Is It 1980 Yet?

Interview With Justified Anger

Anaheim

From Issue 2.2, November/December 2005

It is well past 8 p.m. outside of Tru-One in Anaheim when the members of Justified Anger are prodded to explain why they were kicked out of their former practice studio in Stanton. After labored mumbling and sort-of beginnings to the story, all five  agreed it’s not worth telling. It would be a waste of time they said and well, just a bunch of bull readers wouldn’t want to hear.

It would have a lot to do with what lead singer Joey might refer to as “band politics.” No, not the politics within Justified Anger, but outside factors-other bands, other people-that tend to get in the way of a band and the music they play.

Then again, maybe stopping to talk about band politics might not be such a bad idea considering this is Justified Anger, an Orange County band started in the late 90s and still going strong today. They played Chain Reaction when it was called Public Storage. They’ve played with bands kids nowadays say that they are influenced by.

“We’ll run across people who like our music and they don’t even know we still play anymore,” guitarist Justin said.

Dissonant and edgy, the chainsaw guitars and fast timing propel the anger within the lyrics of songs such as “Another Wasted Decade” or “Gas Hikes.”

Fans of Justified Anger appreciate them for this kind of music- not for an image.

“People know who we are, but it’s a different crowd,” said singer Joey. “In Orange County, it’s kind of like starting over.”

Citing a mixture of cops who act like “Nazis” and affluence that has dulled the county’s music scene, the members prefer playing in the Los Angeles area and out of state.

The band, whose members are in their mid-twenties, includes Justin, Joey, guitarist Tyson, bassist Anthony and drummer Chris. They formed in 1996 and began playing in 1997 at places such as Malone’s, Koo’s Cafe and Public Storage (now called Chain Reaction).

“I liked the fact that they played hardcore punk, but still didn’t resort to making a bunch of noise,” said Ron Martinez who booked the band for Public Storage in the late 90s. “I also remember for being so young, they were really talented. They sounded really good, a tight live band.”

Around that time, Justified Anger played with Narcoleptic Youth, Litmus Green and the Aborted.

“The shows would be packed,” Joey said. “That’s when we had a scene.”

Then, just as quickly as it started, a different sound replaced the hardcore and replaced the anger. Suddenly, Justified Anger found that the sounds of hardcore were not getting played as much at clubs and other venues. Instead, things took a turn for the trendy.

When the band started, the only place they could buy studded belts was at Electric Chair for $80. Now, stores such as Hot Topic or Nothing Shocking have kids covered in that apparel. At the time they started, skate parks did not exist and hiring someone to make a band’s merchandise was unheard of.

“Kids now are pretty fucking sedated. Everyone’s polite,” Joey said. “Before, everyone was scuzzy, fucked-up.”

For the band, it is not so much that the scene is dead, but that it is spoon-fed to people.

“Now, it’s more mass-produced,” Joey said quickly. “It’s placated to, and the kids need to go against that and destroy it.”

Today, members of Justified Anger will go into a 7-Eleven and get dirty looks from younger kids dressed like punks because they do not fit the stereotypical image.

“Twenty years ago this used to scare the shit out of people,” Justin said.

“Now, it’s on commercials and shit,” Tyson said.

This band wants no part of that.

“When you market it that way, you’re causing a real bad idea of what punk is,” Joey said. “When your mom takes you to  buy $70 bondage pants, you’re not fucking punk. You’re just rolling on the same ball as everyone else.”

“It’s just a fad for them,” Tyson added.

However, Justified Anger, just by staying a band now for nearly a decade, has indirectly stated that their band is not just another fad.

This is because they play music more akin to the sounds of the emerging hardcore scene in Huntington Beach and Hermosa that evolved from the Los Angeles punk of the late 70s. They do not seek to be popular.

“It’s not an expectation,” Justin said.

“Right now, we’re in 1977. So, hopefully in a few years it will be 1980, but that’s just here [in Orange County],” Joey said.

Of course, there are a lot of bands still playing hardcore outside of Orange County and where people listen to that kind of music-none moreso than places out of state.

The band did west coast tours during the summers of 2001 and 2002. More recently, they toured half the country last summer in an ambulance.

Tyson traded his truck for the ambulance and replaced the gurney and oxygen tanks with a couch and bed. He also put in a compartment for equipment, a TV and an X Box.

They pay for all their tours and booked all of their shows (except for their first one)  through “Book Your Own Fucking Life.”

“It’s a lot better out of state,” Tyson said. “A lot of kids out here take it for granted.”

“Out here,” Justin said, “there’s a lot of fashion punk. But out there, it’s college kids who’ve built their lives around [the music scene].”

Invariably, things are just different and the members of this band seem to grasp and articulate that concept well. Not only have venues changed since the band’s beginning and the crowds are different from state to state, but the band is a little older.

“When we were younger, we looked more hardcore,” said Justin of how he and his bandmates used to dress.

“I think we’ve kind of grown up,” Joey said. “Fucking shit up [in the past] kind of messed us up.”

“We had rough childhoods in our teenage years,” Justin said, “but if we kept up that same path, we’d be dead.... You can’t swim upstream forever. We’ve always chosen our own path, always done our own thing.”

That is not to say that any of their comments deny the authenticity of what they first started singing about in 1996. Those problems are still as real as ever.

“We were always pissed off,” Justin continued. “Everything seems so screwed up, but it’s not like we were making this shit up; it’s reality. There’s a reason to be mad.”

“Especially when it’s justified,” Anthony added.

They hope to put out an album on Malt Soda Records, a label in Orlando, FL. They’ve got a lot of ideas and a lot of songs. The band just lacks organization Joey said.

They just know they will keep on playing no matter how many studios they get kicked out of; no matter how many times the scene changes or no matter how many 14-year-old punks give them dirty looks at 7-Elevens. Each of their songs are packed with passion, energy and an anger that is more than justified.