Editing Black Flag (band) (section)

===Formation and early years (1976–1981)===
Initially called Panic, Black Flag was formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach by Greg Ginn and Keith Morris.<ref>Morris & Ruland, pp. 28-30</ref> Morris originally was to play drums for the band, until Ginn, impressed by his energy and charisma, insisted he be the [[Lead vocalist|front man]].<ref>Morris & Ruland, pp. 29-30</ref><ref name="DMT">{{cite web |last1=Woodhead |first1=Adam |title=Capture the FLAG: Keith Morris on growing up in punk, and his autobiography 'My Damage' |url=https://www.metrotimes.com/music/capture-the-flag-keith-morris-on-growing-up-in-punk-and-his-autobiography-my-damage-2448407 |website=[[Metro Times]] |access-date=October 8, 2024 |date=June 8, 2016 |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001174250/https://www.metrotimes.com/music/capture-the-flag-keith-morris-on-growing-up-in-punk-and-his-autobiography-my-damage-2448407 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ginn and Morris had trouble early on finding bandmates. They had an especially difficult time finding a reliable bass guitarist and often rehearsed without a bassist, a factor that contributed to the development of Ginn's distinctive guitar sound.<ref name=guitarworld>Grad, David. "Fade to Black". ''Spin''. July 1997</ref> Ginn's brother [[Raymond Pettibon]] and SST house record producer-to-be [[Spot (producer)|Spot]] filled in during rehearsals.<ref>Morris & Ruland, pp. 33-34</ref> In the beginning, Ginn and Morris were inspired by the raw, stripped-down attitude of bands such as the [[Ramones]] and [[the Stooges]]. Ginn has said "We were influenced by the Stooges and then the Ramones; they inspired us. Keith and myself saw the Ramones when they first toured LA in 1976. After we saw them, I said if they could do it we could do it. I thought Keith would be a good singer and after seeing the Ramones, it made him think that he doesn't have to be some classical operatic singer."<ref>{{Cite web|title = Stay Thirsty Media, Inc. News: Interview with Greg Ginn of Black Flag|url = http://www.staythirstymedia.com/news/43/335-greg-ginn.html|website = www.staythirstymedia.com|access-date = 2015-09-02|archive-date = September 24, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110044/http://www.staythirstymedia.com/news/43/335-greg-ginn.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

[[Chuck Dukowski]], bassist of [[Würm (band)|Würm]], liked Ginn's band and eventually joined, forming a committed quartet with Ginn, Morris and drummer [[Brian Migdol]]. Dukowski insisted the band rehearse much more frequently, sometimes seven days per week.<ref>Morris & Ruland, p.36</ref>  The band held their first performance in December 1977 in [[Redondo Beach, California]]. To avoid confusion with another band called Panic, they changed their name to Black Flag in late 1978.<ref name=guitarworld/> They played their first show under this name on January 27, 1979, at the [[Loyal Order of Moose|Moose Lodge]] Hall in Redondo Beach, California.<ref>{{cite web|title=ALLEYCATS AT THE MOOSE LODGE|url=http://www.itallhappened.com/alleycats-at-the-moose-lodge-1979-01-27|work=It All Happened – A Living History of Live Music|access-date=12 April 2013|archive-date=June 15, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615044847/http://www.itallhappened.com/alleycats-at-the-moose-lodge-1979-01-27|url-status=live}}</ref> Future Black Flag vocalists [[Dez Cadena]] and [[Ron Reyes]] were both in attendance at the Moose Lodge show.<ref>Morris and Ruland, p. 51</ref>

The name was suggested by Ginn's brother, artist [[Raymond Pettibon]], who also designed the band's logo: a stylized black flag represented as four black bars.<ref>{{cite web|title=Black Flag |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0u04EqNVjo|work=The Art of Punk |publisher=[[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles|Museum of Contemporary Art]] |date=June 11, 2013 |access-date=22 June 2013|archive-date=January 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129032908/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0u04EqNVjo|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Morris & Ruland, p.45">Morris & Ruland, p.45</ref> Pettibon stated "If a white flag means surrender, a black flag represents anarchy." Their new name was reminiscent of the [[Anarchist symbolism|anarchist symbol]], [[Black Flag (insecticide)|the insecticide of the same name]], and of the British heavy metal band [[Black Sabbath]], one of Ginn's favorite bands. Ginn suggested that he was "comfortable with ''all'' the implications of the name."<ref>Azerrad, Michael. ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life|Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991]]''. Little Brown and Company, 2001. {{ISBN|0-316-78753-1}}, p. 19.</ref> The band [[spray paint]]ed the simple, striking logo all over Los Angeles, attracting attention from both supporters and the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]. Pettibon designed all of the band's early flyers and album covers through the 1980s.<ref name="Morris & Ruland, p.45"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Roberta|author-link=Roberta Smith|date=September 18, 2008|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/arts/design/19gall.html|title=Art review: Raymond Pettibon|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 8, 2024}}</ref>

