''Peace thru Vandalism'' is the debut EP by the American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, three live albums, three live DVDs and have toured the world extensively, including performances on ...

, released in 1982 by

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

. It was one of the first releases to be put out by the Epitaph label, founded in 1981 by

Brett Gurewitz Brett W. Gurewitz (born May 12, 1962), nicknamed Mr. Brett, is an American musician and record producer, best known as the co-founder and guitarist of the Punk rock, punk band Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records ...

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, 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 sensibilities and ...

. The EP was later released in 1989 on Restless Records featuring the original authorship of the songs as a Vinyl, 12", EP, 33⅓ RPM, Reissue as well as The EP being re-released by

Time Bomb Recordings Time Bomb Recordings was a Laguna Beach, California-based independent record label, founded in 1995 by artist manager Jim Guerinot in a joint-venture agreement with Arista Records. In the following five years, the artist roster grew to encompass ...

in 1989 as a CD that also included the band's first LP, ''

When in Rome Do as the Vandals ''When in Rome Do as The Vandals'' is the first album by the American punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1984 by National Trust Records. Its title is a play on the phrase " When in Rome, do as the Romans do", as the Vandals were also a German ...

''. The CD release is titled '' Peace Thru Vandalism / When in Rome Do as The Vandals''. The EP introduced the band's style of fast punk rock with humorous, tongue-in-cheek lyrics and subject matter. This style would continue throughout the band's career, as they have always shown a preference for lighthearted humor over serious or controversial subjects such as political and social issues. At the time of the EP's release this was a somewhat novel concept, as most punk bands in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Orange County areas focused on politics, social and personal issues in their music.

Subject matter

Several of the songs on the EP deal with events from the band members' own lives, but presented in a humorous and lighthearted manner. "Urban Struggle" depicts the constant fighting that would occur in the early 1980s Los Angeles/Orange County music scene between the punk rock fans who congregated at a Costa Mesa, California club called the Cuckoo's Nest and the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

fans who gathered at nearby Zubie's. The song received radio airplay on

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...

's Rodney on the ROQ program and was the band's first minor "hit" in the punk community. "The Legend of Pat Brown" is about a Cuckoo's Nest patron who was arrested after he ran over two police officers, while "Pirate's Life" tells of riding the

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with Wa ...

ride at

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

while taking the drug

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

. "H.B. Hotel" is a cover of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

song "Heartbreak Hotel" with parodied lyrics. Perhaps the most well-known song from the EP is "Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government)," which became something of an anthem for the band and was played at their shows well into the late 1990s. The song gained renewed interest when it was mentioned in the 2002

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor and film producer. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for portraying Dominic "Dom" Toretto in the '' Fast & Furious'' fra ...

movie ''

xXx XXX may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''XXX'' (film series), American action film series ** ''XXX'' (2002 film), an action film starring Vin Diesel ** '' XXX: State of the Union'', 2005 ** '' XXX: Return of Xander Cage' ...

''. The track "Urban Struggle" has been featured in the film ''

SLC Punk! ''SLCPunk!'' is a 1998 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. The film centers around Steven "Stevo" Levy, a college graduate and punk living in Salt Lake City during the mid-1980s. ''SLCPunk!'' was chosen as the op ...

'' and the show '' Jackass'', followed by the second film and game adaptation.

Track listing

All songs written by The Vandals except where indicated.

Performers

* Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen –

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Jan Nils Ackermann –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Steve "Human" Pfauter –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Joe Escalante Joseph Patrick Escalante (born January 30, 1963) is an American musician, television writer, film and television director, radio host, and former television executive. He is known professionally as the bassist and songwriter for the punk rock ba ...

–

Drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

– backing vocals on "Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government)"

Album information

*Record label: **original EP release:

** CD re-release:

Restless Records Restless Records was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade Records and Mute R ...

(1989),

(1995) *** EP re-release:

(1989) Restless Records – 7 72327-1Restless Records Catalog number for "Peace Thru Vandalism" with original authorship of songs https://musicbrainz.org/label/573cf520-bd75-4040-8a4a-71f805759139?page=2 *Produced by

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began worki ...

*Cover art by Fritz Quadrata and Art Bad

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peace Thru Vandalism 1982 debut EPs The Vandals albums Epitaph Records EPs Comedy rock EPs