From their conception in late 1978 to their eventual break-up in 1985, The Brat contributed to the customization and intermeshing of multiple musical and cultural models that culminated in the distinct East Los Angeles, Chicano punk sound.
Along with being pioneers in the East Los Angeles punk movement, they are best known for their five song EP Attitudes, released in 1980 through the independent label Fatima Records, while contributing to the understanding of the many ways culture transforms and challenges dominant hegemonic ideologies.
[2] Teresa and Rudy met during the record release show for English punk band The Jam on April 14, 1978 at the Starwood, a nightclub in West Hollywood, California.
[1] The group began performing mostly at backyard parties and high school gymnasiums covering past and present top radio hits of their time.
Tito Larriva of The Plugz and Fatima Records and local business owner Yolanda Comparran championed the band, and, by the end of 1980, chose The Brat to launch their new label.
With Teresa's screaming vocals and Rudy's and Sidney's multidisciplinary guitar, the five song EP was a prime example of customization and transculturation of popular musical genres.
Covarrubia's driving vocals of the Mexican American experience with a focus on social and economic inequality engaged in dialogue about the pervasive invisibility and alienation her community — including herself — faced in East L.A. Other songs contain influences from reggae and other local and influential West Los Angeles punk bands such as X.
[2] Scholar George Lipsitz categorized their music as a "historic bloc" as it provided counter master narratives challenging dominant hegemonic ideologies in the United States, especially in East Los Angeles.
In interviews, Willie Herron and Teresa Covarrubias had expressed that their exclusion was a result of stratified boundaries based on geographical location, race, and class.
[6] In this case, West L.A. punk was primarily composed of children of elites who deviated from their status quo, privileged positions and undertook a process of self-marginalization and isolation resulting from their growing discontent of mainstream society.