Cadillac Tramps

Emerging from Orange County, California, the hardcore punk outfit Cadillac Tramps bristled at being labeled a “bar-drunk brawly blues band” by critics, insisting their music possessed greater refinement—though the tag stuck because it captured a kernel of truth. Assembled in the mid-1980s, the lineup featured Mike ‘Gabby’ Gaborno on lead vocals, Brian Coakley and Johnny Wickersham handling guitar and vocals, Warren Renfrow on bass, and Dieter behind the drums. The group built its name through an intense, sweat-drenched stage presence that won steady favor on the Southern California club scene; Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder numbered among their early supporters and even recorded one performance himself. The title track of their 1994 third album, It’s Allright, centered on Coakley’s HIV-positive friend. After issuing a 1995 collection of leftover tracks and remixes, the band disbanded, yet returned for occasional concerts until a steadier reformation took hold in 1999, allowing them to keep up consistent road work thereafter. Guitarist Michael ‘Mad Dog’ Combs, who served from 1999 to 2002, was discovered deceased in December 2004 following his disappearance on a snowboarding excursion at Vail Mountain in Colorado.