Ever had that vague craving you just can’t put finger on? Well Saturday, I think I figured mine out. I needed some live punk music and fellowship and the Punk Rock Picnicwas serving it up in huge, tasty portions. This, my friends, is why I came to the West Coast.
The setting was in the heart of West Coast punk… deep inside Orange County at the Oak Canyon Ranch. So deep inside in fact that GPS and cell phone may or may not work and if you haven’t been here before (or like us, even if you have) you very likely may get lost.
Ah but once you arrive, Punk Rock Picnic is a classic punk rock event de force with punk rock acts on at least half a dozen stages of various sizes and even a few acts playing off to the side. As is usual at these type of gatherings, it was an extremely diverse crowd with older cats, some 50 or even 60+ freely mixing in with teens and even little kids, some as young as 2 or 3 and others, like this kid Lucky we met who was around 7 and just starting school. Lucky came with his dad, an original hardcore punk from OC who was intent on passing punk down to his youngest son and had Lucky sporting a mohawk with a black flag tattoo (temporary) on the shoulder.
There was only the very occasional incident… like when in mid interview with cameras rolling I lost my train of thought when I spotted in the background, a security guy chasing an older, slightly fatter punk full speed for some infraction or slight. The punk threw his beer straight up in the air and bolted off at full gallop as people gathered around to watch and chuckled at the spectacle.
I laughed thinking to myself regardless of the outcome, this isn’t Cuba and we are comforted by the thought that our portly punk friend isn’t going to rot away in some undisclosed political prison to be tortured… he most likely just got tossed from the event. The United States, land of the not so free sometimes, but also a land where you can run from security and not get “disappeared”.
Yes, it was at that moment that I realized, I was having a hell of a good time. Surrounded by thousands of people who in real life are sometimes considered “outcast” or “weirdos” by the main stream. People who are so varied in their looks and background that I don’t think I even saw the same punk band T-shirt on more than one person. At these events you quickly understand you are not dealing with the “sheeple” mentality plaguing the world.
The world needs more punk rock (Cont. below)
Having been in the scene a few years myself now, I know that the most intimidating looking punks are often, some of the nicest folks you could ever hope to meet. Punks seem to have an underlying code of conduct that “if you fall down, I’m going to pick you up”… that goes beyond a Rancid song or an out of control punk pit.
Or was that just the beer talking? I don’t think so, it’s a feeling I’d been missing and it felt like I had gone home again even though I’m not sure where my home is anymore. Maybe instead I have several and it was comforting and soothing to be back at Oak Canyon with punks, most of whom I’d never met but still felt like I knew.
Yes, my friend, punk can both indeed tame and unleash the savage beast in all of us.
Lucky wasn’t the only little kid in attendance, there were several sightings. And while one could possibly debate the wisdom of bringing kids to a loud, noisy concert, Punk Rock Picnic is different, it’s an out door festival where you can roam from stage to stage and there were vendors and even some activities just for kids.
Punk rock is here to stay. While it so often seems, with all the documentaries and books written, that punk is just a bunch of history from the 70s and 80s (and there was plenty of history at PRP with Drain Bramaged, Jello Biofra (Dead Kennedys), Fear and more) there are lots of good things going on right NOW in the scene.
I say lets don’t ONLY live in the past, lets live in the moment for a change…
Enjoy some pics from some very recent history with pics and video from the 5th annual Punck Rock Picnic 2012. More coming soon.
PS Thanks to my amigo Francisco Mora for help on getting some cool pics and and climbing on stage with Jello B. to get the cool video below.
You get the feeling a fella with the name, “White Boy James”might have grown up around another culture. I often refer to myself as a Gringo when traveling in Latin America, even though in some circles its considered a little course and inappropriate, I think it puts people at ease and hopefully lets them know I don’t take myself too seriously… so they can relax.
Well, with White Boy James I didn’t get a chance to talk to him about his moniker choice, but I did get to catch his show at the brand new Torino Lounge in Paramount, CA last night… and I’m going to make an educated guess that it had something to do that this white boy was playing some boogie woogie blues music and moving like he knew what he was doing.. and he did.
He did get a chance to tell me he grew up in Los Angeles, really close to the Torino lounge as it turns out. I don’t know how the blues got in his blood, but it’s in his blood. When he’s on the harmonica, or stomping across the stage in his trench coat, he could be any color… he’s just feeling it and letting it rip.
White Boy James
A white boy singing the blues? Happens all the time. George Thorogood… hell, Mike Ness.. and countless others. But White Boy James hits that traditional, deep southern type of blues where it intersects with hillbilly and roots country just a tad and a half or so before it becomes Rock N Roll. In fact, the band switched gears and played a couple of hillbilly, rockabilly’ish songs deeper into their sets.
I’m not the world’s biggest blues fan, but watching White Boy James and the Blues Express was a hell of a lot of fun. When I could catch the lyrics like “I like my woman with a big old butt” or “you been f”’ing all my friends” it just added to the evening’s fun and not “don’t take things too seriously” tone. The kind that blues was born out of when African Americans in the deep south sang the blues to forget the harsh conditions of their lives. Pain is where the blues came from. Your woman left you.. you’re broke.. you got nothing.. but the blues. I get it.
But White Boy James & The Blues Express are no joke.. they are 1st class musicians and they rip it up and put on a hell of a good show. If you get a chance to see them, well you should. And if you don’t, here is a little video clip for you.
