If not, then now worries, I’m here to tell you about it. It just opened and next weekend they got a big rockabilly show with Whiteboy James & the Blues Express coming into town. We’re going to be there covering it and since we’ll be fresh off the Viva Las Vegasshow this weekend, we’ll probably still be wearing the same clothes from VLV.. so look for us at both places!
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.
Rich Vreede of Black Cat was “allegedly” (don’t you love that word?) going on the popular LA radio podcast PigzRadio.com to tell “his side of the story” and “set the record straight” about the Bernie Madoff style ponzi scheme he was able to pull off at the Valentine’s Ball 2012 at the Mayan a couple of weeks ago. Missed it? READ IT HERE! or watch the video of the aftermath below:
Surprise, surprise… he cancelled at the last minute, leaving yet another entity hanging in the wake of his bad karmic energy. So much stuff has come out about Vreede and Black Cat over the last few days, that I’m beginning to doubt my own long held philosophy that “most people are inherently good’ if given a chance.
I’m not so sure anymore. And while Rich’s crimes don’t compare to the mass murderers, sex offenders, etc. it does make one wonder about the human condition of a person who, according to one of the comments we recently received, has been lying and ripping people off for going on at least 10 years now.
An “allegedly” perpetually unemployed guy in his 40s who still lives with his parents would, in the past, make me question what tragedy had befallen him earlier in life that he seemingly couldn’t overcome. I’d usually ponder what if anything I could personally do to help jolt him out of it and become a normal, semi productive human being.
But now, I view that same person through a set of eyes that basically thinks he may well be part of the 5-10% of human beings that are scum; that are somehow allowed to be born into this planet simply, it seems to drag the rest of us down with their shortcomings, weaknesses and failures and there is no hope for them but try and limit the amount of misery they can cause.
For mass murderers and sexual predators, we throw them in jail when possible (and hope they don’t strike anyone close to our family or friends). In the case of Rich Vreede of Black Cat Entertainment, I’m not 100% convinced he has nothing positive at all to offer our human condition just yet. I still have hope for the guy…but it’s rapidly fading.
I don’t know him well enough (obviously or I would have never gotten involved with him) to jump to any firm conclusions. But I do know the evidence is pointing to a cowardly, selfish and partially formed soul who doesn’t seem to be able to do anything beyond trick people into somehow giving him enough money to continue his illusory path. Perhaps he looks in the mirror and doesn’t see a pathetic picture of failure but a victim, who can’t understand why everyone turns on him and picks on him.
Picking on people is not my thing. As a kid I was always the guy befriending the poor picked on “loser” at the playground. I didn’t mind using my relative popularity to keep people from mercilessly picking on some poor hapless soul who was not quiet right.
Valentine's Ball Band "Evil Devil" with Rich Vreede (Striped Shirt, Far Right)
Some of these kids grew out of their awkward years and I bet you can find many of them playing in punk bands today or perhaps being famous writers, musicians, artists, etc. We all know the stories of tortured souls who overcame and it is inspiring to tell a kid, hey things “will get better”.
But what about the others, the others that ended up dead or still one that I remember well, who ended up in jail. Later in life as a young adult he torched a house full of people he had somehow managed to trap and left them there to burn a terrible death. I knew that “loser” as a teenager and tried to befriend him but in the end and there was nothing I could do to help him. He was an idiot and a lost cause from the start.
A waste of time and a waste of humanity who was not content to limit his damaged view of world to himself, he had to drag others into his vortex of misery (think of not only the victims but the victims’ families and their potential scores of descendents who weren’t even born). You can practically hear the misery reverberating through the next few centuries on that one.
Where does Rich of Black Cat rank in this amalgam of shi&*y scumbags that make up the lowest of the low that humanity has to offer? You can’t rank him down there with war criminals, mass murderers and child molesters. Can you even rank him down there with people like Bernie Madoff or the greedy pigs that caused the financial crises? In terms of misery, probably not.
Rich’s misery index is not as widespread or as devastating, but maybe that’s simply because he isn’t as smart or motivated as these folks.
Maybe if he had the intelligence and motivation of these guys that is exactly the kind of misery he’d be inflicting on the planet. Or maybe, just maybe, he’s not in that caliber altogether. I hope not.
