The Oral History of Jr. Anti Sex League (Vegas Archive)

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Welcome to Vegas Archive, a feature where we re-release music from local bands that are gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Today we’re bringing you the complete discography from Jr. Anti Sex League, who were originally active in Vegas from 2000-2005.

For more information about the band and these songs, read the oral history as told by former Jr. Anti Sex League members Brian Cantrell, Keith Hardin, Cory Johnston and Jason Parker, as well as other musicians and friends who knew the band.

Jr. Anti Sex League’s origins begin with a junior high band called NOX

Brian Cantrell, Jr. Anti Sex League guitarist/vocalist

When I was in middle school (1998-ish), I used to play guitar in the quad before school and during lunch. Cory Johnston, a drummer from band class, approached me about starting a band with friend David Yoder.

Cory Johnston, Jr. Anti Sex League drummer

I met Brian at Johnson Jr. High School. After a year of playing in band together I approached him about starting our own band, and off we were. Prior to this, I had only jammed with other neighborhood kids in the garage.

David Yoder, former NOX bassist

My dad had a Pearl drum set that he usually had set up in our house, and every time Cory came over, he always wanted to play it. Shortly after, his parents got him his own drum set, and the musical journey began. We had no idea what we were doing, but we both were all for it, we just needed a guitar player. We started talking with the guitar player for our junior high jazz band, that was a young sixth grader (we were both in 7th grade), and asked him if he would be interested. That guitar player was Brian Cantrell.

Cory Johnston

Brian and I would jam in my garage and make a lot of noise! Along with David Yoder, we put together a half hour’s worth of covers and originals. We called ourselves NOX.

David Yoder

We had a few originals, but mostly did covers, having only been 12 and 13 years old at the time. We had a lot of support from everyone, including our parents, the band director at our middle school, and even the principal. The principal allowed us to play a concert, after school, in the quad. It was the first time we would actually get to play in front of everyone as a band.

Cory and I went off to high school shortly after, but still would get together and jam with Brian whenever we could. Once in high school, I was mentally exhausted. I really didn’t have much of an interest in playing in a band – I just wanted to hang out with my friends, and not be restricted with rehearsal days and the like. Cory and Brian wanted to keep going, however, and they did, thus forming Jr. Anti Sex League.

With Cory in high school and Brian finishing middle school, Jr. Anti Sex League begins to form

Cory Johnston

It was early in my freshmen year that I brought Keith into the mix. Keith and I had been neighborhood friends since elementary school. He was new to guitar but progressing quickly.

Keith Hardin, Jr. Anti Sex League guitarist

I knew of Brian and Cory; they were the cool band dudes who played in jazz band. During that time I was a budding guitar player and joined up with them around the start of high school. Cory came to me and said “stop skating and biking and play guitar for this band we are putting together.”

Cory Johnston

I met Jason [Parker, JASL bassist/vocalist] my freshmen year at Palo Verde High School, in the high school marching/concert/ jazz band and we became friends. About the middle of my freshmen year, Jason approached me about starting a band. I went to his house over the weekend and he shared some song ideas with me. I told him I thought it was a great idea and I already had the other members ready to go.

Jason Parker, Jr. Anti Sex League bassist/vocalist

I was a senior, Cory and Keith were freshmen, and Brian was completing his last year in junior high. Initially, I had a really specific vision of what direction and sound I wanted for a band. Those guys had chops superior to most of my peers and were pretty malleable, so I was more than happy to take chances.

Keith Hardin

Jason was the older, kinda “brains” of the operation. He let us rehearse at his house in the garage at first. We cruised around in his Toyota Camry to gigs until we all got cars and driver licenses. I remember the smell of his cracked leather seats and the long nights going to venues passing out fliers and seeing shows.

Cory Johnston

So with Jason on bass/vox, Brian on guitar/vox, Keith on rhythm guitar, and myself on drums, the band was born. We just needed a name.

