Back On The Streets

Zoo Freaks, the Zoo Crew has got Junkyard's "Back On The Streets" cranked up from that 1991 album Sixes, Sevens & Nines, and if you have not heard this one cut deep into the vinyl, you are missing a slice of pure street-level rock and roll that still hits hard decades later. This track opens the record, written by David Roach, Chris Gates, and Brian Baker, and it carries that raw edge the band always delivered, produced by Ed Stasium who brought a punchier, more cohesive sound than the debut. In interviews over the years, members have called it one of those standards you simply do not drop from the set list, right alongside Hollywood, Misery Loves Company, and Life Sentence, because the crowds still light up when those opening riffs hit. Patrick Muzingo once noted that making room for new songs means tough choices, but certain cuts like this one stay because they define what the band is about.

The lyrics paint a picture of a guy who met someone in a bar while he was drinking his life away, got taken in for a bit, but could not change his ways no matter how much hell he got for it. He ends up out the door with just his car and the clothes on his back, address nothing more than a license plate, heading back down the Miracle Mile and into the lost and found. It is defiance mixed with a shrug, that sense of knowing the price of settling down is too high when the streets feel more honest. Fans and the band have kept spinning it live for years, from early club gigs in Los Angeles right through reunion shows, and set lists show it popping up regularly as a crowd favorite that captures the biker and freewheeling spirit without any polish.

That album came out in May 1991 on Geffen, following the self-titled debut, and the band supported it with tours that included opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd on their comeback run. Writing the record took nearly a year, with plenty of songs tossed aside because they did not measure up, and the whole thing benefited from that leaner production that better matched the punk attitude mixed with Southern rock and boogie influences. Steve Earle even lent his voice to a couple other tracks, adding that rootsy depth. It was a step up in many ways, even if commercial success stayed modest, and the band has looked back on it fondly in anniversary posts and talks, noting the heavier pure punk feel under the rock surface.

Junkyard got started back in 1987 in Los Angeles when a couple of Texas transplants, singer David Roach from the Dallas area and guitarist Chris Gates who had played in the Big Boys, decided the hair metal scene on the Strip was not for them. They wanted something grittier, more dangerous, with that punk ethic still in the mix rather than the pay-to-play clubs and big hair. Members came and went early on, including a brief stint with skateboarder Tony Alva, before the lineup settled with drummer Patrick Muzingo and bassist Clay Anthony. Brian Baker, who had come out of Minor Threat and Dag Nasty, joined right before the first album, bringing that hardcore background into the mix. They played the smaller, artist-friendly spots like Raji's and Club Lingerie, building a reputation as a bunch of bikers who could actually play, more in line with the early Guns N' Roses vibe than the glam outfits around them. Geffen signed them after they opened for Jane's Addiction and others, and the debut arrived in 1989 with Tom Werman producing, featuring singles like Hollywood that got some MTV attention.

Clay Anthony left right before Sixes, Sevens & Nines dropped, dealing with his own struggles, and Todd Muscat stepped in on bass, keeping things rolling. The band toured hard, shared stages with the Black Crowes early on, and had that labelmate connection with Guns N' Roses, even with Axl wearing one of their homemade shirts after catching a show. After the second record, grunge shifted everything at the label, a third album got recorded but not properly released at the time, and they went on hiatus by 1992. Reunion shows started around 2000 at the request of friends in the Supersuckers, with Tim Mosher coming in on guitar, and they have kept the spirit alive ever since with new material and live runs, even as the core has evolved. David Roach's raspy delivery, rooted in that Texas drawl and lived-in attitude, always anchored it, and the band continues carrying those songs forward with the remaining members and friends.

You can dig deeper into the history and catch updates over at the official Junkyard site, where they talk about the albums including that second one and keep the legacy going with Tim Mosher and his Junkyard Friends. Follow along on their Facebook page for posts and photos from the road, check the Instagram for the visual side of the shows and merch, and see what is happening on X where they share throwbacks and news. The official channels are where the Zoo Freaks can stay connected to the real deal without any extra noise. Over here at THE ZOO, we keep the deep cuts and the stories spinning for the long haul, just like the Crew has always done for the freeform rock that hits different when you hear it live on the air. This track from Sixes, Sevens & Nines still feels like it belongs right in the middle of a late-night drive or a backyard gathering with the bikes parked outside, raw and unfiltered the way rock and roll ought to be. The band never tried to be anything other than themselves, and that is why songs like this one stick around in the sets and in the ears of anyone who appreciates the real thing over the trends. From those early Hollywood days scraping by in the clubs to the tours and the reunions, it is all part of the same thread that runs through the music, and the Zoo Freaks know a good one when it comes around on the dial.