The Forgotten Brilliance of RKL

[@chrismess135]

Just like 9/11, I'll never forget RKL.

[@thomasdupont7186]

it was a national tragedy even tho I wasn't too nervous about it....

[@ralphtom3431]

Yeah never forget Building 7 was never hit by a plane

[@_D_E_N_N_I_S_]

@@thomasdupont7186I feel bad mostly for 9/11 airlines

[@deannedeberry1095]

Jason Sears was one of my good friends .I met him up in Bend, Oregon & he was such a sweetheart! We would talk into the morning hours & I would lay my head down on his lap to sleep. I finally saw him play in Berkeley & he saw me & STOPPED SINGING & said in the mic, "Deanne! WTF are YOU doing here?!" I loved that man with all of my heart! I wish he was still alive, but I know we'll reconnect on the other side & continue our deep conversations!! RKL was one of a kind & so was Jason!!

[@joeramelli9512]

Spent 3 weeks up in Bend with Jason in 1990. Grew up in Oxnard and my dad and Jason's dad were best buddies and college roomies.

[@denasewell]

Was the show in Berkeley at Gilman Street Can Factory? I was around for those shows. my friend Kelly Dated Jason in the late 80s/ early 90s. RIP Jason,Bomber and Derrick!

[@jpfalk11]

Crashed my truck drumming on my dashboard to Blockout. Literally 6 blocks from where Jason grew up on Feather Hill Road in Montecito. RIP Jason. I was lucky to know Jason and have the best punk band in the world as our own. I remember their come back show at Busters pizza in goleta...first show in many years. All locals. Crowd went crazy, pepper gas flew into the pit, and the crowd ran out of the building. Jason puked and the band kept rocking... everyone outside eyes on fire and coughing, RKL still rocking inside to a vacant pepper gassed building. Hardcore plus talent.

[@deannedeberry1095]

I was a good friend of Jason's as well! Loved the shit out of that guy!! He told me that he tried to puke on stage every time he played. I wonder if that's where it started from?! RIP JASON! We fukn miss you & LOVE YOU!!

[@chirkolo]

Greatest punk hc band!..cheers from Croatia.

[@hisroyalsucculence]

Bomer was a musical genius.

[@themusicgraveyard600]

*Bomer

[@christopherpratt5221]

I grew up going to their shows, and I truly miss being puked on by Jason Sears. R.I.P. buddy.

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Nice!!! RIP Jason!

[@joshuamee3655]

Fuckin Relic -JOSH NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

[@jaysunpuke]

Sears was a cool guy. was always nice to us when we came to Cali in the summers

[@flipnap2112]

dude thats a moment to be cherished.

[@alexwynn9733]

First heard "We're Back We're Pissed" on Punk-O-Rama when I was like 12. I thought they sounded like NOFX with Dave Mustaine on vocals. Got more into em, picked up Riches to Rags and R n' R Nightmare - just flabbergasted by the insane musicianship, drums and bass in particular. Fucking bananas playing all around. Hard to believe it was coming from a bunch of burnout suburban SoCal surfer dipshits, but that was part of the appeal. "Scab On My Brain" is untouchable, mind-frying perfection. Pressures. Problems. Dude.

[@broonage]

The Other is an underrated gem, one of the greatest punk albums of that era. Criminally not well known! RKL are the crossover (kind of) kings. I love that Lagwagon are literally RKL.

[@sometimelater]

saw them at the palladium. had no idea it was them until later. seeing bomer perform was a real heavy thing. like a van gogh.

