20 Years Ago Today at 924 Gilman Street

Someone else on the Gilman booking staff was doing a bad job putting this show together, so I stepped in about 2-3 weeks before it was to take place.  He was unhappy about me taking over, but it only took me five minutes of brainstorming to finish a show that he had done nothing with for the past two months. Unfortunately, this was probably the most violent show I did that entire year. Multiple fights happened outside the club. Several kids jumped future investigative reporter Shane Bauer in the bathroom for no reason. Some Nazi skinhead kid even tried to steal the keys to TOXIC NARCOTIC’s van during their set! However, the combined effort of myself and the local bands got approximately 250 people to come to a show that only had a few weeks of promotion, so that was cool. How does one have a difficult time setting up a TOXIC NARCOTIC show anyway?

Notes from the Nest

Dirty Rotten Publishing, 1988

DIRTY ROTTEN IMBECILES (D.R.I.) was one of the biggest and best hardcore thrash bands during the 1980s. They first became known for playing songs of a faster and shorter nature than most punk bands; their debut record managed to fit 22 songs onto a 33-RPM 7-inch! D.R.I. would then become one of the first hardcore bands to merge their sound with that of heavy metal with the release of their 1987 album Crossover. Bands such as METALLICA and SLAYER had been emulating hardcore’s fast pace throughout the decade to create thrash, speed, and death metal; D.R.I. had simply returned the favor and hit the big time themselves.

D.R.I. in the Crossover era: Kurt Brecht (vocals), Spike Cassidy (guitar),
Felix Griffin (drums), Josh Pappe (bass).

D.R.I.’s members weren’t exactly living the rock star life while much of this was taking place. They had moved to the Bay Area from Texas in 1984, living in their tour van for the time being. This book gathers journal entries written by vocalist Kurt Brecht during his final months as an outdoor resident of San Francisco’s Haight District. I actually received a copy of Notes from the Nest while living on the streets of Berkeley and Oakland in my early twenties, so these stories were (and still are) a lot of fun for me to read.

Golden Gate Park is bigger than New York’s Central Park, taking up 1.583 miles
and over a thousand acres. There are plenty of places for a resourceful homeless person to hide.

Kurt briefly explains his current situation—he sings and writes lyrics for D.R.I., sleeps in a tree in Golden Gate Park, and eats at a nearby soup kitchen. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go for now and crashing out on the grass isn’t a good idea, as he is aware of stories about local homeless people being assaulted and killed in their sleep. Kurt manages to find the perfect configuration of branches to form a “nest” where he can sleep in relative comfort well above ground. Cops, murderous thugs, and passers-by in general are unaware of his presence. He works part-time for a flaky jeweler and might move into a place with his new girlfriend if a potential new job works out. Kurt even has a cat that lives in the tree with him.

Raging madness and gang warfare
at the Olympic Auditorium.

D.R.I. also plays a show with SLAYER at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, in which one of the four simultaneous circle pits erupts into gang warfare between skinheads, metalheads, and Suicidal members. Kurt returns home to find that life is changing fast. He and his girlfriend will be moving into a room in Oakland after all. One more night in the nest to end this chapter of Kurt Brecht’s life as another one begins.

Notes from the Nest is not easy to come by; I saw a single copy listed on Amazon for $150. I was lucky to have acquired my copy when I did; it often lifted my spirits when homeless punk life had me down. You probably should have been a down-and-out D.R.I. fan to appreciate these tales, but Notes from the Nest is a fun and fast read if you ever find a copy for yourself.

Asunder vs. Like Flies on Flesh

Great split LP that deserves its place in any self-respecting crusty punk record collection! ASUNDER drops two heavy slabs of death/doom on your cranium and believe me, it hurts! Reminiscent of the greats like MY DYING BRIDE or PARADISE LOST and they are not afraid to take their time. “Tides of Ruin” crosses the ten-minute mark, but never feels overlong or boring. Nice mix of blackened crusty sludge from Texas metalpunks LIKE FLIES ON FLESH, who would have been right at home here in the Bay Area. I wish we could have heard more from them in the future, but this was their only recorded output. Whatever limitations you hear are excused by the recording methods—both ASUNDER and LIKE FLIES ON FLESH originally released these songs as demo tapes before mixing and mastering them for split LP preservation. ASUNDER forged on until 2009 with three more great releases—the monstrous A Clarion Call, a great split LP with GRAVES AT SEA, and ending with Works Will Come Undone. LIKE FLIES ON FLESH vocalist Jamie Myers has kept busy in the years since. She joined HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE circa 2003, releasing The August Engine and The Locust Years before guesting on WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM’s Diadem of 12 Stars album and their Malevolent Grain 12-inch. She now sings for occult rockers SABBATH ASSEMBLY.

