The Vandals "Slippery When Ill" LP EX OOP Social Distortion Rancid Bad Religion

$

25

The Vandals "Slippery When Ill" Restless Records (US)

Jacket is EX, Vinyl is VG+!!!

Out of Print!

Track Listing:

The Vandals are a punk rock band from the United States established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour. They are well known for their use of humor, preferring to use their music as a vehicle for comedy and sarcasm rather than as a platform for more serious issues. As of 2000, they have been signed to Kung Fu Records.

The band's lineup fluctuated significantly over their first nine years, though founding members Steven Ronald Jensen, guitarist Jan Nils Ackermann, and first consistent drummer Joe Escalante remained regular fixtures. Of the early members only Escalante has remained through all subsequent incarnations of the band. The current lineup of Escalante, Dave Quackenbush, Warren Fitzgerald, and Josh Freese has remained intact since 1990 and is generally considered far removed from the band's early 1980s incarnation. Since 2002 Escalante has released all of the band's albums through his Kung Fu Records label, with Fitzgerald generally producing.

History

Early years (1980-1984)

The Vandals formed in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California by guitarist Jan Nils Ackermann. Soon vocalist Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen (1959-August 21, 2005) was found and he and Ackermann practiced and performed with a rotating cast of other members before a permanent lineup coalesced to include bassist Steve "Human" Pfauter and drummer Joe Escalante.

The band quickly built a reputation in the Los Angeles and Orange County punk rock community which also included bands such as Bad Religion, Descendents, Black Flag, T.S.O.L., X, the Germs, Suicidal Tendencies, The Dickies, and Social Distortion. The Vandals distinguished themselves in their scene by sticking to humorous subject matter rather than the typical social and political topics addressed by most punk bands of the time.

In 1982 the group became the second band to sign with Epitaph Records, the Los Angeles label run by Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz, who released their first EP Peace thru Vandalism. The record contained several songs that would become fan favorites and remain in the band's live set well into the 1990s, including "Urban Struggle," which became a local hit after receiving airplay on KROQ-FM'sRodney on the ROQ program.

Most of the record's subject material was drawn directly from the band's own experiences in their local punk rock scene. "The Legend of Pat Brown" told tales of a substance-abusing friend of the band who was notorious for causing mayhem, while "Pirate's Life" dealt with the experience of riding Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride while taking LSD. The aforementioned "Urban Struggle" dealt with the constant fights that would occur between the punk rock fans who congregated at a Costa Mesa club called the Cuckoo's Nest and the country music fans who gathered at nearby Zubie's. "Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government)" approached the philosophy ofanarchism, advocated by many early punk bands, from a humorous perspective and became one of the band's most popular songs throughout their career.

In 1984 the band appeared in the film Suburbia by invitation of director Penelope Spheeris, who had also directed the influential The Decline of Western Civilization. They also played a benefit concert for the Cypress College Young Republicans, along with the Circle Jerks, The Dickies, D.I., and Plain Wrap, an action which prompted derision from the traditionally leftist and anarchist punk community. It would not be the last time the band's actions would draw criticism, with their music generally maintaining an apolitical position.

Pfauter left the band in 1984 and Brent Turner was brought in to play bass on the recording of their first album, When in Rome Do as the Vandals. By the time of the album's release in 1985 on National Trust Records Chalmer Lumary had joined as the band's full-time bassist. The album explored different musical styles and contained several songs that would become fan favorites. "Ladykiller" incorporated scratching and dance beats, while "Mohawk Town" explored a mixture of punk rock and country music. Personality clashes between members led to Stevo's departure from the band shortly thereafter. He was replaced by Dave Quackenbush of the band Falling Idols, who has remained the Vandals' vocalist. In 1987 the band appeared in another Penelope Spheeris film, Dudes.

Quackenbush, Fitzgerald, and Freese join (1984-1989)

By 1989 Lumary had left the band and Robbie Allen joined them in the studio to play bass on the album Slippery When Ill. The album was something of a departure from the punk rock formula of their previous releases, fusing country and western styles with their humorous brand of punk into a sound the band called "cow punk," somewhat mocking the resurgence in popularity of country music in their native Huntington Beach. The joking style confused many of their fans and the album would remain in obscurity until its 1999 re-release as The Vandals Play Really Bad Original Country Tunes. By the time of the album's release the band had recruited new drummer Doug MacKinnon and Escalante had moved to bass, a position he would remain in for the rest of the band's career.

Following the release of Slippery When Ill the band went through several lineup changes, as drummer MacKinnon and founding guitarist Ackermann both left the group.

With Escalante asserting control over the band, Stevo, Ackermann, Lumary, and T.S.O.L. drummer Todd Barnes played a show billed as The Vandals. Escalante has stated that the older members relinquished control of the band's name and rights to him in exchange for permission to play the show, but the others deny this claim and point out that Escalante served an injunction against them during the performance preventing them from further use of the name and music.

The departure of Ackermann and MacKinnon left Escalante and Quackenbush searching for a new guitarist and drummer. The Vandals had previously played shows with a band called Doggy Style and had been intrigued by the wacky antics of their guitarist Warren Fitzgerald, and they soon recruited him as their new permanent guitarist. Also around this time Escalante and Quackenbush made many visits to Disneyland, where they witnessed Josh Freese playing electronic drums in the children's cover band Polo on the Tomorrowland Terrace stage. They persuaded him to join, solidifying the Vandals lineup of Quackenbush, Fitzgerald, Escalante, and Freese which would remain constant throughout the rest of their career (with occasional substitutes filling in for Freese).

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