VIOLATION
Violation was formed in the late ’70s by longtime friends Paul Harris and Perry Fotos in Livermore, California, a small town on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. They were later joined by Brian Khoury, a bassist in a local Top 40 band, and drummer Mike Pavlick.
The band began honing their sound while rehearsing in Galaxy Records, a downtown Livermore record store owned and operated by the Khoury Family. Even though the band would have to wait until after hours to begin, this was the perfect location for rehearsals; they could play as loud and long as they wanted without any interruptions.
Violation was a cover band in the early days, playing songs by UFO, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, and Blue Oyster Cult at local house parties, halls, and high schools. The band’s version of UFO’s “Rock Bottom” was classic. Harris nailed the guitar solo flawlessly, note for note, and it became a huge crowd-pleaser.
Unsatisfied with playing cover songs, the band began working on original material. Several of those are featured in this collection, including “Hot Fire,” a fan favorite featuring Harris’s catchy opening harmonics, and the power ballad “Coming After You”, which closed many shows. Harris and Fotos wrote songs with solid melodic vocal hooks and guitar solos so melodic you could sing the melodies of all of Harris’s guitar work.
At this time, the band started to gig throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Playing at the Keystone in Berkeley and Palo Alto, and The Stone in San Francisco, where they shared the stage with Motley Crue, Metallica, Quiet Riot, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry Project, Aldo Nova, Vandenberg, Y&T, Carmine Appice & The Rockers, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steppenwolf’s John Kay, and Randy Hansen. Eventually, the band would headline these clubs, including The Old Waldorf in San Francisco and the venerable Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA.
In 1982, shortly after the departure of drummer Mike Pavlick, the remaining members of Violation went into the studio to record three original songs, “Meet Me at Midnight,” “Balls Out,” and “Goin’ Down Fightin”’ with an uncredited Leonard Haze of Y&T manning the drums.
The resulting 7” single of “Meet Me at Midnight” b/w “Balls Out,” released on Violation’s own VIR Records, sold well in the San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to Europe, thanks to a positive review in Kerrang! Magazine. More copies were sent overseas, and soon the record was #1 on the charts in Kerrang!
Following the success of “Meet Me at Midnight” and the addition of drummer Don “Rocket” Stephenson, Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records asked Violation to appear on US Metal, Vol. 3, the third in a series of albums featuring the greatest unsung metal guitarists. With “Rocket” now on drums, Violation headed across the Bay to the Music Annex in Menlo Park, CA, to record a new version of “Gonna Get to You” for the album. The track featured Harris’s blazing guitar work and a new band member, Tim Hall, on lead vocals.
Soon after the album’s release, Hall left the band, and Violation disbanded in 1983.
VIOLATION
Violation was formed in the late ’70s by longtime friends Paul Harris and Perry Fotos in Livermore, California, a small town on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay Area. They were later joined by Brian Khoury, a bassist in a local Top 40 band, and drummer Mike Pavlick.
The band began honing their sound while rehearsing in Galaxy Records, a downtown Livermore record store owned and operated by the Khoury Family. Even though the band would have to wait until after hours to begin, this was the perfect location for rehearsals; they could play as loud and long as they wanted without any interruptions.
Violation was a cover band in the early days, playing songs by UFO, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, and Blue Oyster Cult at local house parties, halls, and high schools. The band’s version of UFO’s “Rock Bottom” was classic. Harris nailed the guitar solo flawlessly, note for note, and it became a huge crowd-pleaser.
Unsatisfied with playing cover songs, the band began working on original material. Several of those are featured in this collection, including “Hot Fire,” a fan favorite featuring Harris’s catchy opening harmonics, and the power ballad “Coming After You”, which closed many shows. Harris and Fotos wrote songs with solid melodic vocal hooks and guitar solos so melodic you could sing the melodies of all of Harris’s guitar work.
At this time, the band started to gig throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Playing at the Keystone in Berkeley and Palo Alto, and The Stone in San Francisco, where they shared the stage with Motley Crue, Metallica, Quiet Riot, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry Project, Aldo Nova, Vandenberg, Y&T, Carmine Appice & The Rockers, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steppenwolf’s John Kay, and Randy Hansen. Eventually, the band would headline these clubs, including The Old Waldorf in San Francisco and the venerable Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, CA.
In 1982, shortly after the departure of drummer Mike Pavlick, the remaining members of Violation went into the studio to record three original songs, “Meet Me at Midnight,” “Balls Out,” and “Goin’ Down Fightin”’ with an uncredited Leonard Haze of Y&T manning the drums.
The resulting 7” single of “Meet Me at Midnight” b/w “Balls Out,” released on Violation’s own VIR Records, sold well in the San Francisco Bay Area, in addition to Europe, thanks to a positive review in Kerrang! Magazine. More copies were sent overseas, and soon the record was #1 on the charts in Kerrang!
Following the success of “Meet Me at Midnight” and the addition of drummer Don “Rocket” Stephenson, Mike Varney of Shrapnel Records asked Violation to appear on US Metal, Vol. 3, the third in a series of albums featuring the greatest unsung metal guitarists. With “Rocket” now on drums, Violation headed across the Bay to the Music Annex in Menlo Park, CA, to record a new version of “Gonna Get to You” for the album. The track featured Harris’s blazing guitar work and a new band member, Tim Hall, on lead vocals.
Soon after the album’s release, Hall left the band, and Violation disbanded in 1983.
VIOLATION at the Hayward Memorial Park
