Artist description You know the story: disaffected, punk-loving teenage boys in a Queens, NY high school decide to Do It Themselves, take a semi-cliched name like The Oppressed, cram into someone's garage (or in this case, a Queens Village basement), and blast out a bunch of totally raw but somewhat catchy bursts of punk. And by punk, I mean classic NYC punk rock verging into hardcore---the kind of punk that was played and loved in NYC in 1981-82 (see Ramones, Kraut, Misfits, Bad Brains, Even Worse, Reagan Youth, etc.) before more tuneless, goonish thrash acts rendered the city's punk scene a cliche.

Music Style Raw, naive, noisy, teenage 1982 punk

Musical Influences Ramones, Circle Jerks, Eater, Misfits, Bad Religion, Reagan Youth, Buzzcocks, Kraut, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Generation X, UK Subs, Germs, Bad Brains, Chelsea, Social Distortion, Clash, Lama, D.O.A., Descendents, Sham 69, Social Unrest, Even Worse, Anti Pasti

Similar Artists Ramones, Circle Jerks, Eater, Misfits, Bad Religion, Reagan Youth, Buzzcocks, Kraut, Dead Kennedys, UK Subs

Artist History Archbishop Molloy High School, an all-boys Catholic facility run by Marist Brothers in semi-urban Briarwood, Queens, was not the most obvious breeding ground for punk bands. In fact, in the fall of 1981, there were less than a half-dozen punks in the entire school. Vocalist Frank Nestola, guitarist Greg Fasolino, and bassist Paul "Goph" Grabowski gravitated towards one another, fueled by their common love of the Ramones, Clash, and Buzzcocks, and like most 16-year-old punk kids at the time, they directed that love of punk music into forming a band, The Oppressed. Faithful listening to the #1 punk radio program in NY at that time, Tim Sommers' weekly "Noise the Show" on WNYU, broadened their musical horizons, exposing them to classic English punk like Eater and Chelsea, current UK faves such as U.K. Subs and Anti Pasti, more obscure Euro bands like Lama, all the awesome California bands like Bad Religion and Circle Jerks, and of course their local heroes Kraut and Misfits. Joined by drummer Chris Piccione (not a punk, but a great drummer, and more importantly, one with a basement to practice in), The Oppressed slowly moved from Ramones and Clash covers into their own energized anthems like "Control of You," "The Time Has Come," and Grabowski's snide "I Hate Holidays." One of the other punks at Molloy, their friend Dave "Ego" Vogt, had already broken into the NY punk scene; his band The Betrayed had even landed their song "Betrayed by You" on "Noise the Show" and placed three songs on the classic "Meathouse" cassette. Vogt's help got The Oppressed the opening slot on a mammoth bill of punk bands (Minor Threat, SS Decontrol, Heart Attack, The Undead, Reagan Youth, Killer Instinct, and New Allegiance) at a VFW Hall in Queens. The concert, slated for July 17, 1982, was cancelled at the very last minute, denying The Oppressed their chance at live notoriety, as they were too young to travel much into NYC. In October 1981, "Goph" left The Oppressed to join a new edition of The Betrayed (this lineup was immortalized with "Self Oppression" on the 1983 7" compilation EP "Big City Ain't Too Pretty" on Big City Records; The Betrayed later changed their name to Public Toys), effectively splitting the band. Nestola and Fasolino continued for a time as Outcry, before forming the more R.E.M.-influenced The Cave during 1983-84. Both later played in a variety of New York alternative bands, Nestola in Concrete Witchdoctors, Razor Chamber, Goatblood Sacrifice, and Pump; Fasolino in The Naked and the Dead, Burning Rome, Rawhead, Goatblood Sacrifice, Pump, Wrench, They Eat Their Gods, Lusting for the Cheetah, Sea of Fur, The Sea Beasts, and The Deno Blues Gang. In 2002 Fasolino reformed The Naked and the Dead, now defunct again; he is currently working on a a new band with former Naked and the Dead bassist Christopher Bollman. Drummer Piccione played in a variety of hard-rock bands including Frenzy, Mangus Beast, Heckate, Cause for Alarm, and Dirtmoch, and is currently drumming for Lukabrazi (http://www.lukabrazi.com).

Group Members Frank Nestola: lead vocals; Greg Fasolino: guitar; Paul "Goph" Grabowski: bass/backing vocals, Chris Piccione: drums

Instruments Guitar, bass, drums

Location Huntington, NY - USA

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