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The Faction was a hardcore punk rock band from Halloween 1982 until Halloween 1985. Coming from the heart of the Northern California skateboard scene, (San Jose, numbskull: if you though I was talking Frisco, you're wrong!) the band was one of the original "Skate Rock" bands whose music and lifestyle tastes centered on skateboarding and punk rock.
One of skateboarding's brightest stars (for 20 plus years he's been arguably the best all-around skateboarder in the world) played bass, and then guitar, in the Faction. Steve Caballero probably attracted a lot of young skateboarder's interest to the band, but the music kept us coming back for more, and he wasn't the only skater in the band. Singer Gavin O'Brien was a heavy local at Winchester Skatepark and was more than able to hold his own in any session: vert, street, banks, whatever. Adam "Bomb" Segal's trademark high top Vans in all the bright, cool colors of the day had ollie holes on both shoes-the dude was doing switch tricks before anyone. He was a damn fine guitar player, too. Keith Rendon (drummer #1), Ray Stevens, II (bass) and Craig Bosch (drummer #2) were all accomplished skaters; Craig even has a trick named after him: the Bosch (a invert to blunt on a curb, ledge, etc).

But as much as the Faction were into skateboarding, they were just as much about playing loud and fast and heavy punk rock with an emphasis on guitars. The first lineup was Adam playing guitar, Steve playing bass, Keith on drums, and Gavin singing. I think Corey O'Brien had a pretty steady gig as the roadie, too. As a four piece, they recorded two 7" EPs, one LP, and songs for several comps, including the infamous Thrasher "Skate Rock" tape (vol.1) and LP (vol. 2). In 1984, Keith left the band, Craig came aboard, Stevie switched from bass to guitar, and Ray Stevens (who had played in such great bands as the Drunk Injuns and Los Olvidados, and more recently, the Clay Wheels) lent his bass skills. As a five piece, they recorded two more 12" EPs: "Dark Room" and the posthumous "Epitaph," with six songs each. Thirty-four songs in all, recorded over two and a half years, which progress from fairly simple fast thrash/punk to heavy and layered quality punk songs that are fast and loud and beautiful!

As Adam got more into heavy metal, his influence on the guitar leads became more prevalent, but was just one of the factors that led to the band's breakup. It was a sad day in early November 1985 when I heard they'd broken up. Fortunately, I'd been to twenty-two Faction shows over the previous two years, and had all of their records, so them breaking up didn't hit me too hard at the time. But what did I know? I was young and stupid.

Faction shows were fun and chaotic, and all of us westside San Jose skaters were always up for them: they were an event not to be missed. We never missed one whenever they played in San Jose or SF. I won't go into how it was different then; if you weren't there, you wouldn't understand. Anyway, when I heard that the Faction were getting together for a show with Jeff Kendall on guitar (instead of Adam, who was well on his way thru law school) in San Jose in 1989, don't think I didn't sit on the floor in the cab of a big truck for 9 hours (from San Diego) to arrive at the show an hour before showtime. It was well worth it, I assure you.
I got a wild-hair, in 1995, and proposed an idea to Gavin O'Brien, who by then was a long-time friend. (When the band was together, I was just an annoying skater-kid who always wanted to take pictures of them; for the most part, they were always obliging, and Ray even took me under his wing a bit, with some help getting into shows, on stage to shoot, etc. He even introduced me to (great punk photographer/documentor) Murray Bowles once!) I was nervous even asking about it, but I wanted to do a discography CD for the Faction. Gavin was enthusiastic about the idea, and before I knew it, I'd talked to all the other members of the band, and was licensing the rights for 28 songs from Adam and his mom, Rita, who had self-released the Faction records on their own label IM Records. Six studio-recorded songs (I think) were left off the CD: "A.U.K.," an anti-England rant about all the punks in San Jose who copied the styles of the English punk bands (my interpretation), which had originally appeared on Skate Rock Volume 1; "You Are Here," a heavy bass/funkish tune from the Dark Room EP, "The Brain," a song from the Keith-on-drums days which was on the Epitaph EP; "Running Amok" and "Change of Pace" from the first LP "No Hidden Messages," and one song from the "Yesterday Is Gone" EP. I can't remember the name of that song, and James Igoe stole my copy of that record about 15 years ago. Anyhoo, the Faction's first CD "Collection 1982-1985" is out now, and is available at finer shops everywhere. (or click here)

"Collection..." comes with a list of every Faction gig they ever played, including the three shows represented by four songs on the CD. "Spineless Majority" was one of my favorite songs, and they never recorded it in a studio, so we used it live from a Halloween 1984 show live in the studio at KFJC, the South Bay's dominant force in punk rock radio for at least 15 years, way before "it was safe," as Gavin put it in the liner notes. Ironically, that song is about being a free-thinker in a world of jocks, idiots, rednecks: the Spineless Majority. If you're into the history of hardcore/punk rock, it's all there: shows with Social Distortion, Void, Big Boys, JFA, Executioner, Corrosion of Conformity, the Melvins, Scream, Agent Orange, Aggression, Suicidal Tendencies, RKL, Code of Honor, Wasted Youth... the list goes on. Those bands were in good company.

The CD also has a dupe of the original Love 22 dollar bill which was found in a San Jose mall and started a mini phenomenon, plus lyrics to all 28 songs.

2001 Update: The license that Goldenrod had with Adam expired, and the CD is now on Beer City Records. There's also some live and demo stuff available on CD from Adam at his website. Look for a link here soon.

The Faction played a show in San Jose on July 14, 2001, and it was a huge bash. The Usual was the venue, and it holds at least 1000 people. It was sold out, and there were hundreds of people who couldn't get in. Also on the bill were The Forgotten, Ribzy, and Los Olvidados. Although Ribzy was certainly enjoyable, Los Olvidados was amazing. See Random Notes for more info on Los O and their new CD, Finally!

On August 18, at the Seattle Center's Experience Music Project, Portraits Of Poverty, Fluf, Drunk Imjuns, Los Olvidados, the Faction, Free Beer, JFA, and U.S. Bombs played outdoors at a skateboard park. Can't imagine a better spent day. Good friends, good skateboarding, great music. And to top it all off, that night the Faction played again with Supersuckers and X at the Sky Church, probably the best sounding venue I've ever seen a show in. Top it off with a late night bar show with Free Beer and JFA, and it was a day to remember. Keith Rendon is playing drums with the band again, and original guitarist Russ Wright rips--he's back, too. Look for a new record at some point, as the band has plans to write and record. Can't wait!

March 1, 2002 Update: I still haven't found the link again to Adam's website, but the Faction has been playing. They played a show again at the Usual, in San Jose, in January. Word on the street was that the band was better than ever, the crowd was wild, with a lot of new guys out to prove how punk they are, and a lot more people, if that's possible, than last time. Then in February, the band left to Germany to play Monster Magazine's 20th anniversary party. Pretty damn cool. Wanted to go but couldn't. Stevie said they've got a handful of new songs and are looking to record a new record sometime this year. Again, I can't wait.

April 1, 2004 Update: I've seen the Faction several times in the last few months, and each time it continues to be good or great. The music they wrote is still relevant, politically, and I'm amazed that they still are potent--they don't sound like they're rehashing old songs for the sake of the money (what money?) or doing it for some other wrong reason. Gavin is more politically aware and conscious now than ever, and even though they're not writing a lot of new songs, they remain completely fascinating and vital. They're on cruise control for now, so catch them if you can.

Mark