Justin Pearson
Encyclopedia
Justin Pearson is a frontman or bassist for a number of San Diego
noise rock
and grindcore
bands, starting off in the punk outfit Struggle in 1994. Ensuing projects included Swing Kids
, The Locust
, The Crimson Curse, Holy Molar
, Head Wound City
, Ground Unicorn Horn, Brain Tourniquet, All Leather, and Retox. He is also owner and co-operator of Three One G Records
, which releases albums by many of the bands he has been a part of. He has collaborated with Jimmy LaValle, Gabe Serbian
, Mark McCoy
, Wesley Eisold
, Karen O
, Nick Zinner
, Jordan Blilie
, Cody Votolato
, The Bloody Beetroots
and members of Bastard Noise
, among others.
Pearson has been cited as an influence for his work in Swing Kids
and The Locust
on the genres of noise rock
, powerviolence
, and what has been dubbed "freak punk."
by his parents. He was a single child and went by the nickname J.P. Pearson has stated he liked music and the aesthetics of rock music since he was little.
Around ten his mother's cousin let him borrow a guitar, and he eventually moved onto bass
. He also began skateboarding
and listening to the Thrasher skate/rock compilation tapes with bands like Septic Death
, the Sex Pistols
, The Misfits, and Suicidal Tendencies
. He has stated he was especially drawn towards the music that touched on social politics. Pearson also got into break dancing and early rap like Run DMC and The Beastie Boys, as well as developing an interest in metal. In Phoenix he lived a couple blocks away from some of the bandmembers of Slayer
.
When Pearson was twelve years old his father was murdered. Later that year in 1987, Pearson and his mother moved to San Diego, California
, specifically Clairemont. His mother's new boyfriend moved with them, and Pearson has stated that the man was physically and emotionally abusive towards both of them. At his new middle school he also faced death threats and attacks from skinhead
students.
Pearson continued to play guitar, taking a few lessons before teaching himself how to play the instrument with friends. At age 13 he met future collaborator Eric Allen. He met and befriended Matt Anderson of End of the Line at the age of 14.
Pearson was soon exposed to the unique San Diego hardcore punk
scene and began attending all the all-ages shows he could, discovering influential local bands such as Amenity, Heroin
, Forced Down, Drive Like Jehu
, and Crash Worship
. He also attended metal shows at house parties, eventually discovering Che Café, an all-ages venue on the campus of UC San Diego. The Che frequently hosted underground metal and punk bands. At the venue he saw shows by Blast, Chain of Strength
, Carcass
, Chumbawumba, Crossed Out
, Inside Out
, Filth
, and Sleep
. Pearson befriended a number of the musicians, stating "I'd go [to the Che] and talk to all the bands. They were really down-to-earth people, but they had this art that was just mind-blowing. When they played they would turn into ax murderers on instruments."
, Downcast, Unbroken
, and other hardcore punk
groups. The band went on its first tour that year in 1991, and Pearson has since described how he saw his bandmates as his adopted family.
At the age of 16, his home situation escalated to Pearson having to fight back against his mother's boyfriend, and he was kicked out of the house. He stayed in school and graduated, living off social security checks from his father's death. When not in school he also continued to tour with Struggle, and while touring they met bands such as Filrth
and Rorschach
, and Blatz
. Struggle released recordings on Undertow Records, Ebullition Records
, and Bloodlink Records, and disbanded in 1994.
, an early San Diego hardcore
and noise rock
group. He formed the band along with Eric Allen of Unbroken, Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf
, Jose Palafox
, John Brady, and Michelle Maskovich. Pearson served as vocalist and sole lyricist, and has described the themes as largely influenced by social political issues. Their music was characterized by Pearson's spoken/screamed vocals and their melodic/chaotic rhythms and song structures. The group disbanded in 1997.
Swing Kids are also credited with the unintentional creation of the fad "Spock
Rock" during the mid 1990s; largely due to many of their fans emulating Pearson's fashion sense and hair style. Pearson has expressed dislike of the term.
, or 31G Records. The first album released on the new label was the 1994 single "And / Fall On Proverb" by San Diego metalcore
band Unbroken. The second release was a reissue of the recent debut album from Swing Kids. He funded the label with the financial aid he was receiving from the community college he was attending, and has stated he was partly inspired to start 31G by Vinyl Communications and Gravity Records
. In 1998 Allysia Edwards joined with Pearson as a partner at the label, and their annual output began to increase.
