Various Artists – Who Cares LP (1981 American Standard)
This is another in what is becoming a long line of records that should be reissued on some sort of CD but haven’t. This one also was a request from my pal, Rob V. The late 1970s/early 1980s was a hotbed of punk rock and hardcore in Southern California. There was more bands coming from there than anyone could keep track of, perhaps even if you lived there at the time! Sure you had the well known bands from the area that are now considered legendary and still sell records and CDs today, but you also had lots of more obscure bands that never got the recognition they may have been deserving of. This compilation contains at least two that fit that category.
In 1981, American Standard Records, a new label that to the best of my knowledge only put out this one record, formed and decided to put out a compilation of local bands who at the time either didn’t have, or would never put out, a record! The lineup was The Cheifs (whose only recorded output was a 7″ and one other compilation), Shattered Faith (who I don’t think had yet put out their Posh Boy 7″ when this compilation was recorded), AKA, Suspects (who to the best of my knowledge never put out a record of their own which is a shame), Political Crap (featuring Duane Peters, who still plays punk rock today), and Civil Disobedience. The only band from here who really lasted was Shattered Faith, who put out the 7″ on Posh Boy (as well as appeared on a compilation) and then put out two LPs and actually still are playing today.
The record is pretty standard fare SoCal punk rock/hardcore, which in 1981 was at its prime. Aside from my well-known love for The Cheifs, the Suspects tracks on here are the real standout for me and its a shame they never put out a record of their own (at least that I’m aware of). The Shattered Faith track featured here is a completely different version than what would appear on the aforementioned Posh Boy 7″. I also included a Suspects track for the sole purpose as they were really good and deserve to be heard. The whole record was recorded at Sound Off Studios in Compton, CA, a city that would later gain national recognition in the world of rap music thanks to the band NWA. I wonder if the studio still exists today.
As always, if you have any additional information, were in any of these bands, or were the person/people behind American Standard Records, please get in touch.
Listen to “I Love America” from Shattered Faith
Listen to “Hollywood Nightmare” from Suspects
Hey Mike thanx. Speaking of Political Crap, I just picked up the “Who Cares” documentary on Duane Peters life. Highly recommended if you’re into watching vintage sk8 contest footage and has a killer soundtrack as well.A reminder for you Verbal Abuse & Fang are playing in back yard in Little Village(southside) this fri.sept 9th for 8bux
The address is 2757 S Whipple and show starts at 6pm.It’s near cook county jail 26th & California just to give you a general idea.Other bands playing ar Living Hell from Minn. and Chicago locals Disrobe,
No Slogan, 30/30. There’s no reason to miss this one. Maybe you might be able to set up a distro table and get into the show for free as well as sell some merch! I’ll talk to the guy setting up the show.
I see Spence the singer from Shattered Faith all the time he hangs out at a local record shop I go to a lot, he has a new band which is pretty much Shattered Faith but they switched out one guy. There called Firecracker 500 and there pretty good, I am pretty sure they have a website but I don’t know if they have MP3’s or anything. I’ve seen them several times and was very impressed.
thats one of my favorite comps ever! i know the guy that started the american standard record label that put out the “who cares” comp. he later started national trust records who released the vandals “when in rome” record. i would love to know if there are any more suspects songs. they are sooooo good on that comp.
timmy.
Yeah Duane Peters early band. Too bad nobody comped the Scoundrelz, Tony Alvarez punk band from around the same time who sounded kinda like the Adoelescents
If I remember correctly, the Scoundrelz were on the first Skate Rock comp (which was only a cassette).
FYI – there was one other release on American Standard – the Joneses first 12″ EP “Criminals” with catalog # 1003. Since “Who Cares” is #1 – there might be a #2 or perhaps it was shitcanned.
I would love to reissue this on my label so if anyone could put me in touch with the label guy that’d be cool.
