Authorities

The fantasy continues for Brian Thalken and Curtis Clyde Hall.

"We're kind of living out someone else's teenage dream right now," said Thalken, who began his youthful punk-rock quest 33 years ago in Stockton.

Back then, he had to be dreaming to imagine he'd still be hammering out 30-second, three-chord, punk-rock songs at the age of 50.

"Heck no," Thalken said with a laugh.

The "dream" continues. On Sept. 20, Thalken, 50, and Hall, 51, release their first studio album since 1995 as the Authorities - a seminal punk band formed in 1978 in Stockton and re-formed last year.

They'll rip out tunes from the 13-track, 30-minute "Kung Pao au Go-Go" Friday at Stockton's Plea for Peace Center.

It's Thalken and Hall's second homecoming in as many years. After a 16-year absence. They played a June 23, 2010, show at Plea for Peace. The next night, they opened the first-ever Stockton gig by Pavement - the groups' local lineages intertwine - at the Bob Hope Theatre.

"It was great," said Thalken, an Edison High School graduate whose group also is doing shows in Oakland and Citrus Heights during a mini-roll onto its teenage turf. "We had so much fun. That's why we're looking forward to coming back again.

"It was like a high-school reunion. There were so many people we never thought we'd see again in our life. They were just crawling out of the woodwork."

Thalken, who plays guitar, sings and now designs video games in Vancouver, British Columbia, and lead vocalist Hall, a Berkeley resident who writes about computers and artificial intelligence, delved into that past for three "Kung Pao ..." tunes.

That rousted out recollections by Stockton's Kelly Foley and Brian "Jackson" Griffith, who collaborated on the three vintage songs with Thalken, Hall and the late Nick Kappos, the Authorities' founding bass player.

"It was kinda like, 'Hey Ma and Pa Stoner, put down your bong and your cheez doodles and check out your slam-dancing lad with the shaved head,' " Griffith, 56, of Sacramento said of "Jarhead." "He's not quite roasting out to Led Zeppelin, is he?"

Griffith, a Lincoln High School graduate who once wrote for Tower Records' Pulse! magazine and Sacramento News & Review and now works for Clark Pest Control in Lodi, also assisted with the lovely "Teenage P—- Party." On "Kung Pao ...," Thalken and Hall have added a rap element to it via Joe Keithley, 55, of Vancouver's D.O.A.

"Stockton actually was a real hotbed of creativity," Thalken said of those fertile '70s punk-rock cross-pollinations. "Certainly for us. We had nothing else to do."

In typical style, the Authorities don't waste any time. Two "Kung Pao ..." tunes - "Battle Hymn" and "It's Tonight" - clock in at 40 seconds or less. When they opened for Pavement, they roared through 22 songs in 40 minutes.

That probably won't change Friday, though Thalken, Hall, guitarist Iain Ross and bassist Graham Johnston are working with a new drummer, Orville Lancaster, 41, from Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Too often, the "fun stuff" - satire, sarcasm, silliness - gets overlooked in punk's welter of rebel attitude, sonic aggression and expletive-deleted song titles.

"We don't make a lot of money playing punk-rock," said Thalken, who's punked and jazzed in five other bands since moving to Vancouver in 1990. "But we have a lot of fun. When we used to play (in Stockton), we were ostracized. People used to throw rocks at us."

"They're hilarious," Griffith said of the Authorities. "Great. They're fun and serious. They're really a great punk band. The only strike against them is they were from Stockton. Not from L.A."

In Stockton, Thalken, Hall and Kappos (known as Big Nick Slurb) were part of an outsider outburst of energy that paralleled the late-'70s punk-rock era catalyzed by New York's Ramones and England's Sex Pistols.

The names of punk and metal bands reflected it: Fall of Christianity. Death's Ugly Head. Interconnected groups - the Straw Dogs and Young Pioneers - included Tokay High School teenager Stephen Malkmus, co-founder of Stockton-born Pavement.

The Authorities and other Stockton punkers opened shows for touring bands - Dead Kennedys, Meat Puppets, D.O.A., Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Agent Orange, among them - at the Jester's Club and 609 S. Lincoln St. (Centro Social Mexicano Hall). Drummer Gary Young, now 56, played in bands and promoted the shows: "I was the only one old enough to do it," Young said.

He also produced "Puppy Love," the Authorities' final album.

"I wouldn't call it producing," said Young, a Linden resident who helped Malkmus, Scott Kannberg and Pavement get started in 1989 and toured with the group until 1992. "I pushed the buttons and made the machines go. Stockton had a major punk thing going. I don't know the right word. Seminal? They (Authorities) were sort of longer lasting."

