Cheap Sex is an American street punk band formed in December 2002, based in

San Diego, California 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 eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. Besides releasing three albums, the band participated in some compilations, including the Pure Punk Rock DVD, released by

Punk Core Records Punk Core Records is an inactive record label founded in 1989 by Dave Punk Core. The label is based on Long Island, New York. Punk Core originally started out a punk zine/distro in the late 1980s, but became a record label in the mid 1990s. Pu ...

, also featuring Action,

the Casualties The Casualties are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, founded by vocalist Jorge Herrera, Hank (guitar), Colin Wolf (vocals), Mark Yoshitomi (bass) and Yureesh Hooker (drums) in 1990. In July 2017, it was announced on the band's F ...

, Blood or Whiskey,

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

, the Havoc,

Lower Class Brats Lower Class Brats are a street punk band founded in Austin, Texas in January 1995. Based out of Southern California since 2017. Biography Formed in 1995 in Austin TX, Lower Class Brats . mix Punk, Oi!, 70s Glam and straight ahead rock and rol ...

, the Messengers, the Scarred and the Virus, the last one being Mike Virus' previous band.

History

After Mike left the Virus, he decided to form a new band, taking the name Cheap Sex because it was catchy and funny. The original line-up consisted of bassist Derek, guitarists John and Jordan, drummer Gabe and Mike singing, soon after they formed, a five-song

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

was recorded. The band signed with

and recorded their debut album titled '' Launch Off to War'', released in July

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, Jordan only recorded half album before leaving to join Madcap, being replaced by Chris Blitz. After playing several shows on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, the band made its

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

debut at the 3 day Vive Le Punk Festival at CBGB OMFUG in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The festival took place on October 3, 4 and 5th, 2003, in both the Main Stage and the Lounge Stage at CBGB, on the Main Stage bands like

Abrasive Wheels Abrasive Wheels are a punk rock band of the late 1970s – early 1980s. They hailed from Leeds, England and were seldom out of the Independent charts between 1980 and 1984 when the band split. The band were Shonna Rzonca – vocals, Dave Ryan � ...

, MDC, the Krays,

Two Man Advantage Two Man Advantage is an American ice hockey themed punk rock group, from Merrick, New York, on Long Island. They met via Beer-League hockey and formed the band in 1997. Their shows are very wild and can be intimidating for first time viewers. The ...

Awkward Thought Awkward Thought is a New York hardcore, New York hardcore punk band that was formed in the 1990s. After numerous compilation appearances and two demo tapes, Awkward Thought released their first full-length album ''Mayday'', consisting of sevente ...

, Molotov Cocktail, the Boils among others performed, while the Lounge Stage, restricted to people with

legal drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...

(21 and over), hosted bands like

U.S. Chaos U.S. Chaos are an American punk rock band from Paterson, New Jersey, United States, formed in 1981 from remnants of first wave punk outfits The Radicals in 1978 and The Front Line in 1979. They are the first American band to play in an Oi!/ str ...

, Street Brats,

Wretched Ones The Wretched Ones are an American Punk rock, punk band from Midland Park, New Jersey, United States. They had formerly belonged to The Burnt and The Wretched. Early in the 1990s, their song "Oi! Rodgers" had a modest underground success. Discogra ...

, Hugh Cornwell Band, Broken Heroes, Capo Regime, Weekend Warriors and Spitfires United among others. Cheap Sex performed Saturday October 4, sharing the Main Stage with

the Adicts The Adicts are a British punk rock band from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. One of the most popular punk rock bands in the 1980s, they were often in the indie charts during that decade. The Adicts originated as The Afterbirth in late 1975 but ne ...

Antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...

, New York Rel-X,

the Turbo A.C.'s The Turbo A.C.'s are an American punk rock band from New York City, United States, formed in 1995. The band's high-octane sound has led to comparisons with the likes of The Supersuckers and New Bomb Turks. Band history In 1996, the band relea ...

, Midnight Creeps and Silenced Sin. In 2003, in a tour with

, driving a van to New York the band suffered an accident, when a trailer sideswiped the van, a truck loaded with

cinder blocks A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them. Tho ...

was on the road, the truck took the doors off the van and some bricks flew in, one of the bricks severely injured Johnny O., tearing his

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...

, this caused the cancellation of the rest of the tour. Despite the life-threatening accident, Johnn survived, but left the band to recover from the injury, due to the John's departure Phil joined the band. In April 2004, the band recorded their second album for Punk Core Records, entitled '' Headed for a Breakdown'', released October 5, 2004. They toured extensively during that summer, playing along the east coast with label mates

. The band performed in July at the

Wasted Wasted may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature *'' Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk'', a 1997 memoir by Mark Judge *'' Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia'', a 1998 autobiography by Marya Hornbacher *'' Wasted: A Childhood Sto ...

2004 festival in the

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(formerly known as Holidays in the Sun) with bands such as Discharge and

Broken Bones A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

. In the same year, Cheap Sex participated in the British Invasion 2k4 Festival, organized by

SOS Records SOS Records is a California-based punk-rock record label. The label was founded by Rob Chaos of Total Chaos and Ezzat Soliman. Bands * 4 Past Midnight *Abrasive Wheels *The Adicts *Adolescents * The Agitators *Antidote *Bad Manners * Bang Suga ...

