Moral Decline

In the past 20 years, no band has played faster or been more controversial than Florida street punk band Moral Decline. Formed in 2001, Moral Decline first exploded on the local, and then state punk scenes with their incredibly fast, raw, and uncommonly talented brand of street punk, winning over audiences with their unique and edgy sense of humor and their notoriously wild live shows. In 2004, the band went on its first national tour up the East Coast to Boston. Today, the band has four full length albums out, a new full length EP set to hit major retailers internationally on Hairball 8 Records in late 2008-early 2009, and will do at least three national tours a year. Especially amazing, the band emerged from a city that has virtually no punk scene to speak of: Orlando, Florida.

Since the band started touring nationally, Moral Decline has been a favorite of 14-30 year old punks of both sexes and all races. This makes their target market rather large. Though diverse, crowds at Moral Decline shows all have one thing in common: a love of street punk. This shared passion makes Moral Decline’s crass, off-the-wall, and chaotic-looking merchandise a hit with punks in their target market. An even bigger hit is their music. Because the band is so in-tune with what younger punks want to see and hear, their t-shirts, buttons, wristbands, and stickers are becoming a cult favorite and their music is well on its way to becoming a mainstay in the punk archives. Part of the reason for this is the band’s unique style.

Moral Decline is the only punk band to emerge nationally from Orlando, Florida, and therefore the only punk band that people outside of the Central Florida market have ever heard of. As each metropolitan area tends to have its own distinct sound, people have shown great interest in what exactly Orlando’s is. That aspect is used frequently in show promotion and merchandise. The band is also one of a dying breed of punk bands that plays raw, unpolished, chaotic, in-your-face, incredibly opinionated street punk. Moreover, the band is able to successfully diversify outside of their hometown. Opportunities to see street punk bands of that caliber from outside of one’s city are few and far between, so it is obviously taken advantage of, as is evident from the turnouts for the band’s last national tour. And finally, Moral Decline utilizes its prominent musical talent and ability to fill as much sonic space as possible. The drums, guitar, and bass have all been called prodigious by respected names in punk and are played in such a way as to create a barrage of sound sure to make a listener want to jump into a mosh pit or drop into a half pipe.