Music Review: Band bears markings from punk forefathers

Published: Wednesday, October 16, 2002


In a world of bubble-gum pop music, 1208 models itself after bands like Skrew 32 and Pennywise. They are beef stroganoff, which is conceivably the farthest existing thing from bubble-gum.

How does this meat and potatoes punk band exist in the chewy, pink soundscape that is modern-day punk? And what really is the difference?

Epitaph Records owner and founder Brett Gurewitz helped start one of the most catalytic punk bands of all time. Along with singer Greg Graffin, the members of Bad Religion wrote socially conscious punk rock rather than merely droning on and on about beer and crotchety elders breathing down the necks of young rebellious teenagers.

Instead, Bad Religion chattered about political strife and international turmoil. It produced a new breed of punk rocker. And ideas became realities.

Punk animosity reached a new peak of awareness as Bad Religion convinced skeptics that — despite blows to the head, gangly piercings and tattoos — punks were capable of being intellectuals.

When Bad Religion left its home label Epitaph for Atlantic Records in 1993, Mr. Brett stayed with the band for two albums before he left to direct his attention towards his growing record label. Gurewitz decided to stay at home and sign magnum bands like NOFX, Offspring and Rancid.

While Bad Religion created music that only captured half of its original spirit, Gurewitz worked diligently at Epitaph, signing bands, producing albums and writing songs of his own.

In 1849, thousands of Americans rushed to California to bury their little paws in the pristine mountainside that John Steinbeck would later write about. Their greedy smiles and shifty eyes were after one thing — gold.

Gold helped Gurewitz found his record label in California. It also paid for the streets that were built and the garages where seminal punk bands from So-Cal got their start.

In the safe harbor of dark garages and smoky clubs, punk phenomenons like Black Flag and G.G. Allin screamed a lot and forced their veins to bulge out of their necks as though they were intent on breaking through that pesky dermal layer. Bands like Dead Kennedys sang about Cambodia and telephone booths.

A musical scene never looked more intentionally derelict. The West Coast punk rock idea was cemented.

In 1995, 146 years after the California Gold Rush, four punks influenced by the horde of intense and livid music they were surrounded by were so deeply entrenched in their love for punk rock that they decided to form a band. They named this band 1208, played their hearts out, and eventually got signed to Epitaph, where Mr. Brett magnanimously allowed them to create their first album Feedback is Payback.

1208 has Greg Ginn's — the guitarist from Black Flag — nephew Alex on vocals. It was produced by lead vocalist Fletcher Dragge from Pennywise and Darian Rundall. They assault the ears with harmony, disharmony and kinetic punk friction. They yell, sing about real life issues and churn their guitars like witch's brew.

1208's debut album has moments of adrenaline, moments of testosterone, and subtle undertones of estrogen. These moments are, respectively, energizing vocals and riffs, monster drum rolls, pummeling, heavy guitars and emotional melodies.

Their incorporation of these elements has helped make Feedback is Payback a roller coaster of punk get-up-and-get-at-'em West coast traditional hardcore.

The members of 1208 have chosen to approach punk rock with a simple and straightforward ideal. Without invoking the immaturity of many of their predecessors they are serious about what they do. They see punk rock as a job and a lifestyle.

And ideas became realities.