The Altar Boys’ second album, When You’re a Rebel, served up some great songs, but Gut Level Music broke the bank for great punk rock, with “You Found Me” (covered by MXPX), “I’m Not Talking About Religion,” and the showstopping title track. The Boys first appeared on an ‘80s sampler, What’s Shakin, on the MRC label from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, along with Undercover, and these two bands helped define ‘80s punk rock. Along with the songwriting talents of Mike Stand, GLM also featured “Life Begins at the Cross” by bassist Ric Alba; who released his own solo album, Holes in the Floor of Heaven, and penned the classic “Human Sound” for the Boys’ next album, Against the Grain. Stand also cut two solo albums, and later joined the rock band, Clash of Symbols.
Songs from GLM also appeared on the Terry-Taylor produced The Collection, with rough outtakes on the Mercy Thoughts CD and DVD. Gut Level Music is the album that launched a thousand bands. Numerous artists have since covered these strong songs, and how many punk/alt bands have been galvanized by Stand’s garage band mix of passion, angst and joy?
