The following article was written in the Summer of 2015 for the ill fated second issue of a fanzine I confounded called Smeared In Ink. Thanks to those interviewed for their valuable insight! For a more in depth look at straight edge hardcore in general, I encourage you to checkout Tony Rettman's soon to be released book on the subject!
In the early 1980's Minor Threat's anthem "straight edge" inspired a movement in Washington D.C. and Boston which offered an alternative to the drinking and drug culture that was prevalent in the punk rock scene. In this issues installment of the Class In Session Column, we explore how this East Coast phenomenon eventually made its way to Southern California. . .
Southern California had the largest punk rock scene in the United States from the late 1970's and through the mid 1980's. In the wake of punk rock's perfectly chaotic cosmic big bang set off by the Ramones, the Damned, Sex Pistols, Clash, and Dead Boys, the palm tree infested paradise soon sprouted sonic weeds. Black Flag, the Middle Class, China White, the Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Adolescents, TSOL, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Channel 3, and Wasted Youth were all native to Southern California and helped to create what would become known as hardcore punk. Hardcore was the violent suburban response to the intellectual punk rock products of Los Angeles's urban scene that was art damaged and precious in every way. L.A.'s elite of 1977 and 1978 had made the choice to avoid defining what it meant to be punk rock in any way. Thus they lost their say in what punk rock in Southern California would look and sound like once it left the doors of the revered clubs like the Masque, making its way across beach cities and previously un- corrupted inland suburbs.
Violence, excessive drug use, gangs, and every other form of extreme behavior made Southern California's punk rock scene world famous and put it under the lens of police and media surveillance. It was the birthplace of slam dancing, stage diving, and the marriage between punk rock and skateboarding. The greater Los Angeles area's suburban hardcore scene may have only slightly predated a parallel phenomenon spear headed by Bad Brains in Washington D.C., but for years it was the inspiration and focal point for American punk rock. Early on Southern California had no significant voice to offer an alternative to the extreme drug use that was central to its punk scene. While Washington D.C. and Boston created scenes around the clean living philosophies of bands like Minor Threat, S.O.A., Government Issue, SSD, and DYS from 1980-1983, it took some time before anything close to those types of messages made its way to Southern California. Even with the advent of Youth Brigade's Better Youth Organization (B.Y.O.) and song lyrics and fanzines condemning senseless violence, there was no strong message against substance abuse.
"It's begun, no turning back. City to city we're fighting back. Haven't changed the world but we've made a start. We're digging in and we're fight smart" -DYS, "City to City"
Ironically the symbol of black X's on the hands as the symbol of straight edge had been coopted by D.C. and Boston's scenes through a trip that Ian MacKaye and Henry "Rollins" Garfield made to the West Coast on tour with the Teen Idles. They learned from their time spent with the Circle Jerks that clubs which served alcohol would sometimes allow admittance for minors if they put X's on their hands to signify that they could not be served at the bar. This system, along with slam dancing were imported to the East Coast by the Teen Idles and their road crew after their California adventures. Fittingly or ironically when Henry Garfield left S.O.A. to join Black Flag and changed his name to Henry Rollins, he also had some hand in spreading the music and message of D.C. hardcore to Southern California. . .
Stalag 13, who are generally credited as being the first band in California to subscribe to the straight edge philosophy, were inspired the early releases from Dischord Records. In a recent interview by Tony Rettman for Vice Magazine's blog, Stalag's Ryan Baird noted "I would say [a pivotal point was] meeting Rollins because he was talking about all these bands from back where he was from in D.C. I always look at talking to him as conversion number two in my punk rock journey. I always look at my Hardcore journey as converting to punk rock and then converting to Straight Edge."
Stalag were an itegral part of what was known as the "Nardcore" scene in Oxnard and Ventura- 30 miles North West of Los Angeles, but still definitely a part of the Southern California region. The same micro regional domain was home to the legendary Agression, NOFX, Dr Know, and RKL who made anything but clean lifestyle choices, but also Ill Repute and Scared Straight, who seemed to share a similar perspective with Stalag (though neither may necessarily be classified as a "proper straight edge band"). Stalag 13's 1984 "In Control" album is a coveted West Coast hardcore record and is maybe the first instance of a Southern California band taking inspiration from East Coast and Midwest hardcore.