Now if there was only some way I can get Danny to send his label’s releases for review up here…
what label does danny g run? i sometimes see the guy who use to run american standard records around. i will see what he’s up to.
tim
I’d like to hear those Skoundrelz tracks, could you dump some more detail about the Skate Rock comp cassette? Say, anyone recall the Oziehares? They had a killer tune Mr Potatohead? (same era) Can anyone dump this (and any Joneses, for that matter) onta Usenet? I don’t want to rip rip rip records rekkids rekkids.. Thanks Heaps!!!
I know that Dave (Mitchell) has some old Skoundrelz shit on tape because he was the singer but he won’t let it see the light of day. We gotta go out there to Tujunga and just take that shit. We better hurry too before his pitbull gets much bigger. He’s a set dresser (movie scum) too so he’s gone all fuckin day.
Or maybe we could just ask him nice and he’d hand em over.
Oziehares? wow I thought I’d go another 20 years before I heard that name. Emil and um,… fuckin senile I am.
Danny G’s label is Warning Label Records
http://www.warninglabelrecords.com
humann… sorry to hear ’bout Stevo. I think I wnet to the 1st Water buff thingy at the Music Machine. Passed out drunk in a chair in front of the Vandals…
the singer that recorded the skoundrelz,skate rock stuff went on to form love canal, ever hear
“greatest sports ledgends” it’s all
about alva and the breakup of the first skoundrelz version……
We hate Skateboards! And Skateboarding!
Funny song
if you like love canal’s ode to
tony alva, ‘greatest sports ledgends’
you’ll love their new release..
“burrito’s, bagel’s, lox, and mohawks” live 1985 coming soon…
Hey You can down load “Sins of the flesh” a Skoundrelz song recorded for the Thrashin sound track at http://www.skoundrelz.com
as far as the other stuff we’ll be gettin the shit out there soon. check for updates coming soon at the website aboat load of new pics and a tribute to Mike Dunningan.
As far as Human is concerned my pitbull’s gonna eat you we know where you live. Punker
Dave
The Oziehares were wonderful; I used to doodle the names of their songs during slow times at work. I have a bunch of their gigs on dvd.
Yeah, Mr. Potatohead, Car Crash 80, I Don’t Need You, there were so many great songs.
Humann, Oziehares are Mark Alva, Emil, Margot, and Lane.
possum,
you remember who else played guitar for the oziehares?????
hey email me if you can @
kerrya61@hotmail.com
I think it was someone named Greg.
POLITICAL CRAP IS A GOOD BANDS BUT I CAN”T FIND ANY OF THEIR CD’S.
ohshit-eet ees der Hurrikan! Einige grosse schwartze Ami aus Kilifornien! Hilfe Hilfe! Gott im Himmel! Au! Au! Au!
Aber du hasst gesagt dass dein Hund beisst nicht!!
Komm zu mir mit der Hosen in ze Hand! Eets kalled Anozer State uf Mein!
Yu fookers better kip it dong. Punk lock fookers.
This was my favorite comp of the time and I’ve been trying to track down a copy for the last 12 years — does anyone have a copy I can buy? thx
Has anyone re-issued this comp yet? I went to high school with guys in Suspects and Civil Disobedience (Newport Harbor High School). I sold this record a long time ago and now really want it back. I’ve seen it on eBay for $100 and @ Vinyl Solution in Huntington Beach for $100 (that might be my copy, that’s where I sold it). Anyway SOMEONE PLEASE GET THE RIGHTS AND RE-ISSUE THE RECORD!
http://www.myspace.com/oc1981suspects
I was on it and I don’t even have a copy 🙂
If you know Pat from Civil Disobedience, he is living in Balboa and can tape you a copy. Looks like Cuomo or someone from the Suspects has a decent copy and put some MP3s on the site above…cool!!!
this is slugg. i will burn a copy on cd. write for details. no charge, just send a blank cd. it’s all about spreading the noise. sluggrox@hotmail.com
i’ve tried to find the tapes. if i can remember correctly, ron j. had all the stuff together and split with any $ and the tapes. that’s whati heard. if you got’em give em up for a cd re-issue. some people would like to hear it again. getin touch with me and i’ll do it.