Maybe he’s not a lost cause, maybe he will recognize that he’s not a victim, but simply a fraudulent misery maven who’s only hope is to change his entire outlook on life, get a job, pay back his victims and try to make amends in the future.
He’s in his 40s.. he’s probably at least half way through his life. Mortality is there, staring him in the face, just like it is you and I.
I know what I want to do. I want to somehow make this place a little bit better than when I came into it before I leave. I think most people think that way as they age even if we don’t always succeed, it’s something we can aspire to.
I wonder what it is that Rich thinks? Does he even get that broad minded, big picture or is he like, so greedy and shady that his deepest thought is how he can scam a free dinner or a free beer from somebody tonight?
The pigz radio guys carried on with their show without Rich quiet hilariously. One of the many hidden blessings among all this Black Cat / Rich Vreede mess is that it turned me on to this very entertaining and very funny radio podcast which broadcast live every Sunday 1-2pm west coast time (4-5pm east coast).
Check out their podcast HERE! It is truly an entertaining listen and if you catch them live you can call in with your stories about how Rich or another scumbag promoter ripped you off or whatever the topic of the day may be.
Remember to keep checking ScumbagPromoter.com for the latest on the Rich Vreede / Black Cat Entertainment saga and on all dishonest promoters. Report them, out them, boycott their shows and shut them down.Thanks to everyone that has responded so far. I said it before and I’ll say it again… We are just getting started.
STAY TUNED: This week on PUNK OUTLAW – Coverage from Youth Brigade concert as they plays Weber’s Bar in Receda, CA, this Friday night, plus our buddies from Medellin, Colombia – Lokekeda release a new music video and more.
There were near riots in downtown Los Angeles this past Sunday night at the Mayan Theater. No, Occupy LA didn’t gear back up, but Rich Vreede of Black Cat Entertainment was back in action… spreading his unique brand of concert promotion and “nice guy” misery, which means a packed house but unpaid bands, ripped off “investors”, people on the verge of tears trying to maintain their dignity and in the end, a police escort out of the building among a throng of the pissed off for a guy some have dubbed the “Bernie Madoff of Concert Promoters”.
The approximately 650 attendees paid their $20-$25 at the door of the Mayan Theater for the Valentine’s Balland spent unknown thousands at the bars (beers at $8 a pop) and would have no idea that most, in not all the bands they just enjoyed would end up not getting one penny owed them by the promoters.
Waiting in line to buy Tickets
There were hardworking and respected guys like Elvis Cortez from the bands like Left Alone shaking their heads in disbelief that they had to put up with such amateur behavior just a couple of hours after the show. A booking agent for another band said that in all her years of booking, this would be the first time she’d never gotten paid.
The Surf Ratsfrom the UK who flew all the way over for the gig told me that in the Europe they were always paid their due, even when the crowd was light, much less when the crowd was packed. Word was, and I wasn’t able to substantiate it personally but believe it to be true, that even the lead band Frantic Flintstones got stiffed. My buddies from Italy, Evil Devil good naturedly took it all in stride, just saying “he hasn’t paid us everything just yet”. Good luck fellas! At least you got a trip to the U.S. out of the deal.
Packed house at the Mayan.. yet no one gets paid?
And then there was the pissed off “investor”, a stocky, muscular dude with an indiscernible accent that I would never, ever even think about crossing up with financially, who after frantic searching, found Rich and reportedly got him in a semi-headlock before security could intervene and break it up.
By the end of the concert there were people floating around Rich like so many flies around cow dung. And yes I dear reader, I am sad to report, that I was indeed one of the unfortunate flies. Yes, I was one of the pissed off (or pissed on), who had been suckered into thinking I was going to be helping a nice guy that I thought I knew. A guy who, though sometimes seeming a little disorganized at times, had always managed to pull off some pretty good events for over 10 years.
Where does all the bar money go?
Oh, but little did I know then, when I loaned my “friend” some money for a deposit he needed to make to secure a venue for the event (which was originally supposed to take place last September at the Music Box), that once money is obtained (in my case under fraudulent circumstances which I can prove in court) by the “Bernie Madoff of Concert Promotions”, your chances of getting money back depend on where you are in the pyramid scheme of payments, not how tight your legal agreement (mine is water tight) or how long you have known the guy (I’ve known him since 2006).