Foley, 52, a Stagg High graduate like Hall, got punked in a positive way when the Authorities opened for Pavement.
- The Stockton Record

The fantasy continues for Brian Thalken and Curtis Clyde Hall.

"We're kind of living out someone else's teenage dream right now," said Thalken, who began his youthful punk-rock quest 33 years ago in Stockton.

Back then, he had to be dreaming to imagine he'd still be hammering out 30-second, three-chord, punk-rock songs at the age of 50.

"Heck no," Thalken said with a laugh.

The "dream" continues. On Sept. 20, Thalken, 50, and Hall, 51, release their first studio album since 1995 as the Authorities - a seminal punk band formed in 1978 in Stockton and re-formed last year.

They'll rip out tunes from the 13-track, 30-minute "Kung Pao au Go-Go" Friday at Stockton's Plea for Peace Center.

It's Thalken and Hall's second homecoming in as many years. After a 16-year absence. They played a June 23, 2010, show at Plea for Peace. The next night, they opened the first-ever Stockton gig by Pavement - the groups' local lineages intertwine - at the Bob Hope Theatre.

"It was great," said Thalken, an Edison High School graduate whose group also is doing shows in Oakland and Citrus Heights during a mini-roll onto its teenage turf. "We had so much fun. That's why we're looking forward to coming back again.

"It was like a high-school reunion. There were so many people we never thought we'd see again in our life. They were just crawling out of the woodwork."

Thalken, who plays guitar, sings and now designs video games in Vancouver, British Columbia, and lead vocalist Hall, a Berkeley resident who writes about computers and artificial intelligence, delved into that past for three "Kung Pao ..." tunes.

That rousted out recollections by Stockton's Kelly Foley and Brian "Jackson" Griffith, who collaborated on the three vintage songs with Thalken, Hall and the late Nick Kappos, the Authorities' founding bass player.

"It was kinda like, 'Hey Ma and Pa Stoner, put down your bong and your cheez doodles and check out your slam-dancing lad with the shaved head,' " Griffith, 56, of Sacramento said of "Jarhead." "He's not quite roasting out to Led Zeppelin, is he?"

Griffith, a Lincoln High School graduate who once wrote for Tower Records' Pulse! magazine and Sacramento News & Review and now works for Clark Pest Control in Lodi, also assisted with the lovely "Teenage P—- Party." On "Kung Pao ...," Thalken and Hall have added a rap element to it via Joe Keithley, 55, of Vancouver's D.O.A.

"Stockton actually was a real hotbed of creativity," Thalken said of those fertile '70s punk-rock cross-pollinations. "Certainly for us. We had nothing else to do."

In typical style, the Authorities don't waste any time. Two "Kung Pao ..." tunes - "Battle Hymn" and "It's Tonight" - clock in at 40 seconds or less. When they opened for Pavement, they roared through 22 songs in 40 minutes.

That probably won't change Friday, though Thalken, Hall, guitarist Iain Ross and bassist Graham Johnston are working with a new drummer, Orville Lancaster, 41, from Wolfville, Nova Scotia.

Too often, the "fun stuff" - satire, sarcasm, silliness - gets overlooked in punk's welter of rebel attitude, sonic aggression and expletive-deleted song titles.

"We don't make a lot of money playing punk-rock," said Thalken, who's punked and jazzed in five other bands since moving to Vancouver in 1990. "But we have a lot of fun. When we used to play (in Stockton), we were ostracized. People used to throw rocks at us."

"They're hilarious," Griffith said of the Authorities. "Great. They're fun and serious. They're really a great punk band. The only strike against them is they were from Stockton. Not from L.A."

In Stockton, Thalken, Hall and Kappos (known as Big Nick Slurb) were part of an outsider outburst of energy that paralleled the late-'70s punk-rock era catalyzed by New York's Ramones and England's Sex Pistols.

The names of punk and metal bands reflected it: Fall of Christianity. Death's Ugly Head. Interconnected groups - the Straw Dogs and Young Pioneers - included Tokay High School teenager Stephen Malkmus, co-founder of Stockton-born Pavement.

The Authorities and other Stockton punkers opened shows for touring bands - Dead Kennedys, Meat Puppets, D.O.A., Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Agent Orange, among them - at the Jester's Club and 609 S. Lincoln St. (Centro Social Mexicano Hall). Drummer Gary Young, now 56, played in bands and promoted the shows: "I was the only one old enough to do it," Young said.

He also produced "Puppy Love," the Authorities' final album.

"I wouldn't call it producing," said Young, a Linden resident who helped Malkmus, Scott Kannberg and Pavement get started in 1989 and toured with the group until 1992. "I pushed the buttons and made the machines go. Stockton had a major punk thing going. I don't know the right word. Seminal? They (Authorities) were sort of longer lasting."

