Ever wonder where the emo-punk got it’s start? Contrary to what Billy Joe may think, it wasn’t Green Day. Sorry to disappoint but, while they were prolific early adopters of the genre, it was actually a band nearly (400) miles to the south in Hermosa Beach, CA that many point to as the true founders of melodic hardcore. Descendents got their start in 1978 but it wasn’t until a few years later that I discovered them on a fateful “unauthorized” Spring Break trip to Myrtle Beach, SC. Certain details of the trip are still a bit fuzzy but what I do remember was my buddy Ted “Under the Table” Levendosky turning me on to Milo and the boys doing their rendition of “Wendy” by the Beach Boys. Epic. Some of my other personal favs from their 1986 release entitled Enjoy! are “Sour Grapes”, “80s Girl” and “Get the Time”.
Regrettably, there is hardly any decent live footage or video from the band’s earlier work but the vid above for “I’m the One” found on 1996′s Everything Sucks disc is very much representative of the simple punk genius that is Descendents. Dig it.
-Drago