Who Cares, finally, after years (ok one week last year) of searching:
http://wanderlander.blogspot.com/2008/12/who-cares.html
Also, I think there is a site with the Cheifs 7″ posted on it…………
Do you know how I can get a copy of this album? I listened to it in high school (Huntington Beach ubber alles) and it was one of my favorite comps…until someone stole it.
Thanks
the guy that put out the who cares record’s name is ron jaycocks.( i haven’t seen him in years, last time i think was at a motel on beach blvd) he was from the palm springs area. i can’t remember if he put out anything else on american standard. he started national trust i think with craig magahey from london exchange ( his brother denny was in a later but earlier version of shattered faith ) there are no good recordings of political crap except some ghetto blaster stuff i remember making in duanes dads garage studio. tom cuomo might have some suspects stuff thats decent. no civil disobedience stuff ( i was in a earlier version of that band they didn’t like my ted nugent leads) i think shattered faith is the only band on that comp that put out anything else ( posh boy and dennys dad had a lable they put that half live half studio record on ) i have seen a chiefs cd in the last 5-10 years not sure whats on it. i only remember the 7″ george gave me. aka i dont remember them putting anything else out either. if i saw the back of that record i could tell you more. it would refresh my memory. tom cuomo and i have a friend tom wilcox ( he sued the newport beach police department and won for profiling punks ) who made me a copy of the record on CD. do a google search for tom wilcox vs the newport beach poilce department he has a web site. maybe he will make you one. political crap on this record was duane peters ian mcfarland tony slug chris barkley, shattered faith spencer bartch, kerry martinez skitch blade ( richard katchadorian rip) ray goblin. civil disobedience pete broom pat newet garett merlino suspects tom cuomo john nelson aka was the zelner brothers maybe steve houston most of those bands were from newport/huntington/fountain valley im not sure where the chiefs were from long beach san gabriel valley ? not sure. this is what i remember. i sure i don’thave it all correct but it was almost 30 years ago. most of those bands are/were my friends even before punk rock. hope that helps anybody out
add this, regarding shattered faith, posh boy and dennys dad did NOT make that live/studio album together. what i ment was that shattered faith put out recordings on both posh boy and the label that craig and dennys dad had.
Mike D
We must know each other or have traveled in the same circles for years. I went to high school from 79 – 83 with Cuomo, Lucas, Pete Broom, Garret and others … Plus am friends with many others you mentioned above.
I just want Who Cares to be released on CD. I sold my copy long a go and refuse to pay $100 for it at Vinyl Solution … People are selling bootleg CDs on eBay – it would be great if the people on the CD would make money and not the bootleggers with CD duplicators.
The curious thing about the Cheifs cd that came out is that it had some unreleased stuff, the 7″ (proud owner) and the tracks from “Who Cares?” (of which I am also proud original owner). The Cheifs cd was put out by Dr. Strange (I think they are out of Azusa, CA)..so, the question is, where did they get those tracks? Do they have only the Cheifs tapes? By the way, you can download the Cheifs cd comp on iTunes (who’d thunk it, huh?) I swear I have another comp with some different Cheifs tracks, but I have to pull the vinyl out of storage to verify. I am have the Joneses “Criminals” ep….also on iTunes. There were a time when compilations were the best way of discovering new bands it seemed, without going to a show, and sometimes the only way to get a recording…now the difficulty is sifting through the piles of crap trying to uncover something worthwhile.`
The first album released by Ronny Jaycocks of American Standard Records was a rockabilly album called California Billy by the band
the Rockaholics.The Rockaholics original line up included sc8 legend Steve Olson who also ended up playing with the Jonesses later on.
im trying to locate Garrett Merlino from civil disobediance from newport hs from 1982 grad.Old friend and find him on FB where r u meatball?
shout out backwards thru time. trying to locate DAve MitcHell, who played in Skoundrelz, live on Washington in Venice w/me in 1981…I went on to play guitar in Joneses and Mau Maus. if you know his email or ARE him, write to nursejohnnie@gmail.com