| Circle Jerks | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hermosa Beach, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Hardcore punk, punk rock |
| Years active | 1979–1989 1994–1995 2001–present |
| Label(s) | Frontier Records Faulty Products LAX Records Combat Records Relativity Records Mercury Records |
| Associated acts | Bad Religion Black Flag Black President |
| Website | http://www.officialcirclejerks.com/ http://www.myspace.com/circlejerx |
| Members | |
| Keith Morris Greg Hetson Zander Schloss Kevin Fitzgerald |
|
| Former members | |
| Roger Rogerson Earl Liberty Chris Poland Lucky Lehrer Chuck Biscuits Keith Clark |
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The Circle Jerks are a hardcore punk band formed circa 1979 in Hermosa Beach, California. Hermosa Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Frontier Records is an Independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher. Faulty Products was the holding company which includes the UK record labels of Miles Copeland (the elder brother of Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police Combat Records was an Independent record label from New York City. Relativity Records is an American Record label founded by Clive Davis. Mercury Records is a Record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US and are both subsidiaries of Bad Religion is an American Punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass Greg Graffin (vocals Brett Black Flag was a Hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist Black President is an American Punk rock supergroup. It was formed in 2005 by Circle Jerks / Bad Religion guitarist Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961 in St Louis Missouri) is a Los Angeles California based musician actor and composer best known as bass Chris Poland (born December 1, 1957) is a Jazz - fusion guitar player Lucky Lehrer is a drummer from Los Angeles California, voted the best punk drummer of all-time by fanzine Flipside. Chuck Biscuits (real name Charles Montgomery (born April 17, 1965) was a Drummer for Victorian Pork, D Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s Hermosa Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was formed by Black Flag's original singer, Keith Morris, and future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. Black Flag was a Hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Bad Religion is an American Punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass Greg Graffin (vocals Brett Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California They were among the preeminent punk bands of the L. A. scene in the early 1980s.
The band broke up and reformed twice, sometimes with different bass players and/or drummers. The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the The drum is a member of the percussion group technically classified as a Membranophone. They disbanded for the first time after the release of their fifth album, 1987's VI, as Hetson decided to continue touring and releasing a number of albums with Bad Religion. VI is the fifth album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks (although a popular misconception is that this is their sixth record which was released in However, they reunited around 1994 and recorded a reunion album, Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities, in the following year, then a tour followed. Oddities Abnormalities and Curiosities is the sixth Studio album by the Circle Jerks, which was released in 1995 After that, the Circle Jerks once again parted ways as Hetson was still involved in Bad Religion, but reunited again around 2001. The band has continued touring ever since.
To date, the Circle Jerks have released six full-length studio albums, one compilation, live album and live DVD. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Their last studio release, Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities, came out in 1995 and is the only reunion album the band has released to date. Rumor has it that the Circle Jerks are supposedly gearing up for a new studio album, but nothing has surfaced and little is known whether they have begun work on it. [1] If it is released, this will be their first album of new material in 13 years.
Many of today's punk groups cite the Circle Jerks as an influence, including Anti-Flag[2], Dropkick Murphys[3], and Pennywise[4]. Anti-Flag is an American Punk band from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, U Pennywise is an American Punk rock band that was formed in 1988 and is named after the monster from the critically acclaimed Stephen King novel
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Lead vocalist Keith Morris was an original member of Black Flag, co-founding the band with Greg Ginn and recording the Nervous Breakdown EP with them before suddenly departing the group in 1979. Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is a Guitarist, Songwriter and singer This article refers to a music recording For the more general use of this term see Mental breakdown. Morris formed Circle Jerks along with guitarist Greg Hetson, bassist Roger Rogerson (a classically trained guitarist), and drummer Lucky Lehrer. Lucky Lehrer is a drummer from Los Angeles California, voted the best punk drummer of all-time by fanzine Flipside.
