In my opinion
after 1985/1986 the scene in California (and in all the US) has become more
and more difficult to analyze and describe...
I understand it was a period of crisis for the whole American Hardcore
Scene: until 1984 there was no need of organizing tours of the US to foreign
Hardcore Bands, but in that year 4 great bands travelled the Country (Raw
Power, BGK among the others). Sure it was because the World Scene was growing
up and reaching the American Standards, but I believe that underlaying there
a was a sense of delusion and boredom toward the new bands or the new sounds
developed by the old bands that pushed the kids to listen to foreign punk/hardcore.
Few
years later a new way of playing hardcore will came out: the Straight Edge
influenced New York '88 scene. In California, there were bands that tried
to follow this new trend like Uniform Choice and Instead, while coming out
there was the new melodic punk played by NOFX , Lagwagon, Pennywise, Green
Day that has been the most famous style in the '90s and still now is.
The hardcore fans of the very first bands I've talked with, don't appreciate
those new evolutions, but I don't understand if it is a mere matter of year
of birth or if the music played by NY88 and the bands that are famous now
lacks something, like originality or "attitude".
Anyway the best bands in those years of passage, moved back into the line
of rock, including funk and metal in their sound...
RKL
They were the last glimpse of new in California! They were skillful musicians
and evolved from blitzspeed hardcore to create their personal crossover between
jazz, punk & metal, but always keeping the right, fresh attitude!
Attitude Adjustment
This band move even forward into the metal-tinged crossover. At the beginning
might have been interesting, but now seems quite boring because there are
too many bands with a similar sound...
Less Famous: Rat Pack
When I read
biographies of many bands, they define themselves using one of the labels
below... They leave me quite puzzled and I don't understand cleary the difference
between these subcategories and the traditional HardCore or Punk Rock :-/
I also believe that this bands weren't so famous "individually"
outside the US, even if the skater and dark fashions have been in vogue for
long in Italy and Europe...
So my idea is that these bands played a "softer version" of punk/hardcore,
with a strong pop- rock influence and eventually succeded in finding a large
number of fans among skaters and dark, also thru the way they dressed, their
behavior, the life-style they depicted in their lyrics... So I called it "Trendy"
as if they aimed to exploit the trends that there were among the kids. Again,
let me know your opinion!
Skate Punk/Core
Agression, Los Olvidados, D.I. etc...
Dark/Death Punk/Core
45 Grave, Red Scare, Disability etc...
Surf Punk
Agent Orange, Simpletones etc.
Blues/Rock Influenced "Rotten" Punk
I'm not
sure about how to call this category and also the following bands might seem
quite different from each other, both in time and sound... Anyway I believe
that they all had a common features: first in their music; while we have always
been told that punks refuse all that is past and "history", all
these groups tried to keep in their sound a strong link to rock music (even
if it was rock'n'roll for some, blues for others...). Another common point
they shared was that they identified with the streets living, working (or
better unemployed) class in their lyrics and behavior. I'd rather say that
these two points might be merged together in something like: "They played
a more traditional and sanguine punk because they believed that this kind
of music would have reflected the feeling of the working/poor class better,
leaving hardcore to the middle class kids". But this is only my opinion!
Because of that I'd have called this category "Streetpunk in California",
but everybody told me that it is an heresy to identify "street consciousness"
in American Punk!! So I label it Rotten Punk which is the word we use
in Italy, but I don't know if this makes sense in English...
This form of punk had a large spreading especially in the San Francisco Area,
before 1983, I believe... And the 7"s Underground San Francisco
depict this sound and scene... I'd like to know if they had indipendent gigs
from the more hardcore bands or if this two characters got along together...
X
They were among the very first in LA to bring in more intense sounds and novelties,
even if their music was deeply rooted in rock'n'roll and country. I don't
know if there was already a Rockabilly Scene in LA and if they took moves
from that or created a new genre, but in my opinion Rockabilly is mainly a
"fashion genre", while X aimed to criticize apathy, poverty etc.
more than entertain.
