Dark Age

Formed as a cover band by the Rininger brothers when they were 10 (Dave) and 13 (CJ) years old, alongside their their 2 cousins, Jamie Smith (age 11) and Mike Smith (age 14). The band was named by CJ Rininger, who was a fan of Dungeons & Dragons and fantasy themes in general. At the time of their first ever show at Michaeli's in Akron, Ohio, in 1984, Dave Rininger still had not turned 11 years old yet. They built a following off of playing covers in the Ohio Metal scene, until May 4th 1985 when they played a show at popular Kent, Ohio nightclub Filthy McNasty's, which inspired the lyrics to their first original song "Star Trippin" written by CJ Rininger (with some help on the lyrics from his mother Karen Rininger). That song, as well as their 2nd ever original composition "The Coming of the Storm", with lyrics inspired by the imagery of the biblical Book of Revelation, were released as their debut 7" single in 1986. At this point in their career CJ (then age 14) said in their full-page August 1986 feature in Scene Entertainment Weekly (the long-running Cleveland based magazine) that his favorite bands were Led Zeppelin , Iron Maiden and Judas Priest . In the same article Dave (then age 12) said he was heavily influenced by the style and showmanship of Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones . They also also got a similar full-page feature in the long-running newspaper the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1985, and would soon get attention from local metal zines in Europe and elsewhere in the US, before eventually appearing in a Viacom production on national television in 1988. They also had a local television feature on the show "P.M. Magazine" (hosted by Cleveland rock legend Michael Stanley) in 1987 which aired concert footage and Michael Stanley's interviews with members, which he filmed at the members middle school and high school. After the show at Filthy McNasty's and their various magazine features, they then focused on mostly original material at their frequent shows in the Ohio area, with veteran Ohio Metal bands like Purgatory , Wretch , Attaxe , Vatican , Shok Paris , Severe Warning , Defiance , White Noise , the hard rock band Spoyld and many others, plus shows with national acts like Lȧȧz Rockit , and L.A. Guns . Drummer Mike Smith left in late 1986 and would spend a couple years with the Hard Rock band Izonu , while Dark Age recruited 15-year old (same age as CJ at the time) John Benedik on drums. In 1987 they traveled to Fort Meyers, Florida to record their album "The Youngest Metal Band in the World", which they released on cassette only. In 1987 they met fellow Ohio native Jani Lane of Hard Rock band Warrant , and began making trips out to visit Hollywood with him where they also personally met many band members and industry insiders. In January 1988 they returned from one such trip, and announced that they completed filming an official music video for the song "P.M.R.C.". In late 1988, at the advice of Jani Lane, the brothers David and CJ, as well as Jamie, and local drummer Mark Buchwald (son of Polly Zaremba, singer of of the classic rock band Clevelend , Guiness World Record holders who Dark Age previously opened for twice) moved away to California for good and formed the Hard Rock band Brat Pak . However, it was short lived and later in 1988 Jamie moved back to Ohio and reunited with John Benedik to form the Akron Heavy Metal band Rattlebratt with ex-members of the Hard Rock band HeavenForbid . After Jamie left, the brothers CJ and David, and drummer Mark, formed the band Rebel , recording the album "Los Angeles" in 1992 and releasing a few extremely rare promo tapes, and making the front cover of "Rock City News" magazine in 1994. David and CJ continued to play together through the '90s and early '00s in various rock and industrial projects such as Kill Process and The Cause , and others. Not to be confused with: - Dark Age (Heavy/Power Metal from Los Angeles, California) - Dark Age (Black Metal from Queens, New York) - Dark Ages (Heavy Metal from Seattle, Washington) - Dark Ages (Thrash Metal from Boston, Massachusetts) - Dark Ages (Heavy Metal from Illinois - late '80s) - Daarc Ages (Melodic Heavy Metal from Glenham, New York) Compilation appearance(s) : - "Star Trippin' " on Scrap Metal Volume 2 ( RidingEasy Records , EZRDR-132, CD/digital, February 2023)