Skate punk

Skate punk (sometimes called skate rock) is a sub genre of punk rock, originally a derivative of the West Coast hardcore punk scene, that is named after its popularity among skateboarders and association with skateboarding culture.^[1] Skate punk most commonly describes the sound of melodic hardcore bands from the 1990s with an aggressive sound, and similar sounding modern bands. Skate videos have traditionally featured this aggressive style of punk rock to parallel the feel of skateboarding. This played a big part in the coining of the term "skate punk". However, some bands who are commonly referred to as skate punk do not embrace the label because they do not necessarily associate with skateboarding despite what the label would imply. Skate punk has gained popularity all around the world, including the Nardcore punk scene out of Oxnard, California.

Musical style

The musical style of skate punk combines the intensity of hardcore punk and thrashcore with more melodic songwriting. However, the earliest skate punk bands had a more raw sound which generally became more melodic over time. Skate punk is often more technical than other forms of punk, commonly featuring lead guitar riffs, solos, and vocal harmonies. The drum beats are often extremely fast, borrowing from the hardcore punk and thrashcore tradition. There is a considerable amount of overlap between the sound of skate punk and other forms of punk, so many bands classified as skate punk also fit into genres such as pop punk, melodic hardcore, and thrashcore. Members of skate punk bands are often skateboarders themselves. Some bands occasionally focus on or at least reference skateboarding culture in their lyrics, in addition to other lyrical themes common to punk.

History

Skate punk started in mid-1980s California, where skateboarding was growing in popularity and was considered a form of rebellion. Bands that influenced the genre include Black Flag, JFA, Agent Orange, Minor Threat and Bad Religion. The Big Boys from Texas and JFA from Arizona are widely considered to be the first skate punk bands. Both bands were made up entirely of skateboarders and played loud and fast music designed to match the intensity of skateboarding. Bands such as RKL, NOFX, Stalag 13, Hogan's Heroes and Suicidal Tendencies were also among the first wave of skate punk bands, with the latter band also paving the way for skate punk bands to play funk metal.^[1]

The 1990s saw a rise in the popularity of skate punk as it evolved to be more melodic. During this time skate punk bands experienced a fair amount of commercial success and were featured in events such as the Warped tour.

Notable Record labels

• Hopeless Records
• Fearless Records
• Mystic Records
• DC-Jam Records
• Geykido Comet Records
• Bells On Records
• Alternative Tentacles
• Fat Wreck Chords
• Epitaph Records
• Nitro Records
• BrokenBoard Records

References