The Adolescents are a punk rock band from Fullerton, CA, USA.
The band has broken-up and reunited a number of times and have gone through a number of line-up changes.
The band was formed in 1980 by Steve Soto, who had been the original bass player for Agent Orange, when he hooked up an Agent Orange fan named Tony Brandenburg (better known by his multiple aliases: Tony Reflex, Tony Cadena, Tony Montana).
Soto then approach guitarist Rikk Agnew, but Rikk recommended his younger brother, Frank, instead.
The line-up was then rounded out by guitarist John O’Donovan and drummer Peter Pan.
Rikk Agnew quickly changed his mind about playing in the band and soon O’Donovan and Pan were replaced by Rikk and his friend, Casey Royer, respectively.
This line-up recorded the band’s first 7″, “Amoeba”, in 1980 and the band’s self-titled LP (often referred to as “The Blue Album”) in 1981.
The Blue Album would prove to be a very influential record and the band’s most popular release.
Rikk Agnew departed shortly afterwards. He was initially replaced by Pat Smear and then Royer’s roommate Steve Roberts, who appeared on the band’s follow-up 7″, “Welcome To Reality”, also released in 1981, but the band split shortly afterwards.
Montana, Rikk Agnew, and Steve Soto reunited in 1986, adding drummer Sandy Hanson and guitarist Alfie Agnew (Rikk and Frank’s younger brother).
This line-up released “Brats In Battalions” in 1987.
Alfie left after the recording and was replaced by Dan Colburn.
Colburn was later replaced by Paul Casey. Tony left the following year and Rikk and Steve shared vocal duties for 1988’s “Balboa Fun Zone”.
Frank Agnew returned to the fold shortly afterwards and the Blue Album line-up even reunited for some live appearances in 1989 (one of which was released as the album “Return To The Black Hole” in 1997) but the band split again the same year.
The Adolescents remained dormant throughout the 1990s but members participated in a number of different bands.
In 2001, the Blue Album line-up reunited again to play shows live shows. Casey Royer and Rikk Agnew soon bowed out but the band.
By 2006, Steve Soto and Tony Brandenburg were the only remaining members of the band’s original line-up.
Backed by a revolving cast of guitarists and drummers, the band continued to record and tour, releasing a steady stream of albums throughout the 2010s. In 2017, Casey Royer and Rikk Agnew launched the Radolescents, a group composed of various ex-Adolescents members dedicated to playing music from the Adolescents early days.
On Jue 27, 2018, Steve Soto, the only member to play with the band through every phase of their career, passed away unexpectedly at age 54, just prior to the release of their album “Cropduster”.