Foley, 52, a Stagg High graduate like Hall, got punked in a positive way when the Authorities opened for Pavement.
- The Stockton Record

Brian Thalken and Curtis Clyde Hall won't have to worry about their physical safety this time.
After all, they are the Authorities.
When they come home Wednesday and Thursday to crank out rebellious songs they wrote as Stockton teenagers, the only assault will be on the ears — considerably older — of their long-standing followers and others who weren't even born when the band was in 1978.
“Hopefully, they wanna hear music and don't wanna beat us up,” said Thalken with a laugh as he contemplated his pioneering punk-rock band's first Stockton show in 15 years — Wednesday at the Plea for Peace Center. “Back then in Stockton, people didn't understand punk-rock. When we played it was a lot of fun but there weren't as many kids interested in this music. They didn't like punk-rock. A lot of those kids didn't take kindly to us.”
Times certainly have changed.
Now, copies of “Soundtrack for Trouble,” the Authorities' pioneering 1982 vinyl four-song EP, sell for $200 to $300 on eBay. Sample titles: “Acthung,” “I Hate Cops,” “Shot in the Head.”
The group's four original vinyl recordings are especially sought-after in Italy, Japan and Germany. “Everywhere” they go, people want only vinyl.
“It's kind of funny at first,” said Thalken, a singer and guitar player, of the Authorities' teenage outsider outbursts. “Yeah, it does cross my mind that we wrote some of them when I was 17. It's kind of wild.”
That wouldn't necessarily describe Thalken today.
Now 49, he's lived in Vancouver since 1990, has been married for 18 years (Joanne) and has two young children.
He was looking forward to watching the June 12 World Cup match between the United State and England at his in-laws' house. They're from Liverpool, England.
“Oh,” said Thalken, “I wound up marrying a gal from up here and kinda got stuck. It's not a bad place. I've just been chasing kids around and developing video games (for Vancouver's Slant Six Games).”
He's also been reforming the Authorities, who'll be part of a historic Stockton rock music re-convergence when they open for Pavement on Thursday at the Bob Hope Theatre.
It's part of Pavement's reunion tour — the group broke up in 1999 — and the first time Pavement's performed in Stockton since Scott Kannberg and Stephen Malkmus formally started the group in January 1989 in Gary Young's Stockton studio.
Young produced the Authorities' 1999 “Puppy Love” album and will drum with Pavement for the first time since 1992 on some songs Thursday.
Thalken and Young also played in Stockton's The Fall of Christianity and Death's Ugly Head in the 1980s. Thalken contributed to Young's “Hospital” album (1994) and once drummed for the pre-Pavement Straw Dogs, who opened some Authorities shows.
When Thalken, an Edison High School alumnus, and Hall, 50, a Stagg High grad who now lives in Berkeley, simultaneously visited Stockton last summer, they decided to re-issue, for a second time, their old material — on vinyl (Get Hip Records of Pittsburgh, Pa.) — and get together with some of Thalken's Vancouver friends to possibly re-activate the Authorities.
“It all fell together pretty quickly,” Thalken said. “The new guys are all good musicians. Once Curt got there (Vancouver), it was like, wow, everything fell together.
“Scott caught wind of it and he invited us” to the May 14-16 All Tomorrow's Parties Festival at Butlins holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England. Pavement chose the festival's 40 acts as Malkmus and New York's Sonic Youth had done in 2004.
The Authorities — Thalken, singer Hall, bassist Graham Johnston, 47, from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Vancouver guitarist Iain Ross, and drummer Stuart Quayle, 44, from Liverpool, England — also did eight other shows in the United Kingdom and one in Iceland.
Their airplane was landing in Reykjavik on April 14 as the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was erupting.
“Not even a volcano can stop us from playing in Iceland,” Thalken said with a laugh. “It wasn't even colder than Vancouver. We could see the volcano coming in. It was OK the day we flew out.”
Born in St. George's, Bermuda (his late father, Bill, was an Air Force pilot), Thalken started school in Merced, moved to Lodi and arrived in Stockton at 9, just as he began listening to older brother Chris' records. He and Hall met in Sea Scouts.
Thalken's first band was the Authorities, which briefly broke up and reformed while he was attending Delta College. New York's Ramones were a “major influence” along with the New York Dolls and England's Sex Pistols and the Damned.
“I kinda discovered that by accident in the pink section (Sunday Datebook) of the (San Francisco) Chronicle,” Thalken said. “There were all these strange-sounding bands: Lila & the Snakes, Pearl Harbor & the Explosions. So I borrowed my mom's car. It cost $3 at the Mabuhay Gardens. Beers were, like, $1.25. Every Friday.”
He'd also see the Avengers and Dead Kennedys. The Authorities ultimately played shows with them, DOA, Black Flag, Circle Jerks - Stockton Record

