JFA (Jodie Foster's Army) is an American

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 p ...

band formed in 1981, with roots in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

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

culture. The original members include Brian Brannon (vocals), Don "Redondo" Pendleton (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 were 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, vo ...

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 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 ...

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, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

John Hinckley Jr. John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinc ...

"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. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

and her portrayal of a teen prostitute in the 1976

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

film ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying ...

,'' 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 — a hated figure in the early 1980s punk rock scene. Don Pendleton, then in the band The Deez, and Cornelius, then in the band Jr. Chemists, knew each other from shows around

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) 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 1 ...

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 Pendleton 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. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...

and "Pipeline" by

The Chantays The Chantays, sometimes credited as Chantay's, is an American surf music band from Orange County, California, United States, known for the hit instrumental " Pipeline" (1963). Their music combines electronic keyboards and surf guitar, creating a ...

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''. 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 ...

'' 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.''Thrasher Magazine, April 1989''
/ref> 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, Pendleton and Cornelius were ''Thrasher'' freelance contributors of articles and photographs. Brian Brannon holds the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy Reserve.

Current lineup

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

Discography

*'' Blatant Localism'' 7", Placebo *''

Valley of the Yakes A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ...

'' LP, Placebo *''Untitled'' LP, Placebo *''

Mad Gardens Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several ri ...

'' 12", Placebo *''Live 1984 Tour'' LP, Placebo *''

My Movie My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Mark ...

'' 7", Placebo *''Nowhere Blossoms'' LP, Placebo *''Lightnin' Storm/People's Revolutionary Party'' 7", Buzzkill *''Camp Out/Travels With Charlie'' 7", Spontaneous Combustion *''Secret Agent Man Split'' 7" with Jack Killed Jill, NRA *''Only Live Once'' CD, Hurricane, 1999 *''

We Know You Suck In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (objectiv ...

'' CD, Alternative Tentacles *''Live in Chicago'' 7" with the Faction, Spontaneous Combustion *''To All Our Friends'' LP, DC-Jam *''Speed of Sound'' CD, DC-Jam

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 *''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 *''Rat Music for Rat People, Vol. 2'' (

CD Presents David Ferguson was an American international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career, most of which has been spent on the West Coast, he worked with musical acts such as the Avengers, John Ly ...

, 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 2004)

Soundtracks

*Damage, Think Skateboards Video (

Phil Shao Phil Shao (December 28, 1973 - August 23, 1998) was a goofy-footed professional skateboarder and journalist from Redwood City, California. Before his death, Shao was to be the next editor-in-chief of Thrasher magazine. Skateboarding career Sh ...

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 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''

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