20 Years Ago Today at 924 Gilman Street

I only remember the Gilman Street staff being judgmental and irritated that "heavy metal" bands were playing at their precious "punk rock club," only to be completely won over and wanting more by the time HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE finished their set. 

924 Gilman: The Story So Far

Maximum Rocknroll, 2004

You practically can’t read a single article about GREEN DAY or RANCID without at least one mention of 924 Gilman Street, still located in Berkeley, California. They cut their teeth on the Gilman stage as part of the East Bay punk underground before ascending to mainstream success and blah, blah, blah. You’ve heard all of this before, haven’t you? There is a lot more to Gilman Street than those bands; this exhaustive 416-page book about the volunteer-run club’s first 18 years proves that point. You will have to figure out a way to prevent the book from falling apart due to its binding, but it is worth the effort.

924 Gilman’s story comes from the volunteer staff perspective rather than that of well-known musicians and tastemakers. Matt Freeman is the only member of the aforementioned huge bands on hand here, but barely says anything about OPERATION IVY or RANCID at all. He opts for a funny story about his early days performing post-show Gilman cleanup

924 Gilman Street as it has existed in Berkeley, CA since 1986.

duties instead. Expect anecdotes of that nature over tales of bands and records. Chapters are broken up according to whoever ran the club at the time, with each participant getting a few pages to say their piece. One or two ex-staffers try to dish some political dirt, but Brian Edge changes their names in the interest of fairness. 924 Gilman is not a book for settling old scores, something that I think got in the way of some volunteers speaking in detail about negative experiences at the club. I know from my own participation as a Gilman volunteer that it is not always fun and that punks’ dysfunctional personalities often clash.

What should make this book valuable to its readers is that this is how you do it—discovering a space with potential in no-man’s land and making it happen above board. How much effort goes into its creation and maintenance, dealing with licensing and zoning boards, and how the very community the space intends to serve often undermines its goals much more than “the Man” does. Although the stories become repetitive and less interesting after a while, 924 Gilman is often a fun read coupled with awesome visual representation. There are few pages without some kind of photo, flyer, newspaper clipping, or even staff meeting notes accompanying the text. All books about punk rock should be this visually stimulating, yet so few of them are lately. Could we get a second edition that corrects the bookbinding issue sometime?

20 Years Ago Today at 924 Gilman Street

This show is generally remembered for NO JUSTICE hopping on LIFE'S HALT's gear, in which the crowd went completely insane. RAW POWER was also very good that night, although people who saw them in their heyday were not to quick to agree. Whatever. I know I had a blast singing along to "State Oppression" like everyone else.

No Justice tearing it up at Gilman Street!

25 Years Ago at 924 Gilman Street

CANCER ALLEY didn't play and were replaced by LA grind freaks BAD ACID TRIP. I seem to recall that MAN IS THE BASTARD didn't play either and I definitely did not see ASSUCK this evening. They might have been a bit too death metal for my taste at the time anyway. However, this was my first time seeing CAPITALIST CASUALTIES live after listening to whatever records of theirs my bandmates and I could find all year long. Expectations were met, but this show belonged to Japanese hardcore thrashers ASSFORT. ASSFORT was amazing! They set the live standard for every other Japanese hardcore band to follow as I've seen them over the years. Check out Matt Average's cover photo for their 亞吸不汚吐 EP on

That's me in the Misfits shirt under Yoshio's leg.

Prank; that is me in the MISFITS shirt narrowly avoiding a collision with vocalist Yoshio as he breaks Gilman Street's no-stagediving rule. There was also a huge fight right after that photo was taken when a couple burly jock dudes materialized and started laying people out. Seemed like every punk rocker in the club suddenly pounced on them and sent them packing. I was told that they both had lost their shoes in the fracas and had to run in their socks through a mess of broken bottles to escape!

I had a difficult time leaving this show. This was one of those nights where I didn't want to go home ever again. Home was a small, boring house in the suburbs with my unemployed single mom. How could I think about living under her roof or starting my senior year of high school in a few weeks after the things I saw tonight? This was where I belonged. Getting back here and staying here was my only focus now. Nothing else mattered anymore.

20 Years Ago Today at Mission Records

Look at that lineup! Imagine those three bands on a hot summer afternoon in a tiny room like Mission Records! I don't think I need to tell you that this show was amazing! This was one of LUDICRA's earliest shows.

