In 1983, deep in the suburban hinterland of Campbell, the punk rock photographer Murray Bowles attended a backyard party and shot several pictures of The Faction, San Jose’s legendary skate punk band. A software engineer by day, Bowles was just starting a decades-long side job of capturing Bay Area punk.

In San Jose, the scene was a hodgepodge of house parties, rented halls and skate ramps because no real venues existed. As the Faction played, an 11-year-old kid named Lars Frederiksen sat on the ground in front of the drum set to keep it stationary. (See photo.)

“The cinderblock wasn’t working so the kick drum kept moving and moving and moving,” Frederiksen recalled. “I remember someone tried to put a 12-pack of beer in front of it, and that obviously didn’t work. I think someone even said put the keg in front of it, but then everybody would have to come up when the band was playing to fill their beer. So somebody said, ‘Put Lars in there.’ And that’s how I ended up in there.”

The rest is history. Ten years later, Frederiksen joined the band Rancid, which then exploded into one of the most successful punk bands of all time, inspiring generations of fans around the world, even still.

But now, in what is probably the most spacetime continuum-shattering full-circle punk hoedown in local living memory, the Faction will first open up for Rancid in San Francisco on Thursday, and then they will headline on Friday with one of Frederiksen’s other bands, the Old Firm Casuals, at The Ritz in downtown San Jose. The whole shootin’ match will trigger many individuals to reflect on their own crazy journeys over the last several decades.

Over the years, Bowles’ photos from that party have almost achieved folk status. He may have captured the most punk rock Norman Rockwell moment in San Jose history.

In those days, the Faction’s bass player, Steve Caballero, was already a world-famous professional skateboarder with sponsorships, trophies, tour stories and the whole nine yards, all while not yet even 20. People around the world devoured skateboard magazines and then VHS videos of the Bones Brigade, of which Caballero was a key member. Thanks to what he and his crew were doing, it’s not an exaggeration to say San Jose was one of the skateboarding capitals of the country. Specific street tricks and maneuvers were pioneered right here in town. As the lifestyle became inseparable from punk rock, the whole scene put San Jose on the map way more than any politician has ever been able to do. It is a travesty of justice that Caballero is not in the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.

But I digress. With the Faction, Caballero eventually switched from bass to guitar as the band became a five-piece and then soared to even more stardom before breaking up a few short years later. After sporadic reunions over the decades, they returned to semi-regular gigging about four years ago.

Bowles’ photo captures what the scene was like in those days: punks and skater kids dealing with the intrinsic boredom of suburbia. Several people in the photo are still in the area. For example, leaning on Caballero’s bass amp is Denice Vaughn, wearing a pair of pink Paradise Garage creepers, shoes Caballero bought her when he was in LA for a contest.

“I threw a fit because he wanted to get me the red and black ones,” Vaughn recalled. “And I said, ‘No, I want the pink ones, and if I can’t have those, then I want nothing.’ And he drove all the way [across LA] back to Hollywood to get me those. I totally remember that. I still have them.”

Bowles has since retired from the software industry, but still has a long photography career on which to reflect. His catalog of photos, now in the thousands, remains an integral component of Bay Area punk history, although he doesn’t scour the scene as much as he used to.

“Nowadays everybody takes pictures with their phones,” Bowles said. “It’s not as though if I didn’t take pictures, there’d be no pictures taken at all. Which is sort of the way it was for a lot of shows.”

This week’s Thursday Night Football is a Bay Area battle royale, as the Raiders go head-to-head with the Niners at Levi’s Stadium. It hasn’t been a great year for either organization. Both teams have only one win each and are coming off yet another loss. Still, the 49er Faithful and the Raider Nation can take solace in knowing that their respective clubs have little to lose and plenty of bragging rights to gain. When it comes to water cooler banter, few things more precious than a win over one’s regional rivals.

Raiders vs. Niners
Thu, 5:20pm, $195+
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara

Kill the Messenger aren’t a mere Bay Area band. They’re from Daly City dammit, and they want you to know it. “Gotta rep the hood,” jokes drummer Danny Haddad on a four-way conference call, which includes bassist David Scanlon, guitarist and vocalist James Conelly, and lead vocalist-guitarist Adam Rupp, the latter of whom gets disconnected almost immediately.

