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Guilty by Association was formed in February 2001, from members of several defunct underground punk/hardcore bands from Las Vegas and Lake Havasu City including Red and the Sick Pimps, Pummel, Spoiled Milk & Pigstine.

Band members Tom Jones, Mike Janoff, Bobby Bloss, Craig Swanson and original drummer Rob Criscoe got their start playing weekend shows in Las Vegas at places like the Cooler Lounge, the Double Down Saloon and the historical Huntridge Theater. In May 2001, working in the living room of a friends house, they produced their first demo. By the end of the year, they were just starting to book out of state shows when personal issues prompted Criscoe to leave the band. Drummer Jamie Jackson of 90’s punk band Non-Oxynol 9 immediately joined the group allowing them to keep their momentum.

Guilty by Association got their first break in January 2002 in the form of a direct support slot for the Dead Kennedys reunion show at Pink E’s. Promoter and then new friend of the band, Landon Gale, called in a favor to the guys and they answered with a defining opening performance to a frenzied crowd of over 800. After the show they were approached by Finger Records owner Mel Schantz who, over the course of the next year, booked them several shows in Southern California and produced the bands second demo in Orange, CA with engineer Jim Monroe.

With new demo in hand, Guilty by Association began booking in cities all over the Southwest landing shows with the Dead Kennedys, DI, Total Chaos and FEAR among others. Their popularity grew larger with every new city they played and soon the band began to realize that they were onto something big. They knew the time was right to record their first release but they were not without their set backs. In November 2003, following some internal trouble, the band reluctantly replaced Jackson temporarily with long time friend and drummer of Spoiled Milk, Curtis Diehl, who just 6 months later was relieved by drummer Mychael Cuevas. At only 19 years old, Cuevas had the chops and experience to propel the band to the next level.

They continued to tour around the Southwest for the next year sharing the stage with bands like Voodoo Glow Skulls, Guttermouth and Dwarves and in November 2005, Guilty by Association began recording their first full length release with producer Adam Segal, former guitarist of The Faction. Although the band was anxious to release this recording, it would be a full year before it would actually happen.

Guilty by Association released their debut CD ‘Detox’ on November 18, 2006. Investing only in themselves, they started their own record label called Public Nuisance Records and began an internet campaign to promote the label and the CD. News spread quickly in their hometown of Las Vegas as well as across the country and even in isolated spots around the world. Soon the crowds were growing bigger and bigger and CD‘s were selling more and more. The band then toured extensively over the next year throughout California, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona playing shows with bands such as Exploited, Circle Jerks, and Sham 69. By summer ‘07, with ‘Detox’ and a supporting tour long behind them, the guys were beginning to write songs for their next release.

In August 2007, the bands idea of recording a new CD came to a halt after Cuevas announced he would be leaving to pursue other interests. Having a large set of shoes to fill, they enlisted former Quick to Swing drummer Chris Jensen who played a 6 month stretch with the band. Cuevas came back briefly in April 2008 to help the guys finish their Colorado tour and homecoming show. Guilty by Association returned home in May 2008 once again searching for a drummer.

In June 2008 Guilty by Association found current drummer Billy Nunno and were touring again by July, landing a string of great shows over the next year and a half with bands like the Adolescents, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Youth Brigade, the Adicts, Death by Stereo and the Vandals. Completely back on their feet, the band began recording their second release in Oct. 2009 consisting of songs they wrote and developed over the previous three years. Wanting a slightly more polished sound than their first CD, they went to Orange, CA producer Paul Miner, formerly of Death By Stereo, who helped the band produce their best work to date.

Released in February 2010, Guilty by Associations second CD ‘American Decay’ is greatly exceeding the success of its predecessor. In the wake of the release, GBA expanded their touring territory into Idaho & Washington and in Sep. 2010 they played the American Decay Northwest Tour 2010 with stops in Bakersfield & Las Vegas along with co-headliners Voodoo Glow Skulls, and then on to Reno, Boise, Tacoma, Bremerton & Seattle with co-headliners Break The Cycle. The band played a few more gigs to finish out the year and are currently writing songs for their next album, projected for release in early 2012.

Article from Review-Journal Las: Neon, Las Vegas
Feb. 25, 2010

SOUNDING OFF: Vegas punk band making gains

Their first recording session was done in a kitchen. Nine years and six drummers later, Vegas punks Guilty By Association no longer lay down their tunes among housewares, but they're still a bunch of blue collar dudes with day jobs, not daydreams.

Despite the glittery veneer of many of this city's entertainment offerings, most of the Vegas bands worth mentioning are of a decidedly working class bent, Guilty By Association among them. And they certainly don't put on any airs when it comes to divining the keys to their longevity.

"We hate each other," guitarist Tom Jones says chuckling over a beer at The Bunkhouse on a recent Wednesday night.

"It is a love/hate thing," singer Mike Janoff adds through a knowing grin. "It's almost like a dysfunctional family."

But that family has grown increasingly tight over nearly a decade together, and it's easy to hear as much on the band's latest disc, "American Decay," which they're holding a release party for Saturday at The Bunkhouse.

A significant step forward for the group, the disc is a fast, fat-free blast of melodic punk rock heart attacks that race by on high-velocity hooks.

The tunes are equally socially aware and sardonic, cheeky ("Bingo Billy," an ode to the drunken antics of their drummer, Billy Nunno) and caustic (the seething "Straight to Hell").

Recorded in Orange, Calif., with former Death By Stereo bassist Paul Miner, who has worked with such notables as New Found Glory, Atreyu, Thrice and Throwdown, the disc is directly reflective of a change of scenery for the band.

"It was nice getting out of Vegas with no distractions," Janoff says. "We went down there for six days straight, worked 10 hours a day, didn't party. We were just all business. We had never really done that on any of our recordings."

The band, rounded out by guitarist Bob Bloss, is releasing the album on their own label, Public Nuisance Records, preferring to keep everything in house.

"It has to do with us wanting to stay in control of the direction that we're going," says bassist Craig Swanson. "A lot of bands sign with labels and they're influenced in all kinds of ways because of it. This way, we can do whatever we want at all times. It keeps us true to where we came from."

And where GBA comes from, success is defined by survival. In this sense, the very existence of "American Decay" already makes it a hit.

"We're OK with working jobs," Swanson says. "One day, if (the band) pays us big, then that's great. But until then, we'll stick with where we are."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476

What’s better than watching middle-aged punk dudes live the dream? When that dream includes Santa outfits, baseball bats and bar fights. Saturday night’s Bunkhouse show ended abruptly when what looked like friendly moshing morphed into multiple fistfights. Locals Guilty By Association headlined, with each member decked out as ol’ Saint Nick, but by 2 a.m., the punk band’s holiday cheer could do little to calm the drunken punks near the stage. Hoping to pull off a few more songs, GBA called it a night when the bartender took matters into her own hands, yielding a baseball bat to break up a fight on the floor. Still dressed as Father Christmas, singer Mike Janoff looked more like Billy Bob Thorton in Bad Santa, yelling at instigators to take the brawl outside. Despite the holiday havoc, lead guitarist Bobby Bloss says fights are common at GBA shows. “I [would] like to say no, but it happens,” Bloss says. “Apparently we invite it. I don’t know why.” Fliers advertised the show as a CD-release party, but Janoff announced early on that the band wasn’t actually unveiling a new record. “I don’t know where they got that information,” Janoff says. “We’re just a bunch of drunk Santas.”

Leslie Ventura - Las Vegas Weekly Dec. 23-30, 2010