Ron Reyes
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| Ron Reyes | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Chavo |
| Genres | Punk rock Hardcore punk |
| Occupations | Musician, Singer, Drummer, Flag shop owner, D.O.A and Subhumans Shirt Distributer. |
| Instruments | Vocals, Drums |
| Years active | 1980 |
| Labels | SST |
| Associated acts | Black Flag, Crash Bang Crunch Pop, Red Kross, The Happy Tampons, the Tracks, The Bludgeoned Pigs, Hawian Spy, Hastily Beastly, The Braineaters, Kill City, Raw Power, Funhouse, The Zamboni Drivers, The Ron Reyes band, PIGGY |
Ron Reyes is an American musician most noted as the second singer for the Los Angeles punk rock group Black Flag. Reyes, who is of Puerto Rican descent, joined Black Flag after original vocalist Keith Morris had quit to form the Circle Jerks. Black Flag needed a singer to go on a tour to Vancouver, Canada, and had asked Reyes to fill in.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Ron Reyes was from a middle class family, His father owned a popular jazz shop in California and Ron grew up listening to his father's record collection. As a boy, Ron would hang out in the streets and listen to Black Sabbath and David Bowie while his friends sniffed glue and smoked cannabis[citation needed]. He remembers himself as an outcast in school, where the jocks would make fun of his KISS inspired glam rock fashion.
[edit] Black Flag
At the time of joining Black Flag, he was a street kid who had been following them since the beginning, and already knew all the songs. He also played drums in an early incarnation of Redd Kross, along with Greg Hetson, who went on to form the Circle Jerks with Keith Morris, and subsequently joined Bad Religion. On May 23, 1980, Reyes quit Black Flag mid-show at the Fleetwood in Redondo Beach. For the remainder of the gig, the band invited audience members onstage to take turns singing "Louie Louie". Reyes was drinking heavily at the time, and was tired of the fan violence and escalating police harassment.
"This was at the beginning of the Orange County punk explosion. The surfers cut off their hair and turned into punks. And they were fucking maniacs! Crazier than hell. The Hollywood punk was a totally different animal, into drugs and getting drunk, liking the Sex Pistols. But the surf punks--these guys were insane. At the show, they'd start going in circles, punching each other - one big dance floor brawl. That was invented by the surf punks. Every fucking high school had hundreds of them. And that crowd liked us, and would come to our shows at the Fleetwood. Well, Ron had met a girl on the road and brought her back to L.A., and at this show she got into the middle of that shit. She got pushed around, and Ron didn't like it so he took off with that girl, went back to Vancouver and left us in the middle of everything." - ROBO (drummer) [1]
Reyes was coaxed back into Black Flag long enough to record the "Jealous Again" EP. He also appeared on some selections included on the 1983 compilation album Everything Went Black. He can be seen in Penelope Spheeris' 1980 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, in which he dedicates the song "Revenge" to the LAPD, and jokingly shows off his apartment, which is a closet. After the recording sessions, Reyes went back to Vancouver and was replaced by singer Dez Cadena.[2]
The Jealous Again EP was released after Reyes had left the band for a final time. He was credited as "Chavo Pederast", nonstandard Spanish for pedophile, after a falling out with the band. Reyes was so angered at this perceived betrayal that he hit Dez Cadena in the head with a brick, and later smashed their touring van's windshield. Reyes had also alerted the Canadian border agents to the band's lack of work permits, which prevented them from playing their final Canadian show of the tour.
Many bands later, Reyes would form Crash Bang Crunch Pop with friends from Lawndale California and Vancouver BC.
[edit] Recent activity
Reyes performed live in Vancouver in celebration of his 50th birthday in July 2010. Joining him on the bill were The Jolts, The Modernettes, Little Guitar Army, and The Braineaters featuring renowned artist Jim Cummins on lead vocals. Reyes' band consisted of guitarists Kevin Rose from Crash Bang Crunch Pop, and Jon Doe from the Scramblers along with a rhythm section consisting of Real McKenzies founding member Anthony Walker on bass and Scott Beadle on drums. Greg Ginn performed three songs with the Ron Reyes Band at this event: "Jealous Again", "Revenge", and a new, original composition entitled "Broken".
Reyes appeared in the Vancouver based documentary Bloodied but Unbowed about Vancouver's punk community in the late 1970s and The Other "F" Word about being a parent involved in the punk community.
Reyes currently is performing as the guitarist for PIGGY. Other members of this new project include Pat Kreep on lead vocals Lisafurr Lloyd (ex Slickjacks; currently in the East Vamps) on bass guitar; Craig McKimm (Little Guitar Army; The Fiends) on drums and "Dusty" Doug Smith (The Strugglers; ex LGA) on keys.
[edit] References
- ^ Blush, Steven; Petros, George (2001). American Hardcore: a Tribal History. Feral House. p. 61. ISBN 9780922915712. http://books.google.com/books?id=7AgdUYZ6U0wC&pg=PA61. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ Chick, Stevie (2011). Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag. PM Press. p. 153. ISBN 9781604864182. http://books.google.com/books?id=ypOXCnhPPYEC&pg=PA153. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
[edit] External links
- http://www.jaybabcock.com/blackflag.html Interview (Jay Babcock/Krist Noveselic)
- http://www.breakmyface.com/bands/blackflag1.html Black Flag early years
- http://www.dementlieu.com/~obik/arc/blackflag/int_skitzoid7.html Interview (1980) Skitzoid Magazine
- http://www.discogs.com/release/1384786 Red Cross 12" EP (Posh Boy, USA)
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