Black Randy and the Metrosquad was an American punk rock band from the late 1970s and early 1980s in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

punk scene. They gained notoriety not only for their surreal and smutty sense of humor, but also for their amalgamation of

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

, 1970s

porn Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

, pop, and

avant-garde music Avant-garde music is music that is considered to be at the forefront of innovation in its field, with the term "avant-garde" implying a critique of existing aesthetic conventions, rejection of the status quo in favor of unique or original elemen ...

History

The band formed in Los Angeles in 1977 with Black Randy (born John Morris, January 5, 1952) as frontman, David Brown on keyboards, and other members, including Pat Garrett, on guitar.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 13-14 However, the band had a rotating line-up, which even included live back-up singers known as the Blackettes which often included

Exene Cervenka Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X. Music career The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old ...

Alice Bag Alicia "Alice" Armendariz (born November 7, 1958) is an American punk rock singer better known as Alice Bag. She is the lead vocalist and co-founder of the Bags, one of the first punk bands to form in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. Her first bo ...

Lorna Doom Lorna Doom (born Teresa Marie Ryan, January 4, 1958–January 16, 2019) was an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the punk rock band the Germs from 1976 to 1980, and again after they got back together from 2005 to 2009. Ea ...

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave music, new wave band The The Go-Go's, Go-Go's. She has also had a successful ...

, and featured several members of The Eyes.Uncle Dave Lewis " Black Randy & The Metrosquad Biography,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, retrieved 2010-10-24 Black Randy's lyrics gave him a reputation for being as witty as he was offensive with songs about porn,

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

, and

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 16 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. He ruled as a military dictator and is considered one of the most brutal despots in modern w ...

.Henderson, Alex " ''Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie'' Review,

, retrieved 2010-10-24 Their first single, "Trouble at the Cup", advocated fighting the police, describing a fantasy wherein the Hollywood Blvd. street hustlers would rise up and take violent revenge for the frequent police harassment they experienced. He also covered

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

's "

Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud Say may refer to: Music *''Say'' (album), 2008 album by J-pop singer Misono * "Say" (John Mayer song), 2007 *"Say (All I Need)", 2007 song by American pop rock band OneRepublic * "Say" (Method Man song), 2006 single by rapper Method Man * "Say" ( ...

". The band also covered various porn music themes from the 70s. They released many vinyl singles and cassette tapes from 1977 onwards which were later compiled on an album called, ''

Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie ''Pass the Dust, I Think I'm Bowie'' is the sole studio album by Black Randy and the Metrosquad, released in 1979 by record label Dangerhouse. Reception Online magazine ''Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes ...

'', which had sophisticated and even innovative musical arrangements that had more in common with

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

than

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

bands like Black Flag. This album led to the band being the most represented act 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 ...

, the label established by Brown and Garrett. This was the label's only album release, though this was not due to

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

, but rather to bands with major-label aspirations worrying that being associated with Black Randy's offensive songs could jeopardize their chances of being signed. The band appeared in

Lou Adler Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Ro ...

's 1981 satirical punk rock film ''

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains ''Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains'' is a 1982 Teen film, teen Musical film, musical Drama film, drama film about three teenage girls, played by Diane Lane, Laura Dern and Marin Kanter, who start a punk rock, punk band. The film also fea ...

'', performing "I Slept in an Arcade".Robbins, Ira
Black Randy and the Metrosquad
, ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'', retrieved 2010-10-24 ''Pass the Dust...'' was reissued in 2004 by

Sympathy for the Record Industry Sympathy for the Record Industry (also known as Sympathy Records or Sympathy 4 the R.I.) is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by Long Gone John. The first Sympathy release was the Lazy Cowgirls' ''Radio Cowgirl'' LP ...

, and as a double LP by Vinyl Countdown Records in 2009, including the original album, the Dangerhouse singles, demos, live material, and a Black Randy phone call.

Frontier Records Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways. History Frontier Records first ...

reissued the album in 2016 on transparent pink vinyl, including a digital download with the non-LP Dangerhouse singles as bonus tracks, with a limited cassette edition co-released with

Burger Records Burger Records was an American independent record label and record store in Fullerton, California, United States. The label was founded in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, members of the power pop band Thee Makeout Party. The record/video s ...

. The band imploded in mid-1982, when their frontman succumbed to drug and alcohol problems, which were evident in chaotic live shows, where songs were hardly sung and Brown tried, to no avail, to salvage the show. Black Randy died on November 11, 1988, of complications from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

. He was portrayed by

Chris Pontius Chris Pontius (born July 16, 1974) is an American stunt performer and television personality. He is best known as a cast member of the reality comedy show '' Jackass'' and co-host of its spinoff ''Wildboyz'' with fellow cast member Steve-O. ...

in the film '' What We Do Is Secret'', a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

Darby Crash Jan Paul Beahm (better known by his stage name Darby Crash, formerly Bobby Pyn; September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980) was an American punk rock vocalist who, along with longtime friend Pat Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg), co-founded the punk ro ...

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1979), Dangerhouse – reissued (2004),

, (2009), Dangerhouse, Elective Affinities Corp. (cassette) 2015, Vinyl Countdown, (2016), Frontier Records, (2016), Burger/Frontier (cassette).

Singles

*"Trouble at the Cup" (1977), Dangerhouse. *''Idi Amin'' EP (1978), Dangerhouse – as Black Randy & his Elite Metrosquad. *"I Slept in an Arcade" (1979), Dangerhouse.

Various artists compilation appearances

* "Down at the Laundrymat", on ''

Yes L.A. ''Yes L.A.'' is a six-song compilation EP featuring first-generation Californian punk rock bands. It was also the final release of the short-lived but influential Dangerhouse Records label. Overview A one-sided picture disc released at the ...

'' (1979), Dangerhouse.

References

External links

Black Randy crank callsReview of ''Pass the Dust, I Think I’m Bowie''
at ''

Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine ...

''.
Profile of the band
{{Authority control Musical groups from Los Angeles American new wave musical groups American post-punk music groups Punk rock groups from California Dangerhouse Records artists