| The Avengers | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  San Francisco, California United States |
| Genre(s) | Punk |
| Years active | 1977–Present |
| Members | |
| Penelope Houston Greg Ingraham, guitar Joel Reader Luis Illades |
|
| Former members | |
| Brad Kunt Danny Furious Jimmy Wilsey |
|
The Avengers were a San Francisco-based punk band in the first wave of American punk. Penelope Houston, who later turned to folk music, was the singer for the band, and part of what made the band unique and memorable. In 1977, Houston moved to San Francisco, attended the San Francisco Art Institute and shortly thereafter became the lead singer and songwriter for the Avengers. A three-song EP on Dangerhouse Records was issued in 1977.
The Avengers opened for the Sex Pistols in San Francisco for their final show at Winterland, and their four-song EP was produced by Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols. The band broke up in June of 1979. Several months later, this recording was released on White Noise Records featuring the memorable song, "The American in Me," as well as " Uh Oh!," "Corpus Christi," and "White Nigger." In addition to Houston, James Wilsey played bass, D. Furious played drums, and Greg Ingraham played guitar. Brad Kent played guitar on "Corpus Christi."
A full album called "The Avengers" (aka "the pink album") was issued in 1983. Although the LP has long since gone out of print and into what Houston refers to as "legal limbo," it is available on CDR format directly from her website. In 1999, a compilation of unreleased tracks and outtakes called "The Avengers Died for Your Sins" was issued by Lookout! Records.
The CD "The American in Me" released in 2004, has four studio tracks and eight live tracks recorded at the Old Waldorf in 1979.
With the release of the new CD, vocalist Penelope Houston has joined with original guitarist Greg Ingraham to bring the Avengers back to life, completing the line-up with bassist Joel Reader (The Mr. T Experience, The Plus Ones) and drummer Luis Illades (Pansy Division, The Plus Ones). The new group is sometimes called the "scAvengers", and is playing a few select shows on the West Coast, East Coast and the UK.
On July 16, 2006 Penelope and Greg joined Pearl Jam to perform "American in Me" (credited as "Amerikan In Me" on Pearl Jam's official bootlegs) at the Bill Graham Civic Center.
Members
Original lineup
- Penelope Houston, vox
- Greg Ingraham, guitar (1977-1978)
- Brad Kunt, guitar (1979)
- Danny Furious, drums
- Jimmy Wilsey, bass
Current lineup
- Penelope Houston, vox (original Avenger)
- Greg Ingraham, guitar (original Avenger)
- Joel Reader, bass and vox (The Plus Ones, MTX, and scAvengers)
- Luis Illades, drums (The Plus Ones, Pansy Division)
Discography
- 3-song 7" EP (Dangerhouse Records, 1977)
- 4-song 12 EP (White Noise Records, 1979)
- The Avengers LP (the pink album) (1983)
- The Avengers Died For Your Sins (Lookout! Records 1999)
- The American In Me CD (DBKWorks, 2004)
External links
- The (sc)Avengers on MySpace
- Penelope Houston's official web site
- PUNKCAST#1028 video of
CBGB show - Sep 8 2006.
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