If The Clash are considered the CNN of punk, then Code of Honor are the C-SPAN of hardcore: a little less respected by the masses and a little more relentless with the political content.
The San Francisco punk band disbanded after only two years of touring restlessly, but not before recording enough material for a discography, "Complete Studio Recordings 1982-1984," released in July of this year. The release chronicles the band's split LP with Sick Pleasure and their much-lauded final album, "Beware the Savage Jaw."
The discography was discussed for years among band members, but it wasn't until a year ago that Subterranean Records co-founder and former band-member Fox acquired the capital necessary to re-master the tracks and distribute the end product. His direct involvement with the culmination of the best of his life's work has given Fox much time to reflect on the band's lifespan.
"I remember getting really into the punk scene in San Francisco back in 1979, when punk was kind of on its way out. I wasn't ready for it to go. Once I got into it, the feeling I remember having is that I had to go to shows at least two nights a week and at least one had to be good, or I would just die," Fox said.
At a 1979 Clash show organized by The New Youth, a Bay Area coalition of young punks dedicated to bringing punk shows to the area, Fox met Steve Tupper. Fox and Tupper started talking and found that they had much in common and similar interests and ideas. Soon they discussed starting a label for bands that had no possibility of release otherwise, an endeavor that Tupper was willing to fund. This relationship led to the founding of Subterranean and the pressing of affordable vinyl for young punk consumption.
It is through these connections at shows that Fox found himself in Code of Honor, a band determined to carry the legacy of punk into the '80s. As Fox explained, they needed to preserve the politically charged side of punk.
"I really believed in punk rock, like it was my religion," Fox said. "What punk did was rip down the pedestal [of authority] and bring everything to eye level so people could see what was really going on. Back then we thought we could change the world. Like it could be changed. There was a legacy that needed to be continued."
Listening to the band's albums and listening to Fox's passion just talking about his music, one can appreciate the years of work and play that went into the creation of Code of Honor's discography.
"The first album was great; I think the band had more energy in the beginning. We were always doing gigs and performing more than recording during the first year. We got gigs as soon as we formed. But when we went from that to recording our second and final album, "Beware the Savage Jaw," it drove the bass player batty and I guess it really broke us up. It was wild, going from playing all the time to the tedium of recording a second album. It ultimately ended the band," Fox said.
Code of Honor disbanded just before the hardcore movement's intensity died down. It is said that the violence and anger associated with the genre led to its demise. However, more than 20 years later and with the recent release of Paul Rachman's documentary "American Hardcore," bands like Code of Honor still garner new fans.
"I see [hardcore punk] music as an information medium as opposed to just a lot of entertainment. It was the only vehicle for us to support each other and communicate through. That's one of the truisms of punk rock; there's definitely a tribal, burning man thing happening, letting people be who they are without judgment," Fox said. "People can appreciate the passion and energy we put into this stuff. Where else can you find that now"
