California Redemption
Encyclopedia
California Redemption is a hardcore punk
band from Thousand Oaks
, California
, a part of the Nardcore
community, and a "major player" in the Ventura County Music scene.
Their sound is a mix of hardcore
and punk rock
; fast guitars and politically minded lyrics fusing with "breakdowns and chanted back-ups, right out of the straightedge hawd caw [sic] playbook." Lyrical themes vary from political protests and critical analyses of American society to personal struggles and alienation.
Mikkei
, Keegan, and Doug were formerly members of Mute before the start of the band. Two members currently play in side projects: Mikkei
in Future Primitive
and Will in Dead Alive. Alon also produces albums for LTE Records.
, Keegan and Doug were in a band called Mute, a pop punk
style garage band
that experienced small success in their hometown of Newbury Park
, California
. In mid-2001 Mikkei
began to feel that something in Mute was definitely lacking. Mikkei soon quit, citing lack of lyrical meaning and conflicts in musical creativity. Mute broke up shortly thereafter.
After spending summer listening to Propagandhi
and brainstorming lists of potential co-conspirators, Mikkei
made up his mind. He called up two of his ex-mates from Mute; Keegan and Doug.
He had been telling them he didn’t want to do anything musically for the past couple months, but now Mikkei
asked them not to start a new band, but just hang out and jam Bad Religion
songs. The new project didn’t have a singer, but there was already someone in mind. They called up a friend, Alon, who despite lack of singing experience, was obsessed with Bad Religion
and was super-stoked on the idea of being in a band.
Eventually, the cover band
became a full-fledged band. Their first song, “Dor Shalem Doresh Shalom” (which means "A Whole Generation Demands Peace" in Hebrew), was actually a tune written by Mikkei
while he was still in Mute. Keegan and Mikkei
began writing more material. Simultaneously, Mikkei
and Alon collaborated on lyrics during classes they were attending at Moorpark College
. In the meantime, the soon-to-be-named California Redemption played one show with a set consisting of nothing but Bad Religion
covers under the name "Battery Legion". Shortly afterwards, the band recorded an eight song demo
of originals and started thinking about a first show.
was doing a small California Tour. Naturally, Alon and Mikkei
set out to follow them. After meeting them, Tony Cortez of Ill Repute
offered California Redemption a spot on a day-after-Christmas show with Ill Repute
, Dr. Know
, and the Nardcore All-stars.
Mikkei
once said that "Before that first show we made a decision: that no matter how many people were there and no matter how the crowd was responding, to play like we had 30 minutes left to live and never stop making asses of ourselves. We’ve pretty much stuck to that ever since. That first show was good for us. I’m still not sure what anyone in the crowd thought of us, but the other bands seemed to dig us."
That show would be the first step towards California Redemption's acceptance into the Nardcore
scene. It was also the beginning of their strange relationship with Ill Repute
.
, California
to record "This Time It’s For Money." The band says that they chose the album's name "because...seriously, it was basically the same thing as our free demo, except this time, we were going to charge for it." That record was not released until a year after it was recorded.
had been tossing around the idea of adding a second guitarist. After much deliberation, the band finally decided to add one in 2006. They recruited Joe Suburbia, a good friend and former frontman of the influential punk band P.O.S. Joe's addition gave California Redemption a fuller live sound and added to the band's dynamic. His first show with the band was at the Gate in Bakersfield
, California
on September 29, 2006.
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band from Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks, California
Thousand Oaks is a city in southeastern Ventura County, California, in the United States. It was named after the many oak trees that grace the area, and the city seal is adorned with an oak....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, a part of the Nardcore
Nardcore
Nardcore is a hardcore punk movement that came out of Southern California in the early 1980s, originating in Silver Strand Beach, Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Early bands in the Nardcore scene included Agression, Dr. Know, False Confession, Ill Repute, Habeas Corpus, RKL, Stalag 13 and Scared Straight...
community, and a "major player" in the Ventura County Music scene.
Their sound is a mix of hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and 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...
; fast guitars and politically minded lyrics fusing with "breakdowns and chanted back-ups, right out of the straightedge hawd caw [sic] playbook." Lyrical themes vary from political protests and critical analyses of American society to personal struggles and alienation.
Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
, Keegan, and Doug were formerly members of Mute before the start of the band. Two members currently play in side projects: Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
in Future Primitive
Future Primitive (band)
Future Primitive is a melodic hardcore Straight Edge band from Southern California. The band was established in 2005. Their first release, entitled "Expression Sessions", is a forceful seven song EP which includes a cover of an unreleased Inside Out song, featuring Vic DiCara as a guest guitarist...
and Will in Dead Alive. Alon also produces albums for LTE Records.
Beginnings
California Redemption was born in the summer of 2001. At that time, MikkeiMikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
, Keegan and Doug were in a band called Mute, a pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
style garage band
Garage band
The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...
that experienced small success in their hometown of Newbury Park
Newbury Park, California
The community of Newbury Park, California is located in the western portion of the city of Thousand Oaks and Casa Conejo, an unincorporated area of southeastern Ventura County's Conejo Valley, which is also in the northwestern Greater Los Angeles Area...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In mid-2001 Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
began to feel that something in Mute was definitely lacking. Mikkei soon quit, citing lack of lyrical meaning and conflicts in musical creativity. Mute broke up shortly thereafter.
After spending summer listening to Propagandhi
Propagandhi
Propagandhi is a Canadian punk band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba....
and brainstorming lists of potential co-conspirators, Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
made up his mind. He called up two of his ex-mates from Mute; Keegan and Doug.
He had been telling them he didn’t want to do anything musically for the past couple months, but now Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
asked them not to start a new band, but just hang out and jam Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
songs. The new project didn’t have a singer, but there was already someone in mind. They called up a friend, Alon, who despite lack of singing experience, was obsessed with Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
and was super-stoked on the idea of being in a band.
Eventually, the cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
became a full-fledged band. Their first song, “Dor Shalem Doresh Shalom” (which means "A Whole Generation Demands Peace" in Hebrew), was actually a tune written by Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
while he was still in Mute. Keegan and Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
began writing more material. Simultaneously, Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
and Alon collaborated on lyrics during classes they were attending at Moorpark College
Moorpark College
Moorpark College is a California state college located on a property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. It was established in 1967 and as of 2006, had an enrollment of 16,580 students and 175 full-time faculty members....
. In the meantime, the soon-to-be-named California Redemption played one show with a set consisting of nothing but Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
covers under the name "Battery Legion". Shortly afterwards, the band recorded an eight song demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
of originals and started thinking about a first show.
First Show
By then it was the summer of 2002 and Ill ReputeIll Repute
Ill Repute is an American hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California, formed in 1981. They are noted for popularizing the "Nardcore" sound in the mid-1980s hardcore punk scene, and recorded for Mystic Records....
was doing a small California Tour. Naturally, Alon and Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
set out to follow them. After meeting them, Tony Cortez of Ill Repute
Ill Repute
Ill Repute is an American hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California, formed in 1981. They are noted for popularizing the "Nardcore" sound in the mid-1980s hardcore punk scene, and recorded for Mystic Records....
offered California Redemption a spot on a day-after-Christmas show with Ill Repute
Ill Repute
Ill Repute is an American hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California, formed in 1981. They are noted for popularizing the "Nardcore" sound in the mid-1980s hardcore punk scene, and recorded for Mystic Records....
, Dr. Know
Dr. Know (band)
Dr. Know is a punk band which began as a Nardcore band and now has roots in Los Angeles, CA.They are one of the founding figures of the "Nardcore" punk movement from Oxnard, CA. The band was started by Kyle Toucher, Ismael Hernandez, and Robin Cartwright in early 1981, and after auditioning a few...
, and the Nardcore All-stars.
Mikkei
Mikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
once said that "Before that first show we made a decision: that no matter how many people were there and no matter how the crowd was responding, to play like we had 30 minutes left to live and never stop making asses of ourselves. We’ve pretty much stuck to that ever since. That first show was good for us. I’m still not sure what anyone in the crowd thought of us, but the other bands seemed to dig us."
That show would be the first step towards California Redemption's acceptance into the Nardcore
Nardcore
Nardcore is a hardcore punk movement that came out of Southern California in the early 1980s, originating in Silver Strand Beach, Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Early bands in the Nardcore scene included Agression, Dr. Know, False Confession, Ill Repute, Habeas Corpus, RKL, Stalag 13 and Scared Straight...
scene. It was also the beginning of their strange relationship with Ill Repute
Ill Repute
Ill Repute is an American hardcore punk band from Oxnard, California, formed in 1981. They are noted for popularizing the "Nardcore" sound in the mid-1980s hardcore punk scene, and recorded for Mystic Records....
