Steven Ronald Jensen

Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen
Birth nameSteven Ronald Jensen
Also known asStevo
Born(1959-04-29)April 29, 1959
Los Angeles County, California, United States
DiedAugust 20, 2005(2005-08-20) (aged 46)
Maui, Hawaii[1]
GenresPunk rock, comedy rock
Occupation(s)Singer, composer, actor
Instrument(s)Vocals, scratch box, flute
Years active1980–1989.
LabelsEpitaph, National Trust, Restless Records, Posh Boy Records.
Formerly ofThe Vandals, S.N.I.V. (Stevo's New Improved Vandals)

Steven Ronald "Stevo" Jensen (April 29, 1959 – August 21, 2005) was an American musician and an original founding member of The Vandals, alongside Jan Nils Ackermann. The band was based out of Huntington Beach, California, United States. After performing for some time in different bands in Southern California, Ackermann decided to form The Vandals, enlisting Jensen as vocalist.

"I admired the way Mike Roche and Ron and Bob Emory (Ron's older brother) dressed and acted, and I followed in their footsteps," Jensen recalled. But before long, he developed his own outrageous take on punk that was far from T.S.O.L.'s glowering style.[citation needed]

"I said, 'We're going to have a good time with it. We're going to make fun of everybody and we're going to have fun doing it,' " Jensen said. "That's what I wanted – fun."[2] After performing with Steve Gonzalez and Vince Mesa, the original line-up of The Vandals performed at the Costa Mesa Club, the Cuckoo's Nest, owned by Jerry Roach.[3] Stevo and the Vandals performed that night with China White and Shattered Faith before Gonzalez and Mesa left the initial group. Steve Soto from Adolescents and Agent Orange, rehearsed with Jan Nils Ackermann on bass guitar previous to the Peace thru Vandalism line-up of The Vandals recording, constructing bass parts for many future songs; along with early notables on bass who helped write songs such as Bob Emory, Steve Gonzalez and Steve "Human" Pfauter.

Jensen died on August 20, 2005 in Maui, Hawaii from a prescription drug overdose. He was 46 years old.[4]

  1. ^ "In Memoriam: Steven "Stevo" Jensen of the Vandals (1959-2005)". Punknews.org.
  2. ^ "Faces of O.C.'s Punk Scene : Youths Looked at Their Suburbia; They Didn't Like What They Saw, and They Told the World". Los Angeles Times. 30 July 1989. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  3. ^ Coker, Matt. "Jerry Roach of Cuckoo's Nest: Not Dead – OC Weekly". Ocweekly.com. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  4. ^ Carreon, Mary (6 April 2016). "The Vandals, OC Punk's Merry Pranksters, Claim a Place In the Coachella Sun". Ocweekly.com.