Madcap

Southern California punk rock outfit Madcap formed in 1999 and assembled their debut album through an independent label operated by friends in Los Angeles. Appearances at clubs throughout Orange County and the Los Angeles area preceded their late-2000 signing with SideOneDummy Records. Fresh material in hand, the group tracked 2001’s Stand Your Ground over two weeks alongside engineer and producer Donnell Cameron, whose past work includes albums by NOFX, Offspring, and Bad Religion. A tour routing the southern and western United States supported the release, after which Madcap appeared on the Vans Warped Tour. The lively 2002 album East to West expanded their audience as pop-leaning street punkers. Subsequent lineup adjustments brought the band—now consisting of founding bassist Lee LeBaigue, vocalist/guitarist Johnny Madcap, drummer Jake Margolis Bell, and lead guitarist Ace—to Victory Records. Their label debut Under Suspicion, which fused ’80s rock with dub, punk, and reggae, arrived in early 2004.