(Excerpts from an epic history of the seminal San Diego punk band by 5051 lead singer David Klowden. Read the full version in our Related Bands section!)
When I sat down to write the 5051 story, I realized that, just as with most of my girlfriends of the ’70s and ’80s, I unfortunately couldn’t remember the beginning or the end. Also, I couldn’t remember most of what happened in between.
So I located Sam “Topper” Kolzar, lead guitarist of 5051, and Matt “Guy” Silver, producer of 5051’s record. It was my first time talking with either of them in over 25 years, so it was fun to reconnect and reconstruct the 5051 years of 1981-82. Other members of 5051—drummer Joel Roop, guitarist Steve “Squirrel” Oberg, and Squirrel’s half-brother, bassist Scott Harber, are still at large. With the help of Sam and Guy, I offer the following slice of San Diego music history.
Sam Kolzar, who “grew up Grossmont”—born at Grossmont Hospital, went to Grossmont High School (and later Grossmont College), shopped at Grossmont Center—got the OC punk infection straight from the source. In the late ’70s General Dynamics transferred his dad from San Diego to Orange County. Sam wound up at Troy High School in Fullerton with members of Agent Orange, The Adolescents and Social Distortion.
When his family returned to San Diego, and Sam to Grossmont High School, he met Jim Symington and Darren Hunt, two of the first La Mesa punk rockers, who brought him to shows and introduced him to other young punks, including Londis Kues and me, who both lived near La Mesa in San Carlos. Sam joined a band called No Age Limit, with Tom Rulon, James Cooper, and Greg Farrar.
Londis and I had met at the North Park Lions Club, where I worked in ‘79 as the assistant to Rene Edgington, whose Shark Productions shows were the only real rival at the time to Laura Frazier’s Skeleton Club.
Londis and I were already in our first band, Crucified Youth, who through my connection to Rene, garnered opening spots for a couple shows at the Lions Club. On guitar was the late Doug Havens, who was James Dean cool, with bright red hair and a white Fender to match his white 60s Ford, which we all once nearly died together in on the freeway. Doug worked in a gas station on Fletcher Parkway and stored a rolled-up a pack of cigarettes in the sleeve of his t-shirt. I think he’d moved to SD from Texas.
Crucified Youth and No Age Limit played a show together in April of 1981 at the Distillery East.
Not long after that, No Age Limit and Crucified Youth fell apart, and the band Redrum was formed from its remains. Sam says he quit No Age Limit because Rulon was recruiting musicians who had professional training and had ambitions that Sam didn’t share. Redrum soon changed its name to 5.0.5.1 and Sam came to a practice in my garage, decided we were raw enough for him, and convinced Squirrel that we’d be better with a second guitarist. We were all still in high school, though Squirrel was a year older and on the verge of graduating from, I think, Clairemont High. His half-brother, Scott, played bass.
Joel Roop from Helix High School took over drums from Randy Knox, from Monte Vista High, who was constantly struggling with the challenge of his attempt to embrace both punk and Mormonism.
The name 5051 was suggested to Squirrel by Londis (though Sam doesn’t remember Londis’ input). I remember that Londis had been in San Francisco and learned (no doubt from direct experience) that 5051 was the police code for a situation involving a mentally unstable person, used sometimes in punk cases since you’d have to be crazy to dress like that. Of course, Londis got it wrong.
The code was 5150 (later used as the name of a shitty Van Halen record), but by that time we’d already played shows as 5051, so we kept the meaningless name.
5051 gigged constantly from our forming in mid-‘81 to our demise in early ‘82. Tim Mays helped us out, and we also had success in getting a bunch of gigs at parties. 5051 opened for a lot of touring bands: TSOL, The Circle Jerks, Funeral, The Cramps, Christian Death, and others that I can’t recall.
One memorable performance at Headquarters, opening for Red Rockers, degenerated into a riot. While we were onstage playing, chairs started flying and the police were called in immediately. The riot is a blur to me, but after the cops had driven everyone out, Sam and Joel tried to go back for their equipment and were thrown to the ground and kicked by the police, who had correctly determined that our music had instigated the destruction.
5051 plays “El Salvador”: Listen now!
— David Klowden
I do like the fact that both 5051 and Noise 292 are misnomers … It makes me feel like we were part of a fine SD tradition! (What’s a “Blink 182”?)
