The Frisk was an American punk rock band from

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, formed by Jesse Luscious, Mike Sexxx and Zach Attack, all former members of The Criminals, along with

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

member

Hunter Burgan Hunter Lawrence Burgan (born May 14, 1976) is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the third and current bassist of AFI. Biography Burgan was born in Los Angeles County, California and grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is a vegan. ...

, following The Criminals 2000 breakup. The Frisk issued two releases on

Adeline Records Adeline Records was an American record label that was formed in Oakland, California in late 1997 and closed in August 2017. History In 1997, Adeline Records was founded by Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day, Screw 32's Doug Sangal ...

before playing their final show in 2005.

History

The Frisk arose in early 2000, when the dissolution of The Criminals caused vocalist Jesse Luscious, bassist Mike Sexxx and guitarist Zach Attack to pursue drummer

. For the former members of The Criminals, The Frisk proved to be a quick transition from their previous band together, while for Burgan the band would become an outlet in addition to his role as bassist for

, with whom he had been a member since 1997. Following the band's first show, Zach Attack departed, with Zac Hunter of

The Nerve Agents The Nerve Agents were an American punk rock band formed by Andy Outbreak and Eric Ozenne (ex- Redemption 87). Their angry brand of music juxtaposed yelled, sometimes ranting vocals with distorted and often chorus laden chords, complex bass ...

, taking his place on guitar. In February 2001, The Frisk entered Nu-Tone Studios in

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is part of the Sacramento–San Joaquin R ...

to record what would become ''Rank Restraint'', the bands' debut for

, who had previously issued releases by both AFI and The Criminals. The primary songwriters were Luscious and Burgan, although "Leech" was co-written with

Jesse Michaels Jesse Michaels (born 1969) is an American songwriter, vocalist, guitarist, artist, and author from Berkeley, California. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues. He is most well known as the vocalist for the ska punk ba ...

. The recording would feature "

Know Your Rights "Know Your Rights" is a song by the Clash. It was released in 1982 as the first single from the album ''Combat Rock'', three weeks prior to the release of the album. The song begins with the words "''This is a public service announcement... wit ...

", a song originally performed by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. Following release, Mike Sexxx left The Frisk and was later replaced by bassist Hardcore Dan that fall. The band's show scheduling became more sporadic as Burgans time was further occupied with AFI, supporting '' The Art of Drowning'' with several world tours. This caused The Frisk to acquire an additional drummer, Luke Swarm of Envain, for shows and touring when Burgan was unavailable. However, in the spring of 2003 The Frisk recorded their follow up, ''Audio Ransom Note'', and released it later that year on Adeline Records. Like the band's previous release, most song writing credits would go to Luscious and Burgan. The album featured "East Coast Funeral", a song written by Mike Sexxx, originally released on The Criminals posthumous EP ''Extinct'' in 2001. ''Audio Ransom Note'' was supported by shows that included appearances with the Dwarves, followed by several shows supporting Rancid, with

Tiger Army Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...

and

Nekromantix The Nekromantix is a Danish-American psychobilly band founded in Copenhagen in 1989. Their lyrics are generally structured around monster and horror themes. A central icon of the band's image is founder and frontman Kim Nekroman's "coffinbass" ...

. In November, The Frisk embarked on a month-long US tour that featured numerous dates with

Naked Aggression ''The Decline of Western Civilization III'' is a 1998 documentary film, directed by Penelope Spheeris, that chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers. It is the third film of a trilogy by Spheeris depicting life in Los Angeles at ...

. In early 2004 the band completed a West Coast tour with Subhumans. Following the tour, Hardcore Dan was replaced with bassist Matt. According to a March 15, 2004 post on the band's official website, The Frisk started work on a new album, although due to the band members other commitments, this was put on hold. Luscious ran for office under his given name Jesse Townley for Berkeley City Council, while during the campaign his bandmates stayed busy with their other projects. Burgan was once again touring with AFI, who released their major label breakthrough album ''

Sing the Sorrow ''Sing the Sorrow'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band AFI. Recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California between 2002 and 2003, the album was produced by Jerry Finn and Butch Vig. ''Sing the Sorrow'' received positive rev ...

'' the previous year. Zac Hunter was focusing his attention on his new band Shadowboxer. These scheduling conflicts would eventually culminate in the breakup of The Frisk, yet the band managed to book two final shows in late 2005, when original bassist Mike Sexxx returned to resurrect the lineup from ''Rank Restraint''. On November 25, 2005 The Frisk made their final Berkeley performance, appearing with

Propagandhi Propagandhi is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by guitarist Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and completed by bassist Todd Kowalski and guitari ...

924 Gilman Street The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to by its fans simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California, about ...

, followed by their last show ever on December 2, 2005 at Burnt Ramen in Richmond, California with The Briefs and Thought Riot.

Members

* Jesse Luscious – lead vocals * Zac Hunter –

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 strin ...

* Mike Sexxx – bass *

– drums Former members * "Zach Attack" Brewer – guitar * "Hardcore Dan" Kelly – bass * Matt Habegger – bass Touring members * Luke Swarm – drums

Discography

Albums

* ''Rank Restraint'' (2001) * ''Audio Ransom Note'' (2003)

Compilation appearances

* ''Every Dog Will Have Its Day'' (2001) * '' Dropping Food on Their Heads Is Not Enough'' (2002) * '' Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1'' (2004) * '' This Just In... Benefit for Indy Media'' (2005)

External links

Biography and Lyrics The Frisk Official HomepageAudio interview with Jesse Luscious
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frisk, The Punk rock groups from California Adeline Records artists