Excel

Emerging from Venice, California, the skatecore and crossover band Excel functioned as younger musical siblings to the area's established heroes Suicidal Tendencies. Their three albums found favor with knowledgeable followers of the style, though they never reached the broader record-buying public. Vocalist Dan Clemente, guitarist Adam Siegel, bassist Shaun Ross, and drummer Greg Saenz formed the group in 1985. Excel's 1987 debut Split Image carried good intentions yet remained overly reliant on the Suicidal Tendencies template. Two years later the band delivered The Joke's on You, which incorporated a handful of their own innovations. Following a brief breakup they resurfaced in 1995 with the funk-thrash album Seeking Refuge, their final release, which by then echoed the approach of San Francisco's Mordred.