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The Germs were an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1976 to 1980. The band's main early lineup consisted of singer Darby Crash, guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Lorna Doom, and drummer Don Bolles. They released only one album, 1979's (GI), produced by Joan Jett, and were featured the following year in Penelope Spheeris' documentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, which chronicled the Los Angeles punk movement.
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In the United States, California is commonly associated with the film, music, and arts industries; there are numerous world-famous Californian musicians. Hardcore punk, hip hop, country, and heavy metal have all appeared in California. Furthermore, new genres of music, such as surf rock and third wave ska, have their origins in California.
The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary Punk: Attitude (2005), vocalist Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys cites the Screamers as a key influence on their group and as one of the great unrecorded groups in rock history.
From a Basement on the Hill is the sixth and final studio album by the American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Recorded from 2000 to 2003, and faced with multiple delays due to Smith's personal problems that resulted in his death, it was released posthumously in the UK and Europe on Domino on October 18, 2004, and in the US the following day on October 19, 2004 through record label ANTI-, almost a year after his death.
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Paul Roessler is an American musician and record producer. Roessler was a prominent member of the L.A. punk scene during the late 1970s and 1980s. He played keyboards in bands such as The Screamers, Twisted Roots, 45 Grave, Nervous Gender, SAUPG, Geza X and the Mommymen, Mike Watt and the Secondmen, Nina Hagen and The Deadbeats. Roessler has also released solo recordings such as "Abominable," "Curator," "The Arc," "6/12" and a rock opera entitled "Burnt Church" with Jeff Parker. He currently works as a record producer at Kitten Robot Studios in Los Angeles, California. He is the brother of Kira Roessler, formerly of Black Flag, and the son of underwater photographer Carl Roessler.
Humberto "Tito" Larriva is a Mexican/American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk rock groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been the Tito & Tarantula.
Celebrity Skin were a post-punk, glam influenced, hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. They were active from the mid-1980s till the early 1990s.
Hyde Street Studios is an American music recording facility in San Francisco, California. Located at 245 Hyde Street and previously occupied by Wally Heider Studios, it became Hyde Street Studios in 1980 when it was taken over by local songwriter, musician, and independent record producer Michael Ward with his two partners Tom Sharples and former Tewkesbury Sound studio owner Dan Alexander, who initially had a 50 percent share in the business. Ward assumed full ownership in 1985.
References
- ↑ Bio at Allmusic
- ↑ "Isn't It Ironic?", Jerry Crowe, Los Angeles Times , June 11, 1997.
- ↑ "Bitch" at Billboard.com.
- ↑ Geza X interview, Sound Bites Dog.
- ↑ "Elliott Smith: All Things Must Pass", Jonathan Valania, Magnet , January 28, 2005.