Jason Parker

I read 1984 as an assignment in high school. The name always kinda stuck with me. It just cracked me up for there to be this youth organization like them. It reminded me of some of the groups there were in high school.

Keith Hardin

Our sound never fit into a spot in the scene and neither did our name. “Jr. Anti Sex League” sounded cool, but most people would say “What, you guys don’t believe in sex?” [laughs]. I think the name and the odd mix of great songwriting and our talented rhythm section made it work.

While they didn’t quite fit in with the sounds popular in Vegas at the time, the newly minted Jr. Anti Sex League quickly gained a reputation for their raucous live show

Jason Parker

When JASL started, the all-ages scene in Vegas was entirely hardcore and So-Cal punk. It was so hard to gain a following for us because we weren’t screaming or singing in that nasally punk voice. Hardcore kids really hated us. They just thought we were the enemy. Whenever we’d play with hardcore bands, we’d always get a lot of middle fingers, shit talking, and cat calling. I’m just happy they didn’t really throw things at us or get violent. We would just try to kill them with kindness and, every so often, a few would warm up to us. With JASL, it never really felt like the masses appreciated us. It was always us against the world.

Brian Cantrell

Our live act was influenced pretty heavily by the At The Drive In, Nine Inch Nails and Fugazi videos we were watching at the time. Pouring your heart out meant more than just playing the songs. A show didn’t feel complete without climbing things, throwing guitars, and other various antics.

Brett Bolton, former Red Light School District drummer, current Kitze and the CPUs

I was blown away by JASL the first time I saw them. They had a male inflatable doll that they threw out into the crowd. They were all shirtless and throwing toilet paper at people. It was one of the most fun local shows I had ever seen and it got me super charged on being part of the Las Vegas music scene. Oh yeah, and the music was awesome, too.

Cory Johnston

People spread the word and our shows filled up. I’m sure it took those antics in the beginning to build the crowd, as our songwriting abilities really didn’t start developing till after the first couple of years.

Jason Parker

We didn’t have much draw, but we hit it off with many of the people working at the Castle, which helped establish us when other venues opened. Smoothie King and The Alley were great as they were west side venues that our friends could make it out to and they treated us like featured artists. The Alley especially provided an excellent family atmosphere. All the bands that played there on a regular basis really had a genuine appreciation for each other. Fletch, A Silence Fell, Lydia Vance, The Skooners, Forget McCarran, Camden.

Brendan Scholz, former Absent Minded frontman, current Mercy Music frontman

I think the first Absent Minded show ever was in a Sonic Drive Thru with JASL. I remember Kim Garcia, who booked The Castle and The Huntridge, telling me that they were her favorite local band, so I was really excited to see/play with them. They didn’t disappoint, and I was a huge fan from that day on. They managed to rock super fucking hard with reckless abandon all the while maintaining tightness and having really well written, well thought, and extremely catchy material.

Jason Parker

Prior to the Alley days, we’d often hang out at house parties with Over the Line, Chemical Ex, GDB, Annum Ford, and Absent Minded. We didn’t really fit together, but there was a strong mutual admiration between us

Nick Vincent, former 7 Foot Midget and Annum Ford frontman

My first memory of JASL is when they opened for 7 Foot Midget at Smoothie King dressed as Mormon missionaries and totally stole our “I Don’t Date Mormons” thunder [laughs]. They definitely had fun and didn’t take themselves too seriously. It made me an instant fan.

Keith Hardin

My favorite place to play – hands down – was the Huntridge. We saw that place rise and fall at least twice. I remember opening for a show where Brandon Flowers played with his early band, before all the Killers boys came together. I remember one show at the Huntridge when Brian stripped down to his whitie tighties and we had bubbles/shaving cream all over the stage, along with blow up dolls and JASL Barbies with shaved heads flying through the air. It was madness.

Jason Parker

Playing the Huntridge felt like you were on top of the world. You could tell the feeling wasn’t sustainable on a local level. If only that damn building was a few blocks west, we could maybe have it in occasional operation right now.

