Government Issue: Boycott Stabb Complete Session (Vinyl LP)

Government Issue, or GI, debuted at the two-day Unheard Music Festival at D.C. Space in December of 1980. Because their drummer was sick and unable to play the shows, they called themselves The Substitutes and invited guest-players to sit in for each of the nights. Almost every young D.C. punk band that played over the two nights did a cover of the Monkees' "Stepping Stone," and the GI/Substitutes' ten-second version was the stand-out.

The singer, John Stabb, got his nickname from The Stab, a band that he claimed to have been in when he first started showing up at Teen Idles gigs. He hooked up with John, Brian, and Mark to form the original GI in the fall of 1980. With the line-up intact, the band played its second show, only to have it shut down by the cops. Despite the rocky start, GI went on to play for nearly a decade.

'The Substitutes' name actually ended up being somewhat prophetic as by the end in 1989, almost a dozen different people had joined and left the band (including Tom Lyle, Brian Baker and J. Robbins), leaving John as the only remaining original member.

When Government Issue recorded Boycott Stabb in November 1982 they initially tracked 20 songs, including several older previously recorded songs. The band had been through a major line-up change and finally decided only to release only the newest songs.

The outtakes have remained un-mixed and unreleased until now. Side A of this 12" LP features the original Boycott Stabb songs and Side B features the outtakes.

Produced by Ian MacKaye.

1. Hall Of Fame
   
2. Hour Of One
   
3. G.I.
   
4. Puppet On A String
   
5. Sheer Terror
   
6. Happy People
   
7. Lost In Limbo
   
8. Plain To See
   
9. Party Line
   
10. Here's The Rope
11. Insomniac
    
12. Fashionite
    
13. Religious Ripoff
    
14. Asshole
    
15. No Rights
    
16. No Way Out
    
17. Twisted Views
    
18. Snubbing
    
19. Teenager In A Box
    
20. Bored To Death
    
21. Georgetown Blues