Bad Religion

Bad Religion is an American punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars) and Jay Ziskrout (drums). They are often credited for leading the revival of punk rock and inspiring pop-punk bands^[1][2][3][4] during the late 1980s, as well as influencing a large number of other punk and rock musicians throughout their career. In the 29 years since its inception, Bad Religion has had numerous lineup changes, and Graffin has been the only constant member, although the band currently features three of the original four members.

To date, Bad Religion has released fourteen studio albums, two EPs, three compilation albums, one live recording, and two DVDs. Their 1988 album Suffer has been regarded by some critics as one of the most important punk rock albums of all time,^[5][6][7] although it was not charted in Billboard. Bad Religion rose to fame with their 1993 album Recipe for Hate, which reached number 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, marking the highest initial charting album in the band's career. Their next album, Stranger Than Fiction, featuring the band's well-known hit singles "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and "Infected", was also highly successful and became the only Bad Religion album to obtain gold status in the US. Following Gurewitz's departure in 1994, Bad Religion declined in popularity and poor record sales continued until the release of The New America in 2000. Gurewitz returned to the fold in 2001, making Bad Religion a six-piece band, and contributed to their three most recent albums. The band has discussed the possibility of recording their next studio album, which is expected to be released in 2010, and will also mark the first time that a Bad Religion line-up had not changed in four consecutive studio recordings.

They are particularly known for their sophisticated use of style, metaphor, vocabulary, imagery, and vocal harmonies (which they refer to in their album liner notes as the "oozin aahs".) Lyrics are often reflective on matters of personal feelings or of personal or social responsibility.

History

Formation and early career (1980-1982)

Bad Religion was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1980 by high school students Greg Graffin (vocals, keyboards), Jay Bentley (bass), Jay Ziskrout (drums), and Brett Gurewitz, also known as "Mr. Brett" (guitar). James O'Hanlon from New York filled in on guitar briefly as well while Brett was in the hospital with a broken leg. The band's major influences stemmed from earlier punk acts such as The Ramones, The Adolescents, Black Flag, The Germs, and The Sex Pistols. Outside of the punk scene, their influences ranged from Elvis Costello, The Jam, and Nick Lowe to authors like Jack Kerouac.Greg Graffin called his influences "pop sounding rock tunes that were not necessarily commercial."

In 1981, the band released their eponymous debut EP on the newly-formed label, Epitaph Records, which was and continues to be managed and owned by Gurewitz. 1982 saw the release of their first full-length album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, gaining the band a sizable following. During the recording of How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, Jay Ziskrout left the band and was replaced by Peter Finestone.

Rancid (band)

Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in 1991 in Albany, California, by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, both of whom previously played in ska punk group Operation Ivy. The band is credited with helping to revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s.

Rancid includes Armstrong on guitar and vocals, Freeman on bass and vocals, Lars Frederiksen on guitar and vocals, and Branden Steineckert on drums. The band was formed by Armstrong, Freeman, and former drummer Brett Reed, who left the band in 2006 and was replaced by Steineckert. Frederiksen joined Rancid in 1993 when the band was searching for a second guitar player.

To date, Rancid has released six studio albums, one split, one compilation, two EPs, a series of live online-only albums, and has been featured on countless compilations.The band rose to fame in 1994 with their second album, Let's Go, featuring the single "Salvation". In the following year, Rancid released their highly successful album ...And Out Come the Wolves, which produced their best-known hits "Roots Radicals", "Ruby Soho" and "Time Bomb", and was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA. Their most recent studio album, Indestructible, was released in 2003. The band recently finished recording their seventh album, Let the Dominoes Fall, to be released on June 2, 2009.

History

Early history (pre-1993)

Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman had been playing together in the seminal ska punk band Operation Ivy from 1987-1989. When Operation Ivy broke up they decided to form a new band, and started another ska punk band called Downfall, which only lasted a few months. They then started a hardcore punk group called Generator, which also quickly broke up. They also started two other ska influenced bands, and Dance Hall Crashers, but moved on quickly from both. In 1991 Tim and Matt decided to try starting yet another band. They recruited drummer Brett Reed and formed Rancid.

