The Casualties

The Casualties
Gig in Poland in January 2007
Background information
Origin	New York City, U.S.
Genres	Hardcore punk,street punk
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Season of Mist, SideOneDummy, Tribal War Records
Associated acts	The Krays, The Manix,
Members	Jorge Herrera Rick Lopez Jake Kolatis Marc "Meggers" Eggers

The Casualties are an American street punk band which was formed in New York City in 1990. It was formed by vocalist Jorge Herrera, Hank (guitar), Colin Wolf (vocals), Mark Yoshitomi (bass) and Yureesh Hooker (drums). Herrera is the only remaining member of the original lineup, although the band has not had any changes in members since 1998.

The Casualties were formed in 1990, with original members Jorge Herrera (vocals), Hank (guitar), Colin Wolf (vocals), Mark Yoshitomi (bass) and Yureesh Hooker (drums). The members aimed to return to what they viewed as the "golden era" of street punk, embodied by bands such as The Exploited and Charged GBH which they believed had disappeared by 1985. During the early years, the lineup was fluid, with several changes. That first year, Colin stepped out for several months to finish his education while Rachel, TheRivits' singer, took his place.

In early 1991 Hank left the band, to be replaced by Fred (last name unknown) on guitar to record Political Sin in March 1991 for the Benefit for Beer compilation. Soon more changes were in the works, with new guitarist Fred heading off to school. C Squat's Scott temporarily filled Fred's shoes until he returned a short time later. During this period, guitarist Hank filled in for a couple of shows, and Steve Distraught also played briefly with the group on second guitar. The Casualties stabilized long enough to record the first demo in the fall of 1991 and the 40 oz Casualty EP in the spring of 1992, and was building up a fan base in their hometown of New York City. At the end of 1992, Mark and Fred left the band and were replaced by Mike Roberts on bass and Jake Kolatis on the guitar, followed by the departure of Yureesh and Colin in 1994, to be replaced on drums by Shawn, while the band went down to a single vocalist. 1994 sees the recording of the 4 song EP, Drinking Is Our Way Of Life, however it would not be released. The songs would later appear on the Casualties "early years 1990-1995" CD in 1999. In 1995, the band's second release, the 4 track A Fuckin' Way Of Life E.P. was released on Eyeball Records. After recording A Fuckin' Way of Life, Shawn left the band, and Marc Eggers (nicknamed Meggers) of the Rivits became the regular drummer. The line-up of Jorge, Jake, Mike and Meggers continued until 1997.

In 1996 the Casualties became the first American band to appear at the "Holidays in the Sun" Festival in London. 1997 saw the release of the band's debut album, For the Punx is released on Tribal War Records, and the band embarks on its first American tour with The Varukers. Mike (the bassist) left the band in 1998, to be replaced with Johnny Rosado, from The Krays. They released their second LP that year, Underground Army, and begin a world tour. Jon leaves the band during the European leg of the tour, to be temporarily replaced by Dave Punk Core.