Fronted by Rozz Rezabek-Wright, Negative Trend hailed from San Francisco's first wave of '77 punk bands. In the best tradition, the band did as they pleased without holding a shred of hope to infiltrate the music business of the late 1970s. Not having the luxury of management or financing, they were propelled by little more than their convictions and a semi-regular gig at the Mabuhay Gardens.

A band buzz-phrase pegs their attitude; "The trend is obvious... No rules, no rulers!" For another take on the band's ethic, look at this concert flyer (can you name all the 'heroes' depicted?). Ken Lester, D.O.A. manager, neatly sums up the confrontational nature of a Negative Trend show: "Seeing Negative Trend was totally electrifying. I thought that they would be the first band that would kill themselves on stage, or kill the audience as the case may be."

Of course their abrasive outlook and strong dose of aggression would never translate into being careerist; this version of the band imploded after many adventures, including almost closing the Sex Pistols' final show and being the first San Francisco punk act to tour the Northwest. Click here for a story about their early period.

"Rozz & Negative Trend: The Pop Sessions," - a nine-song blast in nineteen minutes- was the result of sessions directed by Rozz during 1978; "This was my kind of direction I wanted to go in." Taking their musical cue from the Ramones, Sex Pistols and Stooges, these songs were parallel to Negative Trend's main repertoire. From dumb heroes with guns ('M-16'), the paradox of everyday life ('No Alternative'), and the mindless lemming-mentality of fashion devotees ('Mannequin'), this historic document finally cements Negative Trend's status as a seminal & inspiring act of their era. For those who care, you can listen to samples of "The Pop Sessions" within our soundfile.

"Rozz & Negative Trend: The Pop Sessions" is availible on compact disc for $9.75 postpaid, from Locals Only, 916 West Burnside, Portland OR 97209 (make checks payable to "Locals Only"). If you are impatient, copies may be ordered online from "www.localsonline.com". For the trade, the title is distributed by Subterranian: P.O. Box 2530, Berkeley CA 94702 / 415-821-5880 / e-mail: "subterra@hooked.net".

Reference: For further documentation about Negative Trend, consult the following books-

-Search & Destroy #1-6: The complete reprint/The authoritative guide to punk culture. V/Search Publications, 1996.*

-Hardcore California: A history of punk and new wave. Peter Belsito and Bob Davis; Last Gasp, 1983.*

-Punk '77: An inside look at the San Francisco rock 'n' roll scene, 1977. James Stark; Stark Grafix, 1992.*

For differing accounts of Negative Trend's role at the Sex Pistols' final show (at Winterland), check out-

12 Days On The Road: The Sex Pistols and America. Noel Monk and Jimmy Guterman; Morrow 1990.

Bill Graham Presents: My life inside rock and out. Bill Graham and Robert Greenfield; Doubleday, 1992.

Finally, a phot of Negative Trend cavorting with the Avengers is captioned 'Backstage at Winterland,' within-

X-Capees: A San Francisco punk photo documentary. Text by Howie Klein, photos by Raye Santos, Richard McCaffree and F-Stop Fitzgerald; Last Gasp, 1981.*

Titles with an asterisk ("*") are availible from Last Gasp, 777 Florida St., San Francisco CA 94110 / "www.lastgasp.com".