PUNK OUTLAW RECORDS SIGNS LEADING PUNK BAND FROM SERBIA
- UPS! (Stand Against the System) Releases first CD “Evolution of the Transition” -
Los Angeles, CA April, 11th, 2012 – Punk Outlaw® Recordsannounced the signing of their first band outside of the Americas with UPS!Hailing from Petrovac na Mlavi, Serbia (the former Republic of Yugoslavia), UPS! is a Serbian abbreviation for “Ustani Protiv Sistema!” which translated means “Stand Against the System!”
No stranger to the atrocities of war during the last century, Petrovac na Mlavi can now boasts having the distinction of spawning the first Serbian punk band ever signed to a U.S. record label. UPS! began performing in 2006 when the band, impoverished but believing in their vision, persevered and began by borrowing instruments to play covers and eventually originals. When they couldn’t find rehearsal space they practiced in a nearby sheep meadow creating a quiet a spectacle for the local sheep herders.
Their vision and hard work paid off. In 2009 UPS! won the qualification rounds of the GBOB Serbia Contest (a country wide battle of the bands). They then participated at the national finals in Belgrade, where they earned the distinction of being the only punk band to reach the finals. They later toured all over Eastern Europe and even Switzerland with other famous regional rock bands.
After five year of struggle and hard work, UPS! has released their debut album “Evolution Of the Transition”, an aggressive, edgy release that features 10 originals railing against corruption and mistrust of authority in a way that can only be described as both angry and authentic.
“We’re excited to have UPS! be our first band from the punk music hotbed of Eastern Europe” states Robert Rose, Founder of Punk Outlaw Records. “These guys have important things to say and our intention is to help them say it” Rose continued.
UPS! influences include Pennywise, Rancid, Bad Religion, NoFX and Bouncing Souls, as well as local bands Atheist Rap, D?a ili Bu, Goblini, etc. Their trademark sound is speed combined with melody and powerful vocals.
“Evolution of the Transition” is currently available on iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Music, CD Baby and other digital music sites. Samples of the music can be heard and official bio and photos can be viewed at www.upsband.com and www.punkoutlawrecords.com site. Current members of the band include Jovan Kostic (Mandow) – Vocal & Bass, Darko Stojanovic (Dare) – Drums, and Luka Glasnovic (Luka) – Rhythm Guitar.
ABOUT PUNK OUTLAW RECORDS:
Punk Outlaw Records is a digital record label and publishing company with a focus on distribution and promotion of socially conscious punk, ska, reggae, rockabilly, psychobilly and other forms of music from around the world. The label’s mission is to facilitate music’s ability to bring social awareness and change to some of the world’s most pressing issues.
Woke up late on Saturday, packed up my camera and I and my painfully chapped lips and headed over to the Viva Las Vegas Car Show at the Orleans Hotel. Other than my aforementioned chapped lips, I love the desert air in April and it was an almost picture perfect day for any outside activity. It’s been five years since I’ve attended VLV and as if further evidence of it’s tremendous growth and popularity over the years were needed, I present Exhibit #1… The Car Show, which this year in addition to the classic cars and hot-rods, featured dozens of vendors on site and a large festival stage with bands playing all day until sundown.
I finally hooked up with my buddy Alex Blue, from the Los Angeles band Normandie Blue who was hanging with our mutual pals at the Spitfire Interiors(Whittier, CA) booth. I’ve known the crew from Spitfire for years and they have some of the most unique punk, rockabilly and psychobilly type of merch I’ve ever seen and they were doing a brisk bit of business at VLV. When I arrived, their booth was so crowded I couldn’t fit inside and shoot at the same time. The guys were preoccupied just trying to provide change for the cash being shoved in front of their faces.
Most of the vendors, like Spitfire, were mom and pop entrepreneurs and artists plying their wares for an appreciative client base. Booth prices are relatively affordable so vendors have a good shot of not only promoting themselves but making a nice profit at events like VLV. As well they should, exhibiting at these events is a lot of work but for most, well worth it (not to mention, a more than little fun is had in addition to raking in all the cold, hard cash).
The cars were insane as always. My favorites are the ridiculously low riding cars with the narrow front windshields and the old timey, two-seater hot rods. Many cars are towed in from around the country on the backs of trailers but I saw more than a few driving in the slow/truck lane on the drive to and from Los Angeles on the way in and out.
One of the great things about VLV in general and the car show specifically is the diversity of unique fashion that’s on display. The ladies had their Sunbrellas out in force to fight against the high desert sun and most of the fashion reflected the tattooed lifestyle of rockabilly or psychobilly fanatics. But there were also plenty of punk and other types of fashion influences mixed in amongst the crowd of strolling pin up queens and retro enthusiast.
The live musical acts on the huge outdoor stage was a great addition to the event from when I attended 5 years ago. There were great acts throughout the day but one of the highlights for me was catching a performance by the legendary British band “The Polecats“, who are a great, high energy rockabilly band dancing and playing on the edges of the genre where it melds with punk and psychobilly.
The Polecats
After the Polecats gig and the car show wound down, I made my way back inside the Orleans. If for some ungodly reason the car show wasn’t your scene, then there was STILL plenty going on… VLV is like Rockabilly amusement park where only your body’s need for sleep (or your tolerance for loads of alcohol) can prevent you from feeling entertained every second of the entire 4 day affair.
