EP 257: San Diego
Killer episode this week on the pod. Check it out here, here, or here and check the playlist here or here.
Like many people in America’s best city, I’m a transplant (boooo). I moved here in 2006 for love and stayed for the PB bar culture. But enough about me…
San Diego has a rich history in punk and hardcore. OG 1977 punk bands The Dils and The Zeros were both from here, although the former left for San Francisco before releasing their first 7”. More punk bands sprouted up and put out records in ‘78: The Hitmakers, The Penetrators, The Tokyos. Here’s a spreadsheet showing a bunch of San Diego punk and hardcore releases from the beginning through the end of the 1980s that I put together:
I don’t personally like much of the ‘90s San Diego music that the city is mostly known for but it’s discussed on the pod by people who loved it and are better suited to speak on it than me, so check that out.
Here were our picks for best San Diego tracks:
Let’s get into my list:
The Zeros “Wild Weekend” Wild Weekend 7” BOMP! Records (1978)
The pride of Chula Vista put out a 7” in 1977 and then followed it up with an even better one in ‘78. “Wild Weekend” rages in a way that only the best Ramones songs can compare. Roll your windows down and crank this one up.
The articles about the band I’ve included in this post should do a better job of educating you about the band than I can, but a few quick fun facts:
Their first LA show was on April 16th, 1977 at the Orpheum Theatre with The Weirdos headlining. Also on the gig that night was a band called The Germs, playing their first show ever.
Robert Alan Lopez left the band after the first two singles and joined Catholic Discipline who you may remember from The Decline of the Western Civilization documentary. He’s been performing under the stage name El Vez for over 30 years now.
Javier Escovedo’s brother, Alejandro, formed The Nuns in San Francisco so the Escovedo family can stake claim to starting two of the first punk bands ever. Respect. The Nuns played the first punk show at Mabuhay Gardens in December of 1976, and played the Sex Pistols one and only West Coast show at the Winterland Ballroom in 1978.
Che Underground article here.
San Diego Reader profile here.
Update on The Zeros / The Zeros ‘77 drama here.
Battalion of Saints “Animal In Man” Second Coming LP Nutrons Records (1984)
If I’m being honest, my favorite hardcore stuff of all time is 1980s NYHC and bands directly influenced by it, but sometimes I go on this weird kick where I only listen to the Crucifix LP and Final Conflict Ashes to Ashes exclusively for like a week straight. This has been a recurring tick in my musical ingestion for maybe a decade. I wonder if it’s a pallet cleansing so to speak - wiping the slate clean so I can listen to old stuff with new ears, or take in new music without thinking everything sucks compared to the Judge 7”. In the last year or so, I’ve added two more records to the aforementioned pair of records: The Varukers Another Religion, Another War and Battalion of Saints Second Coming. I love this thing so much that I can listen to it (and the three other records) on shuffle pretty much indefinitely.
The band formed as the Nutrons in 1980 before changing their name to Battalion of Saints sometime in 1981. They put out EPs in ‘82 and ‘83 followed by this LP of pure hardcore fury in ‘84. BOS are USHC originals but they mix in a lot of UK punk and hardcore as well. It’s very anthemic and the riffing can be super pummeling in a way that’s more UK than US.
Pops took “Right Or Wrong” which rules cuz it’s the posi-song. Shoutout to the In My Eyes demo. I took the song before it, “Animal In Man.” I love when a song opens with drums only but you still instantly know what it is. The opening riff over the toms sounds ominous and almost Discharge’y. Then it opens up on the verses with a perfect major chord BOS riff and George Anthony’s top-notch shouting voice dancing on the top of it. His rhythm pattern is so good, the the chorus is memorable, and you have that great man will be extinct bridge section.
If you want to be god
Look where it got him
Hanging upon a cross
Only man could do such things“Animal in Man” Battalion of Saints
Fuck yea.
