Tim Gonzales - Guitar
Mike Down - Vocals
Sergio Hernandez - Bass
Barry Kellman- Drums
Influences
Amenity, founded in 1986, is noted for being San Diego's first Hardcore/Straight Edge band. Unlike their contemporary counterparts, Amenity's unique sound is a reflection of its members diverse musical tastes and cultural upbringing in So Cal's San Diego/Chula Vista region. Touring and playing with such bands as Verbal Assault, Hard Stance, 7-Seconds, Scream, Bad Religion, and Chain of Strength has placed Amenity as creators of the inspirational hardcore scene of the 80's, spawning countless of bands and zines today.
Sounds Like
"Amenity was perhaps one of the best bands from Southern California. Their music was original and emotional, while their lyrics were solid and expressive. As a band they were also committed to a lot of the basic ideals of punk rock, and in that they served more as a counter balance to a lot of the more commercial and stagnant hardcore bands in the area, which is not to say that Amenity was some cohesive single minded entity. Rather, it was the combined output of four completely different beliefs, and they expound different ideologies. Amenity will be missed, but, for better or worse, the four characters that created that band are definitely still around." Kent McClard - No Answers Magazine 10
Formed in 1986 amongst a chaotic, and often times violent, San Diego punk scene, Amenity is regarded as that city's first straight-edge hardcore band, leading a positive charge that would be influential and respected for years to come. Playing exclusively at all-ages venues (including clubs, garages, and college campuses) with both local and national acts (Dave Grohl's Scream, Judge, Bad Religion, 7 Seconds, and a tour with Verbal Assault) the band (comprised of vocalist Mike Down, guitarist Tim Gonzales, bass player Sergio Hernandez, and drummer Barry Kellman) quickly built a loyal following of energetic, angst-filled youth, seeking to collectively aspire to lives not represented by the increasingly nihilistic, local punk scene, or by that decade's synth-pop filled radios and TV's. Amenity anthems such as, "This Is Our Struggle", were soundtracks to this burgeoning, positive, San Diego hardcore scene (which in turn, would eventually become the impetus for that city's soon to be larger, more general, independent music scene).
Amenity released four 7" singles on independent labels: Amenity on Vinyl Communications; This Is Our Struggle on (singer Mike Down's) Downside/Vinyl Communications; Breathe on Battery; Chula Vista on Scorch; and appeared on three compilation albums: Give Me Back on Ebullition Records; Voice of Thousands on Conversion Records; and They Don't Get Paid, They Don't Get Laid, But Boy Do They Work Hard produced by the highly influential hardcore/punk zine standard, Maximum Rock N Roll. All their recorded output was eventually combined to create the discography, Forward Into The Past on Vinyl Communications.
Amenity toured the United States and ventured into Canada before playing their "final" show - headlining to a sold-out crowd at SDSU's Back Door - on November 30th, 1990. Gonzales, Hernandez, and Kellman immediately formed House of Suffering - influencing bands such as Downset, and P.O.D. - before individually splintering into Kill Holiday, B-Side Players, and Adult Crash. Down (who was also a member of the then parallel running band, Forced Down, as well as playing guitar in the final line-up of Inside Out, featuring Zach de la Rocha) created Twist, and ultimately began working on solo material, collaborating, and touring with artists such as Dj Rob Dinero, Dj Honda, Dj Mary Mac, Bad Boy's Cheri Dennis, hip hop legends the Pharcyde, the late Nick Hawkins of Big Audio Dynamite, Grammy Award winning Sean Paul, and recently produced tracks with Sergio Vega (formerly of Quicksand, and currently of the Deftones).
Now, reformed in October of 2008 (with all original members), Amenity once again combine their diverse musical influences and cultural upbringings to give listeners an energetic and aggressive sound, brimming with hope. Initiated by their inclusion in Radio Silence/ A Selected Visual History of American Hardcore Music, published by MTV Press, Amenity returned to headline a show - the local premier for the same book - on December 6th, 2008, at the capacity-filled Guild Club in San Diego. Not satisfied with simply re-visiting old classics, the band debuted, "Shine", one of four, newly created and recorded songs, soon to be released on the long running, local independent label, Gravity Records. Amenity's Shine EP features their best compositions yet, and on 10" vinyl. Crisp, heavy, melodic, upbeat, and full of hooks, these songs continue the Amenity tradition of unique, emotional, hardcore-rooted soundscapes, and anomalous lyrical depth. Shine was recorded in San Diego by Mario Quintero, and mixed in New York City by Brad Worrell, who has worked with such diverse artists as Jesse Malin/Bruce Springsteen, Usher, Sean Paul/Mike Down, and Paul Oakenfold.
To further extend themselves into this new creative experience, a music video has been produced by Down and directed by Emmy Award winning photographer Steve Sanders for the track Shine. The video combines the band's most recent live performance with a look at some of the aspects in the lifestyle and roots, of not only Amenity, but the city of San Diego. Amenity will soon return to the recording studio, this time re-uniting with engineer Joe McGrath. McGrath, who worked with Amenity on three of their 80's recordings, has gone on to win several Grammy Awards in engineering, and has worked with acts such as AFI, Green Day, Taj Mahal, Morrissey, and Alkaline Trio. The city is on notice. A focused Amenity has returned, bringing with it the diversity, creativity, and passion, in a vision for today.
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Wishes you All da Best in 2009!
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