Breakthrough success (1994-1996)

While Rancid was writing for a follow-up album, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, a friend of the band, joined them to co-write the song "Radio". This led to him playing a live show with the band. Tim Armstrong eventually asked Billie Joe to become a member of the band, but he opted to stick with Green Day. Tim had previously asked Lars Frederiksen to be Rancid's second guitarist, but he also turned down the request. After Billie Joe declined, Frederiksen changed his mind and decided to join Rancid.

Frederiksen played with the band on 1994's Let's Go. That year their then-label-mates, The Offspring, experienced a huge success with their album Smash. The Offspring took Rancid on tour with them, and helped Let's Go make it to #97 on Billboard's Heatseekers and Billboard 200 charts, respectively. With the success of the album the band was pursued by several major labels, including Madonna's Maverick Records.

The band eventually decided to stay on Epitaph, and the next year released their third album ...And Out Come the Wolves. That album quickly surpassed Let's Go in terms of success. Three of the album's singles, "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb", and "Ruby Soho" all charted on the North American Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, and the band performed two of these songs on Saturday Night Live.

The Living end

The Living End is an Australian punkabilly band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals) and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in the late 1990s after the release of their double A-side single, Second Solution / Prisoner of Society.

They have released five studio albums and one singles compilation in Australia; two of which have reached the #1 spot on the Australian Album Chart. They have also gained notable success in the United States and Europe. The band are annually adding to their collection of Jack Awards, consistently winning awards for Best Drummer, Best Male Performer, Best Live TV Appearance and Best Band, among others.

History

Beginnings

The Living End was formed in 1994 by Chris Cheney and Scott Owen, who met through their older sisters while attending Wheelers Hill Secondary College in Melbourne. Cheney was a big fan of rockabilly group Stray Cats, and convinced Owen to learn the standup bass which the Stray Cats used regularly. He was taught by Maddie 0'Reiden, a classical upright bass tutor. The pair formed a cover band, Runaway Boys, named after a song from the Stray Cats' debut album.The band played in Melbourne's rockabilly music scene. While Cheney and Owen persevered, the band went through several drummers while still in school.

However, by 1994 Chris and Scott were writing their own material and they decided to change their name to The Living End, a reference to the film Rock Around the Clock. The group went through a procession of drummers, including Alex Sarris, before settling on Joe Piripitzi. Sarris played for several months, but was unable to remain in the band, due to irreconsilible creative differences with frontman Cheney. However, Cheney considered Joe an ideal drummer due to his charismatic appearance.

The Living End got their first big break in 1995 when, after sending a t-shirt and a demo tape to Billie Joe Armstrong, they landed a support slot in Green Day's upcoming Australian tour. After the tour, the group went into the studio to record their debut EP Hellbound which received moderate support from community radio stations.

In November 1995, the band went back into the studio to record their second EP It's For Your Own Good which they released several months later. This recording yielded their first major radio airplay with the song "From Here On In", which was placed on high rotation on the youth radio network Triple J. Shortly after the release of the second EP, drummer Joe Piripitzi was fired as his lifestyle choices were said to be holding back the band, being replaced with Travis Demsey. Demsey was soon playing with the band at major festivals such as Pushover and the Falls Festival, and was considered to drum very much in the style of Keith Moon.

After a year touring Australia, The Living End again headed into the studio to record something new to sell at their live shows. The result was the Second Solution / Prisoner of Society double A-side single.

Strike anywhere

Strike Anywhere emerged in 1999 from Richmond, VA. Vocalist Thomas Barnett (ex-Inquisition), guitarists Matt Smith and Matt Sherwood, bassist Garth Petrie (ex-Count Me Out), and drummer Eric Kane took a staunchly political and activism-minded approach to hardcore and punk traditionalism, drawing comparisons in both sound and vision to such stalwart acts as Avail and 7 Seconds. After an initial EP, Chorus of One, Strike Anywhere (named such after an old Inquisition song) joined up with Jade Tree, which issued Change Is a Sound in August 2001. Exit English followed in 2003, and the rarities collection To Live in Discontent in January 2005. Strike Anywhere hooked up with Fat Wreck Chords for their next full-length, Dead FM, released in June 2006. Tours both home and abroad followed through the next year; Sherwood amicably parted ways with the band in March 2007 to be able to settle down at home. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

Social distortion

In the late 1970s the first raw, sloppy, speeding guitar chords began to blare from the garages and backrooms of a Southern California suburb called Orange County. They echoed a sound forged in the preceding years in the seminal punk undergrounds of New York City and London.

