I should be taken out and shot for getting this far without posting an album by a band from Redding, CA. ‘The ‘ding’ is largely an anywhere America town that’s one claim to fame is being on a highway. At least, that’s all that most people see in it. The truth is that the ‘ding has an incredible and dedicated punk and hardcore scene, with a lot of really remarkable bands doing stuff. Perhaps the best known of these bands is Set It Straight, who had a pretty sizable following in the hardcore community. Their final show was at The Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, CA, and they sold the place out. The week before Blue Öyster Cult played the same venue and wasn’t able to sell out.
Another thing about Redding bands is that there’s only about twenty or so punk/hardcore musicians in the whole town, and as such, bands are very inbred. 32 FPS’ singer, Curt Baer, was the guitarist for Set It Straight, and has been in about a million other bands.
Most commonly, 32 FPS (sometimes called 32 Frames Per Second. I’m not sure if that’s what the band wanted or not), was compared to Comeback Kid for having an uplifting, positive sound, but at the same time an unforgiving and uncompromising spirit. The band played one of their first shows shortly after the shooting at Virginia Tech, and wrote a song especially for that show condemning the media’s sensationalist and irreverent portrayal of the tragedy. Other, similarly social minded themes, were common in 32 FPS’ music.
Unfortunately, the average lifespan of a Redding band is about six months. Why 32 FPS split up, I don’t know. The only member who I know personally is Curt Baer, who has made a name for himself as an accomplished tattoo artist, and as such is pretty impossible to reach ever. If other 32 FPS members are doing anything musically related these days, I am unaware of it.