Uniform Choice
Encyclopedia
Uniform Choice is an Orange County, California
hardcore punk
band.
and his other band, Target 13, had written the song "Rodney On The ROQ" for KROQ-FM
DJ Rodney Bingenheimer
, which appeared on the compilation album Rodney On The ROQ, Vol 2 under the independent record label Posh Boy Records
.
Bates left his skateboard shop, Bates Skates, behind in Palm Springs and moved to Newport Beach. He looked to start a new band in Orange County and found Meyer and Hanna who were playing with a local punk band called Moral Sin.
They together created Uniform Choice and as a power trio started playing a number of songs already written by Bates. Meyer and Bates wrote a number of songs together over the course of the next two years including "War is Here" and "Don't Take the Car You'll Kill Yourself". After the punk club Cuckoo's Nest (nightclub) closed down, there were limited clubs for the band to play in the Orange County area. Not too long after the closure of the Cuckoo's Nest, owner Jerry Roach was able to reopen the club as "The Concert Factory" for a few months where Uniform Choice played most of their early shows in late 1982. Bates played guitar and sang lead vocals in the beginning until the group landed on lead singer Elliott Colla, a former classmate of Meyer and Hanna's from Corona Del Mar High School. The band experimented with other singers before Colla. Newport Beach local Eric Whittick sang for a short while. And later in the tradition of X-Ray Spex, 14-year-old Jennifer Harper fronted the band for a short time. The band made its first studio demo in September 1982 (Orange Peel Sessions) with Colla heading up vocals. The recordings were engineered and produced by Tom Springston (Tom Tom) of Burnt Party Host and were recorded in Corona Del Mar, California. In 1983 the band experimented with an additional second lead bass player, Brent Turner. Turner only played several shows with the band and left the group to record the album When in Rome Do as the Vandals
with The Vandals (punk). Over the course of the first two years the group performed with other established punk acts such as Black Flag
, Circle Jerks
, Channel 3 (band)
, Shattered Faith (band)
, Bad Religion
, Circle One and Angry Samoans
.
In early 1984, Hanna and Meyer decided to leave the band and Bates enlisted an entire new line-up which would be fronted by Pat Dubar
and drums being played by Hanna's friend and classmate Pat Dyson. Meyer went on to play with other groups such as the Finks and Peace Corp. Bates left the group later in 1984 to pursue other endeavors in Hollywood, California.
The group with this final line-up of Dubar, Dyson along with the addition of two well known O.C. hardcore players Vic Maynez and Dave Mello went forward with a new vision as Uniform Choice and continued to record and created what was considered the first O.C. Straight Edge
Demos. gaining momentum nationally and performing throughout California and beyond bringing the group to their current level of fame and recognition in the Southern California punk subculture
.
Screaming for Change is their most acclaimed album. They also recorded another less well received LP called Staring into the Sun and their demo has been bootlegged several times. Pat Dubar was a graduate of Pepperdine University
and created the label Wishingwell Records, which released albums by Uniform Choice, Blast, and Youth of Today
, among others. Uniform Choice is historically among the first five Straight Edge Hardcore bands to emerge from Southern California
.
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
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...
band.
History
Uniform Choice was started by guitarist Myke Bates, bassist Hanson Meyer and drummer Eric Hanna during the Spring of 1982. Bates had been playing with a couple of bands previously in Palm Springs. His band, Funeral Information, had played early punk shows with Sin 34 and Black Flag (band)Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
and his other band, Target 13, had written the song "Rodney On The ROQ" for KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
DJ Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer
Rodney Bingenheimer, born December 15, 1947, is a radio disc jockey on the long-running Los Angeles rock station KROQ who is notable for helping numerous iconic bands become successful in the American market. His contribution to the music business has been described as important...
, which appeared on the compilation album Rodney On The ROQ, Vol 2 under the independent record label Posh Boy Records
Posh Boy Records
Posh Boy Records was a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Robbie Fields, a high school substitute teacher and former copyboy at the L A Times who took an interest in the emerging punk rock scene in Orange County, California during the late 1970s...
.
Bates left his skateboard shop, Bates Skates, behind in Palm Springs and moved to Newport Beach. He looked to start a new band in Orange County and found Meyer and Hanna who were playing with a local punk band called Moral Sin.
They together created Uniform Choice and as a power trio started playing a number of songs already written by Bates. Meyer and Bates wrote a number of songs together over the course of the next two years including "War is Here" and "Don't Take the Car You'll Kill Yourself". After the punk club Cuckoo's Nest (nightclub) closed down, there were limited clubs for the band to play in the Orange County area. Not too long after the closure of the Cuckoo's Nest, owner Jerry Roach was able to reopen the club as "The Concert Factory" for a few months where Uniform Choice played most of their early shows in late 1982. Bates played guitar and sang lead vocals in the beginning until the group landed on lead singer Elliott Colla, a former classmate of Meyer and Hanna's from Corona Del Mar High School. The band experimented with other singers before Colla. Newport Beach local Eric Whittick sang for a short while. And later in the tradition of X-Ray Spex, 14-year-old Jennifer Harper fronted the band for a short time. The band made its first studio demo in September 1982 (Orange Peel Sessions) with Colla heading up vocals. The recordings were engineered and produced by Tom Springston (Tom Tom) of Burnt Party Host and were recorded in Corona Del Mar, California. In 1983 the band experimented with an additional second lead bass player, Brent Turner. Turner only played several shows with the band and left the group to record the album When in Rome Do as the Vandals
When in Rome Do as the Vandals
When in Rome Do as the Vandals is the debut album by the Huntington Beach punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1984 by National Trust Records. It was the band's first full-length LP. Its title is a play on the phrase "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", as the Vandals was also the name of a...
with The Vandals (punk). Over the course of the first two years the group performed with other established punk acts such as Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, Circle Jerks
Circle Jerks
The Circle Jerks are an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. It was formed by Black Flag's original singer, Keith Morris, and future Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. They were among the preeminent hardcore punk bands of the L.A. scene in the late 1970s.The band...
, Channel 3 (band)
Channel 3 (band)
Channel 3, also known as CH3, is a punk rock band from Cerritos, California. Part of the Southern California punk scene of the early 1980s, the band had a sound that was more melodic than many of their hardcore contemporaries, and lyrics which ranged from thoughtful and satirical to bratty and...
, Shattered Faith (band)
Shattered Faith (band)
Shattered Faith is a punk rock band from Southern California.Formed in 1978 by Kerry Martinez, currently guitarist for U.S. Bombs, and Spencer Barsch, now lead vocalist for Firecracker 500, the group featured songs with a political and biblical bent, although whether or not they could be classified...
, Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, Circle One and Angry Samoans
Angry Samoans
The Angry Samoans are an American punk rock band in the first wave of American punk. Formed in August 1978 in Los Angeles, California by early 1970s rock writer "Metal" Mike Saunders and his sibling lead guitarist bonze blayk, along with co-conspirator Gregg Turner and original recruits bassist...
.
In early 1984, Hanna and Meyer decided to leave the band and Bates enlisted an entire new line-up which would be fronted by Pat Dubar
Pat Dubar
Patrick R. "Adawee" Dubar is an American singer, primarily with hardcore bands such as Unity and Uniform Choice; initially in the straight edge subgenre...
and drums being played by Hanna's friend and classmate Pat Dyson. Meyer went on to play with other groups such as the Finks and Peace Corp. Bates left the group later in 1984 to pursue other endeavors in Hollywood, California.
The group with this final line-up of Dubar, Dyson along with the addition of two well known O.C. hardcore players Vic Maynez and Dave Mello went forward with a new vision as Uniform Choice and continued to record and created what was considered the first O.C. Straight Edge
Straight edge
Straight edge is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs. It was a direct reaction to the sexual revolution, hedonism, and excess associated with punk rock. For some, this extends to not engaging in promiscuous sex, following a...
Demos. gaining momentum nationally and performing throughout California and beyond bringing the group to their current level of fame and recognition in the Southern California punk subculture
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
.
Screaming for Change is their most acclaimed album. They also recorded another less well received LP called Staring into the Sun and their demo has been bootlegged several times. Pat Dubar was a graduate of Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
and created the label Wishingwell Records, which released albums by Uniform Choice, Blast, and Youth of Today
Youth of Today
Youth of Today is an American hardcore punk straight edge band, formed in 1985 and still in activity. The band played a major role in establishing the Youth Crew subculture of hardcore, both espousing and evolving the philosophies of the straight edge and vegetarian lifestyles.-History:Youth Of...
, among others. Uniform Choice is historically among the first five Straight Edge Hardcore bands to emerge from Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
Early members
- Myke Bates (1982–1984)
- Hanson Meyer (1982–1984)
- Eric Hanna (1982–1984)
- Elliott Colla (1982–1984)
- Brent Turner (1983)
Members
- David Mello (1984- )
- Pat DubarPat DubarPatrick R. "Adawee" Dubar is an American singer, primarily with hardcore bands such as Unity and Uniform Choice; initially in the straight edge subgenre...
(1984- ) - Victor Maynez (1984- )
- Pat Dyson (1984- )
- Patrick Longrie (1984- )
Discography
- Orange Peel Sessions demoDemo (music)A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
(1982) - Uniform Choice demoDemo (music)A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
(1984)- reissued in 1990
- Screaming for Change (Wishingwell Records, 1986)
- Region of Ice giant records(1988)
- Staring into the Sun (1988)
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- The Vandals (punk) - Brent Turner
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- T.S.O.L. - Dave MelloDave MelloDave Mello was the drummer of the punk/ska band Operation Ivy. He was one of the key pieces to the musical feel of Operation Ivy.Operation Ivy's first show was held in Mello's garage in Albany, California. He played for them only two years. They broke up in 1989 because of unwanted attention...