Cardiac Kidz was an American

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

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, United States, active from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. In 1979, the Cardiac Kidz released two 7" vinyl records; a 45 rpm disc, "Get Out / Find Yourself A Way" and a 33 rpm EP called, ''Playground''. They were the first punk band to make a TV appearance in San Diego June 1979 appearing on San Diego's

KFMB-TV KFMB-TV (channel 8) is a television station in San Diego, San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, The CW, and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., it has studios on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa, San Diego, Kearny Mesa section ...

show "Sun Up San Diego" (Host Jerry G. Bishop) and were played on San Diego mainstream radio stations of the time such as

KGB-FM KGB-FM (101.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a classic rock music format. KGB-FM's studios are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on th ...

KPRI KPRI (91.3 FM) is a community radio station licensed to serve the community of Pala, California, United States. The station is owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians. The station began operating under program test authority in December 2010 ...

and

XETRA-FM XETRA-FM (91.1 MHz), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language radio station licensed to Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an alternative rock radio format. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Cour ...

(91-X) along with local

college radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

stations like SDSU's

KPBS-FM KPBS-FM is a non-commercial public radio station broadcasting in San Diego on 89.5 MHz, affiliated with National Public Radio (NPR). It is owned by San Diego State University as part of KPBS Public Media, and is a sister station to PBS member� ...

. Articles on the Cardiac Kidz appeared in the

San Diego Union Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

, Kicks Magazine, and the

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

. The Cardiac Kidz are still featured across the US and in the UK through

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shows and podcasts such as "Strange Reaction". They performed with many San Diego and Los Angeles punk and new wave bands of that era, such as The Penetrators, The Dinettes, DFX2, Hitmakers, The Standbys; Gary and the Blind Dates, The X-terminators, The Monroes, The

Rick Elias Richard Robert Elias (January 7, 1955 – April 2, 2019) was an American singer and songwriter based in Nashville. Elias is best known for being a founding member of Rich Mullins' A Ragamuffin Band, which recorded and toured from 1993 thr ...

Band, The Cock Pits; Claude Coma and The IV's, the Stingers, The Curved Invaders, The Americans, and others.

History

Formation: 1976–1979

Jim Ryan drummer/lead vocalist and Billy Williams rhythm guitarist were members of the Southern California punk band Glass Onion during the mid-1970s. Glass Onion did local county tours and debuted at the San Diego Bicentennial fair. They also recorded and performed at the Straight Ahead Sound theatre and Recording Studio in San Diego California. The band performed to moderate success but disbanded in 1976 due to a stylistic division between the pair and bandmate Terry Thompson. Jim Ryan / Billy Williams began playing with Jerry Flack lead guitarist and Steve Lightfoot bass guitarist, eventually organizing the band The Cardiac Kidz. In 1979 and 1980, the band recorded and toured to increasing interest. The Lub-Dub record label, was created by Jim Ryan the drummer and lead vocalist of the band in early 1976. The Cardiac Kidz ’s debut single, "Get Out / Find Yourself A Way", was released in February 1979 on the Lub-Dub label, seven months after the release of the single the group released a 4-song 45 vinyl EP ''Playground'' also on the Lub-Dub record label, The songs were taken from a live recorded show at the Spirit Night club located in San Diego. The Cardiac Kidz performed after guest bands The Standbys and the X-terminators performed. This event made the Cardiac Kidz the first San Diego punk band to record a live show and release it on vinyl.The band members were Bill Williams on Rhythm and Lead Guitar and

backup vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

, Jim Ryan on drums and lead vocals, Steve Lightfoot on bass, who was replaced by Joe Foy, Jerry Flack, who was replaced by Bill Lubbers on rhythm and lead guitar.