[@conniebrandon7711]

When Bomer formed The Other was a odd time as he was doing alot of experiments with sounds and tired of the back drumming. The Other is Absolutely one of the Greatest Short lived PROJECTS he did.His Classical Piano shit he was doing around the time he Died was by far the most Genius shit .Maybe one day some of those recordings will Surface.I had a vhs tape from the Chatter box show of them .Loaned it to a friend's brother to Burn onto c.d. he erased the tape by accident. A darn shame not many got to experience THE OTHER. I'm happy to read a few people discovered The Other

[@kyled3566]

Greatest skate rock band to ever exist

[@Aidenandradefilmography]

Actually, the other is on Spotify now! I love it and that’s a heck of a amazing album. I’ve loved RKL for so long and I love playing their songs on drums and guitar, and bomber and definetly had a huge influence on me. When they played blocked out in 1988 on the greatest hits live, it was incredible to listen to for the first time, and still is today. Rock on!

[@quanahlienau]

Dude! As a life long RKL addict I am so stoked you took the time you put this together, they are such a huge influence on my playing and music interests. much props and Keep laughing!🤘

[@konzi6983]

Awesome video about one of my eternally favourite bands, thank you! I like how you first point at "their very organic energy they were able to capture". That's just so true. When I listen through the "Rock'N'Roll Nightmare' album and then go on to randomly play some other great song by one of my favourite bands, I often can't help but feel that the latter would sound like a dull cut/copy/paste-job next to that big bag stuffed with insanely fast and tight performed pure musical creativity.

[@redape6870]

Thank you so much for creating and posting this video. Two of my best friends in high school turned me on to RKL. I was stoked to be able to hook the band up with the tabloid TV show Hard Copy in the early 90s where I worked at the time. I got the TV crew to come to one of their shows when they played at the Velocity down in orange county. Bob Becker from Fearless Records venue that he had for a short while and industrial complex. Anyways, Barry Ward and I are friends and have been for many years. Somewhere in my archives I have RKL playing in Santa Barbara with Sublime. It was one of Sublime’s worst shows as the whole band were strung out on heroin and they thought they were the headlining act. My buddy Jerome threw a cup of ice water in Bradley Nowell’s face and he was so high he didn’t even notice. I hope I can find that tape if I can I will gladly post it. But sadly I only recorded half of the set and some of the sound got lost. Anyways, RKL were definitely a big influence on my musical repertoire. In the winter of 2001 buddy Jerome Bruner from Burning Tree Records put on a show at the Cooler Lounge in Las Vegas during the punk rock bowling event. RKL headlined that show and I have footage from that show that I filmed on my channel. Feel free to check it out. Thank you.

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Hell yeah man! Thank YOU for watching!

[@Neto0Cleto]

You ever find that recording?

[@marklloyd7159]

Hay Kelli what a interesting life U have led would love to hear your private rkl tapes simply the best band ever who would of thought rkl would release a album in 2022 f life is good peace and love lloydy

[@andrewgrignon826]

I owe all my love for RKL to Fat Mike of NOFX. Would of never heard of them if it wasn't for him. Love me some RKL

[@alanknotts1844]

RKL were one of the most inventive intricate hardcore bands of the 80's. Always remembered in Glasgow👍

[@dave7062]

And Edinburgh

[@lilytalavera6631]

Thank you for this. Most people don't know about R. K L. Awesome playlist on spotify.

[@ian_davidson]

This is absolutely my new favorite channel

[@virtue696]

Great job, Personally I think SNFU are on par with RKL in forgotten brilliiance and influence.

[@Mikey_Heels]

Great video!!!! I saw them in 1985 in philadelphia... i actually have a pic somewhere from their set still to this day... KEEP LAUGHING is my favorite track and record... my favorite band ever and now have a contact in santa barbera, through a great friend here in philly, that used to hang with RKL... he hooked me up with the super dope skate deck and told me some sick stories about them and ded teds... my current band has recorded KEEP LAUGHING track and we play it pretty often in set

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Nice!!! That’s awesome!

[@DanPantzig]

Watched this on my lunch earlier, super fascinating shit. You oughta do more band histories.

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Thanks! I have a few more planned for the near future!