By 1979, a 17 year old kid named Mike Ness had formed Social Distortion with drummer Casey Royer and brothers Rikk and Frank Agnew. The band’s world centered around Mike’s one-bedroom pad, dubbed “the black hole,” in a nondescript Fullerton, CA apartment complex. After meeting Dennis Danell, a punk loving classmate, Ness insisted Danell, who at the time didn’t play an instrument, join the band on bass. Royer and the Agnew’s soon split from the band and eventually form The Adolescents.

Local Los Angeles KROQ-FM deejay Rodney Bingenheimer embraced Orange County music, playing highlights from its major local bands, including Social Distortion, on his Sunday night radio show. In 1981, Social Distortion released their first single, “Mainliner/Playpen,” on the Posh Boy label. Around the same time, Mike Ness developed a reputation as a brawler resulting in a chunk of his left ear being bitten off during a confrontation at the Cuckoo’s Nest bar.

In 1982, Social Distortion, along with LA’s Youth Brigade and DC’s Minor Threat, are the subjects of the documentary “Another State of Mind,” which captures the band’s first stormy cross-continental tour in a beat up school bus. By late 1983, Social Distortion’s line up consisted of Mike Ness, Danell (now on rhythm guitar), bassist Brent Liles, and drummer Derek O’Brien. Released on the 13th Floor label, their debut album, Mommy’s Little Monster, gained the band a national name in punk circles. Returning home, the line up now included a nasty heroin habit for Ness. The madness that followed resulted in Brent Liles and Derek O’Brien bailing out of the band in the middle of a New Year’s Eve 1983 show.

Ness and Danell soon recruited John Maurer, another old school buddy from Fullerton to play bass and Christopher Reece, of the San Francisco band The Lewd, came in on drums. This lineup weathered Social Distortion’s toughest years, as Ness struggled with heroin addiction and the resulting series of jailings and detoxes, which finally ended in 1985. Ness is able to continue writing and hold the band together to being work on a new album. In 1988, Social Distortion emerge with the release of Prison Bound, an album whose moving title cut about a wasted life is one of the greatest songs ever to come out of Orange County. Ness turned Social Distortion’s albums into an ongoing dialogue about impulsiveness, its consequences and the hard struggle to overcome.

In addition to the early punk of The Ramones and The Clash, the band’s sound was culled equally from Ness’ love of roots music, specifically early country music greats like Hank Williams and the early blues recordings of the South. As Ness would later declare to Social Distortion audiences, “Without good black music, there would be no good white music.”

The self titled Social Distortion album followed in 1990. It is SD’s first release on a major label. The success of singles “Story Of My Life” and “Ball And Chain,” along with their remarkable cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire,” make the album Social Distortion’s first Gold record. The band are asked to join Neil Young on tour, beginning the process of bending punk expectation. They soon return with 1992’s Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell lead by the blistering single “Bad Luck,” the album also goes Gold. A co-headlining tour with The Ramones follows.

The band took an extended hiatus following the release of Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, and did not return to the studio until the fall of 1995. Earlier that year, Time Bomb Recordings re-issued Mommy’s Little Monster, Prison Bound, and released the single compilation Mainliner, Wreckage from the Past. Social D return in 1996 with a new album, White Light White Heat White Trash, and a new drummer, Chuck Biscuits of Black Flag and D.O.A. fame. The album is a success atop radio favorites “I Was Wrong” and “When The Angels Sing.” The band sign up as one of the main draws of the 1997 Warped Tour and then record and release the live album Live At The Roxy in 1998.

A solo record, Cheating At Solitaire, was released by Mike Ness in 1999. The album is an homage to the classic country, blues, rockabilly, and folk that shaped him as a songwriter. Later that same year Ness released Under The Influences, a collection of cover tunes further showcasing his love of American roots music with songs written by legends Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, and Carl Perkins among others.

