Tag: punk rock bowling

Iggy Pop by Travis Moore

Punk Rock Bowling 2017: You Can’t Be What You Were…

Looking out into the sea of people in the expanses that sprawl out from the upgraded festival stage at Punk Rock Bowling’s virgin location in the booming district of Downtown Las Vegas was a seismic life experience. Not just because of how fucking rad Punk Rock Bowling was this year but because all the events of the weekend set to the music of the festival served as a soundtrack to life’s highlight reel in my head. A series of events culminated into the bitter-sweetest regression of lonerism one could ever celebrate, as I stood alone, backstage, watching The Adicts play the best set I’d ever seen from them. Being 2 months out of knee surgery, that familiar human turbine engine of 7,k people dancing and swirling in front of the stage like a pack of bats taking flight at sun down or a school of fish changing direction in unison was unfamiliar from this vantage point- I’ve always preferred being IN the engine instead of being a spectator. Because when you’re in the pit, you’re dealing directly with any physical manifestation of frustration or anger that might have built up through the grind of life and you aren’t really thinking

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The Sonics by Taylor Wong

Punk Rock Bowling 2017 Kicks Off w/ The Sonics, Throw Rag & Moore

There was a handful of early-bird punks and a few scattered tourists as we approached a surprisingly sleepy version of downtown Fremont Street but with a line-up including Dr. Madd Vibe (feat. Angelo Moore from Fishbone), Throw Rag, the Mutants, Chicken Hawk All Stars, and OG (that’s original garage) rockers The Sonics at Fremont Country Club– we were about to get woke the fuck up. related content: The Sonics Teach Garage Rock History 101 at The Observatory It was the unofficial opening night of Punk Rock Bowling and Music Festival 2017, now in it’s 19th year (how old are we?!), and the Stern brothers have yet to disappoint- although it was now 9:30pm and the doors were not yet open. Of course we overlooked the first day sluggishness as we got a sweet and smooth welcome from our Hollywood homeboy and star of the night, Chicken Hawk All Stars lead singer/Fremont Country Club venue owner, Big Daddy Carlos. It was at least 10:15 before the curtain came up with Dr. Madd Vibe’s blaring instruments and dueling vocals as loud as Angelo’s hand-painted, psychedelic suit. Always a showman and masterful musician, the energy was there but the crowd had not yet caught

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Tom Verlaine- Television

Television Performing “Venus” at Bunkhouse Saloon for PRB Club Show

It’s hard to believe that yet another Punk Rock Bowling is in the books but the week long hangover proves it.  The Stern brothers book yet another legendary gig with Television headlining the Bunkhouse Saloon along with The Weirdos, Alice Bag and The Avengers.   Tom Verlaine and company were water tight at their PRB 2017 club show. This isn’t the first time Janky Smooth is covering the pioneers of punk and art rock but it was certainly one of the most memorable.  The club shows at Punk Rock Bowling always seem to produce some of the best performances in the most intimate settings.  Other notable club gigs at PRB 2017 that we attended were Cocksparrer at Backstage Bar, Municipal Waste at Fremont Country Club, Hepcat at Bunkhouse Saloon and The Vandals, also at Fremont CC. related content: Patti Smith “Horsin’ Around” at The Teragram Ballroom Television Set List- Bunkhouse Saloon Prove It Little Johnny Jewel Venus 1880 or So Persia I’m Gonna Find You Marquee Moon For those of you attending Punk Rock Bowling installments in Denver and/or Asbury Park, have a great time.  Janky Smooth will see you next year in Vegas.   Full recap of Punk Rock

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Spike Slawson- Me First & The Gimme Gimmes

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes Janky Smooth Sessions w/ Spike Slawson

7 days until day 1 of Punk Rock Bowling 2017… Last Saturday, May 13th, I sat down with the not-so-soft-spoken Spike Slawson, of Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, at the Fonda Theater before their Los Angeles appearance of their Greatest Hits Tour. We discussed his punk rock super hero origin story, eating ass on tour, and how the Gimme Gimmes choose the songs that make it onto their album. He also shared intimate stories of the late Glen Frye and Co.’s opinions of Desperado’s punk makeover, fronting a band called Ukehunt, his favorite Judy Garland songs to sing live, and what it really feels like to watch Leonardo Dicaprio do a lot of cocaine while hearing your voice in the background. Read the Full Review From The Gimme Gimmes Show at The Fonda  Photo: BodhiFox Photography