Rich Labbate (bassist: Insted, Alligators): Stalag 13 was the first punk band I saw live. They opened for Suicidal Tendencies/ Toy Dolls/ Social Unrest in January of 1984. It was my first impression of being'involved' in the punk/hardcore scene. The pit was right there , [with] lots of energy. I went out and bought their record the the next day.
Steve Larson (drummer: Insted, Carry Nation, A18, Alligators):
Stalag happened just before I started going to "real" shows- one of my all time favorite hardcore records to this day and one of the biggest influences for me musically.
By the mid 1980's the smell of change was in the air. The musical landscape was being altered with a somewhat quick progression, which involved outside influences and growing numbers of people attending gigs in Southern California. In 1985 and 1986 T.S.O.L., Channel 3, Wasted Youth, and the Circle Jerks all made records with significant influences in sound and aesthetic from hard rock bands and the budding Sunset Strip hair metal uprising. Social Distortion began incorporating country music into their sound. The Adolescents went through personell changes, splitting band members with D.I. and Flower Leperds, before they eventually made their own crossover to butt rock with "Balboa Fun Zone." Gang violence at punk gigs was at an all time high, with legendary rivalries between Suicidals, the Family (associated with Circle One), LADS, FFF, and LMP. Fender's Ballroom in Long Beach hosted some of the most infamous gigs in the history of American punk and has been described as one of the most violent music scenes in America's history. Fender's employed a staff of Samoan security guards- some of whom eventually became Suicidals.
Buster Cates (Editor: Positive Influence Fanzine, singer: Face Value, Right Hand Men): Before the straight edge thing hit here, it was violent as fuck and dangerous, which for a lot of kids (myself included ) was half the appeal.
Steve Larson: While it could be a violent place, it was also a place of discovery and happiness for me. I counted on it for finding new bands and international acts... Just as much as I counted on Zed Records, Fender's always came through for me. I saw some of the best shows of my life there. And it is where Insted played its first "big" show on a bill with Bad Brains, Adolescents, Crumbsuckers, and Final Conflict. It always felt like a home game- when I was there, I couldn't lose.
As Southern California's punk scene was only growing in infamy and numbers, and the vast majority of its bands were changing face, a void was beginning to form for people who were looking for the speed and energy that hardcore punk was losing. Out of this atmosphere, two major musical phenomenons took hold in Southern California- a new wave of straight edge hardcore bands and a crossover between hardcore punk and thrash/speed metal. These two sub-genres of hardcore rose concurrently; on the crossover side Suicidal Tendencies, Final Conflict, Hirax, Dissension, Dr Know, Excel, Beowulf, and Cryptic Slaughter all incorporated the energy and rawness of punk rock into a metal influenced sound that radically contrasted the slick packaging of glam/hair metal bands. Straight edge hardcore took a decidedly more purist approach, which was key in keeping hardcore music alive. Those who subscribed to the straight edge philosophy abstained from drinking, smoking, and the use of recreational drugs. In Southern California, straight edge also often had an undercurrent of serving as an alternative to punk rock gang culture early on.
Following Stalag 13, Pomona's Justice League were early purveyors of the straight edge hardcore sound and message. Their 1985 7", "Think Or Sink" was a crude but spirited exersize in ultra posi hardcore sloganeering. 1986's "Shattered Dream" L.P. was more musically powerful and showed some slightly more personal subject matter in its lyrical content. While Justice League were strong enough to gain attention for Kevin Seconds (7 Seconds) to release their second L.P. on his Positive Force label, their geographical location seemed to interfere with them leaving more than a footnote in the history of Southern California hardcore. The "Reach Out" album also showed Justice League taking more cues from Embrace and Ignition than Minor Threat and The Faith. By that time they were also no longer associated with straight edge. Members of the band went on to join much more well known bands like Chain Of Strength, No For An Answer, Inside Out, and Ignite.