In addition to another pool party going full blast, I discovered a couple MORE music venues I had somehow missed PLUS a whole separate vendor area featuring retro clothing and old remastered classic rockabilly CDs and band posters. Yep, VLV has gotten huge.. but unlike so many things that see this kind of success, it has only gotten better in the process of growing. Everywhere you went, PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) was on tap for a measly $3.
Finally, burlesque.. that oh so popular retro and relatively recently revived art form that, at VLV at least, often meant braving snakingly long lines to secure a pass to the sold out shows. You may know how I feel about lines, basically I don’t do them. So I felt pretty smug when I was able to waltz into Burlesque Bingo without standing in so much as a 2 person deep line.
Now I’m not a big bingo fan exactly, but the fact that I could roll right in armed only with my VLV armband and press pass, well then bingo was a great excuse to get up close and personal to some burlesque dancing. Ah dear reader.. the sacrifices I make to bring you the pics and the story. I sure hope you appreciate it!
I’m not going to explain how Burlesque Bingo works but lets just it’s not your typical church bingo, of that you can be pretty certain. The highlight of the event for me was the chance to see the reigning 2011 Miss Viva Las Vegas Burlesque Champ, Miss Inga Ingenue(AKA Little Blonde Bomb) perform… wow! ,
And for any of you with delicate gender political sensibilities, you should know this was not a room full of dudes ogling scantily clad performers, far from it. It was at least 50/50 male-female ratio with some of the most raucous applause coming from the ladies in the bunch, many of whom were there with their man.
Inga Ingenue .
Lets see… burlesque, bingo, bowling… fashion, art and hot-rods… tattoos, leather jackets and rolled up jeans, sun-brellas, tight dresses and high heels..
Pool Parties with Tiki Bars, Hawaiian Shirts & Hula girls… Pachucos with Zoot Suits,
Guys with Mohawks, Quiffs and Pompadours..Girls channeling Sophia Loren and Bettie Page…
Mexibilly and Hillbilly Billy music with sliding guitars!
Drinking PBR out of a bowling pin or a plastic cowboy boot…
Elvis in with a pink cadillac scouting couples for the wedding chapel…
Chuck Berry and Richi Valens blasting from hot rods…
Greasers and Car Clubs…Sophia Loren and Bettie Page lookalikes..
Torn Suicidal Tendancies T-Shirt guy next to a Johnny Cash look a like..
Fans from Japan, Romania, Scotland, England…
Guys in overalls looking straight up from the movie “Brother Where Art Though?” and I saw a tough looking dude in combat boots and a kilt!
ahhh.. silly, ridiculous Las Vegas… oh and lest forget…
great live music from all over the world.
This is Rockabilly… this was Viva Las Vegas 2012.
WANT MORE VLV?
For the complete set of photos from Viva Las Vegas 2012 visit our Flikr Page HERE!
and stay tuned for some video clips from Burlesque Bingo and the Polecats coming soon!
I love subcultures. At Viva Las Vegasweekend you get to experience a world flipped on it’s head where it seems almost EVERYONE is a rockabilly character from some 1950′s movie or I Love Lucy episode. When I drove up to the Orleans hotel I knew I was in the right spot before even checking the sign. There were James Dean greasers walking into the venue and crazy looking hot-rods out in the parking lot.
The Orleans is huge and with it’s over the top Louisiana cajun theme, it is the perfect locale for a rockabilly weekender. After 15 years, I would say the Orleans Hotel and Tom Ingram’s Viva Las Vegas have pretty much perfected the art of the event. And it is art. It’s packed full of activities from 10 AM on Thursday until the wee hours of the night on Sunday. When do the people sleep? From the looks of things… not much.
To the casual attendee, things sure seemed to flow along without a hitch. I arrived early afternoon to see an incredibly long line snaking it’s way through the casino floor. It seemed to have no end in sight. I panicked thinking I was going to have to stand in that line to pick up my passes. But not to worry, that was the line to pick up tickets for the popular Burlesque Show later that evening. That dear reader, would have to carry on without me.
Picking up my press wristband and pass was much easier and in a matter of 3-4 minutes I was good to go. I headed straight to the vendor area to see what kind of unique items were being offered this year. Underneath the rockabilly soundtrack and booming live band next door, I heard the faint buzz of tattoo needles where people were getting inked up. Next to the tattoo booth was a spot for Rockabilly girls to get a makeover.
There were of course old Rockabilly albums and photos of bands from back in the day, lots of vintage items including old movie posters from the 50s and 60s, plenty of booths with all kinds of unique clothing for guys and gals, customized knobs for the gearshift of your hot-rod and even a zoot suit booth for those who rock the pachuco look.
Happy Customer with George (Right) - The House of Jorge
I think my favorite booth wasn’t so much of a booth but a little area called “The House of Jorge”run by, you guessed it George from Denver, Colorado. George had custom belts, some cool chain wallets and some really cool, really popular and yes, expensive ($75+) PBR belt buckles. The stuff was unique (and expensive.. though I hear he’ll cut you a deal if he likes you) because it’s custom, one of a kind and made by hand by George himself. George is not only a talented artist, he’s a nice guy. We had a good time talking about the end of social networking as we know it (what, you haven’t heard? well you heard it here first kiddies).
Next up was bowling. Now with bowling shirts so popular in this scene, it should, I suppose be no surprise that the “sport” of bowling is equally popular. The upstairs area of the Orleans has a kick ass bowling alley and for $5, VLV attendees received 2 games, shoe rental and a slice of pizza.
