The Faction
The Faction is an American hardcore band from San Jose, California. Pioneers of the skate punk era during the early 1980s, their primary stint being from Halloween 1982 until Halloween 2020, The Faction were one of the first bands whose music and lifestyle tastes centered on punk rock and skateboarding. An early demo tape had these words inscribed on the label: "Music By Skaters For Skaters." All original band members and their subsequent replacements are accomplished skateboarders, most notably bass and guitar player and legendary professional skateboarder Steve Caballero. In the early years of the band Caballero was instrumental in attracting a large following of skateboarders to the band. Lead singer Gavin O'Brien was also a notable skateboarder, popular at local Winchester Skatepark. Drummer Craig Bosch has a skateboard trick named after him, "the Bosch" aka invert to blunt. Pro skateboarder Jeff Kendall would also play with The Faction during a brief reunion in 1989.
Early history
During 1982, The Faction's practice sessions began to take place in between ramp sessions at the Caballero home. There, local skaters gathered to skate "Cab's" backyard vert ramp and hang out. Prior to choosing the name "The Faction," an early lineup of the band, consisting of Steve Caballero, Gavin O'Brien, Craig Bosch, and Russ Wright, briefly played as "The Tolerants." This lineup only lasted through a couple of practices when Craig Bosch left to join local punk band The Unaware. Bosch was replaced by Adam Segal who Steve and Gavin knew from Winchester Skate Park. Another local skater Craig Ramsey offered to manage the band under his production company Faction Productions. Discussions about a band name lead quickly to the adoption of Craig's production company name for the band itself. After recording a single demo of "Spineless Majority" on Halloween in Caballero's basement with this line up, Adam switched to guitar and was replaced by drummer Keith Rendon. Russ Wright eventually left the band when his stepfather "The Captain" insisted Russ attend military school in Chico, California, leaving The Faction to carry on as a foursome. The band continued to perform during skate sessions at Cab's house and eventually landed their first gig opening for Social Distortion and Los Olvidados at San Jose City College, December 3, 1982. Early gigs were also played at San Francisco clubs Mabuhay Gardens and On Broadway. Practice sessions moved from Cab's house to Segal's home in south San Jose. At this point the band's career began to take flight.Music and career (1982–1985)
The Faction's music is punk centered with strong emphasis on guitars. Prior to releasing anything official, the band recorded themselves to cassette tape and made copies to give to friends and fans at gigs. The earliest practice tapes are the only recordings of the first line up to bear The Faction band name, Steve, Gavin, Russ, Adam and Keith. Of those tapes, several tracks appeared on the compilation cassette-only release Growing Pains'','' which also featured Los Olvidados, Executioner, Ribzy, The Bruces, The Unaware, Grim Reality and Whipping Boy. After Russ left the band, another such tape, the Room 101 demo, was released in 1983. These songs were recorded by Adam on 4-track cassette at Steve's house with amps in separate bedrooms.Their first album, the 7-inch Yesterday Is Gone, was released on the band's label IM Records in 1983. This was a noble release and showed that, while fairly young, the band had chops and a solid knowledge of tempo and time changes associated with punk. Yesterday Is Gone marked something that few punk bands in their scene, with little to no money, were ever able to do: Put out an official release on vinyl record. 1,000 copies of the album were pressed thanks to Adam's mother Rita, who put up the money for the record. According to the band's official bio, this generated a bit of resentment in the local punk scene. Some people thought The Faction's popularity was only due to Steve Caballero's status outside of the band. This would prove to be untrue, however, after embarking on a small summer tour of California. They quickly discovered that their album had reached a wider audience when they were greeted with much enthusiasm in locations such as Fresno and Los Angeles. This enthusiastic response propelled the band and set the wheels in motion for a full-length release as well as plans for a nationwide US tour.
