Retro Chicken

When I was in high school, a friend of my sister made it his mission to teach me about the punk scene. He put together a tape for me that included bands like Mental Abuse, the Specials, the Misfits, the Circle Jerks and a few others. I was blown away, especially by the Circle Jerks.

The Circle Jerks were one of the better bands featured in the “The Decline and Fall of Western Civilization” – the classic film chronicling the early eighties LA hardcore scene (Fear and Black Flag were also in the movie). With minute-long songs at blistering tempos, the Circle Jerks exemplified an era and have been covered by everyone, including the Red Hot Chile Peppers and the Beastie Boys.

Fear back in the early days of hardcore. The band does a great job getting the music out in spite of the fans rushing the stage and knocking everything over. The clip is short (only about four minutes), but manages to include a bunch Fear classics like “Beef Baloney,” “New York’s Alright If You Like Saxophones,” and “Let’s Have a War” - also dig the guitar player’s dress.

I used to play with this band before they got signed. Billy Martin (from Medeski. Martin and Wood) was with them for about two weeks as well. We used to rehearse in Billy’s loft space in Brooklyn (it was there that I learned how to make a killer spinach omelet - I think his girlfriend taught me). They were a great band and really nice guys - I wonder what they are up to now.