[@chrismess135]

Rock n roll nightmare, Greatest Hits Double Live In Berlin , and keep laughing are the bee's knees! RKL is one of my top 3 bands of all time. They are the only band I have tattooed on my body and have seen them live about 20 times. I wish they were more popular but at the same time when you run into someone wearing an RKL shirt you know your on the same team. RIP Bomer and Jason! Man, I really miss this band.

[@marklloyd7159]

Agree also got rkl tattooed on me just this year and they put out new record this year 2022 what a trip meant to be peace and love lloydy

[@BrainWasherAttendent]

Just discovered them today. Can’t believe I never hear them before. Awesome stuff.

[@gagewilson4161]

My dad grew up with them even played Gilman with them while he was in a different band and then they raised me on punk RKL,operation ivy and Mdc wish the world didn’t get so soft we need punk to come back

[@ViciousMaximus]

Not only soft, but plain stupid

[@kylesides559]

Punk never left, we're still here and still pist 🤘🤮🤘

[@riv6580]

Punk didn't go anywhere old man

[@julieraybon8611]

Excellent! Thank you for this!

[@TheDmanMA]

I have no forgotten..still listening to them to this day

[@H3DG3xC043]

They are not forgotten

[@LAAV89]

great job, dude! Thanks 4 this. Cheers from Mexico

[@AkronAsylum]

Thank you so much! Rock'n'Roll Nightmare ist easily one of the Top 10 Punkrock records! My original copy was stolen at a party, but I can tell you: that comicbook was as good, as the music on that record. I saw them in 88 in Bielefeld, Germany, and it was one those shows, you never forget.. RIP Jason and Bommer!

[@ThatsMySideProject]

I first heard about RKL from my band members as they were introducing me to increasingly more punk as we continued playing shows and writing songs. I liked it at first but it really grew on me and now they've been my favorite punk band for years. We used to cover "Feelings of Hate" and then later on we ended up covering "Beautiful Feeling Part 3". Jason Sears is my punk rock hero and I always tried to somewhat emulate a similar vibe to his stage presence when I sing on stage. It's cool too, we actually got to meet Barry when we played a show with MDC in 2020 right before the quarantine since he was playing guitar with them. It was so cool. I had just thrown up into a bush out front before the show and he came up to me with a camera and I talked about how I love RKL and Jason Sears lol. Then I drank some beer and we played our set and ended up covering Beautiful Feeling that night. It was a fun time. P.S. I spotted your DRI poster in the background. We got to play with them too in 2017. Good times lol

[@marklloyd7159]

What is your band called as anyone influenced by rkl IV gotta hear and you got to play with MDC how f n cool is that peace and love lloydy

[@ThatsMySideProject]

@@marklloyd7159 our band was called R4ID. If you look up "R4ID live at 3 disciples" you can see our set at the show with MDC

[@dandyfunhouse]

Got to see them a couple of times. Absolutely amazing group!

[@markhedquist9597]

I loved RKL! Saw them when I was 16 (84 or 85) in KCMO. Then again maybe a year later or so. Had the ep and first album. Ya, they were mind-blowing back then . My formative years and was lucky to have seen them. Thanks for doing this video. Really brings back a lot of memories...

[@nahuilegorreta6572]

They were one of my favorite bands growing up I got "Rock n Roll Nightmare" when it came out. My brother and our friends were pretty totally stoked on it. The comic was sick! Unfortunately the comic was destroyed sometime in the 90s. Bummer. I did see it uploaded somewhere a few years ago. I think I'll look for it 🤘 Nice upload

[@bradleyhopkins3600]

I'm happy to report that The Other is now on spotify. I just had to find it through the Honest Don's Welcome Wagon playlist because of the other The Other (horror Punk). I didn't know who they were until last week when revisiting some old comps I used to listen to a lot and when Cafes and Bombs came on I said to myself, oh yeah I love this song who are these guys? Naturally that lead me down the deepest and widest rabbit hole I ever got sucking into which eventually lead me to finally checking out RKL (and this video). It's really amazing how all the RKL members came into the band from so many other bands as well as went into so many other bands that we are all quite fond of. RKL was truly a hub of excellence. I'm still not done tracking down all the bands I now need to listen to with RKL members in them. They are such good players I gotta hear everything they all did. Cheers!

