Vintage footage of Zack de la Rocha performing in his old hardcore band Hard Stance has surfaced on YouTube. The clip finds the Rage Against The Machine frontman playing guitar for his straight edge punk band in Hollywood, CA in 1990.
Hard Stance marked the beginning of de la Rocha’s public music career when he joined the group in 1987. Following the departure of Hard Stance singer Eric Ernst around the turn of the decade, Zack took on the role of vocalist, leaving the guitar behind, and the band eventually became known as Inside Out before dissolving in 1991.
In the 31-minute performance video, we see Hard Stance playing at Hollywood Live on March 4th, 1990. This is quite possibly Ernst’s last show with Hard Stance, as he prefaces the performance by saying this is his final night in California, and that he is moving to Minnesota. It could then stand to reason that this was de la Rocha’s final show on guitar before graduating to the group’s vocalist.
In the clip, viewers are given an early look into the punk roots that would form the bedrock of Rage Against The Machine, whose first album was released in 1992. While Tom Morello was definitely a better choice for RATM’s lead guitarist than de la Rocha, this vintage footage shows that he still knows his way around a fretboard. While RATM would go on to be the band that most people identify de la Rocha with, Indecision Records published Hard Stance’s entire discography back in 2018 under the name Foundation: The Discography.
Watch the footage of Zack de la Rocha performing with Hard Stance below.
Hard Stance — Hollywood Live — Hollywood, CA — 3/4/1990
[Video: hate5six]
[H/TÂ NME]