Black Flag
At the time of joining Black Flag, he was a street kid who had been following them since the beginning, and already knew all the songs. He also played drums in an early incarnation of Redd Kross, along with Greg Hetson, who went on to form the Circle Jerks with Keith Morris, and subsequently joined Bad Religion. On May 23, 1980, Reyes quit Black Flag mid-show at the Fleetwood in Redondo Beach. For the remainder of the gig, the band invited audience members onstage to take turns singing "Louie Louie". Reyes was drinking heavily at the time, and was tired of the fan violence and escalating police harassment.
This was at the beginning of the Orange County punk explosion. The surfers cut off their hair and turned into punks. And they were fucking maniacs! Crazier than hell. The Hollywood punk was a totally different animal, into drugs and getting drunk, liking the Sex Pistols. But the surf punks--these guys were insane. At the show, they'd start going in circles, punching each other - one big dance floor brawl. That was invented by the surf punks. Every fucking high school had hundreds of them. And that crowd liked us, and would come to our shows at the Fleetwood. Well, Ron had met a girl on the road and brought her back to L.A., and at this show she got into the middle of that shit. She got pushed around, and Ron didn't like it so he took off with that girl, went back to Vancouver and left us in the middle of everything. —Robo
Reyes was coaxed back into Black Flag long enough to record the "Jealous Again" EP. He also appeared on some selections included on the 1983 compilation album Everything Went Black. He can be seen in Penelope Spheeris' 1980 documentary The Decline of Western Civilization, in which he dedicates the song "Revenge" to the LAPD, and jokingly shows off his apartment, which is a closet. After the recording sessions, Reyes went back to Vancouver and was replaced by singer Dez Cadena.
The Jealous Again EP was released after Reyes had left the band for a final time. On the sleeve, he was credited as "Chavo Pederast", nonstandard Spanish for pedophile.
Reyes will perform live with Black Flag for the first time in 33 years at a festival months before Hevy Music Festival takes place in Folkestone in August 2013.
Many bands later, Reyes would form Crash Bang Crunch Pop with friends from Lawndale California and Vancouver BC.
Read more about this topic: Ron Reyes
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