UNIFORM CHOICE - Live FENDER'S BALLROOM CA 1986

Uniform Choice is an Orange County, California hardcore punk band that was started by Guitarist Myke Bates, Bassist Hanson Meyer and Drummer Eric Hanna during the Spring of 1982. Bates had been playing with a couple of bands previously in Palm Springs. His band, Funeral Information, had played early punk shows with Sin 34 and Black Flag (band) and his other band, Target 13, had written the song Rodney On The ROQ for KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer which appeared on the compilation album Rodney On The ROQ, Vol 2 under the independent record label Poshboy.

Bates left his skateboard shop, Bates Skates, behind in Palm Springs and moved to Newport Beach. He looked to start a band in Orange County and found Meyer and Hanna who were playing with a local punk band called Moral Sin.

They together created Uniform Choice and as a power trio started playing a number of songs already written by Bates. Meyer and Bates wrote a number of songs together over the course of the next two years including War is Here and Don't Take the Car You'll Kill Yourself. Bates played lead guitar and sang lead vocals in the beginning until the group landed on lead singer, Elliot Cola, a former classmate of Meyer and Hanna's from Corona Del Mar High School. The band experimented with other singers before Cola. Newport Beach local, Eric Whittick, sang for a short while. And later in the tradition of X-Ray Spex, young 14 year old Jennifer Harper fronted the band for a short time. In 1983 the band experimented with an additional second lead bass player, Brent Turner. Turner only played several shows with the band and left the group to record an album with The Vandals (punk). The band made it's first recordings and finally a demo with Cola heading up vocals. The recording sessions were engineered and produced by Tom Springston of Burnt Party Host and were recorded at Hanna's home in Corona Del Mar, CA. Over the course of the first two years the group performed with other established punk acts such as Black Flag (band), Circle Jerks, Shattered Faith (band), Bad Religion, Circle One and Angry Samoans.

In early 1984 Hanna and Meyer decided to disband and Bates enlisted an entire new line-up which would be fronted by Pat Dubar with drums being played by Hanna's friend and classmate Pat Dyson. Meyer went on to play with other groups such as the Finks and Peace Corp. Bates left the group later in 1984 to pursue other endeavors in Hollywood, CA.

The group with this final line up went forward as Uniform Choice and continued to record, gain momentum and perform throughout California and beyond bringing the group to their current level of fame and recognition in the Southern California punk subculture.

Screaming For Change is their most acclaimed album.[citation needed] They also recorded another less well received LP called Staring Into The Sun and their demo has been bootlegged several times. Pat Dubar was a graduate of Pepperdine University and created the label Wishingwell Records, which released albums by Uniform Choice, Blast!, and Youth of Today, among others. Uniform Choice is historically among the first five Straight Edge Hardcore bands to emerge from Southern California

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Uniform
• Choice
• hardcore
• straight
• edge
• SXE

[415packerfan]

i cannot believe this i was at this show over 24 years ago, thanks for the memory.

[yjm308]

I was at this gig. I was 12 and in the pit!!! My mom drove me from Montebello and dropped me off and I stood on line for the Golden Voice Ticket. I remember a lot of shit from that night.

[ghoulfiend]

I spent about 3 hrs putting my hair up in liberty spikes and my mom washed it all out but I still went anyway! I'll never forget this show.

[williamkendig]

HBHC back then

[MrBrianlowdown]

@sick1vob fuk suis,oc skins

[MrBrianlowdown]

i was there at that show remember the sleepy bear hotel across the street

[sick1vob]

This was a good show...DAG NASTY,EXCEL....SMILEY"OC SUICIDAL BOYZ X3

[cherrykitten68]

I want to hear Rodney by Target 13

[TheOffspringerBcn]

2:10

[fmendezxxx]

I was at that show!

[BigDaddyWarbux]

@yjm - I was there, and was 13. Little kid with a leather jacket and a mohawk.

[c00lvideo]

I was there..... 24 years ago....