American Steel is a Californian Punk Rock band formed 1995. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ...

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Biography

American Steel was formed in 1995 in West Oakland. When offered their first show, the group took their name from the block-long sign on the warehouse across the street. After playing at parties and smaller venues around the Bay Area for over a year, and undergoing several lineup changes, which resulted in a more serious and tour-ready conglomerate, the band bought a van and embarked on their first tour of the US, lasting 32 days and covering 12,000 miles. Bay Area is a common term to refer to a metropolitan area situated around a bay. ...

After returning from tour, American Steel went into the studio with engineer Kevin Army (Operation Ivy, Green Day, The Mr. T Experience, etc.) to record their eponymous first album, released on San Francisco's New Disorder Records, home of Half Empty, The Cost, The Enemies, and many others. In 1998, the band appeared on several compilations and toured the country twice, re-visiting some cities from previous tours and playing numerous new ones. Operation Ivy was an influential ska punk band that originated from the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Green Day is an American rock band band comprising three core members: Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass, backing vocals) and Tré Cool (drums). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the spring of 1999, American Steel signed to Lookout! and again went into the studio with Kevin Army to record Rogue's March, released in October 1999. The recording process was intermittent, due to guitarist Ryan's initial diagnosis and early battle with leukemia. Part of the urgent, soul-searching quality of the album came from the band's personal struggle with Ryan's illness, most poignantly captured in their song, "Hope Springs from Somewhere." 2000 saw the band tour relentlessly in both the U.S. and Canada, including appearances at South by Southwest and CMJ. Rogue's March became an underground favorite, topping many fanzine's lists of "Best Record of the Year." By the end of 2000, American Steel was firmly established as one of the most explosive bands in the Bay Area. In addition to their bigger and better than ever local shows, they also received a nomination for "Best Punk Album," along with Rancid, Green Day, No Doubt & Blink 182 in the California Music Awards 2001. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... Lookout! Records is a record company based in Berkeley, California. ... Leukemia or leukaemia (see spelling differences) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ... Downtown Austin, Texas, where SXSW is held each spring Bloc Party performing at Stubbs BBQ in 2007 Carrie Rodriguez, a SXSW 2007 performer Morrissey at SXSW 2006 South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of interactive, film, and music festivals and conferences that have taken place every spring in... A fanzine (see also: zine) is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular subject for the pleasure of others who share their interest. ... Rancid is a punk band, formed in 1991 in Albany, California, by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong. ... Green Day is an American rock band band comprising three core members: Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, lead vocals), Mike Dirnt (bass, backing vocals) and Tré Cool (drums). ... No Doubt is a third wave ska band from Anaheim, California, United States. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

While clearly influenced by the early East Bay sound, American Steel's song structures often owe more to the much older sounds of traditional Motown, folk, and rock than to punk or hardcore. This combination of traditional music and punk rock, of the subtlety of the former with the power of the latter, defines and reconciles the diverse group of songs that make up Jagged Thoughts, American Steel's final LP. Having fully absorbed their punk influences to make Rogue's March, a new definitive East Bay Punk album, American Steel set forth to start creating an entirely new genre of music. An exciting take on rock and roll equally tempered by punk's hardness, swagger and jangle and melodic pop's irresistible essence, Jagged Thoughts is a new masterwork by a band of incredible promise. Motown Records, Inc. ... Folk can refer to a number of different things: It can be short for folk music, or, for folksong, or, for folklore; it may be a word for a specific people, tribe, or nation, especially one of the Germanic peoples; it might even be a calque on the related German...

The band reunited in 2007, and has signed to Fat Wreck Chords. They will be releasing a new album entitled Destroy Their Future on October 2nd, 2007. Fat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock, which was started by Fat Mike the lead singer and bassist of the punk rock band NOFX and his wife Erin, in 1990. ...

Members

• Rory Henderson- Vocals, Guitar
• Ryan Massey- Guitar, Vocals
• John Peck- Bass, Vocals
• Scott Healy- Drums (1997-2000, 2007-present)
• Jamie Kissinger- Drums (1995-1997, 2000-2002)

Discography

7-inch singles and EPs

• Hope Wanted (1996)
• Every New Morning (Cheetah's Records, 1999)
• Fat Club 7" (Fat Wreck Chords, 2000)

Full-length albums

• American Steel (New Disorder, 1998)
• Rogue's March (Lookout!, 1999)
• Jagged Thoughts (Lookout, 2001)

Compilation appearances

• "One Of These Days (demo)" from 'Worse Than Alternative: Its Another Punk Comp' 1997
• "Latchkey Kid" (alternate), "Whos Counting?" from 'Ramencore' 1997 [both exclusive]
• "Close Enough Away" from 'Live at KZSU 1998' [live]
• "Loaded Gun (demo)" from 'This Ain't Rocket Science' 1999
• "Got A Backbeat" [taken from Rogue's March], from Lookout! Freakout (Lookout!, 2000)
• "Turn It Out" [taken from Jagged Thoughts] and "Shrapnel (demo version)" [exclusive track], from Lookout! Freakout episode 2 (Lookout!, 2001)
• "More Like A Dream", from Lookout! Freakout episode 3 (Lookout!, 2003) [exclusive track]
• "Maria" from 'Kitestringing: The Prison Literature Project' [album version]
• "Trust" from 'A Little Something For Everyone' (New Disorder) [album version]

External link

• American Steel's page at Lookout Records
• American Steel at All Music Guide
• American Steel's new homepage
• American Steel's Myspace