There was a constant supply of music everywhere in the hotel and it was all the right kind, rockabilly and old time rock and roll.
Detroit's "Royal Rhythmairs"
One of my favorites was a band from Dallas-Ft. Worth called “The Royal Rhythmaires” introduced by our buddy DJ Del Villareal of Motorbilly Radio from Detroit.
DJ Del Villarreal from Motorbilly Radio
We also saw the Atomic Drifters from Denver and the Phantom Shakers from Detroit as well as our good buddy DJ Rockin Vic (Los Angeles) spinning classics for a packed and swinging dance floor. There was a cool pool party featuring the “kings of hulabilly”, “Hula Girls”and when I say cool, I mean literally cool, it was chilly in Vegas.
Hula Girls @ the Pool Party
One of my favorite things the entire day was the VIP Screening of the documentary Bettie Page Reveals All.. a documentary years in the works that was officially authorized and narrated by Bettie herself. What an amazing thing to actually hear (but not see) the older Bettie Page telling her incredible life story just before she passed away.
Atomic Drifters
Before the screening there was a red carpet and a Bettie Page look alike contest. BTW – A complete review on Bettie Page Reveals All is coming up later.
Phantom Shakers
One of the many great things about VLV is that there is so much to do that you can’t possibly do (or in my case) cover it all. So you pick and choose your favorite things and if you are bored, well, it’s because you want to be. There are so many bands, so many different things to do you just have to relax, highlight your “Must Dos” and let the rest come as it may, naturally.
It’s sort of like a short vacation to another country, except in this case, it’s not only another place but a completely different era. You can’t do it all, so you do what you can and don’t let the fact that you can’t do it all stress you in any way. I didn’t see a lot of stressed people at VLV by the way, it seemed everyone was having a good time.
Which brings me to the question, if everyone is in the subculture, then is it a subculture anymore? While I don’t think there is any danger in rockabilly taking over the planet anytime soon… hitting the VLV at the Orleans hotel gives one a slight taste what life would be like if it did. And I have to tell you, so long as Elvis is around to be our president and roll around in his motorcade in a hot pink cadilac, I think it might be pretty cool.
MORE TO COME: Today we’re hitting the Car Show, seeing more bands and we’ll many, many more pics and videos up soon, so stay tuned.
In 2006 I happened to be in Las Vegas for some business reason or another when Viva Las Vegaswas in town. I stumbled upon the pool party by accident and saw a guy named “Pachuco Jose y Los Diamantes” playing his brand of boogie woogie out by the pool and all these tattooed and retro looking people in a variety of dress swinging and dancing to the music and generally having a good old time.
The music was in Spanish… the crowd was at least 50% Latino and this was as entertaining of a scene as my NYC jaded eyes had seen in a long, long time. I decided then and there that I’d be back the following year with cameras to feature the event on my syndicated TV show I was producing at the time, American Latino TV & LatiNation.
In 2007 we returned and did just that. We spent a couple days there gathering footage and interviews, checking out the car shows, talking to pin up queens and rockabilly cats from as far away as Japan. We interviewed the founder Tom Ingram and gathered enough material to produce a few segments on the phenomena.
Following my gut instinct that this type of content would play well in our biggest TV market (For a Latin targeted show that is Los Angeles, NOT New York City) and in markets throughout the west and southwest, we started weaving rockabilly and punk content into the shows. When covering music, fashion or other cultural stories instead of just focusing on the latest salsa or reggaetone artists or Latin celebrity, we also included this very underground culture that rarely received any mainstream national media attention.
It worked. Our ratings and awareness increased and I can honestly say of all the smart and stupid things I did in the 8 years I produced the shows, this was one of the smarter moves. It was a marketing home run.
Possibly in part because I was personally fascinated with the culture and people and genuinely interested in this lifestyle, not only from a Latin point of view, but overall.
This my friends, is how Punk Outlaw initially began. Despite the success of the ratings, American Latino & LatiNation couldn’t be all rockabilly, punk and psychobilly all the time. Our mission was much, much broader than that and the vast majority of viewers, while intrigued enough to watch some segments, would never watch entire programs dedicated to the culture. Not to mention our 100+ local affiliates and our dozen or so advertisers didn’t sign up for this type of show.
So walah.. Punk Outlaw was born. First as a simple site with some videos on You Tube then later the current version you see now, which incorporates my world travels as I work on the documentary “Punktology… the worldwide influence of punk”… to most recently, the launch of Punk Outlaw Records.. which is still feeling it’s way around finding and promoting various genres of underground music from around the world so that everyone can enjoy.
Well, now, in 2012, a good 5 years after we first covered VLV and provided some unique, never before seen coverage that I’m still very proud of to this day, we are heading back.
We’re driving this time from Los Angeles and beginning tomorrow will be there through Sunday where we’ll provide daily updates on the blog as well as video segments.
So if you can’t make it VLV this year, never fear dear reader, we got you. Stay tuned for daily updates and pics right here and we’ll do our best to bring it to you in all it’s glory. Should be a rollicking good time.
You may remember our buddies from Medellin, Colombia, The Dorados Rockabilly Trio, one of the few, true rockabilly bands in the entire country (there is an emerging pyschobilly scene in Bogota). I was really impressed with Dorados’ passion for rockabilly music, in a country where rockabilly music is a very foreign concept.
