If you’re a fan of the Southern California variant of late 1970s punk rock, then you’re probably a fan of Black Flag and Social Distortion. You may also like Circle Jerk and T.S.O.L along with The Adolescents and Agent Orange. But you may or may not have heard of Shattered Faith. That’s understandable because they’re one of the most overlooked bands from that era.

The History

Shattered Faith was formed by Kerry Martinez who’s now playing guitar for the band U.S. Bombs and Spencer Bartsch who’s doing lead vocals for the band Firecracker 500. They began like most punk rock groups of the late 1970s, which meant they started playing in their homes.

In fact, they first made their initial demo tapes in Bartsch’s home during that time. Bartsch lived in Fountain Valley, and the band just about made it their home base. That’s because the Bartsch parents actually lived in Singapore. Spencer’s dad was a salesman who sold spare airplane parts throughout Asia and a Honolulu carpet cleaning business owner.

The freedom they had led to the formation of the band, and they managed to release two albums entitled Volume 1 and Volume 2. They don’t quite get the fame they deserved as other bands got all the hype and the glory, but they persevered anyway.

They broke up by the 1990s, but then they got together again for a new album (Volume 3) and a tour in 2016. This 3^rd album was actually made 35 years after the 2^nd one!  Continue reading →

Resonating Punk-Hardcore-Metal Music Over the Years

If you are a fan of fast and hardcore punk music with political lyrics, you should know more about Final Conflict punk rock band. The mix of punks and metalheads in their music made them one of the first bands to be part of the “crossover” genre.

Band Formation

Final Conflict was formed in 1983 with original members Jeff Harp (lead guitarist) and Johnny Daniels (vocals). Eventually, Dale Dang (drums) and Rob Justice (bass) joined the band. After several line-up changes, the only constant member is Jeff Harp who played the guitar.

Music Type

Known to be the first anarchist street punk/hardcore punk band from Los Angeles/Orange Country area, their songs often had messages tackling political issues like anti-war, anti-right-wing politics, women’s rights among many others. However, in one recent interview, the members said that even though their songs contain political lyrics, they are not pushing for any belief system. What they advocate is for you to live the life you want.  Continue reading →