Agent 51

Agent 51
Left to right: Davis, Levinson, Armes, and Schneider in 2012
Background information
Origin	Poway, California
Genres	Punk rock, pop punk, rock and roll
Years active	1995–2005 2008 2012 2015
Labels	Alphabet, Suburban Hooligans, Adeline, Surfdog
Associated acts	51 Guns, Arm the Angels, The Rattlesnake Aces, The Megas
Website	myspace.com/agent51
Members	Chris Armes Eric Davis Sean Scura Mikey Levinson
Past members	Jared Herndon Rob Hunter Greg Schneider

Agent 51 was an American punk rock band from Poway, California, formed in 1995. They released three albums on various record labels before going on indefinite hiatus in 2005. Over the course of their career their music evolved from straightforward punk rock to incorporate aspects of classic rock and Heavy Metal. At various times during their career the band has maintained a mythology about their origins which purports them to be rogue secret agents, on the run from a clandestine government organization with ties to extraterrestrials.

Agent 51 formed in Poway, California in 1995 under the name Area 51. Initially the band were part of a thriving local punk rock movement that included other groups such as Blink-182 and Unwritten Law. Founding member Chris Armes had attended Poway High School with Blink-182 member Tom DeLonge, and Armes' previous band Openfast had played as openers for Blink-182 on several occasions. This experience contributed to the impetus for forming Area 51.

The band's original lineup consisted of Chris Armes on guitar and vocals, Jared Herndon on bass guitar, and Eric "Airwick" Davis on drums. Herndon soon left and was replaced by Greg Schneider, while Davis moved to second guitar and Rob Hunter joined as drummer. Shortly before releasing their first album the group changed their name to Agent 51 because there were already several bands in existence using the name Area 51.

Their first album, Red Alert, was released in 1998 by local label Alphabet Records. The album gained them notoriety in the local punk rock scene, and an independent music video was filmed for the title track. Armes took the stage name "Broken Armes" at this time due to an injury he suffered in 1997 which left his arm in a cast. In order to record his guitar parts on Red Alert he removed the cast himself and recorded while still injured.