As if world events weren’t pointedly depressing enough these days, there was a comparatively insignificant bit of sad news out of the West Coast earlier this week. As first reported by TMZ, Southern California punk luminary Casey Royer was arrested for allegedly overdosing on heroin while watching television with his 12 year old son. There’s really nothing funny to say about that. It’s just repulsive and tragic.
I guess the thing that really caught my eye about the story – other than the unsavory details – was the fact that Royer was continually referred to as “former Social Distortion drummer.” While, yes, that’s technically accurate (Casey played in the band’s original line-up, but doesn’t appear on any of Social D’s studio recordings), the bleach-blonde, bug-eyed Royer also played in a fledgling lineup of The Adolescents before starting his own band, D.I., a combo arguably most renowned for their cameo in Penelope Spheeris’ seminal punk film, “Suburbia.”
I was a big fan of D.I. for a bit in the mid-80’s, sucked in by grim (and sadly now-ironic) cautionary ditties like “Richard Hung Himself” (later covered by Slayer), the propulsive “Johnny’s Got a Problem” and the anti-Orange-County-conformity screed, “O.C. Life.” Unlike most of the hardcore of their era, D.I. had a melodic penchant anchored by Royer’s capably distinctive vocals. He may not have been the most enlightened gent (Royer went on record a few times in the 80's with `zines like Flipside with some strenuously lamentable homophobic comments – not too unlike genre peers in the Meatmen and Fear), but Casey Royer’s D.I. did have their moments.
In the grand scheme of things, pedantic points about Casey Royer’s punk rock resume are ultimately meaningless. But once upon a time, this song was the jam. Here’s hoping this entire ordeal puts him back on the right course for the sake of himself and the sake of his family.
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