.
"This Time It's For Money"
It took almost another year after that for California Redemption to record a full length record. In the meantime, the band demoed two more tracks on their own and posted them to their website. Eventually, CaRe went into Bassline Studios in Simi ValleySimi Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to record "This Time It’s For Money." The band says that they chose the album's name "because...seriously, it was basically the same thing as our free demo, except this time, we were going to charge for it." That record was not released until a year after it was recorded.
Split with Start The Panic
After years of touring, California Redemption hooked up with Simi Valley punkrockers Start The Panic. The two bands ended up playing numerous shows together and agreed to collaborate on a split record. They eventually released it on LTE Records in March 2007 and went on tour to support the release. Recorded at Will Volkman's One Room Studios, the record sold more than 1,000 copies county-wide.Addition of Joe Suburbia
For years, the MikkeiMikkei Redemption
Mikkei Redemption is a hardcore punk guitarist. He plays in and is the primary writer for both Future Primitive and California Redemption, and was also in Mute.-Biography:...
had been tossing around the idea of adding a second guitarist. After much deliberation, the band finally decided to add one in 2006. They recruited Joe Suburbia, a good friend and former frontman of the influential punk band P.O.S. Joe's addition gave California Redemption a fuller live sound and added to the band's dynamic. His first show with the band was at the Gate in Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
on September 29, 2006.
"Do Not Resuscitate"
At about that same time California Redemption returned to One Room Studios to record songs for a 7” record called "Do Not Resuscitate", initially intended to release on Texas-based AWOL Records. While the band had just added Joe to the fold, they decided to keep things simple and have Mikkei perform all the guitars for that record. Unfortunately, just as the recording was finished, AWOL records went under, Keegan left for a journey to Australia, and the band was left to shop the record to other record labels. A couple of months later, Dead Lamb Records agreed to press and distribute the record.Switching Drummers
Keegan returned to the United States prior to the release of the record. However, Doug left the band to pursue his career. He left on good terms and was replace by not other than Will Volkmann who, aside from recording the majority of California Redemption's work, had performed at many of the same shows as them in his former band Misfire.Discography
| Year | Title | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | This Time it's for Money | Let Them Eat Records | LP Album An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album... / CD |
| 2005 | Demo 2005 | Self Released | EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... |
| 2006 | Start The Panic / California Redemption Split | Let Them Eat Records | Split Split album A split album is a music album which includes tracks by two or more separate artists. There have been singles and EPs released in the same nature, which can be referred to as split singles and split EPs respectively... EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... |
| 2007 | Do Not Resuscitate | Deadlamb Records | EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... |
Compilations / Tributes
| Year | Title | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Mixo-De-Punko! Vol.1 | Let Them Eat Records | CD |
| 2005 | Break Your Face | Face First Records | CD |
| 2005 | Mixo-De-Punko! Vol.2 "Welcome To The Neighborhood" | Let Them Eat Records | CD |
| 2005 | Ill Repute - Live | Let Them Eat Records | CD |
| 2006 | Stop Listening To Crappy Music | Lower Records | CD |
| 2006 | Our Music, Our Lives, So Fuck Off | Jerk Off Records | CD |
| 2007 | Radio Disaster Vol.10 | Basement Records | CD |
| 2007 | Aggression Tribute | Dr. Strange Records | CD |
| 2007 | Cystic Fibrosis Benefit Comp | Jailhouse Records | CD |
| 2007 | Lambination Vol. 2 | Deadlamb Records | CD |
| 2008 | Lambination Vol. 3 | Deadlamb Records | CD |
Articles / Reviews
- Live in New Mexico - Show Review, Kaffeine Buzz
- California Redemption: Band With a Mission - Article, The BS Report
- California Redemption Revisited - Article, The BS Report
- Smother Magazine - Album Review, Smother Magazine
- All Ages Zine - Album Review, All Ages Zine
- Ear Candy Magazine - Album Review, Ear Candy Magazine
- Impact Press - Album Review, Impact Press
- Razorcake - Album Review, Razorcake
- Maximum Rocknroll - Album Review, Maximum Rocknroll
- Punkrockers.com - Album Review, Punkrockers.com
Videography
- People With Guns Mixo-de-punko! Enhanced CD, LTE Records, July 31, 2003)