[@Skatepunklefty]

Was listening to RKL then this was suggested by KZbin glad I found your channel :)

[@sparker1323]

Those bass lines hooked me from the first time I heard them.

[@PeterPan50341]

I think this band was the main influence to the scene and genre at the 90s.

[@PrismaPrepress]

RKL invented that classic stop/start break. NOFX and all the west coast hardcore bands went on and made it famous. And when I say RKL invented it, I mean Manzullo (Bomer) invented it. It's that break in a song that comes back in on the down part of the beat (most breaks come back in on the up beat). More specifically, the up beat is on the kick drum, and the down beat is on the snare drum.

[@kaymynkaliel4141]

Funny, I grew up in Ventura, seen RKL many times, fell in love with them after buying Beautiful Feeling EP you just showed. Though, at one of their shows, the mic was put down for me to sing the rest of the song that we're all rich kids on LSD. Memorable moment I'm 54 and fully remember the NARDCORE SCENE. Rkl rocks. Love playing them on guitar, specially Passing Time

[@mattday2656]

I love RKL, not just musically but their art aesthetics made a huge impact on how I approach my creative endeavours.

[@hellaradusername]

Picked up Riches to Rags and Rock and Roll Nightmare when I was first getting into punk based on the name alone (which took me to some weird places, like Gas Huffer). Remember that the LP liner notes for RNR nightmare had the comic reprinted in tiny miniature form

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Gas Huffer! that's a band you don't hear people talk about much! And about the Mini comic, was that on the Epitaph reissue?

[@evan242503]

Rock n Roll Nightmare w/ mint comic book is one of my most prized records. Classic.

[@stevenborgens1390]

This was great. i pretty much recited the whole thing piece by piece before it happened, so it's on point. LOVEIT!

[@TheSleepingonit]

Got into them from the first PunkORama, favorite song Betrayed or HPC, cool video thank you much

[@lovelife1867]

And they just came back with Foresta on the vocals , which makes little sense but it sounds solid.

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

I’m actually stoked for the reunion. I’m a big Waste fan though so I’m of course a little biased but I honestly can’t wait to see how it plays out.

[@croulantroulant3082]

Excellent work man, I hope it gets RKL new listeners! Quick story time: as a 14 year old French kid on vacation in Greece, I stumbled upon a vinyl pressing of Rock 'n Roll Nightmare. Basically I bought it straight away because of the skate/snowboarding hints on the cover, that was my scene. It actually took me years to understand the brilliance of the album and I still cherish it to this day, more than 30 years later (and Im getting dangerously close to 50!) Edit: I still have the comic booklet ;-)

[@edwardlipton2458]

Was at the Malt Soda Bash! LOVE RKL🤘🏻🤘🏻

[@JMK-kb1yq]

I played that show, in Mercury Legion. Jason's last show

[@jefflyon2020]

Yes!!!RKL had an impact on all of the hardcore/metal-crossover/whatever -punk rock fanatics we knew and were all through the early 1980's-90's right before deathmetal and grindcore took our collective little evil souls.We marveled at the talents of the bass/drum section of bomber and "the kid" (forgot his name)-The song "pothead" was an anthem for us and ill never forget those times back then and the bands that influenced us.

[@Masssshysteria]

The basslibe for betrayed. Then the everything that comes in. Im instantly sold

[@Bob_Piss]

One of the best bands to get almost no recognition (compared to what the deserve). A group of dudes that were not only fucking incredible as a singular unit, but absolute monsters as on their own. An unbelievable guitarist, phenomenal drummer doing things no one was doing at the time, a singer that was like no one body else but somehow you hear him everywhere in punk rock of that era, and they somehow ended up with the fucking best bass player in the punk game. Incredible songs. Dynamic as fuck. Song after song, they show that they weren't just three chord punk bums. They could play fast, but they could play WELL. They came up in a Spotify playlist for me in like 2010 or 11 and I was just floored. I was already a big fan of the stuff NOFX did with Mystic, and that unique Mystic sound, so I was all in. They took that sound to the next level, the best Mystic had to offer. Obviously, they jumped into my rotation immediately. Truly incredible band.