"I'm not preaching- I wish you'd understand, I know that being straight edge doesn't make me a better man. I just feel lucky and I know it's right for me" -Doggy Style, "Straight"
Doggy Style from Orange County were contemporaries of Justice League, and in their earliest incarnations featured a line up of two straight edge members- Brad Xavier and Lou Gaez. Brad Xavier (then called Brad X) was a charismatic lead vocalist who became notorious for his vocal messages about unity and the straight edge philosophy, as well as his ability to jump from one side of the stage of Fender's Ballroom to the other in a single bound. Doggy Style's melodic hardcore sound blatantly borrowed from 7 Seconds and they produced two classic hardcore records with their original lineup in 1985- the "Work As One" 7" on Mystic Records and the "Side By Side" L.P. put out by the record label branch of Flipside Fanzine. Doggy Style mixed more serious subject matter with outlandish songs about sex, skateboarding, "ladies from Neptune," and over zealous cops. They also incorporated rap and funk into their music and took to the stage in all green clothing. During sets at Fender's they were known to throw bags of stale donuts into the audience while playing their minor local radio hit, "Donut Shop Rock." In this sense they had just as much in common with less serious bands in Orange County, like Plain Wrap and Love Canal. Eventually schisms between band members led to Doggy Style splitting into two incarnations- one featuring Brad X with Brian Baker of Minor Threat (as seen on "The Last Laugh") and one with guitarist, Ed Cauddill (featured on "Doggy Style II"). Brad X later became known as Big Daddy X when he started the rap/rock stoner band Kottonmouth Kings.
Steve Larson: Doggy Style did it their way. They were always fun. Great bunch of dudes following no one's rules but their own.
Brad Xavier (vocals: Doggy Style): We're not a straight edge band, but I'm straight edge, so is Lou. Ed pounds brews with the best of them. I don't think there will ever be scene unity, but as long as you give the message.... to come to the clubs and not just fight. They have to have their gangs but they have to do that some place other than the club. I don't associate gang mentality with punk rock. (From Flipside Fanzine, issue number 45, February 1985, interview by Al Flipside Kerry Love Canal, and Thomas Ink Disease)
Ed Caudill (guitar: Doggy Style, HVY DRT): I don't remember Brad ever pushing the straight edge thing on me and Ray, but we used to tease him and Lou a lot. There was one time where we were talking about a party and how we got sketched out by a few guys.... Lou said to us 'I think those guys were on beer.' We just about all fell apart right there. We made fun of him for that one for a while after that. . . I figured out Brad was on a huge unity and straight edge kick [when] we had just seen Uniform Choice and I came to him with the song 'Be Strong.' I had the riff and a bunch of the lyrics and then he added the part where he yells 'use your own head.'
After that he said he wanted to write all the lyrics
While Doggy Style were anything but completely serious, Uniform Choice marked a complete shift in direction. Although earlier incarnations of the band had been playing under the Uniform Choice name since at least 1982, their 1984 demo was the first to feature Pat Dubar on vocals. Deeply inspired by Minor Threat, Dubar was a no nonsense surfer from Fountain Valley- a small town that is indistinguishable from the city of Huntington Beach (home of infamous Orange County bands like T.S.O.L., China White, Shattered Faith, the Crowd).
"If drinking is what it takes to be accepted, then I'd rather be aware and be rejected"
-Uniform Choice, No Thanks
-Uniform Choice, No Thanks
Rich Labbate: There was not a straight edge presence in Southern California until Uniform Choice. Stalag, Justice League, Doggy Style had a couple members who were into Minor Threat and were straight edge but they were just mixed into the punk/hardcore scene. Pat Dubar's bold presence made a statement: Straight Edge! I don't even think all the guys were straight but the message was loud and clear. That's around the first time you really started hearing anything significant. I don't mean to discredit anything that was around before but they were 'the shit' in 1984/85. Their sound was perfect to me- fast, clean, powerful. Looking back I would have to say that 84/85 was the pinnacle for Orange County Hardcore and the rise of the straight edge scene within it. Uniform Choice were at the top and represented well. I would have to say UC was 'the straight edge band' of my generation. And they were right down the street from me.
Pat Dubar (vocals: Uniform Choice, Unity): There is a time to drink and a time not to, not to make the clubs social hangouts where you just come to hang out in front and cause fights....It only only takes a few people to mess it up for everyone else. We just think that when people just use their heads and think and honestly see what punk rock is not. It is being yourself, but not going out of your way to be an asshole. There are rights of others and you shouldn't infringe on their rights.
