The Generators

Biography by Alex Henderson Not to be confused with a Finnish outfit also called the Generators, this band is a snarling, in-your-face punk quintet that came out of Los Angeles in the '90s. L.A.'s Generators steer clear of the type of pop-minded emocore that alternative rock radio was quick to play in the '90s and early 2000s, their boisterous recordings proudly recall the old school punk of the late '70s and early '80s. The Generators have a variety of American and British influences; their sound owes a lot to British pub rock and classic U.K. punk bands like the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Jam, Sham 69, and Generation X, but they haven't escaped the influence of American punks such as the Ramones, the Dead Boys, Fear, and the Dead Kennedys. The Generators came out of the ashes of Schleprock, an L.A.-based punk band that was formed in 1989. Schleprock enjoyed a small but devoted following and the band generated enough of a buzz to sign with Warner Bros. in 1996. But Schleprock's deal with Warner didn't work out and after recording their third album, Long Time Ago, for Cool Guy, the Southern Californians were feeling burned out and decided to break up. However, it wasn't long before some of Schleprock's former members began working together again. Schleprock graduates Doug Caine (aka Doug Dagger) on lead vocals and Ernie Berru (aka Dirty Ernie) on drums were soon reunited, and the Generators were formed when they joined forces with former Choice member Mike Snow (guitar, background vocals), Elvis the Doo (guitar, background vocals), and Rich Richards (bass, background vocals). The new band turned out to be quite similar to Schleprock and it wasn't long before the Generators acquired a small but enthusiastic following. In 1998, Triple X released their debut album Welcome to the End. After that, the Generators toured Europe and recorded their second album, Burning Ambition, for Urgent Music LTD; regrettably, the album was plagued by distribution problems, but it became easily available in 2000 when it was reissued by Cool Guy. In 2001, the Generators signed with TKO Records -- a small, punk-oriented indie based in Richmond, VA -- and provided their third album, Tyranny. Then, in 2001, the L.A. residents recorded an EP titled State of the Nation for TKO; the EP was released in March 2002.