Link 80

Link 80 was an American punk rock and ska punk band from the San Francisco East Bay. They started in the summer of 1993, first playing around the East Bay as Drano and The Rag-Tags before settling on the name Link 80. Early on, the core members were guitarist Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, drummer Joey Bustos, bassist Adam Pereira, and singer Jeff Acree.

The band’s name came from Interstate 80, the freeway they used to reach the drummer’s garage for practice. It also fit the geography of the group, since members lived in Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond. That road connection became part of the band’s identity early, not as a gimmick, but as a real-life route that made rehearsals and shows possible.

Early years and a new voice

In May 1995, Nick Traina joined after meeting Adam Pereira at a show in San Francisco’s Mission District. With Nick on vocals, Link 80’s direction sharpened. The band leaned harder into punk and hardcore energy, while still keeping ska and skacore elements in the mix. Their songs, artwork, and audio samples also stood out for pulling references from film and television, including The Twilight Zone, The Usual Suspects, American Me, Happy Gilmore, Stand by Me, Pretty in Pink, and I Walked with a Zombie.

Before making a full-length album, the band released three 7-inch records: The Link 80 and Wet Nap Split, Remember How It Used To Be, and Rumble at the Tracks. Around this era, they also hit the road early. In 1996, while still in high school, Link 80 left for their first U.S. tour and built a self-made support network known as ATRC, short for Against the Rest Crew.

17 Reasons

Recorded in 1996 and released in early 1997, 17 Reasons became Link 80’s first full-length album. It packed 17 fast tracks that mixed punk rock and skacore, plus a hidden cover of the Misfits song “Who Killed Marilyn?” It also marked the band’s first album for Asian Man Records, with the note that Asian Man Records releases AMR1 through AMR4 had originally come out on Dill Records.

The album title, and the song title “Turn It Around,” pulled from two local Bay Area punk compilations the band loved: Turn It Around! and 17 Reasons: The Mission District. The band’s only official music video came from this album, for the song “Verbal Kint.” The video was partially filmed at 924 Gilman Street and directed by Scott Pourroy.

The defining lineup for this stretch featured Nick Traina on vocals, Joey Bustos on drums, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin on guitar and vocals, Adam Pereira on bass and vocals, and Aaron Nagel on trumpet. Jason Lechner joined on saxophone after 17 Reasons was recorded, showing up in time to support the record live and on tour. Songwriting duties were shared across the band, with Aaron shaping horn lines, Joey, Adam, and Matt building the musical foundation, and Nick and Matt driving lyrics. Vocals were also split more than people might expect, with Adam handling much of “Termination” and “Slap,” and Matt taking lead on “Turn It Around.”

Killing Katie and Nick Traina’s final months

Killing Katie was released August 26, 1997, less than a month before Nick Traina’s death. The album included eight studio tracks and hidden live songs, including the long-time crowd favorite “Blank Mind,” which never had a studio version. Among the hidden material, the band included a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” referred to by the band as “Everybody Look What’s Going Down.”

After Killing Katie, Nick started a new band called Knowledge and immediately began playing shows and recording. On September 20, 1997, Nick, who suffered from bipolar disorder, died from an overdose during his fourth suicide attempt and was found by his caretaker at his home.

The Struggle Continues

With Nick gone, Link 80 needed a new vocalist. After a temporary run with Stoney Moak filling in, Ryan Noble from the Blast Bandits became the permanent singer. Adam Davis took over guitar duties as the band moved forward without Matt. This era kept the “against the rest” attitude, but the sound shifted more toward hardcore and ska, rather than the earlier punk and ska balance.

With Ryan Noble, Link 80 recorded The Struggle Continues, plus additional songs that appeared on compilations in 1999. The band toured multiple times, including tours with bands like Capdown and MU330. The final track on The Struggle Continues, “Unbroken,” was written by former guitarist Matt Bettinelli-Olpin for Nick after his death.

Reunion and later activity

After partial reunions over the years, the first official reunion happened at the Asian Man Records 20th Anniversary shows on June 17 and 18, 2016. Both sold out and took place at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. The lineup included singer Ryan Noble, guitarists Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Adam Davis, drummer Joey Bustos, bassists Adam Pereira and Barry Krippene, and horn players Aaron Nagel, Steve Borth, and Jason Lechner. A video tribute to Nick Traina played before the shows, set to Social Distortion’s “When the Angels Sing,” and the tribute video was released online on June 20, 2016.

On May 21, 2021, Link 80 released a cover of Rancid’s “Junkie Man” for a tribute project titled …And Out Come the Lawsuits. That recording featured Adam Davis, Barry Krippene, Joey Bustos, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Steve Borth, and Ryan Noble. On October 17, 2023, Mike Park announced that Asian Man Records would reissue 17 Reasons and The Struggle Continues on vinyl and reprint the band’s first official shirt.

Related projects

After Link 80 went on hiatus in 2002, several members pursued other bands and work. Steve Borth joined Rx Bandits and later formed Satori. Other members formed DESA. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin later founded filmmaking collectives Chad, Matt and Rob and Radio Silence and directed films including V/H/S, Southbound, and Ready or Not, which featured Link 80 and other Asian Man Records artists. Aaron Nagel became an artist running Two Twenty Two Design Studio, with artwork appearing on covers including The Resignation and …And the Battle Begun. Adam Davis played in Gnarboots, who released A.L.B.U.M. on Asian Man Records. Nick Traina’s band Knowledge had their album A Gift Before I Go released by Asian Man Records after his death.

As of 2019, Steve Borth and Adam Davis were part of a ska and punk project called Omnigone, which released an album on Bad Time Records in 2019. The project also involved members from Rx Bandits, Link 80, Skatune Network, and We Are The Union, and was described as a way to keep playing ska, punk, and hardcore with close friends in shifting configurations.

Members

• Nick Traina, lead vocals (1995–1997)
• Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, guitars, vocals (1993–1998, 2016)
• Joey Bustos, drums, backing vocals (1993–2002, 2016)
• Aaron Nagel, trumpet, backing vocals (1994–2002, 2016)
• Adam Pereira, bass, vocals (1993–2000, 2016)
• Adam Davis, guitars, vocals (1997–2002, 2016)
• Ryan Noble, lead vocals (1998–2002, 2016)
• Jason Lechner, saxophone (1997–1998, 2016)
• Seth Blankenship, saxophone (1997–1999, 2016)
• Barry Krippene, bass (2000–2002, 2016)
• Steve Borth, saxophone, backing vocals (1998–2002, 2016)
• Stoney Moak, lead vocals (1998)

Discography

• 17 Reasons (1997, Asian Man Records), recorded in 1996
• Killing Katie (1997, Asian Man Records)
• The Struggle Continues (2000, Asian Man Records)

EPs

• The Link 80 and Wet Nap Split 7-inch with Wet-Nap (1995, Wannabe Brothers Records)
• Remember How It Used to Be 7-inch (1995, Switchblade Records)
• Rumble at the Tracks split 7-inch with Subincision (1996, Switchblade Records)
• Nothing Lasts Forever split 7-inch with Punishment Park (1998, Dream Circle Records), given away for free at shows in Germany
• Lifestyles, Textiles and X-Files split 7-inch with Lesdystics (Tomato Head Records)
• Split CDEP and 7-inch with Capdown (Householdname Records)