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 Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single "White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early days of MTV. The band also performed in the 1980 film Xanadu, singing the rock portion of the cross-genre song "Dancin'" opposite a big band.
The Mabuhay Gardens, also known as The Fab Mab or The Mab, was a former San Francisco nightclub, located at 443 Broadway Street, in North Beach on the Broadway strip area best known for its striptease clubs. It closed in 1987.
Raymond John Pepperell, better known by his stage name East Bay Ray, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys. His guitar work was heavily influenced by surf music, jazz and rockabilly. Alongside Jello Biafra's astute lyrics and unique vibrato-based vocal style, East Bay Ray's playing was one of the defining factors of the music of the Dead Kennedys, and by extension, of the "second wave" of American punk. He is also the only Dead Kennedy to remain a constant member of the band since its formation.
The Units were an American synthpunk band, founded in San Francisco in 1978 and active until 1984. They were one of America's earliest electronic new wave bands, and have been cited as pioneers of synthpunk, also retrospectively known as "electropunk". The Units were notable for their use of synthesizers in place of guitars, and multimedia performances featuring multiple projections of satirical, instructional films critical of conformity and consumerism.
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics.
Stephan Douglas Jenkins is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and the lead singer of the alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. Jenkins began his musical career in 1992 as part of the short-lived rap duo Puck and Natty, alongside Detroit rapper Herman Anthony Chunn. Following the breakup of the duo, Jenkins and guitarist Kevin Cadogan formed Third Eye Blind in 1993. The band released their eponymous debut studio album in 1997, which went multi-platinum in the United States. Since then, they have released six more albums: Blue (1999), Out of the Vein (2003), Ursa Major (2009), Dopamine (2015), Screamer (2019), and Our Bande Apart (2021). As part of Third Eye Blind, Jenkins has received one Billboard Music Award and eight California Music Awards.
Jawbreaker is an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996, and again since 2017. The band is considered to be extremely influential to the 1990s emo and punk genre with their "poetic take on hardcore," as cited by James Monger of AllMusic.
Aaron Elliott, better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American musician, songwriter, roadie, and magazine editor, best known as the creator of the punk zine Cometbus.
Frank Portman, better known by the pseudonym Dr. Frank, is an American musician, singer, guitarist, and author. He is the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the Berkeley, California punk rock band The Mr. T Experience, and has remained the only consistent member of the band since its formation in 1985, performing on ten studio albums and five EPs. He has also recorded and performed as a solo artist, releasing the album Show Business is My Life in 1999 and the EP Eight Little Songs in 2003. In recent years he has pursued a writing career in young adult literature, authoring the novels King Dork (2006), Andromeda Klein (2009), and King Dork Approximately (2014).
The Nuns was an American rock band based in San Francisco and New York City. Best known as one of the founding acts of the early San Francisco punk scene, the band went through a number of hiatuses and periodic reunions, lineup changes, and changes in style. Overall, The Nuns performed and recorded on and off from the mid-1970s into the 2000s. While the band was centered on Jennifer Miro and Jeff Olener through its various incarnations, Alejandro Escovedo, who went on to later success as an Americana and alternative country musician, was also a key member during its years of fame in late 1970s San Francisco.
Roger Joseph Manning Jr. is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the bands Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, and Imperial Drag. He has also spent several years as a member of Beck's backing band, contributed to several recordings by the band Air, and toured or recorded with acts such as Jay-Z, Blink 182, and Johnny Cash. In 2005, he released his first solo record, Solid State Warrior, followed with Robo-Sapiens, Catnip Dynamite (2008), and Glamping (2018). He is usually credited by his full name to avoid confusion with the folk musician Roger Manning.
Jeff Alulis, better known by his stage name Jeff Penalty, is a writer, filmmaker, and musician, known mainly for his documentary work and his position as a former lead singer of Dead Kennedys.
The Mutants are an American band, notable in the history of San Francisco punk rock and new wave music. They are known for their theatrical performances which often include elaborate props, projections, and comical antics. They are credited with being one of the first "Art-punk" bands in San Francisco, and were one of the most popular bands of the San Francisco punk scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Actionslacks is an American indie rock band formed in 1994 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band has long been associated with the region's noise pop scene.
The Uptones are an American ska band, based in Northern California. Formed in 1981 by a group of high school students in Berkeley, California, The Uptones were influenced by the English 2 Tone sound, as well as the British mod scene, punk rock, and the original Jamaica ska sound. The Uptones were one of the first U.S. bands devoted to playing ska and were an influence on the burgeoning West Coast punk/ska scene. The band reformed with core founding members in the early 2000s and continued to play live shows throughout the Bay Area until 2018.
Meri St. Mary is an American punk poet, singer, musician and artist.
Monsula was an American punk rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States. The band was conceived in 1988 by Pete Zetterberg and Paul Lee in an art class at Benicia High School. With many member changes over the years, they performed regularly at Berkeley's Gilman Street Project and were known for their simple East Bay pop punk style of music. The band played hundreds of live shows throughout North America before disbanding five years later in 1993.
Phil Gammage is an American songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as a solo recording and touring artist in addition to his lead guitar playing for the New York post-punk rock band Certain General.
