Legal Weapon were a Southern California-based punk band, initially composed of singer Kat Arthur and guitarist Brian Hansen (both previously of the Silencers), bassist

Patricia Morrison Patricia Anne Rainone (born January 14, 1962), better known by her stage name Patricia Morrison, is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She has worked with Bags, The Gun Club, Fur Bible, The Sisters of Mercy, and the Damned. Bio ...

(formerly of Bags and later of

the Gun Club The Gun Club were an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. It was formed and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce. History Early days (1979–1980) The Gun Club w ...

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

and the Damned), drummer Charlie Vartanian and guitarist Mike R. Livingston. The band's early full-length albums ''

Death of Innocence ''Death of Innocence'' is the first album by the American punk rock band Legal Weapon. It was independently released in 1982 on Arsenal Records. Critical reception ''Trouser Press'' wrote that "''Death of Innocence'' catapulted Legal Weapon int ...

'' (on which their lineup included Steve Soto and

Frank Agnew Francis Thomas "Frank" Agnew (born August 18, 1964) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of punk rock band the Adolescents. Frank's brothers Rikk Agnew and Alfie Agnew, as well as his son Frank Agnew Jr., are als ...

the Adolescents The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1980. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with ...

) and '' Your Weapon'' were well received. Later efforts moved away from punk to a more

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

sound. The band released one album on a major label, 1988's '' Life Sentence to Love'', during a period in which they were signed to

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

. With her powerful voice, Arthur was often called "the

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known Rock music, rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage ...

of punk". She died October 14, 2018, at the age of 62.

Discography

;Studio albums *''

'' (1982, Arsenal Records) *'' Your Weapon'' (1982, Arsenal Records) *'' Interior Hearts'' (1985, Arsenal Records) *'' Life Sentence to Love'' (1988,

) *'' Take Out the Trash'' (1991,

Triple X Records Triple X Records was a Los Angeles-based record company started by three former employees of the bankrupt Greenworld Distribution: Dean Naleway, Peter Heur and Charley Brown. The label was known for "a fearlessly eclectic catalogue that broke away ...

) *''Squeeze Me Like an Anaconda'' (1994, Last Resort Records) *''Legal Weapon'' (2002, Sewer Line Records) ;Singles and EPs *''No Sorrow'' EP (1981, Arsenal Records) *''The World Is Flat'' EP (1993, Last Resort Records) *"Totally Knocked Up" 7" single (1996, Subway Records) ;Compilation appearances *"Daddy's Gone Mad" on ''

Hell Comes to Your House ''Hell Comes to Your House'' is an American deathrock and punk compilation of Southern California bands. It is notable for releasing the first ever Christian Death song "Dogs", as well as including the first studio recordings of Social Distortio ...

'' (1981, Bemisbrain Records) *"Pow Pow" on ''American Youth Report'' (1982, Bomp Records) *"Time Forgot You" on '' Dudes - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Album'' (1987, MCA) *"Warsaw Tuinal" on ''Spinning the Chamber'' (1995, Last Resort Records) *"Equalizer" on ''Slam Chops'' (1995, Triple X Records)

References

External links

Legal Weapon official MySpace page
{{Authority control Punk rock groups from California Triple X Records artists Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 2018 1980 establishments in California 2018 disestablishments in California