Formed in July of 1977 by Kidd Spike, Johnny Stingray, and Gaye Austin,
The Controllers became one of the prominent bands in the seminal days of the LA punk community, centered around Brendan Mullen's underground club/rehaersal space, The Masque.
By September of that year, they were joined by D.O.A. Dan Davis on bass and Hillary Dillary on drums.
Hillary and Gaye Austin left the band after thier first gig and Charlie Trash signed on as drummer.
In November of 1977, The Controllers were recording thier first single for What Records 'Neutron Bomb' and 'Killer Queers'.
Spring of 1978 saw more changes, with the departure of Charlie Trash and DOA Dan. Johnny Stingray switched from lead guitar to bass and The Mighty Maddog, the Gene Kruppa of punk, joined on drums.
Now under the zen management of Fluxus artist, Al Hansen, the new 3 piece
line-up became the powerful, tight band featured on such releases as 'Suburban Suicide', 'Slowboy', and 'Do The Uganda'. Recorded for Siamese Records in 1978 and produced by 'Ace Toronto' (actually David Campbell, father of Grammy winner Beck Hansen), the single brought attention and airplay to the hard-working Controllers.
Early in 1979, the trio recorded tracks for the well-respected compilation, 'Tooth and Nail'. With thier version of the Frankie Laine torch sone, 'Jezebel' and Kidd Spike penned classics 'Another Day' and "Electric Church', the band continued to tour and gig with such punk luninaries as X, The Dickies and The Avengers.
By mid-year of 1979, the Controllers disbanded temporarily with Kidd Spike joining The Gears and Johnny Stingray forming KAOS with Amy Wichmann.
While the band continued to play sporadically, it wasn't until 1999, with the release of 'The Controllers' CD on Dionysus Records that the band regained some of thier momentum, playing the 'Class of '77' reunion gig as well as Sleazefest West and dozens of smaller venues, continuing to the present day.
Kidd Spike and Johhny Stingray remain the original members of the band and with the help of very talented players such as Sean Antillon, Steve Spills and Designated Dale record and play for new generations of fans!
Please check, out 'Another Sunny Day' on Artifix records - all previously unrelease demos and a live performance from 1982.
GODFATHERS of L A PUNK on Stage in Fall of 2009 36 years awaitin’.
The Rock 'n Roll Gods know we were holding our breath for this magic moment during all those years. Couldn't post it earlier but it's confirmed: our Man James Williamson is getting back on stage with Iggy Pop.
Hello from Finland! I am humbled an honored to announce my new cd featuring Alejandro Escovedo, Mark Lanegan, Steve Berlin (los lobos), Chris and Carla from the Walkabouts, Peter Case, Scott McCaughey (YFF, REM)and Jim Roth (built to spill). CD has liner notes by Biographer Charles R. Cross (BackStreets-Springsteen...Heavier than Heaven-Cobain...Roomful of Mirrors-Hendrix...etc. Also I have finally put "Passing Thru" on my site as well for you to hear...this is the one with Eddie Vedder, Victoria Williams, and Carla Torgerson trading verses with me...it has not been availablé for a long time, and I also have it on i-tunes, etunes, amazon and rhapsody.
hey johnny, going to try to find another all ages venue for you guys to headline, Ill make sure its a weekend gig, same approach to obesity on this one..
We Wish You Love & Happiness! The Controllers! Hello there, you silly little funny bunny! Life is beautiful! Just like condiments and the Yeti crab. What have you been up to? Panic Movement sends you greetings and fuzzy little hallucinations! We hope you are doing spectacularly well! You deserve it. Scientists in South Korea have cloned four beagles that carry fluorescent genes and glow red under ultraviolet light. One of the scientists made a meatball sandwich in which the cheese was arranged incorrectly. As a result, he was forced to build a temple out of 1.5 million empty green beer bottles in veneration of the elf-like goblins residing underground in Cambodia. One of these elf-like goblins is a member of the Bambino crime family and owns Bambino Pizza in Palm Coast, Florida. Steve, an employee of Bambino Pizza, was in the witness protection program for squealing on the Stefano crime family, but his cover was blown after he was arrested for pistol-whipping a customer for criticizing the calzone. He went on to invent a new electrical farting machine that could improve fuel cell technology by turning C02 in the atmosphere into methane. He changed his identity and moved to Oakton, Virginia, where high school students may get suspended for 2 weeks for having birth control pills, but one week for having heroin. We wish you an abundance of blessings, peace, love, and happiness. The meaning of life is to live it; and love God. Please fondle my bum.
