China White (band)
Encyclopedia
China White is a punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California
, famous for their EP Dangerzone and their violent gigs. They were, along with TSOL
, the most preeminent figures of Orange County
punk.
and inspired by Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers song Chinese Rocks. China White's logo was selected based upon a Twilight Zone
armband that appeared in a 50's episode.
Marc, who sang backups, and played guitar with Sisunik on vocals, switched to lead vocals and left guitar duties to Frank after Sisunik quit to join Social Task in 1979. Vince Mesa also quit in 1980 and was replaced by Frank's older brother, Joey Ruffino.
After making their mark on the O.C.
and L.A.
club circuit, China White signed to Frontier Records
and released their first E.P., Dangerzone, with its famous front cover of a murder scene, in 1981.
They also had tracks on New Underground Records's Life is Ugly-So Why Not Kill Yourself? compilation LP in 1982 and Life Is Beautiful-So Why Not Eat Health Foods? compilation LP in 1983.
After that, Marc, James and Joey quit the band and Sisunik was brought back to sing in 1984 while Corey Stretz took over on bass and Spanky became the drummer. After a show at the Olympic Auditorium
in 1985, they disbanded to resurface in 1993, when Frank Ruffino recorded China White's first full length album, Addiction with Stretz and new singer Jeff Porter and new drummer James Lugo. The album was released on Lethal Records in 1995.
The "new" China White played some gigs on the West Coast but disbanded a few months after the release of Addiction only to resurface again, this time for a reunion tour with the classic line-up of Marc Martin, James Rodriguez and the Ruffino brothers in 2002. They released both the limited edition Live Cheap CD with extracts from this tour, but also old tours, and Addiction.2 a re-release of their Addiction stuff with two new 1997 studio tracks as well as ten live songs from a 2003 show on Malt Soda Recordings in 2004.
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...
, famous for their EP Dangerzone and their violent gigs. They were, along with TSOL
TSOL
TSOL is an American punk rock band which formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....
, the most preeminent figures of Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
punk.
Biography
The band started in 1978 with Scott Sisunik on vocals, Marc Martin and Frank Ruffino on guitars, James Rodriguez on bass and Richard Katchadoorian was later replaced by Vince Mesa on drums. They chose the name China White, which was the name of the heroin that killed Darby CrashDarby Crash
Darby Crash was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear , co-founded The Germs...
and inspired by Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers song Chinese Rocks. China White's logo was selected based upon a Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
armband that appeared in a 50's episode.
Marc, who sang backups, and played guitar with Sisunik on vocals, switched to lead vocals and left guitar duties to Frank after Sisunik quit to join Social Task in 1979. Vince Mesa also quit in 1980 and was replaced by Frank's older brother, Joey Ruffino.
After making their mark on the O.C.
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
and L.A.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
club circuit, China White signed to Frontier Records
Frontier Records
Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
and released their first E.P., Dangerzone, with its famous front cover of a murder scene, in 1981.
They also had tracks on New Underground Records's Life is Ugly-So Why Not Kill Yourself? compilation LP in 1982 and Life Is Beautiful-So Why Not Eat Health Foods? compilation LP in 1983.
After that, Marc, James and Joey quit the band and Sisunik was brought back to sing in 1984 while Corey Stretz took over on bass and Spanky became the drummer. After a show at the Olympic Auditorium
Grand Olympic Auditorium
The Grand Olympic Auditorium is the former name of a sports venue in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located at 1801 S. Grand Avenue, the venue was built in 1924 specifically for the 1932 Summer Olympics, which saw the boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling events held there. At the time it...
in 1985, they disbanded to resurface in 1993, when Frank Ruffino recorded China White's first full length album, Addiction with Stretz and new singer Jeff Porter and new drummer James Lugo. The album was released on Lethal Records in 1995.
The "new" China White played some gigs on the West Coast but disbanded a few months after the release of Addiction only to resurface again, this time for a reunion tour with the classic line-up of Marc Martin, James Rodriguez and the Ruffino brothers in 2002. They released both the limited edition Live Cheap CD with extracts from this tour, but also old tours, and Addiction.2 a re-release of their Addiction stuff with two new 1997 studio tracks as well as ten live songs from a 2003 show on Malt Soda Recordings in 2004.
Trivia
- The name of Frank and Joey Ruffino was misspelled Raffino on the Dangerzone LP while Marc Martin was incorrectly referred to as Mark Martin.
- Scott Sisunik also sang for SlashersSlashersSlashers can refer to:* Slashers * Slashers * Night Slashers, an arcade game* Longford Slashers, a Gaelic football team* Negros Slashers, a former professional basketball team...
, Non-Fascists, Social Task, Shattered FaithShattered Faith (band)Shattered Faith is a punk rock band from Southern California.Formed in 1978 by Kerry Martinez, currently guitarist for U.S. Bombs, and Spencer Barsch, now lead vocalist for Firecracker 500, the group featured songs with a political and biblical bent, although whether or not they could be classified...
and the VandalsThe VandalsThe Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
- In Zack SnyderZack SnyderZachary Edward "Zack" Snyder is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and producer. After making his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead, he gained wide recognition with the 2007 box office hit 300, adapted from writer-artist Frank Miller's Dark Horse Comics...
's 2009 adaptation of WatchmenWatchmenWatchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...
, China White can be seen as graffiti on the wall behind RorschachRorschach (comics)Rorschach is a fictional comic book character and antihero that was featured in the acclaimed 1986 DC Comics miniseries Watchmen...
in his prison cell during the scene(s) where he is confronted by Big Figure and his cronies.
Discography
- Dangerzone (Frontier RecordsFrontier RecordsFrontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of Bomp! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways....
) 1981
- Addiction (Lethal Records) 1995
- Live Cheap (Malt Soda Recordings) 2004
- Addiction.2 (Malt Soda Recordings) 2004
Compilations
- Criminal and Solid State on Life is Ugly-So Why Not Kill Yourself? (New Underground records) 1982
- Dangerzone on Life Is Beautiful-So Why Not Eat Health Foods? (New Underground records) 1983
Members
- Marc Martin - Vocals
- Frank Ruffino - Guitar
- James Rodriguez - Bass
- Joey Ruffino - Drums
Former members
- Scott Sisunik - Vocals
- Jeff Porter - Vocals
- Corey Stretz - Bass
- Spanky - Drums
- James Lugo - Drums
- Vince Mesa - Drums
- Sandy Hancock - Drums