Christopher Piro, former GDB guitarist, current Rayner guitarist

I think the first time I saw JASL was at a local showcase at the Huntridge. I was in my dorky-ska-kid phase at the time but the name really stuck out. Somehow I obtained a copy of their self-made burned CD with that weird home printer made artwork. “Cubicle” really stuck out to me with that almost -military chorus (and still does). A lot of Vegas bands were influencing each other and it was the first time I really knew what being part of a “scene” was. There was a lot of friendly competition and we were all trying to write a better song, a catchier chorus, or some new weird effect pedal thing.

Getting the word out about their wild live shows meant late nights creating and distributing flyers, though the emergence of social media would soon change that

Brian Cantrell

Jason showed me the art of making a flyer with scissors, glue, pens and a Xerox machine. It always felt really great handing out flyers that were designed and cut by hand. Physical flyers were a great icebreaker, which made it much easier to approach new people. Also, hanging posters just felt like something you could actually get in trouble for, so that was always pretty exciting.

Keith Hardin

I remember the late nights, all the parties and putting hundreds of fliers on cars. I guess now that equates to sending emails and Facebook invites. Our rebel/weird edge definitely got our name out there.

Jason Parker

One night, we were playing a show at Game Works and people were coming up to me and asking if my band had a Myspace. The first thing I did the next day was figure out what the hell a “Myspace” was [laughs]. It was such a game changer. No more handing out flyers, printing promo glossies, or burning demos. Suddenly, anything one would need to know about our band was on or Myspace page. I often wonder how many people notice that the last big wave of rock bands came out with the peak of Myspace and it’s been so hard for a new band to break since.

Brian Cantrell

It took me a long time to come around to MySpace, and even longer with Facebook. I think social media is absolutely necessary these days to network, promote, and stay informed about shows. I am doing my best to embrace it.

Cory Johnston

I would say promoting was much tougher back then, but in a lot of ways, more satisfying. YOU had to make initial contacts face to face and be vulnerable to a lot of turn downs. It built good character.

When it came time to commit the songs to tape, the band created a makeshift studio at Brian’s dad’s house

Brian Cantrell

Big Action and the Sofa King Kool EP were recorded at my dad’s on a boss br-8. The album was mastered at Upfront Studios. My dad was always super supportive and cool about letting us practice and record there.

Jason Parker

Brian’s dad let us convert his guest room into a rehearsal space. We drilled soundboard onto all of the walls, so you couldn’t even hear the band outside of the house. I sunk my graduation money into recording gear.

Keith Hardin

Recoding in the early days was like a Radiohead song put into life. It was a lot of the normal recording stuff with enthusiastic youth, sonic experimentation and no concept of boundaries. Brian was the recording wizard with all the 8trac home recorders. We even did reel to reel once.

Nick Vincent

I enjoyed their early full-length CD quite a bit. Quirky, catchy songs infused with a lot of humor and levity.

Brendan Scholz

They had a song called “Turns Grey” that I believe Brian wrote when he was like 14 or younger. I wish I wrote that song.

Brian Cantrell

Recording at home is great because you’re on your own time so it doesn’t cost anything when things take longer. Studio time is great because you get to use the latest and greatest gear with an engineer who knows how to use it in an awesome room. Both are really fun in their own way.

Jason Parker

We started going into recording studios and were trying to make the perfect demo. But our actual studio recordings felt a bit sterile and desperate. I think some of it was that studios at the time were over-using digital tools. It was just like how people were over-using CGI in movies at that time.

Cory Johnston

We had fun over the years, but I would say it got a bit more stressful towards the last couple sessions as a band. We all had opinions and some experience at that point to back them up. The early house sessions were definitely more light hearted, and filled with the purest intentions.

JASL’s search for the perfect studio would lead to the band splintering, with Brian and Jason going one direction and Keith and Cory in another

Jason Parker

One day I found Ian Shane Tyler on Myspace, and his home recordings under the name “Red Light School District.” I just thought he sounded amazing all-around. I started telling everybody about him and helping him gain buzz. Brian was excited about him, too. Brian and I agreed to back Ian for some shows [as Red Light School District] and our bandmates weren’t happy about that, so they quit.

