Punk Outlaw

Musicians… Get Your Music On TV Worldwide.

// April 7th, 2013 // No Comments » // Events, Photos, Videos

Raw Travel... the indie show for indie travelers, launches this October in the U.S. We’re independent and want to remain that way.. but independence comes with a price. We must finance our own stuff.  What this means is we are borderline broke all the time as money heads one direction and one direction only… OUT and AWAY (at least at the beginning)  That’s not such a bad thing always. It enforces discipline and requires creativity to approach challenges and situations.

In this case, our music budget is non existent. I hate canned, library music. I also was inspired to produce “Raw Travel” in part because of the plethora of clueless shows on the air showcasing a destination like Brazil with a soundtrack of salsa music, displaying the producers’ ignorance of the very culture they were attempting to enlighten upon others. I vowed from Day 1 any show I produced would NEVER do that.

Luckily, we already invested in a pretty extensive library of original music when we first started producing the show, but we’d like to add to it.

Now, I know this is a punk blog (hence the name “Punk Outlaw”) and thus punks worldwide are reading this, but please punks, understand, while I love punk music and the punk aesthetic and philosophy will be on full display throughout the show… that is not the type of music we are looking for at this time. That musical need will mostly be filled by punk, ska, reggae, rockabilly, psychobilly and yes, even hip hop (non commercial, socially conscious of course) or any other type of music that fits the show’s independent thinker, citizen of the world theme, when we feature bands & artists from the different destinations we visit.

What we specifically are in need of now is more of a “world music” or “ambient” vibe. Artists that are weaving some of their local flavor into their music and can create tracks that reflect a particular destination or mood. Ideally, we don’t want vocals, only musical tracks (the music generally will be played underneath voice over / narration).

What does the artists get out of this?

1) Publishing – If you are a member of a publishing rights organization (ASCAP or BMI here in the U.S.) depending on how big and successful the show is (how many markets, how long it airs, etc.) you will get royalties over time from the TV channels who pay the rights organizations every time your music is played. If you don’t have a publishing agreement we may be able to set you up through Punk Outlaw Publishing.

2) Exposure – The thing everybody is clamoring for when they fill my inbox with free music tracks, videos, pitches for stories etc. for this small but dedicated blog. Imagine Punk Outlaw being about a thousand or more times more powerful and you get the picture of the exposure a hit TV show can bring.  We want to turn the world on to talented, independent musicians, that is why we began Punk Outlaw Records (certainly not for the $). This is another way to turn people on to talented artists.

If we like your music and choose to use it in the show, we’ll be featuring the artists from the show on our soon to be relaunched website at www.RawTravel.tv on a special Raw Travel Music page. That page will be aggressively promoted on the show and will feature the artists bios, links to artists web pages (facebook, bandcamp, etc.) and can link to any music you may have for sell. You will also get a credit in the show of course.

Down the road, our goal is to put together a collection of the best music used for “Raw Travel” and offer it as a compilation CD or digital release and promote it on TV.

Everything is on a case by case basis at this stage and determined on our need and the fit of your music with the show.

Free music for a TV show in exchange for royalties & exposure ? It’s not for every artist and every artist is not a fit for the show.

But if you think you are a fit, then leave a comment for me with your email and we can get started with the process of evaluating your music and get you details about the technical aspects, etc.

Our destinations (in addition to the ones already produced) for Season 1 are North & Central America including the following Mexico (Mexico City & Yucatan), Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and in the U.S. Oregon, Utah, New Mexico & Louisiana.

Music indigenous to these regions are our highest priority at the moment. Bands in these destinations feel free to hit me up for potential coverage as well as we begin our travels in June/July.

Season 2 is Southeast Asia & Eastern Europe. Season 3.. we’ll we haven’t really planned that far ahead yet but I’m feeling Africa, Turkey & Parts of Russia plus Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan including all of the “…stans”.

If you want to find out more about Raw Travel, be sure and like us on our facebook pageand follow us on twitter and stay tuned.  It’s going to be a wild and ridiculously fun ride. Actually… it already is.

