American Steel

Formed in 1995, the underground punk outfit American Steel quickly gained traction inside San Francisco’s punk district. The West Oakland lineup featured vocalist/guitarist Rory Henderson, guitarist Ryan Massey, bassist John Peck, and drummer Jamie Kissinger; Scott Healy took over drumming duties in 1996, although Kissinger returned to the stool around 2000. The group put out the independently pressed 7" “Hope Wanted,” whose initial run vanished almost at once after an intense promotional push during the band’s first national tour in late 1996. The following year American Steel enlisted indie producer Kevin Army (the Mr. T Experience, Fuel, Operation Ivy) to record their self-titled debut, issued by New Disorder in 1998. In 1999 the band signed with Lookout! and delivered Rogue’s March that October. Despite receiving favorable notices, the album’s sessions had been interrupted by Massey’s ultimately successful battle with leukemia. Retaining a style that echoed the Clash and Stiff Little Fingers, the quartet released Jagged Thoughts in June 2001. The next spring they declared their dissolution and played a final concert at Berkeley’s Gilman Street in May 2002. Yet by December of that year most of the members had regrouped under the name Communiqué.