“We don’t want to just say we’re another band from San Francisco.”

Neighborhood shout-outs aside, the band’s newish 10-song album, From The Ashes, is a fearsome display of guitar heroics and chunky riffs—and, what’s more, in a genre not known for yuks, a dash of humor.

Take “Exodus” which examines the pitfalls of working out and at one point proclaims, “I am so hungry!”

“That song’s about losing your gains,” says Haddad. “Like, you don’t want to lose your gains.” Then there’s the UrbanDictionary-approved “Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Feelz.” You’d be forgiven for thinking this was self-aware hipster metal. “A lot of our stuff can be satirical,” says Haddad, citing mock-epic “Curse Of Broseidon,” whose precision tempo and layered intricacy are anything but jokey. “But a lot of it can be touchy subjects.”

An example would be “Words Like Guns,” which the drummer penned. “I don’t want to get too deep into it but everybody has some past relationship that’s gone horribly awry and that’s what that song’s about.”

Kill The Messenger blends aspects of ’90s Swedish melodic death-metal with strains of modern American metalcore. Occasionally, the band goes beyond the realm of metal and its myriad subgenres entirely. “Speak Now” features a flamenco guitar-inspired interlude with congas. The album’s 12-minute-plus finale, “Phoenix,” is bathed in electronics and soaring strings.

“It’s not anything to do with genre but having everything be deliberate,” says Conelly, a classically trained musician. “I know this is a whole-tone scale, it’s going to fit in this particular chord structure.” Scanlon is more blunt: “We wanted to pull the best out of ourselves instead of pumping out the same song over and over.”

At times, Kill The Messenger achieve cinematic scope. In its final third, “For Death And Glory” features the pre-recorded chaos of a pitched battle scene. “Basically all that Viking metal is just badass,” says Scanlon. “That song called out for the Norse gods.”

On a DIY budget, programmed sequences lend a certain studio gloss. “[Otherwise] we’d have to hire a keyboard player and so many other people when we play live,” says Conelly. “Logistically it made a lot more sense to do backing tracks.” Scanlon adds, jokingly: “Plus, we couldn’t hire another person who would put up with the four of us.”

The embellishments never get in the way of the aggression. The combination of dirty and clean vocals create an added dimension to the song structures. “I do the more growly stuff, since I have a deep voice,” says Conelly. The clean vocals are courtesy of Rupp and Haddad, the latter often harmonizing while stomping speedy double-bass parts—pushing his lungs to the limit. “It’s not an ideal situation, I can tell you,” he says. “Especially when I’m about to keel over from exhaustion.”

When it comes to making money from their music, it’s good thing the boys in KTM have day jobs: Conelly is a software engineer, Haddad is a web developer, Scanlon is in real estate and Rupp works as a barista.

“Our biggest goal right now is to get the album in more people’s ears,” Haddad says. The band’s demo has been sent out to labels all over the world. In the meantime, there’s talk of a mini tour with A Human Costume, who shares the bill at the upcoming show at The Caravan Lounge.

Until then, Kill The Messenger just enjoy savoring small moments, like the time Conelly recalls, when a couple fans wanted their copies of From The Ashes signed at a show. “That was trippy.”

Kill The Messenger plays on Jan 29, 10pm, Free at The Caravan Lounge, San Jose.

There are many concerts in the Bay Area to choose from this fall—plenty of them in San Jose and the South Bay. But in between work and checking your Facebook feed, how will you ever figure out which events to attend? Don’t trip, chocolate chip. We got the answers right here in our handy guide to fall concerts. From the C2SV Local Music Showcase and the SoFA Street Fair through the Beyond Wonderland EDM festival and on to Herb Alpert’s two-night residence at Montalvo Arts, we’ve picked the best shows to take you through to the end of the year.

