Brad Kent
Encyclopedia
Brad Kent played with all of the early Vancouver
punk rock
bands in one incarnation or another, particularly Victorian Pork, the band which spawned not only D.O.A.
but the Pointed Sticks
and the Subhumans
. Later he went to San Francisco to play guitar for the Avengers
with Penelope Houston
.
In 1977, Kent was a member of Vancouver punk band, The Skulls
, which also featured singer Joey Shithead, bassist Wimpy Roy, drummer Dimwit, and guitarist Simon Werner. The Skulls moved to Toronto, with eventual plans to relocate to London, England, but Kent stayed behind and formed Victorian Pork, which became a proving ground for several future Vancouver punk scene stalwarts, including Ian Tiles, Tony Bardach, Gerry Useless, Randy Rampage
and Chuck Biscuits
. When the Skulls broke up and hobbled back to Vancouver, Joey Shithead formed DOA with Victorian Pork drummer Chuck Biscuits (Dimwit's younger brother) and former Victorian Pork drummer, Randy Rampage, who moved to bass. Meanwhile, Dimwit and Wimpy formed the Subhumans
with Brad Kent on guitar (this original version was a trio, Wimpy played bass and sang). Later, the more recognized line-up was formed with former Victorian Pork bassist Gerry Hannah
AKA Gerry Useless and guitarist Mike Graham AKA Mike Normal. Mike and Gerry were in the Stiffs with Zippy Pinhead & Sid Sick.
When the Stiffs broke up Zippy & Sid formed Rabid. A little while later, Brad Kent would join DOA, expanding them to a four-piece, right after the release of DOA's Disco Sucks EP. You can see this Brad Kent version of DOA on the DOA DVD compilation Greatest Shits, which shows DOA & Kent blazing through a version of Disco Sucks on the back of a flatbed truck
in Stanley Park at an anarchist/punk "festival" in 1978. This is the version of DOA that toured down to San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens on 2 separate trips, impressing the scene down there and making lifelong fans out of the Dils, Dead Kennedys and the Avengers. After getting kicked out of DOA, Brad Kent formed the Wasted Lives, with singer Phil Smith, guitarist Colin Griffiths, drummer Andy Graffiti, and future Modernettes bassist Mary Armstrong. He then got the invitation to join The Avengers and moved down to San Francisco. Then the Avengers broke up, and he formed the 45s with Controllers drummer Carla du Plantier AKA Mad Dog, singer Heather Haley of the Zellots, and Randy Rampage
who was on hiatus from D.O.A. But Rampage rejoined D.O.A., and Kent entered a period of relative inactivity. Around 1982 when Rampage left D.O.A. again, the two of them collaborated on Randy Rampage's solo 12-inch EP. All through this period Kent & Rampage gigged as The Sick Ones, with various guest vocalists. Around about 1986 they got more serious and embraced their heavy metal inner selves, forming Ground Zero. Randy left shortly afterwards to join [Iron Gypsy http://www.myspace.com/gi4ig] one of the new buzz bands on the scene as their bass player with Jim Mark AKA Wickley, and Death Sentence drummer Doug Prouxl, while Brad continued on with Ground Zero. Randy later went on to sing briefly for Annihilator
, while Brad joined Death Sentence after their first EP came out, but did not appear on it.
During the late 1990s, Brad Kent reformed Victorian Pork in Vancouver for a brief time.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands in one incarnation or another, particularly Victorian Pork, the band which spawned not only D.O.A.
D.O.A. (band)
D.O.A. is a hardcore punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are often referred to as the "founders" of hardcore punk, along with Black Flag, Bad Brains, Teen Idles, and Minor Threat. Their second album Hardcore '81 was thought by many to have been the first actual reference to...
but the Pointed Sticks
Pointed Sticks
Pointed Sticks are a Canadian punk rock/power pop band from Vancouver. Originally active from 1978 to 1981, they reunited to perform in 2006 and have remained together since then....
and the Subhumans
Subhumans
Subhumans may refer to:* Subhumans , featuring singer Dick Lucas*Subhumans , featuring singer Wimpy Roy and bass player Gerry Hannah...
. Later he went to San Francisco to play guitar for the Avengers
The Avengers (band)
The Avengers are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in San Francisco, California. Penelope Houston, who has also been a folk musician, is their singer.-Original history:...
with Penelope Houston
Penelope Houston
Penelope Houston is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band The Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellingham, Washington...
.
In 1977, Kent was a member of Vancouver punk band, The Skulls
The Skulls (Canadian band)
The Skulls were an early Vancouver punk rock band, whose members would later found two of the area's bands: D.O.A. and The Subhumans. They toured heavily and issued a demo, but never released any albums.-Biography:...