Reissue and reformation: 1994 – today

In 1994, The Cardiac Kidz name received a boost on the worldwide collectors market when their song "Find Yourself A Way" was included on the compilation, Killed by Death No. 007. "Get Out" was later included on Killed by Death No. 12, while "I've Seen You Before" was on the similarly styled 2001 collection, "Hyped to Death" No. 51. 1999 saw Lub-Dub Records reactivated for the release of a 20th anniversary Cardiac Kidz CD with the full live Spirit Night Club show and unreleased studio recordings. In 2009, the Italian

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Rave-Up Records, released a

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vinyl LP

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, collecting the single and EP plus rarities. In 2010 the band reunited with Ryan and Flack at the helm, for new recordings and shows. In 2010, The Cardiac Kidz became the first San Diego local band to release 2 CD's on the same day – January 12, 2010. The CD's titled "

Rarities 1979-1981 ''Rarities 1979–1981'' was the digital release by the Southern Californian punk rock band Cardiac Kidz of the vinyl LP released by Rave-Up records in 2009. This album, contains the 14 tracks from the vinyl LP plus unreleased tracks from the 197 ...

" and " Meet with Me".

Independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, Blindspot Records, released both CD's. "Rarities 1979–1981" releases all the tracks which appear on the vinyl LP released from Rave-Up records in 2009 plus rare "garage" recordings along with live tracks from the 1979 Spirit Night Club show not available on the vinyl releases.The CD contains 21 tracks. The second CD is a live show recorded at "LeStats West" in San Diego, Ca. on April 11, 2010. The CD contains 12 tracks.

Discography

Singles and EPs

*"Get Out" / "Find Yourself A Way" – (1979) *"Playground" – (1979)

Compilation albums

*'' Killed By Death No. 7'' – (1994) Find Yourself A Way *'' Killed By Death No. 12'' – (1996) Get Out *Hype To Death No. 51 – (2001) I've Seen You Before *Staring at the Sun Volume 9 – (Blindspot Records / 2011) Mary Young *Staring at the Sun Volume XII – (Blindspot Records / 2017) I Want

Albums

Three albums of Cardiac Kidz music have been released to date; Two collections of vintage material and a live album from the briefly reunited band.

Get Out!

No album was issued during the Cardiac Kidz original run, however 30 years after the fact, Get Out!, a full album composed of the band's single and EP plus unreleased live and studio tracks, was put together by Italian label, Rave-Up Records. Released on October 15, 2009, the vinyl LP had a limited pressing of 1000 units. This was the Cardiac Kidz first release since their live "Playground" EP, after their previous label Lub-Dub Records was folded in 1978.

=Track listing

=Personnel

= ;Cardiac Kidz * Jim Ryan – lead vocals, drums, percussion * Billy Williams – rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Bill Lubbers- rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Joe Foy – bass guitar, ;Additional musicians * Jerry Flack – lead guitar, backing vocals * Steve Lightfoot – bass guitar, * David George – lead guitar ;Production * Produced by Pierpaolo De iulis at Rave-Up Records Roma, Italy and Lub-Dub productions, San Diego, CA * Mixed by Dr Sound, San Diego,CA, * "Punkett" and "Paper Towel" mixed by Jim Ryan at Circle Sound Studio, San Diego, CA * Recorded by Dr Sound, San Diego,CA * Additional Engineering by Jim Ryan * Art Direction by Pierpaolo De iulis and Jim Ryan * Graphic Design: Pierpaolo De iulis

Rarities 1979–1981

Released by Blindspot Records in 2011, this CD includes all 14 tracks from the Rave Up album, plus a radio ad and nine additional live or demo tracks

Meet With Me

Released by Blindspot Records in 2012, recorded live at Lestat's Coffeehouse in San Diego. 12 tracks including covers of

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

's "Words of Love" and

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

"(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone."

References

External links

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SAN DIEGO CONCERT ARCHIVE

The FLEX discography - copyright notice [FLEX! discography]

Punk Rock In Southern California By Henry Weld

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The Cardiac Kidz , Sceneroller
{{Authority control Punk rock groups from California Musical groups from San Diego Musical quartets Musical groups established in 1978 1978 establishments in California