The Legendary Danny Dean of ANTI
Interview By: John Wisniewski
©All Photos By Ed Colver
In this interview, Danny speaks about his influences, his early days, and trying to make it in a punk band.
Punk Globe: When did ANTI form, Danny?
Danny: I formed the hardcore punk band ANTI in late 1979 and it lasted to early 1984. It just happens that I was in high school from 1979 to 1983. Music was a huge influence on my life. It changed it for the better. Before I got involved in music, I didn’t really have that many interests, just science fiction, comic books, going to Syfy conventions. I was an only child raised by a single parent who was never around, and when she was, she was always ill, so I pretty much had run of the streets all the time. I came and went as I pleased, never really had anyone telling me what I could or couldn’t do, and I had to learn many things the hard way, being that I didn’t have a father figure. My grandfather came and went, and he would stay with us a few months at a time. He was pretty much a gypsy, working for himself, when he felt like working, he was his own boss. Both my parents never graduated high school. So when you’re a kid, and you bring home a good report card, and your parents don’t really care, you think what’s the point if no one cares. Before I got into music I was hanging out on the streets, getting in the street fights. Science fiction, and comics kind of got me out of the streets, it gave me an escape from the harsh reality that I had. I came from one of the poorest families at my school. But it was at a sci-fi con that I found inspiration. People at the cons were very positive, optimistic, and ahead of their time in thinking. They felt the world could be a new and better place for everyone.
Punk Globe: Any live bands that you really liked?
Danny: 999 was amazing, probably one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen, next to the Clash, Dickies and Alley Cats. The Alley Cats from Harbor City and Lomita, were one of the first bands I saw, and one of the first bands in the South Bay to play punk, they have been around since 1976. The house band at the Masque played every show at the first punk club out here, they also hold the record at the Whiskey for playing the most shows, over 200 times they performed there. When Black Flag was just starting out, the Alley Cats were already touring the country with bands like Plasmatics, The Stranglers, 999 etc…in front of big crowds, way ahead of all of us. With Great musicianship, energy, and charisma, they really put on a great show. D.O.A. was fantastic, they always blew the roof off the place. The Professionals, Dead Kennedys had an intensity live, the Damned and Incredible, Circle Jerks, T.S.O.L., Red Kross, China White, Shattered Faith, Agent Orange, and Bad Religion. I was blessed to see and open up for a lot of great bands. I really like all the new Underground Records South Bay bands on the Life is Comps.
Punk Globe: What places would kids hang out at in the South Bay? Or would go outside of the South Bay to hang out?
Danny: I remember a few would hang out at the Redondo Pier, some of them that were runaways, some would actually sleep under the pier, I don’t really know, because I never had any time to hang out down there, but most of the time we had to go out of the area, if there was a gig, most of the time in the early days, it would be a back yard party or at a Vets hall, we had a lot of one-offs at clubs, but some assholes would wreck the place, and it would be all over, and the clubs would not longer book punk bands anymore. When my band Easter started, we needed a name that wouldn’t describe any style so we could be booked on any type of gigs, from punk to metal, gothic, pop, or rockabilly if you had a new sound that sounded punk, clubs would be afraid to book you in fear of audience members might tear up the club. I remember bands would find abandoned buildings get gas generators and put on a gig, bands would play until the cops showed. I remember playing a lot of backyard parties in the South Bay. Burt took his place as our singer, he was in his 20’s. I also think drugs and alcohol were an issue. It seemed nearly impossible for us to be able to get our schedules together, to be able to tour, we just didn’t have the support a lot of the other bands had. Some of us, our families were depending on us, some of us had school and work, and we couldn’t just jump on a tour, some of the other bands had that support and freedom, their families were upper class, families that owned businesses, some musicians had a job waiting for them when they came back from tour, able to come and go without a problem, and still had a job waiting for them when they came home. None of us had that.
Punk Globe: What were the main influences of ANTI?
Danny: Our goal was to get our music heard, we weren’t about making money or being famous, we just wanted to help get this new underground music heard by putting out compilations, and setting up shows. It’s unfortunate that being early on the scene, we were outlawed, people didn’t want this music in the beginning and didn’t understand it, but we had to usher in the new change, the new way of thinking. It wasn’t until the late 80’s and early 90s when big companies like Vans and Hot Topic decided to capitalize on punk, and put all of the newer bands on big festivals and tours, we were banned as outlaw, there was no festivals for us to play, I think the only festival we had was the Eastern Front at that time in history, they wouldn’t let you play, they wanted it stopped, people rejected the idea of a punk band on a festival when we came out. As for our musical influences everybody in the band loved the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Damned and Public Image, Circle Jerks and the Dead Kennedys. We used to go to the Cove Theater late-night showings of surf movies, we loved to hear surf music blasting at the Cove. Gary was a big fan of the Germs, we were good friends with Germs drummer Don Bolles, and he was also friends with Craig Lee of the Bags and with the great artist Raymond Pettibone, Greg Ginn’s brother and guitar player for Public Image Keith Levene. I think his favorite bands were the Fall, Throbbing Gristle, and Joy Division, also a lot better noise bands like NON and Jared Fair. The Cramps, the Bags, the Urinals. For me at that time I like the more melodic stuff the Buzzcocks, 999, Stiff Little Fingers, Generation X, the Clash, China White, D.O.A., Youth Brigade, Shattered Faith, the Alley Cats, Red Kross, the Avengers, the Zeros, the Jam. I got to be friends with the Alley Cats, and Jeff and Steve McDonald went to Hawthorne High, I did a lot of roadie for Red Kross back then. I was also roadie for Husker Du, they were great to hang with, The last time I was a roadie was for Social Distortion at the Whiskey a-go-go and Phil Ramone came backstage and saw me tuning their guitars and ask me what are you doing, then I said I had way too much talent to be tuning guitars for other people, I was shocked, he knew who I was and what I did and I think he felt they should be tuning my guitars, he told me I was very talented very very talented, I said how do you know who I am, he said I’m Phil Ramone record producer, nominated for 34 Grammy Awards, I produced some of the biggest stars in the music industry. That was and had to be the biggest compliment of my life. Also a big fan of the Stranglers, I had become friends with John McCarthy the drummer for the Alley Cats. We thought he was one of the best drummers in the music scene, ANTI felt very honored to have him play on all three albums as well as Steve Lind he was a phenomenal drummer as well. Later on we had Doug Carrion also one of the best drummers in the South Bay. He joined ANTI in 1983-84 he really brought the live drums of ANTI to a higher level, I really enjoyed working with him, I told him how to play bass, and he went on to play in the Descendants and many other bands and never looked back on drums again.
Punk Globe: Thanks for the interview Danny
