Angry Samoans

by Jason Ankeny
Along with X, Black Flag, Fear and the Circle Jerks, the savagely satirical Angry Samoans rode the first wave of Los Angeles punk. Formed in Van Nuys, California in the summer of 1978, the band was founded by singers and guitarists Metal Mike Saunders and Gregg Turner, a pair of erstwhile rock critics who previously teamed with fellow writer Richard Meltzer in the group Vom. After considering names like the Egyptians and the Eigen Vectors (a mathematical term — Turner later became a math professor), they settled on the Angry Samoans, enlisted Saunders brother Kevin on guitar, bassist Todd Homer and drummer Bill Vockeroth, and initially set out as a Dictators cover band.
Soon, Saunders and Turner began writing original material, drawing influence from the Velvet Underground, the Sonics, the 13th Floor Elevators and garage rock. After honing their primitive and increasingly thrashy sound at a series of surreal gigs (including sets at the Camarillo State Mental Hospital and a lunchtime show at Santa Monica High School, where emcee Meltzer asked if any heroin addicts were in the audience), the Samoans — substituting guitarist P.J. Galligan for Kevin Saunders — debuted in 1980 with the EP Inside My Brain, highlighted by Get Off the Air, their pointed swipe at KROQ deejay Rodney Bingenheimer and the L.A. musical community.
Two years later, they resurfaced with Back from Samoa, featuring titles like They Saved Hitlers Cock, Tuna Taco and My Old Mans a Fatso. Soon, the band grew disenchanted with the entire punk culture, and they spent the next several years largely in a dormant state: guitarist Steve Drojensky replaced Kevin Saunders in 1984, Vockeroth went on hiatus, and Jeff Dahl temporarily stepped in for Metal Mike in 1985, but by and large the group laid low until 1987s Yesterday Started Tomorrow. Problems with their label and internal differences led the group to disband after recording 1988s STP Not LSD.
In 1991, Metal Mike issued a solo EP, Plays the Hits of the 90s; in 1994, Turner released his own album, Santa Fe, and later fronted Gregg Turner and the Blood-Drained Cows. Homer, meanwhile, resurfaced in the neo-psychedelic outfit Mooseheart Faith Stellar Groove Band. By the mid-1990s, Metal Mike was also fronting a new Samoans line-up which still included longtime mainstay Vockeroth as well as guitarist Alison Wonderslam and Mark Byrne as well as bassist Adrienne Harmon; their infrequent performances (only on Saturdays and only in California) remain a vital link to punks past.