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Shawn and Mark Stern

Punk Rock Bowling Transforms BYO Boys Into Wisdom Brigade

This past Monday, April 24th I interviewed members of an iconic, first wave California skate punk band, the owners of a record label and the brain trust of a popular annual cultural event that completely consumes every hotel room, a dozen bars and music venues and every beer coozy in Downtown Las Vegas- and I did them all in the span of an hour and a half.  Like a wise man once said, “Let’s do the whole fuckin village, man.” Bunny from the movie, Platoon. Sometimes, people make the mistake of thinking wisdom and maturity are the same concept but Confucius say, “enjoying or telling of a fart joke, occasionally, does not preclude you from being able to call on experience to make the right decision’” -from Confucius’ early, more obscure teachings- the more underground stuff. Some people have an inherent, child like disposition.  On the latest Janky Smooth Sessions, it’s hard to tell with the Stern brothers if it’s the brother dynamic that brings out the towel snapping, one-ups-manship and verbal noogies because I’ve never spent a moment with them while attending a tax seminar to witness how they conduct themselves amongst the squares.   But fortunate for all of

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Keith Morris shot by Taylor Wong

Keith Morris Speaks Freely On Lawsuits, Politics & Punk Rock

Not a lot needs to be said about Keith Morris and his contributions, not only to punk rock music but to the entire culture of “art” itself. I could easily get too wordy in this intro, to this transcript, of a bucket list interview with Morris for the temporarily defunct Janky Smooth and the NSA radio show from this time last year, but why? Everything I could say is in the archives of this interview and in his biography, My Damage I imagine there aren’t too many icons in the world who have remained as authentic and right sized as Keith and the fact that he gave a smaller publication like Janky Smooth one of his first, post lawsuit gag order interviews  just speaks volumes about what this man values as an artist.  Authenticity can not be feigned in art as easily as it can be in life and it’s rare to talk to someone in any capacity and get the vibe that what you see is what you get- especially when they’re talking about themselves. Most Recent on topic: Redd Kross, OFF! & Melvins Commemorate Teen Babes From Monsanto This interview took place in April of 2016 as one of

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Youth Brigade at Punk Rock Bowling shot by Todd Anderson

Punk Rock Bowling 2016: 18 Years of Limping Las Vegas

Don’t’ let the fights fool you; Punk Rock Bowling is a pure, unabashed, hippie love fest. Anthropologists should study the dynamics of a slam pit to understand a punk in his natural habitat because there is so much love in that stew that a few fists flying could never dampen the warm feelings we have for each other. That’s what terrified parents watching expose’s on the terrors of the punk scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s never understood. A jumper on the roof of The Golden Nugget? Doesn’t matter. Sporadic loneliness and bad acid aside, It’s one of the few times a year when MOST attendees feel like they are a part of something bigger. Because under the spikes, tattoos and snarls are a group of individuals who are overflowing with sensitivity and love. They party hard. They fight hard. They dress hard and they look hard, despite the whiskey dick.   For the past 18 years, Punk Rock Bowling has served the punk community during both boom and busts of the scene. When NuMetal was hammering the last nail in the coffin of the music industry, Punk Rock Bowling was being born and punks kept sticking to their

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Ministry Make Ears Bleed at Punk Rock Bowling Club Show

I was on the fence about attending Punk Rock Bowling this year. It’s been 4 years in a row and when you have a wife and kids, it’s an exercise of manipulation and selfishness to leave your family every Memorial Day weekend. “Honey, but it’s work!” So as I was leaning towards a “no”, Punk Rock Bowling 2016 unveiled it’s club shows and there it was; Thursday, May 26th Ministry/Excel at the Fremont Country Club. Fuck my kids. Fuck my wife. Fuck my business and everyday life. What twisted individual thought of this lineup for a punk rock festival? A couple weeks later I found out that our friends from Death Hymn Number 9 were ALSO on the bill. “See you in a few days, kids! Daddy loves you!” In 1990, Ministry released a live album called, “In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up”. I discovered it 2 years after it was released. I was 16. To this day I consider it my favorite Ministry album and THE BEST LIVE ALBUM OF ALL TIME. On my drive out to Vegas I listened to it 2 times, all the way through.  I had visions of Ministry playing this album from