20 Years Ago Today at 924 Gilman Street

This is quite a solid lineup on paper. Unfortunately, every band canceled except for DAMAD and BRAINBLOODVOLUME. GOOD CLEAN FUN was the most infuriating cancellation. They dropped off the show at the last minute, opting to play in San Francisco with CAVE IN and the NERVE AGENTS that night instead. Of course, this took place after they had made a big deal out of begging Gilman Street and Ken Sanderson to be included on the show. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? and CRISPUS ATTUCKS wound up filling in and that was fine, but how great would this show have been had everyone come through?

Full Circle With The Born Uglys

Greg Valencia had certainly left his mark on the East Bay punk scene as the guitarist for GRIMPLE, ELDOPA, and WATCH THEM DIE. His time here was ending around 2009, as he was due to move back to his hometown of Santa Fe. However, Greg had one more record for the East Bay—the BORN UGLYS 7-inch. WORD SALAD bassist Dutch Worthington and drummer Jason Willer of ALARIC pitched in to give Greg a proper send-off. This record is a nice return to the catchy, melodic punk sounds that made GRIMPLE’s Up Your Ass album an East Bay classic. Three originals and an obscure LOGICAL NONSENSE cover that leave you wanting more, especially during Greg’s finest “throat full of glass” moments.

SEE ALSO: Grimple, Eldopa, Watch Them Die, Word Salad, the Enemies, Cross Stitched Eyes, Alaric, Charger.

Good Girls Don't, But I Do: Remembering Raooul

Do you remember when it was okay for punk rock bands to be of barely adequate skill at their instruments? Plenty of bands found their sound through a complete lack of proficiency—it is what punk was about; making mistakes and learning in public. Some of those mistakes have inspired future generations of inept musicians to give it a go themselves. RAOOUL committed six songs of gloriously bad punk rock trash to vinyl in 1993 and upstart East Bay punk kids have been thankful ever since. Fresh & Nubile was proof that it was still possible; that a band of 14-year-old girls could have a laugh and a say. They did have things to say under the din too. “Anna Joy” features the line “It really ain’t anarchy if it’s okay with your mom/It really ain’t rebellion if it’s just Primus instead of New Kids on the Block,” a poignant lyric in 2020 when more parents are taking their kids to their first punk shows at Gilman Street than in previous eras. “Good Girls” declares sexual freedom and agency while “I Had Richie Bucher” inverses the scenario women face when being objectified by men by using an older boy established in the punk scene for sex and discarding him in the end. This 7-inch is perfect; it leaves you wanting more. One of the East Bay’s punkest releases of the decade by far.

RAOOUL have taken a few more guitar lessons prior to recording 1994’s split LP with London minimalist trio SKINNED TEEN, but seem to have misplaced their inspiration in the process. Although the tunes are decent, they lack the sense of fun and enthusiasm that make Fresh & Nubile such a triumphant classic. RAOOUL broke up before this record came out, but guitarist Molly Schnick and drummer Phyllis Forbes would go on to form the TOURETTES with Janelle Hessig and OUT HUD with members of !!!. Vocalist Melissa MacArthur would contribute guest vocals on older brother Gavin’s band SCHLONG’s Punk Side Story album.

SEE ALSO: The Tourettes, Out Hud.

20 Years Ago Today at the Stork Club

ASUNDER guitarist Seth Baker and EXITWOUND vocalist Melanie Chevarria tied the knot and threw one helluva a show for their wedding reception. LIKE FLIES ON FLESH came back and ruled it again! I believe this was one of ASUNDER's first shows, if not their very first. How many of you have a copy of the ASUNDER/LIKE FLIES ON FLESH split LP? EXITWOUND called it quits shortly after this show because their drummer Ross was due to move to Belgium, in which he would form SKEW WHIFF with ex-members of HIATUS and UNHINGED. They would return a couple years later with new drummer Jon Stanley. I still can't believe a show this good took place at the fucking Stork Club.

