Jeff "JJ" Janiak (born November 4, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band Discharge and darkwave band ''False Fed''. He was also the vocalist for

Broken Bones A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a ''c ...

, Dead Heros and Wasted Life. Janiak has contributed to various other musical projects and has toured internationally. His vocal style has been described as shouting, harsh and

guttural Guttural Phone (phonetics), speech sounds are those with a primary place of articulation near the back of the oral cavity, where it is difficult to distinguish a sound's place of articulation and its phonation. In popular usage it is an imprecise t ...

Life and career

Jeff Janiak was born in

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 31,330, its highest United States census, decennial co ...

on November 4, 1976, and spent the first years of his life in

Irvington, New Jersey Irvington is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 61,176, an increase of 7,250 (+13.4%) from the 2010 Uni ...

until moving to

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a Township (New Jersey), township and coastal town located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland United States, mainland portion is also a census-designated ...

in the late 1970s. Janiak is a relative of the actor William Campbell. Janiak had a major interest in horror films and occult books during his youth. Janiak described himself to ''Metal Transistor'' as "a strange kid that felt like he couldn't fit in anywhere". Janiak started skateboarding at a young age, and eventually would start skating competitively winning numerous competitions which would land him a sponsorship. Janiak was then recruited by local pro skateboarder ''Jeff Jones'' to ride for his demo team, which would see Janiak doing skate demos around the tri-state area. His introduction to music started when he began listening to his parents records and his mother gave him her copy of

The Monster Mash "Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby Pickett, Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single (music), single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP album, LP called ''The Origin ...

. By the age of ten, Janiak was introduced to punk rock music through skateboarding, then later hearing the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

Plastic Surgery Disasters ''Plastic Surgery Disasters'' is the second full-length album released by punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Recorded in San Francisco during June 1982, it was produced by the band and punk record producer Thom Wilson, with Geza X getting a "specia ...

'' album which ultimately gained his attention to the genre. At the age of 13, Janiak attended his first punk rock gig watching

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

City Gardens The City Gardens was a nightclub located at 1701 Calhoun Street in Trenton, New Jersey. It opened in 1979 and closed in 2001. History Early years The Nalbone family of Trenton and Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, Lawrence, New Jersey ...

in Trenton, New Jersey. Janiak's introduction to playing music began at the age of 12 when he taught himself how to play the drums, then at the age of 14, he started his first band ''Chaotic Discharge''. Janiak attended

Toms River High School East Toms River High School East is a comprehensive four-year public high school, the third high school built in Toms River in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Toms River ...

, then at age 17 he dropped out of high school and went missing. Janiak went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for a short period, and was staying in a squat. He briefly returned to New Jersey, only to play his final gig with ''Chaotic Discharge'' at

The Stone Pony The Stone Pony is a music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey, known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

where he had got involved in the

anarcho punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, har ...

scene and ended up

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

in an abandoned community building until it was shut down by the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. After the squat was shut, Janiak spent the remainder of his time in New York City living in and around

Tompkins Square Park Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and o ...

. During this time, he developed a drug addiction which would last from his late teens to his mid twenties. His whereabouts were discovered when he was seen on a news report about the anniversary of the

1988 Tompkins Square Park riot The Tompkins Square Park riot occurred on August 6–7, 1988 in Tompkins Square Park, located in the Alphabet City section of the East Village neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. Groups of "drug pushers, homeless people and young peop ...

. Multiple photos of Janiak began to emerge in various publications about punk rock,

anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

and fashion from during his time living in New York. At age 21, Janiak was arrested and charged with drug possession. He served time at the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility. Upon his release, Janiak cleaned himself up and started a career in the automotive industry

spray painting Spray painting is a painting technique in which a device sprays coating material (paint, ink, varnish, etc.) through the air onto a surface. The most common types employ compressed gas—usually air compressor, air—to atomize and direct the pa ...

cars. After an eight year hiatus, Janiak returned to writing and playing music. Janiak made his come back not as a drummer, but as a vocalist. He had joined the band ''Dead Heros'' in 2002. In 2003, Janiak recorded his first release with the band at Twain Studios with recording engineer

Bob Both Bob Both (born 1952) is an American recording engineer and record producer, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1970s. Both was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey, the son of a carpenter, Jake Both. He moved to Oakland,NJ at age 3 and in ...

and producer Marty Munsch who would teach Janiak the basics of recording production. In 2008, Janiak left ''Dead Heros''. He then left the US and moved to

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

, England. In 2009, he attended a local gig and met members of the punk band Wasted Life and soon joined their ranks as vocalist until 2013. In 2012, Janiak joined the punk / crossover thrash band

, and in 2014, Janiak was recruited by punk band Discharge. In 2016, Janiak made his vocal debut with ''Discharge'' on the ''

End of Days End of days may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''End of Days'' (film), a 1999 supernatural film * '' Carnival: At the End of Days'', an upcoming fantasy film Music * '' The End of Days'', a 2010 album by Abney Park * ''En ...