, formed with musicians such as Gabe Serbian
and Joey Karam
. The Locust was initially a powerviolence
project whose first release was a split with genre pioneers Man Is the Bastard
. Later releases incorporated synthesizers and became increasingly theatrical. The band regularly played shows in all-ages punk clubs in Los Angeles and San Diego, usually donning insect costumes.
The Locust is Pearson's best-known work, and became known for their unique mix of grindcore
speed and aggression, mathcore
complexity, and new wave
weirdness. According to Pearson, "I just want to change the way people look at music or maybe just destroy it in general." Stylus
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 band has also been praised by Dave Lombardo
of Slayer
, who said "There's a band called The Locust, and their music hits me now like D.R.I.
hit me in the early '80s".
While with The Locust the band and Pearson organized a number of "gender-baiting incidents," including Pearson and drummer Gabe Serbian
staging a fake same-sex marriage while on tour in Hawaii
. At one point in 2003, Scott Beiben, the owner of the record label Bloodlink, called up The Jerry Springer Show
and orchestrated a hoax for Pearson to appear on the show as a "rock-star slut." Pearson wore a T-shirt for The Locust during the appearance, which culminated in a kiss with Beiben. 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."
. According to Pearson the band was an attempt to return a sense of lunacy and excitement to the hardcore punk scene, which had begun to appear dry and pedantic to Pearson. Pearson says he modeled the group on the Dead Boys
. The band also included Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf
and Jesse F Keeler of Death from Above 1979/ MSTRKRFT. Pearson has stated "we got all these fucked up kids together. Made some punk music. That was it. But as a band we didn't get very far." A review of the band's first demo stated "The recording was horrible, but was enough for me to realize that they sounded godlike."
Pearson began to frequently collaborate with other musicians on Three One G
, joining as bassist for the band Holy Molar
from 2001 to 2007; in addition to Locust members Pearson, Gabe Serbian
, and Bobby Bray, the group included Ron Avila (formerly of Antioch Arrow
) and Mark McCoy
(formerly of Charles Bronson
and Das Oath
).
Some Girls
Some Girls
, founded in 2002, was another Three One G supergroup that played in a hybrid of mathcore
, grindcore
with Justin again on bass and vocals. and noise rock
. They released several albums, including in 2005 the The DNA Will Have Its Say EP. Pearson played bass, and Karen O
of the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs
performed guest vocals on the title track. The band's breakup was announced in a Punknews article, published October 23, 2007.
Head Wound City
From 2002 to 2005 he played bass in Head Wound City
. Along with Pearson, consists of Jordan Blilie
and Cody Votolato
of The Blood Brothers, Nick Zinner
from Yeah Yeah Yeahs
, and Gabe Serbian, of The Locust and Holy Molar
.
Bastard Noise
Bastard Noise
is a noise music
group that Pearson was a part of in 2008. They recorded the full-length Rogue Astronaut with Bobby Bray and Justin Pearson providing vocals on "Tyranny Beyond Earth Eplilogue."
. In August 2009 they released a remix album entitled Hung Like a Donut, also on Dim Mak. On September 12, 2010, All Leather won the San Diego Music Awards
"Best Hard Rock Album" category for their album When I Grow Up, I Wanna Fuck Like a Girl.
Pearson was featured on the Designer Drugs song "Dead Meat." Pearson is a featured vocalist on a song, "Romborama" from The Bloody Beetroots
debut LP, Romborama. He toured in Australia with The Bloody Beetroots in 2009.
By 2011 Pearson had co-founded and was touring with the band Retox, a band with Gabe Serbian of the Locust, Mike Crain from The Festival of Dead Deer, and Thor Dickey.
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
and grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
bands, starting off in the punk outfit Struggle in 1994. Ensuing projects included Swing Kids
Swing Kids (band)
Swing Kids were a hardcore band from San Diego California during the mid 1990s. They were closely involved with and influenced by the forerunners of the San Diego hardcore punk scene of the 1990s....
, The Locust
The Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
, The Crimson Curse, Holy Molar
Holy Molar
Holy Molar is a noise rock band from San Diego, composed of members that play or have played in The Locust, Antioch Arrow, Charles Bronson, Heroin, Cattle Decapitation, The Crimson Curse, Glass Candy, Get Hustle, Swing Kids, Das Oath, Struggle and Some Girls. They play a similar style of music as...