My rockabilly friends in California and New York have often told stories about the looks and questions they get when they travel outside the “culture zones” of Cali and NYC in areas less familiar with Rockabilly music and subcultures, like the midwest or deep south.
Well, imagine if you can being in a place like Colombia… so long isolated from the rest of the world, where even being a punk, is bound to draw some stares (or a Gringo, take it from me), much less rockabilly with the pompadour hair, retro clothes, tattoos and the 1950′s and 60′s Americana look.
Yet these guys and a few others like them persevere. We signed Dorados to Punk Outlaw Records when they released their first CD “Conflicto de Espacio Blanco”(White Space Conflict), a Spanish / English mix of 6 originals including their trademark song “Bettie Page”. The CD is out now on i-Tunes,Amazon Music, etc.
While we recognize the excellent rockabilly bands in the UK, U.S. and other parts of the world we felt like music like this from a country like Colombia should be heard. I feel like we should support music from artists who are the lone voices in their home country.
With that all said, I really loved their tune, “Bettie Page”. I, like most people, wasn’t alive when Bettie Page’s brand of cheesecake photography was so popular. But I became fascinated by her life story when I found she was from Tennessee (where I’m from) and moved to NYC (where I moved to) and then California (where I now live) and later in life returned to Tennessee and became very religious and secluded in her dying days (the similarities stop there, I hope… oh and I’m not really as hot as Bettie Page either… and I’m a dude).
Say what you will about Bettie Page and her art, the reality is that she was a pioneer and has inspired many, many photographers and models in the current pin up and burlesque scenes, which are a big part of rockabilly culture.
I don’t want to get any hate mail and flames from people who don’t agree with pin up and burlesque. If you don’t like it, don’t read this blog or view the Bettie Page video or videos coming up on Punk Outlaw, because we’re going to feature more of it on the site. Why? because it’s a big part of the culture and we cover the culture, ALL of it. It’s that simple.
Miss Nentini is a burlesque dancer and pin up artists who hails from El Salvador but lives in Los Angeles. She’s got legions of loyal fans on her Facebook Profile and is actually able to make her living performing burlesque and modeling throughout the Los Angeles area. After the video shoot, we interviewed Miss Nentini for our documentary “Punktology” and she filled us in on some of the challenges facing burlesque and pin up girls.
We asked her to channel Bettie for the video shoot last month at Venice Beach for the video we are producing for the Dorados Rockabilly Trip single “Bettie Page”. I think she did a good job and below are some behind the scenes photos of the shoot.
It was a cold, windy day at Venice Beach. I was sick and Nentini in her retro bikinis was not appropriately dressed for the weather. But like the pro that she is, she carried on and made it look like just another summer day on the beach. Thanks again to Miss Nentini and thanks to Tim & Snik, the Russian interns who provided production assistance for the shoot.
The un-retouched photos below are for your viewing pleasure. Look for Bettie Page video featuring Dorados and miss Nentini to come out later this month. And if you live in the LA area or are visiting, look for a Miss Nentini show. I haven’t had the pleasure of taking one in just yet, but I hope to bring one to you guys soon.
Just about an hour and a half north of Miami, near West Palm Beach is Lake Worth, Florida. Turns out Lake Worth is home to a plethora of artist and musicians and quiet possibly… an even bigger musical movement.
Why do artists choose Lake Worth over nearby West Palm or Ft. Lauderdale? Because it’s cheaper of course!
Cheap(er) living has always attracted artists… from the early days of punk and the Velvet Underground when Soho NYC had industrial lofts where artists lived or squatted rent free… to the Lower East Side and the infamous Alphabet City, when living there pretty much guaranteed a mugging … to today where NYC artists and musicians are more likely to live in Brooklyn and Los Angeles artists live in places like Silverlake or Echo Park.
…and in South Florida you have Lake Worth, Florida where a burgeoning music scene unlike any other is taking hold.
I was able to interview the bands from the recent Wayward Paradewhich took place at the legendary Churchill’s Pub in Miami last weekend.. smack in the middle of the Ultra Music Festival and the Winter Music Conference.
The crowds at South Beach were huge and if you read my article a few entries back, I referred to these electronic musical gatherings, rather harshly perhaps, as a “Douchebag Convention”. Be that as it may, the crowd on this particular Saturday night at Churchillswas smaller but decidedly more interesting with nary a douchebag in sight.
Among the crowd was a cool, lanky cat called “Scarecrow Jenkins” who actually was one of the musicians who played a variety of instruments for a band called “Los Bastardos Magnificos(The Magnificent Bastards). Also on the bill was Darling Sweets, a really talented and enjoyable female fronted band that I really dug. There was a slightly harder, possibly more inbred band (just joking guys!) called “Everymen”who whipped the crowd into a frenzy. It was like Deliverance meets the Warped Tour! I loved it!
There was also a band called Holly Hunt.. (no relation to the famous actress, though I heard she tried to stop them from using the name) who played some SLUDGE which is the the word I heard someone describe this non-vocal almost ambient sounding combo of drums and incredibly distorted and loud guitar riffs. Call it what you will, it works.
One of my favorite acts of the evening was Diablo Dimes, a retro duo featuring a sexy, sweet little songbird along with her guitar and kazoo playing band mate. I felt like I was hearing Johnny and June Carter Cash mixed with Josephine Baker reincarnated, along with some good old fashioned dixieland or boogie woogie.
In addition to the aforementioned kazoo, there were banjos, fiddles, washboards, accordions and stand up basses a plenty at this gig. The musicianship on display was evident. Many played multiple instruments in multiple bands.
