Dr. Know

Dr. Know

Dr. Know is a hardcore punk band from Oxnard, United States, and is one of the founding groups of the Oxnard “Nardcore” movement. The band forms in 1981 with Kyle Toucher, Ismael Hernandez and Robin Cartwright, and Brandon Cruz joins after auditions, with Joey Pena serving as the first singer. The group records early material with Cruz, which leads to television appearances and shows on the Los Angeles circuit.

Early releases and stylistic shift

After Cruz leaves in 1983, Toucher takes over vocals while the band records Plug in Jesus for Mystic Records. Further releases follow, including the Burn EP, This Island Earth and Wreckage in Flesh. These later records appear on Death Records/Metal Blade and mark a shift towards a more metal-influenced sound. On This Island Earth, the lineup is Toucher on vocals and guitar, Rik Heller on drums, and Hernandez on bass.

Breakups, reunions and later activity

Dr. Know breaks up after Wreckage in Flesh appears in 1989, though it continues to play occasional shows until 1991. Heller later moves to Scotland and briefly joins The Exploited. The band reunites in 1998 with Hernandez and Cruz, while Toucher does not take part in that return. It later issues new songs on compilations and albums, including Father, Son, and the Holy Shit and Killing for God on Unrest Records. A version of the band with Hernandez and Cruz breaks up in 2010, while Toucher reunites the Wreckage in Flesh-era lineup with Tim Harkins on guitar, Mike Purdy on bass and Mike Vega on drums, and the group continues to play shows in California and across the western United States.

Line-ups and related names

Members associated with the group include Brandon Cruz, Tim Harkins, Ismael Hernandez, Fred Matatquin, Kyle Toucher and Tony Black. Dr. Know is also used as an alias by Gary Miller of Bad Brains and by drum and bass producer Tom Withers, known as Klute.