M.I.A. (Punk Rock)

Originating in Las Vegas as the punk band the Swell, M.I.A. avoided an early end through a strategic relocation to Southern California. After several personnel adjustments and a shift to Orange County, the group adopted its new identity, committed material to tape, and began performing regularly on the regional party circuit. The resulting demo reached prominent figures within the punk scene, yet activities ceased when vocalist Mike Conley returned to Las Vegas. In 1982 those same recordings surfaced on the split LP Last Rites alongside New Jersey’s Genocide. The collection generated sufficient interest, together with Conley’s subsequent return to California, to revive M.I.A. By 1984 the band had secured a deal with Jello Biafra’s Alternative Tentacles imprint, which issued the Murder in a Foreign Place EP. A national tour ensued, accompanied by further studio work and the release of several limited singles and 7-inch records. Notes from the Underground appeared in 1985, after which the group disbanded following a closing performance supporting the Dead Kennedys. The split proved temporary: M.I.A. regrouped in 1986 and delivered the LP After the Fact on Flipside the following year. An attempted change in musical direction ultimately proved fatal, leading to a permanent dissolution in 1988. Frank Daly and Mark Arnold later surfaced in Big Drill Car.