Fear
This great band had a lot of followers also among the more straight forward
hardcore listeners and players, but "I" can hear a strong blues
influence (especially due to the singer Lee Ving) and a touch of funk (in
the bass played by Flea). They used abrasive and cinical ways to criticize
society
Lewd
Even if it is clear that this band (very talented and intense as well) played
with a slower pace than hardcore and had a very real, sanguine feeling, they
didn't have a clear blues or rock'n'roll influence... Maybe they had English
Punk as a model...
Less Famous: Spikes, Society Dog
The melodic version of punk/hardcore
Melody has alway played a major role in music made in California, just think of the Beach Boys, the Eagles and many others... In this category I put the groups that somehow used the same "language" that was invented by the more do or die hardcore bands, but organized it in a more traditional songwriting and mellowed it a little. They didn't have an experimental attitude either and I believe that their main target was to entartain the largest number of people and to sell as many records as they could :P I won't blame them for it, but I'll leave you to judge for your own... I don't know if they had a kind of sub-scene of theirselves, anyway they organized common gigs together. I don't know either if the "need" of having such bands came out later compared to the proper Hardcore Scene, but I guess it's likely so, also because many of them tried to fit in a more structured form, before finding their own style... At the end the sound created by those groups won and pillaged all the spoils, as today when they refer to California Hardcore they talk about groups that are clones of those below... Again you have to judge for your own, but let me the satisfaction of dividing these groups from my favorite!!!
Bad Religion
This is one of the most famous punkbands in the world, create its own style
and sold a great number of records... If you haven't heard of them before
you either don't come from Earth or are a very primitive, innocent and lucky
caveman!!
Social Distortion
Also these band made a great research for melodies and maybe tried to give
a look back at the folk/rock music... Maybe they weren't much interested in
hardcore, also because "when they wanted" they were already intense
and hard-hitting...
Channel 3
This band made a great start with an album that, even if was quite diverse,
"emo" and melodic, contained many good thrashers with original breaks
and voice... Later they ruined everything, trying to look more appealing,
also with the help of "Poshboy's Pirate" that added horns to their
new cheesy tunes :P
Less Famous: Shattered Faith
I believe
that is quite difficult to talk about experimentation in punk music because
you had usually the same three instruments one or more guitars, bass and drums
and, especially in the hardcore form, they refused to look for new frontiers
of sound, but preferred to bring a protest message or energize and entertain
the audience. However there were a few bands that weren't content of playing
short blasts of strictly structured music and wanted to create new sounds
with the traditional punk equipment. Some of these bands shared the attitude
of hardcore, while others got bored in a few years of what they considered
a dogmatic, violent environment and wanted to oppose to the main trend. Probably
you had many good bands of this kind everywhere in the US, I'm thinking of
Husker Du and Butthole Surfers, and they provided the foundation
of the 90's indie rock, with their progressive evolution and keeping the
distances with the punk/hardcore scene...
However their music, with time for some groups, became more soft and mellow
and I don't believe that it's enough to play slow, soundtrack music to be
alternative and experimental. In addition to that, many of the experimentation
found by some of those groups, don't seem so new and interesting today...
Minutemen
This was a very seminal and creative band, that was also very close to the
attitude of Hardcore. They succeeded in finding new ideas in a very structured
genre and, even if they weren't raw or aggressive, ispired many bands of every
kind.
Meat
Puppets
Before becoming one of the many "Nirvana's stepfathers", they were
the craziest West Coast punk band, combining blitzspeed pace with an experimental
attitude! Unluckily they didn't fit in the hardcore scene and slowed their
pace down quite early...
Flipper
This band was very popular back in the 80's and was considered original and
experimental by Jello Biafra... Now they don't seem so great (at least to
me), maybe they didn't stand the passing of time. Please if you disagree,
let me know your opinion!
There were almost
a million of punk bands in California and it would be impossible to talk deeply
about all of them! As I said in the pretentious introduction I mainly want
to follow the trend of the most powerful thrash bands and how the hardcore
sound was born and developed in California.