Crime Stories: Remembering San Francisco's First & Only Rock 'n' Roll Band

Billed as “San Francisco’s first & only rock ‘n’ roll band,” CRIME also has the distinction of self-releasing the West Coast’s first punk single—the “Hot Wire My Heart”/“Baby, You’re So Repulsive” 45 in 1976. Johnny Strike (Gary Bassett) and Frankie Fix (Marc D’Agostino) began hanging out together after moving separately to San Francisco from Harrisburg, PA. They hung out listening to records, namely early British invasion and American garage bands like the SONICS and the COUNT FIVE. Johnny & Frankie soon picked up guitars of their own and began playing together under various monikers from the GUITAR ARMY to the BLOODY CHILDREN and SPACE INVADERS. None of these attempts at glitter rock panned out beyond the duo jamming in their apartments, although they did briefly befriend the NEW YORK DOLLS during this time. Johnny & Frankie also made the front page of the newspaper when they and their wives attended a David Bowie concert at the Cow Palace in full Ziggy Stardust drag.

“We see a rock ‘n’ roll band as a gang.”

—Johnny Strike

Johnny Strike was working as a waiter at a disco, which afforded him opportunities to strike up conversations about music with anyone who looked interesting enough. He met Ron Greco that way, having no idea that he had played at San Francisco’s Cow Palace a decade prior with the CHOSEN FEW, the band that evolved into the FLAMIN’ GROOVIES. Johnny would nickname him Ron “Ripper” Greco for his Gibson Ripper bass. SPACE INVADERS soon changed their name to CRIME and began adopting the gay leather biker look as a band uniform. CRIME auditioned a series of drummers and nearly abandoned the idea altogether until Ricky Williams showed up at their practice space one night, fresh from a stay in a mental institution. They began putting together a set and quickly recorded their debut single. “Hot Wire My Heart” gets off to a rocky start, as Williams badly flubs the beginning of the song. “Baby, You’re So Repulsive” is no “Silly Love Songs;” it is a nasty, amphetamine-driven number that must have sounded quite raw and primitive in 1976.

Slash magazine’s Kickboy Face wrote of CRIME’s first single in their June 1977 issue:

“Where do they come from anyway? Where have they been hiding? They look like neo-Nazi perverts, and they sound like your average terminal speed-freak nightmare. Truly dangerous anti-music. This must be the trend that is scaring everyone right now…If these creatures keep it up they’re gonna start banning rock music all over again, which means they must be doing something right.”

CRIME’s first show took place at San Francisco’s Old Waldorf on Halloween of 1976, a political fundraiser for a nameless queer candidate. Audience members were expecting something akin to David Bowie upon seeing their leather daddy look, but became upset at the band’s overly loud and abrasive rock ‘n’ roll. People headed for the exits and the club owner pulled the plug after five songs. They booked their next show to take place at the Stud, the famed gay leather bar in the South of Market district. However, their choice of flyer art would get them in hot water with the local music scene—a picture of Adolf Hitler’s face. CRIME wanted to do a series of posters featuring famous criminals, starting with the biggest one of them all. Record stores refused to display the poster, with Aquarius opting to cease stocking the “Hot Wire My Heart” single. CRIME became the most notorious band in town after the Stud canceled the show. Bill Graham and local music critic (and future Reprise Records president) Howie Klein began a campaign to have CRIME banned in San Francisco. However, the band soon discovered the Mabuhay Gardens and convinced owner Ness Aquino to let them play in January of 1977.

They would also soon part ways with Ricky Williams. Ricky’s pill popping had always affected his drumming, but it had become more than the rest of the band could take. One show saw CRIME opening for BLONDIE at the Mabuhay, in which Williams went missing until mere minutes before the band was to begin their set. Clem Burke of BLONDIE was onstage preparing to fill in for him when Ricky finally showed up. He would then proceed to leave the stage in mid-song, returning more than a few minutes later after an apparent drug-induced run to the bathroom. Ricky’s replacement Brittley Black would say of his performance, “He was a mess…he was drooling on himself while playing off/against beats; anything you could do to rape music, he was doing it” that evening. Williams began missing rehearsals, finally leading to his dismissal. He would go on to front the SLEEPERS.

Brittley Black would take CRIME to another level as their drummer—he was the son of former Blue Note Jazz Club house drummer Dave Black, who had also played with Duke Ellington in the mid-1950s. CRIME sounds much more confident and together on their next record, the “Frustration”/“Murder by Guitar” 45. Both songs are stellar, with “Murder by Guitar” gaining a slight edge thanks to its opening dirge.

“Their approach to music might be best described as the raw barrage sound—a self-consciously outrageous assault on the senses. Their second 45 has met with widely mixed reactions. A KSAN DJ who inadvertently put it on a turntable called it ‘the worst record in the world.’”

