The GC5 (Grady Coffee Five) was a

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 ...

band from

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...

, United States, formed in 1996 and split in 2003. The GC5 provided a political charge to their music comparable to that of

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...

. Lyrics included themes of social and political discontent,

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

politics, and the struggle of the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

. In 2000, The GC5 released their debut album ''Kisses From Hanoi'', and in 2001, the band released the EP ''Horseshoes and Handgrenades''. In 2002, the band released the album ''Never Bet the Devil Your Head''. While most definitely presenting the sound of the streetpunk genre, the album was noted for not relying on the

street fighting Street fighting or street combat is hand-to-hand combat in public places between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g., a street), and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or even death. Some street ...

, hard-drinking themes that overruns many of the genre's songs. In 2003, Thick Records re-released their two albums ''Kisses From Hanoi'' (which was out of print) and ''Horseshoes and Handgrenades'' (which was originally only available as an import) on one CD. It was the final release from the band. After splitting up Doug and Dave formed Motel Blonde together with

Ryan Foltz Ryan Foltz is an American producer, audio engineer and musician from Mansfield, Ohio. Foltz is best known for being a member of the Dropkick Murphys from 2001 to 2003 where he played mandolin, tin whistle and dulcimer on the band's 2001 album '' ...

, who just left the

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...

. Motel Blonde did not last long and broke up in March 2004. McKean then joined Rosavelt on the bass guitar, and formed Doug McKean & The Stuntmen a year later. Dave is now playing with The Magpies.

Band members

*Doug McKean - bass and vocals *Dave McKean - drums *Pete Kyrou - guitar and vocals *Chris Yohn - guitar *Paul Weaver - guitar (replaced Yohn, post-Kisses From Hanoi)

Discography

*''Johnny Switchblade Adventure Punk'' (1997 cassette) - Guttersnipe Records *''A More Aggressive Approach Towards Peacekeeping'' (1997 CD) - Guttersnipe Records *"Buy American" (1998 7") - Transparent Records *"Takin' It to the Streets" (1999 7") - Transparent Records *"The Price of Security" (1999 7") - Transparent Records *''Kisses From Hanoi'' (2000 CD) - Outsider Records *''Horseshoes and Handgrenades'' (2001 CD-EP/7") - Leprock Records *''67,104 Miles Later'' (2001 Split CD-EP w/ Hudson Falcons) - Cosa Nostra Records *''Never Bet the Devil Your Head'' (2002 CD/LP) - Thick Records *''Singles Collection'' (1997–2000) (2002 CD) - Cosa Nostra Records *''Kisses From Hanoi/Horseshoes and Handgrenades'' (2003 CD re-release) - Thick Records Punk rock groups from Ohio Street punk groups Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 {{US-punk-band-stub