, Head Wound City
Head Wound City
Head Wound City is an American noisegrind supergroup consisting of Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato of The Blood Brothers, Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian, both from The Locust and Holy Molar...
, Ground Unicorn Horn, Brain Tourniquet, All Leather, and Retox. He is also owner and co-operator of Three One G Records
Three One G
31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California based record label, started by grindcore and hardcore musician Justin Pearson in 1994...
, which releases albums by many of the bands he has been a part of. He has collaborated with Jimmy LaValle, Gabe Serbian
Gabe Serbian
Gabriel Serbian is an American drummer and guitarist, most famous for his work in The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, and Holy Molar. He is recognized as a very capable drummer, as showcased on recent Locust albums...
, Mark McCoy
Mark McCoy
Mark McCoy is a vocalist for several punk rock, black metal, powerviolence and experimental bands, some of which include Charles Bronson, Das Oath, Holy Molar, and most recently Failures. He also recorded a spoken-word comedy Split 7" with Mark Telfian of Limp Wrist...
, Wesley Eisold
Wesley Eisold
Wesley Eisold is a musician, poet and author. He records music under the name Cold Cave and runs the publishing house Heartworm Press.-Biography:...
, Karen O
Karen O
Karen Lee Orzolek , better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.-Early life:...
, Nick Zinner
Nick Zinner
Nicholas Joseph Zinner is the guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He is known for his "unmistakable" wild hair, skinny physique, and pale appearance...
, Jordan Blilie
Jordan Blilie
Jordan Blilie is the vocalist for the bands Past Lives and Head Wound City. However, he is best known as the co-lead vocalist and co-lyricist for The Blood Brothers, which he was a part of since their formation in 1997 until their breakup in 2007...
, Cody Votolato
Cody Votolato
Cody Votolato is a musician from Seattle, Washington, best known for being the guitarist in the post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers. He grew up in the eastside suburbs of Seattle, attending high school with his bandmates in the late 1990s when the band originally formed...
, The Bloody Beetroots
The Bloody Beetroots
The Bloody Beetroots is an Italian electronica and dance music project. The Bloody Beetroots were formed in late 2006 by producer Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo . In 2008, their EP Cornelius was in the Top 100 International iTunes downloads. This album was a complete art project composed of music, videos,...
and members of Bastard Noise
Bastard Noise
-History:The Bastard Noise was founded in 1991 by Henry Barnes, W. T. Nelson and Eric Wood, initially as a side project of powerviolence band Man Is The Bastard.-Project personnel and past contributors:...
, among others.
Pearson has been cited as an influence for his work in Swing Kids
Swing Kids (band)
Swing Kids were a hardcore band from San Diego California during the mid 1990s. They were closely involved with and influenced by the forerunners of the San Diego hardcore punk scene of the 1990s....
and The Locust
The Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
on the genres of noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
, powerviolence
Powerviolence
Powerviolence , is a raw and dissonant subgenre of hardcore punk. The style is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore.-History:...
, and what has been dubbed "freak punk."
Early life
Justin Pearson was born on August 20, 1975 and initially raised in Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
by his parents. He was a single child and went by the nickname J.P. Pearson has stated he liked music and the aesthetics of rock music since he was little.
Around ten his mother's cousin let him borrow a guitar, and he eventually moved onto bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. He also began skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
and listening to the Thrasher skate/rock compilation tapes with bands like Septic Death
Septic Death
Septic Death was a hardcore punk band fronted by artist Brian "Pushead" Schroeder on vocals. Septic Death's music became a major influence on bands like Integrity, Citizens Arrest, Infest, and many other bands tied to the hardcore punk, thrashcore, crust punk etc. scenes...
, the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, The Misfits, and Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies
Suicidal Tendencies is a U.S. crossover thrash band founded in 1981 in Venice, Los Angeles, California by Mike Muir, its leader and only permanent member. The band is sometimes credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash"...
. He has stated he was especially drawn towards the music that touched on social politics. Pearson also got into break dancing and early rap like Run DMC and The Beastie Boys, as well as developing an interest in metal. In Phoenix he lived a couple blocks away from some of the bandmembers of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
.
When Pearson was twelve years old his father was murdered. Later that year in 1987, Pearson and his mother moved to San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, specifically Clairemont. His mother's new boyfriend moved with them, and Pearson has stated that the man was physically and emotionally abusive towards both of them. At his new middle school he also faced death threats and attacks from skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
students.