On February 29, 2000, then 38-year old guitarist Dennis Danell dies suddenly of heart failure. At the time Mike is quoted: “I am saddened beyond any possible form of expression. Dennis and I have been friends since boyhood, starting Social Distortion while we where in high school. My deepest regrets to his family.” In the Fall of 2000, Jonny “2 Bags” Wickersham (guitar) and Charlie Quintana (drums) officially join Social Distortion. 3 years later Social Distortion head into the studio to record a new record – their first full-length studio record in 7 years and the first record without Dennis Danell. A live DVD, Live in The Orange County, is released in 2004. On August 5, 2004, after 20 years of serving as Social Distortion’s bass player John Maurer decides to leave the band for personal reasons after having completed the recording of Sex, Love and Rock’n’ Roll, the new Social Distortion album.

The album is well received nationwide, bolstered by the success of the single “Reach For The Sky.” Brent Harding of Ness’ solo touring band joins Social Distortion as their full time bassist. In 2005, the band go on to sell out a record 6 nights at The Wiltern theater in Los Angeles, that’s in addition to the record 37 shows sold out as part of their regular year end multi-night stands at House Of Blues clubs across the Southwest – an almost annual tradition since 2001.

Ramones

In the mid-'70s the Ramones shaped the sound of punk rock in New York with simple, fast songs, deadpan lyrics, no solos, and an impenetrable wall of guitar chords. Twenty years later, with virtually all of their peers either retired or having moved on to forms other than punk, Joey and Johnny Ramone, the band's core, continued adamantly to parlay the same determinedly basic sound. The cultural importance of the Ramones became most apparent in 2001, when leader Joey Ramone was eulogized not only in the rock press but the New York Times and other general media.

The group formed in 1974 after the foursome graduated or left high school in Forest Hills, New York. The original lineup featured Joey on drums, Dee Dee sharing guitar with Johnny, and Tommy as manager, but they soon settled on their recording setup. Their name and pseudonym came via Paul McCartney, who had briefly called himself Paul Ramon back when the Beatles were the Silver Beatles. The Ramones gravitated toward the burgeoning scene at CBGB, where their 20-minute sets of rapid-fire, under-two-and-a-half-minute songs earned them a recording contract before any of their contemporaries except Patti Smith.

In 1976 Ramones was a definitive punk statement, with songs like “Beat on the Brat,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”- 14 of them, clocking in at under 30 minutes. The group traveled to England in 1976, giving the nascent British punk scene the same boost they had provided to New Yorkers. Before the year was out, Ramones Leave Home had been released. As throughout its career, the band toured almost incessantly.

With their next two singles, the group began to soften their sound slightly. “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker” and “Rockaway Beach” made explicit their debt to ’60s AM hit styles such as bubblegum and surf music, and both made the lower reaches of the Top 100. They were included on Rocket to Russia, which also contained their first ballad, “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.” At this point Tommy quit the group, preferring his behind-the-scenes activity as coproducer, “disguised” as T. Erdelyi (his real name).

His replacement was Marc Bell, henceforth dubbed Marky Ramone. He was formerly one of Richard Hell’s Voidoids and before that a member of Dust, who recorded a pair of albums during the ’60s. His first LP with the Ramones, Road to Ruin, was their first to contain only 12 songs and their first to last longer than half an hour. Despite their glossiest production yet, featuring acoustic guitars and real solos, its two singles, “Don’t Come Close” and a version of the Searchers’ “Needles and Pins,” failed to capture a mass audience. Neither did their starring role in Roger Corman’s 1979 movie Rock ’n’ Roll High School.

As the 1980s began, the Ramones tried working with noted pop producers Phil Spector (End of the Century) and 10cc’s Graham Gouldman (Pleasant Dreams), but commercial success remained elusive. After Subterranean Jungle, Marky Ramone departed, to be replaced by ex-Velveteens Richard Beau. As Richie Ramone, the drummer played on four albums, before Marky returned in 1987. Too Tough to Die, with Eurythmic Dave Stewart producing the pop single “Howling at the Moon,” recaptured some of their ’70s energy, and “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” off Animal Boy offered cutting political satire. However, the remainder of the decade too often found them parodying their earlier strengths.

