JFA (Jodie Foster's Army) is an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band formed in 1981, with roots in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. It is usually made of a specially designed 7–8-ply maple plywood deck and has polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboard ...

culture. The original members include Brian Brannon (vocals), Don Redondo (guitar), Michael Cornelius (bass), and Mike "Bam-Bam" Sversvold (drums).

Alan Bishop Alan Bishop is an American musician best known for being the bassist and vocalist of experimental rock band Sun City Girls.Sun City Girls Sun City Girls was an American experimental rock band formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1981, the group consisted of Alan Bishop (bass guitar, vocals), his brother Richard Bishop (guitar, piano, vocals), and Charles Gocher (drums, voca ...

also played bass for a time. The band was pivotal in the development of the

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

and Skate Rock scenes. Over the years, the lineup has included many bass players and drummers but the core of Brannon and Redondo has remained constant.

History

Establishment

JFA was formed in April 1981, 19 days after the failed attempted assassination of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. president Ronald Reagan as he left the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using ...

"JFA," ''Flip Side Fanzine,'' whole no. 31 (April 1982), p. 28. Hinckley, an obsessed fan of

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...

and her portrayal of a teen prostitute in the 1976

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

film ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...

,'' reportedly attempted to kill the President as a means of impressing the actress. The band's name was thus a dark play on Hinckley's attempt at murdering Reagan. Don Redondo, then in the band The Deez, and Cornelius, then in the band Jr. Chemists, knew each other from shows around

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

and from skateboarding. They began playing together after a D.O.A. concert during the band's ''Hardcore 81'' tour. Bam-Bam later joined after meeting Redondo at an "Industrial Dance" in Phoenix. Brian Brannon was pulled into the band by Cornelius who met him skateboarding and at punk shows. The band's first show was opening for Black Flag at an Industrial Dance which was one of a series of early Phoenix punk shows. Their first song of the night was "Pipetruck", which combined elements of "Police Truck" by The

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

and "Pipeline" by

The Chantays The Chantays, sometimes billed as Chantay's, is an American surf rock band formed in Orange County, California. They are known for their 1963 hit instrumental "Pipeline". Their sound combines electronic keyboards with surf guitar, creating a uni ...

. As of 1984 all members of the band were from

, except Redondo ( Huntington Beach, CA) and Cornelius (

Bethesda, MD Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region an ...

Recording history

Placebo Records released their debut EP ''Blatant Localism'' in late 1981. The band toured the west extensively and played many local shows. Their first national tour was in the summer of 1983 following the release of their first album ''Valley of the Yakes''. The original bassist, Michael Cornelius, left the band in the summer of 1984 prior to the nine-week summer '84 tour. Alan Bishop of labelmates Sun City Girls played bass until Cornelius returned for the 1986 release ''Nowhere Blossoms''.

Skateboarding

The band received continuing coverage in the influential skateboard magazine ''

Thrasher Thrashers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 15 species in one large and 4 monotypic genera. These do not form a clade but are a phe ...

'' during the 1980s. Brannon appeared on the April 1987 cover of ''Thrasher'' riding backside at the Love Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. He also appeared on the cover of the April 1989 issue grinding a fakie layback thruster on the edge of the pipe at Thrasherland Skatepark in Glendale, Arizona. In 1990, Brannon took a full-time position as staff writer at ''Thrasher'' and eventually became music editor and art director of the magazine until he left in 1997. Throughout the 1980s, Brannon, Redondo and Cornelius were ''Thrasher'' freelance contributors of articles and photographs. Brian Brannon is a Master Chief in the United States Navy Reserve.Chief Boatswain's Mate Nelson L. Doromal, Jr.
"MSRON 11 Conducts Underway Re-Enlistment during Drill Weekend Training"
Defense Information Visual Distribution Service, September 2023.

Current lineup

* Brian Brannon – vocals, piano, organ * Don "Redondo" Redondo – guitar * Corey Stretz – bass * Jamie Reidling – drums

Discography

*''

Blatant Localism ''Blatant Localism'' is the first EP released by the Arizona-based skate punk band JFA, in 1981. It was the first major underground release in the punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid ...

