Junkyard is an American heavy metal band formed in 1987 in Los Angeles, with members previously in

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

, Big Boys, Decry and

Dag Nasty Dag Nasty is an American hardcore punk band from Washington D.C., formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown (later of ...

." Junkyard Biography, ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' The band drew comparisons with

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

(which, like Junkyard, signed with

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

).Washburn, Jim (1990) "At Least Junkyard Has Its Rehash Name Right", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', January 8, 1990 In 2017, the band released its latest album, ''High Water''.

History

Origins

The original lineup of the band included several members who were not a part of the group by the time they began recording. Max Gottlieb was the original guitarist and songwriter, and the original drummer was Johnny Hell and skateboarder Tony Alva was also briefly in the band. After these two left the group, the lineup stabilized around lead singer David Roach, guitarist Chris Gates, bassist Clay Anthony and drummer Patrick Muzingo. Brian Baker (guitar; ex-

),Franck, John " Junkyard – ''Junkyard'' Review, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'', Macrovision Corporation joined the band just prior to the recording of the first album.Larkin, Colin (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, Although the band was heavily influenced by

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...

, Baker had told '' Sounds'', "I hate the concept. I like that music, but I'm not into the rebel flag or the throwing up in your pickup truck."Andersen, Mark & Jenkins, Mark (2003) ''Dance of days: two decades of punk in the nation's capital'', Akashic Books, , p.289 The band was signed by

in January 1988,Junkyard
at MusicMight with a self-titled Tom Werman-produced debut album issued in 1989, described by

as incorporating "elements of Southern rock,

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, but already developed in African-American communities since the 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually ex ...

, and

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

ism into one compact sound." The album featured the singles "Hollywood" and "Simple Man". This album was followed two years later by ''Sixes, Sevens & Nines'', produced by Ed Stasium and featuring contributions from

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

.Franck, John " Junkyard – ''Sixes, Sevens & Nines'' Review, ''

'', Macrovision Corporation Anthony left the band shortly before the release of the second album amid drug problems,Albert, John (2000)
Hardball: The really bad news Griffith Park Pirates
, ''

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), ...

'', October 19, 2000 to be replaced by Todd Muscat (brother of

Faster Pussycat Faster Pussycat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985 by vocalist Taime Downe, guitarists Greg Steele and Brent Muscat and bassist Kelly Nickels. The group has since gone through numerous lineup changes leaving Downe as ...

guitarist Brent Muscat). The band was dropped by Geffen in 1992, with a third album recorded but not released, and disbanded shortly afterwards. The unreleased third album was subsequently issued as ''XXX'' and ''The Joker''.

Post-breakup/reformation

Roach founded Borracho with members of Promise and Dogs D'Amour, while Gates formed 99 lbs. Muzingo formed Catfish and later Battery Club. Baker, who had already become a veteran of the

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 ...

scene prior to joining Junkyard, went on to join

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...

. A live Junkyard album, ''Shut Up – We're Trying to Practice!'', was issued in 2000, and Baker, Roach, Muzingo and Muscat reformed the band, with Tim Mosher (guitar/vocals) added to the lineup. A tour of Japan followed, with Dogs D'Amour guitarist Jo Dog added to the lineup for these dates. The new lineup recorded the 2003 mini-album ''Tried and True'', comprising a mixture of old and new songs. Since 2000, the band has toured Europe twice, co-headlined the Serie Z festival (in the south of Spain) with acts that were very complimentary of the way the band should have been marketed (other bands on the festival were

The Hellacopters The Hellacopters are a Swedish garage rock band that was formed in 1994 by Nicke Andersson (vocals and guitar), Andreas Tyrone "Dregen" Svensson (guitar), Kenny Håkansson (bass) and Robert Eriksson (drums). Andersson (sometimes known as Nic ...

The Quireboys The Quireboys are an English rock band formed in 1984 in London, with strong ties to Newcastle. Originally known as The Choirboys, then The Queerboys, billed as The London Quireboys in the United States and Canada, settling at last with their ...

The Wildhearts The Wildhearts are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in 1989 in Newcastle upon Tyne. The band's sound is a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music, often described in the music press as combining influences as diverse as the Beatl ...

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. ''Classic Rock'' magazine describes them as "Australia’s first influential punk band". History Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger f ...

, Georgia Satellites, Michelle Gun Elephant, Nine Pound Hammer and

Reverend Horton Heat The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his psychobilly trio from Dallas. Heath is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. A reviewer for the magazine ''Prick'' called Heat ...

), and have played a handful of shows domestically in Austin, Tulsa, and Los Angeles to name a few. In 2008, the band released an album of previously unreleased material, originally recorded for a 1987 demo that helped get them signed to Geffen. The album is titled ''Put It on Ten and Pull the Knobs Off!'' On July 10, 2015, Junkyard released two new songs, "Faded" b/w The River", on Unison Music Group, with a CD single and 7" vinyl following in late August. On April 21, 2017, the band released its first studio album in almost 20 years, ''High Water'', on Acetate Records. On November 22, 2019, Junkyard released a studio album recorded in 1992, ''Old Habits Die Hard.'' On September 10, 2021, Junkyard released another new single, "Lifer" b/w "Last of a Dying Breed".

Side projects

Outside of Junkyard, members of the band remain actively involved in individual projects: Gates with his solo outfit "Chris Gates and Gatesville", based out of Austin (Gates on Gatesville: "Once it got to be time to put a band together, fate and a bunch of mutual friends sent guitar wiz Tony Redman my way. Our first meeting was where Gatesville really began. The more we play together, the more we push each other and the music to see just what we can wring out of'er. The band went through a couple of line-up changes until we found Scott Womack on bass and Paul Soliz on drums. Once this line-up came together the band and the music took on a life of its own."); Baker with Bad Religion and Mosher with his outfit, The Light Brigade.

Members

Current

* David Roach – lead vocals (1987–1992, 2000–present) * Patrick Muzingo – drums (1987–1992, 2000–present) * Todd Muscat – bass (1991–1992, 2000–present) * Tim Mosher – guitar (2000–present) * Jimmy James – guitar (2017–present)

Former

* Max Gottlieb – lead guitar (1987) * Clay Anthony – bass (1987–1991) (died 2020) * Johnny Hell – drums (1987) * Chris Gates – guitar (1987–2009) * Brian Baker – lead guitar (1989–1992, 2006–2017)

Discography

Albums

Other releases

* 2000: ''Shut Up – We're Trying to Practice!'' (live album) * 2003: ''Tried and True'' (EP) * 2008: ''Put It on Ten and Pull the Knobs Off!'' (compilation of previously unreleased material)

Singles

References

External links

Junkyard's official website
* *
Junkyard
at sleazeroxx.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Junkyard Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles 1987 establishments in California Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 2000 Geffen Records artists