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Youth Brigade: Bedlam at Punk Rock Bowling Warm Up Gig at The Echo

It’s that time of the year again. That time where all the old punks dust off their denim vests, while the new punks make sure they have all their new patches sewn on by their mom’s before they take off for Punk Rock Bowling. As condescending as that just sounded, Punk Rock Bowling was my favorite festival all of last year. I’ve never seen such unity amongst one scene. As Punk Rock Bowling approaches, as with any other out of town festival, a ton of related shows pop up in LA before the festival. One of those shows, which I was lucky enough to attend, was Youth Brigade at the Echo. Youth Brigade is made up of BYO (Better Youth Organization) and Punk Rock Bowling Founders and brothers, Mark and Shawn Stern as well as Johnny and Joey.  The band originates in LA, so the sold out show at The Echo was of no surprise. Generation Suicida opened up the show. Generation Suicida is an all Latino Punk band from South LA. One great thing about this band is that the majority of their songs were sung in Spanish. I don’t know if you have paid attention in recent years,

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Punk Rock Bowling 2016 Club Shows Announced

Punk Rock Bowling is like no other festival on the planet.  There are few major festivals that are able to instill in it’s attendees a real sense of community across the entire scope of it’s population.  The level of quality and consistency that BYO Records is able to achieve year after year is impressive.  No where is this more prevalent than the annual cluster of Punk Rock Bowling club shows. In a lot of ways, I’m far more interested in the lineup of Punk Rock Bowling 2016 club shows than I am in the actual festival itself.  While the major story line of this year’s installment of PRB is the expansion of the festival to include an East Coast weekend of festival days and club shows in New Jersey, today’s announcement of the schedule and lineup of the Punk Rock Bowling 2016 club shows has me talking to myself. One night in particular stands out to me and might just be all the motivation I need to keep my attendance streak going.  The Thursday night club show at Punk Rock Bowling 2016 is Ministry, Excel and 45 Grave are playing the motherfucking Fremont Country Club. I’m not sure what the

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Jello Biafra & GSOM at Punk Rock Bowling

Punk Rock Bowling 2015 and What Is Punk Rock, Poser?

Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Taylor Wong The word punk is one that is thrown around and has many different uses. It can be used as an adjective or a verb. There has been much discussion around it’s usage as an adjective to describe music and people. It has sparked passionate and sometimes violent debate. The spirit behind what the word actually means has existed since time itself and once the word became marketable and defined by a specific sound, the word changed from describing a frame of mind and into describing a genre… or… a product, if you will. And there are very few individuals or businessmen that handle the legacy of this product better than Mark and Shawn Stern at BYO Records, specifically through their record label and of course, the annual summit called Punk Rock Bowling.   Very few statements sound sillier than someone stating “That’s not punk”. Because once punk has been defined through a specific paradigm, it ceases to be the thing that it was when Iggy first bent over backwards or Darby first watched people move in a circle or Joey put on his first leather jacket. The cultural resistance that spawned the punk scene stops

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Punk Rock Bowling Festival LIneup

Punk Rock Bowling 2015 Deep Thoughts and Sideshows

Punk Rock Bowling is starting to attract almost as many side gigs as Coachella. From L.A. to Las Vegas, bands both playing the official festival and club shows and bands that weren’t invited to this year’s festivities are all booking as many gigs as they can to take advantage of the busiest season in Punk Rock.  See the list of shows (below) across two states that seem to be the spawn of the biggest punk rock event in the country, maybe the world. We asked some of your favorite punks and some young guns to talk about their experiences at Punk Rock Bowling. Jack Grisham- TSOL How many times have you attended/played Punk Rock Bowling? A: This will be my 2nd time attending, both of which have been in a performance roll–not a real roll What’s your bowling average? A: The highest i’ve ever rolled was a 264. it was a miracle. my average is shit. What band are YOU most excited to see? A: No one–i’m tired. i like the people though. i’m excited to see them What’s your drink of choice? A: $12 dollar waters and bitter, black, hot coffee What’s the most money you have ever won in Vegas?

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