"Middle Class were an American punk rock band established in 1977 from Orange County, California. The group consisted of Jeff Atta on vocals, Mike Atta on lead guitar, Mike Patton on bass, and Bruce Atta on drums. By 1979 the original punk scene in Southern California had almost completely died out. Kids from outlying suburbs were only beginning to discover punk's speed, power, and aggression. Dispensing with all pretension, these newcomers boiled the music down to its essence, then revved up the tempos and called the result 'hardcore', creating a music that was younger, faster, and angrier, full of pent-up rage. The band pioneered this new version of punk, with their 'Out Of Vogue' 7" widely regarded as the first hardcore record. Their only LP, 'Homeland', is completely different, a skittering and complicated wonder that compares to the records of 'The Pop Group'. The song 'Listen' became a staple on U.S. college radio in the mid 1980s. The band reunited in 2011, with Matt Simon replacing original drummer Bruce Atta, and played sporadically until 2014 when guitarist Mike Atta died of kidney and lung cancer on April 20, 2014, aged 53."
[Mike's retro/vintage/oldcore store "Out Of Vogue" was a 5 minute drive from my house at the time, meeting the man there as I curiously wandered in one day was an extreme surprise and absolute pleasure. --S].