(Flipside Fanzine, issue number 45, Feb/85, interview by Al Flipside and Kerry Love Canal)
By 1986 Uniform Choice had released "Screaming For Change"- their first L.P. and the quintessential California straight edge hardcore record of the 1980's, perhaps with 7 Seconds being the only band on the entire West Coast to rival their influence. "Screaming" was released on the band's own Wishingwell Records, which had also released the "You Are One" 7" by Dubar's other band, Unity. Wishingwell would release records from BL'AST!, Insted, Freewill, Shades Apart, and Youth Of Today. The release of Y.O.T.'s "Break Down The Walls" on Wishingwell was significant in that in helped bridge a connection between the country's two fastest growing straight edge scenes of the mid 1980's- New York and Orange County.
Steve Larson: Wishingwell was my first label.. It was run by Dubar and Longerie and they wanted Insted on the label that I did my back to school shirt shopping at (In their dad's garage) they were also in Unity and UC... Dreams do come true, kids. Side note- Revelation Records wanted us to do a 7" with them, but we barely knew Ray and Jordan... So the decision was easy. I can't help but wonder how much different things would have been had we gone with Rev though.
While Wishingwell was an important branch of the Uniform Choice empire, it was merely an extension of the band's status as musical juggernauts and as people who were looking to help keep the hardcore scene alive. While it is said that "Screaming For Change" did not match the intensity of U.C.'s live performances, it became the standard to which every other band from Orange County was compared. It would also be the bands first and last hardcore record, before they changed their sound.
Steve Larson: U.C. were our guys, our big brothers, our protectors; at least that's what it felt like. I still love Screaming For Change as much as the day I heard it, well.... almost.
Buster Cates: Pat was a genuinely nice guy , I got flak for interviewing them [after they had changed their sound]. I was going through a bad break up and Pat was pretty nice to me, understanding- made an impression, you know? My band was recording our demo at Radio Tokyo when UC was also recording there , we heard a bit of it . it was straight rock I guess, but to me the sincerity was there.
Pat Dubar: You can't make money off of this and that's never been our intention... We want to make people think. That's always been our idea. If we can just make people fucking think, that's all we care about. We want to live our lives very positively and this and that, and we do, but it's very hard for me to stay positive now.
(Flipside Fanzine, issue number 61, June '89, interview by 3-D)
As the mid 1980's became the late 1980's, straight edge bands were becoming the last to carry the torch for hardcore in the United States, Ass crossover/thrash further distanced itself from punk/hardcore. Youth Of Today had toured across the country and made it to the West Coast early on, at one point playing support for 7 Seconds with Kevin Seconds filling in on drums for Y.O.T.. Youth Of Today paved the way for other bands like Gorilla Biscuits and Judge to do full national tours and as mentioned before the connections between straight edge hardcore in New York and Southern California were becoming cemented. Early on as Uniform Choice rose to prominence, Insted and Half Off were among the first in a slew of new straight edge bands popping up in Orange County and Long Beach, with No For An Answer following shortly thereafter.
Rich Labbate: I think YOT had a big impact the first couple times they came through. They kind of resurrected that old NYHC sound and it was fresh for the new straight edge scene on the West Coast in 1985. I really appreciated it because I had owned all those early 7"ers- the Abused, Agnostic Front, Cause For Alarm, the Mob, Urban Waste and of course ANTIDOTE. Most people didn't pick that shit up out here unless you were into record collecting or real underground stuff, but everyone had the Adolescents, Social Distortion , UC, 7 Seconds, etc.
Insted formed as early as 1985 but initially started out playing backyard parties- a long held tradition for Orange County punk bands. Their sound mixed the melodies and positivity of 7 Seconds, along with an energy and drive inspired by Stalag 13 and Uniform Choice. As they gained attention and support from both Doggy Style and Uniform Choice, they found themselves playing Fender's by 1986. As the band got more serious, they eventually parted ways with Bill and Tom McLaughlin (drums and second guitar) over the brothers' lack of commitment to playing in the band as well as a lack of enthusiasm for hardcore. Insted at this point likely became the first band in Orange County to be made up entirely of straight edge members.
After releasing their 1988 "Bonds Of Friendship" L.P. on Wishingwell, they released their first record with bassist Rich Labbate- the equally stellar "We'll Make The Difference" 7". They went on to become one of the most long lived straight edge bands in Southern California- existing from the mid 1980's into the early 1990's and never compromising their sound or message. Insted were among the earliest of the straight edge bands on the West Coat to promote vegetarianism and animal rights in their lyrics- which also connected them strongly to their East Coast counterparts. They eventually toured across the country with Gorilla Biscuits and Up Front. Having lasted from the early days of Southern California's straight edge scene, they went from playing support for bands like Bad Brains, the Adolescents, Agnostic Front, 7 Seconds, Bad Religion and Corrosion Of Conformity, to playing some of the first shows in Southern California to feature "all straight edge" lineups in the late 80's and early 90's. Their final record, "What We Believe" was the first straight edge record to be released on Epitaph.
