Middle Class (band)

The Middle Class were an American punk rock/hardcore punk band established in 1976 in Santa Ana, California. The band consisted of Jeff Atta on vocals, Mike Atta on lead guitar, Mike Patton on bass, and Bruce Atta on drums. The band achieved major success in the hardcore punk scene of Southern California. Their first shows were in 1977 in various Los Angeles clubs and ballrooms.

They were included in the 2006 documentary American Hardcore. The band's most popular release was Out of Vogue EP, released in 1978, particularly known for its extremely fast title track.

The Middle Class are generally considered one of the first bands to play hardcore punk. Once after a show, the band was approached by a young spectator by the name of Keith Morris, who quipped that he was going to start a band of his own. The band would turn out to be the legendary Black Flag, another band credited with originating the style.

They pioneered a shouted, fast version of punk rock which would shape the hardcore sound that would soon emerge from scores of like-minded bands, primarily throughout California and Washington, D.C. at first, but which eventually found its way all across America and became the predominant style of punk for a number of years long after the band's breakup.

The first record featured just the title track along with three other songs, but the band also had many demo tapes and 7 inch records in the L.A. area. After this they released the Scavenged Luxury 7" in 1978 which...
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