Their debut album, Group Sex was released in 1980 on the Frontier Records label; its 14 songs totaled out at 15 minutes. Group sex is Sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time Frontier Records is an Independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher. It featured some songs that Morris had written while in Black Flag (Black Flag claimed the songs were "theirs") and one song Hetson wrote the music to. The song Hetson wrote, was a guitar riff and solo deemed Hetson's "Signature". That same year, the group was one of several California punk bands to be immortalized in the Penelope Spheeris documentary The Decline of Western Civilization; live versions of five songs from Group Sex appear on the movie's soundtrack. Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American director, producer, and Screenwriter. The Decline of Western Civilization is a 1981 Rockumentary film directed by Penelope Spheeris about the Los Angeles Punk rock
In 1981, the group signed with IRS Records subsidiary Faulty Products and recorded their second release, Wild in the Streets, the title track of which is a cover version of a Garland Jeffreys tune. IRS (International Record Syndicate Records was a Record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg Faulty Products was the holding company which includes the UK record labels of Miles Copeland (the elder brother of Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police Wild in the Streets is the second album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks. Garland Jeffreys, Brooklyn New York) is an African-American and Puerto Rican Singer-songwriter. Faulty Products ceased operations several months after the release of the album, forcing Circle Jerks to find their third record deal in as many years. While they regained the copyright to Wild In The Streets, the original stereo master tape was lost, forcing the band to do a remix from the multi-track tapes when they reissued the album, along with Group Sex, on CD in 1988. The original can be found on Posh Boy Records' compilation 'Posh Hits Vol. 1'.
They signed a management deal with War producer/manager Jerry Goldstein's Far Out Productions, and recorded their third album, Golden Shower of Hits, in 1983; the album was released on Goldstein's LAX label. War is an American Funk band from California, known for the hit songs " Low Rider " " Spill the Wine " and " Jerry Goldstein (born 23 December 1970) is a Space physicist whose research has focused on the Earth's Plasmasphere, a high-altitude extension Golden Shower of Hits is the third album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks, which was released in 1983 The title track is actually a medley of six cover versions (of artists as diverse and unexpected as The Association, The Carpenters, and Tammy Wynette) strung together to create a story line of two people who fall in love, have an unplanned pregnancy, rush into marriage, and end up divorced. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo consisting of Siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette ( May 5, 1942 - April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer-songwriter Pregnancy ( Latin graviditas) is the carrying of one or more offspring known as a Fetus or Embryo, inside the Uterus of a Female Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. Another song from the album, "Coup D'Etat", was used in the soundtrack of Alex Cox's early film Repo Man, and the band makes an appearance playing an acoustic/lounge version of "When The Shit Hits The Fan". Alexander Cox (born December 15, 1954) is a British Film director and sometime Actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach
Not long after Repo Man had concluded its first-run release schedule, Rogerson and Lehrer left the band. They were replaced by Zander Schloss (who also appeared in Repo Man) and Keith Clark respectively. Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961 in St Louis Missouri) is a Los Angeles California based musician actor and composer best known as bass The band also changed labels for the fourth time, signing a deal with Relativity Records' metal imprint Combat Records, which had started a punk sublabel, Combat Core. The newly revamped group recorded Wonderful, and released it in 1985. Their newfound stability allowed the lineup to record a second album for Relativity, VI, not long afterward. VI is the fifth album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks (although a popular misconception is that this is their sixth record which was released in One track from VI, "Love Kills", had been commissioned by Cox for the soundtrack of the movie Sid and Nancy, and can be heard early on in the feature. Sid and Nancy, originally titled Love Kills, is a 1986 Film directed by Alex Cox.
Chris Poland played with them briefly after being fired from Megadeth. Zander Schloss had left the band.