[@krisbeale514]

Great Video. I saw Barry’s first show on Guitar at the Boys Club in Santa Barbara and Little Joe’s first show with them in SF.. I was lucky enough to open for them a few times and did a little mini tour to Oregon with them. I miss my friends. I wish they were still here to write songs about this crazy world .

[@spothra8862]

Discovered RKL sometime around 86 or 87. Love all of their pre 90's releases, the Epitaph era stuff doesn't do it for me. Same thing with SNFU.

[@labeandistort6213]

Great channel, love how you cover all "genres" of punk/hardcore!!! RKL will never be forgotten!!! that energy still lives! ...also thru Lagwagon :D

[@kissdiaries]

Never forgotten, but hardly missed!

[@justinfoy7514]

Yeah, RKL is one of those bands that firmly fall into the if you know, you know category. Great music.

[@joeh952]

Top 5 favorite punk band of all time. No question.

[@omind1]

Nice Decry shirt! Saw'm in Columbus OH with Green River and Raw Power. Great bill. Diggin' yr deep dives. Ha! Mystic records, NARD-CORE!

[@MrThrash3d]

What a gem they are! I am mostly into thrash/death metal .. the old school stuff. Some months ago, during the pandemic I found a video of RKL with a guest Tony Foresta from Municipal Waste of the song "Sargasm". Really loved it and then started to look for more RKL stuff. I'm really happy that happened because this band is an absolutely awesome. They are totally underrated and such talented. Great video and also subbed!

[@neppy6319]

I love RKL.. another band I feel doesn't get enough credit is Ill repute.... That also being said I would love a video on the straight edge scene. I will say I'm in no way straight edge but doesn't mean I don't love minor threat, youth of today, 7 second and the like. I know it is a lot like the hardcore scene but yeah. Just that love of all punk.

[@JoshuaMutant]

As a vegan straight edge guy, I second this motion. Make it so!!!

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Ill Repute is another favorite of mine from the early 80s era. I also love the stuff they did in the 90s too. Will definitely talk about straight edge at some point too!

[@marklloyd7159]

Fuck yer brother I love pulling a few cones to judge instead gorilla biscuits youth of today bold minor threat U don't have to be straight to enjoy straight edge it's the music not the politics that gets me of peace and love lloydy

[@RyanCrase1]

I saw RKL twice. Once in Oakland and once in Seattle. 2 of the most mind blowing shows I’ve ever seen. It was really sad hearing of Jason’s passing. That guy was a force on stage. The entire band was unreal.

[@MrSimondaniel3]

hell yea.. best hard/ thrashy band I've seen, better live shows than all the big punk & metal bands. I saw them around 6 times during the final run from '99 - '05. Chris Rest, Joe R, Derrick ,Bomer & Boz are/were truly incredible players.

[@tat2dguy]

You could of got a picture of alpo from the band the Boxheads which he plays in now and rick bowersock from old stalag 13 pictures when he played with them, great video, I was one of the singers in RKaLiens and I play with alpo in the band the boxheads, it was a pretty thorough video, but just scrapes the surface on how gnarly and influential RKL was and still are !

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Nice! Didn’t know Alpo had a new band!

[@nickhall1115]

The thumbnail picture with the Municipal Waste shirt…. Foreshadowing!

[@SoupkitchenBavaria]

I promoted them and have seen 'em in the early 1990s in bavaria, germany. One of the greatest shows i ever visited. So nice and funny people. They sounded very professional. Will never forget them.