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Going Bankrupt in Budapest!

// July 1st, 2012 // No Comments » // Photos

Chilling in Budapest at night.

What I’d give for a good nights sleep. Not only is there a huge time difference that has me sleeping until noon Budapest time (3 AM LA time), it’s starting to get hot and muggy and my apartment has no AC or even a fan.  But I’m not complaining. In the U.S. I’m usually quite comfortable… and quite bored.

In Budapest things move at a more relaxed pace (even by California standards and certainly by New York standards). I notice there are very few honking cars, few people yapping or tapping on their cell phones… there is more person to person interaction and conversation for conversation’s sake and for the traveler, a genuine but not smothering type of friendliness. Perhaps it’s because I “somewhat” blend in here. I don’t stand out by my skin color and am often asked if I’m “Dutch” or “German”.

People gather in public spaces to drink wine and enjoy the mild summer evenings. They party, oh yes, they party, but I never saw anyone getting out of control. People show up to meetings on time and call when they say they will. No flaking here…at least not yet.

There is a lot to like about Budapest and as if I needed even more of a reason to like Budapest, there most certainly is a healthy punk, psychobilly and rockabilly scene here. First… the punk scene.

Rocco from Bankrupt @ Killing-Billy Show

BANKRUPT IN BUDAPEST: 

I saw posters everywhere where Iggy and the Stooges are headlining a concert in July to play the Volt Music Festival. The California punk band “Total Chaos”  had recently toured and was featured in their tourist magazine. a punk band featured in a tourist magazine? Yep!

Then there are bands like Bankrupt. I met up with Rocco, lead singer of the melodic punk band “Bankrupt” which has been rocking Budapest for 16 years!  During our interview, Rocco filled me in on the punk scene in Hungary before and after the fall of communism in 1989.  It seems before the fall of communism, many punk bands were illegal, some even imprisoned for their lyrics which were critical of the communist regime.  Rocco was a teen when communism was on it’s last legs in Hungary but he remembered punk bands railing against the left.

Fast forward to 2012 and the pendulum has swung to the other side, as many bands are railing against the right and capitalism, which could leave one to believe that punks are never happy with the status quo, even if the status quo may be better than the recent past.  My buddies from Trinidad, “Anti-Everything” comes to mind.

So much to be against, so little time.

Of course there is no perfect system of government and both communism and capitalism have their very clear faults. While the government no longer imprisons bands for incenderary lyrics and police no longer harass punks openly, Rocco admitted there was still plenty for punks to protest against, noting that Hungary was ranked near the bottom of the list of all world governments for corruption and outside the tourists’ zones and city center, poverty is a clear reminder that capitalism leaves far too many behind. I think we’re all still waiting for the Wall Street fat cats who’ve caused so much misery throughout the world, to suffer the consequences of their actions. Maybe that’s why the band put out a lists of Top 10 songs bout recession and unemployment on their blog, it’s a cool list, check it here.

But Rocco also readily admits that not every song Bankrupt sings is against anything at all. Some of it is just plain good old fashioned melodic punk music with nary a heavy message in sight. I’ve got their CD so I can’t wait to give it a listen (no CD/DVD player on my travel PC) and report back to you in more detail on Bankrupt.

Rocco is 37 now. He has a wife and is expecting his first born in November. And I can vouch for the fact that Rocco is a good husband and sure to be a good father. After the interview he accompanied me across the street from our interview to the Killing-billy psychobilly show to “show his support” for his psychobilly brethren and provide some much needed translation for me at the door, but he left after the 1st band to be with his pregnant wife. I didn’t even get a chance to buy him a beer as a thank you (still owe you one Rocco). But after 16 years, his band is starting to see the fruits of their labor pay off, recently recieving airplay on MTV Hungary for one of their DIY music videos, which I have to say, remind me of the hey day of the music videos from the 1980′s.

Since I didn’t get to see Bankrupt perform live, below is one of their music videos that I dig.