—BAM Magazine, January 1978

CRIME was now enjoying playing out regularly, opening for the DAMNED and the RAMONES and seeing “Hot Wire My Heart” chart in the New Musical Express. Their live sets usually began with a blaring police siren as the band took the stage clad either in actual police uniforms or dressed as slick gangsters out of an old Dashiell Hammett pulp novel. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen reported that the SFPD requested that the band refrain from wearing the cop outfits, as it could legally constitute impersonating an officer. CRIME laughed off the demand, continuing to wear the costumes with no legal ramifications. However, they were about to be on the search for a new drummer yet again. Howie Klein, now running his label 415 Records, had recruited Brittley Black to play for his prefabricated band literally named the READYMADES. Although Mabuhay rockers held the READYMADES in low regard, their connections got them paying gigs like opening for Sammy Hagar and Rick Derringer at the Cow Palace one New Year’s Eve.

Henry Rosenthal was attending the Mabuhay for the first time in mid-1977 to see his friends in NOVAK play when he saw a new band that he claimed changed his entire life. He had seen the STOOGES and the MC5 numerous times, as well as the ALICE COOPER BAND’s first tour in small venues; this band CRIME brought each of them to mind as he thought, “it was one of the greatest shows I’d ever seen.” Henry campaigned hard to win the new drummer slot, thinking that drummers the world over were also vying for the position. He was wrong—his elaborately designed presentation was the only response the band had received. Despite lacking experience, Rosenthal became Hank Rank and learned both his instrument and the band’s set in two weeks before their next show.

Crime and the Nuns argued fervently over
who would headline this show, eventually
reaching a compromise by allowing both
bands' names to be printed in the same size on
the flyer.

Hank being the only respondent to CRIME’s drummer search may very well have been due to the sense of alienation fostered by the band themselves. Although the Mabuhay’s new music scene was vibrant with bands like the NUNS, the AVENGERS, the MUTANTS, and the OFFS, CRIME did not view themselves as part of any punk community in San Francisco. They were above all of that, demanding to headline each show and refusing to open for other hometown bands. CRIME was there first, after all. This ultimately cost them an opportunity to play the SEX PISTOLS’ infamous and ill-fated Winterland Ballroom show, as CRIME steadfastly declined to appear onstage before the AVENGERS. Bill Graham offered the opening to the NUNS instead, who happily accepted. CRIME then turned down a benefit for striking coal miners organized by Howie Klein—the only punk band in San Francisco to do so—and found themselves further on the outs with the local scene.

However, their most notorious show took place during this time—CRIME appearing in police uniforms at San Quentin State Prison. CRIME played outside in San Quentin’s exercise yard with no security—if the prisoners had decided to take the band hostage, the guards would not bargain to save their lives. Robert Kennedy’s assassin Sirhan Sirhan was in San Quentin at the time, apparently in solitary confinement directly above the festivities. Hank Rank later remarked that he hoped that listening to CRIME was the worst day of Sirhan Sirhan’s life.

“It was blazing heat, and they had a little speaker for a PA. And imagine, you’re looking out there at a mass of 500 people and all I could see were crimes written on their faces: rape, murder, mutilation. All the disgusting side of humanity was sitting there looking at us.”

—Hank Rank on playing at San Quentin

Another show that took place later in 1978 would be notorious for other reasons, namely it being a complete disaster. CRIME had been at odds with the Mabuhay’s bookers for some time and decided to respond with a show at Bimbo’s, a nearby bar in North Beach, on Halloween. Naturally, they would headline, booking the WEIRDOS to open. Bimbo’s being a fancier, more expensive establishment entailed a higher door price, higher than anyone had previously charged for a local punk show—a whopping $7.50. Advance ticket sales were terrible; walk-up business the night of the show did not improve the situation very much. CRIME lost their shirts on the show, crawling back to the Mabuhay with egg on their faces.

CRIME recorded a series of demos throughout 1978 and ’79 hoping to release an LP. Unfortunately, their difficult reputation preceded them by now and likely prevented any small local labels from having any interest. Big labels were not interested in an edgy primitive rock ‘n’ roll band either; a meeting with Seymour Stein of Sire Records ended badly when Frankie Fix openly insulted the RAMONES, Stein’s pride and joy. These demos would not see the light of day for over ten years. Ron “Ripper” Greco left the band after a chaotic weekend in LA dubbed the “Fun Bus Tour” better remembered among the members for quality methamphetamine consumed on the way home than it was for the shows they played. CRIME soundman Joey D’Kaye (aka Joey Swails) took over for the Ripper, but nothing seemed to work in the band’s favor anymore. Frankie Fix decided to become the lead vocalist, affecting CRIME’s twin guitar attack. Rehearsals were not going well, prompting Hank Rank to quit.