Pearson continued to play guitar, taking a few lessons before teaching himself how to play the instrument with friends. At age 13 he met future collaborator Eric Allen. He met and befriended Matt Anderson of End of the Line at the age of 14.
Pearson was soon exposed to the unique San Diego hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
scene and began attending all the all-ages shows he could, discovering influential local bands such as Amenity, Heroin
Heroin (band)
Heroin was a short-lived but influential underground post-hardcore band, originating in San Diego in 1989.-History:Heroin was a forerunner of the screamo subgenre of hardcore punk. They were noted for the psychological intensity of their songs, which tended to be very short and include...
, Forced Down, Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore and alternative rock band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. Formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis following the breakup of their band Pitchfork, the band's lineup also included bassist Mike Kennedy and...
, and Crash Worship
Crash Worship
Crash Worship or ADRV was a San Diego based experimental-aktionist-industrial-noise performance group formed in 1986. Most renowned for its live shows in which three stand-up percussionists hammered out concussive poly-rhythms to abstract mutated guitar, synthesizers, effects and dualling vocalists...
. He also attended metal shows at house parties, eventually discovering Che Café, an all-ages venue on the campus of UC San Diego. The Che frequently hosted underground metal and punk bands. At the venue he saw shows by Blast, Chain of Strength
Chain of Strength
Chain of Strength was a late '80s and early '90s straight edge hardcore punk band from Southern California.-Biography:The first Chain of Strength release was a 7" EP entitled True Till Death, released through Revelation Records. After parting ways with Revelation, they formed their own Foundation...
, Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
, Chumbawumba, Crossed Out
Crossed Out
Crossed Out was a power violence band from Encinitas, California, operative from early 1990 until late 1993.-History:Crossed Out played sixteen shows and released a demo, 7", split 7" with Man Is the Bastard, split 5" with Dropdead, and two songs for the Son of Blleeaauurrggh compilation...
, Inside Out
Inside Out
Inside Out was a hardcore punk band from Orange County, California. It was fronted by Zack de la Rocha, later of Rage Against the Machine.-Biography:...
, Filth
Filth (band)
Filth is a hardcore punk band from East Bay, California.-Biography:Formed in the East Bay in 1989, from the ashes of Isocracy, the Vagrants, and Crimpshrine; Filth was a crustcore band that would help define the later "East Bay Hardcore" style...
, and Sleep
Sleep (band)
Sleep is a stoner doom metal band from San Jose, California. Active during the 1990s, Sleep earned critical and record label attention early in their career. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on heavy metal...
. Pearson befriended a number of the musicians, stating "I'd go [to the Che] and talk to all the bands. They were really down-to-earth people, but they had this art that was just mind-blowing. When they played they would turn into ax murderers on instruments."
Struggle
At age fifteen he founded the band Struggle with friends he had met through high school and local concerts. The different members' taste in music was diverse, but they were all fans and friends of bands like Born AgainstBorn Against
Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989–1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as problematic within the punk subculture of their time.-History:The group was founded in...
, Downcast, Unbroken
Unbroken
Unbroken was a Hardcore punk band from San Diego, California. They were influential in the Southern California hardcore scene during the mid-to-late 1990s. The band chose the name Unbroken because they wanted to emphasize their dedication to the straight edge philosophy of drug abstinence...
, and other hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
groups. The band went on its first tour that year in 1991, and Pearson has since described how he saw his bandmates as his adopted family.
At the age of 16, his home situation escalated to Pearson having to fight back against his mother's boyfriend, and he was kicked out of the house. He stayed in school and graduated, living off social security checks from his father's death. When not in school he also continued to tour with Struggle, and while touring they met bands such as Filrth
Filth (band)
Filth is a hardcore punk band from East Bay, California.-Biography:Formed in the East Bay in 1989, from the ashes of Isocracy, the Vagrants, and Crimpshrine; Filth was a crustcore band that would help define the later "East Bay Hardcore" style...
and Rorschach
Rorschach (band)
Rorschach is a New Jersey-based band that existed from 1989 to 1993 and reformed in 2009. The group often blended hardcore punk and dissonant elements of metal providing the inspiration to a number of hardcore and post hardcore bands thereafter....
, and Blatz
Blatz
Blatz may refer to:*An American brand of beer formerly produced by the Valentin Blatz Brewing Company and now produced by the Miller Brewing Company under a contract with the Pabst Brewing Company*Blatz For people with surname Blatz, see:...
