Rescued from the brink by a well-timed move to Southern California, M.I.A. first got its start as a Las Vegas punk act by the name of the Swell. After some lineup shifts and a move to Orange County, M.I.A. was born, and tracks were recorded and the party circuit was played. The resulting demo found its way around the influential members of the punk circle, but the band came to a halt, with vocalist Mike Conley moving back to Las Vegas. In 1982, the aforementioned tracks found their way onto a split LP with New Jersey's Genocide, entitled Last Rites. The buzz ...[more]