Falling Idols - Armageddon
The band biography/history as told by Mudd:
Me and Trey have been friends since 2nd grade and started a punk band in 1980 called Red Alert with John Flynt on guitar, Trey on bass and David Quackenbush on vocals. We soon found out that an English band had beat us to the name.
In 1981 John left the band and Ross Fletcher replaced him on guitar. We all went to high school at Wilson High in Long Beach. We recorded a tape-only album and changed our name to The Falling Idols.
The original line-up was:
Ross Fletcher - guitar
Trey Pangborn - bass
Mudd - drums
David Quackenbush - vocals
We released a full-length album and a 500 copy EP on our own label BSC Records. We were also on a Beamis Brain compilation album "When Men Were Men And Sheep Were Scared".
Brad (Sublime) had this tape and learned a lot of the songs that he used to play on accoustic guitar up at UC Santa Cruz. The Falling Idols theme song was on that album. The tape has been out of print since 1982.
By 1982, me and Trey graduated High School and Trey went off to school in New Mexico.
Randy Bradbury, a friend who had taken up bass and was very into what we were doing, joined the band as the new bass player. During Christmas break of 1982/83, Trey was back in town and had improved a lot on guitar. We recorded the stuff that was on the Falling Idols EP at that time with Ross and Trey on guitar. After another semester, Trey was able to leave New Mexico and transfer back to LBCC.
The EP we were working on was all but done when the guy who was going to put it out (Bill Spracher) pulled out.
All the albums were hand-painted by the band members and friends, so Ross stored them away figuring that maybe some day they would see the light of day. When he released them in 1990 not much was done with them. Not until Skunk began to distribute them did many make it out of Ross' closet. All 500 have now been sold.
Next we recorded for Beamis Brain for a compilation of Long Beach punk that was called "When Men Were Men And Sheep Were Scared". Soon after, David was asked to sing for The Vandals. The band continued to play, but less frequently due to conflicts with the Vandals' schedule.
I left the band in 1985 to attend college in Detroit (Wayne State). By the time I returned, Greg Odell, a much younger drummer who I was friends with, was the new drummer. The band never broke up, it more just faded.
Trey is now in Long Beach Shortbus
Ross is in the Indonesian Mules
Mudd (me) is in Gluefactory and 3rd Alley and runs Long Beach Records
David - The Vandals
Randy - Pennywise
Greg Odell - 8 Foot Tender
Road Crew - Jail, Rehab, and the US Senate
After the 9-11-01 tragedy the Falling Idols played with Trey, David, Randy & Mudd. The live recording is on the When Punkers Were Punk album on Longbeachrecords.com.