'' album which was released by

Nuclear Blast Records Nuclear Blast Records is a German record label with subsidiary, subsidiaries located in Germany, the United States and Brazil. It was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Donzdorf. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label moved on ...

. The album reached number 10 in the Official UK rock charts and number 23 in The Indie Charts. In October 2016, Discharge did a North American tour in support of the album. Upon the bands arrival in Canada, Janiak was detained at customs due to his previous criminal charges and was initially denied entry into the country. It was then decided in Janiak's favor to grant him a temporary visa which would allow him to play their gig in Vancouver, but he had to leave the country the following day. During the

corona virus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, ...

in 2020, Janiak formed the Darkwave / Post-punk band ''False Fed'' and was joined by members of

Amebix Amebix were an English punk rock band from Tavistock, Devon. A pioneer of the crust punk genre, Amebix's merger of anarcho-punk and post-punk with elements of heavy metal music, heavy metal, particularly early extreme metal, inspired musicians ...

and Ministry. The band recorded their debut album "Let Them Eat Fake" on Neurot Recordings and it was released in October 2023.

Influence

Janiak has stated that

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

was the biggest influence on his vocal style.

Discography

False Fed

Studio albums * ''Let Them Eat Fake'' (2023)

Discharge

Studio albums * ''

'' (2016) Singles * ''New World Order'' (2016) Live albums *''Live 2014'' (2015) Music videos * ''New World Order'' (2015) * ''Hatebomb'' (2016) * ''The Broken Law'' (2017) DVD * ''Discharge – Legends of Punk Vol. 1'' (2019)

Broken Bones

EPs * ''Vigilante'' (2013) * ''Dead & Gone'' (2013) Music videos * ''Tread on Me'' (2014)

Wasted Life

Studio albums * ''Weapons of Self Destruction'' (2013) * ''It Means Nuthin' When You're Dead'' (2011) EPs * ''Wasted Life'' (2009) * ''The Zombie Sessions'' (2018) Music videos * ''Bad Habits'' (2014) * ''Why Me ?'' (2013)

Dead Heros

Singles * ''Schizophrenic'' (2008) * ''Dead Heros'' (2003) Live albums * Live at CBGB's (2004) Compilation * ''Nothing to Lose'' Demos * 2008 Demo * 2002 Demo "Same Story, Different Page"

Chaotic Discharge

* ''Demo 94'' (1994) – Cassette

Collaborations

Live * with ''

Cavalera Conspiracy Cavalera Conspiracy is a Brazilian-American heavy metal supergroup from Phoenix, Arizona, founded by Brazilian brothers Max (vocals, rhythm guitar) and Igor Cavalera (drums, percussion), who are widely known as former members of Sepultura, an ...

'' on "Protest & Survive" and "Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing" at O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, England (2019) * with ''

Conflict Conflict may refer to: Social sciences * Conflict (process), the general pattern of groups dealing with disparate ideas * Conflict continuum from cooperation (low intensity), to contest, to higher intensity (violence and war) * Conflict of ...

'' on "The Serenade Is Dead" at Rebellion Festival (2019), at The Underground, Stoke-on-Trent (2018 & 2019) * with ''

Blitzkrieg ''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...

'' on "Conspiracy" at Rebellion Festival (2019) * with ''The Take'' on "It's My Life" at Temple of Boom, Leeds (2019) * with ''

Vice Squad Vice Squad are an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Bristol. The band was formed from two other local punk bands, The Contingent and TV Brakes. The songwriter and vocalist Beki Bondage (born Rebecca Bond) was a founding member of the b ...

'' on "Last Rockers" at The Box, Crewe (2010)

Film and TV appearances

* ''Discharge – Legends of Punk Vol. 1'' (as himself) (2019) * ''Rock and Roll'' (episode 8 "Anger";

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

documentary) (2017) * ''Rascal - Punk in Belfast. As it WAS, as it IS'' (documentary) (2017) * ''Waxx'' (TV mini-series as himself; guest appearance on Ace of Spades) (2016) * ''Oatcakes !'' (documentary; as himself) (2014) * ''Wasted Land'' (short film; as thug) (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janiak, Jeff American punk rock musicians American punk rock singers British punk rock singers English punk rock musicians Punk people 1976 births Living people American heavy metal singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters Entertainers from New Jersey Anarcho-punk musicians Entertainers from Toms River, New Jersey Musicians from Livingston, New Jersey Hardcore punk musicians Music in Stoke-on-Trent Entertainers from Irvington, New Jersey Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Toms River High School East alumni 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers American male singer-songwriters