I'm trying to identify periods in this evolution and to fit bands in this
categories, but I don't give anything for sure so far and I want to ear your
opinions about the categories and the placing of the bands:
Seeds of '77 - Forming - The Explosion - Evolution in Rock
In California there were also many punkbands that I wouldn't classify as hardcore, but that maybe try completed the essential sound of the most thrashy bands or that acted in opposition toward the main trend they considered too dogmatic, violent and simple. I chose to divide those bands judging from their attitude and influencies:
Experimental Fringe - Melodic Punk/Hardcore - Blues/Rock Influenced Rotten Punk - "Trendy" Subcategories
What will be
inside the bands' pages:
Even if there are other websites that do this very well, I think it would
be interesting to write something about the biography of the
bands; the members, years of activity first, then also some funny facts or
most important gigs.
This would be important especially for smaller, almost forgotten bands, while
for the bigger groups maybe comments are more important as you can read their
bios in many other websites.
What I care the most is to provide a good musical comment (even
if I don't have a musical reviewer background :P) and also to define the place
that a band deserves in this stroll among the evolution of Hardcore and to
highlight which were the inventions and innovations that some
of these bands made and later became a standard in this genre...
At the end of some page I will post the comments and opinions
that some influencial characters of that time are sending me: you can easily
access to all of them from this index.
I'm waiting for the help of everybody who took active part in that scene or who's keen on it and has material like pictures and flyers. I also want to make a call to all the musicians of the bands listed below to accept to share with me their opinions and memories of those days. I think it would be cool if I could collect some ideas for each band, like how did they decide to play their own version of Hardcore and to develop their distintive sound!!
Here you can find some of the groups that coming from the '77 movement, brought some innovations or already had some hardcore "buds", but for some reason I wouldn't define them "hardcore bands". At the top I put those that I believe farther from the 80's band, while at the bottom of the list those that merely don't fit for "belonging" or "speed" criteria...
Dickies
They added even more speed and power to punk music, a lot of following bands
(the Bad Brains above all) quote them as a major influence. Anyway they were
quite crazy and aimed to sound funny more than attack society (even if a laughter
will bury you). I'd like to write something about their fastest wildest production,
ie the first years, I suppose...
Negative
Trend
"We don't play we riot!"
F-Word
Another band lead by the singer Rik L Rik. Inspite of their usual '77 approach,
the music had great impact and breaks. Sounds like a step forward compared
to Negative Trend, but I don't know which band came first.
Red Cross
Their music was very melodic and had a strong rock influence, but many great
HC musician played here first!
Middle Class
They released the first EP that contained only 4 short blasts of noise, the
infamous thrashers! Anyway only a few and past!
The
Germs
Many people will pick on me because I didn't put them in the complete hardcore
sect, I'll write my defense speech!
These bands
invented the HardCore Style. At the beginning of their career they still called
their music punk-rock, but as the time passed by this epiteth was too narrow
for them and they wanted to create a new, fast, violent sound, merging the
good ideas that came out and maybe aiming to a new, younger audience. Because
there wasn't a "model" yet, only an "attitude",all these
bands had a different sound, but they were considered as one entity (together
with some bands that I put in the Rock/Blues Influenced Rotten Punk): I think
of articles on newspapers telling to this bands' fans to not misbehave and
also of the video documentary The Decline of the Western Civilisation.
I'd bet these bands had a variety of influences, besides the groups listed
in the previous category: the Canadian and DC bands, Discharge, '70s hardrock
and even '60s rock like the Rolling Stones. They succeed to create a typical
sound that took over in every Country in the world and many of their records,
beside being very good musical products, became the model that made hardcore
punk a musical genre...
Black
Flag
Some people might disagree, but I believe that there attitude and first 7"s
were already hardcore, even if they were protagonists from the late 70's...
And they were also an icon for all the bands that came later! With both good
and bad sides
Dead
Kennedys
Some people say that they made the first hardcore album, but I believe that
they were the first (or at least Jello was) to be aware that something
"new" was coming out... The quest for speed that you can hear in
their first 3 works was what different groups in different American cities
were conducting.
