No Echo: “Citizens Arrest Band Members Discuss the Making of Colossus Album on Its 30th Anniversary”

By Freddy Alva | @freddyalva_nyc | 6.22.2021

On March 16, 1991 Citizens Arrest played their last show at ABC No Rio, before reforming in 2010. Divergent band dynamics led them to break up, ironically enough, as their Colossus LP was just about to come out and this being the 30th Anniversary of such a monumental release; I decided to ask everyone involved what they remember about the album making process and their thought decades after the fact.

Original LP photos by Tracy Sham 1990

Excerpt from article:

Album Photos & Layout

Tracy: Not only did Citizens Arrest's LP Colossus changed the lives of the people who were in the scene, they've also inspired a generation of budding artists, writers, and musicians. I was one of those budding artists that started taking “snapshots” of friends who just happened to be these four talented guys in their young 20s. I am honored to have witnessed the raw magic that occurred when Joe, Janis, Daryl, and Pat arranged the pieces of songs together for the album.

Freddy: Tracy’s photos completely capture the spirit of the band and the super-charged sonic dynamics found within the grooves, eternally grateful Shammy Sham.

Joe: We were so fortunate to have these three amazing photographers (Tracy Sham, Justine DeMetrick, and Chris Boarts Larson) who did such an incredible job of documenting the scene. I don’t think we would be doing anything today if it weren’t for these awesome photos popping up here and there that intrigued people enough to seek out the music.

Janis: We were lucky in three ways. We were lucky that Pat went to Art and Design for high school. We were lucky that Tracy Sham, who later became a professional photographer, was taking pictures at shows in those days. I suppose we were also lucky that I worked for a typesetter at the time, so between the type and pictures Pat had something to work with. It was cool to see Colossus and the 7 inch show up in the book Radio Silence: A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music a few years back. 

Daryl: I always liked Tracy's photos. We have reconnected with her and see her and her lovely family from time to time. She is a part of our crew and hopefully will be taking new photos of us. Pat's (CXA Drummer) visual style is a large part of our first two records. He has a great eye for art, design and typography. I continued his look for CXA on our last EP [2011's Soaked In Others Blood].