The comraderie of the crew from Lake Worth was obvious and combined with the history of Churchills, made for a great atmosphere.
Is Lake Worth going to be the next Seattle for this… this.. this hillbilly/punk/Americana or whatever you call it type of music? Maybe. But if so, never fear. No need to pull out your flannel shirt from the closet. You’d be better served getting a pair of overalls or hitting the thrift shops if you want to fit in with this artistic crew of talented musical misfits.
It’s country, it’s punk, its retro, it’s rockabilly and its none and all of the above. It’s a bit confusing so just believe me.. it’s good and you need to check them out for yourself.
A mutli-national corporation sponsors an online exhibit about LA Chicano Punk?! gasp! Well, hell… it happens and as a guy who has made most of his adult life’s work and living by selling sponsorships and marketing plans to multi-nationals, I can’t really pretend this upsets my delicate sensibilities now can I?
I knew there was something a little too slick about the email/press release I received with an opening line stating “hope this finds you well”. Turns out it was from a company called The Door..an Idea House.. which is really just fancy talk for an ad agency… that tool of corporate multinationals to help sway poor suckers who don’t know any better that they really want some shit they really don’t need in order to be cool.
Now, as you can maybe tell, I have a love / hate (but mostly love) relationship with ad agencies. They were my best buddies when I had a company selling advertising to support my INDEPENDENT TV projects. They gave me money in exchange for ads in a relationship with the media that we call advertising sales. Without my early success in that field, I would not be able to travel the world, typing on this here video/blog dear viewer/reader…. covering the global punk scene for anyone who gives a shit enough to watch/read. So I owe many of them a debt of gratitude and I can honestly say, many of my best clients are still my friends to this day (a couple of them are punks too btw).
I mean corporations are made up of… people. And I like people. It’s companies without a conscience I don’t like. It’s places where incompetent people, who are best cut out for politics than business, can hide that I don’t like.
I only worked for a large corporation once in my 20+ year career and it lasted only 3 years and it was simultaneously miserable and cool at the same time. It was miserable because I answered to fools. It was miserable because there were so many weak, unethical clowns in positions of authority it was disheartening to the mostly good people who actually had to work for said cast of clowns.
The cool part? The conspiratorial nature of the camaraderie built with so many good people, mostly at the bottom rung of the corporation with whom I developed lifelong friendships (and many of whom have all gone on to do bigger and better things, being immensely talented but suppressed by a silly, publicly traded entity with it’s corporate head up it’s corporate ass). I have A LOT more thoughts on those 3 years of my life, but that is another post…or even a book, at another time.
As a businessman (yes, you can be punk and be a businessman), I must at least tentatively embrace advertising and capitalism. Because, quiet frankly without it, I’d have a whole bunch of other problems I’d be dealing with (like what to eat tomorrow and where to sleep tonight).
But as a human, I’m not so sure (here is where the punk aha moment comes in). There is that pesky little problem of supposedly making people want what they don’t need. Advertising doesn’t exactly encourage the notion of “live simply so others can simply live”. Also capitalism seems to leave such a gap for many in the world where the middle class are notably few or even almost entirely absent, and a few rich people have the power in most of the countries (i.e. many 3rd world & Latin American countries).
But then socialism is sort of f’d up too. I mean check out all our blogs and videos on Cuba punks to see how power corrupts. Then there are those little lack of basic freedom details that get in the way of Fidel’s, Evo’s and Hugo’s shared dream of paradise.
I mean, it’s not the systems that are bad, capitalism or socialism , it’s the people who end up corrupting the systems. As a hardworking guy, I prefer to get paid based on my skills and work ethic than opposed to what some ineffective politician said I could get paid or that I also have to pay for people who are unwilling (note, not unable) to work. Call me crazy, but I feel a bit more free as an individual when I decide what I want to do with my life. That could include working my ass off… or begging for spare change. It’s my choice so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, who cares?
Yep, it’s the people that f’ it up every time. Guns don’t kill people, people with guns kill people…right? Well there have been a couple of times watching TV that I wish I had a gun to shoot the TV screen out, Fat Elvis Style, after watching yet another mindless, idiotic commercial trying to get me to buy something I didn’t want to buy or worse yet, stereotyping an entire race or sex to get me to act (Coors Light and 89.5% of most NFL themed beer commercials?! horrendous).
So when I received this email about a Toyota Scion sponsored “online exhibit” of Los Angeles Chicano Punk , I was expecting the worst. But Scion’s participation is so subtle, you hardly even know they are there.
Which perhaps presents a bigger problem. It begs the question if the photos were curated with the corporate final approval by Toyota? What was their involvement? None, a little or a lot.
I can guarantee you some photos were most likely discarded as a result or someone from the agency made the safe choice, picking photos least likely to “offend the client”.
If they weren’t censored, they were at least sub consciously self-censored just by the choices made. In the same position, I would have done the same thing. It’s not right or wrong, it just is and to do otherwise would be career suicide.
My problem with corporate America getting involved in the punk scene isn’t that money corrupts or someone is selling out, it’s that big corporate companies by their very nature, must be careful about Public Relations and how they are perceived. Which often leads to watered down, sanitized, ad friendly content… that is until something breaks the mold and when it becomes a hit (Real World & Survivor – the birth of Reality TV in the U.S. ) they all jump on the bandwagon and a pathetic race to the bottom begins (Jersey Shore, the Kardashians and virtually all reality TV on the air today).
