The Authorities
The Authorities were formed in the fall of 1978 after vocalist Dexter (Neil Schafer) placed an ad in Miracle Music that said, "Punks wanted to form new wave band". The original line up consisting of Dexter on vocals, Nick Kappos on bass, Brian Thalken on guitar and Casey Wiss on drums, played one show on February 2, 1979 (the day Sid Vicious died) at Stuar Larson High School. After that one show the drummer quit and the band somewhat fell apart. Nick and Brian tried to continue on, but Brian soon left to form the Fall of Christianity with his old school chum Tharon Knight on bass and aging hippy Gary Young (who would later go on to fame with Pavement) on drums. Just before Brian departed Chris Isaak tried out for the band (long before he was famous), but Nick and Brian didnt let him in because he couldnt play guitar fast enough. After Brian left the band Nick took up playing guitar and recruited Curt Hall to play bass and sing, and Tom Anderson to play drums. The band then soldiered on through many line-up changes over the next few years playing any shitty dive they could find. Some of the people that passed through the band during this time include Terry Petty, bass; Ron Coppetti, bass; Jeff Carson, guitar; Dave Kambestead, drums; Mark Bramwell, drums. There were many, many more After the Fall of Christianity fell apart Brian returned to the band. The final line-up of the band consisted of Nick and Brian on guitars, Curt on vocal, Anthony Smith on bass, and Victor Johnson on drums. In 1982 the Authorities recorded the Soundtrack for Trouble EP. The band fell apart in the fall of 1983 when Curt, Tony and Brian moved from Stockton to San Francisco to attend San Francisco State University. In 1989 Nick Kappos overdosed on heroin and passed away in a stall at the Greyhound bus depot in downtown Stockton. In 1995 Curt, Brian, Tony and Victor recorded the Bourbon Decay EP at Gary Youngs Louder Than You Think studios. In 1996 the Authorities released a collection of previously unreleased tracks for the Puppy Love LP. The vinyl was released on the Existential Vacuum label and the CD on Get Hip Records. Their songs have appeared on numerous punk rock compilations.