[@jvf9808]

RKL put on some of the best shows I've ever seen. I was at that Ramones show. Pure 🔥🔥🔥. Beautiful Feeling II, that guitar riff is still undeniable. RIP Bomer. True genius.

[@triplesunofone]

Love RKL.. first heard the live album and loved them ever since, nice!

[@FunkadelicPancho]

Found out about RKL in a KZbin comment section years ago and was blown away. Killer band

[@mistorWhiskers]

One of my all time favs. At least we got Lag Wagon still, all former members of RKL now

[@angelamatemotja]

Excellent. Love this band! Well done.

[@thepunkhistorian6397]

Thanks!

[@AA-jk9dg]

One of the best bands I know and greetings from Finland!!!

[@not12listen]

Never saw RKL live, as I was a bit too young. My older brother introduced me to their music with Keep Laughing. I still listen to that album today and cannot get over how awesome it sounds. I've known a lot of punks in my time, and very few have heard of RKL. When I do start playing Keep Laughing, they want to hear more. :) I was really sad to heard that they officially broke up and then the passing of several of the members. RIP.

[@user-cd1id3gb8t]

They're on a league of their own

[@anvilheadmusic8834]

Were a big influence on me back in 1989/1990. I still LOVE the Live in Berlin album. The best.

[@dedo76]

I saw RKL in 95 in Milan (Italy), Riches to rags tour. Won't ever forget that show. Jason pukin n rockin, the rest of them playing great...what a band!

[@thomasseltzer4269]

Such a great band. I saw them twice in Oslo, 1988(?)

[@Menace2sobriety0526]

Sick video. I love Rkl so much I got them on my neck! Best band in the world

[@maksmorrison5086]

I like this band ! )) From Russia ,with love !

[@tcw8287]

Yes!!!!!!! Rarely meet anyone who knows these guys.

[@mcdjchandler]

I first heard RKL in two places, the Epitaph compilation and TB4, a snowboarding video. Early/mid 90s. Rock n roll nightmare is an amazing record.

[@burningjoe]

I’ve been making a NardCore related “In Memoriam” list. Here are the RKL(and related) names. Derrick Plourde - October 17th 1971 - March 30th 2005 - Drums - RKL/Lagwagon/Ataris “Bomer” Richard Manzullo - July 19th 1967 - Dec 12th 2005 - Drums/Vocals - RKL Jason Sears - January 23rd 1968 - January 31st 2006 - Vocals - RKL Matt “Ratt” Davis - December 19th 1964 - August 15th 2009 - Vocals - Rat Pack - RKL Crew/Friend Ted “Ded Ted” Townsend - December 24th 1967 - February 1st 2014 - RKL Crew/Friend

[@HumanTimeCapsule]

:(

[@DevinRyanVitek]

Would love a video like this for China White. They weren’t as popular as TSOL or DI but Frank Ruffino, the guitarist, was one of my all-time favorite punk guitarists.

[@DefKlaw]

I never got to see RKL perform live because I wasn't even born when they were active and I was only a wee lad when they were active from 2002 to 2006. I got into RKL after watching an animated video depicting King Buzzo from the Melvins talking about a disastrous tour that the Melvins embarked on in 1986. In the video, King Buzzo briefly mentions RKL as they had supposedly broke into a skateboarding shop and sold the skateboard stuff they stole to other skate shops in order to fund their trip. I then heard about RKL again after I watched a few videos of Fat Mike from NOFX playing Blocked Out. After a while, I thought that I should probably listen to RKL seeing as a few of my favourite musicians spoke of them in a favourable manner. So I downloaded the It's a Beautiful Feeling EP, Keep Laughing and Rock N Roll Nightmare from some sketchy website. Needless to say, I'm very glad that I decided to listen to this band.

