Schedule
Wednesday · September 23 · 08:00PMAbout the artist
WITH HAYWIRE & NEGATIVE APPROACH
Circle Jerks emerged from the punk underbelly of LA’s South Bay in 1979. After serving as a co-founder and lead vocalist of Black Flag during the recording of its essential Nervous Breakdown EP, Keith Morris joined forces with former Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson to form what would become Circle Jerks, along with bassist Roger Rogerson and jazz drummer Lucky Lehrer. Unlike much of the unapologetic hardcore that seeped through the cracks of American suburbia, the music of the Circle Jerks was thoughtfully steadfast, yet relentless and ferocious in nature. Bringing together a potent, articulate rhythm section with earnest yet oftentimes derisive lyrics and themes, the band was thereafter heralded as a leader of the pack – and a force to be reckoned with. Plowing forward with a relentless, tooth-cutting work ethic and a rousing stage presence, the band would soon find itself headlining shows at LA’s 5,000-capacity Olympic Auditorium and emblazoned in cult video classics like Decline of Western Civilization and Repo Man. Over the decades, Circle Jerks would release six studio albums, where they would become a major headliner during the alternative music explosion of the 80’s and 90’s. During hiatuses, Morris fronted bands like OFF! and FLAG, while Hetson played guitar in Bad Religion.In celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary and the commemorative reissue of their celebrated landmark record Group Sex, Circle Jerks return to the stage for the first time in over a decade.
From Prince Edward’s Island, Canada, Haywire was formed in 1982 by guitarist Marvin Birt, vocalist Paul MacAusland, keyboard player David Rashed and bassist Ron Switzer. After drummer Sean Kilbride joined the band, Attic Records signed them and released Bad Boys in 1986. Haywire has released four albums since: Don’t Just Stand There (1987), Nuthouse (1991), Get Off (1993) and Wired: The Best of Haywire (1994).
Detroit’s Negative Approach, along with Maumee, OH’s Necros, were the undisputed champs of Midwestern hardcore in the early to mid-’80s. Legend has it that vocalist John Brannon recruited drummer OP Moore and the guitar/bass team of Rob and Graham McCulloch at a skate park sometime in 1981. Lead by the bald-headed Brannon’s hoarse wail, the band concocted an extreme sound devoid of frills that alternated between violent and mean. This was first fully documented in 1982 on their self-titled Touch and Go 7″. The band released the more metallic-sounding Tied Down 12″ on Touch and Go in 1983, but died out in 1985 as Brannon incubated the Birthday Party blues of Laughing Hyenas. Unfortunately lacking the more widespread post-hardcore fame of peers Ian McKaye and Henry Rollins, Brannon’s Negative Approach has not gotten the later-day due often accorded Minor Threat and Black Flag. Negative Approach was certainly as influential as those two bands, touching everyone from Poison Idea to Sonic Youth to Los Crudos, as well as entire generations of hardcore fans in Boston and New York. The band was also as original and extreme as any early-’80s punk outfit — the rhythmic crush created by Moore and the McCulloch brothers continues to be an undeniable steel-toe to the face. Touch and Go compiled the band’s discography as Total Recall in 1992, an essential listen for anyone who wants to understand hardcore.
LET’S ROCK THE QUEEN! 