Stay tuned, up next, coverage from the crazy Killing-Billy psychobilly/punk show. As you can tell by the photos below, it was a bloody good time!

Bloody good time at the Killer-Billy Show!

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Punk Travel Show – Raw Travel

// September 29th, 2011 // No Comments » // Photos, Videos

One of the many happy by products of  my travels for Punktology, the documentary on the worldwide influence of punk, is a little project that turned into a big project called “Raw Travel”.

The idea was to create a more authentic travel show, one without a celebrity chef or host staying in 5 star hotels and visiting other celebrity friends in remote locales.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a travel show fanatic and watch them any chance I can, even if so many seem to all revolve around food, which is just PART of a culture.

Colombia - In the Amazon

But there seemed to be a void, a disconnect between the travel I was experiencing and what I was seeing on television. First of all, most travelers I met weren’t staying in fancy hotels (mainly because they were real travelers not working with a big TV sized travel budget) and because they loved to travel so much, they wanted to stretch their dollars to do more of it, so they had to be a little more realistic about not only where to stay but where to dine and what to do. The frequent unintended result of this type of more frugal, budget traveling was an often more fulfilling and authentic experience

Colombia - Giving back in San Basilio de Palenque

They also seemed to have different expectations from traveling. Some wanted to give back, either to the environment or to humanity in general.

Others, seemed resolved to live their life in as non-traditional a manner as possible, challenging the expectations of modern society. Others were on sabbatical or a gap year and still others were breaking away from their work and normal routine for a short, but intense period of time.

People travel for many different reasons, but all passionate travelers seemed to share a common bond of a love of adventure, learning from other cultures and as a result of their travels, more responsible and empathetic living. I’ve tried to figure out what actually separates a traveler from a tourist. Maybe it’s that a traveler is involved where as a tourist is observing.

Trinidad - East Indian Culture

Whatever the differences, we resolved to try and create a more authentic travel show that incorporated a bit more of what we saw as an important but overlooked segment of the travel show category; real, independent travelers going to sometimes off the beaten path destinations and having authentic travel experiences.

We sought to produce a show that incorporated an eco-friendly message that included ways to travel and live in a more sustainable manner. A show that would ask people to look outwardly to see how others experience the world and then look inwardly and compare that to their lives.

A show that hopefully would encourage those that have the most freedom to travel but are the least worldly of travelers (U.S. citizens) to get a passport, get rid of the fear and get out of the U.S. and meet the neighbors, even if they speak a different language; maybe especially if they speak another language. Language barriers aside, travel has a way of humbling you if you need humbling, making you more confident if you need more confidence or maybe it just seems that way, but to me, travel makes me a better person.

Salta, Argentina - The crew gets doused with flour during Carnival

And alas, we wanted a show with a subtle but consistent subtext that would showcase the underground, punk aesthetic and way of life the world over, understanding that most people who would watch would not be punk fans, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have some connection to a punk attitude.

I’m not sure if we were successful, but we did get 4 pretty good 1 hour episodes in the can, produced independently (of course), with limited resources (AKA cash) and each episode I believe better than the one before. It was a labor of love, built from the ground up with the idea to do nothing but our very best in showcasing a way of living, of traveling that has changed my life and I believe can change others’ lives as well.

Making new friends in Ecuador

The shows are not perfect and there is much I want to improve moving forward. But I think/hope they are entertaining, enlightening and attractive for the right audience and hopefully, a network.

Below is a short little demo we produced (a little over 8 minutes) that tries to encapsulate what the show is about.

I hope you enjoy it no matter where you live or where your travels may take you.

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Trinidad Punk Photos

// April 21st, 2011 // No Comments » // Photos

So I’m ending up my time here in Trinidad with a little photo montage of the good times had with the guys from “Anti Everything”.

Thanks again for the hospitality guys, it’s good to see that Caribbean punk is alive and well. Keep holding down the scene!

Remember to be on the lookout for their new CD which they are recording now and in the meantime you can visit them at their WEBSITE HERE.