. Struggle released recordings on Undertow Records, Ebullition Records
Ebullition Records
Ebullition Records is an independent record label and distro based out of Goleta, California. It published HeartattaCk, a zine focusing on independent punk and hardcore from around the world, informed by an anti-consumerist and D.I.Y. ideology....
, and Bloodlink Records, and disbanded in 1994.
Swing Kids
After the dissolution of Struggle in 1994, Pearson co-founded the band Swing KingsSwing Kids (band)
Swing Kids were a hardcore band from San Diego California during the mid 1990s. They were closely involved with and influenced by the forerunners of the San Diego hardcore punk scene of the 1990s....
, an early San Diego hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
group. He formed the band along with Eric Allen of Unbroken, Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf is an American solo musical project founded in San Diego, California in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer and Rhodes piano...
, Jose Palafox
Jose Palafox
Jose Palafox is a writer, filmmaker, activist, and hardcore punk musician.-Musical history:He played drums in the 1990s political hardcore punk band Struggle, who released records on Ebullition Records, as well as in the Swing Kids on Three One G Records, to which he introduced a unique...
, John Brady, and Michelle Maskovich. Pearson served as vocalist and sole lyricist, and has described the themes as largely influenced by social political issues. Their music was characterized by Pearson's spoken/screamed vocals and their melodic/chaotic rhythms and song structures. The group disbanded in 1997.
Swing Kids are also credited with the unintentional creation of the fad "Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
Rock" during the mid 1990s; largely due to many of their fans emulating Pearson's fashion sense and hair style. Pearson has expressed dislike of the term.
Three One G
Also in 1994 Pearson founded the independent label Three One GThree One G
31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California based record label, started by grindcore and hardcore musician Justin Pearson in 1994...
, or 31G Records. The first album released on the new label was the 1994 single "And / Fall On Proverb" by San Diego metalcore
Metalcore
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal combining various elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two genres. The term took on its current meaning in the mid-1990s, describing bands such as Earth Crisis, Deadguy and Integrity...
band Unbroken. The second release was a reissue of the recent debut album from Swing Kids. He funded the label with the financial aid he was receiving from the community college he was attending, and has stated he was partly inspired to start 31G by Vinyl Communications and Gravity Records
Gravity Records
Gravity Records is an underground independent record label from San Diego. It was formed in 1991 by Matt Anderson, a member of the influential underground band Heroin. It has been central in developing and promoting the "San Diego sound" - an idiosyncratic form of post-hardcore with loose, chaotic...
. In 1998 Allysia Edwards joined with Pearson as a partner at the label, and their annual output began to increase.
The Locust
Starting in 1994, he became bassist and joint vocalist for the new band The LocustThe Locust
The Locust is a musical group from San Diego, California, United States known for their unique mix of grindcore speed and aggression, mathcore complexity, and new wave weirdness.- Style :...
, formed with musicians such as Gabe Serbian
Gabe Serbian
Gabriel Serbian is an American drummer and guitarist, most famous for his work in The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, and Holy Molar. He is recognized as a very capable drummer, as showcased on recent Locust albums...
and Joey Karam
Joey Karam
Joseph Karam is an American musician known for singing and playing keyboard/synth in The Locust and also formerly was the drummer of the band Le Shok, as well as voaclist for hard core straight edge band Resist....
. The Locust was initially a powerviolence
Powerviolence
Powerviolence , is a raw and dissonant subgenre of hardcore punk. The style is closely related to thrashcore and grindcore.-History:...
project whose first release was a split with genre pioneers Man Is the Bastard
Man Is the Bastard
Man Is the Bastard were a pioneering hardcore punk band who contributed the name, and perhaps also the ethos, to the punk subgenre known as power violence...
. Later releases incorporated synthesizers and became increasingly theatrical. The band regularly played shows in all-ages punk clubs in Los Angeles and San Diego, usually donning insect costumes.
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
speed and aggression, mathcore
Mathcore
Mathcore is a rhythmically complex and dissonant fusion style of hardcore punk and Metal. It has its roots in bands such as Converge, Botch, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. The term mathcore is suggested by analogy with math rock. Both math rock and mathcore make use of unusual time signatures...
complexity, and new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
weirdness. According to Pearson, "I just want to change the way people look at music or maybe just destroy it in general." Stylus
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
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 band has also been praised by Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their groundbreaking 1986 release Reign In Blood and their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, who said "There's a band called The Locust, and their music hits me now like D.R.I.
