore/hardcore punk backgrounds, and they were interested in starting a "powerviolence" band, a style that arose out of CA in the early 90s with bands like Spazz, Infest, and Crossed Out. Nick Riddle came from more of a garage/punk rock background, and was interested in starting a fast/heavy hardcore punk band. At this point, LOST IT existed for no other purpose but to serve as an outlet… as it continues to serve us today. LOST IT recorded a 9 song demo in a beat up practice room in January 2001. Despite many show cancellations and dealing with shoddy people, LOST IT went on its first tour in the summer of 2001 hitting such mentionable places as Richmond, Allentown, Columbus, Olean, and Charlottesville. This venture served us well and gave us a feel of the road.

In the summer of 2001, Nick left the band due to creative differences, but still remained a close friend to date for both Dan and Scott. LOST IT recruited Rufus Platt, also a college student in Baltimore at the time, to play drums, and . During the fall of 2001, LOST IT became increasingly influenced by sludge, doom metal, and stoner rock. Yet coming from hardcore punk backgrounds, it took some adjusting to incorporate this new influence. In the fall of 2001, LOST IT recorded a new six song CD at Death Monkey Studios in Annapolis, MD. This record speaks to the self-hate, angst, aggression, depression, and contempt the band was experiencing in their personal lives. It was an escape from shitty relationships, broken friendships, tired dreams, and general stress and anxiety.

In the winter of 2001, LOST IT headed out on a 9 day east coast tour hitting up such mentionable places as Greensboro, Kingsport, Atlanta, and Burlington. On this tour, LOST IT incorporated the psychedelic noise of Maryland noisician, Dave Litz. This tour proved itself to be 10 times better then the previous tour both in terms of crowd reaction and the quality of the shows. 2002 was a quiet year for LOST IT as Dan Owen headed abroad for half a year to study in the United Kingdom. When he returned, the band reformed from hiatus and concentrated on song writing. Throughout 2002, LOST IT experimented with their sound and song writing process, and by the spring of 2003, the band was ready to head into the studio once again. This time LOST IT recorded in the homemade studio of Hugh McElroy, the lead vocalist and bassist in Dischord Record's own Black Eyes. The six songs LOST IT recorded ended up creating a stir in the Baltimore/DC area and more attention was drawn to the band. Soon after this recording the band decided that they wanted to add more to their stage presence, so they enlisted Steve Kerchner, of local grind metal sensations, the Seventh Gate, to take on the responsibility of vocal duties. Steve's addition to the band added a new level to the band, and the live performances from his addition onwards have left audiences ecstatic and bewildered. LOST IT concentrates on primal live energy combined with a powerful, heavy sound that takes most audiences off guard and leaves an impression.

LOST IT performed a live broadcast on 88.1 WMUC radio on November 16, 2003. The show was released on a split cdr by Satan Rock Records and Unfuckwithable Records. The split features four demolishing live tracks by LOST IT and the previously unreleased material by IGON that was recorded years before with Steve Austin of TODAY IS THE DAY. In early January 2004, LOST IT set out a short mini-tour through Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland with good friends Height and Bow & Arrow, two Baltimore area rappers. Upon returning, founding member Scott decided for personal reasons it was the best decision for him to leave the band. Enter Replacement (Mike Romano on bass) and new addition (Dave Litz on guitar) and the boys in LOST IT continued devastating audiences with their brand of hallucinogenic warfare.

Over the summer of 2004, the boys took a long haitus and upon re-grouping these "iron guns" decided that they would search for a new vocalist that was located closer to the entire band. A four song demo was recorded right before the hiatus featuring the new line up. This will one day surface on a LOST IT discography release. LOST IT is no more.

Former members of LOST IT have gone on to form bands such as VOG and VINCENT BLACK SHADOW.

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Lost-it / Igon – Split CD (Satan Rock Records)
By Jay Snyder
February 13, 2007

This is a little bit of a long-lost gem in some ways. I mean it has been out there for a bit and is still available from Steve Kerchner (Vog, Seventh Gate, etc.) and his awesome Satan Rock label but it hasn’t received the kind of exposure it has deserved. Time to change that! This split contains four live tracks from forgotten sludge legends Lost-it (featuring Steve and Scott from Vog along with members of Vincent Black Shadow) and two from Igon’s recording sessions with Steve Austin many moons ago.

Lost-it is up first with four tracks of depression soaked, southern sludge metal that is as unrelenting and as powerful as some of the biggest names in the genre. Seriously this is damn good stuff and for being recorded live from a radio station show the sound quality is tight as hell. This is mean stuff with massive riffs, tempos that range from slow and crawling to swinging, mid-paced churns all topped off with a tight rhythm section and an insane vocal performance from Steve who always has a commanding presence behind the microphone. His vocals are so damn colorful at all times and he mixes it up between seething screams, deep death metal growls and mournful singing that only adds to the all out insanity going on. Every single riff over the course of the four songs is outstanding and the sound/performance remains tight throughout as well. My personal favorites include the mighty “Tuff Muff” with its infectious riffs and gut-wrenching vocal hysterics as tempos swing from sludge to even sludgier, with a crippling doom finale as the song pummels its way to its bitter end. I don’t really know who to compare them too, they have some Cavity and Eyehategod going on for certain but with a much more grindcore style vocal delivery (except the clean singing) but they have that southern inflection with just the right amount of punk/noise influence that makes these tracks undeniable. The riffs are unstoppable no matter what. There are some interesting noise interludes going as well here as they weave the tracks together seamlessly. After some brief noise/sampling after “Tuff Muff” the band charge into the straight-up southern dirge of “Lied to Waste” that packs on the riffs one after another. They close on the vicious sludge-punk of “Stomaching the Hindrance of Half Assed Thank Yous” that rages with grooves, feedback, wild fills and more impressive, throat shredding out of Steve. All four of the Lost-it tracks are absolutely ass-kicking and display a band that should have continued on for much longer than they did (that kind of makes naming my personal favorites a moot point perhaps, hehe). Hopefully the mentioned Lost-it discography will some day become a reality but until then pick one of these up and hear a band that should have been remembered much more than they are.

Igon round out the second part of this split with their crushing blend of doom/noise that is smothered in electronics complete with pounding, tribal drums, weird swirls of guitar/noise and the occasional venomous vocal deeply buried in the mix. It’s like Rwake (well, mainly the first track and some of the old stuff I heard) even more tripped out at times. I still remember hearing these guys a long time ago, being recommended to me by Brad of Berserker Records (now that is a long time ago) it is just weird actually having a little bit of material by them to play at my beck and call now. Their first track, “Triangle Shortwaste” is doom smothered in electronics and really wins an award for being some of the most spaced out shit I have ever heard. The second track, “The Hog Evil” is an epic drone piece that soothes at one moment and hurts the ears the next. Both of these Igon tracks were produced by Steve Austin, so you should know the kind of sound quality to expect there. This is a damn fine split album. Just because it has been out for awhile, don’t sit idle and miss out on grabbing it up. This is rare stuff that deserves to be heard, so check it out!

Lost It/Igon Split

LOST IT has played with such bands as Floor, 16, Weedeater, Fleshies, Kiss of Death, Swarm of the Lotus, Anodyne, Wake Up on Fire, KEN Mode, Municipal Waste, Tear It Up, An Albatross, Pearls and Brass, Rue, Black Cross, Voorhees, Charm City Suicides, Backstabbers Inc., Sutek Conspiracy, Kiss the Cynic, Kill the Man Who Questions and more.

Pictures from the final tour: