Skate punk

Skate punk (also known as skate rock, skatecore and skate-thrash) is a skater subculture and a subgenre of punk rock that is named after its popularity among skaters and association with skateboarding culture.^[1] Originally a genre of hardcore punk, skate punk changed into a more melodic genre of punk rock in the 1990s. Skate punk usually describes the sound of 1990s punk rock bands that have a fast, melodic sound, and similar 21st-century punk rock bands. Skate videos have traditionally featured this fast style of punk rock. This played a big part in the coining of the term "skate punk".

Skate punk was pioneered in the 1980s by bands such as The Big Boys^[2] and JFA.^[2] A lot of early skate punk bands are part of the hardcore punk movement nardcore, which emerged in Oxnard, California. Skate punk broke into the mainstream during the 1990s; skate punk bands such as The Offspring and Blink-182 had mainstream success during the 1990s. Skate punk's popularity continued in the early 2000s with the continued popularity of The Offspring and Blink-182 as well as bands such as Sum 41. During the 2010s, there was an emergence of skate punk bands. Influenced by older skate punk bands, these 2010s skate punk bands, including Trash Talk, Cerebral Ballzy and FIDLAR, gained cult followings by promoting their music on the Internet.

Characteristics

Skate punk band Slick Shoes performing in 2016

Noted by AllMusic for having "high-energy", skate punk features fast tempos.^[1] Many of the 1980s skate punk bands were hardcore punk bands. In the 1990s, skate punk changed and was played by bands that sound more like pop punk and standard punk rock than hardcore punk.^[1] Also a skater subculture, skate punk's origins go back to skate culture and surf culture.^[3] Author Steve Fenton wrote, "There are approximately 100 Skate Punk bands that sound exactly like Blink 182 within every populated square mile of Europe".^[4] Author Sharon M. Hannon noted skate punk for "its fast guitars, driving bass lines, and surf music–style drums".^[2] According to Mark Lepage of Spin, skate punk often has a "double-time hup-two-three-four beat".^[5] Skate punk music often features singing and vocal harmonies.^[6] Rolling Stone described skate punk as "a sort of pop hardcore".^[7] Some skate punk music has lyrics that are about humor.^[1] A lot of skate punk music features lead guitar playing, guitar riffs, and sometimes guitar solos. Skate punk is noted by AllMusic for having "thrashier guitars" than regular punk rock.^[1] Blast beats and fast drumming are very common in skate punk. Skate punk features the fast tempos of hardcore punk and melodic hardcore, occasionally combining them with the catchy hooks of pop punk. Some skate punk bands play other genres of music; pop punk, funk metal and hardcore punk are genres that are noted for being played by some skate punk bands.^[1] Skate punk paved the way for third-wave ska.^[1] Some skate punk bands, including NOFX^[8] and The Suicide Machines,^[9] also play ska punk. Some skate punk bands, including Cryptic Slaughter, Suicidal Tendencies and Excel, also play thrash metal and crossover thrash.^[10]

History

Early development (1980s)

Skate punk band Suicidal Tendencies in 2010.

Originally a genre of hardcore punk,^[1] skate punk began in the early 1980s.^[2] The Big Boys^[2] and JFA^[2] are considered pioneers of skate punk. Bands such as Agression,^[11] Drunk Injuns, Suicidal Tendencies,^[1] RKL, Gang Green, NOFX, McRad, The Black Athletes, Tales of Terror, Stalag 13, Hogan's Heroes,^[12][13][14] and The Faction were also among the first wave of skate punk bands.^[1] Johnny Loftus of AllMusic described early skate punk music as "a confluence of punk's anger and simplicity, the furious speed of hardcore, and defiantly smart-assed machismo".^[11] Many early skate punk bands are part of the hardcore punk movement nardcore, which emerged in Oxnard, California.^[11] Popular among skateboarders, 1980s hardcore punk bands with connections to skateboarding culture were labeled as "skate punk", which coined the term.^[1] Early skate punk bands are noted for creating the connection between punk rock and skateboarding.^[11] JFA member Brian Brannon said that Mörizen Föche, vocalist of the band Drunk Injuns and former employee of the magazine Thrasher, might be the one who first used the term "skate punk".^[15]

Sound change and mainstream success (1990s and early 2000s)

Skate punk band NOFX

As skate punk became more popular during the 1990s, it changed into a more melodic genre.^[1] During this time, some skate punk bands experienced mainstream success and were featured in events such as the Warped Tour, which started in 1995. Prominent skate punk bands of the 1990s include NOFX,^[16][17] Lagwagon,^[18][19] Guttermouth,^[20] No Use for a Name,^[21] Blink-182,^[22][23] Face to Face,^[24] Slick Shoes,^[25] MxPx,^[26] Bad Religion,^[6][27] The Offspring^[28] and Pennywise.^[29]

Skate punk broke into the mainstream in the 1990s; The Offspring's album Smash, which was released in 1994, launched the band into the mainstream. Alongside Rancid's album ...And Out Come the Wolves and Green Day's album Dookie, The Offspring's album Smash helped launch punk rock into the mainstream.^[30][31] The Offspring's album Smash was certified 6x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),^[32] sold at least 6,300,000 copies in the United States^[33] and sold at least 5,000,000 copies outside the United States.^[34] NOFX's 1994 album Punk in Drublic was certified gold by the RIAA.^[35] Unlike some other punk rock bands of the 1990s, NOFX never signed to a major record label. Also, NOFX has not given permission for its music videos to be played on channels like MTV and VH1.^[36] Explaining why his band has never given permission for its music videos to be played on MTV, NOFX member Fat Mike said "We made the ‘Leave It Alone' video, and we decided not to send it to MTV. We just didn't want to be a part of that machine, of that ‘punk wave.' I think it's one of the best decisions we've ever made".^[37]

Skate punk band The Offspring performing in 2001.

