Link 80 started in the summer 1993 in the
East Bay of
California. In the beginning, original members (guitarist
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, drummer
Joey Bustos, bassist Adam Pereira and singer Jeff Acree) played around the Easy Bay as Drano and The Rag-Tags before settling on Link 80. The name came from the interstate highway
I-80 which they used to get to the drummer's garage for band practice and connected the band members' homes: members lived in
Oakland,
Berkeley and
Richmond. In May 1995,
Nick Traina joined the band after meeting Adam at a show in
San Francisco's
Mission District. Nick's passion and voice combined with the rest of the band to make them different from most
ska bands and gave Link 80 the "against the rest" attitude they display throughout their lyrics. Far more punk than ska and with an energy and a sense of immediacy lacking in pop-oriented ska bands, Link 80 was able to avoid the clichés of ska-punk characterized by their peers. As
Asian Man Records describes them, they are an energetic blend of
ska,
punk rock, and
hardcore. The band's lyrics, audio samples and album artwork are notable for their diverse use of film and television references including
The Twilight Zone,
The Usual Suspects,
American Me,
Happy Gilmore,
Stand by Me,
Pretty In Pink and
I Walked with a Zombie. Before recording their first album, the band released three
7"'s,
The Link 80 & Wet Nap Split,
Remember How It Used To Be, and
Rumble at the Tracks.
17 Reasons Recorded in 1996, Link 80 had released their first full-length album titled
17 Reasons, in early 1997. The album consisted of 17 fast and energetic punk rock and
skacore songs (and one hidden track, a cover of "Who Killed
Marilyn?" by
Misfits). It was also the first album recorded for Asian Man Records (AMR1-AMR4 were originally released on Dill Records). The album title and a song title ("Turn It Around") come from two of the band's favorite local
Bay Area punk rock compilations:
Turn It Around! and
17 Reasons: The Mission District. Their only official music video was off this album for the song "Verbal Kint." The video was partially filmed at
924 Gilman Street and directed by Scott Pourroy. In 1996, with all the members still in high school, the band left for their first U.S. tour. On this tour, the band created their own "crew," known as ATRC, or Against the Rest Crew. The core line-up for these definitive years was Nick Traina (vocals), Joey Bustos (drums), Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (guitar, vocals), Adam Pereira (bass, vocals) and
Aaron Nagel (trumpet). Though he was not present on the recording of 17 Reasons, Jason Lechner (saxophone) joined the band in time to support it at shows and on tour. This line-up would release the first and second of their three albums. Unlike many bands, each member of Link 80 were an integral part of the songwriting team. With Aaron in charge of the horn lines, Joey, Adam and Matt were behind most songs' core-music, while Nick and Matt were responsible for the lyrics. In addition, everyone participated in background vocals, occasionally even singing lead. For example, Adam sings a majority of "Termination" and "Slap," while Matt provides the lead vocals on "Turn It Around." The following year Link 80 was on to its second US tour. Beginning in Oregon on June 14, the tour was cut short after a show at the Globe in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 1. The following morning the band went their separate ways, with some members flying home, some driving, and some taking a train. , 1997
Killing Katie Link 80's last album with Nick, Matt and Seth Blankenship,
Killing Katie, was released August 26, 1997, less than one month before Nick's death. The album contains 8 studio tracks and 3 hidden live songs, including the long-time crowd pleaser "Blank Mind" (of which there is no studio version). Of the four hidden tracks, the first is a cover of
Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," referred to as "Everybody Look What's Going Down" by the band. After Link 80, Nick started a new band,
Knowledge, and immediately began playing shows and recording. Shortly thereafter, on September 20, 1997, Nick, who suffered from bipolar disorder, overdosed on his fourth suicide attempt, and was found dead by his caretaker at his home.
The Struggle Continues With Nick gone, Link 80 needed someone to fill in on vocals. After recruiting a man named Stoney Moak to fill in for vocals temporarily for their shows, Ryan Noble from the Blast Bandits was chosen to pick up permanently where Nick had left off. Along with Ryan and Adam Davis, who took over for Matt, came a new sound and lyrics, while still maintaining the "against the rest" attitude. Link 80 began to lead more towards a hardcore/ska sound rather than a punk/ska sound. With Ryan, Link 80 recorded the album
The Struggle Continues as well as some b-sides that appeared on various compilations in 1999 and toured numerous times with such bands as
Capdown and
MU330. The last track on
The Struggle Continues, "Unbroken", was written by ex-guitarist Matt for Nick after his death.
Reunion . Middle Row: Adam Pereria, Adam Davis,
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Jason Lechner. Bottom Row:
Joey Bustos, Ryan Noble, Steve Borth, Barry Krippene. After a few partial reunions over the years, the band's first official reunion was for the Asian Man Records 20th Anniversary shows on June 17 and 18, 2016. Both shows (at the San Francisco's
Bottom of the Hill) were sold out. The lineup included singer Ryan Noble, guitarists Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Adam Davis, drummer Joey Bustos, bassists Adam Pereria and Barry Krippene, and horn players Aaron Nagel, Steve Borth and Jason Lechner. Prior to the shows, a video tribute to
Nick Traina was shown with
Social Distortion's "When the Angels Sing" playing over the video. The band released the video online on June 20, 2016. On May 21, 2021, a Link 80 cover of
Rancid's "Junkie Man" was released from Lavasock Records' upcoming tribute to Rancid's punk rock classic
...And Out Come the Wolves titled
...And Out Come the Lawsuits. The newly recorded Link 80 song includes members 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, as well as reprinting the band's first official shirt. ==Related bands and projects==