, which also featured singer Joey Shithead, bassist Wimpy Roy, drummer Dimwit, and guitarist Simon Werner. The Skulls moved to Toronto, with eventual plans to relocate to London, England, but Kent stayed behind and formed Victorian Pork, which became a proving ground for several future Vancouver punk scene stalwarts, including Ian Tiles, Tony Bardach, Gerry Useless, Randy Rampage
Randy Rampage
Randy Rampage is a founding member, bass player and occasional vocalist of the Canadian hardcore band D.O.A.. He played on D.O.A.'s seminal early punk albums Something Better Change and Hardcore '81, along with vocalist/guitarist Joe Shithead, drummer Chuck Biscuits and guitarist Dave Gregg in...
and Chuck Biscuits
Chuck Biscuits
Chuck Biscuits is a Canadian-born drummer, now a U.S. citizen, who is best known as an original member of the heavy metal/hard rock band Danzig. Most recently, he was a member of the punk rock band Social Distortion in the late 1990s...
. When the Skulls broke up and hobbled back to Vancouver, Joey Shithead formed DOA with Victorian Pork drummer Chuck Biscuits (Dimwit's younger brother) and former Victorian Pork drummer, Randy Rampage, who moved to bass. Meanwhile, Dimwit and Wimpy formed the Subhumans
Subhumans (Canadian band)
The Subhumans are a punk band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that formed in 1978.Known by pejorative, punk rock nicknames, original members were known simply as "Useless" , "Dimwit" , "Wimpy" and "Normal" .-History:Dimwit quit the band shortly after their first 7" was released to join...
with Brad Kent on guitar (this original version was a trio, Wimpy played bass and sang). Later, the more recognized line-up was formed with former Victorian Pork bassist Gerry Hannah
Gerry Hannah
Gerald Richard Hannah is the bass player for the punk rock group The Subhumans and was also a member of the militant environmental group Direct Action, also known as the Squamish Five and the Vancouver Five .Squamish Five carried out a political campaign of "direct actions", including the Litton...
AKA Gerry Useless and guitarist Mike Graham AKA Mike Normal. Mike and Gerry were in the Stiffs with Zippy Pinhead & Sid Sick.
When the Stiffs broke up Zippy & Sid formed Rabid. A little while later, Brad Kent would join DOA, expanding them to a four-piece, right after the release of DOA's Disco Sucks EP. You can see this Brad Kent version of DOA on the DOA DVD compilation Greatest Shits, which shows DOA & Kent blazing through a version of Disco Sucks on the back of a flatbed truck
Flatbed truck
A flatbed truck is a type of truck which can be either articulated or rigid. As the name suggests, it has an entirely flat, level 'bed' body with no sides or roof...
in Stanley Park at an anarchist/punk "festival" in 1978. This is the version of DOA that toured down to San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens on 2 separate trips, impressing the scene down there and making lifelong fans out of the Dils, Dead Kennedys and the Avengers. After getting kicked out of DOA, Brad Kent formed the Wasted Lives, with singer Phil Smith, guitarist Colin Griffiths, drummer Andy Graffiti, and future Modernettes bassist Mary Armstrong. He then got the invitation to join The Avengers and moved down to San Francisco. Then the Avengers broke up, and he formed the 45s with Controllers drummer Carla du Plantier AKA Mad Dog, singer Heather Haley of the Zellots, and Randy Rampage
Randy Rampage
Randy Rampage is a founding member, bass player and occasional vocalist of the Canadian hardcore band D.O.A.. He played on D.O.A.'s seminal early punk albums Something Better Change and Hardcore '81, along with vocalist/guitarist Joe Shithead, drummer Chuck Biscuits and guitarist Dave Gregg in...
who was on hiatus from D.O.A. But Rampage rejoined D.O.A., and Kent entered a period of relative inactivity. Around 1982 when Rampage left D.O.A. again, the two of them collaborated on Randy Rampage's solo 12-inch EP. All through this period Kent & Rampage gigged as The Sick Ones, with various guest vocalists. Around about 1986 they got more serious and embraced their heavy metal inner selves, forming Ground Zero. Randy left shortly afterwards to join [Iron Gypsy http://www.myspace.com/gi4ig] one of the new buzz bands on the scene as their bass player with Jim Mark AKA Wickley, and Death Sentence drummer Doug Prouxl, while Brad continued on with Ground Zero. Randy later went on to sing briefly for Annihilator
Annihilator (band)
Annihilator is a Canadian heavy metal band hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, also from Vancouver, British Columbia between 1987-2002 by founding member, vocalist, guitarist and bassist Jeff Waters. The band has been around since 1984 and is the biggest selling heavy metal artist from Canada in history,...
, while Brad joined Death Sentence after their first EP came out, but did not appear on it.
During the late 1990s, Brad Kent reformed Victorian Pork in Vancouver for a brief time.