Adolescents

The Adolescents are an American punk rock band formed in Fullerton, California in 1979. Part of the hardcore punk movement in southern California in the early 1980s, they were one of the main punk acts to emerge from Orange County, along with their peers in Agent Orange and Social Distortion. Founding bassist Steve Soto was the sole constant member of the band since its inception until his 2018 death, with singer Tony Reflex being in the group for all but one album. During the 1980s the band went through several lineup changes, breakups, and reunions, most involving drummer Casey Royer and guitarist brothers Rikk, Frank, and Alfie Agnew. During that decade, they released three albums: Adolescents (1981), Brats in Battalions (1987), and Balboa Fun*Zone (1988, without Reflex), then broke up in April 1989. Most of the members remained active in other musical projects, and a reunion of most of the early members in 2001 resulted in the comeback album OC Confidential (2005). Soto and Reflex have been the band's only constant members and primary songwriters since then, anchoring lineups that have released five more studio albums: The Fastest Kid Alive (2011), Presumed Insolent (2013), La Vendetta... (2014), Manifest Density (2016) and Cropduster (2018). On June 27, 2018, Soto died at the age of 54 leaving Reflex as the only original founding member. Brad Logan replaced Soto and the band's tenth album, Russian Spider Dump, was released in October 2020. The band released their eleventh album, Caesar Salad Days, in July 2023. History Formation and first recordings: 1980 Prior to forming the Adolescents, the early band members were part of various formative punk rock groups in Fullerton, California during their teenage years in the late 1970s: Guitarist Rikk Agnew and drummer Casey Royer had played in the Detours and with Agnew's younger brother Frank in the early lineup of Social Distortion, while bassist Steve Soto was a founding member of Agent Orange. Soto met Tony Brandenburg at an Agent Orange show in November 1979, and the two, both aged 16, formed a bond, as Soto recalled: "I struck up a conversation with Tony. He was out of control and we became fast friends".