Pennywise was formed in Hemosa, California, in 1988, by singer Jim Lindberg, drummer Byron McMackin, and bassist Jason Thirsk.  The three had attended high school together and were each members of their own respective bands at the time.  Pennywise is an American punk band.

Pennywise

Doing what we want to do, making up our own rules and sticking to them, play the kind of music we want to play. A lot of critics will say that it’s the same old s***, they haven’t changed their style at all but we’re not trying to change our style at all because Pennywise fans are Pennywise fans because they don’t want to hear us sound like Blink 182 or Bob Marley.

The Early Years

Pennywise was formed in Hemosa, California, in 1988, by singer Jim Lindberg, drummer Byron McMackin, and bassist Jason Thirsk.  The three had attended high school together and were each members of their own respective bands at the time.  Pennywise is an American punk band.

They released two extended play recordings in 1989, entitled A Word From the Wise and Wildcard.  They would be re-released in combination with one another on an album in 1992.   They signed a recording contract with Epitaph Records and released their first abum,  Pennywise, in 1991.  While the album enjoyed only moderate commercial success, it had an impact within the punk community and earned a cult following.

Building a Fanbase

Their second album, Unknown Road, released in 1993, did not chart but was extremely popular among the punk-rock community.  In 1995, they released About Time, the first album to receive mainstream attention.  It peaked at #96 on the Billboard 200, and charted in Finland, Germany, and the Netherlands.  In 1996, John Thirsk left the band to battle alcohol addiction; he died that year of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Pennywise released five more albums from 1996 until 2008.  Each gained increasingly more mainstream exposure, charting in multiple countries.  While contemporaries such as Green Day, The Offspring, and Rancid, signed with larger labels and were offering mainstream releases in the mid 1990s, Pennywise refused to do the same, and has therefore, catered more exclusively to the underground punk audience.

Here and Now

John Lindberg left the band following the release of their 2009 release, Reason to Believe.  Since then, the band had not found a permanent lead vocalist until recently, but had been touring and recording with guest vocalists.  Pennywise performed at the 2009 Smokeout Festival, and is embarking this spring on a European tour.  In March, 2010, they announced that their new permanent lead vocalist is Zoli Teglas, formerly of the Orange County hard-core punk band, Ignite.

Pennywise has benefited from internet sales and promotion over the years.  Their 2009 album, Reason to Believe, was made available for free download via MySpace for a week before the album's release.  Tracks and videos have been made available for purchase and streaming, serving as an excellent source of promotion over the years, for a band that has chosen to keep distant from the mainstream.  Their latest album is due out in late 2010.

Did you know . .  .

1. Pennywise took their band name from the monster in Stephen King's book and movie, It.

2. Jim Lindberg is currently working on a documentary, entitled Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life.

3. Their new lead singer, Zoli Teglas, will also continue as lead singer of Ignite.

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