For me, it’s a relatively small business hit. If I never see it, I’ll absorb it in stride as part of the cost of doing business, but for the bands who had set aside the dates, refused other gigs and in the process promoted their hearts out so that someone else could make all the money with what turned out to be their free music? Well, it is an understandably bitter pill to swallow. We all know the stories of musicians who make extreme financial sacrifices to make their music, just to work their way up to a level where they can actually get paid at a gig like “The Valentine’s Ball”. It’s not right, that once they finally get that opportunity, seemingly morally challenged promoters then screw them out of their hard work. Some people I’m sure were sorely depending on that money.
I recently learned the list of bands shorted by Black Cat over the years reads like a “Who’s Who” of psychobilly acts. From the famous to the not so famous, the bigger the tab, the less likely the band is going to get paid.
I’m not sure who made all the money at the Valentine’s Ball at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles last night, but it sure wasn’t the hardworking and talented people who the people paid to see. And I gather from the angry crowd, the police escort, the Mayan Theater Security Guards who kept insisting that we turn off our cameras and go home and the weasley way our Rich had to slither out of the building under heavy police escort (seriously, there 6 police cars and as many or more officers), that it wasn’t Rich either. I mean he’s not that crazy is he? Or is he?
There was some rumor of some other mystery guy who disappeared with the money, but nobody knew who this guy was or why he was involved since all the contracts were with Black Cat. But one thing is for sure, with this packed house, somebody made off big… like a bandit.
Evil Devil with Rich from Black Cat (Striped Shirt on the Right)
There is more to this story and I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it soon. Yeah right, ha, ha! But why let it die? Lets put a little sunshine on this dark little business.
Over the past few months, I kept thinking about the money I loaned the guy on good faith and a rock solid contract that now seems to not matter anymore. I certainly don’t trust the California justice system but I’ll give it one shot in this instance on principle alone and because there are few other options. Hopefully, they’ll prove me wrong and I’ll write a mea culpa. At least I have the resources to chase the guy. Some people will have to try to simply move on.
For me, that money had been set aside for marketing for the new Punk Outlaw Records, a digital label we recently began. I thought it would be a good way to help a “buddy” out while also promoting the label, and then when the INTEREST FREE LOAN was paid back as promised and agreed to on the day of the concert, I could promote some of my own events and maybe even bring a band or two from South America to play in LA.
But when it became clear I was dealing with a con (apparent to me the very next day after my check cleared, when my phone calls, which up to that point had been returned immediately, began a markedly slower pace of returns or were downright ignored) and not a reputable business relationship, I needed to program myself with different motivation to keep doing the crazy, mind boggling stuff you have to do to try and get money from someone who doesn’t to my knowledge have a job; someone whom I once treated to a Social Distortion concert and didn’t even have the common decency to buy me one beer as a thank you.
I pledged to myself that if I got any of the money back, I’d offer it as microloans to people who really need it. People in places like Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, Haiti, etc. who literally don’t have much but just need a little boost to try and survive. Microloans are tiny loans (as small as $25) that can help people who are trying to lift themselves out of impossibly bleak circumstances by doing something that our buddy Rich doesn’t seem to understand… a little thing I like to call “working”.
With as little as $25, you can actually help change an entire family’s life by loaning them money to buy cows, pigs or chickens or a piece of farm equipment for their farm, or perhaps a sewing machine so a single mother can start a tailoring business for her village, or whatever the case may be (I also bet you stand a better shot of actually getting it repaid).
I had already set my sites on Kiva, a fine organization that passes all scrutiny and is recommended by major media outlets like CNN, etc. (yes, charities have their own Bernie Madoffs who do the same thing so do your homework).
Turn a negative into a positive.. provide a small microloan to a poor family
I knew I’d have to document every bullshit email exchange, every little facebook encounter, text and telephone call where the guy said one thing and did another time after time and I’d have to try and keep my cool. It was exhausting and the only thing that kept me going was the thought that maybe I could allocate that money, borne in such a negative, shitty circumstance of one person trying to con money out of another (some rob you with a pistol, others with a pen), and give it to someone who genuinely needed it. Someone who’s life would literally change overnight. Out of the cracks of the sand in the desert the most beautiful and colorful flowers so often grow, that was my admittedly cliche but optimistic and obviously unrealistic hope in this situation.
