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Secret Agent men
By Billy Schear
wschear@mscd.edu

After 30 years of defying musical expectations, three men armed with a potently noxious energy continue to spread a malignant groove everywhere they go.

Direct from Fullerton, Calif., Agent Orange first made waves in 1979 when they recorded the seminal classic “Bloodstains” for a compilation album featuring the best of the Orange County underground. After the release of the single, Agent Orange’s managers, a set of midget twins, took the demo to KROQ radio personality Rodney Bingenheimer, who put the song into heavy rotation, helping it become a huge underground hit.

Considered to be pioneers of the “skate-core” genre, a style distinguishing itself with catchy pop-influenced beats that deliberately clashed with the often angst-ridden lyrics, Agent Orange was a key provider of the soundtrack for the southern California skateboarding community throughout the ’80s.

With their early ’60s surf music influence, Agent Orange disengaged themselves from the punk scene. The twangy yet fuzzy guitar licks and hard bass-driven ditties transcended the furious, power-chord, politics-driven, wall of distortion that was the staple of punk at the time.

Their mission was to be the anti-Beatles. Classic numbers such as “She Loves You” had Agent Orange singer and guitarist Mike Palm asking, what if she doesn’t love you?

This theme of unrequited romance and love’s complete nonexistence is best displayed in their early recordings “The Last Goodbye” and “No Such Thing.” With passionate, squealing vocals betraying a soul heavy with frustration, both tunes convey an edgy attitude when it comes to discussing one’s feelings about the dreaded “L” word.

Playing from a set list that guarantees to include numbers both old and new, Agent Orange swears that their live performances are better and faster now than they ever were before. To be in their presence is to eradicate a lifetime’s worth of boredom in a single evening.