- Rubber City Rebels
The Rubber City Rebels are an American
protopunk band fromAkron, Ohio , that formed in 1976.Early years
The original line-up of the band consisted of Rod Firestone (vocals), Buzz Clic (guitar), Donny Damage (bass), Stix Pelton (drums) and Pete Sake (keyboards).
In their early years, the Rebels were fans (and friends) of fellow
Greater Cleveland -area bandsThe Dead Boys andDevo . Their breakout show was opening for The Dead Boys at legendaryNew York City rock clubCBGB in 1977. This led to a split EP withThe Bizarros , entitled "From Akron", which was released that year. Firestone and Clic would go on to open the Crypt in Akron, at the time the onlypunk rock club in the Midwest. Bands including The Dead Boys, Devo, Pere Ubu and the Bizarros played at this club.The Rebels moved to
Los Angeles in1978 , minus Pelton (who was replaced on drums by Mike Hammer) and Sake (keyboards were deemed unnecessary for the band's change to a "heavier" sound), and gained considerable fame on theSunset Strip . They would frequently headline at the famousWhisky A Go-Go for bands such asThe Knack , Fear,The Kats ,The Nu Kats ,The Dickies andThe Plimsouls . The band was signed toSire Records in exclusive company likeThe Ramones , however a clash between band and record label ensued and the recording contract was terminated before the Rebels could record their debut album.Following some personnel changes in the band (Damage and Hammer left, replaced by Johnny Bethesda and Brandon Matheson respectively), the Rebels signed a deal with
Capitol Records helped in no small way byDoug Fieger , lead singer of The Knack (who were also signed to Capitol) and a self-professed fan of the band. Matheson and Fieger had previously been members of The Sunset Bombers and had one album released on Ariola Records. The Rebels debut, self-titled album was released in 1980. Although praised by critics, sales of the album never vaulted the band past its underground status and they did not follow up with a second release.The Rebels faded from the scene and ceased touring in 1988, although they never officially disbanded.
Recent years
Despite not touring or recording any new material through the 1990s, the Rebels' reputation and support among fans remained strong and in 2001, Mind Control Laboratories released a remastered "Rubber City Rebels" which featured improved sound quality and the addition of several
bonus tracks . White Noise Records also released "Re-Tired" that year, a collection of live tracks and the Rebels' half of the "From Akron" EP. The band toured to support the new releases, featuring a reunion with former members Hammer and Damage.The popularity of their reunion tour and the 2001 releases, the Rebels returned to the studio to record their second album, "Pierce My Brain", which was released in 2003. This album did yield one moderately successful single, "(I Wanna) Pierce My Brain", which was included on the soundtrack for the skateboarding
video game "Tony Hawk's Underground ".Although Damage left the band following the first reunion shows, he was quickly replaced by Bob Clic (Buzz's brother and member of The Lewd) who plays on "Pierce My Brain". The Rebels still play infrequent shows across the United States and
Europe .Members
*Rod Firestone - "Vocals"
*Buzz Clic - "Guitar"
*Bob Clic - "Bass"
*Mike Hammer - "Drums"Former Members
*Donny Damage
*Stix Pelton
*Pete Sake
*Johnny Bethesda
*Brandon Matheson Discography
* "From Akron" (Split EP with
The Bizarros ) (1977)
* "L.A. In " (Various Artists 1979)
* "Rubber City Rebels" (1980)
* "Re-Tired" (Live tracks/RCR tracks off "From Akron") (2001)
* "Rubber City Rebels" (Re-release) (2001)
* "Pierce My Brain" (2003)External links
* [http://www.rubbercityrebels.com Official Website]
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