Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen (April 29, 1959 – August 21, 2005) was an American musician and an original founding member of

The Vandals The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped ...

, alongside Jan Nils Ackermann. The band was based out of

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

, United States. After performing for some time in different bands in Southern California, Ackermann decided to form The Vandals, enlisting Jensen as vocalist. "I admired the way Mike Roche and Ron and Bob Emory (Ron's older brother) dressed and acted, and I followed in their footsteps," Jensen recalled. But before long, he developed his own outrageous take on punk that was far from

T.S.O.L. T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, ...

's glowering style. "I said, 'We're going to have a good time with it. We're going to make fun of everybody and we're going to have fun doing it,' " Jensen said. "That's what I wanted – fun." After performing with

Steve Gonzalez Steve Gonzalez (born December 2, 1980) is an American retired soccer player who last played for Los Angeles Blues in the USL Professional Division The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States th ...

and Vince Mesa, the original line-up of The Vandals performed at the Costa Mesa Club, the Cuckoo's Nest, owned by Jerry Roach. Stevo and the Vandals performed that night with China White and

Shattered Faith Shattered Faith is an American punk rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1978 by Kerry Martinez, currently guitarist for U.S. Bombs, and Spencer Bartsch, now lead vocalist for Firecracker 500, the group featured songs with a politic ...

before Gonzalez and Mesa left the initial group.

Steve Soto Steve Soto (August 23, 1963 – June 27, 2018) was an American musician. Soto was a multi-talented instrumentalist, a founding member of California punk rock band Agent Orange in 1979, and a founding member of Adolescents in 1980 performing on ...

from

Adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

and

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam ...

, rehearsed with Jan Nils Ackermann on bass guitar previous to the ''

Peace thru Vandalism ''Peace thru Vandalism'' is the debut EP by the American punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1982 by Epitaph Records. It was one of the first releases to be put out by the Epitaph label, founded in 1981 by Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. T ...

'' line-up of The Vandals recording, constructing bass parts for many future songs; along with early notables on bass who helped write songs such as Bob Emory, Steve Gonzalez and Steve "Human" Pfauter. Jensen died in 2005 in Maui,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

''Peace thru Vandalism''

In mid-1981, Jensen and Jan Nils Ackermann sought a lineup for their band that could consistently both record, and perform live shows, for possible touring purposes. After many bassists came and went, The Vandals eventually recruited Steve "Human" Pfauter as their full-time permanent bassist, before adding

Joe Escalante Joseph Patrick Escalante (born January 30, 1963) is an American television writer, film and television director, musician, radio host, and former television executive. He is known professionally as the bassist and songwriter for the punk rock ...

on the drums. Escalante's presence completed the original Peace Thru' Vandalism era lineup of the band, which went on to perform and record for the remainder of 1981 throughout Southern California. Jensen then entered the studio with this Vandals' lineup in 1982 and recorded the ''

Peace Thru Vandalism ''Peace thru Vandalism'' is the debut EP by the American punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1982 by Epitaph Records. It was one of the first releases to be put out by the Epitaph label, founded in 1981 by Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. T ...

'' EP with

Thom Wilson Thom Wilson (died February 8, 2015) was an American punk rock record producer and engineer. Career Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artists Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began working ...

as producer. Released later that year on

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and em ...

, ''Peace Thru Vandalism'' is the only EP that The Vandals have recorded as of 2017. ;Personnel: *Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen: vocals *Jan Nils Ackermann: guitar *Steve "Human" Pfauter: bass *Joe Escalante: drums Backing Vocals on "Anarchy Burger (Hold The Government): Brett Gurewitz Produced by:

''Suburbia''

In 1983, Stevo and The Vandals were approached to appear in ''Suburbia'', a film written and directed by

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

and produced by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

. It is a disturbing and prophetic story of rebellious, homeless kids squatting in abandoned houses, trying to make new families, and protecting one another. ''Suburbia'' won first place at the

Chicago Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the compo ...

. Jensen performed live singing in the band for the movie and subsequent soundtrack.

''When in Rome, Do as the Vandals''

After performing extensively in Southern California and playing out of town concerts in Arizona, Jensen recorded The Vandals' first album, ''When in Rome Do as The Vandals''. The album was released on National Trust Records in 1984 after disagreements with The Vandals' previous label, Epitaph, resulted in withheld royalties for sales of the band's ''Peace thru Vandalism''. By the time 'When in Rome' was recorded in studio, bassist Steve Human had left the band and was replaced by Chalmer Lumary from the Huntington Beach punk rock band, The Hated. However, Lumary soon broke his arm, preventing him from playing bass, Eric VonArab filled in briefly on bass before Brent Turner was brought in to record the album's bass tracks using previously captured audio from live performances and rehearsals for guidance. Lumary was able to sing backup vocals on the album and later joined Stevo and the Vandals as the band's fulltime bassist following the album's release. ;Personnel *Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen - vocals, scratch box on "Ladykiller" *Jan Nils Ackermann -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, acoustic guitars on "Mohawk Town" and "Rico" *Brent Turner -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

on "Rico" *Chalmer Lumary - backing vocals *Record label: **original LP release: National Trust Records (1984) ** CD re-release:

Restless Records Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blad ...

(1989),

Time Bomb Recordings Time Bomb Recordings was a Laguna Beach, California-based independent record label, founded in 1995 by artist manager Jim Guerinot in a joint-venture agreement with Arista Records. In the following five years, the artist roster grew to encompass ...

(1995) *Produced by

*Art & design by Mike Doud *Cover photos by Alan Newberg *Sleeve photos by Mike Leczkowski

Leaving the Vandals

After providing lead vocals for The Vandals during the band's early years performing throughout Southern California and Arizona, Jenson left the Vandals in 1986. His departure followed a period of inactivity for the band caused by friction and personality conflicts regarding performance during live shows.

Compilations

*"Rodney on the ROQ volume 3" ℗1982 (V/A)

Posh Boy Records Posh Boy Records is a Hollywood, California-based record label owned by the American-born, British-educated Robbie "Posh Boy" Fields, a sometime high school substitute teacher and former copy boy at the ''Los Angeles Times'' who took an interest ...

. Vocalist on "Urban Struggle" *"When Men Were Men... And Sheep Were Scared" ℗1985 Bemisbrain Records. Vocalist on "Dachau Cabana" and "Frog Stomp" *"Stage Diving to the Oldies" ℗1995 (V/A)

. Vocalist on "Lady Killer" and "Mohawk Town"

References

External links

*
Punk Star infoIn Memoriam: Steven "Stevo" Jensen of the Vandals (1959-2005)Credit theft or just bad blood between Vandals?The Vandals Took the Handle : 2 Bands Lay Claim to the Name and Legacy of Huntington Beach Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Steven Ronald Epitaph Records albums Enigma Records American punk rock singers 1984 debut albums National Trust Records albums The Vandals members 20th-century American singers American punk rock musicians 1959 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American male singers