Catholic Discipline

Catholic Discipline was an American punk rock (first-generation new wave) band, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California, by Slash Fanzine editor Claude Bessy. The initial line-up of the band featured Bessy on vocals, Phranc on guitar, Rick Brodey on bass guitar, Richard Meade on keyboards, and Craig Lee on drums.

History

The band was started in 1979 in San Francisco. Their first performance took place at the Hong Kong Café in August 1979, and they went on to play several shows around the Los Angeles area. After the first shows, Richard Meade was replaced by keyboardist Robert Lopez. The band gained recognition for their appearance in the 1980 Penelope Spheeris rockumentary film The Decline of Western Civilization, alongside other punk rock bands such as Black Flag, Fear, X, Circle Jerks, Germs, and Alice Bag Band. Catholic Discipline disbanded in the spring of 1980. A compilation of the band’s live material, titled Underground Babylon, was released in 2004 through Artifix Records.

During their time as a band, the members were involved in multiple other projects. Phranc also played keyboards for Nervous Gender, and Craig Lee was the guitarist for Bags. Robert Lopez had performed with The Zeros, and Rick Brodey was an early member of Bpeople. Phranc described Catholic Discipline as “never a real ‘band’ situation,” stating that members were often involved in at least one or two other bands. She further explained that while there were conflicts of interest or personality, the band’s formation and dissolution felt natural.

Following the band’s breakup, Claude Bessy relocated to the United Kingdom and became a press officer for Rough Trade Records. He also worked as a video DJ at the Haçienda and as a music video producer. Phranc launched a solo career as a folk singer-songwriter, and Robert Lopez began performing under the name El Vez. Craig Lee became a contributor to Flipside, served as the music editor for LA Weekly, and co-authored the book Hardcore California: A History of Punk and New Wave. He passed away in 1991 due to complications from AIDS.

Members

Past Members

• Claude Bessy – vocals (1979–1980)
• Phranc – guitar (1979–1980)
• Craig Lee – drums (1979–1980)
• Rick Brodey (a.k.a. Rick Jaffe, Rick Morrison) – bass (1979–1980)
• Richard Meade – keyboards (1979–1980)
• El Vez (Robert Lopez) – keyboards (1980)

Discography

Compilation Albums

• Underground Babylon (2004)