To order the Faction "Collection" CD, email Mark (at) skatepunk.net to check remaining stock.
The Faction was a hardcore punk rock band from Halloween 1982 until Halloween 1985. Coming from the heart of the Northern California skateboard scene, (San Jose, numbskull: if you thought I was talking Frisco, you're wrong!) the band was one of the original "Skate Rock" bands whose music and lifestyle tastes centered on skateboarding and punk rock.
One of skateboarding's brightest stars (for 25 plus years he's been arguably the best all-around skateboarder in the world) played bass, and then guitar, in the Faction. Steve Caballero probably attracted a lot of young skateboarder's interest to the band, but the music kept us coming back for more, and he wasn't the only skater in the band. Singer Gavin O'Brien was a heavy local at Winchester Skatepark and was more than able to hold his own in any session: vert, street, banks, whatever. Adam "Bomb" Segal's trademark high top Vans in all the bright, cool colors of the day had ollie holes on both shoes-the dude was doing switch tricks before anyone. He was a damn fine guitar player, too. Keith Rendon (drummer #1), Ray Stevens, II (bass) and Craig Bosch (drummer #2) were all accomplished skaters; Craig even has a trick named after him: the Bosch (a invert to blunt on a curb, ledge, etc).
But as much as the Faction were into skateboarding, they were just as much about playing loud and fast and heavy punk rock with an emphasis on guitars. The first lineup was Adam playing guitar, Steve playing bass, Keith on drums, and Gavin singing. I think Corey O'Brien had a pretty steady gig as the roadie, too. As a four piece, they recorded two 7" EPs, one LP, and songs for several comps, including the infamous Thrasher "Skate Rock" tape (vol.1) and LP (vol. 2). In 1984, Keith left the band, Craig came aboard, Stevie switched from bass to guitar, and Ray Stevens (who had played in such great bands as the Drunk Injuns and Los Olvidados, and more recently, the Clay Wheels) lent his bass skills. As a five piece, they recorded two more 12" EPs: "Dark Room" and the posthumous "Epitaph," with six songs each. Thirty-four songs in all, recorded over two and a half years, which progress from fairly simple fast thrash/punk to heavy and layered quality punk songs that are fast and loud and beautiful!
As Adam got more into heavy metal, his influence on the guitar leads became more prevalent, but was just one of the factors that led to the band's breakup. It was a sad day in early November 1985 when I heard they'd broken up. Fortunately, I'd been to twenty-two Faction shows over the previous two years, and had all of their records, so them breaking up didn't hit me too hard at the time. But what did I know? I was young and stupid.
Excerpt of "Pegged For Life"
Faction shows were fun and chaotic, and all of us westside San Jose skaters were always up for them: they were an event not to be missed. We never missed one whenever they played in San Jose or SF. I won't go into how it was different then; if you weren't there, you wouldn't understand. Anyway, when I heard that the Faction were getting together for a show with Jeff Kendall on guitar (instead of Adam, who was well on his way thru law school) in San Jose in 1989, don't think I didn't sit on the floor in the cab of a big truck for 9 hours (from San Diego) to arrive at the show an hour before showtime. It was well worth it, I assure you.
I got a wild-hair, in 1995, and proposed an idea to Gavin O'Brien, who by then was a long-time friend. (When the band was together, I was just an annoying skater-kid who always wanted to take pictures of them; for the most part, they were always obliging, and Ray even took me under his wing a bit, with some help getting into shows, on stage to shoot, etc. He even introduced me to (great punk photographer/documentor) Murray Bowles once!) I was nervous even asking about it, but I wanted to do a discography CD for the Faction. Gavin was enthusiastic about the idea, and before I knew it, I'd talked to all the other members of the band, and was licensing the rights for 28 songs from Adam and his mom, Rita, who had self-released the Faction records on their own label IM Records. Six studio-recorded songs (I think) were left off the CD: "A.U.K.," an anti-England rant about all the punks in San Jose who copied the styles of the English punk bands (my interpretation), which had originally appeared on Skate Rock Volume 1; "You Are Here," a heavy bass/funkish tune from the Dark Room EP, "The Brain," a song from the Keith-on-drums days which was on the Epitaph EP; "Running Amok" and "Change of Pace" from the first LP "No Hidden Messages," and one song from the "Yesterday Is Gone" EP. I can't remember the name of that song, and James Igoe stole my copy of that record about 15 years ago. Anyhoo, the Faction's first CD "Collection 1982-1985" is out now, and is available at finer shops everywhere.
"Being Watched" live
