Punk is an elusive thing. It’s easier to say what isn’t punk than to explain what is. On top of that, the 50-year-old genre has evolved so much over time, it’s basically become a giant umbrella with many people taking refuge under it.
However, certain bands are so undeniably old-school punk rock it leaves no doubt where their roots lie.
Oakland’s Vaxxines are one of those bands.
“It’s authentic,” singer Chelsea Rose says of the band’s live performances. “Punk-rock audiences aren’t stupid. They can sense if it’s a pose or the real deal.”
Formed in the aftermath of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns, the Vaxxines—not to be confused with indie British rock group, the Vaccines—rose from the ashes of another East Bay band, the Pathogens. That band, which formed in 2014, had a pretty significant presence in the punk scene, locally and abroad, consisting of members from prominent groups like Tilt, Econochrist and Blatz.
However, Covid and the lockdowns led to the Pathogens not practicing for almost a year. When things reopened several of the members had moved away, leaving original drummer Markley Hart and guitarist Sebastian Stuart to figure out a cure for their live-show-lacking ailment. The current drummer, Ian Larkin, joined the band earlier this year.
“Markley and I had been practicing, along with being in eight different bands over 20 years,” Stuart says. “So we decided to put together a new project to continue what we had started with the Pathogens.”
They quickly recruited friend and bassist Adachi Hiroyuki—who also owns and operates the Oakland-based, punk rock, Japanese-style fried chicken restaurants Aburaya and Arubaya Go—and began the hunt for a singer.
“We literally just put a flier out with pictures of Joan Jett, Exene from X, Poly Styrene [X-Ray Specs] and I forget who else was on it,” Stuart says. “But we just put them up at bars, cafes and salons.”
The band went through two singers before landing with Rose. However, her first show with the Vaxxines was in 2022 as a last minute fill-in when they played with the legendary San Francisco punk act, the Avengers. A close friend of the band—“The Pathogens were one of my favorite bands,” she says—Rose has also played in or currently performs with a number of other Bay Area stalwarts like Bite, White Trash Debutantes and Class of ’77.
“But because of different factors we really didn’t know if it was going to work out with me being the permanent singer,” she says. “So they went on to have K.C. [Vanderzee] as their second singer.”
However, when Vanderzee stepped away from the band last year, she suggested Rose step back in. Now, any punk knows it’s nothing new or strange for a band to go through line-up changes. Some more than others. What makes this change stand out is that when Hutchison left, the Vaxxines were basically finished with their debut, self-titled full-length.
But instead of just releasing it and moving forward to have audiences question why the switch-up, the band instead decided to re-record the vocals with Rose.
“We had a lot of support from the label, Dead Beat Records,” Stuart says. “It’s important to have the live show match, especially when putting out an album.”
The result, released on vinyl and cassette this last July and due out on all streaming platforms in the very near future, is a 13-track collection of blistering and catchy punk songs that range from the political, such as “ACAB,” to the nihilistic, such as “California Screaming.” In classic, snotty-punk style a couple of humorous tracks, such as “Defund the Meter Maid,” stick out like middle fingers matched with a smirk. The band also gives a nod to their roots with “Whiskey Business,” written by the Pathogens.
They’ve additionally been working on videos and in July released the first from the album “Live Your Life,” directed by Matt Eskew of the Hellflowers.
“That song has a really great message because it’s about living your life without regrets,” Rose says. “I’m very much of the ‘Live for today’ [variety]. ‘Nothing lasts forever’ is kind of my whole motto in life.”
The Vaxxines play 8pm Friday, Nov. 14, at the Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Ave., Albany. ivyroom.com
