Descendents
https://descendents.tumblr.com
Since first emerging from (and defining) the Southern California pop-punk scene in 1978, the legendary Descendents have released classic after classic, from their landmark 1982 LP Milo Goes to College to 2016's Hypercaffium Spazzinate. Now, after issuing a flurry of singles to get fans through the past few years, the band -- Milo Aukerman (vocals), Bill Stevenson (drums), Stephen Egerton (guitar), and Karl Alvarez (bass) -- will be touring in support of a new album. With a very cool twist.
What started with Milo Goes to College now comes full circle on the blistering 9th & Walnut (Epitaph), a "lost album" quietly recorded in 2002 by the MGTC lineup of Stevenson, Aukerman, Tony Lombardo on bass, and Frank Navetta (d. 2008) on guitar. Audiences should be geared up for shows featuring songs spanning Descendents' incredible career, from "Suburban Home" and "Silly Girl" to "I'm the One" and "Without Love," and including 9th & Walnut tracks like first single "Baby Doncha Know" and its incendiary follow-up, "Nightage."
Circle Jerks
https://www.circlejerks.net
Circle Jerks emerged from the punk underbelly of LA's South Bay in 1979. After serving as a co-founder and lead vocalist of Black Flag during the recording of its essential Nervous Breakdown EP, Keith Morris joined forces with former Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson to form what would become Circle Jerks. Unlike much of the unapologetic hardcore that seeped through the cracks of American suburbia, the music of the Circle Jerks was thoughtfully steadfast, yet relentless and ferocious in nature. Bringing together a potent, articulate rhythm section with earnest yet oftentimes derisive lyrics and themes, the band was thereafter heralded as a leader of the pack - and a force to be reckoned with. Plowing forward with a relentless, tooth-cutting work ethic and a rousing stage presence, the band would soon find itself headlining shows at LA's 5,000-capacity Olympic Auditorium and emblazoned in cult video classics like Decline of Western Civilization, Repo Man, New Wave Theatre, and The Slog Movie. Over the decades, Circle Jerks would release six studio albums, including the acclaimed Group Sex (1980) Wild in the Streets (1982), Golden Shower of Hits (1983), Wonderful (1985), and IV (1987), where they would become a major headliner during the alternative music explosion of the 80's and 90's. Morris and Hetson remain the only consistent members since the band's creation. Bassist Zander Schloss (The Weirdos, Joe Strummer) has been a member since the 1980's.
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The Descendents are also known as "the fathers of pop punk." No, really - this isn't an overstatement.
Spend ten minutes scanning FM or the idiot box and you're bound to witness a ditty or video that tips its hat to a musical genre that was refined to a high art -- if not created outright -- by the 'Dents. Formed in 1978 against the fertile musical backdrop of Los Angeles' South Bay scene (see: Black Flag, Minutemen, SST Records, etc.), the caffeine-addled crew released their first 7" single "Ride The Wild" as a trio in 1979. Not long after, the boys recruited one Milo Aukerman (microbiology Ph.D. in waiting and poster boy for adolescent ne'er-do-well alienation) for vocal duties.
Milo's fervent mic delivery coupled with his knack for hitting the lyrical nail on its heartrending head plunged him headfirst into the band's fold, and together they released the "FAT" EP in 1981. 1982 saw the release of the stellar "Milo Goes To College," a penultimate fusion of hooks and heartache which inspired the LA Times to write, "perfect for the little guy who was ever called a nerd and never got the girl... (its) earthy humor conveys what is often an inarticulate rage". And Milo really did go to college, leaving the practice room for the hallowed halls of higher education. Drummer Bill Stevenson went on to beat the skins for Black Flag while the guys temporarily hung up the DESCENDENTS moniker, only to reunite with Aukerman for 1985's "I Don't Want To Grow Up" and 1986's "Enjoy!"
The two releases comprise the perfect case study in the dualistic, yin/yang nature of the band's output. While the former is a veritable user's manual for post-pubescent angst, sizing up the themes of life, love, and uncertainty with infectious wit and dizzying energy, the latter is perhaps most notable for its testaments to the, umm... follies of flatulence.