But alas after chasing the guy down Friday night at the Pre-Valentine’s Ball party where he said “whatever your thinking is happening, put it out of your mind, it’s not”, after numerous emails and promises that I’d for sure get paid back all my money the night of the concert “if not before” (can’t tell you how many times I heard that one), from “nice guy” Rich of Black Cat, I was ultimately made painfully aware that if I were to get my money, I’d be standing behind a long line of people, many who probably need it much worse than me. To add insult the the wound, Rich didn’t supply much of the marketing support he’d promised in our agreement as well, breaching the agreement almost before the ink was dry by putting out flyers without our logo included.
Evil Devil puts on a great show, despite getting shorted
It’s a shame that one person can cause so much pain, negativity and misery for so many. One buddy told me a story about how on another occasion the guy stiffed some artists from Europe and one poor soul, this big, intimidating psychobilly musician with a Mohawk was literally crying in his hotel room lamenting “I don’t understand why we can’t get paid, this never happens in Europe. Why do people do business this way?” Good question.
Well, I could be cynical and say welcome to Los Angeles, the music industry or the psychobilly scene my friend… but that would not be right. There are many good promoters in the music industry and in the psychobilly scene in LA. I guess it’s welcome to the land of Black Cat Entertainment, a parallel universe where a guy who rarely pays anyone, keeps a promise or apparently tells the truth, still is able to keep promoting concerts and people still go and bands still perform and suckers like me are still born every minute. I say that madness has to stop and I hope it stops with me and anyone reading this blog. See you in court Rich.
If you’re reading this post and especially if Black Cat screwed you over, I invite you to visit Kivaand offer a microloan for $25 or $50 or whatever you can afford whenever you get to where you can afford it again. I know it sound weird to lose money and then give some more away, but I think maybe we can help offset the miserable karma put out by people like Black Cat and the ilk by doing some actual, real good in the world.
Has Black Cat or another promoter screwed you over? Then shoot us an email at info@punkoutlawrecords.com or leave us a comment. Our new site www.ScumBagPromoter.com will hopefully be up and running soon and we’ll tell your story and publicly out some of these shady promoters and maybe, who knows, we can even help clean up the scene a bit.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: It should be obvious, but in case it’s not, we want to go on record to say we do not under any circumstances condone the threat or use of physical violence or emotional harassment. How he has gotten away with this for so long is indeed mind boggling and it is frustrating, I realize, but there are legal steps we can take that while they may not recover everyone’s money or peace of mind, will prevent Black Cat from ever promoting in the state of California again and we are going to pursue them. Fraud is a very serious charge and when it is backed up by multiple counts then indeed there are some things we can do. Stay tuned for updates.
Evil Devil at the Meet & Greet Friday Night in Reseda, CA
Our good buddies from Italy, psychobilly band, Evil Devil are back in Los Angeles to play the Valentine’s Ball on Sunday night at the Mayan Theater.
Evil Devil will be performing with Frantic Flintstones and Left Alone. We caught up with our buddies from Italy at the Pre-Valentines Ball meet-n-greet in Reseda, CA last night, where we caught a performance of LA’s “Dr. Bizarro’s Victims” . We bolted thereafter but we heard the “Howlers”played as well as “Evil Devil” performed a few songs in a preview of whats to come Sunday night.
Dr. Bizarro's Victims @ the PreValentine's Ball Show on Friday
If you missed the Friday night event, well no worries, because the big event is this Sunday at the Mayan Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Punk Outlaw will be there with our table with stickers, CDs from Punk Outlaw Records, and of course, the Punk Outlaw tanks and tees. Be the first cat to come up to the table and say “I want my free Punk Outlaw Tee” and we’ll get you a shirt along with your choice of a Dorado’s Rockabilly Trio or “Punktology Vol. 1″ CD.
Look For Punk Outlaw's Booth @ The Valentine's Day Ball on Sunday Night @ the Mayan in LA
And of course, we’ll have some in depth coverage including photos and videos after the event next week, so stay tuned.
More information about the event can be found HERE.
Be the first to hit the Punk Outlaw Booth on Sunday and get a free Dorados Rockabilly Trio CD
Enjoy a short clip from Dr. Bizarro’s Victims below as well as our feature on “Evil Devil” from 2010.
