Punk. It means different things to different people. It can be a thug, criminal, or a style of music and the fashion most often associated with it. I’ve long been a fan of punk rock. I remember when I was ten years old my granddad, upon hearing some of the exaggerated exploits of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious in particular, actually saying that they should just kill those people. Granddad wasn’t a fan of punk rock. I was intrigued. But that’s about as far as it went. I was into Kiss at the time. That was my rebellion. Scary looking guys (to a little kid) playing what amounts to pretty standard, even pedestrian rock and roll.
I remember hearing the Clash on the radio of all places. Granted it was their most accessible songs ever, “Train in Vain,” but I instantly liked them too. I was about twelve then. They were punk rock? I was not exposed to punk as much as I was to metal. That’s probably why my tastes went that direction initially. It started with Kiss then on to AC/DC and Black Sabbath (courtesy of my cousin John). I kept looking for harder stuff to match up with what was going on inside me.
I imagine that had I grown up in NYC or DC, or L.A., or even closer into downtown Kansas City, rather than the suburbs, I would have adopted punk much sooner but my exposure was still somewhat limited. As I grew older I got more freedom and started to really brand out, looking for heavier and angrier music to match my teen angst. Probably in 1983 or 84 I bought my first Sex Pistols cassette (yes I know, cassettes are lame and I will blog on them some other day). “Never Mind the Bollocks” was a revelation. Johnny Rotten sneers through the speakers. Then I picked up The Clash’s “London Calling.” The playing and the diversity of styles on London Calling were amazing. There is not a weak track on either of those albums. Both are classics, which still hold up 30+ years after their release.
Still I was firmly entrenched in the world of heavy metal. It was the heaviness of it. I loved the speed and anger of punk but I still liked that heavy bass kick in the gut that metal provided. Also I could not go to punk rock shows because I didn’t know of any all-ages venues that had punk shows in KC. I’m sure they were there but I was just not plugged in. In 1985 I discovered Black Flag. Granted I was a little late to the party. They band would break up a couple of years after learning of them. Black Flag had heaviness, frenetic energy, danger, and attitude. They had Rollins (again the subject of another blog). They also had a work ethic that was legendary. They put out five studio albums between 1984 and 85. That’s insane.
The first singer for Black Flag was a wild man named Keith Morris. Morris was with the band from 1976-79. After he left Black Flag in 1979 he formed another great punk band called the Circle Jerks. I loved the Circle jerks after hearing them for the first time on the Repo Man soundtrack in 1985. Brendan, Robbie, Mark and I went to see the movie at a small theater in Westport. I had to have the soundtrack after hearing, “Coup D’état” and “When the Shit Hits the Fan.”
In the 1986 Dead Kennedys song “Chickenshit Conformist” Jello Biafra sang “Punk’s not dead it just deserves to die.” He may have been right. Punk had (d)evolved and into a kind of hybrid metal and other genres including hateful hardcore bands, which frankly, left me cold. I still have some Circle Jerks CDs and albums in my collection but they only put to one studio album since 1987. I was in a different place in 1995 when they released “Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities.” I didn’t feel it.
New “punk” is really oftentimes emo in disguise; at least that’s the case with the bigger names. Blink 182? Lame. I saw them live one and they couldn’t play their instruments to save their lives, save for drummer Travis Barker. Green Day? They are now closer to the Who than the Clash. It’s not bad. I really like Green Day and their shows are a Hell of a lot of fun but the visceral urgency that attracted me to punk rock I is often missing from some of these newer acts.
In walks OFF! OFF! is a band, which ought not exist. OFF! is an offshoot from the now, probably defunct Circle Jerks. The story is Keith and his guitarist Dimitri Coats (of the Burning Brides) got into it with the other members of the Circle Jerks over how the new Circle Jerks album was coming together. Keith and Dimitri were not satisfied with the quality of the work that the other guys in the band were putting into the project and doubted their commitment. So Keith Morris, who had led the Circle Jerks for thirty years, left his own band.
After adding former Red Kross bassist Steven Shane McDonald and former Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes drummer Mario Rubalcaba OFF! was complete. Raymond Pettibon who did the art for all of the Black Flag albums did the OFF! creative too. If you like old school punk OFF! is not playing any style of music you’ve not heard before. They are not re-creating the wheel. It sounds like early Black Flag/Circle Jerks and that makes sense. It’s hilarious that this band of highly seasoned punk musicians (Morris is much older than the rest of the band at 55) is out there kicking it old school, playing illegal shows, getting shut down by the LAPD, tagging onto existing all ages shows.
Morris is screaming mad and who isn’t, right? Things are a mess out there for a lot of folks. That’s what punk was originally about. Musically the rest of the band is an upgrade from the Circle Jerks. They are tight as Hell and they can really show their chops. They are not fancy, or pretty but I tell you they will kick your ass if you need it. Go pick up their latest release, “The First Four EPs.” It’s a wild ride that goes by in the blink of an eye with 16 songs at under 20 minutes! Get in your way-back machine Sherman and hear what punk rock really is from one of the guys who was there when it came out bloody, kicking and screaming. It’s one of the most refreshing and fun albums to come out in a while.
Peace,
Chad Leabo
