Results tagged “punkrock”

The last time I saw Brendan Mullen we had a proper lunch in the Snooker Room at the Cat and Fiddle. The stained glass danced across his face and his eyes were alive with delight when we talked about the fun times. He was working on a new book to be published at a later date, In spite of recent physical difficulties, he seemed content in a way. He told me about his operations and how he still could not turn his head. Brendan Mullen was never happy that the world moved without him.

After twenty-five years of punk rock, PCP and hippie bashing, Fat Mike and the boys of LA-born NOFX haven't stopped their fight to uphold the tenets of the punk ethos. Having played three shows at the Henry Fonda last week, the band highlighted songs from every era of their history, never once failing to entertain the crowd with their signature hilarious, immature and oftentimes bigoted banter.

Chip Kinman and PCH will be celebrating the release of their new album “My First Punk Rock Record” with a performance this evening at La Luz De Jesus Gallery. The band will be performing their album in its entirety, augmented by an interpreter for the deaf.

       

Now in its fourth year, Punk Rock Social is a monthly event at Alex's Bar in Long Beach. This past weekend, they held the CD release for the Cute Lepers.

Thursday

Liquid Kitty's annual punk rock BBQs have been such a success, this Sunday they are hosting a special Winter BBQ. What better to chase away the rain than with colorful drinks and hard-core thrash? Some dogs on the grill? Done! And all for the low, low, price of FREE.

The main theme of the seminal grunge documentary Hype! is how something that by its very nature was anti-commercial became commercialized.

That's heavy stuff indeed. And like it or not, those days are gone.

Since the coming weekend will be filled with parties and their attendant hammerings, here are some suggestions for your trip to the liquor store in case you find yourself allergic to nog.

I love Gavin Edward's series of misheard lyrics, informally known as mondegreens. Especially since I am constantly singing the wrong lyrics to songs, including the commonly misheard "wrapped up like a douche" (Manfred Mann's "revved up like a deuce.") I am driven to hysterical laughter by Gavin Edward gems like:

In this video, Ms. Amos speaks out from her pedestal at the Nokia Theatre during "Cruel":

Writers! Writers! Where are you in this fucking town? When you gonna stand up and stop sucking the cock of the infested corporate clone? Seize the power!

Some photographers are just lucky. They were in the right place at the right time. They were there to ride the crest of a burgeoning scene. Not so for Ann Summa. She may have been snapping away while LA's punk rock scene took its very first breath, but the timelessness of her photography is not sheer luck. Ann Summa's photographs could stand up to the best of them even if they were pictures of random people taken at the bus stop. Her use of lights and darks is striking, and she is able to capture the intensity of people like Tomata du Plenty and the cool detachment of Dianne Chai.

As a send off to photographer, Ann Summa's Los Angelesshow, bands/performers from the bad old days of early L.A. punk played in the gallery. Dude, it was both awesome and bitchin.

Mi Ami (ex-members of Black Eyes from SF) and Bipolar Bear. Since we love classical minimalism, we thought to ask the band a few questions before tonight's show:

"The ghost of Stephen Foster" - Squirrel Nut Zippers Flogging Molly, The Bouncing Souls, Dead to Me, Punk Rock Karaoke @ The Avalon Dead Sara @ Knitting Factory Fuel @ The Grove of Anaheim Squirrel Nut Zippers @ El Rey Theatre Blues Traveler @ Galaxy Concert Theater Eilen Jewell, Rich Wyman, Evan Stone & His Translucent Ham Sandwich Band @ The Mint Pete Yorn, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs, Donavan Frankenreiter, Phantom Planet, Peter...

If you happened to miss the December 3 Downtown News, you haven't seen the personal ads Jon Regardie suggested to help Mayor Villaraigosa get a New Year's Eve smooch. They're pretty hysterical from top to bottom. My favorite one begins with the perfectly awkward hook: "Looking for My Energizer Lady Bunny: Hot bilingual mayor has an opening on his staff - for love!" In the same edition, peep Evan George's report on the uneasy relationship...

Release Date: Fall '07

I almost didn’t go to see Ann Summa’s Los Angeles punk photo exhibition at Track 16 Gallery in Santa Monica. No offense to the once, raw obscure photographers who happened to be at the right place at the right time 30 years ago, snapping amazing images of once, raw obscure bands. Your recognition is well past due. It’s just that there’s been a plethora of punk picture/art/flyer/book exhibitions in the past few years and I’ve seen most of them and on the night in question, I was running late from an earlier art opening and thought, “maybe I’ll just skip this one.” Thankfully, I came to my senses and hauled my lazy ass over to Bergamot Station. On the way in, I was greeted by the nostalgic sight of a drunk-off-her-butt teenager being half carried through the parking lot by friends. I took it as a sign from the gods of punk rock.

