This straight edge band formed in 1988 by vocalist Ryan Downey and Guitarist John Johnson with bassist Matt Reese and Drummer Keith Steele. Hardball is credited as the first straight edge band in Indianapolis, Indiana and an influence to the straight edge scene that would grow in the early to mid 1990's in that city. Hardball released a 4-track demo called "My Fist, Your Face" in 1989 and a 7" in 1990 engineered by punk legend Paul Mahern from the Zero Boys. The first 7" was released by Detroit's hardcore label "Progression Worldwide." A second Hardball 7" titled "One on One" was released by Rob-R-Rock in 1991 and features artwork by New York's Guav. "One on One" was re-released individually in 1993 by Ryan Downey and John Johnson. Hardball was very much a part of the midwestern straightedge scene and among the early bands mixing the straightedge lifestyle with vegetarianism. Hardball played frequently in the midwestern hardcore scene and shared the stage (floor) with Face Value, Even Score, Integrity, and Endpoint, all popular midwestern hardcore bands of the time. Hardball also traveled to Memphis, TN in 1991 to play the first Hardline Festival with Raid, Vegan Reich, Green Rage, and Recoil. In 1998 John Johnson would fill an open spot in the band "Burn it Down", also fronted by vocalist Ryan Downey and the two would record the "Eat, Sleep, Mate, Defend" record together. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.