Adolescents “Adolescents” 1981. Frontier Records. Yesterday the punk world lost legendary Adolescents founder, bassist, occasional singer and only consistent member Steve Soto. He also was in Agent Orange’s original lineup (with Mike Palm and Scott Miller), Legal Weapon (with Adolescents guitarist Frank Agnew when the Adolescents first broke up in ‘81), Joyride (with Adolescents drummer Sandy Hanson after the second band breakup in ‘89), 22 Jacks and the “supergroup” Punk Rock Karaoke (with Eric Melvin of NOFX, Greg Hetson of Bad Religion and Circle Jerks and Derek O’Brien of Social Distortion, D.I., Agent Orange and Adolescents) before reforming Adolescents a third time in 2001.

Adolescents (or The Blue Album as it is commonly referred to) was the band’s debut record and became one of the first hardcore punk albums to be widely distributed throughout the United States one of the best-selling California hardcore albums of its time. “The debut from these five Orange County kids established the mid-tempo, punk-pop ‘Southern Cal sound,’ led by the long, great, pummeling, Johnny Thunders-derived solos of the two Agnew brothers, Rikk and Frank. These soaring, ripping parts still sound great today. As important, songs such as the anthemic “No Way,” the classic “Amoeba,” the schizophrenic “Kids of the Black Hole,” and the glorious “Creatures” endure precisely because they’re not just aggressive and speedy: they’re super-catchy, heavy-riffing rock & roll, proving again that punk was the true heir to the likes of Chuck Berry, Larry Williams, Bo Diddley, and Eddie Cochran.” (Allmusic)

I saw Adolescents play in Green Bay in 1988 and either Steve Soto or Rikk Agnew had vocal responsibilities during that show – I honestly have no idea, it was almost exactly 30 years ago and most of the punk shows I saw at Kutskas Hall kinda blend together in my brain (there were a lot of them).