Crucifix
This band of San Francisco represents the well-done side of the British influenced
California punk. They have always had "the guts" and eventually
reached also a great speed level and created a masterpiece: their "Dehumanization"
LP.
T.S.O.L.
Before creating there own style (the calmer dark-core) they interpreted with
originality the pure shape of WestCoast HC. Even if now they despise this
scene, I firmly decided to "adopt" them in this category!
Angry
Samoans
Beginning with a sound inherited by the 70's (they were Vom back then) they
evolved their sound toward speed reaching their peak in Back to Samoa. Their
attitude was ferocious and not p.c. at all... But you know everything, don't
you?
Descendents
They gave a new image of the "punk guy", being nerds and singing
about personal problems, instead of having a though attitude. Their music
was very uncompromising at the beginning, in spite of its pop-edge...
Adolescents
Somehow in the vein of the Descendents; plus, they were one of the first bands
to play with 2 guitars and very seminal for the Orange County scene.
RF7
Few people of my age know this band, but it is very popular among the "middle
aged youth" of today :P Sure they were skilled musicians and released
great records, but maybe they got "lost" in their quite long career.
Their 12" Fall in stands out, also as their most aggressive and "hardcore"
work.
White Flag
This is another great long lived band that thru many lineup changes is around
still now. They started with playing a fast and extremly ironic and confrontational
form of punk rock (isn't it enough to be hardcore?) :P
Circle Jerks
This band was often jocously accused of being devoted to fun and parties,
to a have a secure earning and reharsal space and to take care a lot of their
looks and appearence. However they were a great band, wrote great songs (especially
their first LP Group Sex) and (at least in their music) they seem to me one
of the most radical groups back then....
Less famous: Rhino39, Modern Warfare, Conservatives, China White, Code of Honor, Sick Pleasure
These are
bands that came out later and had the road cleaned by the previous "giants".
Now there was a "model" to follow and everyone was aware of belonging
to the hardcore movement. Anyway not all the groups had the same attitude:
some tried to push the speed and rawness to the limit, becoming the most identifiable
thrash bands, while other tried to cross the strict borders of this "model"
and evolve the sound, with the help of new inluences like Metal or new hardcore
scenes like Texas, Oregon and those that were coming out.
Many bands, of course, tried to get in this wave to gain some popularity and
sell some records, while many others wanted to follow the path of the major
bands but didn't have the same musical skills or writing abilities...
I'd rather set the milestone of this shift in 1982 and choose the comp LP
Not so Quiet on the Western Front to document this
explosion. Maybe. in this year, California "punk egemony" was threatened
by the emerging scenes in the US that were breeding a great number of good
bands (I think of "This is Boston, not LA" comp LP, for example)...
I believe there was a kind of crisis, but California succeded to maintain
its first position thanks to a few band that were still able to bring innovations
and that stand out among a large number of generic bands...
Therefore, I'll mention here only those that are worthy to be remembered and
that I found information about. I'll comment the others on the compilations
they appear on, for example, clearily saying if they were good and original
bands or if they sucked!
Suicidal Tendencies
One of the first bands to merge punk and metal, was formed by members of the
Latino minority, but also wanted to achieve more popularity.
Rebel Truth
A very original and concerned band, with talented musicians. They had a soft
and sensitive sound, but created also some wild tunes. Maybe they didn't get
the merit they deserved, back then...
Ill Repute
This band from Oxnard moved instead in the traditional form of fast, short
thrashers... Hovever they did it in a quite original way and become the leading
band in this genre. They first record is great, but later they became more
monotonous.
Condemned
to Death
A band with enough balls and ideas from San Francisco, typical Radical Records
sound.
Social Unrest
They came from the suburbs of San Francisco and had an interesting career.
After a quite generic debut, they became very original and pace-varying in
their Rat in a Cage LP. Later they became more sophisticated in SU2000.
Battalion of Saints
This is the most famous band in San Diego, they had crazy balance between
melodic punk and metal influences...
Less famous: Bad Posture, Bad Influence, Domino Theory, Ribsy