Catholic Discipline was an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

(first-generation new wave) band, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California, by '' Slash Fanzine'' editor Claude Bessy. The initial line-up of the band featured Bessy on vocals,

Phranc Phranc (born Susan Gottlieb; August 28, 1957), is an American singer-songwriter whose career began playing in several bands in the late 1970s Los Angeles punk rock scene. Her musical style later shifted during the 1980s as a solo artist, into a ...

on guitar, Rick Brodey on bass guitar, Richard Meade on keyboards and Craig Lee on drums.

History

The band was started in 1979 in San Francisco, first performed at the Hong Kong Café, in August 1979, and played a series of shows around the Los Angeles area. After the first shows, Meade was replaced by keyboardist

Robert Lopez Robert “Bobby” Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals and playwright, best known for co-creating '' The Book of Mormon'' and '' Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney animated films '' ...

. The band is known for their appearance in the 1980

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rockumentary film ''

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'', alongside other punk rock bands such as Black Flag,

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

, X,

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, Germs, and Alice Bag Band. Catholic Discipline disbanded in spring of 1980. A compilation of the band's live material, ''Underground Babylon'', was released in 2004 through Artifix Records. During the band's existence, all of the members were also in other bands. Phranc was a keyboardist for Nervous Gender and Craig Lee was the guitarist of

Bags A bag, also known regionally as a sack, is a common tool in the form of a floppy container, typically made of cloth, leather, bamboo, paper, or plastic. The use of bags predates recorded history, with the earliest bags being lengths of animal s ...

. Robert Lopez previously performed with The Zeros and Rick Brodey was an early member of the Bpeople. Phranc argued that Catholic Discipline "was never a real 'band' situation." She further stated: "Everyone was in at least one or two other bands. Some of it was conflict of interest or conflict of personality but it was perfect the way it started and ended." Following the demise of the band, Bessy moved to the United Kingdom and became a press officer for

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

. He also worked as a video DJ at the Haçienda and a music video producer. Phranc embarked a solo career as a folk singer-songwriter and Robert Lopez started to perform under the name, El Vez. Craig Lee became a contributor to '' Flipside'' and the music editor of ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

''. Lee also co-authored the book ''Hardcore California: A History of Punk and New Wave''. He died in 1991 due to complications from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Members

;Past members * Claude Bessy – vocals (1979-1980) *

– guitar (1979-1980) *Craig Lee – drums (1979-1980) *Rick Brodey (AKA: Rick Jaffe, Rick Morrison) – bass (1979-1980) *Richard Meade – keyboards (1979-1980) * El Vez (Robert Lopez) – keyboards (1980)

Discography

;Compilation albums * ''Underground Babylon'' (2004) ;Film appearance * "Barbee Doll Lust" – ''

'' (January 19, 1980) * "Underground Babylon" – ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' (January 19, 1980)

References

External links

Catholic Discipline
at Artifix Records {{Authority control Musical groups from Los Angeles Punk rock groups from California American new wave musical groups Musical quintets from California Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1980