As punk rock bands in the 1990s were making waves, they would praise the names of the bands that had influenced them or in some cases had been peers. A lot of these bands had either broken up or had a fraction of their original members that were still carrying the torch. The anthems they created became the anthem for the next couple of generations. After years and years of flag-waving, Orange County’s punk rock scene is getting its due at The Fullerton Museum Center with its exhibit, Punk OC: From the Street to Suburbia. On Saturday April 5th, the museum celebrated the opening of the exhibit with a concert featuring two of the scene’s most enduring acts, T.S.O.L. and D.I.
Doors for the sold-out event opened at about 5 p.m. A stage was set up in the plaza to the left of the museum. Each band had a booth set up for merch, along with a few others including one from the Orange County Record Show that had records on hand for people to buy. Vandals bass player, Joe Escalante, DJed a set that was a wide variety of OC punk bands and old punk rock favorites. The night was hosted by comedian Chris Estrada, who quipped that he was who you hired for your punk rock events when Fred Armisen is too expensive.
The crowd was a grab bag of punk rockers from all walks of life. While it was mostly an older group of people, there were some kids walking around. It’s endearing to see these songs live on in the next generation. It was also cool to see some of my punk rock heroes walking around in the crowd. I’m pretty sure I spotted Mike Patton from Middle Class in the crowd. I was also able to buy T.S.O.L. lead singer Jack Grisham’s newest book, Transmission, from the man himself with a signature and a warning at how insane it is. For those not lucky enough to get a ticket, some people watched from the parking structure adjacent to the Fullerton Museum Plaza. The one complaint I had was that the stage was too short. It was a bit hard to see the bands at some points.
D.I. was the first band to play that night. You won’t find anyone who loves Orange County more than Casey Royer and his crew. The forty-five-minute set was heavy with songs from their first few albums. Opening with their cover of “Rock and Roll, Part 2,” Royer led the band through a forty-five-minute set that included favorites like “Johnny’s Got a Problem,” “Hang Ten in East Berlin,” and “Amoeba.” While Rikk Agnew did not play, there was definitely love shown for him as D.I. played two of his songs, “Falling Out” and “OC Life,” the latter with a dedication to Fullerton added to its introduction. If it’s been some time since you’ve seen D.I., definitely check out a show.
I have never seen a bad TSOL set. The four remaining members, Jack Grisham, Ron Emory, Mike Roche, and Greg Kuehn always play hard. In the last year or so, Mike Roche has not been able to tour with the band due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis, but does come up for “Code Blue.” Drummer Antonio Hernandez and touring bass player Brandon Reza hold their own with the punk rock veterans. TSOL played a wide variety of songs, but like D.I. mostly stuck with stuff from their older albums. They were able to sneak a song from their anthologized, but anomalous album, A-Side Graffiti. Grisham reminisced about some memories he had of living in Orange County, such as buying some equipment from the pawn shops that once occupied some of the storefronts in downtown Fullerton to being sentenced to county jail at a courthouse down the street for sneaking into Disneyland with machetes to vandalize the park. When one kid told him he could play the drum part for “Dance With Me,” Jack allowed him to come up onstage and play with the band. Despite being a little fiery on the kit, the kid did well. It was a cool moment.
The line for the exhibit stretched around the building and only died down when the bands started playing. I was able to get in between sets. The exhibit itself is amazing. I haven’t had a chance to visit the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas, so I cannot compare it, but the care and love shown for the Orange County scene is evident. Walls are dedicated to classic bands like Middle Class, The Vandals, and Agent Orange, but also bands like the Cadillac Tramps, who are as important but don’t get the credit they deserve. The two biggest Orange County bands, Social Distortion and the Offspring, have spots, too. The exhibit also highlights L.A. bands X and the Circle Jerks, as well as the Agnostic Front and the New York Hardcore scene. The defunct, but still legendary venues of the scene like the Cuckoo’s Nest and Safari Sam’s are mentioned, and there is a section dedicated to Anaheim’s Doll Hut, where most, if not all, of these bands played. The Fullerton Museum Center has really put together a great event, giving these bands their due.
While the Fullerton Museum Center celebrates the genre that caused the city so much trouble in the 1980s, there was a weird vibe. Of course, this event was cool. It’s great that this music is getting recognized for its contribution to the world, but at times it felt like the city officials were treating it as this cute baby being kept at arm’s length after massively shitting itself. City Council member Nick Dunlap said some nice things about the genre and referenced some of the locations listed in Social Distortion’s “Story of My Life,” but it’s not like this was billed as a family event. D.I. played “Chiva,” a song about heroin. T.S.O.L. closed with “Code Blue.” Despite the content of the songs alone, the show was relatively mild. Don’t get me wrong it was amazing to see both of these bands in a space reserved for cover bands playing at the city’s weekly farmer’s market, but punk rock still feels like the red-headed stepchild.
