Criminal Authority

Though only 5 years has passed since we first got together, Cleveland was a pretty different place in '97 than it is today. The streetpunk scene was exploding on the East Coast, and kids sporting studded leather and mohawks were a pretty common sight around town. We'd hit up shows at the Euc' or Peabody's just about every weekend to see the bands that we loved. We loved them because they were us. As far as we were concerned the only difference was the fact that they could somehow turn boredom, anger, and frustration into music. I don't remember exactly when or why we decided to start the band, only that none of us had instruments or had ever played one. Through whatever drunken logic we were exercising at the time, the three of us - myself, Richie, and Sean - decided on our respective positions in the new band. I was to play guitar. Richie planned on taking up the bass, and Sean - probably because of his notorious temper - decided he wanted to be the hardest-hitting drummer in Cleveland. I don't think we spent more than $200 on gear for the whole band. We set out as the Cheated, with no talent and nothing to prove. We'd play shows for little or no money, but they were always fun. The kids were fucking crazy, and they couldn't get enough of the same 3 chords. If you couldn't solo half of them didn't notice and the other half didn't care. A lot has happened since then. We broke up a few times, went through a few short-lived lineups, and broke up some more. Sometime through it all we learned how to play our instruments. We changed the name of the band to Criminal Authority about 3 years ago. We decided on the new name because Richie was on an indefinite hiatus, and we needed something that would correspond with the "CA" tattoos we'd given each other while we were drunk. Eventually Richie came back. We stole Mike from a local hardcore band, assuring everyone involved that he was to be "a temporary sit-in until we found a steady drummer". That was 3 years ago. Fred Gunn, who we later found out is the nephew of Baloney Heads' frontman Wally Gunn, stepped in on lead vocals. The lineup was set and we started doing shows again. Eventually we talked Justin into playing lead guitar because we appreciated his love for tattoos and alcohol. He also happened to be the best guitar player any of us knew. Things are a lot different today. The Euc' is gone, along with a lot of good kids. Sean is gone. But a lot of stuff is still the same. We're still the same. More or less.

Young, Loud And Shitty (2001)

01 - 1963

02 - So Terminal

03 - What's The Use?

04 - So Terminal

05 - Fuck The Lot

06 - (Us And) All Our Friends Are Mess

07 - You're The Ones To Blame

08 - Fuck The Lot

09 - Glory Dies

10 - Die On Your Feet

11 - Cheated...

12 - Man Can't Be Trusted (Blood)

13 - Writing On The Wall

14 - We're Not Criminals

15 - Cheated...

16 - The Serenade Is Dead

17 - It's Not The Same

18 - American Gestapo

19 - Die On Your Feet

20 - Wasted Generation

21 - Love Sucks

22 - Man Can't Be Trusted (Blood)

23 - We're Not Criminals

24 - No Surrender

25 - Hostile Takeover

26 - Cheated...

pass: freepunk77