Ripper returned to the fold, allowing Joey D’Kaye to begin playing the synthesizer. Brittley Black came back with him, taking part in CRIME’s third and final release as an active band. 1980’s “Gangster Funk”/“Maserati” single is the only one of CRIME’s original 45s that is not self-released; the Berkeley Squared label took care of it for them. “Gangster Funk” utilizes a generic funk riff to make its point; it is amusing, but not one of CRIME’s best moments. “Maserati” is much better—a rockin’ boogie that almost evokes an image of looking cool in an Italian sports car.

1982 saw CRIME come trudging to a halt with a lack of direction and ideas. Johnny Strike attempted to shake his fellow band members out of their drug-induced ennui to no avail and quit, ending a six-year run as San

Francisco’s first punk band. He would briefly play with Joey Swails in VECTOR COMMAND, a post-punk/darkwave project whose 1983-84 demo recordings became available on vinyl in 2018. CRIME bootlegs began popping up with the release of 1988’s First Blood EP, sourced from demos recorded in 1978. This easily would have been CRIME’s best release had it come out in their day as an active band. Ron the Ripper’s bass never sounded as dense or as tough as it does here. “If Looks Could Kill” is a fantastic punk/rockabilly jammer, while the crosstops kick in for the revved-up “Rockin’ Weird.” CRIME slows it down considerably for the moody “Lost Souls,” reminding one of a less abrasive FLIPPER. More songs like “Lost Souls” should have existed in the CRIME catalog. 1990’s Terminal Boredom bootlegs a live set from the Mabuhay in 1977; its official 1994 repress as Hate Us or Love Us, We Don’t Give a Fuck adds bonus tracks culled from radio appearances and their second gig.

San Francisco’s Doomed compiles two of the demos recorded from 1978-79. Both sessions provide enough quality material for a pair of top-notch 12-inches. Side A’s session took place at His Master’s Wheels Recordings in March of 1978 and features a number of amped-up WHO-style rockers that hit the spot nicely. Joey D’Kaye is in the band for side B’s 1979 recording at Time & Space. This session features more of CRIME’s rockabilly stylings, devastating punk sludge like “Emergency Music Ward,” and an early version of “Gangster Funk” titled “Monkey on Your Back.” Would we speak somewhat differently of CRIME and the early San Francisco punk scene had a label taken interest in either of these recordings back then? 2004’s San Francisco’s Still Doomed repress adds alternate versions of both songs from the first single. Cadillac Faggot is a band-sanctioned CD-R release from 2004 documenting two live sets from the Mabuhay one weekend in December of 1978—limited to only 100 copies.

Ricky Williams died in 1992 under “mysterious circumstances,” although some have speculated that a heroin overdose brought about his demise. Ricky sang for the SLEEPERS and the TOILING MIDGETS after his life of CRIME; he also named FLIPPER and was one of their founding members. Frankie Fix reunited with Ron the Ripper and Brittley Black for a brief series of shows in the ‘90s that reportedly did not go well. Fashion was apparently more important than music on their debut night. Frankie apparently frequently exited the stage to change his outfit, causing the band to lose steam with each break. Unfortunately, one of those trips backstage saw him accidentally lock himself in the dressing room! Frankie had no choice but to pound on the door for help while his guitarist opted to sing in his place. Frankie eventually wound up on the streets, living in a homeless shelter. He died during surgery in 1996, his body wrought with years of abuse. Brittley Black succumbed to diabetes in 2004.

Johnny Strike and Hank Rank reunited CRIME with new members Mickey Tractor (Michael Lewis) and ex-NUN Pat Ryan to play Italy’s Road to Ruins punk festival in 2005. This reunion led to two new recordings, the self-released Exalted Masters LP in 2007 and a 2010 split 7-inch collaboration with GNAWA EXPRESS from Morocco. Count Fink (aka Brett Stillo from SF garage rockers the FLAKES) would take over for Pat Ryan before these recordings took place.

Murder by Guitar 1976-1980 (The Complete Studio Recordings) compiles all of the studio sessions that produced the original three CRIME 45s, including the extra tracks that did not make the cut. However, Munster Records takes it a step further, expanding Murder by Guitar into a

lavishly packaged boxed set reissuing all three singles plus four more documenting everything on the cutting-room floor. Either version is essential for fans that would prefer not to pay up to $200 for the original pressings.