Chris Lohman (Blackspot, Collateral Damage, Done Dying): What can be said about Insted? They were THE band for so long; they were the cornerstone for Orange County Hardcore. Insted played all the time and they were always excited. When everyone was emo or whatever else, they just kept going and doing what they did. Every one of their records was hardcore and they they were just playing fast. . . As soon as Kevin said 'We're Insted from Orange County' it was on and it didn't stop. We were more than grateful for their presence.
Bill Matthew Barnes (guitar: Painful Existence, bass and vocals: The Authority): [My memory of seeing Insted was] the sheer power of the crowd participation. I saw them at Spankys Cafe several times and what stands out in my memory is feeling like we were part of the band; it wasn't them on stage and us in the crowd; it was holistic like the whole place was part of the band, between the nonstop stage diving group vocals with the crowd being as loud as the PA and a brotherhood where people watched out for one another on the floor. Hardly ever was there violence but we were sure to be black and blue when we left.
Half Off from Long Beach were fronted by Billy Rubin, a character who drew serious attention to himself and eventually caused significant controversy. Rubin found himself initially wrapped up in the energy and philosophies of straight edge bands, producing THINK! Fanzine and after finding kinship with Youth Of Today and Uniform Choice, he released the Crippled Youth (aka Bold) 7". Half Off had a tremendous abundance of material early on, releasing a 17 song demo in 1986 and already having an LP's worth of material by the end of the year. Their sound was grimier and more straight forward punk than their contemporaries. At some point Billy Rubin had a significant change in heart in regards to straight edge in general, and Youth Of Today in particular. Half Off wrote "What Seems Right," slamming straight edgers as being obsessive ("Obsessed with anti obsession is where this road can lead"), before slagging off Youth Of Today in fanzines. After this caused significant outrage, they followed it with "Rain On The Parade," where Rubin blasted "If a slogan is required call us 'Rain on the Parade'- remember us as the ones to boycott this charade." Half Off made the similarly endearing "Shoot Guns, Eat Pussy" 7" before morphing into the Black Flag influenced Haywire.
Steve Larson: Half Off came up as the same time as us as well, so they hold a special place in my heart. When Billy Rubin joined them I was even more excited by it. Then everything went anti straight edge, if not anti Insted... Back then it was difficult to accept that my friend's views were changing in a way that made him loathe what I was about. Now that I'm older,
I totally understand why and what specifically he was taking aim at.
Dan O'Mahony (No For An Answer, Carry Nation, Speak, 411, Done Dying): We're definitely hard line straight edge and as far as being obsessed with anti obsession. . . that doesn't really make any sense... We're not obsessed with anti obsession so much as we are staunch about opposition to drugs... Obsession is a term for extreme motivation and we're extremely motivated and if you want to be negative, I guess you could come up with that.
(From Schism Fanzine's No For An Answer interview, 1988)
No For An Answer were perhaps equally as polarizing as Half Off, even if the targets of their hits were somewhat different. N.F.A.A. were led by Dan O'Mahony- a Catholic high school graduate who turned the fervor of his religious teachings on their head in agnostic rants against rock star egoes, drunk drivers, racism, and groupie culture. With a throat full of broken glass and rusty nuts and bolts, he belted over blasts of hardcore provided by the buzzsaw guitar of Gavin Ogelsby and pounding drums of Casey Jones, who had formerly sang for Justice League. In addition to his skills on guitar, Ogelsby was known for providing the cover art for Uniform Choice's "Screaming For Change" and M.I.A.'s "Murder In a Foreign Place."
Buster Cates: NFAA took over UC's spot; it was like literally.
Rich Labbate: I remember I had met Dan O'Mahony through Youth Of Today and by '86 he was forming NFAA. I would go down to their rehearsals early on. I had been friends with Casey Jones through Uniform Choice as well. I remember being really excited for them. They had the old school Uniform Choice vibe mixed with the New York hardcore stuff that was also happening at the time. And mind you, Uniform Choice were on the downslide so this was a perfect replacement.
