Wasted Youth (also known as LA's Wasted Youth) was an early 1980s

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 Los Angeles, California. The band followed in the footsteps of Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. It was a prominent and popular act among the Los Angeles punk

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

. Other bands active in the early 1980s Los Angeles punk scene were

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 ...

, T.S.O.L.,

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

, and The Stains. Footage of the original lineup (1981–1983) can be seen in the film ''Slog Movie'', which is a film documenting the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

punk scene.

History

The original members of Wasted Youth were Chett Lehrer, Jeff Long, Allen Stiritz, and Danny Spira.

''Reagan's In''

The band's first album ''

Reagan's In ''Reagan's In'' is the 1981 debut album by the Los Angeles punk band Wasted Youth. The cover art was drawn by Pushead. Track listing # "Reagan's In" - 1:03 # "Problem Child" - 2:07 # "Teenage Nark" - 0:53 # "Uni-High Beefrag" - 1:03 # "Born ...

'', is in the early

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

hardcore punk

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

style. It is known for the

Pushead Brian Schroeder, better known as Pushead, is an American graphic artist. He is best known for his album covers and other merchandise for bands in the hardcore punk and heavy metal genres. Career Originally from Boise, Idaho, Schoeder formed t ...

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

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 ...

on the front cover. The back of the album features

Edward Colver Edward Curtiss Colver (born 1949), also known as Ed Colver, is an American photographer, best known for his early punk photographs.

's photograph of an upside down stagediver in midair. Though this

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

consists of ten tracks, it is less than fifteen minutes long.

''Get Out of My Yard''

Jeff Dahlgren Jeff Dahlgren is an American actor, singer, guitarist and music producer. Dahlgren's career includes singing in punk rock band Wasted Youth, star in the London-based film/mini-series ''Kosmos'', and star of the French film '' Giorgino''. As a ...

, front man after Allah Akhbar (1983–1985), left the band. His work was re-recorded by Paolo Rossi co-produced with Darin Scheff and titled "Get out of My Yard". Paolo Rossi (the last generation of Wasted Youth front men) went on to start an indie label "Open Circle Records" in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

(Open Circle released ''Get Out of My Yard'' LP). Wasted Youth led a successful "Crack Across America Tour" in the late 1980s to support "Get Out of My Yard." Michael Licalsi, a club and show promoter from the SF Bay Area, served as their manager, with Louis (VideoLouis) Elovitz taking part in management for a period of time as well. Wasted Youth performed with bands such as Bad Brains, The Ramones, and Circle Jerks on this final tour.

''Black Daze''

The band's later releases moved towards a heavy metal sound, including a cover of Van Halen's "On Fire". The more advanced musical and lyrical development on Black Daze brought Wasted Youth to new thrash metal audiences. The video for the album's "Good Day For a Hanging" depicts a motorcycle spinning amongst concert-goers in a mud-pit.

Aftermath

Members went on to perform in the tribal-

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

group

Savage Republic Savage Republic (originally named Africa Corps) is an American, Los Angeles-based post-punk band, formed in the early 1980s. The group reformed in 2002 and remains active with a different lineup. They are known for lengthy songs with an emphasis ...

;

Joey Castillo Joseph William Castillo (born March 30, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer of the hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age from 2002 to 2012. He is currently a member of Circle Jerks, The Bronx an ...

became a drummer for Danzig from 1994 to 2002, and later

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

from 2002 to 2012 and is now the drummer for

The Circle Jerks Circle Jerks (stylized as Ciʀcle JƎʀᴋs) are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. The group was founded by former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. To date, Ci ...

as of July 2021; while

Dave Kushner David Kushner (born November 16, 1966) is an American musician perhaps best known as the rhythm guitarist for the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver. Kushner has also been a member of Wasted Youth, Electric Love Hogs, Loaded, Danzig, Jane' ...

, who played bass on ''Black Daze'', went on to become a member of

Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...

from 2002 to 2008.

References

{{Authority control Hardcore punk groups from California