The Mau Maus

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The Mau Maus
Scalded dogs.jpg
Left to right: Michael Livingston, Rick Wilder, and Danny Kupresan in 2000 at The Pitcher House in Redondo Beach
Background information
Origin Hollywood, California
Genres Punk rock
Years active1978–present
LabelsRachet Blade Records
Members
  • Rick Wilder
  • Michael Livingston
  • Scott 'Chopper' Franklin
  • Paul Mars
Past members

The Mau Maus, also known as The Mau-Maus, are an American punk rock band from Hollywood, California. They were formed by lead singer and sole constant member Rick Wilder in 1978 following the breakup of the glam rock and proto-punk band, The Berlin Brats, in 1976. [1] [2] The band is closely tied to the late first-wave punk scene in California. Their signature song, “(I’m) Psychotic,” was first performed by the Berlin Brats and appeared in a scene in the classic stoner film Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978). [3]

Contents

Background

The original line-up was from Hollywood, California was Greg Salva on guitar (later David Daniel), Roderick Donahue on bass, and Rick Torres on drums. They started out playing at The Masque in Hollywood. Salva was replaced by Michael Livingston in 1979 after Salva moved to New York City and Donahue was replaced first by Oscar Harvey and then by Scott Franklin (onetime bassist in The Cramps). Wilder had been chosen to be the MC of the Penelope Spheeris movie The Decline of Western Civilization but was dumped after he insisted he be able to say what he really thought of every act before their clip, hinting that it was probably not going to be complimentary. [4]

One of the original bands from The Masque era, [5] [6] the Mau Maus are conspicuous by their absence from Decline. Wilder's eccentric attitude toward the record industry and the legendarily self-destructive lifestyles of himself and his band members guaranteed that no record company would risk finances on the Mau Maus. This lack of recorded music contributed towards a long period of obscurity despite being well known by most in the early Los Angeles punk rock scene. The Mau Maus can be seen in the classic stoner film, Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke, the classic punk rock film, Rock 'n' Roll High School (starring the Ramones), appeared in the movie Cocaine and Blue Eyes (starring O. J. Simpson), and were included in the compilation album Hell Comes to Your House II.

Rick Wilder also showed up in The Weeknd's music videos for the songs "Tell Your Friends", "The Hills", and "Can't Feel My Face". [7] He is also the main character in Ariel Pink's music videos for the song "Dayzed Inn Daydreams". [8]

The Mau Maus’ long delayed album Scorched Earth Policies: Then and Now was released by Ratchet Blade Records in 2012. The first half of the album was originally produced by The Doors' Robbie Krieger (who also played guitar on the first track) in 1983 before being abandoned; the latter half of the album was produced by L.A. punk producer Geza X, who also remixed the 1983 Krieger sessions. [9]

Members

Current members


Former Members

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

References

  1. ↑ Sandberg, Patrik (April 12, 2016). "City of Angels: Rick Wilder". V . Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  2. ↑ Spitz, Marc; Mullen, Brendan (2001). We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. Three Rivers Press pg. 134. ISBN   978-0-6098-0774-3.
  3. ↑ Stegall, Tim (February 15, 2021). "10 essential '70s punk bands from Los Angeles you should already know". Alternative Press. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  4. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (November 13, 1998). "Anger and Poignancy of Gutter Punks in 'Decline'" (PDF). Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 2, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  5. ↑ Chick, Stevie (2009). "4". Spray Paint The Walls: The Story of Black Flag. Omnibus Press. pp. 125–126.
  6. ↑ Belsito, Peter; Davis, Bob (1983). Hardcore California: A History of Punk and New Wave. San Francisco: San Francisco: Last Gasp of San Francisco. pp. 1, 22, 40.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  7. ↑ Ducker, Eric (October 7, 2015). "How This Glam Rock OG Became the Weeknd's Video Muse". Pitchfork . Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ Hilleary, Mike (January 26, 2015). "Watch: Ariel Pink - "Dayzed Inn Daydreams" Video". Under the Radar . Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  9. ↑ Nine-K, Ben. "The Mau Maus". Performer. Performer Publications. Archived from the original on October 23, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  10. ↑ "CMJ New Music Report" (PDF). CMJ New Music Report. 10 (35). Mineola, New York: CMJ Holdings Corp: 9. February 27, 1984. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  11. ↑ Sebastian, Matt (February 28, 2018). "Burning Britain' box set to tell story of independent U.K. punk from 1980 to 1983". Slicing Up Eyeballs. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
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