The Circle Jerks dissolved around 1989 as Hetson left the band to continue playing guitar and release a number of albums with Bad Religion. Live recordings made during what would be their final tour at the time were immortalized in the live album Gig in 1992, their third and last release for Relativity. Gig is a live album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks. Track listing "Beat Me Senseless" - 207 "High
During the hiatus, Hetson would continue playing in Bad Religion; Schloss played guitar and bass with various acts; Clark initially retired from music; Morris worked menial jobs, battled health problems, and kicked a longtime dependence on drugs and alcohol. Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely
A long period of inactivity ended in 1994, when the Circle Jerks – along with the Wonderful-era lineup – reunitec and signed a major label deal with Mercury Records, a move that had a few business complications: Hetson was still with Bad Religion, who had signed a long-term contract with Atlantic Records, while Schloss had been part of a band contracted to Interscope. Mercury Records is a Record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US and are both subsidiaries of Atlantic Records ( Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American Record label best known for its many recordings of Rhythm & blues, Rock Interscope Records is an American Record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label After ironing out these difficulties, the band recorded Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities and released it in the summer of 1995. To date, it is the band's last studio album recorded by any line-up. One track on the album, a cover of The Soft Boys' "I Wanna Destroy You", features backing vocals from pop singer/songwriter Deborah Gibson, who had just wrapped up a solo album with the same producer the Circle Jerks were using. The Soft Boys were an influential Post-Punk / Neo-psychedelia band from Cambridge England often associated with the early Punk rock movement Deborah Ann "Debbie" Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American Singer-songwriter who was a teen pop icon Gibson later made a surprise appearance at the Circle Jerks' performance at punk mecca CBGB's to perform "I Wanna Destroy You" with the band. CBGB ( Country, Blue Grass, and Blues) was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan Despite such media attention, the group suddenly imploded three weeks into a tour behind the album. The breakup would not be totally permanent, but Clark left music for good afterward.
Further Circle Jerks activity was suddenly held up when Morris announced that he had been diagnosed with diabetes in 2000. Diabetes mellitus (ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz or /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtəs/ /məˈlaɪtəs/ or /ˈmɛlətəs/ often referred to simply as diabetes ( Ancient Greek: grc A multitude of punk bands held benefits on his behalf.
The core of Morris, Hetson, and Schloss continues to tour to the present day, in between other commitments -- Hetson is still a full-time member of Bad Religion, Schloss also plays bass for the reformed first-generation LA punk band The Weirdos, and Morris was an A&R director for V2 Records until the label was suddenly shuttered by its owners in 2007. The Weirdos were a Punk rock band from Los Angeles California. V2 redirects here For the rocket see V-2 rocket. For other meanings see V2 (disambiguation. Original bassist Roger Rogerson died in 1996 of a drug overdose. The term drug overdose (or simply overdose or OD) describes the Ingestion or application of a Drug or other substance in quantities Lucky Lehrer became a sunglasses seller and is still living in Southern California.
In 2004, The Circle Jerks shot a live concert DVD as part of Kung-Fu Records' live DVD series The Show Must Go Off!. Kung Fu Records is an American Independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the Punk The Show Must Go Off! is a live concert DVD series produced by Kung Fu Films, an offshoot of the Kung Fu Records label run by Vandals The band plays many songs from all six of their studio albums, plus - in nods to Schloss' other current band and Morris' salad days, respectively - covers of The Weirdos' "Solitary Confinement" and Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown".
For several years, there has been a rumored Circle Jerks album to feature new material, which had been said to be imminent; although no further formal announcement has been made. In late February 2007, the band released their first new song since 1995 on their Myspace page, titled "I'm Gonna Live", adding more anticipation to the possibility of a new album emerging. February 2007 is the second month of the year It began on a Thursday and 28 days later ended on a Wednesday.
One of the reasons why the Circle Jerks have yet to release any albums since their last record in 1995 and reunion in 2001 is their various other activities, most obviously Greg Hetson's. Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California His band, Bad Religion, released a compilation in 1995, an album in 1996, a live album in 1997, an album in 1998, 2000 and 2002, another compilation in 2002, an album in 2004, a live DVD in 2006 and an album in 2007. Also in 2004, they released remastered issues of their albums between Suffer and Generator as well as their 1982 debut How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, where Hetson contributed one track on that album prior to joining Bad Religion. Suffer is the third full-length album (and fifth recording overall by the American Punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on Generator is an acclaimed album by the Punk rock band Bad Religion. How Could Hell Be Any Worse? is the first full-length album released by influential punk band Bad Religion.