In 1989 the Ramones gained their widest exposure with the title track to the soundtrack for Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, but also underwent their most significant internal shift. Dee Dee departed, first to record, as Dee Dee King, a rap album, Standing in the Spotlight, and then to form the rock group Chinese Dragons. His post-Ramones career included publishing the autobiography Poisoned Heart: Surviving the Ramones and, in the late ’90s, playing with his wife, Barbara, and Marky Ramone in the Ramones spinoff unit, the Ramainz. A heroin addict and substance abuser for 14 years, Dee Dee had been the Ramones’ truest punk (going solo, he also joined AA); his departure signaled the end of an era, if not a style. AWOL from the marines at the time he enlisted in the band, C.J. Ramone infused youthful energy - he was 14 years younger than Joey and Johnny - but the band’s sound remained the same.

Mondo Bizarro, with a guest appearance by Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and songs that attacked both drugs and the PMRC’s Tipper Gore, ushered the band into the ’90s, their influence by then apparent in such rowdy outfits as Guns n’ Roses and the Beastie Boys. In 1994 they persevered with Acid Eaters, a tribute to ’60s idols like the Animals and Rolling Stones. With Joey sober since the start of the decade and Marky in recovery from alcoholism, they continued their relentless touring for two more years until their final show in August 1996. Marky formed Marky Ramone and the Intruders and has released two albums to date. Joey went on to manage the Independents, a horror-punk-ska band, to act in the indie film Final Rinse, and, in 1999, to coproduce a Ronnie Spector EP, She Talks to Rainbows. In 2001 he announced he had been diagnosed with lymphoma six years earlier and was undergoing treatment for the disease. He died that year. Little Steven Van Zandt presided over an all-star party on what would have been Joey’s 50th birthday, a month after his death. The U.S. Congress proclaimed May 19, 2001, Joey Ramone Day. After being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in March 2002, fellow Ramones Dee Dee and Johnny soon passed away; Dee Dee from a heroin overdose on June 5, 2002 and Johnny from prostate cancer on September 15, 2004.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They created fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY (do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels.

By late 1976, bands such as the Ramones, in New York City, and the Sex Pistols and The Clash, in London, were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical movement. The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world. Punk quickly, though briefly, became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive clothing styles and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.

By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore and Oi! had become the predominant mode of punk rock. Musicians identifying with or inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to post-punk and the alternative rock movement. By the turn of the century, pop punk had been adopted by the mainstream, with bands such as Green Day and The Offspring bringing the genre widespread popularity.

Rockabilly

This article is about the genre of music. For wrestler formerly known as Rockabilly, see Monty Sopp.

For the 1957 popular song, see Rock-a-Billy (song).

Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, and emerged in the early 1950s.

The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock (from rock 'n' roll) and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music (often called hillbilly music in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style's development. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie woogie, and rhythm and blues. Although there are notable exceptions, its origins lie primarily in the southern United States.

The influence and popularity of the style waned in the 1960s, but during the late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly enjoyed a major revival of popularity that has endured to the present, often within a rockabilly subculture.

The Subgenres of Punk Rock

By Ryan Cooper, About.com

Anarcho Punk

The foundations of this movement can be linked to one song. The Sex Pistols first single, "Anarchy in the UK", was the first time punk and anarchy would be connected, and it would give rise to this specific subgenre.

Anarcho punk isn't entirely about anarchy, but it is heavily politically motivated. Its lyrics often convey messages about political issues, including animal rights and anti-government stances.

Crass founded the movement, preaching communalism and the DIY movement. They dismissed punk bands like the Sex Pistols as puppets of the music industry, and believed that the only way to truly get your beliefs out was to produce your own music. This lead to Crass records, the original home of anarcho punk bands such as Flux Of Pink Indians and KUKL (a band that featured a young Björk).

While Crass preached political change through pacifism, many other anarcho punk bands believe that political change should be affected "by any means necessary."