C2SV and SoFA Street Fair
Sep 12-14, SoFA District, San Jose, Free
Kick off your fall with a big rock & roll weekend—jam-packed with San Jose indie talent and national headlining acts. On Sept. 12 and 13, Cafe Stritch will host the C2SV Local Music Showcase, featuring Darto, Dinners and Plume on Friday and No Maps, Breathing Patterns and Li Xi on Saturday. Then, on Sunday, the  “reupholstered”  SoFA Street Fair makes its triumphant return after a 13-year hiatus. Seminal ska/funk band Fishbone is headlining the festival, while three outdoor stages and various surrounding venues will host more than 50 local and national bands, including San Jose veteran ska ensemble MONKEY, Campbell reggae rockers 880 South, and Visalia’s own The Voice contestant, Rudy Parris. (Briana Hernandez)

Symphony Silicon Valley: The Music of Led Zeppelin
Sep 20, City National Civic, $35-$62
Led Zeppelin, the undisputed kings of 1970s psychedelic hard rock—who made a name for themselves by plugging in and turning up—are getting the classical treatment. Merging at the crossroads of blaring rock & roll and instrumental classical, this special concert will interpret the explosive energy of Jimmy Page’s epic riffs and John Bonham’s thundering drums through classical instruments, like the violin, cello and flute. Symphony Silicon Valley will perform behind a full rock band led by singer Randy Jackson (formerly of Zebra), who pledges to stay as true as possible to the searing vocals of Zep frontman Robert Plant. (Alice Yin)

Beyond Wonderland
Sep 20-21, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, $63-$350
Hear about all those krazy (with a “k”) EDM festivals where a bunch of kids die from heat exhaustion and/or drugs? The Bay Area gets one of those too! Just remember: the real danger of drugs is to stupid white kids at raves, and not to the millions of non-white Americans incarcerated on non-violent drug offenses! Ha ha, right?! Anyway, we’re not here for the drugs; we’re here for the music (said all the people on drugs), and Beyond Wonderland brings plenty of it. Trance trio Above & Beyond is headlining Saturday and electro house “hot dad” Kaskade plays Sunday. It being a giant festival there will be more than enough big room and electro house to go around (Krewella, Mercer, Borgeous, Dada Life etc.), but for those that’ve had enough of that noise there’s also trap (Bro-Safari, DJ Carnage), trance (Paul Oakenfold, Dyloot) and good ol’ drum and bass (Pendulum, Dieselboy). (Stephen Layton)

Katy Perry with Tegan and Sara
Sep 22-23, SAP Center at San Jose, $29.50-153.50
All snobbery aside, Katy Perry is said to put on one fantastical show with Vegas-level theatricality. So if you need that extra little push to dish out the big bucks and check out her show, we’d say Tegan and Sara opening is a pretty good incentive. The Canuck twins’ thoughtfully crafted yet cutesy indie-pop songs should be right at home alongside Perry’s girl-powered anthems about growing up, moving on, and y’know, roaring. Besides, if you’ve got tween girls in your household, you can make their year with one big concert and maybe even introduce them to a solid indie band while you’re at it. Everyone wins! (BH)

Thievery Corporation
Oct 1, San Jose City National Civic, $52
It’s been a long and self-paved road for Washington, D.C., electronic duo Thievery Corporation. It didn’t take long for Rob Garza and Eric Hilton to hit it off after being tossed together by the D.C. nightclub scene of 1995. Shortly thereafter the pair formed their own record label, which they used to fuse and experiment with their favorite genres—jazz, dub and bossa nova. After nearly two decades of recording, the pair is finally ready to take that long road back home and revisit their love for bossa nova with their seventh studio album, Saudade. This release is entirely dedicated to the Brazilian genre that united Garza and Hilton so many years ago. (BH)

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
Oct 3-5, Golden Gate Park, Free
While the lineup for this year’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is still pending announcement, the official site has posted a series of medleys featuring artists on the bill. Fan guesses include folk singer John Prine, Canadian rocker Bruce Cockburn and country artist Iris DeMent. From this little taste, one thing is certain—the fest will be as diverse and laid-back as it ever has been, and is sure provide one heck of a family weekend. However, if you’re looking to get your libation on and party like a folk star, you’ll have to bring your own in non-glass containers. There will be no alcohol served in Golden Gate Park for the event, but plenty of food vendors will be available. (BH)

