The Avengers are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. The band recorded an EP, '' We Are the One'' (1977), and after opening for the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

worked with Steve Jones, but had not released an album before breaking up in 1979. After the breakup an EP with the Steve Jones-produced songs was released (''The Avengers''), and later an album, ''Avengers'', in 1983. Their lead singer,

Penelope Houston Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band the Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellin ...

, is also a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

singer who has a solo career. Since 1999 a number of other albums were released with studio and live tracks, and the band has come together for various occasions.

History

Early history

Drummer Danny Furious (Danny O'Brien) and guitarist Greg Ingraham decided to start a band, and Furious approached

to be their singer, who agreed. They finished their lineup with Jonathon Postal on bass, although he was replaced shortly after by Jimmy Wilsey. Their first release (and only release while the band was originally together) was '' We Are the One'', a three-song EP which was released on

Dangerhouse Records Dangerhouse Records was a Neff, Joseph (August 13, 2013)"(Re)Graded on a Curve: Dangerhouse Records' Compilation, ''Yes L.A.''" ''The Vinyl District''. Retrieved August 21, 2015. punk music record label based in Los Angeles, California Overvie ...

in 1977. The Avengers opened for the

in San Francisco at their final show at

Winterland Winterland Ballroom (more commonly known as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland) was an ice skating rink and music venue in San Francisco, California. The arena was located at the corner of Post Street and Steiner Street. It was converted for ...

, which led to Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones producing a recording session for the band. In January 1979, Ingraham left the band and was replaced by Brad Kent, although the band only lasted a few more months until June 1979. An EP, titled ''

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

'', was released on White Noise Records a few months after the band broke up, which included songs from the Steve Jones produced session. Houston went on to record as a solo artist. An album called ''

'' (sometimes referred to as the ''Pink Album'', including by Houston herself) was released in 1983. It featured tracks recorded through the band's whole time together, and was compiled by drummer Danny Furious. The album was out-of-print for a long time due to being in "legal limbo", during which time Houston sold the album in

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the i ...

format directly through her website. The album was re-released in 2010.

New releases and re-formation

In 1999, a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

called '' Died for Your Sins'' was issued by

Lookout! Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation ...

. In addition to original unreleased studio recordings and live tracks, three tracks were newly recorded in 1999 by the scAvengers, featuring original members Houston and Ingraham with new members bassist Joel Reader ( The Mr. T Experience, The Plus Ones) and drummer Danny Panic (

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago subur ...

). To support the album, the scAvengers did a few shows. In 2003, a live album titled '' Zero Hour'' was released in Italy. The next year, '' The American in Me'' was released, featuring all of the tracks from ''Zero Hour'' plus four other unreleased studio recordings. Houston and Ingraham again joined with Reader and new drummer Luis Illades to perform some record release shows, and this lineup has performed sporadic live shows since. On July 16, 2006, Houston and Ingraham joined

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

to perform "American in Me" at the Bill Graham Civic Center. By January 2017, they were recording in Berkeley with Robert Shimp.

Reception

* " The Avengers were one of the best punk bands. I’m proud that they’re from the Bay Area" (

Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for t ...

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

) * "The Avengers, featuring singer Penelope Houston, helped lay the groundwork for political punk while giving the nascent musical form one of its first dynamic frontwomen. (

San Antonio Current The San Antonio ''Current'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. The ''Current'' focuses on investigative journalism, political analysis, and critical coverage of local music and culture. It also contains extensive and u ...

Members

Current

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

(1977–79, 1999, 2004– ) *Greg Ingraham –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(1977–79, 1999, 2004– ) *Joel Reader – bass (1999, 2004– ) *Luis Illades –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s (2004– )

*Danny Furious (Daniel O'Brien) – drums (1977–79) *Jonathan Postal – bass (1977) * Jimmy Wilsey – bass (1977–79) (died December 24, 2018) * Brad Kent – guitar (1979) (died February 3, 2016) * Danny Panic – drums (1999)

Discography

Compilation albums

* ''

'' (1983,

CD Presents David Ferguson was an American international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career, most of which has been spent on the West Coast, he worked with musical acts such as the Avengers, John L ...

) - also issued as ''Cadillacs and Lincolns'' * '' Died for Your Sins'' (1999,

) * '' The American in Me'' (2004, DBK Works)

Live albums

*'' Zero Hour'' (2003, Get Back) *'' Live at Winterland 1978'' (2010, CD Presents)

EPs

* '' We Are the One'' (1977,

) * ''

'' (1979, White Noise Records)

Singles

* "Paint it Black" b/w "Thin White Line" (1983, CD Presents) * "Teenage Rebel" b/w "Friends" (1995, Really Fast Records)

References

External links

Penelope Houston's official web sitePUNKCAST#1028
video of

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

show — Sep 8 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Avengers Musical groups from San Francisco Punk rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1977 Musical groups disestablished in 1979 Musical groups reestablished in 1999 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 Musical quartets Dangerhouse Records artists