M.I.A. (band)
| M.I.A. | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Las Vegas |
| Genres |
Punk rock Hardcore punk |
| Years active | 1982–1988 |
| Labels |
Alternative Tentacles Flipside Records |
| Past members | Mike Conley Chris Moon Paul Schwartz Nick Adams Frank Daly Mark Arnold |
M.I.A. was a 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California. The band's sound was generally hardcore and thrasher, though they produced more melodic and progressive sounds in their later albums. Allmusic called the band "one of the 50 best So-Cal punk bands of the great early-'80s second wave explosion."
The band had its origins in Las Vegas, Nevada, where in 1980 singer Todd Sampson, bassist Mike Conley, and drummer Chris Moon were in a band called The Swell. Guitarist Nick Adams joined and the band changed their name to M.I.A. and played one show on December 31, 1980, New Year's Eve. Adams left the band two weeks later and moved to San Diego, Calif.; later that spring Moon and Conley moved to Orange County. In June 1981 Adams moved to Orange County and the three decided to re-form the band with Conley moving to vocals and bringing in another Las Vegas friend, Paul Schwartz, to play bass.
During the remainder of 1981 the band played parties and shows, including several at the Cuckoo's Nest in Costa Mesa and the Cathay de Grande in Hollywood. They recorded a nine song demo on 8 tracks at JEL Studios in Newport Beach consisting of songs from their Las Vegas period plus several new songs written in Orange County. They met artist Greg Link, who agreed to be their manager. Link booked a mini-tour through Nevada and Northern California that took them to Reno, where they played a show with The Wrecks and 7 Seconds. They left a demo tape with Kevin Seconds, who later passed a copy to Tim Yohannan from the San Francisco-based fanzine Maximum Rock n Roll. Yohannan decided to include the song "New Left" on the Maximum Rock and Roll compilation Not So Quiet on the Western Front on the Alternative Tentacles label. Yohannan passed the tape to Greg Shaw at Bomp! Records, who included the song "Tell Me Why" on the punk compilation American Youth Report. Shaw passed the tape to Felix Alanis at Smoke Seven records who decided to release the entire demo (excepting "New Left," which Maximum Rock n Roll wanted exclusively) on the split LP Last Rites for Genocide and M.I.A. in 1982.
As their music was released, the band had to be put on hiatus as Conley had to return to Las Vegas for personal reasons. When Conley returned in 1983 the band picked up where they left off, playing shows and setting out to record another demo. At this time drummer Larry Pearson was recruited by Conley to replace Moon. In 1984 they made a deal with the cult Alternative Tentacles label, after the label's founder, Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra, saw them play at a secret illegal punk nightclub in Las Vegas. Biafra was impressed by Mike Conley's distinctive voice, saying "The minute you hear a song with him singing you know it's him." The band paid for the recording (this time on 16 tracks at JEL Studios), mastering and pressing of Murder in a Foreign Place and Alternative Tentacles would distribute the album on their label. Murder in a Foreign Place was released in June 1984 and supported by a three-month summer tour of the United States and Canada.
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