South Carolina punks Stretch Arm Strong formed in 1994, originally comprising singer/bassist Matt McCarty, guitarists Scott Dempsey and David Sease, and drummer John Barry. After debuting on a split single also featuring local band Bedlam Hour, Stretch Arm Strong recorded an album that remains unreleased; with the addition of bassist Chris McLane, McCarty was able to focus solely on vocal duties, and after Dempsey founded his own label, Insurgent Sounds, the group issued a six-song EP that sold out its original pressing in a matter of months. When McCarty quit to get married, McLane assumed the frontman role and Donnie Raines was brought in on bass, although he was dismissed after a lone split single with Prevail (whose Shawn Williams played bass on Stretch Arm Strong's full-length Rise). Compassion Fills the Void appeared on Uprising in 1997, and Jeremy Jeffers was tapped as the permanent bassist prior to the band's 1999 effort Rituals of Life, their first for the Tooth and Nail imprint Solid State. Revolution Transmission appeared two years later. Another full-length, Engage, followed in mid-2003 and a year later, Dempsey turned in his resignation papers. In early 2005, Stretch Arm Strong became the first signing to We Put Out Records (East West), which released Free at Last in 2005. Soon enough, the band further included new guitarist Glen Calder and bassist Chris Andrews. ~ Jason Ankeny