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For the bigger picture, read this interesting history of OC punk written by LA Times writer Mike Boehm.
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Little Known CROWD Factoids
The Crowd has shared the stage with bands such as The Ramones, The Go-Gos, The Motels, The Suburbs, The Untouchables, The Circle Jerks, The Cramps and X.
Pat Smear of the Germs, a band that also played with The Crowd,is currently in the Foo Fighters.
Among the bands often cited as "influences" for The Crowd: The Ramones, Joy Division, X, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, Bad Religion.
Joan Jett was a big early fan of The Crowd.
Tito Larriva of Tito and the Tarantulas, who played with the Crowd, was later the lead singer of The Plugz.
Speaking of ... the very first punk rock show in Orange County was at the Boys Club in Costa Mesa. On stage were: The Plugz, the Fly Boys and The Crowd. This is the show that Tony from The Adolescents snuck out of the house to see before he was in a band.
The very first Crowd show at Wood Sound in Monrovia was only the 4th or 5th time they'd played together. This was the first gig Posh Boy (Robbie Fields) saw of The Crowd and Jim Decker's "worm dance." At this time, Posh Boy was a close associate of the Go-Go's: he put them together with their manager Ginger Canzoneri who re-styled them away from their spiky hair into gay-glo chic.
One of first times the Crowd played in LA was at the Temporary
Masque, with the Motels, the Go Gos, and Levi and the Rockcats.
Jim Decker's band in high school was called Witchcraft. The drummer in this band was Sandy West, who later became the drummer for The Runaways (as in - Joan Jett and the .. )
The Decker family had previously lived in Arcadia, home of
the Flyboys. Jay Lansford from the Simpletones also lived in
the same city, home to the Santa Anita racetrack.
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The Crowd start playing backyard and house parties in Huntington Beach in the summer and fall of 1978 (originally as "The New" - they became The Crowd when Jim Decker replaced Peter Roach as lead singer.) Original Edison High lineup : Jim Trash (Jim Decker), Jay Decker, Jim Kaa, Tracy Porterfield, Barry Cuda (Barry Miranda). It wasn't long before so many fans were cramming into these house parties that the locations would have to be kept secret.
The next five years would be the first glory days of Orange County punk, especially in Huntington Beach and Fullerton. Bands like Screwz, the Outsiders, the Middle Class, the Klan, Press, The Mechanics, Presidents, China White and Der Stab ... also better known groups like Agent Orange, The Adolescents, Social Distortion, D.I, the Vandals, and Long Beach's T.S.O.L. (Crowd proteges - Jack Grisham and Ron Emory eventually go on to found Joykiller in the early 90s.) Slam dancing, "the worm" and stage diving become popular for the first time. Some accounts state that these traditions originated at Crowd concerts.
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The Crowd play their first show, at Wood Sound in Monrovia, opening for the Flyboys and the Go-Gos with a large HB contingent on hand. This led to their first LA concert (with the Simpletones at Club 88), which also marked the beginning of their association with Robbie Fields (Posh Boy Records.)
The BEACH BOULEVARD compilation album was released by Posh Boy a few months later. This album was the first to feature the new Orange County beach hardcore sound, and contained five Crowd songs along with material from The Simpletones (from Rosemead) and Rik L Rik (from Covina; later played with The Slaves and Electric Frankenstein. Rik passed away in June 2000.) KROQ's Rodney Bingenheimer began playing tracks from the album on his show (including The Crowd's "Modern Machine," which reached #5 on his chart, and the Simpletones' "California",) creating a minor sensation. The Crowd, whose first look inside a recording studio had been when they laid down their "Beach Boulevard" tracks, found themselves playing Hollywood clubs like the Starwood soon after.
Six months after The Crowd was formed - with none of them ever being in a band before except Jim Decker - they were headlining the Whisky a Go Go in LA.
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The Crowd continued to play in larger clubs like the Whiskey, the Starwood, the Hong Kong Cafe, and the Cuckoo's Nest. With their day-glo outfits and fans doing "the worm" the scene remained a fun one.
The band underwent its' first personnel changes as Dennis Walsh ("Denny Drum") from the Flyboys joined The Crowd, replacing a departed Barry Cuda. Tracy Porterfield also left the band.
Posh Boy released The Crowd's A WORLD APART LP. The album featured one of the Crowd's better known songs, Right Time, which generated some radio airplay (and was featured on RODNEY ON THE ROQ, VOL. 1.) But the overall sound was more complex than their Beach Boulevard material.
The Crowd records with Dickies manager John Hewlett but the tape - containing such early concert staples as It's a Scene and Go To The Dentist - never sees the light of day.
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The Crowd disbands for an extended five-year rest, partially in response to the increasing level of violence at their shows, with members of the group taking on other projects.
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After a reunion show at Huntington Beach's Night Moves sells out, The Crowd begins playing again regularly in local clubs. Lineup: Kaa, both Deckers, Walsh.
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Flipside Records releases the Crowd's comeback LP, BIG FISH STORIES. The album generates some college radio airplay.
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The nineties find the band holding down other jobs (Kaa as a Finance Director for a major restaurant chain, the Deckers working for the family cement business, and Walsh delivering mail in Long Beach) but continuing to play in clubs around Orange County.
The band records the Dig Yourself single but it is not actually released in the US until 1995, on Long Beach's Lethal Records.
Posh Boy releases an expanded CD version of the Beach Boulevard album. The Crowd, Simpletones and Rik L Rik play a reunion show together in Huntington Beach to mark the occasion.
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DIG YOURSELF is released as a 4-song vinyl EP.
After a show at the Cocoanut Teaszer with the Humpers, The Crowd make a handshake deal with Al Flipside to record LETTER BOMB.
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Flipside releases LETTER BOMB, The Crowd's first full length CD. The material was as powerful as anything from the Beach Boulevard era. LETTER BOMB marked the beginning of a new era of popularity and recognition for the band that continues through today.
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