Next stop for Punk Outlaw.. back to Colombia and then finally, Ecuador! Should be good, Stay tuned and enjoy!

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24 Hrs in Trinidad, Punker than you think

// April 7th, 2011 // No Comments » // Photos

When you think of Trinidad what comes to mind? It could be “Carnival” or “where is that?” but chances are it’s not “Punk hotbed”… and you know what, you’d be right.

But having been in Port of Spain less than 24 hours (and most of those sleeping), I am here to tell you that this place has a bit more punk vibe than you’d think for a small Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela.

First and foremost there are my boys from “Anti-Everything”, a really, really good punk band from close by St. Augustine. Now granted, I cheat a little bit when speaking of these guys because I researched the scene before I came  and found the guys’ MySpace page (MySpace is still good for something I guess) and we hit it off online a few weeks ahead of my arrival.

It helps that Trinis speak English, but let me tell you when you factor in the accent with the insane amount of slang, I still only understand about 50% of what is being said. In other words, I understand Trini about like I understand Spanish.

But Randall from Anti-Everything is so cool he insisted that he pick me up from the airport and take me to my hotel, even though I landed around 1 AM and he had class the next day. Talk about a cool cat.

Anti-Everything enjoying Shark n Bake (Randall 2nd From Left)

We stopped off for a local “Stag” beer (ladies, order this in Trinidad if you want to raise some eyebrows. It’s marketed aggressively to men on the island) and Randall filled me in on the punk scene in Trinidad and Tobago and guess what? It’s really, really small!

Well, hell.. everyone says that about their scene, even in punk hot spots like Bogota, Medellin or Los Angeles and New York City.  By definition of being an underground culture, punk is bound to be small in relative terms.

But in Trinidad when Randall means small, he means small. The island is famous for it’s carnival, it’s steel pan / calypso style music and it’s diversity.

My First Shark N Bake

There are East Indians, Africans, tons of Asian influence as well as the occasional white, Caucasian like me. The religions range from Hindu, Muslim and all colors of the rainbow of Christian. Despite the fact that I stand out much more here being a white dude, I get stared at MUCH less than in other countries, like Colombia. Maybe people are more used to diversity here and that would apply to things like Punk.

But in an island that is inhabited by a little over 1 million people, the punk scene by definition, once again, is going to be small.

However, I’m here to tell you it’s more punk than you think…or since you probably didn’t even think about punks being in Trinidad, let me revise that statement, “its more punk than I thought”.

Cases in point:

1) Anti Everything – Already covered above.

2) Social Distortion - when I see a Social D shirt in NYC I get excited. But here I am in Port of Spain and who passes me but a completely tatted up, hardcore punk looking dude wearing a Social Distortion wife beater. I was so excited I wanted to hug the guy but thought better of it and said instead “hey man, Social D! they are great!” and he looked at me like I was crazy and kept walking. Hey, I said Trinidad is more punk than I thought, not friendly. Good thing I didn’t hug him.

3) Johnny Cash – Roughly 20 minutes after making an ass out of myself to the random Social D. fan, I am walking to my hotel and what do I hear cranking out of one of the houses, but good old Johnny Cash. Now when you say a place is punk, your probably thinking Sex Pistols, Ramones, or maybe the newer stuff like NOFX, Pennywise or Bad Religion.  Well, me too. But you never can tell til you get to a place and of course, Johnny wasn’t a punk artist per se, but he was one influential cat to all genres of music including the aforementioned Social Distortion among others.

Now these are random observations from a guy LOOKING for signs of a punk life everywhere I go. I’m part anthropologist, part filmmaker, part fan and part curious traveler. I don’t know why this interest me so much but it does so I’m making a film about it “Punktology”, and granted I’m taking my slow, sweet time.

Maracas Bay

But when I first arrive to a place like Trinidad, the 1st day is crucial. That is when my senses are on overload and hyper aware. They’ve yet to be lulled to sleep by the routine that eventually falls into place everywhere I’ve ever been. My survival instinct is on high alert.

