Ten Great Bay Area Straight Edge Bands

Straight edge is a movement originating in the hardcore punk scene which rejects drug use. The origins of the movement can be traced back to the Minor Threat song 'straight edge'.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a thriving punk rock and hardcore scene. It has been for decades. It should be no surprise that the Bay Area has produced some great straight edge bands.

A straight edge band generally has members who identify with the straight edge movement, that is, they reject drug and alcohol use. They may or may not have lyrics and imagery which also symbolizes straight edge, such as an 'X'.

East Coast straight edge bands tend to be more well known, but the West Coast has always had a healthy straight edge scene.

This is a list of some of the best Bay Area straight edge bands.

Gather

Gather were a 90's style hardcore band, influenced by bands such as Chokehold, Another Victim, and Culture. The band formed in 2004, during a time when political hardcore bands were hard to find in the Bay Area. The band was explicit in their vegan straight edge belief system along with their radical politics.

This message widened to something the band termed 'total liberation' linking other political movements with animal liberation struggles.

This female-fronted band made a significant impact on the vegan straight edge scene well beyond the Bay Area, touring in the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Limp Wrist

Limp Wrist did not originate in the Bay Area, and none of the members of the band have lived in the same city at the same time. Even so, the vocalist, Martin has been living in the Bay Area for years and the band has played many Bay Area shows. So though they are not really a Bay Area band, they do have some members who reside in the Bay.

Limp Wrist is mostly known for being a queercore band. They openly write queer-friendly lyrics. However, they also have a number of straight edge songs ("This Ain't No Cross On My Hand").

Limp Wrist play short, fast, thrashy hardcore. Their lyrics are cleaver and to the point. They include former members of Los Crudos and Kill The Man Who Questions.

Former Members of Alfonsin

There was no band called Alfonsin. I am not entirely sure where the name comes from. Former Members of Alfonsin were an emotional hardcore band with some of the smartest straight edge lyrics I have ever read. They brought passion and emotion to the words they said. The straight edge they sang was more than just a personal belief. It was tied in to society as a whole.

The song 'Straight Edge' starts:

Straight edge is more than about self when government agents inject the veins of low income cities with a come back soon heaven... ...and from corner to corner blankets of billboards put misery to sleep on concrete.

This is a poetic observation of the ways drugs are used to increase complacency and poverty.

If you like scream/emotional hardcore be sure to check this band out. Though not as well known as some other bands on the list, they are the band that influenced me more than any other in terms of expanding what straight edge means.

Scholastic Deth

Scholastic Deth were a thrash core band put out on the 625 record label. The songs are short, fast and usually have cleverly written lyrics. The band was a straight edge band but also sang about skateboarding, books, politics and other random subjects.

Our Turn

Bay Area youth crew straight edge. This band did not last long. The members were all students at San Francisco State and played while they were in college. This band had a solid following in the Bay Area, but never reached too far outside of Norther California, which is a shame, because they were a solid youth crew band.

Allegiance

A metal core band on Rivalry Records. This band formed in 2002 when some members of bands Some Still Believe and Breaker Breaker joined forces. The band was active throughout the 2000s. The band's first and last shows were at 924 Gilman street. In between the band toured the West Coast and the US along with Europe. They played Warped Tour and put out a number of seven inches.

Unit Pride

Unit Pride were a 1987 youth crew band. Members of the band went on to join other Bay Area bands such as Redemption 87, Nerve Agents and Screw 32. The band had fun sing along songs and a sound similar to other youth crew straight edge bands of the era.

First Blood

First Blood were a vegan metalcore band from San Francisco. With members of Sworn Vengeance and Terror the band quickly became a staple in the Bay Area music scene.