The Locust was 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 punk ...

band from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, known for their mix of

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live.

History

Prior to The Locust founding members

Justin Pearson Justin Pearson (born August 20, 1975) is a vocalist and bassist known for his music career, playing in a number of San Diego-based noise rock, punk and grindcore bands, as well as his record label Three One G Records. Starting off in the punk ...

and Dylan Scharf were in the

band Struggle together, formed in late 1990. The band only lasted three years. Despite this they had opportunities to share musical space with other significant bands with similar ideological perspectives such as

Born Against Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as being a problem within the p ...

, Downcast,

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the ...

, and Econochrist. The band disbanded in 1994. The Locust was formed in 1994 by Bobby Bray, Justin Pearson, Dylan Scharf, Dave Warshaw, and Dave Astor. After a number of personnel changes, they arrived at their ultimate four-piece lineup in 2001, consisting of Bray, Pearson, Joey Karam and Gabe Serbian. The Locust was initially a

powerviolence Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is an extremely dissonant and fast subgenre of hardcore punk which is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore. In contrast with grindcore, which is a "crossover" idiom containing musical ...

project whose first release was a split with genre pioneers

Man Is the Bastard Man Is the Bastard was an American hardcore punk band based in Claremont, California. The band existed from 1990 to 1997, releasing mostly vinyl splits, extended plays, and albums on obscure labels from around the world. By 1997, the group ended ...

. Later releases incorporated synthesizers and became increasingly theatrical. The band regularly played shows in all-ages punk clubs in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, usually donning insect costumes. In September 1998, The Locust released their first full-length album, ''

The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...

'', through

Gold Standard Laboratories Gold Standard Laboratories or GSL was an independent record label which was founded in 1993 in Boulder, Colorado by Sonny Kay. In 2000, it was relocated to San Diego, California, United States, and two years later, to Los Angeles. It was headqu ...

. On June 24, 2003, The Locust released their second full-length album, ''

Plague Soundscapes ''Plague Soundscapes'' is the second studio album by The Locust, and their first with ANTI- Records. It features a more refined sound than previous The Locust albums, with a greater emphasis on keyboards. Track listing Personnel * Justin Pea ...

'', through

ANTI- Anti- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label to Epitaph Records. While Epitaph's focus has mostly been on punk rock, Anti-'s roster includes gospel (Mavis Staples), country (Merle Haggard), hip hop (Sage Francis, The Cou ...

. On March 20, 2007, The Locust released their third and ultimately final full-length album, ''

New Erections ''New Erections'' is the third and final studio album by American punk rock band the Locust. It was released on March 20, 2007, via ANTI-, their second album for the label. The cover art is by Neil Burke. Track listing Personnel ;The Locu ...

'', through ANTI-. After lengthy touring following the release of ''New Erections'', The Locust went on hiatus. On May 18, 2010, The Locust released an archive recording of their

Peel Session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

recorded 9 years prior in 2001, simply named ''The Peel Sessions'', released through Radio Surgery. This 16-track recording was the first time Gabe Serbian had started playing drums for The Locust, finalizing the lineup of Bobby Bray, Joey Karam, Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian that has remained ever since. On July 31, 2012, The Locust released a compilation album, ''The Gold Standard Labs,'' through ANTI-. The album contains all the band's material released on the

label which is all their material from 1997 to 2002. In 2013, The Locust returned from hiatus and in 2019 they were added to the Desert Daze 2019 festival line up. Bassist Justin Pearson confirmed that the band would add more shows after this, with new material and new costumes. On May 1, 2022, the band announced the death of drummer Gabe Serbian that had occurred the day before. The band have since announced on their

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account that they can no longer be active in the wake of Serbian's death, and that no further albums or live performances will occur under the Locust name. The final piece recorded by the group is a remix of the

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

solo track "Cruel Compensation" which appears on the remix album Bigger. Messier.

Style and influences

The Locust were known for their unique mix of

speed and aggression, complexity, and new wave weirdness. The band's musical genre is typically described as grindcore,

mathcore Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatur ...

and

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

. About the band's aesthetic, vocalist/bassist Justin Pearson has said, "I wanted to change the way people perceive music, or maybe just destroy it in general." The Locust's music is complex, dynamic and fast-paced, often featuring abrupt and inconsistent time-signature changes. These erratic elements are, according to vocalist/guitarist Bobby Bray, "a reflection of perhaps how our brains have to function in order to be able to do anything in the Western societies we live in." ''

Stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

'' described the band's sound as "Relentless blitzkriegs of high velocity noise, skinny tie keyboards and bloody screaming that often last less than a minute, Locust songs are tightly-wound, dynamic and bizarre expressions of frustration and hatred whose intensity and creativity are currently unparalleled in punk rock."

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

stated "If noise-rock had superheroes, the Locust would surely be among them." The band was praised by

Dave Lombardo David Lombardo (born February 16, 1965) is a Cuban-American drummer, best known as a co-founding member of American thrash metal band Slayer. He is currently playing drums with Testament, Fantômas, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Cross, Mr. Bungl ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

, who said "There's a band called The Locust. Their drummer is named Gabe Serbian, and their music hits me now like D.R.I. hit me in the early '80s." The Locust have had a unique stage presence: costumed in skin-tight, full body nylon suits (which the band refer to as uniforms). The last 5 different suits were designed and made by Ben Warwas. Unlike most bands, which normally have the drums set up behind the other members, the four members of The Locust usually all positioned in a line at the front of the stage. The group recommended that in order to get the full impact of the music, one should see them live. The Locust boycotted

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

and refused to play in any Clear Channel-owned venues. This boycott affected a 2005 tour with

Fantômas Fantômas () is a fictional character created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas was created in 1911 and appear ...