Brian Thalken and Curtis Clyde Hall won't have to worry about their physical safety this time.
After all, they are the Authorities.
When they come home Wednesday and Thursday to crank out rebellious songs they wrote as Stockton teenagers, the only assault will be on the ears — considerably older — of their long-standing followers and others who weren't even born when the band was in 1978.
“Hopefully, they wanna hear music and don't wanna beat us up,” said Thalken with a laugh as he contemplated his pioneering punk-rock band's first Stockton show in 15 years — Wednesday at the Plea for Peace Center. “Back then in Stockton, people didn't understand punk-rock. When we played it was a lot of fun but there weren't as many kids interested in this music. They didn't like punk-rock. A lot of those kids didn't take kindly to us.”
Times certainly have changed.
Now, copies of “Soundtrack for Trouble,” the Authorities' pioneering 1982 vinyl four-song EP, sell for $200 to $300 on eBay. Sample titles: “Acthung,” “I Hate Cops,” “Shot in the Head.”
The group's four original vinyl recordings are especially sought-after in Italy, Japan and Germany. “Everywhere” they go, people want only vinyl.
“It's kind of funny at first,” said Thalken, a singer and guitar player, of the Authorities' teenage outsider outbursts. “Yeah, it does cross my mind that we wrote some of them when I was 17. It's kind of wild.”
That wouldn't necessarily describe Thalken today.
Now 49, he's lived in Vancouver since 1990, has been married for 18 years (Joanne) and has two young children.
He was looking forward to watching the June 12 World Cup match between the United State and England at his in-laws' house. They're from Liverpool, England.
“Oh,” said Thalken, “I wound up marrying a gal from up here and kinda got stuck. It's not a bad place. I've just been chasing kids around and developing video games (for Vancouver's Slant Six Games).”
He's also been reforming the Authorities, who'll be part of a historic Stockton rock music re-convergence when they open for Pavement on Thursday at the Bob Hope Theatre.
It's part of Pavement's reunion tour — the group broke up in 1999 — and the first time Pavement's performed in Stockton since Scott Kannberg and Stephen Malkmus formally started the group in January 1989 in Gary Young's Stockton studio.
Young produced the Authorities' 1999 “Puppy Love” album and will drum with Pavement for the first time since 1992 on some songs Thursday.
Thalken and Young also played in Stockton's The Fall of Christianity and Death's Ugly Head in the 1980s. Thalken contributed to Young's “Hospital” album (1994) and once drummed for the pre-Pavement Straw Dogs, who opened some Authorities shows.
When Thalken, an Edison High School alumnus, and Hall, 50, a Stagg High grad who now lives in Berkeley, simultaneously visited Stockton last summer, they decided to re-issue, for a second time, their old material — on vinyl (Get Hip Records of Pittsburgh, Pa.) — and get together with some of Thalken's Vancouver friends to possibly re-activate the Authorities.
“It all fell together pretty quickly,” Thalken said. “The new guys are all good musicians. Once Curt got there (Vancouver), it was like, wow, everything fell together.
“Scott caught wind of it and he invited us” to the May 14-16 All Tomorrow's Parties Festival at Butlins holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England. Pavement chose the festival's 40 acts as Malkmus and New York's Sonic Youth had done in 2004.
The Authorities — Thalken, singer Hall, bassist Graham Johnston, 47, from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Vancouver guitarist Iain Ross, and drummer Stuart Quayle, 44, from Liverpool, England — also did eight other shows in the United Kingdom and one in Iceland.
Their airplane was landing in Reykjavik on April 14 as the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was erupting.
“Not even a volcano can stop us from playing in Iceland,” Thalken said with a laugh. “It wasn't even colder than Vancouver. We could see the volcano coming in. It was OK the day we flew out.”
Born in St. George's, Bermuda (his late father, Bill, was an Air Force pilot), Thalken started school in Merced, moved to Lodi and arrived in Stockton at 9, just as he began listening to older brother Chris' records. He and Hall met in Sea Scouts.
Thalken's first band was the Authorities, which briefly broke up and reformed while he was attending Delta College. New York's Ramones were a “major influence” along with the New York Dolls and England's Sex Pistols and the Damned.
“I kinda discovered that by accident in the pink section (Sunday Datebook) of the (San Francisco) Chronicle,” Thalken said. “There were all these strange-sounding bands: Lila & the Snakes, Pearl Harbor & the Explosions. So I borrowed my mom's car. It cost $3 at the Mabuhay Gardens. Beers were, like, $1.25. Every Friday.”
He'd also see the Avengers and Dead Kennedys. The Authorities ultimately played shows with them, DOA, Black Flag, Circle Jerks - Stockton Record