Agression (band)

Agression is an American rock band from Silver Strand Beach, Oxnard, California. Agression was one of the founding bands of the Nardcore (Oxnard, California hardcore) scene and an early proponent of the skate punk genre. The band fused skate culture with the punk scene, featuring a song about skateboarding ("Intense Energy") and a Glen E. Friedman photo of Arthur Lake skating a pool on their first and most popular album, Don't Be Mistaken.

The band is known for its fast-paced, aggressive songs such as "Slammin' at the Club", "Money Machine", "Dear John Letter", "Never Alone", "Go to War", and "Locals Only".

Original members:

Current line-up:

Agression was part of the first wave of skatepunk bands to emerge from southern California in the early 1980s. These groups were on the front lines of a new union between the skateboard and punk rock cultures, which were put on a path to convergence by the establishment hassling each group. The resulting music was a confluence of punk's anger and simplicity, the furious speed of hardcore, and defiantly smart-assed machismo. Emerging out of Oxnard, CA (which was such a hotbed of punk and skate bands that their sound became known as "Nardcore"), Agression consisted of the two founding members, vocalist Mark Hickey and guitarist Henry Knowles, along with bassist Bob Clark, and drummer Mark Aber.

Before their days as punk icons, in 1979 singer Mark Hickey, guitarist Henry Knowles, and bassist Bob Clark skated for Sims. (Source, Thrasher Magazine, July 2005) Clark claims to be a co-founding member of Agression. Although Clark was verifiably close friends with Hickey and Knowles at the time, Hickey contradicts this claim in an interview with The Hooligan magazine. (Source: The Hooligan, issue Summer 1996)

Regardless, Clark was the original and most senior bassist according to the timeline of lineups and albums released with his participation. Big Bob, Mark and Henry were roommates. The unit was one of the first groups to be involved with the Better Youth Organization (BYO) – the collective started by Shawn and Mark Stern of Youth Brigade—and contributed three songs, "Intense Energy", "Dear John Letter" and "Rat Race" to Someone Got Their Head Kicked In, the label's classic 1982 compilation.

Don't Be Mistaken, their debut full length, was released on BYO in 1983, full of rapid-fire skatepunk rhythms. Contributions to various Mystic Records compilations followed, with Agression's sound wavering between skatepunk and more generic heavy metal; a self-titled LP on that label appeared in 1985, as did the "official" bootleg of an Agression show at the New York club CBGB.

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