Cancer claimed Johnny Strike’s life in 2018 at the age of 70. He became a writer later in life, publishing his first novel titled Ports of Hell in 2004. Johnny would pen four more crime novels—A Loud Humming Sound Came from Above, Name of the Stranger, Murder in the Medina, and 2018’s The Exploding Memoir, published before his death. Plans were to release Society of Ghosts posthumously in 2019, but no word has surfaced regarding a new publishing date. Johnny also played with Hank Rank and Joey D’Kaye in the experimental oddity NAKED BEAST, who would have been right at home at the Mabuhay circa 1977 as their 2017 LP on Guitars & Bongos Records shows.

Hank Rank has been hard at work preserving CRIME’s legacy; he most recently produced the 35-minute film San Francisco’s First & Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Movie documenting a live set from the Mabuhay. Shot professionally on 16mm film with a soundboard recording, this is by far the finest quality video footage of any band that appeared on the Mab’s famed stage. Hank has actually been in film production for decades under his real name—Henry S. Rosenthal—beginning with Blood Orgy of the Leather Girls in 1988 (he also produced Marilyn Manson’s “Antichrist Superstar” video) and most recently as an executive producer on Bill Nye: Science Guy.

SEE ALSO: The Flakes, Flipper, Naked Beast, The Next, The Readymades, The Sleepers, Toiling Midgets.

We Are the One: Remembering The Avengers

One of San Francisco’s earliest punk bands; the AVENGERS were certainly the first to self-consciously approximate their image and sound from the SEX PISTOLS and the CLASH. However, they are elevated to all-time classic status locally by the band’s anthemic riffs and Penelope Huston’s spirited vocals. They formed at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1977, playing Stooges and Rolling Stones covers until writing enough of their own material for a live set. Dangerhouse Records issued their 3-song debut EP later that year as the AVENGERS quickly developed into one of the burgeoning punk scene’s best bands. Bill Graham booked them to open for the SEX PISTOLS at their ill-fated Winterland Ballroom concert in January 1978, in which the AVENGERS stole the show. SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones apparently agreed, as he produced their four-song 12-inch on White Noise Records in 1979. Unfortunately, that record would not come out until after the AVENGERS had already disbanded out of frustration with the lack of upward mobility. One more record, the “Paint It Black”/“Thin White Line” 45, came out in 1983 on CD Presents.

Numerous recording sessions took place throughout the band’s two-year existence, but the local scene’s lack of interested record labels prevented the AVENGERS and virtually all of their contemporaries from proper documentation. David Ferguson’s CD Presents label compiled all three singles and several unreleased tracks into a posthumous LP in 1983 without the band’s permission, but it has since become the AVENGERS’ definitive release. This record has all the favorites, from “We Are the One” to “The Amerikan in Me.”

Avengers live at the Winterland Ballroom, January 14, 1978

Bassist Jimmy Wilsey went on to play guitar with Chris Isaak’s backing band SILVERTONE from 1985 to 1993 while drummer Danny Furious briefly played with Joan Jett, SILVERTONE, and SOCIAL DISTORTION. Penelope Huston embarked on a solo career in folk music, releasing a substantial amount of albums and singles throughout the ‘90s. She would reunite with guitarist Greg Ingraham as the SCAVENGERS with the PLUS ONES rhythm section of MR. T EXPERIENCE bassist Joel Reader and Danny Panic from SCREECHING WEASEL in the late ‘90s, producing a number of excellent live shows and several re-recorded tracks for the 1999 compilation Died for Your Sins released by Lookout Records. Several 1978 studio sessions and live recordings from the AVENGERS’ heyday also see the light for the first time here. Penelope and company unearthed more demos in 2012 for a sanctioned double CD reissue of the 1983 LP.

Gimme Something Better

Penguin Books, 2009

Gimme Something Better is an interesting book to revisit for me right now as a longtime Bay Area resident watching the effects of gentrification on local culture. California was the “capitol of the kooks” when I first arrived here in 1988; that’s how I liked it and would start inching towards the local punk scene several years later. GREEN DAY and RANCID were achieving mainstream success as I began regularly attending shows in the underground scene that spawned them. A.F.I. was still a scrappy punk band then; playing shows at Gilman Street and UC Berkeley keg parties. Although A.F.I. vocalist Davey Havok gets a quick chance to tell their story, Gimme Something Better’s lineage ends roughly around 1994-95 with GREEN DAY and RANCID’s ascension from the underground. Anything else beyond that is another story for another time.

Toni & Rachel, the DMR Twins.

