Twinkie Force 101: Influences – Part 3

While I think it’s normal for young people to experiment, by the early ‘90s our little town seemed to be awash in risky teenage behavior: smoking, alcohol, drugs, sex, violence- and things were only getting riskier. The members of Twinkie Force had to deal with the same struggles and temptations as our peers but at least we had the band. Mike’s family's garage served as our rehearsal space– we shared it with the Tea Biscuits- but the garage also served as a refuge. Twinkie Force’s practice sessions were always open to other kids- or anyone- to come by, hang out, and watch us jam. There were no drugs or alcohol at our rehearsals but people were still having fun, dancing, singing, and making friends.

Minor Threat

During senior year, Joe left Twinkie Force to pursue more serious musical interests (blues fusion) so we recruited a guy named Rich to be our new bass player which was a bold move since Rich was from a rival town and many kids in our town hated him for that reason alone. But Toast and I didn’t care about gang wars anymore and I think having Rich join TF was our public statement to the world that the war was over and it was time to move on. Plus, Rich (formerly of Radiation Sickness) was an awesome bass player, liked the same music as us- and he even agreed to wear a devil costume on stage!

All

Twinkie Force played our high school’s Battle of the Bands in spring 1992- during the L.A. riots- and at that time my lyrics were becoming more political and philosophical (“Force America”, “I’m Not Rich”) but I was still throwing Twinkies at the audience (I think they expected it). Although we didn’t win Battle of the Bands (Joe’s band won) TF was definitely a crowd favorite (“New Goat in Town”, “Chicken Song”) and we had gathered enough momentum to play several more shows that spring and summer- including one in New York City. Here are some (more) of the bands and songs that influenced Twinkie Force. Enjoy!

Green Day

01. Descendents – “Bikeage” (1982)
02. Steppenwolf – “Born to Be Wild” (1968)
03. Ramones – “Let’s Dance” (1976)
04. Circle Jerks – “Mrs. Jones” (1985)
05. The Replacements – “Something to Dü” (1981)
06. The Monkees – “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” (1966)
07. Operation Ivy – “Sound System” (1989)
08. New York Citizens – “Shut Up and Listen” (1990)
09. The Monkees – “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (1967)
10. The Saints – “(I'm) Stranded” (1976)
11. The Adverts – “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” (1977)
12. Operation Ivy – “Officer” (1987)
13. Descendents – “Hope” (1983)
14. Descendents – “Cheer” (1986)
15. Green Day – “I Was There” (1990)
16. 7 Seconds – “Satyagraha” (1989)
17. D.I. – “Pervert Nurse” (1985)
18. Green Day – “Going to Pasalacqua” (1991)
19. Traveling Wilburys – “Handle with Care” (1988)
20. Social Distortion – “When She Begins” (1992)
21. Minor Threat – “In My Eyes” (1981)
22. Ramones –  “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (1980)
23. Angry Samoans – “Right Side of My Mind” (1980)
24. All – “She’s My Ex” (1989)

25. The Replacements – “Answering Machine” (1984)

Twinkie Force – Battle of the Bands 1992

Twinkie Force – Lion's Den, New York City 1992

Rich

Listen to songs from the playlist on Spotify...