Sunday was the book release party for Live at the Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley. It was fully sold out, and even those who are in with the in crowd were embarassed to be left standing outside, waiting for a friend to get them in. The party went on all afternoon, all evening, and all night. Everyone seems to have forgotten that we aren't 17 years old anymore. By the time we arrived at...

Monday Dave Isay, from StoryCorps, presents Listening Is an Act of Love 7pm @ Vroman's Johan Lehrer presents Proust Was a Neuroscientist 7pm @ Dutton's Nigella Lawson presents The Domestic Goddess 7pm Borders, Torrance Tom Brokaw presents Boom! Voices of the Sixties 7:30pm @ Temple Emanuel Tuesday Clive Barker presents Mister B. Gone 7pm @ Vroman's Gregory Rodriguez presents Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans & Vagabonds 7pm @ Central Library Susanne Daniels presents Season Finale 7pm @...

One year ago today the South Bay lost a punk rock legend and I lost one of my oldest friends.

For those of you who remember the Masque (and those of you wishing you remembered the Masque), Brendan Mullen, The Echo and Swindle Magazine will be presenting Punk Veteran's Day 2007 Sunday at the Echo. Come celebrate the release of Live at the Masque: Nightmare in Punk Alley, a book of previously unreleased photos, posters and flyers compiled and edited by Brendan Mullen and Roger Gastman. Sunday, November 11, 2007 3pm til ? Echoplex +...

Let's start getting excited for the Masque event with some Screamers. Tomata was one of the greatest frontmen who ever lived. Look at that stiff posture and screaming face. He was to accidentally inspire horrible bands like the Buggles, Gary Neuman and other new wave crap to come. But at the time, this approach was revolutionary. This is the year of disco and Mick Jagger. Sadly, we have have lost Tomata, so the Screamers will not be playing. But just look at that intense control balanced by ferocity. There will never be another like him.

There are many different ways you could have heard of Tinariwen by now - even if you don't keep up with world music, you could have heard Henry Rollins play them on Indie 103.1, or read that they opened for The Rolling Stones, or heard that Thom Yorke was inspired by one of their guitar riffs while writing 'The Clock' on Eraser. Not your usual buzz band, Tinariwen are part of a nomadic desert...

Somehow "The Tonight Show" scored a trifecta of controversy tonight as they were able to book the most punk rock of punk rock bands, the most conservative member of Congress, and the wackiest Scientologist all to appear on its air in the same hour. Tonight the Sex Pistols, Ron Paul, and Tom Cruise will all be in Burbank to tape the late night chat show. Strangely, whatever wire service the LA Daily News used...

Interpol the international police organization is everywhere (186 member countries), even though you never really take notice of them. So it’s fitting that the post-punk rock band of the same name has reached similar ubiquitous status, though dipping still ever so slightly below the radar. But now it appears the secret is out. Ever since Interpol announced the release of Our Love to Admire in May, they’ve been scouring the world, touring virtually non-stop....

"Man, ya'll smell like Kush!", said the security guard, as he waved us through with his flashlight towards the entrance of the venue. While I normally wouldn't indulge myself with too much green before a punk rock show, paying $13 for a redbull/vodka at the Fonda has become quite tiresome. Nevertheless, no daunting cocktail prices would keep me from enjoying my virginal Turbonegro experience, which expectedly blew me away. When it comes down to...

The last time I saw DC punk icons Bad Brains play live was in a big hall somewhere in Long Beach or Pedro circa 1987. HR still plays solo projects, and sometimes they come around billed as Soul Brains, playing mostly reggae. Wednesday night was a rare opportunity to see the original lineup play their punk rock catalog. Their new record, Build a Nation, produced by Adam Yauch, is definitely reminiscent of their early...

Yes, that's right, I have a Donnas album. That damn song "Take It Off" was so stuck in my head and the lyrics were so funny that I ended up just buying Spend The Night, even though the girls had clearly changed a bit from the straight Ramones sound they had when I heard them years ago on the ubiquitous Rodney on the Roq. I got invited by friends to catch their show with...

I am loving this ATP-inspired idea of playing entire albums from beginning to end. Tonight we hit the Music Box to see The Melvins play Houdini and Mudhoney play Superfuzz Big Muff plus Early Singles. Sadly, we missed Flipper. We were late because I fell down the back steps as we rushed out the door. Bob wanted me to stay home and ice my foot, but no way was I missing this gig! We...