Joyride

by Steve HueyJoyride was a punk-pop offshoot of Orange County hardcore pioneers the Adolescents, forming after the 1989 dissolution of that band's mid-'80s reunion lineup. Bassist/vocalist Steve Soto and drummer Sandy Hansen -- the former a charter Adolescent, the latter a reunion-only player -- teamed up with guitarist/co-lead vocalist Greg Antista and guitarist Mike McKnight. Onetime off-and-on Adolescents guitarist Frank Agnew was a charter member early on, but quickly left to focus on his family life instead. Joyride soon won a following around L.A. and especially Orange County (they were based in the latter's Fullerton area), continuing the latter-day Adolescents' move into the punky power pop fare that was quickly becoming the local stock in trade. Joyride self-recorded their debut album, Johnny Bravo, on a miniscule budget, and landed a deal with the small indie label Dr. Dream, which issued the record in 1992. Although it won enthusiastic reviews from local media, it was also hampered by subpar distribution and a relative lack of promotional resources. The same fate befell 1994's similarly well-received Another Month of Mondays. Joyride completed a third album, to have been titled Promises and Lies, but Dr. Dream folded before it could be released. With no major-label deal having materialized, and with McKnight and Hansen anxious to devote time to their families, Joyride decided to call it a day in 1996. Antista formed the similar-sounding trio Foxy, while Soto moved on to play with 22 Jacks (which briefly included Hansen) and the jokey punk cover band Manic Hispanic.