The Adolescents
This article is about the punk music group The Adolescents. For the stage of life, see Adolescence.The Adolescents are a
punk band formed in
1980 in
Fullerton,
California.
The Adolescents were formed by
Steve Soto after leaving
Agent Orange in December
1979. The original line-up was led by frontman
Tony Cadena, with
Steve Soto on bass,
Frank Agnew on guitar,
John O'Donovan on guitar and Peter Pan on drums. Both O'Donovan and Pan left in June and were replaced by
Rikk Agnew and
Casey Royer formerly of
Social Distortion and
The Detours respectively. The band created fast, energetic music that was at the forefront of the
Orange County punk music scene.
Later that year, the group released the classic hardcore single "Amoeba" on
Posh Boy Records. The track also appeared on the
Rodney on the ROQ compilation, assembled by L.A. DJ
Rodney Bingenheimer.
The Adolescents signed with
Frontier Records in January
1981 and recorded
The Adolescents the following month. It quickly became one of the best-selling California hardcore albums behind the
Dead Kennedys'
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. Despite this Rikk Agnew left and was replaced by
Pat Smear, formerly of
The Germs. This line up lasted until the end of June when Smear left (he would later go on to
Nirvana and the
Foo Fighters).
The Adolescents broke up in August 1981. Cadena formed
The Abandoned, Soto and Agnew joined
Legal Weapon, Royer formed
D.I. and Agnew joined
Christian Death after his departure.
Rikk Agnew made his solo album in
1983 then joined
D.I. with
Alfie Agnew, Frank and Rikk's younger brother.
In
1986 The Adolescents reformed with their original line-up and started to work on a new album. Before recording Casey Royer and Frank Agnew left the band. Royer had wanted to keep D.I. going (until
1995), and Agnew lost interest.
Sandy Hansen took Royer's place on drums and Alfie took Frank's place on guitar. They recorded
Brats in Battalions in the late summer. The record came out in August
1987 due to the band deciding to produce and release the album themselves with little cash or backing.
At the end of
1986 Alfie went to college and his place was taken by
Dan Coburn; by the end of the year Cadena and Coburn left.
In
1988 Rikk Agnew and Steve Soto decided to replace Coburn with
Paul Casey and start singing themselves. Casey left after four months and Frank Agnew replaced him on guitar, aftering touring the band recorded
Balboa Fun Zone.
The Adolescents broke up in April
1989. Steve Soto, Sandy Hansen and Frank Agnew started
Joyride and Rikk Agnew did a couple of solo albums.
The band regrouped to tour for the 20th anniversary of their self-titled album in
2001 and have continued to perform.
The Adolescents have a new release out on Finger Records,
O.C. Confidential in
2005. Finger Records is owned and run by Mel Schantz out of Orange County, California.
*
Alfie Agnew (Guitar 1987)
*
Rikk Agnew (Guitar 1980-89)
*
Jeff Beans (Bass 1982)
*
Dan Colburn (Guitar 1987-89)
*
John O'Donovan (Guitar 1980)
*
Sandy Hansen (Drums 1987-89)
*
Rick Herschbeth (Guitar 1982)
*Peter Pan (Drums 1980)
*Paul (Guitar 1988-89)
*
Steve Roberts (Guitar 1981-82)
*
Casey Royer (Drums 1980-87)
*
Pat Smear (Guitar 1981)
*
Tony Cadena*
Steve Soto*
Frank Agnew*
Derek O'Brien*
Frank Agnew Jr.Albums
The Adolescents (1981)
Brats in Battalions (1987)
Balboa Fun Zone (1988)
Complete Demos 1980-1986 (2005)
O.C. Confidential (2005)
Live Albums
Live 1981 and 1986 (1989)
Return to the Black Hole (1997)
*'Kids of the Black Hole' was used as the music for Mike Escamillas section in the 'Forward' BMX video produced by Etnies.
*The song 'Amoeba' was featured in the video- and PC game
Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3.
*'Creatures' was used in the Creature Skateboards video "Born Dead".
*
Dropkick Murphys made a cover of 'Who Is Who?' for video- and PC Game
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.
* Drummer Derek O'Brien was the former drummer for Social Distortion's Mommy's Little Monster Album
*
Official Adolescents Website*
Adolescents Lyrics
