Tag: Die Group

Ming River Drunken Punk Rock LBC Matinee: The Spits and Surfbort at Alex’s Bar

Janky Smooth Central Command July 4, 2019

Matinee show crowds can be a gamble. Even if the bill is solid, you never know if the allure of the lazy Sunday will win over the show. Even if people attend, will they have the energy needed to make it a show to remember? At this particular matinee show, you needn’t worry. On one hand, because the lineup of Die Group, Surfbort, and the Spits is a right-left-right combo of ferocious rock n’ roll. On the other, because the show was sponsored by Ming River Baijiu liquor company. Ming River was offering free shot samples of their different flavors as well as fantastic drink specials. The crowd was at the venue getting well lubricated two hours before the first band even took stage. Most opening bands need to start playing in order to get people to crowd the stage. Most bands with drummers on lead vocals are boring to watch. Die Group is not most bands. Clad in all black and in leather motorcycle jackets no matter how bikram yoga hot the stage gets, the trio deliver monstrous fuzz guitar over solid garage grooves. Eric Big Arm uses every inch of his side of the stage while drummer and

Surfbort Shake-Up Dave’s Shit Show At Resident

Rob Shepyer August 8, 2018

Hot off the heels of a successful gallery opening and Zine release, iconic black and white rock photographer, Shit Show Dave, put on a Beach Goth after party at Resident that will not be soon forgotten. Shit… the show featured performances by Vaguess, Die Group, and Surfbort and the Resident was completely packed with rockers, groupies and all sorts of crazy fuckers, drinking, laughing and moshing hard. Costa Mesa’s Vaguess opened up the show with a sound that was undisputed garage punk and gets any human’s gears turning and heads banging. They provide an especially electric party feel that goes well with drinks, cigarettes, and whatever lubricant you need to get the job done. What job would that be you ask? Straight partying hard and punking out… ever heard of it!? Die Group were next, a band off Sex Tape records, they’re an OC and LA underground favorite. I had only heard good things about the band but none of their music until this point and having met the members, it was a pleasure to see them do what they do best. I was impressed and moved by their haunting and rhythmic garage rock. Their guitars are sonic and noisy, their

Jonny Cat Cancer Benefit at Alex’s Bar: Punk Rock, Love & Compassion

Jonathan Reyes July 26, 2017

It’s hard making fun of something when that thing revolves around someone dying of cancer but all my friends know me to pick the lowest hanging fruit so here we go. I’ll present this as half review and half roast. “Didn’t this show already happen 15 years ago?” A fair point from the man in the band playing surf rock in animal masks in 2017. Another good point he made was why a bar would have a curtain behind the band. There was definitely a feeling like this was a fire that had been diminished but relit for a honorable cause: Trying to Save Jonny Cat from cancer. I wasn’t familiar with Jonny Harbin aka Jonny Cat but the effort being displayed by his loved ones made the night feel like paying for a PBR was a noble act. Jonny is based out of Portland’s music scene. His most notable band being Cyclops before starting Jonny Cat Records, putting out records of local PDX bands. Plenty of people do the same but from talking to his friends and learning about him, I believe he stands out in the crowd. RELATED CONTENT: IN THE RED RECORDS’ 25TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY: WEEKEND AT

Celebrating Cheetah Chrome’s Birthday with Sex, Drugs, and Rock N Roll at Alex’s Bar

Jessica Moncrief February 26, 2017

The hand-picked line-up of locals supporting Cheetah Chrome and his band at Alex’s Bar was about as solid as it gets. So, cheers to the insane minds that made Cheetah Chrome’s Birthday Bash an unforgettable evening of beauty, brutality, and bruises. related content: Opening Bands Shine as OFF! Play Alex’s Bar 16 Year Anniversary Prologue For those of us in the trenches, going out night after night to document the music scene, each show is a dice roll. We painstakingly wade through mediocrity. Furthermore, we pay for overpriced drinks and parking and suffer from lack of sleep. So what pulls us away from the comfort of our home vinyl collection? For me, I seek those nights where everything comes together. Nights when parking is a breeze, the opening band rocks, the atmosphere is 100% party, the crowd is full of beautiful people, and the beer is reasonably priced. Every show serves as part of a never-ending quest to relive that first real high. That space in time where the music entered my soul like a needle piercing a vein, transporting me to another level of consciousness. Thankfully, this ended up being one of those nights that makes this music junky’s struggle worthwhile. The