OC life: A Punk Rock Royal
A list of his old bands reads like a who’s-who of OC’s mosh-pit forefathers: the Detours, the Adolescents, Social Distortion, D.I. and plenty more, including an early-’80s stint with LA Goth rockers Christian Death which is an awesome line up if you ask me…but he also had another full-time job and passion…
If you met my parents you’d wonder how the hell I turned out the way I have. Especially after you get to know my dad.
With Casey Royer, My dad played in Social Distortion and the Detours in 1979. He joined my uncle Frank Agnew in the Adolescents in 1980. His guitar style and writing dominated the Adolescents’ Blue Album on Frontier Records. [For anyone who’s played Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 the song “Amoeba” is off this Album]
He left the band soon after the album’s release in 1981 due to personal and creative differences and released his first solo album, All By Myself, on which he plays all the instruments. Ever heard the song “OC Life” played by The Offspring or Zebrahead? Those are both covers of my Dad’s song 😉
He was briefly in the band Christian Death and released Only Theatre of Pain. He joined D.I. in 1983. With D.I., Agnew played on their 1983 EP Team Goon (which used to be known as simply D.I.) as well as their first two albums (1985’s Ancient Artifacts and 1986’s Horse Bites Dog Cries) before deciding to leave the band in 1987.
When the Adolescents reunited in 1986, Agnew rejoined the band until its demise in 1989. Agnew went on to release two more solo albums, Rikk Agnew’s Yard Sale and Turtle. He rejoined Royer and Tony Adolescent to record ‘Where were you?’ with ADZ in 1992. In 2000, Agnew again regrouped with the Adolescents and continued to play with them until 2003.
He toured with the reunited 45 Grave, in place of original guitarist Paul B. Cutler, in 2004 and 2005. He plays guitar in PooP with Scott Hoogland, former frontman of the influential Orange County band The Mechanics. He has played in the reunited Detours. After playing in Christian Death 1334 with James McGearty and EVA O, he joined the new lineup of Voodoo Church as a second guitarist.
When I was little my parents broke things off with each other for reasons I wouldn’t understand until I was older. I would get the chance to visit my dad but most of our time together was supervised. As I got older I begged my mom to make the “court people” go away and after a while she obliged.
We lived a pretty simple, charming, and down to earth life. My dad would teach me about all genres of music as he introduced me to the Beatles, Mama’s and the Papa’s, Korn, Slipknot…just to name a few… We would paint, draw, and watch cartoons (Our favorite being Bevis & Butthead.) All in all pretty normal.
I always enjoyed knowing my dad had a musical talent. By the time I was old enough to understand his influence in music, he really wasn’t as involved in the scene anymore and eventually his fame faded out to a smaller crowd. For the most part I would just show off his ability to play any instrument at the drop of a hat. It was like a magic trick to me.
My dad introduced me to many people from all walks of life. I learned at an early age that appearances are not always what seem. I’d meet scary looking punks covered in tattoos and piercings who had giant neon colored mohawks and to this day they were some of the nicest people I ever met.
My dad was always supportive of me and my goals. He would always be at my competitions, concerts and games. No matter his struggles he would always do his best to make me a priority.
Unfortunately I never realized just how real his struggles were. I knew he smoked, which I constantly begged him to quit, (he tried many times but always went back to it) and he would drink a ton. His eating habits weren’t the healthiest either and although I was used to him being heavy I didn’t realize just how bad he really was.
Aside from his unhealthy habits my dad had a bit of a temper. He was never violent toward people but had a habit of storming out or breaking things. Most of the time I would roll my eyes and go back to playing video games or watching cartoons. On the flip side he was also very kooky. Playing funny games, creating alternate identities to tease me with. At one point he had a character he named “BWAH” and he would chase my cousins and I around our grama’s house yelling BWAAAHHH as we would giggle and try to hide. I never considered his craziness anything besides his funny personality.
As I reached my late teens I had a harder time getting along with my dad. After multiple rehab stints, and promises to finally get sober I got sick of it. Before he left for a tour in Europe, I told my Dad that if he decided to continue the druggie lifestyle he was living then he could no longer consider me as his daughter. I left it at that.
At this point my dad weighed 350 pounds, had a huge white beard that covered his double chin, and the only shoes he could fit in were house slippers. His daily booze regimen consisted of a fifth of whiskey, an 18-pack of beer and any vodka that was close by. That was on top of copious amounts of recreational pot, speed, meth, or whatever else he could find.
The night before New Year’s Eve 2010 as my dad was driving, a spontaneous explosion inside his gut caused him to retch and spit up blood on his steering wheel. He got checked into a hospital and it was revealed that he had cirrhosis of the liver, an enlarged spleen, edema, anemia, and so many other issues that his doctors calculated that he would only have three months to live.
This was a blaring wake up call for him. He quit everything cold turkey, partly because no form of drug seemed to affect him anymore but also because he had so much more to do with his life and three months wasn’t enough time to finish his to do list. My dad’s long time friend Paula [pictured] (who I grew up with as my “other mom”) was a huge help in his recovery.
With her inspiration my dad was able to take up healthy habits such as eating better and daily work outs (even the occasional fun run!) which set him on the road to recovery as the rest of our friends and family continued to motivate him.
My dad stretched his 3 months life expectancy into 4 more years and is still going strong. He has lost about 140 pounds, practices yoga or works out each day, and is pretty close to being a vegetarian.
Here he is posing with photographer John Gilhooley who shot the cover [pictured above] and other photos for my dad’s OC weekly article.
Another cool shot from the OC weekly photoshoot That article and be found here: https://www.ocweekly.com/rikk-agnew-adolescent-no-more-6430781/
My dad has jumped back on the punk scene with full force but still enjoys quiet…well semi-quiet, days at home. He’s currently working on new material and has already put a new single out there [ “I can’t change the world” on iTunes] and is currently on tour with his band [The Rikk Agnew Band] and fiance Gitane DeMone [of Christian Death]
House of Blues- Anaheim
Sometimes I make guest appearances during my favorite song “Amoeba”
What can I say? Guess it runs in the blood 😉
The middle of a guitar solo seemed like the perfect time for a selfie.
After all the craziness my dad has been through he’s always been a loving, caring and fun father. I couldn’t be prouder of how far he’s come and can’t wait to see him take the world by storm. If you ever get a chance catch one of his shows make sure you say “Hi!” He loves meeting new awesome people.
TL;DR:
Punk rock legend’s history He’s my awesome rockstar daddy He’s gotten sober making a bitchin comeback Check him out www.therikkagnewband.com
UPDATE: Him and a few of the other guys from the adolescents have been playing shows under the name Radolecents! If you happen to be in the OC/LA area hit up a show!
This is the most amazing article on me ever. Baby girl your words and admiration and honesty make me so proud of you! You hit the nail on its bald head . I would like to post this everywhere and use it as liner notes in my next solo record. I love you so much. And I promise to keep being better and better and healthier and healthier. So much to do so much time! I’m still waiting on that grandkid!🥰
so good this story!!! come play Hawaii!!
So glad to hear you are doing a lot better my brother! Don’t know if you remember me from the “Apache Mills” floor mat days with Orv and Mike. This is John Toner wishing you well in all your future endeavors my friend!
Best article ever 😊 Glad to see Rikk’s life looking so nice now. Love the stage selfie!
LOV-ED!