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
Dirty Rotten Imbeciles is a thrash metal/crossover thrash band from the United States that formed in Houston, in 1982. The band currently comprises founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist Spike Cassidy, as well as drummer Rob Rampy and bassist Harald Oimoen.D.R.I...
hit me in the early '80s".
While with The Locust the band and Pearson organized a number of "gender-baiting incidents," including Pearson and drummer Gabe Serbian
Gabe Serbian
Gabriel Serbian is an American drummer and guitarist, most famous for his work in The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, and Holy Molar. He is recognized as a very capable drummer, as showcased on recent Locust albums...
staging a fake same-sex marriage while on tour in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. At one point in 2003, Scott Beiben, the owner of the record label Bloodlink, called up The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show
The Jerry Springer Show is a syndicated television tabloid talk show hosted by Jerry Springer, a former politician, broadcast in the United States and other countries...
and orchestrated a hoax for Pearson to appear on the show as a "rock-star slut." Pearson wore a T-shirt for The Locust during the appearance, which culminated in a kiss with Beiben. 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."
Crimson Curse
Founded in 1998, The Crimson Curse was Pearson's first group to include keyboards and elements of deathrockDeathrock
Deathrock is a term used to identify a sub-genre of punk rock incorporating horror elements and spooky atmospherics, that emerged on the West Coast of the United States in 1979.-Characteristics:...
. According to Pearson the band was an attempt to return a sense of lunacy and excitement to the hardcore punk scene, which had begun to appear dry and pedantic to Pearson. Pearson says he modeled the group on the Dead Boys
The Dead Boys
The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...
. The band also included Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf
The Album Leaf is an American solo musical project founded in San Diego, California in 1998 by Jimmy LaValle. He is known for his use of electronics, synthesizer and Rhodes piano...
and Jesse F Keeler of Death from Above 1979/ MSTRKRFT. Pearson has stated "we got all these fucked up kids together. Made some punk music. That was it. But as a band we didn't get very far." A review of the band's first demo stated "The recording was horrible, but was enough for me to realize that they sounded godlike."
Later career
The Holy MolarPearson began to frequently collaborate with other musicians on Three One G
Three One G
31G Records, or Three One G, is a San Diego, California based record label, started by grindcore and hardcore musician Justin Pearson in 1994...
, joining as bassist for the band Holy Molar
Holy Molar
Holy Molar is a noise rock band from San Diego, composed of members that play or have played in The Locust, Antioch Arrow, Charles Bronson, Heroin, Cattle Decapitation, The Crimson Curse, Glass Candy, Get Hustle, Swing Kids, Das Oath, Struggle and Some Girls. They play a similar style of music as...
from 2001 to 2007; in addition to Locust members Pearson, Gabe Serbian
Gabe Serbian
Gabriel Serbian is an American drummer and guitarist, most famous for his work in The Locust, Cattle Decapitation, and Holy Molar. He is recognized as a very capable drummer, as showcased on recent Locust albums...
, and Bobby Bray, the group included Ron Avila (formerly of Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow
Antioch Arrow, from San Diego, California, was on the seminal post-hardcore label Gravity Records, responsible for putting San Diego on the map in the mid-90's as one of the centers of the movement....
) and Mark McCoy
Mark McCoy
Mark McCoy is a vocalist for several punk rock, black metal, powerviolence and experimental bands, some of which include Charles Bronson, Das Oath, Holy Molar, and most recently Failures. He also recorded a spoken-word comedy Split 7" with Mark Telfian of Limp Wrist...
(formerly of Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (band)
Charles Bronson was a prolific powerviolence band from DeKalb, Illinois, existing from 1994 to 1997. Although they were often associated with the straight edge scene, only two of the members actually abstained from drug and alcohol use.-Musical style:...
and Das Oath
Das Oath
Das Oath was a thrashcore band from New York, originating from The Netherlands. They formed in 1999. After two rehearsals the band recorded their 7" eight song debut in Rotterdam. It was not until a year later when Das Oath started to play shows. With only one 7" released the band hit the road and...
).
Some Girls
Some Girls
Some Girls (California band)
Some Girls was a collective of musicians who came from different backgrounds and all who had established bands that pushed the limits of hardcore punk. Their musical style was a hybrid of mathcore, grindcore and noise rock.-History:...