Moon Duo
Oct 11, Cafe Stritch, San Jose, $12-$15
San Francisco’s Moon Duo is made up of keyboardist Sanae Yamada and guitarist Erik “Ripley” Johnson, the latter of droning garage rock weirdos Wooden Shjips (Ships? Shu-jips? Sidge-ips?). Often compared to Suicide, the duo doesn’t get anywhere near as musically antagonistic, though the spirit is definitely there. They’ve got pop sensibilities at bottom, but overlaid with lots of krautrock, drone and weird vibes: the lyrics are usually lost in hazy whispers and fuzzy guitar all propelled by a hypnotically repetitive drum machine. Psychedelic noise-pop ain’t for everyone, but for those with the patience and inclination (and maybe weed) this is one to check out. (SL)

Treasure Island Music Festival
Oct 18-19, Treasure Island, $160-295
If you missed this year’s Outside Lands Festival, think of Treasure Island as a slightly smaller, yet equally boss, consolation prize. Still riding a high wave from their recent reunion after a seven-year hiatus, OutKast headlines alongside masters of trip hop Massive Attack and electro-house DJ Zedd of “Clarity” fame. Treasure Island will be a warm “welcome back” for Brooklyn indie-soul artists TV On The Radio, who are slated to release their first album since the death of bassist Gerard Smith this fall. Smith passed away from lung cancer in April 2011. Also revving up for a fall record release are English electro-rockers alt-J, who recently released the haunting single and video “Hunger Of The Pine.” Must-sees also include Janelle Monáe, The New Pornagraphers, White Denim, and San Francisco’s Painted Palms. (BH)

Jack Yo Lantern
Oct 31, San Jose State University Event Center, $80
EDM hip-hop twosome Flosstradamus headlines this 18-and-over, party-rocking Halloween bash, which kicks the night off at 7pm then turns into a pumpkin promptly at midnight. The bill includes house DJ Madeon and high-energy duo New World Punx. Also on the lineup is Santa Barbara’s Seven Lions, a.k.a. Jeff Montalvo, who has amassed attention from some of the more household names in electro pop including Ellie Goulding and Skrillex, since his 2012 debut EP, Polarize. Montalvo’s background as a punk and metal drummer and admitted love for fantasy is a detectable component in his dreamy nightscape sound. (BH)

LIVE 105 Spookfest
Oct 31, Oracle Arena, $45-75
You have not one, but two, options for 18+ EDM Halloween parties this year. Chose wisely. LIVE 105’s Spookfest opens its doors a little earlier than Jack Yo Lantern and its headliners are definite contenders—including Sweden’s Alesso, electro funk faves Chromeo, trance/house fuser Gareth Emery, and UK techno artist Duke Dumont. If you come for the heavyweights, you’ll have to stay for college bar DJ turned progressive house “it” boy, Henry Fong. Fong’s Florida roots add a hard-hitting Latin flavor to his high-energy club mixes. San Francisco’s buzzworthy Slaptop is also likely to bring a can’t-miss set, with his hipster-friendly, ultra-chill arrangements, surprisingly born from a laptop in a dorm room. And of course, the party would not be complete without LIVE 105’s very own DJs, Aaron Axelson and St. John. (BH)

Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
Nov. 7-8, Montalvo Arts Center, $65-$75
Herb Alpert is an icon. He began his musical career as a songwriter, helping to pen the Sam Cooke hit “Wonderful World,” among other hits, before moving on to front his revered horn group, Tijuana Brass, and co-found A&M Records. Alpert is picking up his trumpet once again to perform two nights at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga. Joining him for the performances will be Alpert’s wife, the vocalist and lyricist Lani Hall (perhaps most famous for singing the theme song for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again). It’s sure to be a hit-packed night. Alpert is one of the most successful musicians in history—holding records for album sales, a number of Grammys and a National Medal of Arts, which President Obama awarded the trumpeter with last year. (Nick Veronin)

PinUp Productions, a local music booking company, announced that Cupertino church and music venue The Refuge will no longer play host to live music.

The Refuge is a church hall that is a part of the Good Sam Church in Cupertino. PinUp Productions set up a variety of local music shows there for more than four years, from their Battle of the Bands to punk and metal shows. Some shows at The Refuge attracted up to 400 people. The church hall, however, was in close proximity to homes and businesses and neighbors frequently complained about loitering and noise late at night.