Essential Bands: Crass, Flux Of Pink Indians, Against Me!, Subhumans, Propagandhi

Celtic Punk

Celtic punk is essentially punk rock accompanied by traditional Irish instruments. As a musical movement, it was founded in the '80s by the Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who were seeking to reclaim their Irish heritage.

Celtic punk bands often play a blend of traditional Irish folk and political songs as well as original compositions. While the plight of the Irish people throughout history is often a topic of their songs, it's not considered an overtly political movement.

Most recently, Celtic punk is seeing a rise to popularity as American bands such as Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys put their own spin on the subgenre, and give it a decidedly American flavor.

Essential Bands: A List of Essential Celtic Punk Bands

Cowpunk

Cowpunk is a strange marriage of country and punk rock. An offshoot of the psychobilly movement, cowpunk pays tribute to old country and honkytonk bands.

While it's more melodic than psychobilly music, and has a harder edge than later alt country bands, cowpunk tends to share a following with both of those other types of music as well.

Essential Bands: Jason and the Scorchers, The Old 97s, Uncle Tupelo

Emo

Early emo, or emotional hardcore, saw its birth in the '80s in the DC hardcore scene, when hardcore bands wanted the break away from the formulaic and violent constraints of straight-up hardcore. This spawned an era of exploration and experimentation, both musically and lyrically.

True early emo takes the basic structure of its hardcore predecessor and expands upon it. Its lyrics are often introspective and emotional, and the music is often more melodic, less-structured and not confined to the verse-chorus-verse structure in early hardcore sounds.

Recently, the term emo has been co-opted by mainstream, used to describe many bands that carry a combination of hardcore and indie rock sounds and dwell on emotional (and often depressing) subject matter in their lyrics. These bands are so far removed from the originators of the term that the description is not apt, although current fans of emo are often unaware of this.

Essential Bands: Embrace, Rites of Spring, Jawbreaker, Samiam

Gypsy Punk (AKA Immigrant Punk)

Essentially punk rock that reflects Eastern European roots, the idea of Gypsy Punk was essentially spawned by Gogol Bordello who, while they may not have been the first, are definitely the most well known. While the word Gypsy suggests roots in Romany, this isn't always the case, and bands under the Gypsy punk moniker often reflect Russian and Jewish musical traditions, as well as a wide variety of world music influences.

Utilizing traditional Eastern European instruments and music and mixing them with punk sensibilities, Gypsy Punk is known for its high energy, ethnic pride and sweaty, dance positive live performances.

Essential Bands: Gogol Bordello, Golem, Kultur Shock, Outer National

Hardcore

Hardcore punk's rise to popularity in the late '70s and early '80s happened in multiple cities throughout the U.S. almost simultaneously. Faster and heavier than other contemporary punk bands, hardcore songs were often very short and very frenzied.

LA's Black Flag and Washington DC's Minor Threat were the pioneers of the hardcore sound, which also ushered in the era of slamdancing at punk rock shows. While it had been around for a while at punk rock shows, the intensity of hardcore music really brought it into prominence.

Hardcore music's only unifying factor is its sound. The lyrics and messages vary from band to band. While some hardcore bands preach drug- and alcohol-free living, other bands write songs that are all about partying. There are even hardcore bands with a strong religious message.

Hardcore continues to be a subgenre of music with a strong following. While it paved the way for thrash metal, many of the early hardcore bands are still together, and new bands rise up constantly.

Essential Bands: Black Flag, Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, The Germs

Pop Punk

More melodic than hardcore, pop punk is a style that owes more to the Beatles and '60s pop than other subgenres of punk. While the sound began with the Buzzcocks, it was several years before it grew into what is arguably the most popular subgenre of punk today.

Pop punk's revival can be traced to 1988, with the establishment of Lookout! Records. Based in California, the label was releasing music that went against the California hardcore punk that was predominant on the scene at the time.

With bands like Screeching Weasel and some young kids by the name of Green Day, the label was systematically producing and releasing pop punk records. Like pop music, the sound was infectious.

