Formed in 1977 in Santa Ana California by the Atta brothers – Bruce (15) on drums, Mike (17) on guitar, and Jeff (20) vocals – plus high school friend Mike Patton (20) on bass, the Middle Class was the first Orange County band to break into the early LA punk scene. Playing at a speed beyond any of the first wave of LA punk bands, the Middle Class stood out for both their urgent music and their lack of punk pretense and pomp.
In 1978 the band captured this sound on their debut 7″ EP, Out of Vogue. With guitars, drums and vocals all racing each other at breakneck speeds, the EP’s four songs clock in at just over four minutes. Considered the first of its kind, the single influenced many of the bands associated with the Orange County and Hardcore punk sound.
As the hardcore sound began to take hold and the violence it spawned started to eclipse the music, the Middle Class released the 1980 EP Scavenged Luxury. Featuring a distinct departure from the bands earlier material, the EP presented a more complex sound with a brisk, jagged pace and lyrical sophistication that while gaining new fans, also alienated the movement they unintentionally helped create. This period also saw the departure of Bruce Atta from the band and the addition of Matt Simon as drummer.
By 1982 the band pushed its sound even further from their beginnings with the release of their full length Homeland LP. Featuring a tense, sparse, and driving sound, the bass and drum heavy Homeland presented a band that was once again ahead of their time.
The Middle Class disbanded after a 1983 East Coast tour in support of the Homeland LP.
A. Official Releases (7″ vinyl)
1. The Middle Class – Out Of Vogue
Label: Joke Records
Catalog Number: 19831A
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 1978
Notes: Widely regarded as the first ever ‘Hardcore’ Punk record. Issued with both yellow labels and silver labels. Reissued in 2008 on Frontier Records.
Tracklist
A1 – Out Of Vogue
A2 – You Belong
B1 – Situations
B2 – Insurgence
2. Middle Class – Scavenged Luxury
Label: Torture Garden
Catalog Number: TG101
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 33 1/3 RPM, EP
Released: 1980
Notes: Issued with both red labels and white labels (no priority).
Tracklist
A1 – Home Is Where
A2 – A Blueprint For Joy
B1 – Last Touch
B2 – Introductory Rites
B. Unofficial Releases (7″ vinyl)
1. The Middle Class – You Dug Your Own Grave Now Die In It!
Label: Borderline Records
Catalog Number: Schizoid 701
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, EP
Released: 1996
Notes: Issued in a limited edition of 315 numbered copies. Side A from ‘Out Of Vogue’ 7″ (Joke Records, 1978); Side B from ‘Tooth & Nail’ LP (Upsetter Records, 1979).
Tracklist
A1 – Out Of Vogue
A2 – You Belong
A3 – Situations
A4 – Insurgency
B1 – Love Is Just A Tool
B2 – Above Suspicion
2. Middle Class – 1978-1979
Label: L.A.P.D. Records
Catalog Number: #1
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 33 1/3 RPM, EP
Released: 2002
Notes: Side A from ‘Out Of Vogue’ 7″ (Joke Records, 1978); Side B from ‘Tooth & Nail’ LP (Upsetter Records, 1979). The sleeve features a detailed account of what became known as the “The Saint Patrick’s Day Massacre” at the Elks Lodge in Los Angeles in March of 1979.
Tracklist
A1 – Out Of Vogue
A2 – You Belong
A3 – Situations
A4 – Insurgency
B1 – Love Is Just A Tool
B2 – Above Suspicion