I mean Rush Limbaugh has been broadcasting his particular brand of hate speech for years now, but it takes him calling someone a ‘slut” before the delicate sensibilities of Madison Avenue are finally offended? Yeah right!
In the case of LA Chicano Punk exhibit, I think it’s alright to have a corporate underwriter. If Scion’s involvement is what it takes to get this exhibit out there, then I say “go for it”. We can always choose not to watch it (or write about it) or put our own exhibit up to kick this little slice of an exhibit’s ass without any corporate dollars attached.
So long as we all know the deal, Scion, is out to sell us a car and they think by playing on our emotions about punk music that maybe their message will have a deeper impact. Well, they are wrong. I refuse to buy a Scion today. I already have a car. But maybe next week I’ll take a test drive?
I actually do respect Scion a little bit for showing a little love and respect to a very important part of punk history. I mean everyone knows if you want to sell cars, you should do it with Hip Hop, a genre that has no qualms about “selling out”. If you think I’m wrong, ask Russell Simmons as he strikes a yoga pose and murmurs “Namaste” on his 100% Gold Plated Toilet.
All this to say, here is a pretty cool little exhibit about the LA Chicano punk scene.. and oh, I almost forgot, sponsored by Scion. Enjoy!
What is the sign of a good punk show? Someone loses a shoe!
My ears are still ringing and I’m still on a natural high from the big Youth BrigadeShow at Weber’s Sports Bar in Receda, California Friday night. This is my 2nd time at Weber’s and I have to tell you, this is really a good place to take in a show and they are booking some great punk, rockabilly and psychobilly acts.
The difference between a show put on by Weber’s and one of the rip off shows from Rich Vreede / Black Cat is palpable the moment you walk in the door. The audience is taken care of, bands are treated with respect and they are really booking some grade A talent, like the legendary Youth Brigade plus a really, really talented roster of local LA punk and hardcore bands like The Dips and Soto St., the animated and raucous 2 man crew of It’s Casual, plus the long playing LA staple Killroy, featuring a special appearance by their original lead singer.
Soto St.
When we arrived, the owner of Weber’s, Kervin, a real cool cat and super hospitable guy, walked us upstairs, where Youth Brigade were hanging pre-show and we got a chance to chat with Mark Stern, drummer/vocals of the band.
Mark is the brother of fellow founder, guitarist/lead vocals Shawn Stern, whom I’d met briefly a couple years back in Brooklyn when they were touring & promoting their 25th anniversary DVD “Let Them Know… The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records” an excellent documentary and if you haven’t seen it pick up a copy at Amazon HERE or at the BYO Records site. Missed that blog? Check it HERE.
We chatted about Punk Outlaw covering and helping to promote the upcoming big “Punk Rock Bowling”concert in Las Vegas in May (we’ll be there and you should too but if you can’t make it at least you can read about it and see some video here).
I’m also in high hopes of getting YB on tape for an exclusive interview for you guys and for “Punktology… the worldwide influence of punk”in the very near future since we’re all practically neighbors on the west side of LA now. Stay tuned for that.
Mr. Lugey himself (not his name).. of It's Casual
After conversing with the band, the Punk Outlaw Russian intern duo of Tim & Snik and I took in the music. We missed the first couple of bands while chatting with YB but we did catch the final few songs of Soto St. followed by It’s Casual. Both solid and let me tell you It’s Casual is anything but casual. This two man, reverb and hardcore noise making machine knows how to put on a show. I dug the distortion and crazy fast and powerful drum beats.
When you’re just two guys, you gotta make up for it with a lot of fxx’ng noise and they do. My favorite moment was when the lead singer spits a gooey lugey up in the air and as it hangs off the ceiling above the stage, it slowly, starts a long drip back down. He nonchalantly puts the music on hold while he sets up underneath said lugey and proceeds to wait for it to ever so gradually and down right disgustingly return back into his mouth… with a few added germs and microbes from it’s little trip to the ceiling added in for good measure of course. This was no night for the germophobe like myself. I’ll be having bad dreams about that moment for some time to come.
Killroy - Original lead singer (not Mr. Heart Attack)
Next up was Killroy. These guys are no spring chickens and that is what I loved about them. They know what they are doing and the energy was high from song 1 straight through the end of the set. The current lead singer has a powerful, gravely voice that commands the room. He feigned a heart attack early on and I thought “this could be for real”. It wasn’t…or maybe it was and he’s just a really, really tough guy.
The place was full of tough guys BTW. There was a brief fight in the pit. Glasses were broken, people were kicked. Afterwards, one really big bruiser dude at least 220 lbs in a slightly too tight Tiger Army T-shirt tried to pick a fight with one of my Russian interns who weighs all of 140 lbs. Come on dude! #1 Pick on someone your own size and #2 show some fxxing hospitality! Nobody tried to kick my ass when I visited Russia.. I’m so embarrassed. I’d like to apologize on behalf of our country to our Russian guests.. pathetic!
Back to Killroy, heart attack or no, the guys have a big following in LA and for good reason, they put on a hell of a show working the crowd up into a lather waiting for the punk legends to hit the stage.
Mark Stern of Youth Brigade
FINALLY it was time. Our buddies, the legendary Youth Brigade hit the stage. I had already been knocked around like a rag doll trying to get some photos & videos of the opening acts, so I could imagine how crazy it was going to be for Youth Brigade which is probably the most democratic band ever, in terms of letting fans on stage to belt out the songs with them. (Exhibit A – see the video for “I Hate My Life” below).