“Is this dangerous?” “Should I be walking or taking a taxi?” “Holy shit look at that crazy character” “Oh man, did he see me staring?”, “Just smile and say good morning”, “Don’t be that a..hole tourist”..  these are typical stream of consciousness thoughts of about 0.03 seconds of my first day in a country. And I love it.

In the afternoon, I hooked up with Randall and some of the other guys from Anti-Everything who took me to Maracas Bay about an hour outside of Port of Spain to experience the beach and to sample the famous Shark and Bake sandwich (worthy of the hype I might add). And while punk rock and beaches don’t seem to naturally mix so well, I like punk and I like beaches and we’re in Trinidad so I’m going to experience both to the best of my ability.

A Global Warming Machine

On the way up we mostly talked about what life was like living in Trinidad and tried to get out of the destructive path of this incredibly polluted automobile that was in dire need of an exhaust overhaul (passing this guy was not an option, roads are incredibly winding).

Oh did I mention Trinis drive on the other side of the road, with the steering wheel on the RIGHT hand side, I’m still wigging over that cause I eventually have to rent a car and remember to stay left is so anti-well, anti-everything I’ve ever experienced driving (sorry). I’m not a great driver when the steering wheel is on the right, excuse me correct, excuse me again, North American side of the car so this should be interesting!

But on the way back we got a chance to discuss the punk scene some more and Randall and I know some of the same people including the really burgeoning Puerto Rican Punk scene (I’m coming soon guys, hang on). He turned me on to a compilation CD of some of the best punk in countries you wouldn’t expect (like Trinidad) and I can’t wait to give it a listen.

Maracas Bay Beach.. really chill on a Wednesday

Randall’s a really smart cat and the guys I’ve met from Anti-Everything are super cool and laid back (all Trinis are so far). I’m gonna go limen (hang out) with the guys over the next few days and of course an interview for Punktology as well as a rehearsal or even studio session (they are currently recording their 2nd CD) is in the works here so I hope you’ll stay tuned as my Trinidadian experience continues.

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Buenos Aires Take 2!

// March 7th, 2011 // 1 Comment » // Photos

So we’ve been in Argentina/Uruguay almost 3 weeks and it’s been a little hectic to say the least. I’ve hardly had time to sleep, much less update you guys on things, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been rocking.

As posted (see previous post), we enjoyed a great show with our amigos Rudos Wild in Montevideo, Uruguay and we’ll have some video of that show up just as soon as I get near a decent internet connection.

Merch table @ Salon Pueyrredon

In Buenos Aires, it’s been damn cool as well.

As you may or may not know, I was in Buenos Aires for 3 weeks last February 2010, when I was robbed by a fake taxi driver and lost most of my valuables including laptop, passport and most importantly my cameras which had all my footage on it. (Click HERE to review that archive post)

My first couple of days in BA this trip, I revisited the scene of the crime just to exorcise some ghosts and in some lame hope I’d see the shady, fake ass taxi driver fuck who stole my shit.  What would I have done had I actually seen him? Not sure, but it would have been cool to find out.

Batra from Salon Pueyrredon

Romina & Evangilina @ Salon Pueyrredon

Anyway, I’m not hung up on it, that was a year ago and a lifetime away. My insurance paid for my valuables, I learned a good lesson and to be honest with you, other than the severe inconvenience at the time, I’d be cool with the whole thing with one exception… the lost footage! That stuff was irreplaceable and included some nice little nuggets like a rehearsal and a backstage interview with BA homeboys “Dos Minutos”. Click HERE to see that archive post.

Mundo Bizarro Waitress

But since I’m back down this way, I figured I may as well visit my buddies I made last time out so we swung by Mundo Bizarro where our guy “Pinata” came down to see us and mix us a martini despite being under the weather.

Mundo Bizarro is one of my favorite hangs in Buenos Aires and it always has a cast of characters hanging out, some rockabilly and some just regular folk. If you go to BA, you gotta check out Mundo Bizarro and be sure and tell Pinata Punk Outlaw sent you.

