I was into metal before punk burst on the scenes in the late 70s. Living in a town that had a huge punk scene, got me involved with that music too.

Here are some of my homies doing what they do best.

Another band from the neighborhood.

Not any more. But we are all the same age and grew up together. I helped set up their first gig when members of the Adolescents were still in SD. They played a song called Amoeba that night.

Once the Adolescents recorded Amoeba, it got quite a bit of radio play and put Fullerton on the map as a punk hotspot. DI and Agent Orange among a few others also hail from this area.

Amoeba

Did you hang with Casey Royer? He was always a fun loving guy.

Casey's an old friend that lived up the hill from me. Great guy. He was the original drummer for Social D and then the Adolescents. Most of those guys moved down to the beach. Can't blame them as I did too for a long time before moving back. Nobody's left around here it seems.

When I was 12 I spent part of the summer in Fort Lauderdale with some relatives. It was fun cruising around with my cousin Sally and her boyfriend in his new car.

A song came on the radio that changed my musical tastes forever. Looking back it was a little punk, a little metal, but pure rock and roll. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before, that's for sure.

It may have started when mom took us to see this movie when I was six.

MC5

The best metal bands of the 70s didn't always get a lot of radio play.

Hard to say exactly what was the first band to play metal style music, but I'd have to say Cream might have invented it. Loud blues based music with power chords.

Righteous!!

I'd have to go with the 70s and 80s on both. Some after that. Maybe because that's what I listened to back then.

I'll see your Rust In Peace and raise you one!

OK you got me there, I'll have to go with something else for the time being.

Agent Orange

This band was an inspiration. Most of the punk bands from this area give these guys credit. For when they started doing it. And watching them play.

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Ramones.

A lot of people give Sabbath credit for starting it all, but since Cream was doing it two years earlier I give them the credit. Yardbirds may not have had that heavy sound, but they deserve a lot of credit for inspiring what followed.

Maybe they did have that heavy sound.

Does anybody remember this gem from the band Flipper?

The most thrashenest show I ever went to was put on by a local band called Attaxe. There was a lot of buzz for this band and the night I saw them at Jezebels there were record execs there looking to sign them. However the new singer Sully proceeded to incite a riot and the bouncers got up on stage and took their instruments away. So much for the big record deal.

Let's keep this thread a rockin'.

There came a time when there was no longer time for a twenty minute song.

Before punk, we still needed speed. And it was found here and there.

Can I play DJ for a while? Fading into a Thursday morning.

Imagine being at this show(warning terrible audio quality) but yes, I was there.

It was an interesting time as most old school rockers had no respect for punk at the time. Two different worlds. The punks taunted the rockers and in return they got beat up.

I tried to stay neutral, but shortly after I got my hair cropped, some goon that came in my work tried to give me a hard time about it. I just told him he could keep his Journey and his In thru The Out Door, but he best be moving along....

There was so much tension between early punkers and old school rockers it was ridiculous. Our senior year we had a rock and roll day at school and Mike Ness brought this poster and pinned it to a tree in the middle of the quad and lit it on fire.

That is a statement I will never forget.

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Nick Guilder opened for shit treak, I mean Cheap Trick on new years eve 1979. He had a hot child in the city.

I'm not sure what category this falls under, but it was a staple in my collection. I lent it to my girlfriends 10 year old brother and years later I ran into him and he was a full punk and somewhat of a drunk. A great drummer. He said this is what got him started.

It was a pretty good show. Nielson was getting a little cocky when he was ripping a solo and mentioned it was 10 times better than Ted Nugent.

You have to understand, at the time there was Foghat, Aerosmith, and Ted Nugent. Pick your poison. That's why I had to diversify.

Between all the garbage we heard day after day, once in a while a song comes on that strikes you as memorable without being ground into your head.

This may sound crazy but I thank the punk movement for my health. Like many I was a burnout. After listening to punk I got skinny and fit. I don't know if that's a coincidence or not.

It was a whole new scene...

Do you want to be a professional?

Punk came in all different flavors.

I had that poster on my wall, as many did. But it was time for a change...

I sat next to Ness in an art class before he formed Social D and I looked over and he was drawing this.

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Dennis Danell was one of the nicest guys you'd ever want to meet. RIP brother.

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Be Bop Deluxe

Dance of the Uncle Sam Humanoids

When I was 19... this girl I worked with really liked this song.

I kind of picked up on The Buzzcocks myself.

Seven pages in and has anybody mentioned The Sex Pistols yet?

I never cared for that Homosapien song. It was too repetitious and played to death on the radio. He was better with the Buzzcocks IMO.

Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto

The Jam

We went to see Stiff Little Fingers about then. Some Missing Persons were opening up.

It was a great show and I think they are still going strong.

Wasn't a big fan of Missing Persons but they had an awesome drummer in Terry Bozio.