More recently, the Circle Jerks have been featured on a television commercial for XM Satellite Radio. They are the first band played in the commercial and the song is "Operation" from the album Group Sex.
| Dates & releases | Members & prominent instruments | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-1983 Group Sex Wild in the Streets and Golden Shower of Hits |
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First incarnation of the Circle Jerks. Group sex is Sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time Wild in the Streets is the second album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks. Golden Shower of Hits is the third album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks, which was released in 1983 Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Lucky Lehrer is a drummer from Los Angeles California, voted the best punk drummer of all-time by fanzine Flipside. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells |
| 1983-1984 live shows only |
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This line-up also contributed tracks to the Repo Man soundtrack. Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Chuck Biscuits (real name Charles Montgomery (born April 17, 1965) was a Drummer for Victorian Pork, D A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells |
| 1984-198? Wonderful and VI |
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| 198?-1989 live shows only |
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Final line-up before disbanding. VI is the fifth album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks (although a popular misconception is that this is their sixth record which was released in Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961 in St Louis Missouri) is a Los Angeles California based musician actor and composer best known as bass The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder Chris Poland (born December 1, 1957) is a Jazz - fusion guitar player The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells |
| 1989-1994 | SPLIT | Hetson was busy playing in Bad Religion during this time. Bad Religion is an American Punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass Greg Graffin (vocals Brett |
| 1994-1995 Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities |
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Reunion of the Wonderful line-up. Oddities Abnormalities and Curiosities is the sixth Studio album by the Circle Jerks, which was released in 1995 Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961 in St Louis Missouri) is a Los Angeles California based musician actor and composer best known as bass The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells |
| 1995-2001 | SPLIT | Hetson continued playing in Bad Religion during this time. Bad Religion is an American Punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass Greg Graffin (vocals Brett |
| 2001-present |
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| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Group Sex | Frontier | LP/CD | Debut album. Keith Morris (born September 17 1962 is the co-founder and former lead singer of the Punk rock band Black Flag along with guitarist Greg Ginn Greg Hetson (born June 29 1961) is an American guitarist He was born in Brooklyn New York and has lived in Los Angeles California An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder Zander Schloss (born August 7, 1961 in St Louis Missouri) is a Los Angeles California based musician actor and composer best known as bass The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells Events January January 1 - The year starts off with a strong Disco backlash which causes the majority of musicians to abandon the use of real instruments Group sex is Sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time Frontier Records is an Independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher. |
| 1982 | Wild in the Streets | Frontier | LP/CD | Produced by David Anderly and Gary Hirstius |
| 1983 | Golden Shower of Hits | Allegiance | LP/CD | |
| 1985 | Wonderful | Combat | LP/CD | |
| 1987 | VI | Combat | LP/CD | Final album before splitting up for good. See also 1982 in music (UK Musical groups established in 1982 Record labels established in 1982 Wild in the Streets is the second album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks. Frontier Records is an Independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher. Major releases Michael Jackson's Thriller, the highest-selling album of all time as well as the best-selling album of 1983 and 1984 was released Golden Shower of Hits is the third album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks, which was released in 1983 Events January January 28 - Various artists, under the group name USA For Africa, including Ray Charles Combat Records was an Independent record label from New York City. See also Musical groups established in 1987 Record labels established in 1987 Events VI is the fifth album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks (although a popular misconception is that this is their sixth record which was released in Combat Records was an Independent record label from New York City. |
| 1995 | Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities | Mercury | CD |
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| 2008/2009 | Untitled 7th Studio Album | Unknown | CD |
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| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Group Sex/Wild in the Streets | Frontier | CD |
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| 1992 | Gig | Combat | CD | Live album. This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992 Gig is a live album by the hardcore band Circle Jerks. Track listing "Beat Me Senseless" - 207 "High Combat Records was an Independent record label from New York City. |
| Year | Title | Label | Format | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Show Must Go Off! | Kung Fu | DVD |
They also made an appearance at the Smoke Out festival in LA Along with Snoop Dogg, Kotton Mouth Kings, and Everlast. Events January 1 - In most of Europe copyright expired on a number of classic pop and rock-and-roll songs recorded in 1954 and earlier including The Show Must Go Off! is a live concert DVD series produced by Kung Fu Films, an offshoot of the Kung Fu Records label run by Vandals