The Crowd @ Salon Pueyrredon

The Humanoids Play Salon Pueyrredon

Another place you should see if in BA is the famous “Salon Pueyrredon”. We dropped by there on a Friday night to see the owner “Batra” and the gang and the place was packed.

There was a ska and surf band playing live for the crowd and I ran into some cool rockabilly artistas, “Evangilina” and “Romina” who had designed some of the artwork hanging in the venue. They were cool enough to pose for pics and allow us to get some close ups of their kick ass tattoos.

Cool Tats

We also dropped by Galeria Bond Street and I found a great little clothing shop there called “Faith” with all original designs by the owner Sebastian, a cool rockabilly/punk cat. Sebastian is not only very cool, he’s very, very talented and I hope to get a video interview we had with him up on here soon.

Chillin @ Mundo Bizarro in my new "Faith" duds

I bought a couple of his pieces and hope I can get by there again before I head home as I absolutely love his designs.

Galeria Bond Street is also a must stop where you can get all tatted and pierced up if you like, buy some cool music or cool clothes. If you do get by, do check out Faith. I’m not kidding, that shit is sick and 10x better than anything I’ve found in the States (at a fraction of the price too).

Hanging Out @ Galeria Bond Street

OK well I’m still here for a while long and I’m still doing work so hopefully I’ll have more to report soon.

In the meantime enjoy the pics and if your in Buenos Aires, enjoy the rest of the holiday!

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Helping Out.. A punk rock thing to do

// January 26th, 2011 // No Comments » // Photos

She's all smiles, but needs our help

Why are there suddenly photos of adorable little kids on this blog? No, this isn’t a feature on the future punks of the world (FPOTW) or cute kids of punk rockers. These are kids who need help.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m working on developing a travel show called “Raw Travel” that is in it’s infancy at the moment, but is going really well.

Spare Rollerblade with handles. Now thats punk!

It’s a perfect way for me to continue my travels for the documentary, Punktology, and this blog covering the world wide punk, rockabilly and psychobilly scenes while doing something that may actually help me pay the bills someday (and for all this traveling).

The show will be a bit punk rock in itself, no 5 star hotels, no fancy makeup or famous host (he, he) and it will hopefully help people travel and learn about other cultures in a “economic” (i.e. cheap), “eco-friendly”, “socially aware” and “sustainable: manner (did I include enough buzz words, or should I add a couple more?).

No? So here is another for ya, “Voluntourism”! Though I really don’ t like that word, I like what it represents, which is giving back while traveling to another country.

Me.. actually shooting a camera

But that is not what this is about and that is not why there are cut little kids on this otherwise, big and scary punk rock website.

Punks are by their very definition a socially conscious bunch and so I thought this might interest some of you. Last week, while taping for Raw Travel, I took a tour with World Vision or Vision Mundial as it is known in Latin America, you know the humanitarian organiziation that helps poor kids and their families in almost 100 countries.

Peter Singer asks "What Are Their Lives Worth?"

We toured one of their most dangerous barrios, Comuna 8, in Medellin, Colombia which is completely controlled by the gangs. We were able to go in with our cameras with World Vision shirts and with the gang leaders’ permission to help kids and their families that are crippled by poverty and all the crap that brings with it (lack of health care, nutrition, often violence in the home, etc.).

I also spotted a real live scopalamine (zombie drug) tree, saw a memorial  where a landslide buried almost 1,000 people alive  in the 80′s and the whole thing was a big crazy trip and in my view, and a very punk rock thing to do.

We Don't Need No Stinking Famous Host!

I documented it all here on the Raw Travel Blog and our sister site, “Don’t Drag Me Down”.

I also talk about being inspired by a book I recently read called “The Life You Can Save” by Peter Singer and the myths of U.S. charitable giving (you often here we’re a charitable country spouted by news media and politicians, actually, uhhh… not so much when you analyze it).

I hope you’ll check it out as it explains why there are cute kids on the site this week.