Last week Good Sam Church was informed by a sheriff that they would no longer be able to host non-ministry events, according to PinUp Productions. A meeting was scheduled between surrounding business, residents, Good Sam staff and the PinUp Productions staff to discuss the problems. Good Sam, however, was informed that they would not be able to host any further music events before said meeting took place.

PinUp still plans to book shows in the South Bay and plans to expand into the East Bay.

Live 105’s BFD Music Festival returns this summer with Thirty Seconds to Mars, Passion Pit, Silversun Pickups and Awolnation headlining.

The lineup for the concert on May 19 at Shoreline Amphitheater was revealed on air this morning on Live 105. In addition to the main stage, the concert features performers on three other stages: the Bud Light Festival Stage, the Subsonic Tent and the Local Soundcheck Stage.

Several South Bay bands are performing on the Soundcheck stage this year, including Picture Atlantic, Anya and the Get Down and The Trims, joined by San Francisco favorites Doe Eye, Rin Tin Tiger and Mister Loveless. An opening spot still remains for the band that wins Live 105’s local band contest.

The Subsonic Tent hosts some of electronic music’s biggest names with Diplo, Crystal Method and DJ Shadow. Oakland’s Wallpaper will also be DJing in the tent.

The Complete Lineup

MAIN STAGE
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Passion Pit
Silversun Pickups
Of Monsters and Men
AWOLNATION

BUDLIGHT FESTIVAL STAGE
Jimmy Eat World
The Airborne Toxic Event
Fitz and the Tantrums
Capital Cities
Atlas Genius
Youngblood Hawke
Twenty One Pilots
The Neighbourhood
Wavves
The Mowgli’s
New Politics
Gold Fields

SUBSONIC TENT
Diplo
The Crystal Method
DJ Shadow
Wallpaper.
Justin Martin/Dirtybird
Robert DeLong
K Theorty
Aaron Axelsen
Miles the DJ
St. John
Nick G

SOUNDCHECK LOCAL BAND STAGE
Tumbleweed Wanderers
Picture Atlantic
Finish Ticket
Anya & The Get Down
Mister Loveless
Doe Eye
The Trims
Rin Tin Tiger
Bonnie and the Bang Bang

BFD is May 19 at the Shoreline Amphitheater. Ticket presales start on Thursday, March 28. General sale opens on Saturday, March 30.

Crashfaster’s performance Saturday at Rockage 2.0, alongside Slime Girls, Bit Brigade, Minibosses and more, was an unexpected surprise. Morgan Tucker has a deep, smooth voice in conversation but on stage he uses a Gameboy, NES, C64 and a Vocoder to manipulate his vocals into a gritty female robot effect.

Tucker started Crashfaster as a solo project before bringing in Keiko Takamura, Devin Nixon and Ryan Case to form the chiptune band. When Tucker went on tour with the Glowing Stars almost two years ago he was inspired by the richness of incorporating 8bit loops and effects with additional vocals, guitars and drums.  Nixon first learned about chiptune through Lizzie Cuevas [The Glowing Stars], then joined Crashfaster and experimented with circuit bending, Gameboy modding and Little Sound DJ on his own.

The band’s name came to Tucker when he worked at a tech company, using Microsoft Visual Studio. “It was prone to both random and predictable crashes, some of which would hang the entire system for minutes at time,” explains Tucker. “Often I’d scream at my computer ‘crash faster!’ It just kind of stuck after that.”

Tucker played countless games on his NES and Gameboy in his youth and he especially loved tinkering with vintage video games and dabbing in circuit bending to create new sounds long before he realized that there were small communities for chiptune production. “[They were] making music with the ‘actual’ vintage hardware I was aping,” Tucker says. “They called their craft ‘chiptune’ or ‘chip music.’ I was instantly obsessed, and I’ve never looked back.”

Slowly crashfaster is growing their Bay Area chiptune presence through their online community, 8bitSF, a website and Facebook page dedicated to sharing news on chiptune shows and band developments.

Crashfaster remains busy writing music while helping to grow the Bay Area chiptune community. The band releases a split 7-inch vinyl with the the Glowing Stars on Feb. 14.