Criminal Action

Criminal Action formed in Los Angeles in the early 1990s, with Jake McBlain on vocals, Mike Brown on bass, Mike Szuter on guitar, and Kurt Johnson on drums. They started playing shows around the local scene, building a following with their straightforward rock sound. Their debut album came out in 1997, featuring the track "I Am Rocker." That song became something of an anthem for them, helping push the band beyond their hometown circuit.

They kept recording and touring through the 2000s, putting out albums like Revolution in 1999 and The Last Ride in 2003. Their later work sometimes pulled in touches of punk or blues, but they stayed rooted in that basic, loud rock template. Other songs from their catalog, like "Drives Me Up The Wall" and "Mamma Mia (Left Side Tribute)," kept the energy high and the riffs simple.

McBlain had a run-in with the law in 2000 over a drug possession charge, which put a dent in the band's momentum for a while. They kept going anyway, releasing The Devil's Dance in 2007 and Armageddon Blues in 2010. They never quite matched the attention of their first album, but they held onto a core audience that liked their no-frills approach.