In 1994, Green Day's album Dookie became a huge commercial success, and other pop punk bands like the Offspring and NOFX quickly followed suit. Pop punk bands continue to consistently climb the charts, and pop punk continues to be the most commercially successful type of punk rock.

Essential Bands: Buzzcocks, Green Day, Screeching Weasel, Offspring, NOFX, The Descendents, blink-182, New Found Glory, Sum 41

Psychobilly

Psychobilly is a blend of '50s rockabilly music and punk rock. It steals its name from a lyric in Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time", where he sings about a "psychobilly Cadillac".

Psychobilly owes a lot to '50s culture as well. Predominant themes are the themes that were considered underground in the '50s. This includes science fiction and horror films. Bands often play upright bass and vintage organs rather than modern instruments. People in the psychobilly scene often dress in '50s fashions as well.

Essential Bands: The Cramps, Hillbilly Hellcats, The Reverend Horton Heat

Riot Grrrl

Riot grrrl was a relatively short-lived but very important punk rock movement. As a scene it encompassed not only bands and music, but printed zines and punk culture as well.

A politically-motivated movement, riot grrrl had an agenda that covered feminism as whole, focusing on gender equality in the punk scene. The lyrics of the bands also addressed other charged issues, including domestic violence and rape.

The stronghold of riot grrrl culture was in Washington, where all-female bands like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile were demanding to be noticed. Huggy Bear brought the scene to the UK.

While it has essentially died out, riot grrrl's messages live on. Today, the punk scene is less male-dominated and more aware of women's issues.

Essential Bands: Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, Huggy Bear

Ska Punk

Many of the London neighborhoods where punk became popular with were heavily integrated with a large Jamaican population. This lead to the creation of ska punk. Ska punk blends the rhythms of Jamaican ska with the heavier beats of punk. It's similar to traditional ska, but faster and heavier. Horn sections are common in ska bands as well.

Many early punk bands, most notably the Clash, experimented with ska and reggae beats at some point in their careers. They didn't make it the foundation of their sound like many American ska punk bands would in the late '80s and early '90s, when the scene really began to grow.

Essential Bands: Operation Ivy, Citizen Fish, Less Than Jake, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Street Punk

Also known as Oi, the street punk movement started in the late '70s. Directed toward the working class and inner-city residents, it was intended as a direct reaction to the first wave of punk bands. The first street punks felt that those bands and their fans were pampered members of the upper middle class and that their music didn't speak to the blue-collar punk.

Street punk is like the Gangsta Rap of punk music. Its sound is often harsh; early street punk lyrics dealt with poverty and police brutality. Another predominant theme in street punk music is promoting unity among the working class. Today, partying and social issues are just as likely to enter into the picture.

A large portion of the working class punk scene was and is composed of skinheads. At the same time the street punk scene was starting, racist organizations such as the National Front were also recruiting skinheads. This gave rise to misconception that street punk was overly racist. In fact, most street punk bands have reacted by crying out against racism.

Essential Bands: Cock Sparrer, Exploited, Swingin' Utters, The Cockney Rejects

A history of punk rock

A Brief History of Punk

By Ryan Cooper, About.com

The Foundations of Punk Rock

The beginnings of punk rock are often furiously debated. This is partially because everyone has different definition of punk rock, and partially because its foundation stones are found in several places.

"Punk Rock" was originally used to describe the garage musicians of the '60's. Bands like the Sonics were starting up and playing out with no musical or vocal instruction, and often limited skill. Because they didn't know the rules of music, they were able to break the rules.

The mid to late '60s saw the appearance of the Stooges and the MC5 in Detroit. They were raw, crude and often political. Their concerts were often violent affairs, and they were opening the eyes of the music world.

The Velvet Underground is the next piece in the puzzle. The Velvet Underground, managed by Andy Warhol, were producing music that often bordered on noise. They were expanding the definitions of music without even realizing it.

The final primary influence is found in the foundations of Glam Rock. Artists like David Bowie and the New York Dolls were dressing outrageously, living extravagantly and producing loud trashy rock and roll. Glam would end up splitting up its influence, doling out portions to hard rock, "hair metal" and punk rock.

