Steve Bjorklund

Steve Bjorklund a/k/a Steve Björklund a/k/a Steffan Bjorklund was born ca. 1960 in Chicago, Illinois. He was an early figure [cite web |url=http://gapersblock.com/transmission/2008/07/11/bands_you_missed_vol_2/|title=Bands You Missed, Vol. 2|accessdate=2008-10-09 | publisher=Gapers Block: Transmission, a Chicago music site | author=Graham Sanford] in the first punk rock music scene in Chicago. He briefly attended Roycemore School in Evanston, Illinois. His first known recorded appearance was in July, 1978, as a guitarist-singer with the protopunk-garage-New Wavish band The Rabbits, who opened a show in Schaumburg, Illinois by power-pop up-and-comers Pezband.

After the breakup of The Rabbits in fall, 1978, Bjorklund formed the project band Strike Under with his brother Chris. Strike Under produced one record, the 1981 5-track pressing, "Immediate Action", which receives mixed reviews [cite web |url=http://www.somethingilearned.com/2005/09/page/2/|title=Strike Under |date=2005-09-06|accessdate=2008-10-09 | publisher=Something I Learned Today] [cite web |url=http://homepages.nyu.edu/~cch223/usa/strikeunder_main.html |title= KFTH Strike Under Page|accessdate=2008-10-09|publisher=Kill From The Heart] but has nevertheless been called an "integral document to the history of punk rock in Chicago." [cite web|url=http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1083835,00.html|title=Strike Under: Immediate Action|author=Peter Schaefer|publisher=Artist Direct|accessdate=2008-10-09] Strike Under featured Pierre Kezdy, who would later play with Naked Raygun and Pegboy; the band, besides releasing its own record, also appeared on the seminal 1981 "Busted at Oz" LP, an historic document of the second wave of Chicago punk, recorded at the legendary club "Oz" before it closed down. [cite web | url =http://www.somethingilearned.com/2004/11/busted-at-oz | title=Busted At Oz |date=2004-11-27| accessdate=2008-10-09 | publisher=Something I Learned Today] Following the breakup of Strike Under, Bjorklund briefly formed another Chicago punk band, Terminal Beach. [cite web | url=http://punkdatabase.com/wiki/Terminal_Beach|title=Terminal Beach|accessdate=2008-10-09|publisher=ChicagoPunk] In 1987, Bjorklund's brother Chris, joined The Effigies, a more successful Chicago punk band fronted by Kezdy's brother John. [cite web |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/effigies.html | title=The Effigies|accessdate=2008-10-09|author=Joseph Larkin|publisher=Perfect Sound Forever] Steve Bjorklund formed Breaking Circus in Chicago; their initial EP release included the memorable song "Knife in a Marathon". [Citation | last = Hicks | first = Dillon | title = How Could You Idiots Forget...? | journal = City Pages | date = June 8, 2005| url = http://www.citypages.com/2005-06-08/news/how-could-you-idiots-forget|accessdate=2008-10-09] He relocated to Minneapolis, where Breaking Circus continued.Citation | last = Groebner | first = Simon Peter | title = Electronic Flashbacks | journal = City Pages | date = February 17, 1997 | url = http://www.citypages.com/1997-02-17/news/electronic-flashbacks/|accessdate=2008-10-09] Breaking Circus was active through approximately 1988 [cite web|url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=breaking_circus|title=Breaking Circus|author=Jack Rabid|publisher=Trouser Press|accessdate=2008-10-09] and is considered an important example of early post-punk/industrial music in Minneapolis.

Later, Bjorklund was a member of Minneapolis band Balloon Guy. Bjorklund continued to work in the recording industry, with a number of punk bands in Chicago and Minneapolis, through the early 1990s, credited primarily as producer or as mastering re-mixer [cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=STEVE|BJORKLUND&sql=11:hcfpxqukldhe~T4|title=Steve Bjorklund|accessdate=2008-10-09|publisher=All Music Guide] .

References

External links

* [http://www.dementlieu.com/users/obik/arc/other/strikeunderda_cr13.html Interview with Strike Under from the zine "The Coolest Retard", 1981]