, the festival took place November 20, in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

, with

U.K. Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

Cockney Rejects Cockney Rejects are an English punk rock band (music), band that formed in the East End of London in 1978. Their 1980 song "Oi, Oi, Oi" was the inspiration for the name of the Oi! music genre. The band members are supporters of West Ham United ...

the Restarts The Restarts are an English street punk band based in London. The Restarts were formed in 1995 in London with Darragh O'Neill on drums, Kieran Plunkett from Armed and Hammered on bass guitar, and Mik Useless on the guitar. They played many ...

and local

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

bands like

Total Chaos Total may refer to: Mathematics * Total, the summation of a set of numbers * Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs * Total relation, which may also mean ** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are co ...

CH3 CH3 may refer to: *Channel 3 (band) * Channel 3 (Thai television network) *Methenium (methyl cation) *Methyl group (in chemistry) *Methyl radical (in chemistry) *Church Hymnal, third edition (Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland Decisions concerning ...

and Resilience among others, the show was recorded for a DVD release. In 2005, the band returned to

Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...

for another edition of the Wasted Festival, between May 18 and 22, this time with bands like G.B.H., the Business,

Funeral Dress Funeral Dress is a street punk band from Belgium who formed in 1985. Their big hits include "I'm in Love with Oi", "Free Beer for the Punx", "Party Political Bullshit", "Party On", "Freedom and Liberty", "Belgium's Burning", "Come On Follow" an ...

the Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,Anti Nowhere League Anti-Nowhere League are an English punk rock band, formed in 1979 by lead singer Animal (Nick Culmer), guitarist Magoo (Chris Exall), Bones (Tony Shaw) on drums and Chris Elvy on bass. Career Early days The band first played at the 1980 Cha ...

, T.S.OL. and a lot more. The last record by Cheap Sex, '' Written in Blood'', was released on June 6, 2006, followed up with what would be their last U.S. tour with label mates the Scarred, called the " Bloody Solution U.S. Tour", which began on August 11, 2006, in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

and ended on September 16, 2006, in Ventura. On March 1, 2007, Cheap Sex's former guitarist, Chris Wick, committed suicide after struggling with

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addiction and depression after the death of his mother in 2004, leading to the band's break-up. On March 15, 2007, Cheap Sex sent out a bulletin via MySpace stating that they would be breaking up and a final show was in the works, the final show was played June 24, 2007, with Career Soldiers and 46 Short in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

. In 2009, Cheap Sex released a DVD entitled ''Dead Today: V Years of Cheap Sex'' featuring a documentary about the band and live footage from the final two shows. The DVD was directed by their long-time merchandise creator and filmmaker Lewis Smithingham.

After Cheap Sex

Mike was in a new band called Evacuate with members from Lab Rats and 2nd Hand Justice, following the

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 ...

/ street punk sound that Cheap Sex and the Virus had, the band released a demo in 2007, plus a single and two albums. The band ended in 2017. Mike started a punk record label under the Evacuate name. Phil and Brock, although rumored to initially be in Mike's band, Evacuate, have gone on to create a different band, A Bande Apart, a female fronted band. The band recorded a demo and then split up. In addition to A Bande Apart, Brock was the bassist for Smash 77 with Shawn Smash from

and Danny, ex-drummer of the same band. He plays bass in the rock band Plissken. Phil briefly played with the Los Angeles band the Lieutenants, as well as the Long Beach based band Three Two Ones, with former members of the US Bombs and Duane Peters Gunfight, and the Hunns. He now sings and plays guitar for the band Drosscapes. Johnny O. Negative has played with

and

to fill in for open spots on their tours, he has also lived in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, working with No Revolution. Johnny joined the

as a full-time member but after several years left the band. Currently, Johnny lives in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Gabe ( a.k.a. Gabe Cross, Gabe Sex, Gabe Skunt) has played drums for the San Diego garage rock band the Muslims for a short period of time, the Holy Boys (with former Cheap Sex guitarist Chris), and punk/Oi! band Northern Towns. Gabe sings for NYC-based band Lowlands. Chance (Hurteau) (a.k.a. Chance Christ) had returned to being tattoo artist in 2005 under the name Chance Christ Superstar, and was tattooing in San Diego, California. He also did artwork using the name "EyesoreArt" for bands (most recently for the

), zines, and music releases. He continued to write music and play bass, and from time to time he appeared in small music projects; but never returned to music full-time. Chance died in 2015 after a long battle with cancer. Cheap Sex played a one-off reunion show on January 11, 2013, at The Observatory Theatre in Santa Ana, California, with Lower Class Brats, the Scarred, and Media Blitz. The show was to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the first album, ''Launch Off to War'', being released. All the band members currently live scattered around the US, so the band cannot be as active as it used to be. That one show led to the band re-grouping to play approximately once a year at various festivals.

Members

*Mike Virus (

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 ...

) *Johnny O. Negative (

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 ...

) *Brock Anderson (

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

) *Gabe Sex (

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

)

Discography

*'' Launch Off to War'' (2003,

Punk Core Punk Core Records is an inactive record label founded in 1989 by Dave Punk Core. The label is based on Long Island, New York (state), New York. Punk Core originally started out a punk zine/distro in the late 1980s, but became a record label in ...

) *'' Headed for a Breakdown'' (2004, Punk Core) *'' Written in Blood'' (2006, Punk Core) *''Dead Today: V Years of Cheap Sex DVD'' (2009,

Taang! Taang! Records is an independent record label with a roster of hardcore punk, punk rock, Oi!, power pop, ska, indie rock, psychedelic, and ambient artists and bands founded by Curtis Casella in Boston, Massachusetts in 1983. History Taang! ...

)

References

External links

Cheap Sex
at Pure Volume
Cheap Sex
at Trig.com {{Authority control 2002 establishments in California Musical groups established in 2002 Hardcore punk groups from California Street punk groups Musical groups from San Diego