Death rock is a rock music subgenre incorporating horror elements and gothic theatrics. It emerged from punk rock on the West Coast of the United States in the early 1980s and overlaps with the gothic rock and horror punk genres. Notable death rock acts include Christian Death, Kommunity FK, 45 Grave, Zombina and the Skeletones, and Super Heroines.
New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial success and their original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albums—New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)—became among the most popular cult records in rock. The line-up at this time comprised vocalist David Johansen, guitarist Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane, guitarist and pianist Sylvain Sylvain and drummer Jerry Nolan; the latter two had replaced Rick Rivets and Billy Murcia, respectively, in 1972. On stage, they donned an androgynous wardrobe, wearing high heels, eccentric hats, satin, makeup, spandex, and dresses. Nolan described the group in 1974 as "the Dead End Kids of today".
Cowpunk is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject matter, attitude, and style. Examples include Social Distortion, The Gun Club, The Long Ryders, Dash Rip Rock, Violent Femmes, The Blasters, Mojo Nixon, Meat Puppets, The Beat Farmers, Rubber Rodeo, Rank and File, and Jason and the Scorchers. Many of the musicians in this scene subsequently became associated with alternative country, roots rock or Americana.
The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to incorporate influences from blues, rockabilly, and country music. The Gun Club has been called a "tribal psychobilly blues" band, as well as initiators of the punk blues sound and cowpunk - "He (Pierce) took Robert Johnson and pre-war acoustic blues and 'punkified' it. Up until then bands were drawing on Iggy & The Stooges and the New York Dolls but he took it back so much further for inspiration."
Rich Kids on LSD (RKL) was a Californian hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Montecito, California, a suburb of Santa Barbara. They were associated with the "Nardcore" scene that evolved out of nearby Oxnard. Their music expanded over the years from West Coast hardcore to a mix of hardcore with rock and metal elements. This style, along with touring, made them very popular on the European scene, especially among skaters in the 1980s and 1990s. Guitarist Chris Rest was the band's only consistent member.
Lee James Jude Capallero, known professionally as Lee Ving, is an American musician and actor.
U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first hardcore punk bands.
The Effigies were an American punk band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. The band played its first show in 1980 and was active initially for approximately a decade, undergoing multiple personnel changes with frontman John Kezdy the only constant, before disbanding in 1990. The band released 5 albums and several EPs, most on the record label they founded in 1981, Ruthless Records, which was distributed by Enigma. Later albums were on the Fever Records and Roadkill Records labels. They toured the U.S. and Canada and played notable venues, including CBGB, Maxwell's, First Avenue (nightclub), Mabuhay Gardens, Paycheck's (Detroit), Exit (Chicago) and The Rathskeller, among others. They also received a significant amount of national airplay on college radio at a time when it was the only medium for alternative music.
The Silencers are a Scottish rock band formed in London in 1986 by Jimme O'Neill and Cha Burns, two ex-members of the post-punk outfit Fingerprintz. Their music is characterised by a melodic blend of pop, folk and traditional Celtic influences. Often compared to Scottish bands with a similar sound like Big Country, Del Amitri and The Proclaimers, The Silencers have distinguished themselves with their eclectic sounds, prolific output and continued career. Their first single, "Painted Moon," was a minor international hit and invited critical comparisons to Simple Minds and U2. In 1987 they released their first album A Letter From St. Paul, which included "Painted Moon" and another minor hit, "I See Red." Buoyed by the huge European hit "Bulletproof Heart", the band's third album Dance to the Holy Man is the band's commercial peak to date. Throughout the 1990s, The Silencers saw a popular taste shift away from their songwriter-based style of music toward grunge and electronic music.
Lou Miami was an American punk musician based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. His group, The Kozmetix, was popular on the local scene and released two EPs. He combined a rough punk sound with a glam-influenced choice of clothing.
Adrenalin O.D. was an American hardcore punk band from New Jersey that existed from 1981 to 1990. They are best known for playing extremely fast music accompanied by humorous lyrics.
The Cameo Theater was built in 1936 and is located at 1445 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida. The theater has a long history and was a major venue for punk and hardcore acts beginning in 1985, when Richard Shelter struck a deal with owner Zori Hayon to book shows there. The first show was held in July 1985 and featured Canadian punk band D.O.A.
Open Books & Records was founded by Ted Gottfried and Leslie Wimmer. The original store opened its door in October 1979 in Deerfield Beach, Florida, United States. The store's location changed several times finally ending up in North Miami Beach, Florida.
Jeterboy Records was an American record label of the 1980s and 1990s, based in Broward County, Florida. It was part of the South Florida Punk and Hardcore scene, and released music by The Eat, Larry Joe Miller, D.T. Martyrs, Johnny Tonite, Stan Still Dance Band, Spanish Dogs, and other bands.
Safety Net Records was founded by Miami Herald music critic Bill Ashton, and is co-owned by Jimmy Johnson. Safety Net released South Florida classics such as The Essentials' "Fast Music in a Slow Town" EP and The Chant's "Two Car Mirage." In 1988, Safety Net released "The Wilderness", an album by Charlie Pickett & the MC3.
The Chant is an indie rock band from South Florida that relocated to Atlanta. The band formed in 1984 and was originally composed of Walter Cz on vocals, guitars and mandolin, James "Bing" Johnson on vocals and bass, Todd Barry on drums, and Rich DeFinis on guitar. Notable later lineups included Frank Mullen on drums, Earl "Bubba" Maddox on drums, "Mighty" Joe Hamm on drums, Gregory Dean Smalley on guitar, and Pat Johnson on guitar.
Krishnacore is a subgenre of hardcore punk which draws inspiration from the Hare Krishna tradition. Although some hardcore punk bands had already made references to Krishna Consciousness in the 1980s, the subgenre was established in the early 1990s by the bands Shelter and 108. The name is a portmanteau of "Krishna" and "hardcore".
Peter Loveday is an Australian singer-songwriter.
Charlie Pickett is an American singer and guitarist, known as frontman for rock bands from Florida, most notably in the 1980s. In Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Pickett's music as "a brawling-roots mix of Johnny Thunders, Sun Records and trailer park Lou Reed in Florida bars."
Johnny Salton was a rock guitarist for bands from Florida from the late 1970s until his death in 2010. He is best known for his work with Charlie Pickett. According to Salton's friend and fellow guitarist, Peter Buck of R.E.M., "when he played really well, he just floated above everyone else."
