Early Germs inspired Faction artwork done by Steve Caballero, from the collection of: Sal Bug
Been hitting the skateparks on the weekends lately, which has been inspiring me to listen to a heavy dose of The Faction. I've mentioned in the past how much I love The Faction's "Dark Room" 12" and how that is one of my favorite records ever, but what I haven't mentioned, is how great their little heard, early 2000's recordings are.
Although it's unclear to me exactly when these songs were recorded, The Faction did indeed hit the studio in the early 2000's and recorded four songs. Two of the songs ended up on compilations, "Cut It Out" and "The Whistler". The other two songs, "Aisle Seat" and "Who The Hell Do You Think You Are?", were never officially released. Eventually, "Aisle Seat" showed up on The Faction's MySpace page, but "Who The Hell Do You Think You Are?" has yet to surface. The only way I even knew "Who The Hell Do You Think You Are?" was recorded, was from talking to Faction guitarist, Ray Stevens, who filled me in. Ray says, "Who The Hell Do You Think You Are?", was never released. It was a cover song from the band and movie, "Hardcore Logo", which was a hilarious Canadian rock-umentary". 
The Faction's "Dark Room" back cover art, done by Lance Mountain
There's also a couple of tracks that were recorded in 1989, "Looking For You" and "Pet Squirrel", which apparently appeared in the Santa Cruz Skateboards video, "A Reason For Living". The cassette for the "A Reason For Living" soundtrack only has "Looking For You", so I'm not exactly sure where "Pet Squirrel" ended up or if it was ever released at all, but Ray Stevens seemed to think it was in that video. 
Early ad for The Faction's "Yesterday Is Gone" 7" from the collection of: Sal Bug
So, if anyone out there has "Who The Hell Do You Think You Are?", "Pet Squirrel" or any other unreleased material by The Faction, get in touch. It's sort of become one of my missions to gather all of their material. I've got a ton of their material already collected, but could always use more, if more is out there.
Skate and destroy… -Tim DCXX
Gavin O'Brien and Steve Caballero with The Faction at the Tool and Die, 1984, Photo: Denice Vaughn
Steve Caballero (take note of Cab's SSD sticker) with a helmet plant air over Lance Mountain, Photo: Glen E. Friedman
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Faction - Skate and destroy
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8 comments:
Love The Faction and it all started with the Thrasher comps - Was lucky to see a reunion gig a few years back and it was still awesome! Sadly we had a showplace in Cleveland called The Underground and as it was closing for good I remember seeing the upcoming shows list...that of course didn't happen...and The Faction were due in the next week...it was about 1982 / 1983 - Needless to I was crushed and had to wait 20+ years for another chance
The Faction were always a great time live in '84! They opened almost every "outta towner" that came around. Thanks to Paul Rat for booking em so much!
The reunited Faction is yet to play in the LA area. They have always skipped it and only played Nor Cal and San Diego.
I had no idea they recorded anything past '85. Let's see those links!
I wonder if you used copers and lappers nowadays, people would think it was "cheating."
Thanks for this one! Good stuff mane!
Wow, thanks Tim! Of course this made me put on their vol. 1 cd first thing this morning. Brought a smile to my face. "Kids are the future" has a new meaning now. The video they did of the 85 tour with a show at CB's is classic. I sold my copy a few years back.
Here's part of it:
http://youtu.be/Fj3xslabO2s
"Accelerate" was also recorded in 1989 with Jeff Kendall replacing Adam "Bomb" Segal on guitar. It's on a Thrasher skate comp.
BTW, this is probably one of the best posts ever on DCXX.
The problem back then was the need to separate personal and business guidelines on the same agenda, which is very much a persistent challenge.
Persistence is the key to success. Being connected to others through personal experience makes your journey to singing success more alive and can help to generate excitement in your pursuit. Learning keeps you open and allows you to grow with confidence.
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