Cory Johnston

As many bands do, we had a breaking point after 5 plus years together. Keith and I left back then because we felt the foundation of the band had weakened, and priorities were misplaced.

Brian Cantrell

Tensions were extremely high in JASL at the time; I would have considered doing both bands, but it was simply not possible as things were. Jason and I were always close as songwriters and as friends, so I didn’t think twice about backing his decision to join RLSD. Unfortunately, this was not done so tactfully, and it permanently damaged our relationships with Cory and Keith. We didn’t speak for several years to come.

Jason Parker

For me, RLSD was a breath of fresh air. I didn’t have to carry the same burdens of JASL. I could just sit back and be the bassist and have a good time.

Brian Cantrell

There’s definitely something appealing about just focusing on being an instrumentalist and performer (instead of co-writer, promoter, engineer, etc.) especially when there’s a shiny new project whose driving force is someone you really believe in.

Jason Parker

It was a blast, too, because Brett Bolton (who’d go on to form Kid Meets Cougar and Kitze and the CPUs) was our drummer. That guy is such a tight player, but he has such a laidback, grooving style.

Brett Bolton

Ian and I started playing together in RLSD and then he brought in Brian and Jason to fill out the band. I was a fan of JASL but didn’t really know them very well before I played with them. But as a big fan of their music, I was pretty nervous to play with them.

Cory Johnston

Jason and Brian of course had their valid reasons for wanting to split. Always two sides to a coin. It was heartbreaking and the feelings that followed taught me lessons for life. I have no regrets, only pride in what we all accomplished out of a garage. I learned and grew so much from all of the experience.

Keith Hardin

I had a few bands with Cory. After JASL we did Altarevere and then I left that and did a project with a buddy, recording an album of originals with Robert Root [The Killers, Imagine Dragons, New Order] engineering for us.

Cory Johnston

Keith and I continued for a couple years after the break with different bands, but ultimately decided we needed a break in general.

Red Light School District found themselves in a very different local scene, transformed due to the then-recent success of The Killers and Panic at the Disco

Jason Parker

While JASL never really got any serious label attention, RLSD certainly did. It’s insane to think what opportunities the band was getting. We opened shows for The Killers and Panic! at the Disco when they were getting massive attention. We also played high profile showcases at the Troubadour (LA) and The Mercury Lounge (NYC). It was exciting, but it was stressful because there would be a month or two between each of these shows of us just sitting around thinking the wave had passed.

Diego Perez, former Fletch frontman

Seeing Red Light School District hit the big stage [opening for The Killers] to a fan base that just seemed perfect. It was like seeing Pandora’s Box open! I honestly thought they would be the biggest thing out of Vegas EVER, but Imagine Dragons happened [laughs].

But almost as quickly as it began, Red Light School District came to an end, and Jason and Brian reformed JASL with new members

Jason Parker

After a year of the ups and downs of RLSD, Brian and I wanted to get back to working on our own stuff, and Brett came along.

Brett Bolton

We all wanted to continue playing together when RLSD broke up, so it just made sense for me to play drums in the new version of JASL. I was honored when Jason asked me to be a part of it.

Brian Cantrell

We were looking for someone talented who could play both keys and guitar, because it’s no secret that I’m not much of a keyboardist. Eric Zellner was actually the first person we jammed with the second time around, and everything just felt right.

Jason Parker

But Brian and I had different directions we wanted to go. I was getting into French electro/Ed Banger records stuff and he was starting to get into experimental rock. Brett, too, was starting to work on his Kid Meets Cougar stuff. The reincarnation of JASL lasted about a year before we agreed to take a break.