The band's next album, No Hidden Messages, was also released in 1983 on their first year anniversary. No Hidden Messages would be the only proper LP released by the band and would also prove to be a fan favorite. The band's musicianship was beginning to gel while O'Brien's vocals tackle subjects from 1980s politics "Running Amok", to paranoia "Being Watched", to anti-hippie rhetoric and consumerism in "Why Save The Whales?" and "Fast Food Diet" respectively. The song "Skate And Destroy" became wildly popular as background music at skate parks, pools, ramp sessions, and early skateboard videos. "Skate And Destroy" was also featured on the official soundtrack to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 video game. Proving the band's staying ability through time, The song has long been considered the official "anthem" for skateboarding and skateboarders everywhere. As the band's manager, producer, and head of IM Records, Adam went to work booking a national tour in support of No Hidden Messages during 1984. The tour was a success and saw them play the infamous punk club CBGB for the first time.
During a trip to Japan, where he was competing in a contest, Caballero spent much of his flight time listening to The Adolescents and felt inspired by their use of a two-guitar style. Upon his return, Cab wasted no time switching to rhythm guitar and handing bass duties to former Los Olvidados bassist Ray Stevens. Stevens was regarded as a hero by the band due to his time in Los Olvidados, a band that was held in high regard as the "kings" of the San Jose punk scene although they had never released a proper album at the time. The addition of Stevens proved very positive for the band and cemented their status firmly in the scene.
With the lineup performing as a five-piece again, the EP Corpse in Disguise was released in 1984. Corpse In Disguise takes on a darker feel than the first two offerings both in lyrical content and musical direction, the dark and brooding "100 Years War" being an instant standout. It was becoming quite clear that the band were developing a heavier sound. During September 1984, just after the sessions for Corpse In Disguise finished, the band's presence was requested in Lincoln, Nebraska for Thrasher Magazine's 'Midwest Melee' skateboarding contest. While Cab was already there competing, the rest of the band obliged and set out on a Friday night, arriving late the following Saturday night. After driving halfway across the US for a one-set gig, the band's performance was cut short after just four songs. The police raided the contest and abruptly brought the festivities to an end. The band cleaned up, hopped in their van, and promptly drove back to San Jose in order to get drummer Keith Rendon back in time for work Monday morning. This was all for nothing when, upon returning to San Jose, Keith found out he didn't have to work that day. Not long after that, Keith decided that there was no money to be made in an underground punk band and departed. The band would then bring back drummer Craig Bosch whose band, The Unaware, had recently broken up. Bosch's playing skills had improved dramatically during his time away from The Faction and the band capitalized on it.
The next album, Dark Room, was released in 1985. The punk sound wasn't gone but the heavier side of the band was very apparent. As its title suggests, Dark Room indeed had a dark feel to it. Thanks to a generous helping of metal infused punk resounding through songs like "Tongue Like A Battering Ram", "Terror In The Streets", and "Deathless", as well as the title track. The band pays a cheeky punk homage to their favorite drink of choice in "Let's Go Get Cokes". The production and mixing of Dark Room was much stronger and the best sounding album in the band's catalog. In addition to Corpse In Disguise and Dark Room the period between 1984 and 1985 saw the band contribute tracks that were added to various skate compilations. Dark Room would be the last album before the band's breakup.
During the summer of 1985, the band embarked on their second US tour. Almost all of the shows were headlining gigs with a couple of slots opening for bigger acts. The band opened at CBGB again and this time the concert was captured live on both audio and video. This show provides a rare glimpse at The Faction during their height. By this time their playing and showmanship were clearly taking a turn towards metal, a turn that not everyone wanted. Video footage of the July 7, 1985, CBGB gig shows Cab sporting a "metal up your ass" shirt from Metallica's Ride The Lightning tour. The band literally wore their influences on their sleeves and it was becoming more prevalent in their sound and stage presence. A cassette-only release of that show surfaced not long after the gig, entitled Pegged for Live NYC. While The Faction were certainly gaining momentum in the studio, their live shows were focused, powerful, and tight. The stage was where The Faction's music really came alive.
Throughout their career, The Faction shared the stage with the likes of Social Distortion, Void, Big Boys, JFA, Executioner, Corrosion of Conformity, The Melvins, Scream, Agent Orange, Aggression, Suicidal Tendencies, Rich Kids On LSD, Code Of Honor, Wasted Youth, Hüsker Dü, Portrait Of Poverty, Fluf, Drunk Injuns, Los Olvidados, Free Beer, U.S. Bombs, Supersuckers, and X to name a few.