Tag: cbgb
Television is Flawless at The Teragram Ballroom
Danny Baraz
July 6, 2015
Tom Verlaine and Co. casually walked onto the stage as if they were walking into their practice space. They picked up their weapons, turned on their amplifiers and took a good 3 minutes, casually confirming that their instruments were indeed in tune, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there was a sold out crowd standing right in front of them at The Teragram Ballroom. We were there to see their band Television play, most of us for the first and most likely, the last time. This was a momentous occasion even though 99.999999 percent of the world doesn’t know about them or their band. Almost every self respecting music lover is aware of a place called CBGB and the art that erupted out of that tiny, urine soaked corner of the world. It’s one of the places that the word Punk was defined and it’s also the place that it first became misunderstood because by today’s standard, the band Television doesn’t fit the narrow definition. Blondie, Talking Heads, The Ramones, Patti Smith, The Dead Boys and The Cramps (just to name a few), all CBGB bands that had a different sound but a similar spirit of independence. They were given
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The Flesh Eaters: A balanced diet of legends at The Echoplex
Danny Baraz
January 12, 2015
There is nothing more annoying than that guy that decides what is punk and what is not but I never really understood why people call The Flesh Eaters a punk band. Drawing the parallel is easy considering the pedigree of some of it’s rotating members but their sound is sophisticated and polished and some of their time signatures confuse my brain. If we are discussing punk in the context of a frame of mind rather than a sound or an aesthetic then yes, they are as punk as it gets. Even with members such as John Doe and Dave Alvin, it should be abundantly clear that the creative force behind The Flesh Eaters is poet and vocalist, Chris Desjardins. His stamp on the L.A. music scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s can not be overstated but for someone who contributed so much to that scene, he remains an obscure and somewhat fringe delicacy, like shark fin soup. On Sunday, January 11th, The Flesh Eaters played a show at The Echoplex with their most notorious lineup of musicians from bands such as X, The Blasters, The Plugz and Los Lobos. The Flesh Eaters all probably eat a more balanced
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