User:WeAponX

The Punk Rock "Scene" in San Diego circa 1980

In the mid-1970's the world music scene was given a square kick in the pants due to the emergence of an idea that formed in the deep heart of London, during the era of what was then considered the worst musical and artistic decade of the 20th century: The 1970's. Disgusted with the offerings of the Radio Waves, and not just the musical offerings but also the styles that were popular in those years: Several Visionaries rose up and created a new genre of "Music" and along with it, a style of Living. Just like the "Mods" of the 50's and 60's, the Punks of the late 70's rallied around their music as a kind of Banner: and several bands from that time became icons for every 13 year old kid with a guitar and an amp who was willing to wear an outrageous "image." The Punk Rock bands: The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Buzzcocks, The Stranglers, and several other strangely named and dressed persons and "Musical" groups began to appear, especially at venues in London, which attracted kids who also had discarded the drab attire, the Paisley shirts and the Jordache Jeans and ugly shoes other eyesores of the mid-70's for attire that was mostly hand made or taken from other materials. Fish-hooks became earrings. Parachutes became dresses. Various and sundry hair styles, mostly self-inflicted, combined with groups of musicians who played a style of music, also self-inflicted, that did not necessarily follow the rules of any form of music that had been deemed Music in the last 500 years. These "musicians" and "artisans" rapidly caused a world-wide distribution of the complete disgust of things commercial and "popular:" And so, in every American City, an underground music scene developed, and with that development, the erection of a sociological substructure that still exists to this very day.

Infusion of this so-named "New Wave" of music and art entered into American Society basically from the Port Cities and worked its way slowly into the rural areas of America. On the West Coast of the United States of America, in the state of California, there were Three "Port Cities" - San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. This will be the story of the early days of Punk Rock in San Diego, told by as many of those who were there as can be found.

My own minor contribution to this development was in the form of the band "Social Spit" (1980-2014+), which exists and existed in various forms since possibly 1979 when it was created by Bruce Hammerle and David Fleminger as a new wave cover band. When I joined, I wrote several songs that were the first songs of the Punk gengre I had attempted: "Social Banner", "Rumours of War", "The Fog" which became "Reagan Gun Club", and "Swiss Youth Riot" which became "Pissed Youth Riot". As I don't know hwo to add links and such to my references, I'll have to leave that be for now. In 1981, we broke up that version of the band when I moved to San Fransicso, where I joined bands like "Umbrella Defence", "Juvinil Justice" and my own "Dangerous Visions". In 1985, I moved back to San Diego and Social Spit was reformed with a new drummer and bass player.