Bad Religion's 1994 album Stranger Than Fiction was certified gold by the RIAA.^[38] Although the album didn't sell as much as Smash, Ixnay on the Hombre by The Offspring was certified platinum by the RIAA in April 1997.^[39] Ixnay on the Hombre sold at least 3,000,000 copies worldwide,^[40] with at least 1,400,000 of those copies sold in the United States.^[41] Ixnay on the Hombre's song "All I Want" peaked at number 65 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart.^[42] In June 1997, Blink-182 released its album Dude Ranch. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in February 1998 and was certified platinum by the RIAA in November 1999.^[43] Scott Heisel of Alternative Press described Dude Ranch as "a killer skate-punk record".^[44] Dude Ranch's song "Dammit" was a hit; the song peaked at number 61 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart,^[45] received heavy radio airplay^[46] and was played a lot by MTV.^[47] In 1998, The Offspring released their album Americana, which was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA.^[48]

Skate punk band Blink-182

In June 1999, Blink-182 released its album Enema of the State. The album was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA in January 2000. In February 2001, Enema of the State was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA.^[49] Enema of the State sold at least 15,000,000 copies worldwide,^[50] with at least 4,540,000 of those copies sold in the United States.^[51] Having mainstream success, Blink-182 played to sold-out arenas.^[52] In November 2000, Blink-182 released its live album The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!).^[53] The live album sold at least 110,000 copies in its first week of being released^[54] and was certified gold by the RIAA in January 2001.^[53] Although it's a live album, The Mark, Tom and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!) features a studio track called "Man Overboard".^[55] Serviced to radio in September 2000,^[55] "Man Overboard" peaked at number 2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart^[56] and number 17 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.^[57] In November 2000, The Offspring released its album Conspiracy of One.^[58] The album was certified platinum by the RIAA in its first 30 days of being released.^[58] In June 2001, Blink-182 released their album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. The album peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the Canadian Albums Chart and the Top Internet Albums chart.^[59] Take Off Your Pants and Jacket sold at least 350,000 copies in its week of being released^[54] and was certified 2x platinum in May 2002.^[60] The Canadian skate punk^{[61][62][63][64]} band Sum 41 broke into the mainstream in the early 2000s; its song "Fat Lip" peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[65] Also, "Fat Lip" was played a lot on the radio and was popular on Total Request Live.^[66][67] The skate punk^[68] studio album All Killer, No Filler, Sum 41's studio album that features the song "Fat Lip", was certified platinum by the RIAA in August 2001.^[69] All Killer, No Filler also was certified triple platinum by the organization Music Canada.^[69]

Recent skate punk music (2010s)

During the 2010s, there was an emergence of skate punk bands influenced by older skate punk bands;^[70] these bands include Trash Talk,^[70][71] FIDLAR^[70] and Cerebral Ballzy.^[70][72] These bands gained cult followings by promoting their music on the Internet.^[70] A lot of these bands, including Trash Talk^[71] and Cerebral Ballzy,^[72] are influenced by hardcore punk and speed metal. However, FIDLAR is influenced by skate punk bands Blink-182 and The Offspring.^[70] FIDLAR achieved underground success; their self-titled album debuted at number 5 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.^[70] In spite of the fact that the band is not hip hop, Trash Talk signed to the record label Odd Future. The record label helped Trash Talk gain a lot of fans.^[71]

Notable skate punk record labels

• Alternative Tentacles
• Cargo Records
• DC-Jam Records
• Epitaph Records
• Fat Wreck Chords
• Fearless Records
• Frontier Records
• Grilled Cheese Records
• Hellcat Records
• Hopeless Records
• Kung Fu Records
• Mystic Records
• New Red Archives
• Nitro Records
• SideOneDummy Records
• SST Records

See also

• Melodic hardcore
• Nardcore
• Pop punk
• Surf punk

References

Bibliography

• Sklar, Monica (2013). Punk Style. A&C Black. ISBN 9780857853059. 
• Fenton, Steve (2012). The Mag: The Early Years. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781471690778. 
• Hannon, Sharon M. (2010). Punks: A Guide to an American Subculture. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313364563. 
• Egerdahl, Kjersti (2010). Green Day: A Musical Biography. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313365973. 
• Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698. 
• Myers, Ben (2006). Green Day: American Idiots & The New Punk Explosion. Red Wheel Weiser. ISBN 9781609258986. 
• Weinstein, Deena (2015). Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442600157. 
• Budofsky, Adam; Heusel, Michele; Dawson, Michael Ray; Parillo, Michael (2006). The Drummer: 100 Years of Rhythmic Power and Invention. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781423405672. 
• Deluxe, Jean-Emmanuel (2013). Ye-Ye Girls of '60s French Pop. Feral House. ISBN 9781936239726. 
• Hoppus, Anne (October 1, 2001). Blink-182: Tales from Beneath Your Mom. MTV Books / Pocket Books. ISBN 0743422074. 

Further reading

• Butz, Konstantin (2014). Grinding California: Culture and Corporeality in American Skate Punk. transcript Verlag. ISBN 9783839421222. 

External links

• Butz, Konstantin (March 17, 2011). "Skate Punk - The Californian Safety Pin". Huck. 

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