White Kaps

Growing up amid the late-'70s and early-'80s Orange County punk explosion, Glenn McKenzie and Dean Briggs found themselves immersed in the chaos created by the Adolescents, TSOL, the Vandals, Agent Orange, Black Flag, and the Circle Jerks. Watching those groups tear through the region prompted the pair to wonder why they shouldn't join in, leading them to recruit vocalist Bob Becker and guitarist Mike Burton and launch the Whitekaps in 1981. Briggs handled drums while McKenzie anchored the bass, and both drew inspiration from surf culture, skateboarding, beer, and general absurdity; together with an ever-changing roster of guitarists and eventual frontman K.C. Maddox, they delivered their irreverent brand of punk up and down the California coast for several years. The roster stabilized in 1987 once Rich Paul joined on guitar for the long term, allowing the band to issue its debut EP, Cannonball Man, on Hopeless Records in 1994. Former singer Bob Becker then secured a 1996 deal with his own Fearless Records imprint, and after fifteen years of existence the group unveiled its first full-length, Blown in the USA, retaining the same high-spirited foolishness that had defined its early-'80s origins. Later that year the second EP, Endless Bummer, appeared.