Don’t worry, we’ll get back to featuring some ugly punks and their music on the site real soon.

In the meantime, enjoy the cute little kids.

I'm a daddy! well, sort of, I sponsored this kid for less than $20 U.S. a month

You can learn more about the show at www.RawTravel.tv and follow our travels and our adventures at www.RawTravelBlog.com

CHECK OUT MY TRIP TO COMUNA 8, SEE MORE PHOTOS, SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP HERE!

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Punk Rock – Medellin Style

// January 17th, 2011 // No Comments » // Photos

It’s been a 2 month delay (what can I say I’ve been traveling a lot!) but we finally got the pics up from the big “Rock en Medellin” concert last November in, you guessed it, Medellin, Colombia.

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know I’m very high on the punk scene in Medellin. It’s a great scene with a really intense and friendly community of hardcore punk fans with very some talented bands to boot.

Not the least of which is Punk Outlaw Records’ own “Los Suziox” who performed to an enthusiastic hometown crowd at Rock en Medellin.

Thanks to my friend and associate Renzo Devia for helping to snap some of these pics. To see all the great pics from the show you can visit

Check all the photos at our FLIKR PAGE. Enjoy!

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Exclusive Interview With Moscow Punks “Tarakany!”

// December 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // Videos

MOSCOW RUSSIA:

Here is our exclusive interview with the long running punk band Tarakany! (Cockroach).

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Last Night in Moscow – Video of Betty Boop Lovers

// November 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Videos

MOSCOW, RUSSIA:

After "Betty Boop Lovers" Interview "Backstage"

My final night in Moscow was a Saturday night and I was to head to St. Petersburg the following day. I hadn’t planned enough time in Moscow and I ran out of time before I ran out of interviewees.

I had a few interviews that I really wanted to get including one of the old punk legends from the Moscow scene “Zhaber Punk” . “Zhaber Punk” and I had a communication issue with my Russian being non existent and he not speaking English, but mainly it was a time issue. I just didn’t have enough time in Moscow to secure an interpreter and garner the interview.

Also Vladimyr, a music writer for the Moscow Times and punk fan who wrote an excellent English language article about Russian Punk Music scene you can read from my previous post HERE. Unfortunately, Vladimyr and I made contact after I had already left Moscow.

Moscow Punk Band "Eorsi"

And then there was Dmitry from the Moscow punk band (Eorsi). Same as Vladimyr we also made contact after I’d already left Moscow. But I did get the chance to listen to Dmitry’s band at their Last FM web page and fell in love with their music, especially a couple of songs called “About Punk” and “Black Flag”. Give em a listen if you get a chance.

Eorsi has been around for 7 years and Dimitry told me they even had a “grenade get dropped” at one of their shows to which the Russian press completely ignored. Now that is punk! Maybe a little too punk?

Next time I’m in Moscow will definitely profile these guys for you. I’ll be sure to wear my flap jacket though. Keep up the good music guys!

Betty Boop Lovers @ The Real McCoy in Moscow

In the meantime, my last night in Moscow, my new rockabilly friend Viktor (AKA DJ Spaceman) took me to this cool little bar called “The Real McCoy” that was decorated like a speak easy from the U.S. in 1920s prohibition era and I might add, make a mean chicken burrito (not surprisingly, the only Mexican food I had while in Russia).

"Betty Boop Lovers" Interview

On this particular Saturday night the bar featured a bop inspired rockabilly band called “Betty Boop Lovers” . I was able to interview the guys in between sets and shoot some video of their performance which featured mostly covers but did include a performance of a catchy original called “I Can’t Touch” that I really dug.

Betty Boop Lovers

Here is some video from my last night in Moscow at the Real McCoy with my friend Viktor tearing up the dance floor to the Betty Boop Lovers. Enjoy!

STAY TUNED: Tonight is the long awaited return of Social Distortion here in New York City so look for photos and videos tomorrow! And then, FINALLY, I’ll feature some pics and videos as I made my way to St. Petersburg, Russia!

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