Screw 32

SCREW 32
Origin Berkeley, USA
Genres Punk
Labels Fat Wreck Chords, BYO Records, Harvcore, Wingnut Records, Halfpint Records
Associated acts Limp, Tilt, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Jackson United, Dance Hall Crashers
Past members Andrew Champion
Grant McIntire
Jimi Cheetah
Josh Kilbourn
Douglas Sangalang
Mark Mortenson
Jamie Morrison

Screw 32 was a Berkeley/East Bay area US punk rock band. Their name has many supposed origins, the most popular stating that it is derived from an anti-skateboarding measure on the ballots in Concord, California. They were noted for self-publicity. For example, they ordered stickers by the thousands and stuck them in numerous places. They were also known to "tag" their name with sharpies on numerous objects and in numerous places; the results of which have been seen in places all over the country. Most of these incidents are apparently done without permission. These stickers have also been seen on bumpers of police cars all over the Bay Area.

The band's vocalist is Andrew "Andrew Champion" Ataie, who went on to a variety of bands like Hopelifter, End of the World, Shadowboxer, and Highwire Days. Guitarist Doug Sangalang went on to the bands Limp, One Time Angels, and Jackson United. Bass player Jimi Cheetah went on to the bands Tilt and Nothing Cool, as well as running Cheetah's Records.[1] Guitarist Grant McIntire and drummer Mark Mortenson went on to a brief stint in Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Mark Mortenson also played in the bands Grinch and Samiam. Grant McIntire and Andrew Champion also played in the band Dance Hall Crashers.[2]

Screw 32's music has been likened to the Bouncing Souls, AFI, and Dag Nasty.

History

One of the first East Coast influenced hardcore style bands to come out of the East Bay in the early 90's, Screw 32 went on an endless string of United States and Canadian tours with many popular punk rock bands of their era, and they headlined their last few tours. Influenced by the bands that were coming up in the area (e.g.-n Rancid, Green Day, AFI, and others) they led by example and also incorporated other bands concepts into their own effort.

The band started when Grant McIntire and Andrew Champion were at a coffee shop complaining about the state of the local music scene and their friend Shea Walters walked up and told them to, "Stop whining and start their own band". Grant and Andrew had been in two bands previously and had been friends since grade school when Grant moved to the Bay Area from New York. Doug Sangalang was playing at the time with Jesse Michaels (of Operation Ivy) current project, Big Rig, and joined Screw 32 a few weeks into the bands rehearsal endeavors and resulted as a key role in sculpting Screw 32's melodic blend of dc style hardcore and La punk. Jimi Cheetah and Josh Kilbourn were the original rhythm section. Perhaps the largest thread was each individual member's involvement in the bay area scene before and after Screw 32 each band member was and continues to be involved just as closely as then and in some cases more-so. The band WAS the plan so to speak which gave everyone a very exciting 'All or nothing' perspective on the project.

When Screw 32 first formed they were inseparable from AFI, and the two bands would help each other get shows, throwing each other on as the support for whatever shows they would get. Both bands got too big after a while to play together, to the point where they would have to jump on stage to play at 924 Gilman Street. They were not permitted to play at Gilman St. due to the size of the crowd and the inherent security problems.

Their first tour was with Los Angeles legends Youth Brigade, who were a huge influence on the band and helped them out getting started. Screw 32 did at least five full tours with the Bouncing Souls and was also heavily influenced by them, due to their "no-holds-barred", all-out touring ethic. The band was always incredibly tight due to their die-hard work ethic and practice schedule, and their team oriented attitude that really showed in their live shows. The members have all continued to play music since the band split in 1997.

The last show for Screw 32 was at Boarderline Warehouse near Twain Harte, California in April 1997 run by a friend of theirs named Mark Kirkman (Who ran the now famous BullPen skateboard shop in Danville, California where the San Ramon and Danville straightedge scene was born and in extension the Northern California straightedge hardcore scene was also born with such bands as Unit Pride, Breakaway, Rabid Lassie, No Reason and many others) with Citizen Fish (ex-Subhumans), The Criminals, and Fury 66 from Santa Cruz, CA. The tension in the band had grown to such a level that many of them were not speaking when they took the stage that night, Andrew actually stood still and did not make a noise through an entire song at one point and then played 'One Time Angels' as their last song ever, he turned to the guys afterwards and said, 'Thanks, I quit' (Fat Wreck Chords released a compilation LP with the Screw 32 song 'Painless' on it with a cartoon of four characters looking sadly at one cartoon with a bubble above him that says, 'I quit'. All sorts of rumors abound (from drinking to lack of communication), the truth is that Screw 32 fell victim to the same influences that a million other groups did, pressure, money, fame, and so forth, everything was there but what had made them love the music in the first place, and when that was gone there just didn't seem to be a point in going further. Too much touring, too many outside influences, and the spark was gone, the fun had been out of the formula for quite a while. With two large tours booked, 2 records left on their contract, and about a million t-shirts, the band had run its course.

Members

Andrew Champion, Douglas Sangalang, Jimi Cheetah (McCluskey), Grant McIntire and Josh Kilbourn were the original members of the band.[3] Jamie Morrison played a few tours and a lot of shows in between Josh and ultimately Mark Mortenson who played on their last record and all of their remaining shows, recordings, and tours.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ Fat Wreck Chords - Tilt profile
  2. ↑ Operation Phoenix Records zine - interview
  3. ↑ Stubble Music Magazine - interview
  4. ↑ Harvcore

External links