Joe Escalante
| Joe Escalante | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Patrick Escalante |
| Born | January 30, 1963 |
| Origin | Long Beach, California |
| Genres | Punk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Bassist, record label owner, film director, music video director, radio show host; formerly a drummer, entertainment lawyer, and television executive |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, drum kit |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Labels | Epitaph, National Trust, Restless, Triple X, Nitro, Kung Fu |
| Associated acts | The Vandals, Sweet and Tender Hooligans |
| Website | www.joeescalante.com |
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Escalante (born January 30, 1963) is an American musician, record label owner, radio host, film and music video director, and amateur matador, as well as a former television executive and entertainment lawyer. He is most widely known as the bassist for the punk rock band The Vandals, the owner of their record label Kung Fu Records, and the host of Barely Legal Radio on the Los Angeles/Orange County radio station The Patriot 1150AM Sundays 5-7PM.
Escalante was born in Long Beach, California to a Mexican father and Irish mother and grew up in Rossmoor, California, an unincorporated area of Orange County. As a teenager he learned to play drums and began performing in local garage bands.
Escalante received his Bachelor degree from UCLA, and his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School.
In 1980, at age 17, Escalante joined the punk rock band The Vandals, becoming their first permanent drummer. He would remain the sole constant member of the band throughout the rest of their career. They released their debut EP Peace thru Vandalism in 1982 through Epitaph Records. In 1984 Escalante and the other band members appeared in the Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia and released their first album When in Rome Do as the Vandals. In 1987 they appeared in another Spheeris film, Dudes. By 1989 Escalante had moved from the drums into the bass guitar position, and fluctuations in the band's membership had left him as the only member remaining from the original recording lineup. In order to continue the band, he and vocalist Dave Quackenbush set about finding new members, recruiting guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and drummer Josh Freese. In 1990 this lineup released the album Fear of a Punk Planet, establishing themselves amongst an emerging new crop of southern California punk rock bands. This lineup would remain consistent throughout the rest of the band's career and would release numerous albums, tour extensively, and form their own record label.
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