[@AlanDuncan-mc2ls]

Okay you did a pretty darn good job and your little documentary, one thing you got wrong was that the name rich kids was made up an obnoxious friend of the bands., Before they were really even a band.we plalyed foi 2 years with the same 5 piece lineup, (Bommer Chris,vink, Jason and me. Playing in Oxnard with the likes of suicidal tendencies, crucifix, ILL Repute aggression, dr Know, can start a plan our first LA shows, THE FIRST WITH THE MENTORS AND DR KNOW AT THE CATHAY de Grande, Park Hill played second LA show with singer Matt rat from Rat Pack, because Jason's parents sent him to rehab for 2 weeks in the show was already booked , soon Jason was back, & we play the show in Sun valley in North Hollywood with the band" Iconoclast", after the show with Chris driving a big American car, we got on the wrong freeway and the map flew out the window,so we got back on the freeway in the other direction and got off in North Hollywood on lankershim boulevard, parked, got out another map to figure out how to get home. All of the sudden we get rear-ended by a little mg going 60 miles an hour , the girl passenger in the mg was dead,, we sat around for 45 minutes for an ambulance and the police to show up. I know Jason wasn't there and I'm not sure if bomber was there, but all in all very traumatizing, AL(alpo) Duncan

[@centralscrutinizer66]

Good vid. I saw the Municipal Waste / Lag Wagon (I had no idea who they were until recently) cover of Sargasm which I liked quite a bit. I bought the album Better Living Though Alchemy which was an Alchemy sampler with all the bands on the label at the time including Poison Idea, Melvins, Neurosis and some other lesser known bands like The Grim and Clown Ally. I loved the comp and thought the label was really kicking ass right out the gate. The comp also had RKL tunes off R & R Nightmare. I didn’t care for the RKL tracks, it’s sounded too busy and complicated for the sake of musicianship. They were next level players I’ll agree even as a musician. I love Decry and Final Conflict and a million other punk/HC bands, but RKL didn’t stick, maybe cos I never saw em live. I lived in Cali for a bit and a friend went to see Slang and I warned him, it’s not RKL, he was upset. The singer was a top ranked snowboarder?! Late edit: after just looking at 150+ flyers of shows that RKL played. I think they played with anyone who mattered here and abroad in the 80’s. I was looking to see if they ever played here in Detroit and they did! In 86 with Toxic Reasons and CCM from Italy. I remember that show happening and not going.

[@squirrelhuntinrecordsyall8983]

Just found this. It’s good stuff man!! Keep it up.

[@cityterrace8391]

Cool that you highlighted such a great band, so overlooked. Bommer was a killer drummer. A friendly suggestion: There are other channels claiming a historical look at punk, but just end up focusing on big bands to get views when there are thousands of bands that merit an overview like this one on RKL. Discharge? Suicidal? I think your services would be better served showcasing The Proletariat or Honor Role or Dead Silence or Destroy or Ludichrist or Beyond Possession or Battalion of Saints or JR Ewing or Kaaos or Colera or Caras de Hambe or I.R.A. or Bannlyst or So Much Hate or Accion Mutante. Again, just a friendly bit of advice for such a great opportunity. Finally, hit up some band members or other bands and quote them in your videos. Gives it some context. Great video and footage. Keep Laughing!!

[@Appetite4ATX]

Saw them in Austin at Emo's. They dropped LSD on stage, started playing, and then vomited everywhere. Kickass show.

[@thelowb]

RKL is my favorite punk band. My first punk show was RKL at The Red Barn in Isla Vista CA in 198? …something… I don’t remember. As a teenage bass player, I remember hearing Rock and Roll Nightmare for the first time. I was blown away. I still have the vinyl… and the comic book.

[@andrewbarrett4276]

One of my first shows was RKL, Social Unrest in 96? I went on to see them 20+ times. They were the real deal.

