The Wrecks were a raging early ‘80s, all-female, hardcore band from the “Skeeno Hardcore” scene of Reno, Nevada. Considered by Seven Seconds to be a “sister band,” they were a bit of an anomaly at the time—four teenage girls playing ultra noisy, brutal hardcore. Certainly, they were mining similar musical and thematic territory that Bikini Kill would become famous for ten years later. Their “claim to fame” was a single song, “Punk is an Attitude”, which was included on the widely-distributed Not So Quiet on the Western Front compilation LP, released by Maximumrockandroll magazine in 1982. Their drummer, Lynn, went on to play with hardcore gods, The Dicks. Watch some incredible footage of her Dicks tenure here.
 

 
Lynn of Reno’s The Wrecks. Touch and Go #19

The excellent blog One Chord is Enough has a detailed post compiling several vintage reviews and interviews with The Wrecks:

“This band hails from Reno, Nevada and is composed of four teenage girls that do mostly all hardcore material. The nine songs on this tape are definitely not of the slam’n'thrash variety but are more akin to art damage, sorta like Flipper. Anyway everything here is original and well, kinda weird. Broken-up rhythms and strange singing abound but this stuff really does grab ya after repeated listenings. Also the lyrics are top notch and these girls definitely have something to say! They deal with subjects such as high school, Cuban refugees, and the all important question about drug use. What ya got here is a fairly rewarding tape from a rebellious crew of teenage girls ready to shake up the system.” Frankie DeAngelis (Ripper #7, May 1982)

“The Wrecks were one of the first all-female hardcore punk bands. They rocked Reno from 1980 to 1982. Two of the members went on to form the still-active Imperial Teen: Lynn Truell and Jone Stebbins. Lynn was just named one of the 100 best alternative-rock drummers by Spin magazine, which neglected her time in The Wrecks but included her drumming in The Dicks and Sister Double Happiness.” Mark Robison

 

 
Bessie Oakley of The Wrecks. Photo by Cari L. Marvelli

Tesco Vee interviewed the band in 1982 for Touch and Go fanzine:

Tesco Vee: How’s been the response to your tape?
Bessie: Good enough for a homo-zine-new wave chronicle like Touch & Go to interview us I guess. Actually pretty good – I think it’s cuz we put alot into it.
Lynn: So far pretty good. We get a couple of letters a week for tapes.
Jone: Pretty good, I’m surprised. We’ve been getting good reviews except those that say we’re an art damage band. Fuck yeah we sound like a combination of Rik L Rik and the Slits and David Bowie… I’m sure!
Touch and Go #19

Punk Rock historian and author of the excellent record collector’s memoir Crate Digger: An Obsession With Punk Records, Bob Suren, did the world an enormous favor a couple of days ago by uploading the long-lost Wrecks Teenage Jive demo from 1982. Thank you, Bob, for unearthing and sharing this crucial recording of pre-riot grrl anger. Now a whole new generation of girls, ready to rock, can look to their foremothers for inspiration and attitude:

“Punk’s An Attitude” (Jone “Jetson” Stebbins, 1981)
Swear to God I get sick of people’s attitudes
And trying to figure them out
They talk about shit they don’t understand
And dress to fit the trend
You can be accepted or rejected
in punk or society
You can play the role, I’ll just be myself
Fuck people who think I’m a hippy
or a weekend punk
If they stopped to think they’d see
Punk is an attitude
Punk is an attitude, individuality is the key
Do what you want, don’t care what they think
I guess some people just can’t see…
Trendies suck!!!

 

 
Jone Stebbins of The Wrecks. Photo by Cari L. Marvelli

Bob Suren’s upload of their noisy, pissed-off demo is below. It includes the killer tracks: 1. I Love To Shoplift 2. Couldn’t Believe It 3. High School Anthem 4. Communist Bucks 5. SBS 6. Lullaby of the Womb 7. Slow Boat to Yuba 8. Punk Is an Attitude 9. This Land is Your Land
 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Kathleen Hanna: The Riot Grrrl Manifesto