I've been meaning to do this for a while now. But for some ghey reason, I can't find the album "VI" anywhere, so I thought I'd hold off until I found it to do the band justice....... F'uck it. I'll get it in the next few years I guess. This is the band that inspired me to join these forums, so everyone should have at least one good reason to hate them.
The Circle Jerks
Current Members
Vocals: Keith Morris
Guitars: Greg Hetson
Bass: Zander "Snake" Schloss
Drums: Kevin Fitzgerald
Past Members
Bass and Guitars: Roger Rogerson
Drums: Keith Clark
Drums: John Ingram
Drums: Keith "Lucky" Lehrer
Record Labels
Frontier (1980-1982)
Avenue (1983-1984)
Combat Core/Relativity (1985-1994)
Mercury (1995-1996)
*Time periods are rough.
Late 1970's. Black Flag's Nervous Breakdown is one of the biggest and most influential punk records of the time period. Then seemingly out of nowhere, frontman Keith Morris leaves to form his own band. Looking back, which hardcore band do you see most of? Probably Black Flag more than Morris' second project. Look deeper into the band known as the Circle Jerks and you will probably never look back.
In 1979, Keith Morris joined former Red Kross guitarist Greg Hetson to form a new band called the Circle Jerks after the old frat house game (you should know what it means). The two soon recruited bassist Roger Rogerson and drummer "Lucky" Lehrer. Not long after their formation, the band released their debut album, Group Sex, in 1980. This album is considered by most hardcore purists to be an absolute essential album. I couldn't agree more. With the release of this album, the band completely changed the hardcore scene and sound. The songs on the album are fast, furious, and packed with raw energy. And none of them even reach the 2 minute mark. The Jerks made a name for themselves in the hardcore scene and ended up showing up in the movie, Decline Of The Western Civilization.
The band put out their second full-length album in 1982 entitled Wild In The Streets. The album was not received as well as their first album. This could be due to a number of reasons. One being that it wasn't nearly as revolutionary as the previous album. But now, you wouldn't be able to tell. A lot of people have heard the title track from this album first and fell in love with it, and then begin to like the Circle Jerks. The album is highly praised now, but for the time, it didn't fit well with people's expectations. "Lucky" Lehrer left the band shortly after release, because he thought the band would go downhill from there. The others stayed in the band and joined Avenue Records to release their third album.
John Ingram joined the band to record the next album, Golden Shower Of Hits. When this album was released, people knew the Jerks hadn't died. The band evolved into playing longer songs. They played songs more complex and heavier, but with the old Jerks humor. After the release of this album, the band took a two-year break. In the meantime a few noteable things happened. One being, Greg Hetson joined the well-known band Bad Religion. Two new members were added. Zander "Snake" Schloss on bass, and Keith Clark on drums. The band also joined Combat Core/Relativity Records.
After the break, the new lineup released their new metal influenced album, Wonderful. This album was received quite similar to Wild In The Streets. This album showed a new direction for the band. Some songs were slowed down replacing the old Circle Jerks signature loud, fast style. However, some songs were still played at the speed of previous albums. It was a turning point for the band, that unfortunately turned some people off. In 1987, the band released their next album on Combat, VI. VI acted in the same way Golden Shower did towards the backlash of Wild In The Streets. VI was highly praised and still is to this day. The album showed just where the borderline between punk and metal was. After the album's release, the Jerks became very low profile and did not do anything worthy of recognition until the early 1990's.
In 1992, the band released Gig, a live album. Then they sunk back into obscurity until 1995. That year the band released their last full-length album, Oddities, Abnormalities, and Curiosities. While not as highly praised as their earlier releases, it was appreciated as knowing the Jerks were still around and making their own brand of music. The band hasn't released anything since then, but they are not broken up. Instead health problems had since plagued Morris. He had back, stomach, and colon problems by 1996. And in 1999, he was diagnosed with onset diabetes. He had no health insurance, so the medical bills were enormous. When the punk community caught word of this, many bands began organizing fund-raisers to help out. After enough money was raised, he began a period of recuperating. The Jerks recently finished up a tour with G.B.H. Henry Rollins, a later lead singer of Black Flag, organized a benefit album featuring Black Flag songs. Keith Morris came full-circle as he was invited to perform the first song he recorded, Nervous Breakdown.
Discography
Group Sex - 1980
Wild In The Streets - 1982
Golden Shower Of Hits - 1983
Wonderful - 1985
VI - 1987
Gig - 1992
Teenage Electric 7" - 1995
I Wanna Destroy You 7" - 1995
Oddities, Abnormalities, and Curiosities - 1995
Related Bands
Black Flag (Keith Morris was the original lead singer)
Red Kross (Greg Hetson played guitar for them)
Bad Religion (Greg Hetson plays guitar for them)
Opinionated Things
There is a statement that every other Circle Jerks album is good. I don't necessarily find this true. They are all good I think. Some just are more risk-taking than others. If the statement was true however, the next Circle Jerks album is going to kick ***. The following are favorites of mine you all should check out.
Recommended Downloads
What's Your Problem?
Red Tape
Wild In The Streets
Question Authority
Under The Gun
Coup D'Etat
Dude
The Crowd
Patty's Killing Mel
Fortunate Son
Casualty Vampires
Many people in these forums are fans of this band, and if you haven't checked them out yet, you do not know what you are missing. Most fans of the old hardcore sound will love this band. Check 'em out.