James Levesque (1962 – October 19, 2014) was an American musician. He was best known as the bass player from the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

/ surf punk band Agent Orange. Levesque was the bass player for the touring punk band from 1979-1988, along with original members Mike Palm and Scott Miller. Levesque's songwriting and artistic influences on the band's most notable releases ('' Living in Darkness'', ''This is the Voice'') helped create the explosive music scene in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

in the early 1980s. The melodic guitar driven surf punk with vocal harmonies influenced bands such as

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guita ...

and

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 ...

. Agent Orange is considered to be the originator of "

skate rock Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a mo ...

" after their music was used in the Vision Skateboard video "''Skate Visions''" that crowned them Kings of the skater bands. The video spawned many imitators and is the best-selling skateboard music video of all time. Levesque was a BMI affiliated songwriter and co-writer of such punk classics as "Everything Turns Grey", "Living in Darkness", "Voices in the Night", and "In Your Dreams Tonight". Levesque was a music and entertainment publicist in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

and represented

Larry Birkhead The Dannielynn Hope Marshall Birkhead paternity case, a.k.a. ''Birkhead v. Marshall'', centered on a child born September 7, 2006 to Vickie Lynn Marshall (better known as Anna Nicole Smith). The child was named Dannielynn, and was registered on h ...

and attorney Debra Opri in the Anna Nicole Smith paternity battle. Levesque died on October 19, 2014.

References

External links

The Official Agent Orange Website
2014 deaths American rock bass guitarists American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American rock singers American punk rock musicians Musicians from Orange County, California Singer-songwriters from California 1962 births Guitarists from California American male bass guitarists Agent Orange (band) members 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-bass-guitarist-stub