Danger House records was an independent label from the late 70s that put out a bunch of 7-inches from some of the best bands of the initial wave of Southern California punk rock, mostly based out of LA/Hollywood. bands like X, The Germs, The Weirdos, The Avengers, and The Deadbeats. Lots of people talk about Danger House like it was the apex of creativity in So Cal punk, and when hardcore came a long it killed all that and all bands started sounding the same. This of course is only partially true, but Danger House bands were super punk but also experimental and creative and had a lot of variety, stuff that we respect and strive for musically. We always take it as a huge compliment when people compare us to Danger House bands. Some of our favorites include:
Black Randy and The Metrosquad, “Trouble at the Cup”
We were a bit obsessed with Black Randy in high school, and when we finally tracked down a copy of his album it was a very big deal. We loved his wild and inappropriate sense of humor and the lo-fi fucked up sounds of the recordings. His voice sounds so over the top and blustery, like john Belushi or something. “They say the boulevard is no place to be…” every lyric in the song is ridiculous and cool sounding! There's a great live recording of this song on the Benefit for the Masque compilation that is complete chaos and is hilarious. Also, Pass the Dust, I think I'm Bowie is one of the greatest album titles of all time.
Eyes, “Disneyland”
This is an Orange County snotty classic! Probably the best and punkest song about Disneyland ever! I think the lyrics are about putting bombs in the trash cans at Disneyland and they end the song with the line “blow up Anaheim!” Lots of our friends have covered this tune and it's way ahead of its time with the gang vocal style and fun keyboards. It's like an original party punk song. I'm sure they didn't actually hate Disneyland, what's not to love? Also the stupid parking lot they sing about has now been replaced by a stupid parking structure, one of the biggest in the country I believe.
The Dils, “Class War”
The Dils were another early favorite of ours. They're thrashy but very tuneful at the same time, something we like in most punk bands. Their later songs, had less of a political bent, but we always enjoyed the Robin Hood-esque themes of their early stuff . It's fun stuff with a message!
X, “Adult Books”
We still listen to a ton of X. They're one of those bands everyone can agree on, even our parents. We've been to a few X concerts with Cameron's dad. It's all about the end of “Adult Books” when John Doe starts singing the title with a sassy quality and the song gets all funky. The first recording of We're Desperate on the b-side is way gnarlier and more direct than when they recorded it.
Audacity has albums available on Burger Records and Suicide Squeeze.
Audacity are touring the west coast in January:
02 The Knockout – San Francisco, CA
03 Paper Moon – Eugene, OR
04 Black Lodge – Seattle, WA
05 Electric Owl – Vancouver, BC
06 Star Bar – Portland, OR
07 The Ink Annex – Eureka, CA
08 Bows & Arrows – Sacramento, CA
09 The Holland Project – Reno, NV