If you’ve followed us for a while, you may remember waaaayyyy back in 2006 or 07 we were covering a somewhat legendary band called “Calavera” who had been one of the first Latino Psychobilly bands around, usually splitting their time between LA and Mexico City.
In case you forgot or very likely never saw it, below is a video we did on the band back in those days.
Shortly after this interview aired on the national TV show I was producing back then “American Latino TV” the band went on hiatus and I had largely lost touch with them. But from time to time I’d catch up with Alex Blue, the guitarist for the band, who sent an encouraging email when I had gotten robbed in Buenos Aires in 2010 and was pretty down about the whole thing.
Well, now I’m spending some time in LA and taking the opportunity to hit up the psychobilly/punk events going on and one such event went on last Sunday night out in Whittier, CA a suburb of Los Angeles. Punk Outlaw was a presenting sponsor… but you’d never know it from the limited exposure we got (long story I won’t bore you with…at least not now), but it didn’t really matter as the crowd was super light.
But the good thing about a light crowd is you at least get to interact one on one with the people and we met some super cool cats who I sure hope to run into down the road and some other events. A few fine folks bought the Punktology Vol. 1 – Free Cuba Now! CD and Punk Outlaw Tanks.
Mucho appreciated guys.. hope you enjoy.
The other good thing about the evening was the bands were pretty tight, at least the ones we saw. It opened with Psycho Madbatz playing some old school psychobilly fronted by a petite but but bad ass female on the vocals who let it rip.
Then to my pleasant surprise, next up was Alex Blue’s new band “Normandie Blue”. Normandie Blue is more straight ahead punk music with three guitars blaring over Alex’s vocals. It’s loud, it’s raucous and I loved it. You can tell Alex has had some time under his belt on stage, because he performed like a pro despite the low turnout.
The band seemed to give it their all and they ended the night with some cool spin on a couple of covers after cranking through some kick ass original material. Alex has promised me a CD and I can’t wait to hear these guys with some good sound mixing where I can make out the vocals and lyrics better but I’m expecting big things. And I think you might be hearing big things from Normandie Blue in the future.
And who knows? A possible Calavera reunion maybe? Well, we can all hope. That band really rocked man.. Spanish or English didn’t matter, I dug them a lot and you can be sure if they do reunite, I’ll be doing my best to cover it for you guys.
Enjoy the pics from the Sage Nightclub in Whittier last weekend below.
HOLD EVERYTHING: Here is an email I got from the promoter, Black Cat, today. I’ll try to keep you updated as I get information:
We are sorry to inform you that our Evil Devil show on Dec 10th,11th has been rescheduled until February 10th & 11th 2012 Valentines Weekend
We are very sorry to have to announce that, because of an unforeseen delay
in the passport issue, and getting a travel visa returned to them in time,enabling to travel to the US for Dec 10,11th weekend. As a result, we have had to reschedule the show at the Glasshouse in Pomona,Sage Uptown Whittier to another Venue to be Named for Valentines Ball 2012
Tickets for
the rescheduled shows will be valid on the new dates. If you prefer to get a
refund for your ticket, please contact the outlet where you bought your
ticket for Full Refund
Sunday Dec 11th Show is still on without Evil Devil and Tickets Purchases at our Black Cat Ent.Xmas Party for that show will be valid for a Free Entry Pass to our next Valentines Ball 2012
It’s Psychobilly time again in LA with our good buddies Evil Devil hopping across the pond from Italy to deliver another kick ass concert for California’s contingent of psychobilly crazies, of which there are plenty. The concert is taking place on Saturday, December 10th at the Glasshouse in Pamono, CA and features locals like Rezurex, The Grims and Switchblade 77. It’s put on by Black Cat Entertainment and if you have a magnifying glass or can zoom your viewer in to the really, really tiny logos on the bottom of the flyer, you’ll see that Punk Outlaw is involved.
Don’t let the little logos on the flyer fool you, we’re going to have a big presence at the aforementioned event. We’ll be screening some videos for the crowd in between sets including music videos from our Punk Outlaw Records’ artist Los Suziox, Rudos Wild and more.
And we’ll have a booth there, with T-Shirts & CDs for sale, stickers for giveaway and more. PLUS we’re casting for a video vixens and maybe even a dude or two for our upcoming music video shoot for the kick as song “Betty Page” from our good buddies, Colombian rockabilly mainstays “Dorados Rockabilly Trio” due out in January.
