Keith Morris

Keith Morris
A recent photo of Keith Morris, performing live at a Circle Jerks concert on December 1, 2006.
Background information
Born	September 17, 1955 (1955-09-17) (age 54) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genre(s)	Punk rock Hardcore punk
Occupation(s)	Musician, Singer, Songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1976 - Present
Label(s)	SST Frontier Allegiance Combat Mercury
Associated acts	Black Flag (1976–1979) Circle Jerks (1979–present)

Keith Morris (born September 17, 1952 [1]) is an American singer and songwriter. Active since 1976, Morris is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, and Midget Handjob. He currently works as an A&R manager at V2 Records.

In 1999, he was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes and many of his friends held benefit concerts to cover his large medical bills.

Biography

Black Flag

In 1976, Morris co-founded Black Flag (then-known as Panic) along with guitarist Greg Ginn. Their work ethic proved too challenging for some early members; Ginn and Morris had an especially hard time finding a reliable bass guitarist, and often rehearsed without a bassist, a factor that contributed to the development of Ginn's distinctive, often low-pitched guitar sound. Ginn's brother Raymond Pettibon and SST house record producer-to-be Spot filled in sometimes at rehearsals.

After a number of lineup changes, Morris recorded vocals the first Black Flag EP Nervous Breakdown (on which he was credited as "Johnny 'Bob' Goldstein"). He quit the band in 1979, citing, among other reasons, creative differences with Ginn, and his own "freaking out on cocaine and speed."

Circle Jerks

After leaving Black Flag in 1979, Morris founded The Circle Jerks, along with former Redd Kross guitarist Greg Hetson. Cited as one of the most important hardcore punk groups, the Circle Jerks were active until 1989, when Hetson left the band to continue playing guitar and release a number of albums with Bad Religion, which he had joined a few years earlier. However, the Circle Jerks reunited in 1994 and have been performing off and on ever since.

Other works

After the Circle Jerks' first breakup in 1989, Morris led the band Midget Handjob. He also did background vocals on "Operation Rescue", from Bad Religion's 1990 album Against the Grain. He is also featured in the Wrangler Brutes song "Driving" (as the voice of God).

Morris also narrated the 2007 Gotham Award-nominated independent film Loren Cass.

Discography

With Black Flag

• Nervous Breakdown EP (1978)
• Everything Went Black (1982)
• The First Four Years (1983)

With The Circle Jerks

• Group Sex (1980)
• Wild in the Streets (1982)
• Golden Shower of Hits (1983)
• Wonderful (1985)
• Group Sex/Wild in the Streets (1986)
• VI (1987)
• Gig (1992)
• Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities (1995)
• TBA (2009)

With Bad Religion

• Against the Grain (1990) (never actually a member of Bad Religion, but did background vocals on "Operation Rescue")
• All Ages (1995) (same as above)

With Buglamp

• Gabba Gabba Hey: A Tribute to the Ramones (Song - "Sha-La-La Howling at the Moon") (1991)
• Roadside Prophets Soundtrack (Song - "Eldorado") (1992)
• Welcome To Our Nightmare - Tribute To Alice Cooper (Song - "The Ballad of Dwight Fry") (1993)

With Alkaline Trio

• Good Mourning (2003) (Performed Background Vocals on track #2 "We've Had Enough")

With My Chemical Romance

• Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004) (Performed backing vocals on the track Hang 'Em High just after Frank Iero saw him buying potato chips in an L.A Gas Station.)

With Rollins Band

• Rise Above: 24 Black Flag Songs to Benefit the West Memphis Three (2002) (Performed Nervous Breakdown)

With Turbonegro

• Party Animals (2005) (Performed additional vocals on the track Wasted Again)

With The Bronx

• Social Club #1 (2006) (Performed lead vocals on the track "Witness (Can I Get A)")

With Chingalera

• Dose (2008) (Performed lead vocals on the trackTwenty Three)

With Klover

• Dose(2008) (Performed backing vocals on the track "Brain"

With Trash Talk

• East Of Eden(2009) (Performed backing vocals on the track "East of Eden" and "Son of a Bitch"

References