New York: The First Punk Rock Scene

The first concrete punk rock scene appeared in the mid '70s in New York. Bands like The Ramones, Wayne County, Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, Blondie and the Talking Heads were playing regularly in the Bowery District, most notably at CBGB.

The bands were unified by their location, camaraderie, and shared musical influences. They would all go on to develop their own styles and many would shift away from punk rock.

While the New York scene was reaching its heyday, punk was undergoing a separate creation story in London.

Meanwhile, Across the Pond

England's punk scene had political and economic roots. The economy in the United Kingdom was in poor shape, and unemployment rates were at an all-time high. England's youth were angry, rebellious and out of work. They had strong opinions and a lot of free time.

This is where the beginnings of punk fashion as we know it emerged, and they centered out of one shop. The shop was simply called SEX, and it was owned by Malcolm McClaren.

Malcolm McClaren had recently returned to London from the U.S., where he had unsuccessfully tried to reinvent the New York Dolls to sell his clothing. He was determined to do it again, but this time looked to the youths who worked and hung out in his shop to be his next project. This project would become the Sex Pistols, and they would develop a large following very quickly.

Enter The Bromley Contingent

Among the fans of the Sex Pistols was an outrageous bunch of young punks known as the Bromley Contingent. Named after the neighborhood they all came from, they were at the first Sex Pistols shows, and quickly realized they could do it themselves.

Within a year, the Bromleys had formed a large portion of the London Punk scene, including The Clash, The Slits, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Generation X (fronted by a young Billy Idol) and X-Ray Spex. The British punk scene was now in full swing.

The Punk Rock Explosion

By the late '70s, punk had finished its beginning and had emerged as a solid musical force. With its rise in popularity, punk began to split into numerous sub-genres. New musicians embraced the DIY movement and began to create their own individual scenes with specific sounds.

In order to better see the evolution of punk, check out all of the subgenres that punk split off into. It's a list that's constantly evolving, and it's only a matter of time before more categories appear.

Know Your Punk Drums Better By: Victor Epand

Drums are one of the most popular of musical instruments. Drummers all over the world have been making the effort to create a drum set that would truly suit the appetite of music lovers all over the world. One of the primary characteristics of a drum is that it can produce indefinite low and high-pitched sounds constantly.

Punk rock was based on anti-establishment rock music genre in the mid 70s, had the punk drums in their arsenal. The punk drummers made a name for them with playing with the shorter version of the rock. The right punk drum kit gear depends on features like playing style, personal penchant, monetary funds, and moving options of the drummer. The hardware part was constituted by the cymbals and tom-tom stands and was considered an integrated part of the base drum kit. Drums and cymbals are considered the breakable part of the collection as it goes through rigorous wear and tear.

One or two electric guitars, an electric bass, a drum kit, the vocals constitute the distinctive punk rock instrumentation. During the mid 1970s people who did not have too much ability in music tried to express themselves through the new form of rock music. The anti institutional based drumming was quick to catch the attention of the public.

Punk drummers like to change their tuning with particular music intervals. This makes the distance between the tuned notes of one drum with the other consistent. As it is not based on any chromatic notes so the punk drummers can have any start point with the punk drums. Although there are many tuning opinions, the bulk of them revolve around the major chords. In addition, the time factor for the whole music length was shorter than the regular rock so the start with the punk drums was fast.

A drum key or a similar kind of device is used to tune the drum set. The tension of a drumhead is changed to tune it. The difference in tuning between same elements of a drum kit and other percussion element is quite significant. Punk drums are no different.

The punk drummer needs to have a detailed knowledge on the drum kit. The collection, which would increase with time, needs to be setup properly so that it does not get broken down in time of performance. Elements like hoops, lugs, and tension rods do have a key role to play in sounding the drum music audible and sweet to the ear. Lugs are metallic pieces that are attached to the side of the drum.

Alternating with the hi-hat cymbals will help you keep the speed but make sure you are not changing the beats. You can create interesting fills with fast music. Listening to good drummers will help you in building your own creative ways. One of the chief ingredients of the punk music is energy, so beating the punk drums with vigor would help in being attuned with the speed of the music.

Know Your Punk Drums Better By: Victor Epand