, as well as another tour with

Yeah Yeah Yeahs The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complem ...

. They also had a policy of only playing all-ages shows.

Equipment

Karam plays an assortment of

analog synthesizer An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...

s, including various Moog models and a patch-panel

modular synth Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages ...

. Bray plays a

Gibson SG The Gibson SG is a solid-body electric guitar model introduced by Gibson in 1961 as the Gibson Les Paul SG. It remains in production today in many variations of the initial design. The SG (where "SG" refers to Solid-Body Guitar) Standard is Gib ...

, and Pearson plays a see-through body

Dan Armstrong Dan Kent Armstrong (October 7, 1934 June 8, 2004) was an American guitarist, luthier, and session musician. Biography Armstrong was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He started playing the guitar at age 11, and moved to New York in the early 1 ...

bass made by

Ampeg Ampeg is a manufacturer best known for its bass amplifiers. Originally established in 1946 in Linden, New Jersey by Everett Hull and Stanley Michaels as "Michael-Hull Electronic Labs," today Ampeg is part of the Yamaha Guitar Group. Although ...

. Serbian plays Ludwig drums with

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian word that means "shine". Apart from cymbals and gong ...

cymbals.

Controversies

Pearson appeared as a "rock-star slut" in an episode of ''

The Jerry Springer Show ''Jerry Springer'' is an American scripted syndicated tabloid talk show that aired from September 30, 1991 to July 26, 2018. Produced and hosted by its namesake, Jerry Springer, it aired for 27 seasons and nearly 5,000 episodes. The television ...

''. It culminated in a French kiss with Scott Beiben, owner of the record label Bloodlink. Pearson wore a T-shirt for The Locust during the appearance. Pearson later stated "I was beat up during a commercial break by one of the 'security guards' pretty bad for blowing snot on the carpet." The Locust have been accused of encouraging the use of drugs because the band sold vanity mirrors as merchandise: fans and others mistook the mirrors as being intended for use as a surface from which one could snort

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. In an interview with Scene Point Blank

was asked "You guys make Locust compacts, modeled after cocaine mirrors. Do you feel it's irresponsible to sell these to your younger fans?" Pearson responded "I'm not sure what you are talking about. I have never done cocaine and we never modeled any sort of merchandising product or idea after cocaine mirrors. However we did have vanity mirrors. In case you were not aware, they could be used for a variety of things such as make-up application, picking food out of your teeth, popping zits, fixing your bangs, etc. About the second part of your question, we are not responsible for anyone besides ourselves. We are a band and in no way are we a babysitting service." The Locust organized a number of "gender-baiting incidents", including Pearson and Serbian staging a fake

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

while on tour in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

In media

* "Nice Tranquil Thumbs in Mouth" and "An Extra Piece of Dead Meat" are featured in the film ''

Cecil B. Demented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their underg ...

''. * In the 2011 cult film ''

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

'', a poster featuring the cover of ''Safety Second, Body Last'' can be seen in various scenes set in the protagonist's bedroom.

Members

;Final lineup * Bobby Bray – guitar, vocals (1994–2022) *

– bass, vocals (1994–2022) *

Joey Karam Joseph Karam is an American musician known for singing and playing keyboard/synth in The Locust. He used to be the drummer of the band Le Shok, and vocalist for hardcore straight edge band Resist. In 2010, he was a full-time member of The Locu ...

– keyboards, vocals (1997–2022) *

Gabe Serbian Gabriel Serbian (May 1, 1977 – April 30, 2022) was an American drummer, guitarist and vocalist, most famous for his work in The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, Holy Molar and Zu. He was also a member of Head Wound City, a hardcore/punk rock s ...

– guitar (1998–2001), drums (2001–2022; his death) ;Previous members *Dylan Scharf – vocals, guitar (1994–1996) *Dave Warshaw – keyboards, vocals (1994–1996) *Dave Astor – drums (1994–2001) *Jimmy LaValle – keyboards, vocals (1996–1998)

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (1998,

) * ''

'' (2003,

) * ''

'' (2007, ANTI-) ;Compilation albums * ''Molecular Genetics from the Gold Standard Labs'' (2012, ANTI-) ;Live albums * ''The Peel Sessions'' (2010, Radio Surgery) ;EPs * ''

'' (1997, Gold Standard Laboratories) * '' Flight of the Wounded Locust'' (2001, Gold Standard Laboratories) * ''Well I'll Be a Monkey's Uncle'' (2002, Gold Standard Laboratories) * '' Follow the Flock, Step in Shit'' (2003,

Three One G 31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California-based independent record label, started by musician Justin Pearson in 1994 and focusing on punk and experimental music. The label has released a number of albums and compilations in what ha ...

) * '' Safety Second, Body Last'' (2005, Radio Surgery) ;Split releases * split with

(1995, King of the Monsters) * split with Jenny Piccolo (1996, Three One G) * split with

Arab on Radar Arab on Radar was a Providence, Rhode Island-based noise rock band founded in 1994. They went on hiatus in 2002. Members of the band went on to form or join the bands including The Chinese Stars, Athletic Automaton, Made in Mexico, and Doomsda ...

(2000, Gold Standard Laboratories) * split with

Melt-Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toured worldwide extens ...

(2002, Gold Standard Laboratories)

References

External links

* *

Allmusic biography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

ANTI- label bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Locust, The Hardcore punk groups from California American noise rock music groups American grindcore musical groups American mathcore musical groups Epitaph Records artists Musical groups from San Diego Powerviolence groups Masked musicians Anti- (record label) artists 1994 establishments in California