Fear
Biography
In the pantheon of Los Angeles punk rock, few bands embodied the raw, unfiltered aggression and dark humor of the scene quite like Fear. Born from the grimy underbelly of Hollywood in 1977, this notorious quartet didn't just play punk rock – they weaponized it, turning their music into a sonic assault that perfectly captured the nihilistic spirit of Reagan-era America.
The mastermind behind Fear's calculated chaos was Lee Ving, a former accountant turned punk provocateur whose stage name became synonymous with confrontational performances and razor-sharp wit. Ving assembled his musical army with guitarist Philo Cramer, bassist Derf Scratch, and drummer Johnny Backbeat, creating a lineup that would terrorize venues across the West Coast with their blistering three-chord manifestos and deliberately offensive stage banter.
Fear's sound was punk rock stripped to its most essential elements – fast, loud, and utterly uncompromising. While their contemporaries in the burgeoning hardcore scene often focused on political messaging or personal angst, Fear took a different approach, crafting songs that were equal parts social commentary and deliberate provocation. Their music combined the breakneck speed of hardcore punk with a twisted sense of humor that made them simultaneously beloved and reviled.
The band's breakthrough moment came in 1981 when they became the first hardcore punk band to appear on Saturday Night Live, thanks to their friendship with cast member John Belushi. The performance was legendary for all the wrong reasons – Fear's set devolved into a stage-diving melee that resulted in significant damage to the SNL studio and a lifetime ban from the show. The incident perfectly encapsulated the band's ability to turn any venue into ground zero for punk rock mayhem.
Fear's debut album, "The Record," released in 1982 on Slash Records, stands as a masterpiece of West Coast hardcore. Songs like "I Love Livin' in the City," "Beef Bologna," and "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones" showcased Ving's ability to craft memorable hooks while delivering lyrics that ranged from darkly humorous observations about urban decay to outright provocations designed to offend anyone within earshot. The album's production captured the band's live energy while maintaining enough clarity to highlight their surprisingly tight musicianship beneath the chaos.
The band's influence extended far beyond their recorded output. Fear became regulars at legendary venues like the Whisky a Go Go and the Starwood, where their performances became the stuff of punk rock legend. Ving's confrontational stage presence – often involving verbal sparring matches with audience members – helped establish the template for hardcore punk performance art. Their shows were less concerts than they were controlled riots, with slam dancing and stage diving reaching new levels of intensity.
Fear's cultural impact was amplified by their appearances in several films, most notably Penelope Spheeris's seminal punk documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization" and the cult classic "Repo Man," which featured several of their songs and showcased Ving's acting abilities. These appearances helped cement their status as punk rock icons and introduced their music to audiences far beyond the Los Angeles scene.
Despite lineup changes over the years, with members like Flea (later of Red Hot Chili Peppers) briefly joining their ranks, Fear remained primarily Ving's vehicle for his particular brand of punk rock theater. Their subsequent releases, including "More Beer" and "Have Another Beer with Fear," maintained their reputation for combining musical aggression with sardonic humor, though none quite matched the raw power of their debut.
Fear's legacy lies not just in their music but in their role as punk rock's most effective provocateurs. They proved that punk could be simultaneously intelligent and offensive, musically sophisticated and deliberately crude. Their influence can be heard in countless hardcore and punk bands that followed, from Black Flag to the Dead Kennedys, all of whom borrowed elements of Fear's confrontational approach.
Today, Fear continues to tour sporadically, with Ving remaining the band's constant presence and primary creative force. While the punk landscape has evolved dramatically since their heyday, Fear's music remains as relevant and shocking as ever – a testament to their understanding that the best punk rock doesn't just reflect society's problems, it rubs them in your face until you're forced to confront them. In a genre built on rebellion, Fear achieved something even more difficult: they became truly dangerous.
