By | Winter/Spring 1977 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Keith Morris
vocals |
| ?
bass |
| ?
drums |
| Ginn and Morris form the group Panic with an undisclosed rhythm section. |
| Summer 1977 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Keith Morris
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Brian Migdol
drums |
| recordings Nervous Breakdown (e.p.) selections from |
| Spot, the band’s longtime producer and sound engineer, sat in on bass temporarily during practice sessions before ex-Wurm player Chuck Dukowski settled into this position.
In Winter/Spring 1978, the band finds the name Panic is taken. Ginn’s brother Ray designs a logo and suggests a name: Under the name Raymond Pettibon, he designs flyers for the group. He also designs the infamous bars logo, which is an impressionistic rendering of a… you guessed it… black flag (a historic symbol of anarchy and rebellion.) Morris left because he was basically sick of the arguments and taking orders. He quickly went on to form the Circle Jerks. Ex-Happy Tampons front Ron Reyes was brought in as lead vocalist less than a week after Morris quit. Morris was referred to as Johnny “Bob” Goldstein on the Everything Went Black recordings, released in 1983. |
| 1979 Summer/Autumn |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| “Chavo Pederast” (real name: Ron Reyes) vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Robo
drums |
| recordings Jealous Again (e.p.) selections from |
| Chavo quit onstage after two songs during a show at the Fleetwood…the rest of the band then went into Louie Louie for an hour and let anyone who wanted to do so take over the vocals. They continued on for months without a singer. Although he refused to play with them on stage (or the band with him,) he did come into the studio to finish up the Jealous Again tracks. Spot was apparently so pleased with his attitude afterwards that he remarked “Why didn’t you quit sooner?” |
1980 Summer
 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Dez Cadena
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Robo
drums |
| recordings Six Pack (e.p.) selections from |
| Dez joined the band several months after Chavo quit. He had been a longtime fan and Dukowski told him to try out. He worked very well as singer, but then decided to give up the mic due to the very real strains touring had on his voice.
Dez called Rollins in D.C. while the band had several days off in NYC. Several days earlier Henry had jumped on stage to sing a song with the band at a show. He was asked if he wanted to “jam” with the band. Suspecting they were trying him out, Rollins went up to NYC. He tried out, the band talked it over, offered him the slot, and Rollins accepted. He joined them on tour several days later. |
1981 Summer
 |
| Greg Ginn
lead guitar |
| Dez Cadena
rhythm guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Robo
drums |
| recordings Damaged (l.p.) selections from |
| Immediately before departing after the UK tour dates, Robo was detained by customs at the end of 1981. Bill Stevenson of the Descendents was called in to temporarily fill in for the seven dates left in the tour. Robo did not return to the fold of Black Flag, but rather ended up joining the Misfits. |
1982 Winter/Spring
 |
| Greg Ginn
lead guitar |
| Dez Cadena
rhythm guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Emil
drums |
| recordings TV Party (single) |
| It’s been said Emil left the group to go to college, but also been said that he had a dispute with SST employee Mugger and left on rather bad terms. Biscuits (of Canadian group D.O.A.) was recruited by Ginn and Rollins while on the road. |
.
1982 Summer
 |
| Greg Ginn
lead guitar |
| Dez Cadena
rhythm guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Chuck Biscuits
drums |
It was with this line-up that the infamous 1982 Demos were recorded. These were never officially released, but have been heavily bootlegged. Many of the songs were re-recorded and showed up on the two subsequent lps, but the songs “Yes, I Know”, “Beat My Head”, and “What Can You Believe” are still officially unreleased in any form. |
| Biscuits was apparently kicked out of the group for unspecified reasons. Rollins hints in GitV that he messed up several gigs and was irresponsible. It has been remarked that he had not the personality for the band. It has also been said that he was one of the most ferocious drummers they had. He later went on to join Samhain, which developed into Danzig. |
| 1983 Winter |
| Greg Ginn
lead guitar |
| Dez Cadena
rhythm guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Bill Stevenson
drums |
| Cadena left the group because he wanted to form his own group. This resulted in the formation of the group DC3. |
1983 Spring
 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Chuck Dukowski
bass |
| Bill Stevenson
drums |
| Reasons for Dukowski leaving Black Flag differ greatly. He maintains that “it was over” for him and it just wasn’t what he wanted to do anymore. Rollins stated that Ginn more or less edged him out of the group against Dukowski’s wishes. Regardless, Dukowski continued to work for SST and went on to form the group Swa. |
| 1983 Summer |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| “Dale Nixon” (real name: Greg Ginn) bass |
| Bill Stevenson
drums |
| recordings My War (l.p.) selections from |
| Ginn handled all of the bass duties for the recording of My War. Oddly enough, My War features two songs written exclusively by Dukowski. Soon after, Kira was recruited when Ginn heard her jamming with Dez’s group DC3. |
1983 Autumn
 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Kira Roessler
bass |
| Bill Stevenson
drums |
| recordings Family Man (l.p.) Slip It In (l.p.) Live ’84 (l.p.) Loose Nut(l.p.) the Process of Weeding Out (e.p.) In My Head (l.p.) selections from I Can See You (single) |
| Stevenson was apparently forced out of the group by Ginn against his will. Ginn maintains that while he liked his enthusiasm and work ethic, he did not care much for his drumming. Stevenson rejoined the Decendents, which later evolved into All. |
1985 Spring
 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| Kira Roessler
bass |
| Anthony Martinez
drums |
| recordings Who’s Got the 10 1/2? (l.p.) |
| Kira was more or less excised by the band due to personality and musical conflicts. She went on to perform with Mike Watt in the group Dos. |
1985 Autumn/Winter
 |
| Greg Ginn
guitar |
| Henry Rollins
vocals |
| C’el Revuelta (pronounced “Sal”) bass |
| Anthony Martinez
drums |
| In August, 1986, Ginn broke the group up to concentrate on running SST and to record with his group Gone. Gone broke up within a year and Simeon Cain and Andrew Weiss went on to join/form the Rollins Band with Henry. |
Information compiled from various sources; including but not limited to:
Get in the Van
Henry Rollins (2.13.61)
the liner notes of Everything Went Black
various (SST)
Everything Went Black: a Complete Oral History
David Grad (Punk Planet #20. Chicago. Sept/Oct 1997).