![]() Stewart connected them with the studio A.I.R. style rhythms, which proved to be sound advice. ![]() Stewart convinced the band to change its name to Plaid Retina (the name itself was a group decision), mostly to help them grow just in case they grew out of the piston-pumping D.R.I. Repeated trips to Fresno led them to meet Dale Stewart of Capitol Punishment at his record store in Fresno, Stage Dive Records, which although not in Visalia, became one of the bands favorite hang outs whenever they could get a chance to be there. Hudgens and Morris posted a flyer at "The Record Factory" which led to their first real gig at the legendary Knights of Columbus Hall, opening for the Wimpy Dicks ( San Luis Obispo) and the Sea Hags. They changed the name to Aggravated Assault, the band then started to gravitate toward Fresno, California, a city 40 minutes north which had an active punk scene, shops and interesting places to skate, especially in its classic downtown area. They were kicked out of the talent show when panic ensued because no one other than the punk scene knew what was going on when the fast music and slam dancing erupted.Ĭasper had to leave the band amicably, so Don Hudgens brought in Rob Anderson, who grew up with him during their teens and knew Matt Morris from the local BMX scene on that side of town years earlier around 1982. Gary Stallions also played second guitar for an appearance at a Redwood High School talent show. The music was played and performed as brash and as abrasively as they could possibly deliver it, and recorded with a ' ghetto-blaster' onto very old used cassette tapes that were actually found in the boxcar, with vocals by both Morris and Casper sung directly into the built-in microphone. The music clearly was leaving metal behind and headed full speed toward hardcore punk and skate rock. This incarnation was called " Misc.", which happened to be scribbled on the first cassette tape they recorded on. They convinced Kelly Casper to join in on bass with Matt playing guitar and singing. ![]() ![]() In 1985, after the breakup of Oblivion, Hudgens and Morris decided that if they joined forces, they might be able to accomplish their own band, so they gave it a shot and set up shop in an old railroad boxcar that Morris' parents, Bill & Brenda, were using as a shed, located in a huge backyard away from the neighborhoods. The advent of hardcore punk acts such as Minor Threat and the Suicidal Tendencies, whose first album made a huge impression of the metal scene, caused the members of the band to splinter. Heavy Metal's definition, however, was about to be shattered by a plethora of different influences. It was at this time Hudgens and Matt Morris met up with Kelly Casper, who was part of that scene at Redwood High School.Įven though the band was not from Los Angeles, the band managed to keep up with the underground scene in Los Angeles (150 miles from Visalia), which was what made them unique in their small-town local scene. The crew for that band also included Matt Morris and Jeff Beck. The history of Plaid Retina begins in 1984, in Visalia, a small city in California Central Valley, when drummer Don Hudgens joined metal band Oblivion, a high school band established by Travis, Jeff Gilley, "Bryan T" Thompson, Alarick Garcia and Mike Matthews.
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