[@flipnap2112]

Dam man this is spot on. THANK YOU. I remember in the 80s skating a ramp and on the blaster was the usual: Minor Threat, DK, angry samoans, the Cramps, etc. and one day I heard "scab on my brain" on the tape. I was like "who the fck is that?". went out and bought the album and listened to it on headphones for like 3 days straight. It was like magic. I couldn't figure out how they managed to engineer that much chaos into an album. You could hear every lick and everything just stood out. "Rock n roll nightmare" became a staple at the ramp and a part of my life. Always wished they played East coast and toured with Gang Green, that wouldve been one helluva show. man it seems like just yesterday I was screen printing shirts and xeroxing skate zines to pass out in high school. The time has flown. Everyone, give a phone call to someone who misses you today, tomorrow isnt promised. Thanks again man. ITCH IT YEAH!!!!!

[@thefolkloreof]

The cd version came with the comic in booklet format. I own it.

[@thefolkloreof]

I could scan it if you want... shoot me an e-mail [e-mail]

[@spy-v-spy1848]

RKL, AMQA, Christ on Parade, DRI, DI, & FEAR can't pick a favourite this just my child hood punk died after that for me... almost forgot Odd Man Out

[@btwells72]

I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in the '90s and saw RKL was gonna play at Iguana's in Tijuana, Mexico (I wanna say 1994?).... I found a way down but unfortunately I missed RKL. Saw two other bands that night though: Rancid, who played a Blitz song (Someone's Gonna Die Tonight), and Offspring--both who I had never heard of at the time. Catching RKL would have been the sh!t though! Loved the comic book that came with Rock and Roll Nightmare.

[@SuddenExistentialDismissal]

Without these guys, no NOFX

[@punkrockstormchaser]

Or strung out and lagwagon

[@jamesgwarrior1981]

Great great phenomenal content….i like how I’m like I wish someone made something I could see about these awesome old skoolers… 💥 🏴 Punk rock historian….

[@mjeromee]

I first heard them on Punk-O-Rama when I was in high school in the mid 90s. Bought their albums and made a fan page (that's still up!) while learning HTML in computer class. Collected a bunch of cool merch, then wrote most of the wikipedia page that I think you may have sourced from a time or two in this video lol :)

[@konzi6983]

Hey Mark, both your excellent tripod pages and the defunct "chrisone" pages (mostly in german language) have been very helpful to me - Thanks a lot!!! Good to hear you put the knowledge from your research into the Wikipedia pages.

[@MegaWinstonwolf]

@@konzi6983 My Page is online again (the "chrisone-pages"). I bought a domain and webspace. Enjoy: www.rkl-band.de

[@konzi6983]

@@MegaWinstonwolf Hey that's awesome!! I had totally missed this. Danke für diese tollen Seiten mit unglaublich vielen zusammengetragenen Infos!

[@celtiberian07]

Surprised never heard of em and I've been I to punk since 89

[@petrirantanen]

Decry rules too. Cheers from Finland!

[@stevenborgens1390]

Well they're not really forgotten, as you mentioned. The remaining members aside of Jason and Bomber (RIP) are in Lagwagon. They tradition lives on thanks to one Joey Cape. Good dude. buy his stuff, and go to his shows.

[@kissdiaries]

Best Hardcore Band ever!

[@fernandoorozco3751]

I grew up with these guys in Santa Barbara. I didn't really know Jason or Chris that well, but I used to hang out with Bomer all the time in front of the State Arcade (it was a movie theater that was converted to a huge arcade right in the heart of State Street. All the cool punkers used to hang there.) Bomer was really nice to me, and Vince "Vink' Peppers is still a friend of mine to this day. I used to see them at shows around town, mostly at the community centers and house parties. When I moved to San Francisco, they had moved there too and rented a house on the panhandle. One day I was walking around the Haight and walked by their porch. They were all sitting out there and started yelling at me "Hey come back here!" It was pretty cool to see them. Damn I miss those days.

[@joshthomashefsky326]

Yeah,massive amounts of quarters were spent high as fuck at that arcade!!

[@lukethespook2784]

According to Josh Brolin, he drummed for an early incarnation of the band and was best friends with Jason Sears