Meanwhile Cory and Keith reteamed as Article Pilot

Cory Johnston

I started a band called Article Pilot with all new musicians I’d met over the years. I took this opportunity to broaden my horizons and began writing the tunes as a whole and presenting it to the guys for their input and improvements. We’ve had a wonderful run with many opportunities above and beyond what I’ve experienced before. We headlined venues like the Roxy in Hollywood and the House of Blues in Las Vegas, did a live TV spot for the Jerry Lewis telethon, and had radio spots on 94.1 and 96.3 right here in Vegas. Article Pilot has been on hiatus for the last two years but we’ve started jamming as often as we can and plan on hitting it hard again in the near future.

Keith Hardin

A few years ago I joined back up with Cory in his band Article Pilot as lead singer. I had a blast with that for about a year but our visions were not aligned. Actually I am still bitter about that one because we were in the mastering stages with some really cool tunes and they let me go and just stopped the band. I still wonder what that could have been.

While JASL is officially over, its members still continue to make music separately, and a door remains open for future collaboration

Jason Parker

Since JASL ended I’ve been trying to do more of the grown-up thing. I’m a huge fan of the stuff Brett and Brian have been up to. Brian’s band, Bee Master, is my favorite local band. Their album is fantastic.

Brian Cantrell

I definitely learned a lot from the JASL days about relationships, music composition, home recording, promoting and booking shows, making art work, and whatever else comes along with growing up in a band. I rely a lot on memory from what worked and what went wrong, but am still always seeking ways with Bee Master to keep things fun and productive. I’m also in Same Sex Mary. I mostly just play guitar, but try my best to be easygoing and help out when people need me.

Jason Parker

I have just recently started writing some new material and Brian has agreed to contribute to it, but we’re in no hurry to start going full-throttle again.

Keith Hardin

Right now I’m building and designing a home studio and plan to start up a solo project.

Brett Bolton

I spend most of my time now creating visuals (both for work and personal projects). Music-wise I’m currently working on two projects: A new Kitze + the CPUs EP (with an upgraded live show) and a collaboration with Megan Wingerter that I’m excited to show the world.

Cory Johnston

It’s been 16 years since JASL started and I’m 30 now. I’ve been with the same wonderful woman, Magen, through most of this time, since I was 16. We’ve been happily married for the last 6 years. I knew early on that I didn’t want to wake up at 40 still trying to be a rock star. At 20 I went to school for electrical/mechanical/structural engineering and for the last decade have had a very successful and rewarding career thus far in the Elevator/Escalator Industry. I’m filled with joy and pride in all that’s come from my musical life. I still play daily and will never lose the fire or drive for music that has fueled me through all of this time. Article Pilot has been on hiatus for the last two years but we’ve started jamming as often as we can and plan on hitting it hard again in the near future.

Christopher Piro

JASL brought a really great, weird rock influence where they’d go off on interesting directions but bring it back to a catchy riff or chorus or something like that. Just hearing their music made all of us in the Vegas music scene strive to be on their level of songwriting.

David Yoder

JASL was spot on, both musically, and as a band. I was really proud of where they started from, and where they got to. Cory, Brian, Jason and Keith were all incredibly passionate about making music, and it showed in JASL.

Brendan Scholz

Jarred [Cooper, Mercy Music] and I talk all the time about how awesome it would be if JASL reunited. We still rock their burned EPs in the van.

Keith Hardin

We all grew apart but it’s funny how things can run full circle. JASL reunion tour!!!

Photos by various and provided by JASL members. New album art by Brock Frabbiele.

Jr. Anti Sex League
Big Action
2003

Brian Cantrell: guitar/vocals
Keith Hardin: guitar
Cory Johnston: drums
Jason Parker: bass/vocals

Jr. Anti Sex League
Sofa King Kool
2004

Brian Cantrell: guitar/vocals
Keith Hardin: guitar
Cory Johnston: drums
Jason Parker: bass/vocals

Jr. Anti Sex League
Upfront Studios Demo
2005

Brian Cantrell: guitar/vocals
Keith Hardin: guitar
Cory Johnston: drums
Jason Parker: bass/vocals