We went all the way to Russia for our interns/bodyguards (Tim of Tim & Snik)
I instructed my Russian interns/bodyguards (note to self, next time get some bigger interns to be my bodyguards!) to stand behind me so I don’t get whay-layed and bust up the Cannon camera (who knows after the Black Cat-Rich Vreede Rip off if I can afford to replace it you know?). Maybe too tight Tiger Army Tshirt bully guy would like to be an intern for Punk Outlaw?
Fat Mike from NOFX, longtime pals of Youth Brigade but not in attendance Friday night unfortunately, would be proud. I was definitely was going to have a few bruises to show what a good time I had from this show. I just didn’t want a busted up camera as further evidence.
Shawn Stern - Youth Brigade
As soon as the show began, Tim & Snik bravely sacrificed their bodies to the cause of democracy and they took the brunt of the blows on their thin and waify like bodies, as I snapped away at the front of the stage. But even the combined heft of Tim & Snik was no match for the rollicking crowd as I eventually sprawled face first for the 2nd time of the evening onto the stage, thankfully with said Cannon safely above my head.
If you think this is useless information like your high school geometry class, it isn’t. By holding the camera out in front, away from your body and above your head, you are able to absorb the blows with some cushion for the camera. How does this benefit you, you ask dear reader? Try this technique when in a crowded room drinking beer. You will only spill it on other people, not yourself.. see, I told you it was useful info. You really should have paid attention better in high school geometry class.
Crowd was rowdy.. as it should be
Back to the show. Eventually, the lead guitarist for YB felt sorry for us and invited us up on stage with “relative” safety from the over enthusiastic (is there such a thing) crowd. I say relative because before too long YB was belting out my favorite tune “I Hate My Life” (who can’t relate to that song at some time or another?) as the crowd poured onto the stage and I’m cowering in the corner to the left of Mark Stern’s drum kit, leaving intern Tim, who was running flip-cam duties, to fend for himself. Intern Snik had long ago abandoned the pit and scrambled to the safety of the merch table at the back of the room.
On stage with Youth Brigade
That’s when I had THE MOMENT of clarity. That moment that reminded me why I loved punk music and why, oh why, do I write this blog, travel the planet under often less than ideal conditions videotaping bands and punks for the documentary and spend $ on something I probably will never make a dime at. Why do I get robbed in Argentina (fake taxi driver) and Los Angeles (Rich Vreede – Black Cat Entertainment), simply to pursue what is probably best described as an expensive hobby (and getting more expensive with each subsequent robbery).
From a business perspective, it defies common sense. From a punk lover’s perspective, it makes perfect sense.
Crowd pours on stage to sing
I’m on stage with one of the most legendary punk bands still playing today. Terribly influential guys to the entire punk movement. Guys that toured with Social Distortion and Minor Threat in the 80′s on the famous “Another State of Mind” Documentary (a classic must see. Buy it HERE). Guys that started their own record label, BYO Records, in 1982! Talk about DIY, that was not only pre myspace, facebook, twitter, etc that is when that meant literally recording and pressing your own music and selling it out of the back of the van or mailing cassette tapes or vinyl all over the world via snail mail; guys that have literally toured the world; guys that regularly collaborate with the likes of aforementioned Fat Mike of NOFX to organize tours and festivals like the aforementioned “Punk Rock Bowling”.
Guys that despite no visible “mainstream” success (whatever that means these days), are considered punk royalty, yet still are so cool and down to earth that they let a filmmaker/photographer/vlogger/blogger or whatever the hell I am these days jump on stage with them and freely shoot until my heart is content; guys that not only let the crowd pour on stage to sing with them, they actually invite them up and encourage them to sing.
These guys are punk but more than that, these guys are why I love punk music… and these guys, along with cool people hanging at Weber’s Rockabilly Bar (Big Tiger Army Shirt bully dude notwithstanding), have reignited my faith in the fact that most people are indeed good and cool.. most people are not looking to simply make exploit others for personal gain. In a foxhole… well, I wouldn’t want to be in one but if I had to be in one, then I’d want to be with these guys.
There is a sense of community, comradeship and respect for the fans that emanates from Youth Brigade and the Stern brothers.Shawn Stern never flinches when the microphone is suddenly pulled from his hand and a drunken punk butchers his song (usually, but not always, off key).
Mark Stern invites a guy onstage to sing his own version of whatever song he wishes. The guitarist who saved our asses doesn’t get pissed off when the microphone busts him in the mouth because some young, intoxicated fan in her enthusiasm stumbles and projectiles the mic stand sending it straight towards his pearly whites, busting his lip.
This, my friends, is what punk is about. This, my friends, is Youth Brigade at Weber’s and this my friends is how you put on a REAL show! Take note scam artist promoters and take note poser bands. THIS… IS… PUNK!
Enjoy more photos from the Youth Brigade show HEREand enjoy the videos below.
Thanks again to my interns Tim & Snik, the cool crowd,Kervin and the whole crew from Weber’s and especially Youth Brigade.
My name is Robert G. Rose (I use my middle initial because I’m not Robert Rose the Jewelry Designer, Robert Rose the football player or any of the other thousands of Robert Rose’s in the world).
I live in New York City and I love punk rock music. This page is dedicated to Punk music and [...]
