Strung Out

Strung Out are a punk band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1992 and active to the present. Their core sound combines punk rock with metal, and they are also associated with punk and skate punk. The band is known for a fast, technical style that develops over time while staying rooted in melodic punk.

Line-up and early formation

The original line-up consists of vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Jim Cherry and drummer Adam Austin. After a self-titled 7-inch release, the band becomes one of the first acts signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the label run by Fat Mike of NOFX. Austin leaves in 1992 and is replaced by Brad Morrison, who is then replaced by Jordan Burns, formerly of Ten Foot Pole. The members listed for the group include Jordan Burns, Jason Cruz, Jake Kiley, Rob Ramos, Chris Aiken and Jim Cherry.

Albums and releases

Strung Out releases nine albums on Fat Wreck Chords and appears on numerous compilations and skate and surf videos. Their first album, Another Day in Paradise, appears in 1994, followed by Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues in 1996. In 1998 they issue The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat, a compilation of early material from before their Fat Wreck Chords period. Later that year, Twisted by Design shows a more varied approach, combining speed, technical playing, punk foundations and darker elements, along with less conventional song structures.

Jim Cherry leaves the band in 1999 and later plays in Pulley and Zero Down. He dies of heart failure in 2002 and is replaced by Chris Aiken, whose background influences The Element of Sonic Defiance in 2000. That album continues the band’s melodic punk direction while adding harder rock and metal elements. In 2002 the band releases An American Paradox, which is their first album to enter the Billboard Top 200. The original production run includes the bonus track “Don’t Look Back”, and a video is made for “Cemetery”.

In 2003 Strung Out records and releases a live album for Fat Wreck Chords’ Live in a Dive series. Exile in Oblivion follows in 2004, with a video for “Analog”. Blackhawks Over Los Angeles appears in 2007, and Prototypes and Painkillers, a collection of B-sides, demos and covers from across the band’s career, is issued in 2009. Later in 2009, the band releases its seventh studio album, Agents of the Underground.

Tours and appearances

Strung Out plays the Warped Tour and continues to tour internationally. The band also appears on a range of punk compilations and in skate and surf video releases, reflecting its place within California punk and related scenes.