I submit this for slow death six degrees of separation amusement…
I was at Grossmont College in 84 or 85 and I ran into Scott Harber in a recording class. I sort of knew him from the scene, and we recorded a song of his for the class. A bit later he recruited me to play bass in Dave’s Brother Phil after the original player left. We did an EP and played for a year or two, opening for some great acts: Gun Club, Legal Weapon, Johnny Thunders, The Replacements, just to name a few memorable ones. Scott moved to school in SF and the band split. My girlfriend at the time Maureen Thomas (who was living with Jimmy Symington when I met her) knew Squirrel, plus he was Scott’s step- brother, so I was on to play in Faces Of Drama. The line-up changed often at first (I remember a show we did with Sergio on vocals-I have some pictures) but settled with just guitar, bass and drums. We recorded an EP with Matt Silver (whom I knew from junior high school, not the punk scene) and got to open for every goth band who came to town: Specimen, Christian Death, Kommunity FK etc. Squirrel moved on to SF also, and I went to Hollywood to attend music school. I seem to recall jamming with Joel and Sam at some point in some ones living room in the late 80’s and I think Rulon was singing. I just saw Tommy a few months ago in PB. Scott lives in LA, has a couple of kids, and does sound for movies and TV. He is quite proud that he worked on Borat (look in the credits). Squirrel’s daughter and my oldest son were in a play together at Junior Theatre in Balboa Park about six months ago. I recently sold him a twelve string guitar from my wife’s pawn shop…where we saw Chris Negro with his mom a couple years ago…but that is another story. The world is way too small…
Barney: Brilliant! You’ve just connected about 250 dots in the history of San Diego music. 🙂
Speaking of small worlds, did you notice that Jimmy Peirano was writing about Faces of Drama in the “Birth of Everybody Violet” thread at just about the same time you were composing this six-degrees-of-separation post?
If you can find Scott and Squirrel (and Tommy Rulon), please point them our way!
I still have El Salvador running through my head! “El Salvador just another war …”
Hey Dave does anyone know where Peter English is? That guy was a great. He worked at with Mike at the Greek restaurant. I could never understand a word the guy said although he was speaking English.
Ted: Dave did give us a primer on Peter English and reports he’s hale, hearty and biking around Seattle. Dave, do you know if Mr. English has twigged to this site yet? Maybe he can ride around town and locate Tommy Clarke! 🙂
I don’t know if it was him, but, I remember copying a lot of flyers for shows since my dad owned college copy center. I think they were Dead or Alive shows. I remember being scared to go to the shows but finally checking them out at Fairmont Hall. Can still smell the cloves. I also thought that Peter was involved with the King’s Road which is where I first heard The Crawdaddys. I used to love The Palladins too, those guys were crazy back then.
I couldn’t remember if the band was 5051 or 5150. I work at a mental hospital now and use these WIC codes, people are 5150’d for DTS/DTO … danger to self, others, so I think about the band all the time. Squirrel was one hell of a nice guy and so was Sam. Actually the punk shows back then were eclectic and everyone was pretty cool to me. I thought that people would want to beat me up but they were nice. The scene seemed to start to get uglier and more violent though later on. I remember seeing TSOL and they played like maybe 4 songs and left because people wouldn’t stop fighting.
Well that’s a coincidence…I just got a myspace friend request from Scott H. this morning… you can link to his page through mine
Thanks Barney for the update on Scott & Squirrel! I hope to interview them & revise the 5051 story accordingly (is there room for more 5051 lore, Matt?). Ted and The College Copy Center were the unofficial publishers of much of early SD punk history. Pete worked at my dad’s restaurant next door, so almost all of the shows he produced with Tim Mays, as well as many of the shows I helped Rene promote at the NPLC, were xeroxed on buff, ivory, goldenrod, sky blue or white paper thanks to the Friedmans. Ted, you are absolutely right about increased violence in the scene as the 80s took root. I am going to try & contact Pete English and get him onboard.
And thanks Dave E. for the info. on the Scott H. Myspace connection! I’m on it.
>>(is there room for more 5051 lore, Matt?)
Dave Klowden: Of course! I’m anxious for the next installment! 🙂
Last time I was out that way, Joel Roop’s baby mama Starlene (“Star”) was working at the Whistle Stop and recognized me from when we all used to live together with Danny Gregg in ’86. Dave Rinck, remember you came and picked me up at that place to go see Eek A Mouse. The show was packed with Crips (or was ot Bloods?). They didn’t quite know what to make of the drunk, funny-looking white guy who kept spilling beer on them and stepping on their shoes. My guardian angel works overtime!
Oh yeah I remember that. We wre lucky to get out of that concert alive.
And the funny thing is, you and I basically re-created that scene about three years later in New Orleans when we comandeered a beer keg at a bar (I’m not at all clear why the owner of bar allowed this, but anyway…), we were so intoxiocated that every time I poured someone a beer I’d either hit them with the beer from the spout or accidentally drop it on someone’s shoes, or you’d knock the cup out of my hands and onto someone’s shirt. And one dude got so mad he threaten to punch us, and you told him “look, just hang on. If get this right, you’re gonna get a free beer”.
New Years Eve 1990 in the French Quarter? You had just gotten back from afghanistan(?). We joined my (then) girlfriend at that groovy, mellow, stay at home New Years celebration afterward. They were not amused…
Scott: I had forgotten all about Redrum and Articles of Faith. Did you remember the No Age Limit or Capital Punishment moments? I think our band went through a lot of name changes and personnel shuffling before 5051 really happened.
Please don’t feel the need to apologize for derailing the thread- some of this information and listing of events and orders is just priceless, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who is reading this stuff and finally getting a somewhat clear vision of what exactly went down and when. Tons of it totally undocumented prior to here, pretty much.
I remember living off Pentucket street in SD next door to the Dave’s Brother Phil band house. I lived in the Charms band house. There was no love between the two camps- but good times all the time anyway. -- Even when the surfboard came through the front window 😉