Crossed Out “Internal” S/T 7” Slap A Ham Records (1991)
I gotta be one of the biggest power violence posers on the planet. I pretty much only listen to Slave, Downsided, Disassembly Line, and this 7”. The thing about PV is that it’s really hard to pick single song standouts. Just like its kissing cousin prog rock, you kinda need to let the record take you on a ride. I think “Crown of Thorns” might be my favorite track on this 7” but fuck it…let’s just roll with the first song. It gives you a vibe for the whole record and that duh-nuh-nuh riff serves as a great hook in a genre that doesn’t have a lot of them.
Take Offense “Walks Of Life” Tables Will Turn LP Reaper Records (2011)
Take Offense was just getting going when I moved to San Diego in 2006 and were a bunch of high school kids who played competent first-band hardcore. They lived and breathed the scene, went to tons of shows, supported bands, etc. Their passion for hardcore bled into their music and inspired an entire new generation from their hometown of Chula Vista to get into hardcore. By their 2008 7” Walks Of Life, they were carving out their own sound and by their first LP in 2011, they had perfected it. It was half 1986 NYHC, half Welcome to Venice compilation and 100% waving the flag high for Chula Vista Hardcore. Take Offense had become a beast.
“Walks of Life” was on their 2008 7” and they re-recorded it for this LP three years later. Normally when a band rerecords a song it’s because they want to change something or feel some sort of way about the original version. Not here, it’s pretty much exactly the same - they just wanted everyone who got the LP as their first taste of T.O. to hear a modern classic. It starts with an instantly recognizable riff, then they hit you with the cymbal choke/divebomb combo and we’re into a head-bob intro section. Sick drum fill into verse-one where AH’s voice sounds stellar with a super laid back, confident delivery. Then we’re into a big gang chorus section and then a perfect guitar solo.
A lot of bands nowadays take but never give - everything they do is in service of their band or ego. T.O. was not that at all. They booked a ton of shows, brought in national acts, put on for locals and really made Chula Vista the heart of the San Diego scene for several years. By the way, I’m talking in the past tense cuz we’re talking about 2006-2011 here but don’t get it twisted - they still go to and book shows. Shoutout to all the lifers, cuz to us hardcore is not a passing phase.
Above is a photo of Retaliate playing Chula Vista sometime around the time that the first Take Offense LP came out. My point is not to show off my sick tats and beautifully shaped head, it’s to show that HC really had a moment in Chula Vista and it was 100% due to T.O. booking shows and inspiring a whole generation of kids to get into hardcore. A significant amount of those kids are still involved in the scene a decade and a half later. That’s a legacy to be proud of.
The Neighbors “Sometimes” Punk Sucks compilation Liberation Records (1995)
This song may have come out on a demo before 1995 but for the sake of my list, I’m going to credit where I heard it first - the 1995 Punk Sucks compilation on Liberation Records. CD compilations were really appealing to me as a teenager who wanted to be exposed to as many bands as possible. The last thing you wanted to do was go to the record store and get burned on a record that blew and a comp was a way to find some bands that at least had one good song. This comp really exemplifies the glut of punk bands that existed in the mid-’90s when the EpiFat stuff was at its cultural peak. Other than the Good Riddance song on here that I already knew by heart, my favorite track was by a band I’d never heard of, The Neighbors.
Honestly this song is so psychotic that me describing it won’t do it justice so I implore you to spend the 2:48 and experience this song for yourself. Fun fact - I wrote the Temu version of this song on the first In Control LP (“Stick Your Neck Out”). This rules so hard and bodies my cheap imitation.
Unbroken “The Setup” Life. Love. Regret. LP New Age Records (1994)
We’ve talked Unbroken a million times on this pod and I may have even chosen this song on a different Super 7. “The Setup” is the best Unbroken song. Think about what you love about Unbroken and it’s probably done best here.
Over My Dead Body “Be There” No Runners 7” (2001)
I’ll be honest, Dan paid me to pick this. Killer track nonetheless!
Let’s hit some archives…
There’s a killer article from the San Diego Reader about punk in 1978 that you can read here.
If anyone has a current contact for Chris from BCT, please get at me.
Check out this old school San Diego punk flyer archive HERE.
Shoutout to the best city in America. Don’t move here and don’t even visit if you’re from Arizona.
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- ZN
Thanks for putting this together, I enjoyed that trip down San Diego Hard Core Punk history