Link 80

Link 80
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Nick Traina and Adam Pereira. 924 Gilman Street, 1996.
Background information
Origin	Bay Area, USA
Genres	Punk rock, pop punk, ska punk, hardcore, skacore
Years active	1993–2002, 2016
Labels	Asian Man Records
Associated acts	Knowledge, Desa, RX Bandits, The Soft White Sixties, The Chinkees, Gnarboots
Past members	Nick Traina Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Aaron Nagel Joey Bustos Adam Pereira Adam Davis Jason Lechner Seth Blankenship Ryan Noble Barry Krippene Steve Borth Brian Beggs Stoney Moak Noah Enelow Matt Croda

Link 80 was a punk rock/ska punk band from San Francisco's East Bay.

Link 80 started in the summer 1993 in the East Bay of California. In the beginning, original members (guitarist Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, drummer Joey Bustos, bassist Adam Pereira and singer Jeff Acree) played around town as Drano, The Rag-Tags, and Mr. Slave-Unit, before settling on Link 80.

The name came from the interstate highway I-80 which they used to get to the drummer's garage for band practice and connected the band members' homes: members lived in Oakland, Berkeley and Richmond.

In May 1995, Nick Traina joined the band after meeting Adam at a show in San Francisco's Mission District. Nick's passion and voice combined with the rest of the band to make them different from most ska bands and gave Link 80 the "against the rest" attitude they display throughout their lyrics. Far more punk than ska and with an energy and a sense of immediacy lacking in pop-oriented ska bands, Link 80 was able to avoid the clichés of ska-punk characterized by their peers. As Asian Man Records describes them, they are an energetic blend of ska, punk rock, and hardcore.

The band's lyrics, audio samples and album artwork are notable for their diverse use of film and television references including The Twilight Zone, The Usual Suspects, American Me, Happy Gilmore, Stand by Me, Pretty In Pink and I Walked with a Zombie.