, founded in 2002, was another Three One G supergroup that played in a hybrid of mathcore
Mathcore
Mathcore is a rhythmically complex and dissonant fusion style of hardcore punk and Metal. It has its roots in bands such as Converge, Botch, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. The term mathcore is suggested by analogy with math rock. Both math rock and mathcore make use of unusual time signatures...
, grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
with Justin again on bass and vocals. and noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
. They released several albums, including in 2005 the The DNA Will Have Its Say EP. Pearson played bass, and Karen O
Karen O
Karen Lee Orzolek , better known by her stage name Karen O, is the vocalist for New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs.-Early life:...
of the band Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
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, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
performed guest vocals on the title track. The band's breakup was announced in a Punknews article, published October 23, 2007.
Head Wound City
From 2002 to 2005 he played bass in Head Wound City
Head Wound City
Head Wound City is an American noisegrind supergroup consisting of Jordan Blilie and Cody Votolato of The Blood Brothers, Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian, both from The Locust and Holy Molar...
. Along with Pearson, consists of Jordan Blilie
Jordan Blilie
Jordan Blilie is the vocalist for the bands Past Lives and Head Wound City. However, he is best known as the co-lead vocalist and co-lyricist for The Blood Brothers, which he was a part of since their formation in 1997 until their breakup in 2007...
and Cody Votolato
Cody Votolato
Cody Votolato is a musician from Seattle, Washington, best known for being the guitarist in the post-hardcore band The Blood Brothers. He grew up in the eastside suburbs of Seattle, attending high school with his bandmates in the late 1990s when the band originally formed...
of The Blood Brothers, Nick Zinner
Nick Zinner
Nicholas Joseph Zinner is the guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. He is known for his "unmistakable" wild hair, skinny physique, and pale appearance...
from Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
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, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
, and Gabe Serbian, of The Locust and Holy Molar
Holy Molar
Holy Molar is a noise rock band from San Diego, composed of members that play or have played in The Locust, Antioch Arrow, Charles Bronson, Heroin, Cattle Decapitation, The Crimson Curse, Glass Candy, Get Hustle, Swing Kids, Das Oath, Struggle and Some Girls. They play a similar style of music as...
.
Bastard Noise
Bastard Noise
Bastard Noise
-History:The Bastard Noise was founded in 1991 by Henry Barnes, W. T. Nelson and Eric Wood, initially as a side project of powerviolence band Man Is The Bastard.-Project personnel and past contributors:...
is a noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
group that Pearson was a part of in 2008. They recorded the full-length Rogue Astronaut with Bobby Bray and Justin Pearson providing vocals on "Tyranny Beyond Earth Eplilogue."
All Leather
All Leather, his current band, was founded in 2008. It consists of Pearson on vocals, Nathan Joyner on guitar, Jung Sing on drums, and Eric Livingston on synthesizers.They released their debut EP Hung Like A Horse on Dim Mak RecordsDim Mak Records
Dim Mak Records is a record label founded in 1996 by Steve Aoki and based in Los Angeles, CA. Dim Mak's first release was a 7" by a little known hardcore band from southern California, Stickfigurecarousel.-Roster:Active* Steve Aoki* All Leather...
. In August 2009 they released a remix album entitled Hung Like a Donut, also on Dim Mak. On September 12, 2010, All Leather won the San Diego Music Awards
San Diego Music Awards
The San Diego Music Awards are an awards show held annually in San Diego, California to recognize the best bands and artists in local music. The awards have been held since 1991 and were originally organized by the city's main local music publication, , which eventually became the alternative...
"Best Hard Rock Album" category for their album When I Grow Up, I Wanna Fuck Like a Girl.
Others
From 2008 he also been a member of Leg Lifters, which consists of Pearson and Nathan Joyner of All Leather. Leg Lifters is considered a production team. They produce a radio show with Vestal Radio, web video episodes, and remixes.Pearson was featured on the Designer Drugs song "Dead Meat." Pearson is a featured vocalist on a song, "Romborama" from The Bloody Beetroots
The Bloody Beetroots
The Bloody Beetroots is an Italian electronica and dance music project. The Bloody Beetroots were formed in late 2006 by producer Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo . In 2008, their EP Cornelius was in the Top 100 International iTunes downloads. This album was a complete art project composed of music, videos,...
debut LP, Romborama. He toured in Australia with The Bloody Beetroots in 2009.
By 2011 Pearson had co-founded and was touring with the band Retox, a band with Gabe Serbian of the Locust, Mike Crain from The Festival of Dead Deer, and Thor Dickey.