Their rehearsals turned into a meeting ground. I met Kev Insted, the Hard Stance guys.
.
N.F.A.A. were the first California band to sign to Revelation Records, with 1988's "You Laugh" E.P.- with short songs that were exceptionally fast for a straight edge band of that period. The production credits went to Final Conflict frontman, Ron Martinez, who also produced the Half Off L.P. By the end of '88 No For An Answer put out an L.P. of their own "A Thought Crusade" on Hawker Records, which showed songs with a slightly slower tempo, but an equally fiery performance from Dan O', who came off like he had just read and eaten a set of encyclopedias and was currently struggling to digest them. "I Spy" was a particularly prolific song of the era.
If No For An Answer were known for their speed and vicious sound, they were still not as extreme as Valencia's Infest, who initially cut their teeth in the straight edge scene. Infest's associations with straight edge were loose and short lived, and until recent reunion shows, they were a band shrouded in mystery and legend, constantly being the subject of legends of every kind. By combining and exaggerating fast and dirty thrash elements from Boston area bands (Siege, Negative FX, SSD) and European counterparts (Raw Power, LARM, Negazione), with knuckle dragging dirged out mosh parts, they inadvertantly created the powerviolence subgenre. Infest were followed by generations of imitators who worshipped their sound and aesthetic, with their influence being more potent today than ever before.
Chris Lohman: I saw Infest at an Asian restaurant in Garden Grove. With punk rock you couldn't have a show anywhere, because the early 80's guys ruined it for us. Nobody would let you book a show anywhere so you had to go to places where they hadn't heard about hardcore or what was going on. There was no going to Hollywood or anywhere in O.C. for a hardcore show anymore. You had to go to Riverside or where ever else. This show was right up the street from me, so it was awesome.The only thing that Infest had out was their demo but it was such a big deal already and we were all waiting for so long to see them. It was like when when you put Mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke and it explodes. The whole place went off and the band was so intense and they played so well. I think infest played their whole set but Insted played right after and they shut down the power. . .
The thing about Infest is they were a mystery.
Every other band would hang out and you would get to know them.
I couldn't even tell you what city they were from or even the name of anyone in the band,
but they always brought it.
Visual Discrimination were yet another fast and nasty band with straight edge associations when they started, as seen in songs like "We've Got The Edge" and "Those Drugs" on 1988's "Step Back and Listen." Their recorded output was sparse and littered throughout a career that lasted through much of the 1990's. Jeff Banks of V.D. also went on to join XChorusX/A Chorus Of Dissaproval who gained infamy in the 1990's. Like Infest though, Visual Discrimination's associations with straight edge were not long lived.
Bill Matthew Barnes: V.D. played in my backyard.... It was an afternoon barbecue; they were louder than hell and everyone in the band was drunk except for Banks as they belted "We've Got The Edge"
Steve Larson: Visual Discrimination - they were everywhere that I was and or wanted to be.
Great dudes- a staple of the era for sure.
"Step Back and Listen" was the first release on Nemesis Records, a label that would play an important role in Southern California. After releasing records from Insted and V.D., Nemesis would put out releases from lesser known hardcore bands in Southern California, such as Walk Proud and Against the Wall (featuring Mike Hartsfield who would start Outspoken and his own New Age Records), Reason To Believe (a local band who were not directly related to straight edge, but who shared the same core audience), and national bands such as Vision and Billingsgate. Nemesis would raise to further prominence in the 90's, releasing the first few records by The Offspring. The label was run by "Big Frank" Harrison, who was also involved with the long revered Zed Records store in Long Beach.
Steve Larson: Zed records was a utopia for me. It was a long way from Anaheim, so I'd have to hitch a ride with my older friends on the weekends to get there. By then I was working part time for minimum wage, so I'd cash my measly paycheck and buy me some new records, demos and zines. Big Frank was/is Zed Records to me. He was awesome on so many levels. The one thing I really appreciated about him at that time was his ability to write short and accurate descriptions of new bands on 3x5 cards. I'd get carsick on the ride home from reading zines and thank you lists. It was worth it every time.
