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Sid & Jesus

Raising hell in the Valley's Christian punk scene

A A A Comments By Gilbert Garcia Thursday, Aug 19 1999

After a raucous set from hard-core band Long Suffer, one kid approaches bassist Nick Westby for an autograph, "because you guys are going to be famous."

Before Swell 26's 4:45 p.m. set, singer Hondo Valdez tosses M&Ms into the crowd. In an earlier era, for a different crowd, the offering might have been tabs of acid.

Paolo Vescia

The leaders of the controversial Revolution church: From left, Curtis Pierce, Andy Myers and Mike Wall.

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After Swell 26, Wall and his Tragic Fate bandmates take the stage. They've already played a 2:50 set, but because the doors didn't open until after 3 p.m., nobody got to see it. So Tragic Fate squeezes a two-song makeup gig into the schedule. As soon as the music kicks in, Wall begins screaming like the crusading Henry Rollins that he is: "This life is meaningless/This life is empty." Heather, his thin, raven-haired wife, wails out dissonant counterpoint.

Between songs, Wall addresses the crowd with doomsday intensity.

"There are no Christian celebrities, there are no Christian rock stars, there are no Christian promoters. The only thing we should be promoting is Jesus Christ."

The moshers cheer.

"Even us, with our clothes and tattoos, if we think that makes us individuals, the only thing that makes us individuals is Jesus Christ."

Todd Anderson is nowhere near the Revolution Stage during Wall's rant, but he probably would have agreed with the sentiment. Much as he dislikes punk music, Anderson's come up with a way of reconciling himself with the Christian-punk scene. It's probably the same thing a lot of pastors are saying to themselves these days.

"We're all going to heaven," Anderson says. "And God will let us know who was right when we get there."