There were few opportunities for [[punk rock]] bands to perform in [[Southern California]] (Los Angeles club [[The Masque]] was the center of the L.A. punk scene, but was also rather parochial, and did not often admit bands from outside L.A. proper).{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} Black Flag organized their own gigs, performing at picnics, house parties, schools; any place that was available. They called club owners themselves to arrange appearances, and plastered hundreds of flyers—usually Pettibon's severe, haunting [[comic strip]] style panels—on any available surface to publicize performances. Dukowski reported that the "minimum [number of flyers] that went out was 500 for a show."<ref>{{cite web | title = A 12-Step Program in Self-Reliance | work = LA Weekly | url = http://www.laweekly.com/ink/01/31/2001:-babcock.php | access-date = May 27, 2006 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030215101616/https://www.laweekly.com/ink/01/31/2001:-babcock.php | archive-date = February 15, 2003 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Black Flag shows were regularly broken up by the LAPD, often violently, at the direction of [[Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department|Chief of Police]] [[Daryl Gates]], who targeted punk rock shows in the city.<ref name="Smash!">{{cite book |last1=Winwood |first1=Ian |title=Smash! Green Day, The Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX, and the '90s Punk Explosion |date=2018 |publisher=Hachette Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=9780306902741 |pages=3–5}}</ref><ref name="Parker">{{cite web |last1=Parker |first1=James |title=Black Flag's Psychic Imprint |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/06/black-flag/488906/ |website=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=October 11, 2024 |date=June 27, 2016}}</ref>

In 1979, the band released their first recording, the ''[[Nervous Breakdown (EP)|Nervous Breakdown]]'' [[Extended play|EP]]. It was the debut release by Ginn's [[SST Records]], which he created due to the band's difficulty in securing a contract with existing labels due to their reputation.<ref name="Smash!"/>

Though Ginn was the band's leader, he was more quiet than Dukowski, whose intelligent, fast-talking, high-energy persona attracted significant attention, and he often served as Black Flag's spokesman to the press.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} Dukowski acted as the group's tour manager even after he no longer performed with them, and helped establish the band's [[DIY punk ethic]] and demanding work ethic.<ref name="Vice">{{cite web |last1=Anthony |first1=David |title=Black Flag's 'Damaged' Is an Iconic Record, so Why Isn't It More Influential? |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/black-flags-damaged-is-an-iconic-record-so-why-isnt-it-more-influential/ |website=[[Vice Media|Vice]] |access-date=October 11, 2024 |date=April 24, 2017}}</ref> Dukowski's bass guitar was a vital part of the early Black Flag sound; "[[TV Party (EP)|TV Party]]", for instance, was one of many songs "driven more by Chuck Dukowski's percolating bass line than Ginn's stun-gun guitar."<ref name="Song review – TV Party">{{cite web | title = Song review – TV Party | work = Allmusic | url = https://www.allmusic.com/song/t2281479 | access-date = May 27, 2006 | archive-date = May 18, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120518020532/http://www.allmusic.com/song/t2281479 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Morris performed as vocalist on Black Flag's earliest recordings, and his energized, manic stage presence was pivotal in the band earning a reputation in Southern California. Migdol was replaced by the enigmatic Colombian drummer [[Robo (musician)|Robo]], whose numerous clicking metallic bracelets became part of his drum sound. The band played with a speed and ferocity that was all but unprecedented in rock music; critic [[Trouser Press|Ira Robbins]] declared that "Black Flag was, for all intents and purposes, America's first hardcore band."<ref name="trouser">{{cite web | title = Black Flag | work = [[TrouserPress.com]] | url = http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=black_flag | access-date = May 27, 2006 | archive-date = June 13, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060613062910/http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=black_flag | url-status = live }}</ref> Morris quit in 1979, citing, among other reasons, creative differences with Ginn, and his own "freaking out on [[cocaine]] and speed."<ref>{{cite web | title = Black Flag – the first five years | work=Mojo | url = http://jaybabcock.com/blackflag.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090122224004/http://jaybabcock.com/blackflag.html | archive-date = January 22, 2009 | url-status = usurped | access-date = September 17, 2011 }}</ref> Morris would subsequently form the [[Circle Jerks]].

After Morris's departure, Black Flag recruited fan Ron Reyes as singer. With Reyes, Black Flag recorded the ''[[Jealous Again]]'' 12-inch EP and appeared in the film ''[[The Decline of Western Civilization]]''. This was also the line-up that toured up and down the West Coast for the first time, the version most fans outside of L.A. first saw.

In 1980, Reyes quit Black Flag mid-performance at the Fleetwood in [[Redondo Beach, California|Redondo Beach]] because of escalating violence.  For the remainder of that gig, the band played an extended version of "[[Louie Louie]]" and invited audience members to take turns singing.<ref name=guitarworld />

Dez Cadena, another fan, then joined as a vocalist, and the band continued touring throughout the United States as well as [[England]]. By the summer of 1981, Cadena opted to play guitar rather than perform vocals, and the band sought a new singer while on the [[East Coast of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rettman |first1=Tony |title=Dez Cadena of Black Flag, Misfits, and More on the Fight for His Life |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dez-cadena-interview/ |website=Vice |access-date=October 16, 2024 |date=September 3, 2015}}</ref>