So if you always dreamed of being in a rockabilly video (and lets face it, who hasn’t?), well now is your chance! So don’t let the little logos fool you, we’ll be at the event in a big way.. or so we hope. So look for us and the first 3 people that come up to me at the booth and say “hey man, I know you, your Punk Outlaw”, will get their paws on a Punk Outlaw Punkaholic Prize Package which includes a shirt, CD, stickers and despite the name of the package, no booze but if your 21 and above (it’s an all ages show) and show me proof of ID, I’ll probably buy you a beer too.
Now what’s better than that? Maybe a 2nd event with bigger logo?!
You got it! on the 11th it’s a doubleshot event @ the Sage in Whittier California where we’ll do it all over again with some different bands. Two Psychobilly events, back to back..You gotta love California!
More information on the event at Black Cat’s Facebook Even Page HERE
And below is a little segment we did on Evil Devil… so you can get a preview of what you can expect from our good Italian amigos.. which turns out has a kick as psychobilly scene as well I hear.
Italy's Evil Devil with Rich from Black Cat (Upper Row-Far Right)
Back in May, I got the chance to interview an Italian psychobilly supergroup “Evil Devil” fresh off their play date at the big Black Cat 10th Anniversary Psychobilly show in Hollywood, California. The show was packed, the interview went great and after a crazy summer, we finally got the segment edited, so here you go!
The guys from “Evil Devil” really do a great job speaking to me in English, not their first language of course, but my Italian is worse than my Spanish which is to say, non existent. So I appreciate the guys breaking down some of the differences between the psychobilly and punk scenes in Europe compared to the U.S. in English for us all.
Evil Devil
A “manager” on a power trip @ the Henry Fonda Theater stopped me filming with the big high def camera so I had to capture b-roll with the small handheld flip cam (where there’s a will there’s a way) which has pretty bad audio capture at concerts, so I suggest you hit EVIL DEVIL’S MY SPACE PAGE to get a better sample their music.
Thanks to the Evil Devil cats who are really cool. I hope I get to Italy for the documentary and can take in a local show of theirs. Also thanks to my buddy Rich from Black Cat Entertainment for helping me line up the interview. And last but not least, my LA buddy Francisco Romero who captured some of the flipcam footage that night.
Social Distortion Playing in Sayreville, New Jersey in 2009
OK, OK, I’ve been a bad boy. I haven’t updated here like I should have but I’ve been busy, damn busy and soon you’ll know why. So be patient. Ah but I know you are an impatient and fickle bunch, as am I, that is why we get along so well.
Well, fear not, dear reader/viewer, fellow fanatico and connoisseur of good punk music, Social Distortion is headed my way (NYC) and that means Social Distortion pics/videos/music is headed your way. The band is playing in Sayreville, NJ tonight but I chose to hit the sold out show in Long Island on Tuesday night. Not sure why they didn’t stop in proper NYC this time, but they are stopping by in NYC in November at the Roseland Ballroom, so I’ll get a nice double shot of Social D. which I’m pretty pumped about.
The band is due to have a new CD coming out this fall so I’m sure we’ll hear some of their new material on Tuesday night.
In honor of all this hysteria (pun intended), I’ve declared this Social Distortion week on Punk Outlaw. This entire week will be dedicated to Social Distortion songs, videos, pics, and me slobbering over how good this band is and how they changed my life, bla, bla, bla.. So I hope you dig em, cause if not, you might not dig Punk Outlaw, this week at least.
To kick things off for our first ever SD (not sexual disease!, Social Distortion, I’ve only said that like 8 times, pay attention!) week, we have a video interview of lead singer and founding member, Mike Ness, (not known for doing many interviews, certainly not here at least).
He did an in studio interview talking about recording the new material that was posted on Hurley’s (the surf clothing people) website.
My friend Rich from Black Cat Entertainment sent it to me, so I thought I’d share the good vibes and re-post it here for you to see as well, helping me to get mentally prepared for the Social D. show on Tuesday.
Check it out and let me know what you think and stay tuned for more cause as I said, it’s Social Distortion Week!
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 [...]
but if your 21 and above (it’s an all ages show) and show me proof of ID, I’ll probably buy you a beer too.
