Circle Jerks

Keith Morris - chant Greg Hetson - guitar Zander Schloss - bass Kevin Fitzgerald - drums
A mythical punk rock band from California, formed in 1979 at Hermosa Beach, following the departure of Keith Morris from Black Flag. In addition to the latter, the first training consists of Greg Hetson (guitar), Roger Rogerson (bass) and Lucky Lehrer (battery). Circle Jerks released his first album Group Sex in 1980 on Frontier Records, some of which appeared in the documentary by Penelope Sphereris, The Decline of Western Civilization. A year later, the band signed a deal with IRS Records and recorded its second album, Wild in the Streets, the same title as Garland Jeffries. Unfortunately, a few months after its release, the label ceased any activity forcing Californians to recover in search of a new structure. It was done in 1983, when Golden Shower of Hits came out on Jerry Goldstein's label, Lax. An excerpt from this album, "Coup d'Etat", is used for the B.O. of the film Repo Man. Shortly after the release of the film, Circle Jerks recorded the departure of Rogerson and Lehrer, respectively replaced by Zander Schloss, former member of The Weirdos and actor in Repo Man, and Keith Clark. The band took the opportunity to change the label once again, opting for Relaxivity Records which had just opened a punk subdivision, Combat Core, on which Wonderful came out in 1985, followed by VI. "Love Kills", an excerpt from this latest album, appears on the B.O. of Sid & Nancy . After about ten years on the front of the stage, Circle Jerks split up around 1990, following an immortalized tour of live Gig. From then on the band bursts in several directions, Hetson joins Bad Religion, Schloss also continues to play in several bands, Clark stops any musical activity while Morris accumulates several jobs while struggling with his alcohol and drug problems.
Circle Jerks resurfaced in 1995 and signed a deal with Major Mercury Records, which does not go without some complications, Hetson still operating in Bad Religion, while Zander Schloss was in contract with Interscope. The problem solved, the group records Oddities, Abnormalities & Curiosities on which Deborah Gibson makes an appearance. Despite media interest, Circle Jerks again implodes. Clark permanently abandoned music and Morris was forced to step back because of serious health problems.
Although he was also involved with Bad Religion, Schloss with The Weirdos , and Morris as director at A&R Records, Circle Jerks returned to the stage around 2001. Only Lucky Herer, now a lawyer, replaced Kevin Fitzgerald, and Rogerson, who died of an overdose, were missing. In 2004, Californians made a DVD as part of the series launched by Kung-Fu Records. The group includes all its classics with Weirdo and Black Flag covers.
Circle Jerks is still actively preparing a new album for 2007.