Big Frank also played bass for Carry Nation, a band with Dan O'Mahony and Gavin Ogelsby of No For An Answer and Steve Larson of Insted. Existing sporadically throughout the second half of the 1980's, they released one killer 7" on Dan O's Workshed Records titled "Face The Nation." The band's name was an homage to Carrie Nation, the hatchet wielding advocate of prohibition and their lyrics reflected a militant perspective.
Dan O'Mahony: I think that when people look back on the 80's the word that is going to be used to describe the whole decade is 'party.' I don't know- the word that seems to be more appropriate to me would be suicide.
(From the Carry Nation: Face The Nation documentary)
As the end of the 1980's were approaching, Chain Of Strength released what would become one of the most influential statements from Southern California's straight edge scene- 1988's "True Til Death" 7". Formed by Chris Bratton and Ryan Hoffman of Justice League, Chain Of Strength's approach reflected a precision and perfectionism that was essentially previously unheard of for a West Coast straight edge band. While on a national level, they gained massive attention and popularity, the band's slickness in both their musical approach and overall aesthetic often seemed to draw more detractors than friends or fans in Southern California. Prior to recording "True Till Death," the band had played no gigs, and it only fueled the fire, when word spread that they had staged a mock "show" for a photo shoot in order to have "live shots" of the band playing for the cover and inserts of the record. Their two 7"s include some of the most iconic songs of the era and their long standing influence is undisputed, but the band members' earlier involvement in Against the Wall and Justice League did not always earn them credibility among peers.
Chris Lohman: When it comes to straight edge and hardcore they were top notch and they need to be recognized for it. They were serious about what they were doing and spreading their message; they wanted to get people into it... We came from a different background from them. Everyone in O.C. came up from punk rock but they were not into that. They certainly made their mark. As musicians, regardless of your opinion, they could really play and they had a big impact. That record is good and it's classic. You won't find anything more sought after than the clear green Chain 7".
Ryan Hoffman (Chain Of Strength, Justice League, Circle Storm): When Chain was still around it was real tough. You were all of a sudden kicked out of hardcore or straight edge if you were wearing leather shoes... Chris Bratton and I started Chain. We wrote the songs and the music, and we wrote the lyrics, and we got a couple of other guys in the band so they could help us deliver what we wanted to say. So the others in the band were good friends of ours but they might not have the same feelings as I have... I wrote 'True Til Death. It was never even about straight edge. I wrote the song about hardcore. Actually it's about an interview I read by Al from SSD... Once he was good he wanted to be in a band like Van Halen. Pretty much that's why I wrote the song. Peope intrepret it as a straight edge anthem. Towards the end of Chain, people would yell out at our shows 'true til happy hour.
(From the Circle Storm interview in Tension Building Fanzine, issue #4, 1996)
Robby Cleary (N7E Records, singer Boxcutter PNW): First show I ever went to was TSOL, Uniform Choice, Don't No, and Justice League at Fenders Ballroom. Ryan Hoffman, from Justice League and Chain of Strength was my dad's coworker's son. He used to pick me up and take me to shows. He turned me on to all the early straight edge bands and I don't think he really even liked me. He made fun of me for buying an Excel shirt when Excel played with Insted and No For An Answer. He was older, and I think our fathers just thought it would be a good idea for us to hang out. I was screwing up at school and Ryan was supposed to be the older, good influence. He introduced me to a lot of cool shit, and for that I will always be grateful.
The straight edge hardcore bands of the 1980's in Southern California created a legacy that made way for a new era of suburban hardcore in the 1990's. Various former members of bands who had played at venues like Fender's, the Country Club, and the Flashdance came together with kids from their audiences to start a new wave of bands and fans. Inside Out, who featured members of Hardstance, Chain Of Strength, and Against the Wall coming together with New York transplant Vic DiCara of Beyond, recorded what could be considered the first great hardcore record of the 1990's and toured the country with Shelter before dissolving without a single record after "No Spiritual Surrender.' Their front man and former Hard Stance guitarist, Zack De La Rocha would of course become famous as the singer for Rage Against The Machine. Across Orange County and the rest of the Greater Los Angeles area, new sounds were being created by the likes of Outspoken, Strife, Mean Season, Blackspot, Collateral Damage, A Chorus Of Dissaproval, 411, and Ignite. The scene was changing but the ground work had been set by a group of musicians, fanzine writers, and photographers who brought a positive mindset to the most unlikely of places.
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