“Brian Wilson Shock Treatment meets The Labor Party meets The Standells? No, even better than that! They’re tight musically, good production - hey, it’s a hit! Great rock ‘n’ roll record! Lots of 1960’s influences, but the same as The Ramones and Dictators (The Hollies, The Who, The Kinks, The Standells, etc.).”—John Holmstrom, Punk Magazine

The legendary status of The Ramones, New York Dolls, and Television is no accident. Their fundamental albums led to the creation of a subculture that continues to thrive. Rare, though, is the band that maintains the same uncompromising and unrestrained attitude of these predecessors. On their self-titled debut album, The Visitors rocket through twelve tracks of the same classic, simple, and essential rock and roll that changed the course of music. Drummer Danny rocks both tight, fast, punk beats and slower, bluesy rhythms. Brian’s bass playing is complex but understated; his and guitarist Bradley’s vocals possess a wail that no punk rock band would be complete without.

In 2002, San Francisco teenager Bradley was invited to CBGB to play the Ramones’ Bowery Electric Festival on the strength of a tune he had wrtten about Joey Ramone. Two years later, he moved to NYC—and Ramones creative director Arturo Vega introduced him to Brian, who was also new in town and looking for a band. The duo hit it off immediately.

“Brad used to come over and we would write songs in my apartment—just the two of us,” says Brian. “We had, like, a ten-inch practice amp that we would both plug into, and come up with chords and lyrics and shit. These rehearsals were always fueled by tons of booze: Jim Beam and cheap American beer.”

Danny, a scene veteran who had served proudly with NYC punk mainstays Jones Crusher, joined the band shortly thereafter. Brian had jammed with Danny shortly after moving to New York, in a band called the Queefs; a year later, he called Danny to audition.

“When Brian called me to try out for the band,” Danny says, “the first thing I said to him, I think, was why the fuck didn’t you call me a year ago?”

The trio recorded their first LP over the course of one week in the heart of Brooklyn. With the help of engineer Uncle Mitro (The Little Killers, The Demands), the trio created a melodic album with a gritty finish, straight out of the 1970’s punk scene and complete with a cover of Roky Erickson’s “I Walked With a Zombie.”

The Visitors hit stores everywhere on February 13, 2007 and spent two months near the top of Burnside Distribution’s sales charts, peaking at #3. The album charted at college radio stations nationwide, as nearly 200 stations added it to rotation. CMJ featured “Clean and Civilized” on their New Music Monthly CD compilation, and offered the track as a free download on cmj.com.

In the great punk tradition, Brian says, “I don’t care about genres or trying to fit in. We just do what we do regardless of what anyone thinks, and when we write and perform we’re as sincere as we can possibly be about it.” It’s a sentiment that is followed through on The Visitors. On the album’s opening track, he shouts, “I’ll never be clean and civilized!” The gods of rock and roll wouldn’t have it any other way.


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