Circle Jerks

This unruly L.A. hardcore band became a popular live attraction, particularly among skateboarders and slam dancers, and were key players in creating the influential '80s Southern California punk scene. Like Black Flag, X, and the Germs, the Circle Jerks played punk when it was far more likely to attract the ire of L.A. police than major-label interest. Lead singer Keith Morris had the whine and scowl of Johnny Rotten, and the group's music was basic loud, speedy, three-chord punk.

Morris was also the original singer for Black Flag [see entry]. After that group's first EP (Nervous Breakdown, 1978), Morris quit Black Flag and teamed up with former Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson in a garage in Hawthorne, soon forming the Circle Jerks. The group recorded its first album in 1980 and the next year appeared in the L.A. punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization.

Wild in the Streets was originally released on Faulty Products, the label of Police manager Miles Copeland. Golden Shower of Hits contains a humorous hardcore medley in which the group desecrates ’70s AM pop gems like “Afternoon Delight,” “(You’re) Having My Baby,” and “Love Will Keep Us Together.” The group changed rhythm sections for Wönderful, which was marked by a more heavy-metal sound. VI continued in the direction of its predecessor. The Circle Jerks performed into the ’90s, releasing Gig an anthology of live recordings, in 1992.

By then Hetson was also playing guitar in Bad Religion, while bassist Zander Schloss moonlighted as a guitarist for both Joe Strummer and Thelonious Monster. But the rise of pop-punk act Green Day suddenly had the Circle Jerks courted by major labels. Mercury released 1995’s Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities, the band’s first studio album in eight years. The album included a cover of the Soft Boys’ “I Wanna Destroy You” (with guest vocals by former teen pop star Debbie Gibson). Four weeks into a tour, the band split up. Hetson returned to Bad Religion, and Schloss joined the Low & Sweet Orchestra, releasing Goodbye to All That in 1996. Morris was sidelined in the late ’90s by diabetes but returned in 2000 leading a new band, Midget Handjob, which released a debut album on Epitaph.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)