Artist description Fast, aggresive punk rock and roll.

Music Style Punk Rock & Roll

Musical Influences Supersuckers, Cheap Trick, AC/DC, Ramones, Rocket From the Crypt, Electric Frankenstein, The Stooges, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Zeke, REO Speeddealer

Similar Artists The Supersuckers, Rocket From the Crypt, Electric Frankenstein, Zeke, Cheap Trick, AC/DC

Artist History Formed in 1994 in Oakland, CA, Three Years Down has released a 7 Inch and full length CD/LP on WingnutRecords, a CDEP entitled "Texas: Confidential" on Off-Time Records, a full-length CD called "Creepy Baby" on 11345 Records, compilation tracks on "A Fistful of Rock & Roll, Vol. 4" on Tee Pee Records, two tracks on the "Punk Rock Au Go Go, Vol. 1" mini compilation on Devil Doll Records and will release a 7 inch and new full length CD/LP on 702 Records later in 2000.

Group Members Jason Philips - Vocals & Guitar; Matt Kilbourn - Guitar; Joe "TEX" Selby - Bass & Vocals; Paul Scavuzzo - Drums

Instruments Guitar, Bass, Drums

Albums Kill The Cool (Wingnut Records), Texas: Confidential (Off-Time Records), Creepy Baby (11345 Records), Snakes Bite (702 Records)

Press Reviews From Thrasher Magazine: "The most underrated band in the bay area." ------ From the SF Bay Guarian "FALLING UNDER THE musical subclassification of arena rock without the arena, Alameda's Three Years Down specialize in a bottom-heavy mix of protopunk and 1970s rock and roll. "Jim Swindle's Death Star" alternates wordless, meaty, hip-grinding riffs with snarly one-note vocals. "Bleed You Out" flaunts a catchy, stompy, fist-in-the-air chorus enhanced by some solid drumming and a textbook tear-down-build-back-up midsection. Hammering it home on "The Ballad of Rachel and Candi," vocalist Jason Philips spews, "I got exactly what I got / You never lose when you rock" – right before the whole band drifts into a musical interlude perfect for flamboyant-lead-singer antics like climbing the stacks, surfing over the crowd, running out to the limo for a bong rip, or breathing some fire. And a bonus: bassist Joe "Tex" Selby doing his best Zander on a cover of Cheap Trick's "Elo Kiddies." (Summer Burkes)" ----- From Addicted to Noise: "This East Bay band gets better with each new incarnation. They've shed some of their Cheap Trick pretensions and are careening even faster toward that dead man's curve into pure, hard rock. And as anyone who's seen them live can attest, that's pretty damned OK. ----- "From the SF Bay Guardian: "You're all missing the X-Files right now!" one of the dudes in Three Years Down shouted on a Sunday night last month at Oakland's Port Lite. The sparse crowd – a few dozen stragglers – couldn't have cared less as 3YD cranked up the volume, emitting one hell of an arena rock vibe in the tiny bar. Busting out with Cheap Trick's "Hello There" as an opener, the East Bay foursome set the pace for a hard-rockin' set of originals that sent me back to teenage make-out sessions in a parked car, roller-rink weekends, and sneaking swigs of booze under the bleachers at high school football games. As earplugs were whipped out and mashed in all around me, drummer Dave E.C., looking more like a Little League dad than a rocker, was all stick clicks, high, flailing arms, and powerful, steady pounds as the other boys licked away at the strings. Jason Philips held up the vocals and half of the wall o' guitar, while bassist Joe "Tex" Selby hung out in his corner of the stage, holding down the backbeat and singin' backups (as well as dribbling fake blood onto his chin à la Gene Simmons). Lead guitarist Matt Kilbourn was the only guy in the band sans baseball cap, looking like he could be an extra on That '70s Show, all throwback threads, bent knees, and scissor kicks. While the set wasn't without problems – amp technical flaws, broken strings, and sliding straps – 3YD plowed ahead with tight, solid, steady rockers. The songs rang with an eerie familiarity, as if this was a tribute band without a tribute. All classic rock hooks – breakin' it down and buildin' it back up each song – it's not surprising to find that 3YD is influenced by bands like AC/DC, the Supersuckers, Electric Frankenstein, Zeke, Cheap Trick, and Joan Jett. With a few singles and one CD already out (the band's got five years down), 3YD made me wonder where I'd been." ----- From CMJ: Oakland, California's Three Years Down opens its first CD with an urgent riff and the words "I want it, I want it now." With 11 songs in 22 minutes, there's no time to waste, and the group's brisk riffs are short, sharp and to the point. Like the Descendents, Three Years Down believes in ramming its riffs straight down the listener's throat, and the band's aggression is palpable in the urgent shouts of singer/guitarist Jason Phillips. This hard-charging punk outfit is streamlined to the point where extraneous things like solos are left for those who have got time. Three Years Down doesn't. These guys are pissed off; they've got things to say and they don't want to mince their words. When the group slows it down for minute, as on CD-closer "Right Back At Ya!," the majesty of the music builds and crashes, taking the listener away in an undertow of lingering chords. Beautiful though that song might be, more representative songs such as the manic opener "Hot Head," "Satellite" and "Ne Not Walk" have an energy that surely burns in the live setting."

Location Oakland, CA - USA

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