Skate Punk
Located in 4 routes
Skate Punk is fast, melodic punk built for skate videos, Warped Tour stages and compressed two-minute blasts: rapid drums, palm-muted guitars, shouted harmonies, political or sarcastic lyrics and choruses that hit at high speed. It is usually tighter and more technical than classic pop-punk, but less metallic than crossover or hardcore. The sound carries the feeling of wheels on concrete: forward motion, impact, speed and a little recklessness.
History
The style grew from Southern California hardcore and skate culture, with bands such as JFA, Agent Orange and Suicidal Tendencies connecting punk to skating before the melodic 1990s explosion. Bad Religion, NOFX, Pennywise, Lagwagon, No Use for a Name, Millencolin, Strung Out and Pulley defined the Epitaph/Fat Wreck era. Skate videos, independent labels and Warped Tour made the sound international, especially in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and Latin America.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords histories
- AllMusic skate punk overview
- skate-video music retrospectives
- Warped Tour histories