While Gimme Something Better does profile a number of bands, readers should not expect it to serve as a guide to their recorded output. You won’t find discographies listed in the back like with Stephen Blush’s American Hardcore. Gimme Something Better is about Bay Area punk as a social and cultural phenomenon. Many visible (and sometimes notorious) figures on the scene offer their perspectives, from band members to zine writers to skinhead street thugs and even the local sheriff! We read about venues like the Farm and Ruthie’s Inn, as well as cliques like the D.M.R. punk girl gang and the Jak’s skate team. Punk rockers often lived marginal lifestyles, which produces chapters about the Vats and other abandoned living spaces (i.e. squats) in San Francisco. Gimme Something Better allows chapters to exist on Nazi skinhead crews AND the nearly-forgotten Outpunk scene that

Sam McBride: Fang vocalist and convicted murderer.

reminded everyone of punk’s queer roots. Various incidents that attracted media attention get coverage as well. FANG vocalist Sam McBride talks about going on the lam after murdering his girlfriend Dixie Lee Carney. We also remember the time someone hid a mummified baby at Gilman Street and when random crusty punks destroyed Jello Biafra’s knee at a poorly attended show.

Gimme Something Better isn’t perfect; it has a number of editing issues and it is not clear when different events take place over the twenty-year span. There also appears to be a peculiar narrative that treats punk’s destructive elements with seemingly more sympathy

Marc Dagger, Urban Assault vocalist and member of SF Skins.

than those that made a positive contribution to the subculture’s longevity. Nazi skins and violent drug addicts are simply forgiven for childish immaturity while Maximum RocknRoll and 924 Gilman Street are portrayed as entities to make fun of for their self-righteous do-gooder attitudes. MRR and Gilman deserve it in many ways, but let’s not forget that this book wouldn’t have very many reasons to exist without their respective roles in keeping Bay Area punk alive. I also could have done without a few stories about doing drugs and getting in fights to make room for more photos and graphic art. Such an art-driven subculture deserves more visual representation in its history books. That said, Jack Boulware & Silke Tudor checked their facts and packed a lot worth reading in over 400 pages. I’m looking forward to seeing if someone takes the book’s title up as a challenge to do research of their own and tell the rest of the story.

20 Years Ago Today at Kimo's

All three of these bands are kinda forgotten footnotes now, but they each had an interesting approach. SANGRE AMADO was part of the early San Francisco black metal scene that spawned bands like WEAKLING and LUDICRA. Their songs sounded like they were written and recorded in the abyss itself! BRAINBLOODVOLUME was a short-lived sludge outfit with a pedigree that includes bands like AMBER ASYLUM, ARTIMUS PYLE, LAUDANUM, NO STATIK, REINA AVEJA, and WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. I always enjoyed them live and wish they had issued a proper recording. MURDER TAKES NO HOLIDAY was like the next chapter in the heavy Oakland metal/punk sound; too bad they never released any recordings either. Things would probably be much different if these bands existed now.

25 Years Ago Today at the CSM Hall

Not surprising that over 700 people showed up for this stacked lineup! I wasn't one of them, so I stayed home and looked at the flyer instead. I'm sure the Stockton police were quite thrilled to have that many punk rockers suddenly gathered in their town.

20 Years Ago Today at Mission Records

This show was the conclusion of a weekend dedicated to BENUMB vocalist Pete Ponitkoff’s birthday. LANA DAGALES opened, but was not included on the flyer. Also notable for being PLUTOCRACY’s first reunion show and probably the best that I personally witnessed. Stocking masks, blunts, and a set that was just pure violence from start to finish.

20 Years Ago Today at 924 Gilman Street

DYSTOPIA did a one-time reunion with their original vocalist Dan Kaufman (who was also in SHIVA), playing a bunch of songs off their split LP with EMBITTERED. LIKE FLIES ON FLESH were amazing. Their name is screwed up on the flyer because the guy who booked the show insisted that "Likes Flies on Flesh" was the correct name. The show almost got shut down by the Berkeley PD when a huge fight broke out between the cops and random drunk crustys.

20 Years Ago Today at 379 40th Street

Gotta love the flyer poking fun at the Y2K hysteria that never panned out. I don't think I was at this show, but who remembers the epic metal monstrosity that was LIKE FLIES ON FLESH? They damn near blew DYSTOPIA off the stage at Gilman a couple nights later! Who was INDEX FOR POTENTIAL SUICIDE? Good name, if nothing else. JENNY PICCOLO was decent emo-gone-grind; some people used to say that they sounded like what would happen if the LOCUST were nice people. Ouch!