Blatz

Genre:Punk Rock

Blatz was a punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Blatz came out of the 924 Gilman Street Project scene during the late '80s, and early '90s along with bands like Operation Ivy, Filth, and Green Day.Blatz was well known as an integral representation of early 1990s East Bay punk. Touring mostly throughout southern California, Arizona and Nevada, they played mainly at 924 Gilman St., and practiced there as well. The band was known for their 'in your face' lyrics filled with sarcasm, irony, humor, and references to masturbation and drugs.
Blatz came to life when Joey Perales and Robert Eggplant, (editor of the zine Absolutely Zippo) went to a party on acid where Sweet Children, better known later as Green Day, were playing and began trying to think of the most embarrassing band name possible. They took the name Blatz, after one of the cheapest brands of beer available in the U.S., and convinced John Santos, a high school drinking buddy, to play with them for their first show, a 924 Gilman Street holiday show. After that first show John quit but with Joey on drums and Robert on guitar they continued and, in the summer of 1989, recruiting Marshall Stax to play bass. At the time Marshall was a DJ for Berkeley campus radio station KALX, as well as volunteering as the sound engineer at Gilman St. While practicing at Gilman St., the band noticed a loner hanging around the club and they invited him to sing with them.

His name was Jesse Luscious, editor of a zine called Berkeley Sucks, and as the singer for Blatz, he immediately gained a reputation for being hilarious and often shocking the more modest members of the punk community by frequently taking his clothes off on stage. The band expanded further, adding Annie Lalania, another schoolmate of Perales and Eggplant, as well as Anna Joy. Billie Joe Armstrong occasionally played second guitar for the band , and Aaron Cometbus occasionally sat in on second drums .The three singers were often too "screechy" for people, Eggplant was often too stoned to tune his guitar, and band members were often floating away to go to college or Europe. Nonetheless, they managed to release a number of recordings on Lookout! Records, which are highly regarded.
After the band broke up Eggplant went on to play with The Hope Bombs, Harbinger with Aaron Cometbus and John Geek of Fleshies, Cope, Lil' Runt, and, currently, Fugitive Kind; Marshall Stax played drums for Subincision and continues to do his Monday night demo tape radio show; Joey Perales played with Jack Acid, Dead And Gone and more recently joined Pendulum Swing; Anna Joy and Jesse went on to perform with the band The Gr'ups, which also included Daniela Sea; after the demise of that band Jesse sang for The Criminals and The Frisk and Anna Joy and fellow Gr'ups alumna Daniela Sea performed with Cypher in the Snow. Anna Joy is the author of The Birdwisher and The Vicious Red Relic, Love and, along with Tara Jane O'Neil and Rachel Carns has recorded a music/vocal interpretation of The Vicious Red Relic, Love called Your Metaforest Guidebook available on Jaded Ibis Press. Jesse Luscious has also become the voice of Alternative Tentacles Records, hosting their podcast show, Batcast, as well as hosting his own long-standing morning show on KALX radio.