'' 7", Placebo (1981) *'' Valley of the Yakes'' LP, Placebo (1983) *''Untitled'' LP, Placebo (1984) *'' Mad Gardens'' 12", Placebo (1984) *''Live 1984 Tour'' LP, Placebo (1985) *'' My Movie'' 7", Placebo (1986) *''Nowhere Blossoms'' LP, Placebo (1988) *''Lightnin' Storm/People's Revolutionary Party'' 7", Buzzkill (1991) *''Camp Out/Travels With Charlie'' 7", Spontaneous Combustion (1995) *''Secret Agent Man Split'' 7" with Jack Killed Jill, NRA (1996) *''Only Live Once'' CD, Hurricane (1999) *'' We Know You Suck'' CD, Alternative Tentacles (2003) *''Live in Chicago'' 7" with the Faction, Spontaneous Combustion (2003) *''To All Our Friends'' LP, DC-Jam (2009) *''Speed of Sound'' CD, DC-Jam (2012) *''Last Ride'' LP, DC-Jam (2023)

UK releases

*''Untitled'' 12", Fundamental UK *''Valley of the Yakes'' 12", Fundamental UK

Music videos

* Live at CBGB's (1984) * Pipetruck (1984) * Wilson (2010) * Danny Sargent's Trucks (2010) * Skateboard Anarchy (2014)

Compilations

*''16 Hi-Fi Hits'', vinyl, DC-Jam *''All the Rage, Volume 2'', GMD *''All the Rage 2000'', GMD *''Amuck'', Placebo *''Best of Flipside'', Flipside *''Best of Rodney on the ROQ'', Poshboy *''Best of Smoke 7'', Bomp *''Bite the Bullet'', Know *''Blazing Wheels & Barking Trucks, Skate Rock No. 2'', High Speed *''Born to Skate, Skate Rock No. 4'', High Speed *''Buried Alive'', Smoke 7 *''Concrete Waves'', Disaster Records* *''Dean Lane Hardcore Funday 2022'', DLH Records *''Deaner Skate Rock'', DLH Records *''Deaner Skate Rock, Vol. 2'', DLH Records *''Deaner Skate Rock, Vol. 3'', DLH Records *''Eastern Front'', Enigma/Eastern Front *''Explicit Skate Rock, Skate Rock No. 10'', High Speed *''Flipside Vinyl Fanzine'', Flipside *''For the Kids'', Together *''High Rollers'', AZPX *''Meathouse'', cassette-only, Version Sound *''More Coffee for the Politicians'', Placebo *''Old Skars & Upstarts'', Disaster *''Phenis'', Phenis Fanzine *''Pogo Strut Slam Swivel & Mosh'', Devil Doll *''Punk Floyd'', Cleopatra *''Punk Me Up'', Cleopatra *''Rat Music for Rat People, Vol. 2'' ( CD Presents, 1984) *''Rodney on the ROQ, Volume 2'', Poshboy *''Scene Killer'', Outsider *''Sudden Death'', Smoke 7 *''This is Phoenix, Not the Circle Jerks'', Placebo *''Thrasher Magazine Skate Rock No. 1'', High Speed *''VMLive, Series 2/Volume 2'', VML *''We Got Power'', Mystic *''Workers Comp'', Recess * '' Hardcore Breakout USA 1,2,3,...'', (

New Red Archives New Red Archives is an American independent record label based in California's San Francisco Bay Area, mainly home to punk rock bands. Started in 1987, the label began by releasing punk and hardcore punk records on coloured vinyl. Starting in sum ...

2004)

Soundtracks

*Damage, Think Skateboards Video ( Phil Shao and Tim McKenney parts) *Griptape and Gasoline, Duke Video *High Rollers, AZPX *Hitting the Streets, Thrasher Magazine Video *Label Live!, Black Label Skateboards Video *Mt. Baldy Pipe segment, Bluetorch TV *

Nude Bowl The Nude Bowl was a popular skateboarding locale from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. The name comes from the fact that the site was once a naturist resort named "Desert Gardens Ranch." It is outside Desert Hot Springs, California and consist ...

segment, Bluetorch TV *Pow Wow at Powell II, NSA Skate Video *Risk It, Santa Cruz Skate Video *Skatopia, Speed-Line Productions *Speed Freaks, Santa Cruz Speed Wheels Video *Strange Notes - Son! Get Down From There!, Santa Cruz Skateboards *Wheels of Fire, Santa Cruz Speed Wheels Video

Video games

*''

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4'' is a 2002 skateboarding game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision under their Activision O2 label. The game was ported by different developers to various systems. It is the fourth installment in the ' ...

Skateboards

Brian Brannon Signature Model by AZPX Skateboards
*JFA Boards by Factory 13 *JFA Skateboards by Placebo Products (1980s)

References

External links

Official JFA web site
- JFA interview from 1983 (archived copy from March 15, 2010, retrieved from Internet Archive January 18, 2018)

- December 2009
1984 Guillotine Fanzine Interview
- The Ragged Edge Collection @ Archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:JFA Hardcore punk groups from California Hardcore punk groups from Arizona Skate punk groups 1981 establishments in Arizona