Tag: punk

L7 Stop Pretending They Are Dead at The Echo

Danny Baraz May 30, 2015

By Danny Baraz On Thursday May 28th, L7 played a show for the first time in 18 years. This brought up a lot of feelings and emotion for me. I’ve seen L7 play more shows than any other band. I would not be easily swayed by the power of this moment because at their peak, they were one of the most ferocious live bands in the world. While a caricature of the past could have the power to entertain, what I wanted to see was the raw, authentic and over amplified band of bad ass chicks that were so incredible that being women was hardly a part of my internal narrative about what impressed me about them. THAT was what I wanted to see and I wouldn’t give them a pass on this “warm up show” simply because L7 were ready to relive their glory days and collect a paycheck. The Echo, a venue that didn’t even exist the last time all four original members of L7 played a show, was more packed than I had ever seen it. As soon as I saw the skeleton hands forming the L and the 7 on the backdrop of the stage, shit

New Album Review: Metz II

Brent Smith April 30, 2015

Every time I think I’ve heard the best of what today’s rock has to offer, I get sucker-punched by a band like METZ. If you haven’t heard their 2012 self-titled debut album, then Spotify that shit right now and relish in true noise band glory. With the axiomatic smashing and crashing of the ‘music industry’—that oxymoron that continues insisting upon itself—we’re getting exposure to a lot more bands who no longer have to compromise their sounds for vanilla marketing schemes, and who now have the freedom to continue pushing boundaries and challenging their audiences. METZ’s sophomore album, II no doubt attests, and convinces me that I’m going to be keeping tabs on these Toronto-based hellcats—doing the Canadian image justice in the destructive wake of Bieber Fever. Sub Pop, that label “up there” where it’s always wet, that label that’s kept us radicalized and on our toes for the last three decades, has done it again. They’ve given a great rock band the space and the faith necessary to maintain and cultivate their own vision, which is as loud and unwavering as any fan could hope. Like the preceding album, there are no frills, no bullshit, they don’t let up. No

The Dead Milkmen Over Deliver at The Troubadour

Danny Baraz April 27, 2015

Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Taylor Wong If listening to The Dead Milkmen doesn’t instantly put a smile on your face and get your foot tapping then you are completely dead inside. For 32 years, The Dead Milkmen have taken a genre that can take itself too seriously and made a mockery of it and every other taboo and sacred topic known to man. Just like most other coveted punk bands of their era, they have recently reactivated to write new music and tour. Last night, I had a chance to see The Dead Milkmen at The Troubadour and remedy the fact that I have never seen one of the funniest bands in the world play live before. I got to The Troubadour around 9:45. Unfortunately, I missed a great local band. Johnny Madcap & the Distractions had just finished playing when I arrived. I waded through the crowd of salt and pepper patrons and parked myself next to the bar and ordered a beer. Without delay, The Dead Milkmen took the stage. “Rodney Anonymous” Linderman charismatically connected with the crowd instantly as they opened with the song “Nutrition” off of Big Lizard in My Backyard. The Dead Milkmen un ceremoniously

The Replacements at The Palladium- Shot by David Evanko

The Replacements: Alt-Heads, Why the Palladium sucks and Whole Foods Blues

Brent Smith April 18, 2015

Words: Brent Smith Photos: David Evanko I typically bemoan the fact that kids and grownups are listening to the same music nowadays. Where that’s not annoying is in the case of seeing The Replacements live—that notoriously ‘unpopular’ no-band band. They’re hard to pin down. I mean what do you call The Replacements? They’re a formidable mix of hard rock, punk, blues, maybe a hint of new wave, etc. which is why they were ultimately pigeon-holed as the godfathers of ‘alternative rock’ and opened the door for the bands that dominated the 90s. I attended the ‘Mats second consecutive sold out show at the Hollywood Palladium, the fourth pit stop on their 2015 Back By Unpopular Demand tour, wedged between both weekends of that big festival thingy happening in the desert (those of you who caught it last year know they rocked it on Day 1 to a scanty crowd). I arrived dodging traffic and bad noise. 7pm is an ugly time to get anywhere in Los Angeles, especially Hollywood, where they’re currently building L.A.’s New Great Slums in the form of corporate-living skyscrapers with shopping malls for lobbies. The last time I saw a show at the Palladium, embarrassingly enough,

Jello Biafra Talks Politics, Music and The Music Business

Danny Baraz April 7, 2015

Interview and intro by Danny Baraz Getting some people to open up in an interview is like pulling teeth. That is not the case with Jello Biafra. It was about 20 minutes into our conversation before I even asked one of my pre-planned questions. That made the nerves I had before interviewing one of my ideological heroes dissipate instantly, so that our conversation about politics, music, the music business and the upcoming gig for Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine at Punk Rock Bowling feel like a casual conversation with a friend. I realized quickly why Jello has become such an icon of dissent. His ability to verbalize, crystalize and satirize pre-meditated confusion surrounding pop-culture, popular disinformation and the status quo make you feel sane in an insane world. One thing that surprised me was that he’s not buying into any far-reaching conspiracy theories that involve a small group of people controlling the world stage, either. He is an honest, intelligent and steadfast beacon of integrity and a lexicon of information. (Jello Biafra portraits shot by Elizabeth Sloan. Guantanamo school of medicine photo by Curtis Stankalis) “I was informed that I should be spending my high school years

Trash Talk, Ratking and Pangea: Slam Dance 101 at The Echoplex

Danny Baraz March 23, 2015

“Everyone say Fuck You to my friends on the side of the stage here”. The Echoplex crowd was eager to oblige the demands made by Lee Spielman of Trash Talk on Friday night. “You ain’t special just because we drink beers together, and shit. Get your ass out there.” Friday night at the Echoplex brought us another installment of Check Yo Ponytail and the conclusion of a month on the road for Trash Talk, Ratking and junglist, Lee Bannon. Spielman and Wiki from Ratking seemed exhausted as they both mentioned separately during their sets how long the last 30 days of their life seemed. In between songs, Wiki seemed tilted like a half chopped down tree. I was ready to hear someone shout “Timber!” at any moment but every time a new song started, Wiki was in full control, crushing all verses without so much as a slur. Lee Spielman has become a master at putting together non-obvious, genre bending shows. He connects the best bands, MC’s and DJ’s and let’s the chips fall where they may. Even though Trash Talk is one of the only REAL thrash bands around right now, I’ve hardly ever seen them play with any

Tod Seelie’s “Outland Empire” opens at Superchief Gallery in LA

Danny Baraz March 11, 2015

Tod Seelie– A New York based conceptual photographer opens a gallery show in L.A. with L.A. as his subject. One might think that you would see images of glamour, celebrities and sparkling oceans and gentrified neighborhoods. Too many have come in to this city with their lens to act as some sort of proxy paparazzi and half heartedly walked amongst the more obvious landmarks and landscapes to capture a cliche. I knew, even before viewing his work at the Superchief Gallery in Downtown Los Angeles that that would not be the case with Tod Seelie. Tod Seelie’s show, “Outland Empire” captures Los Angeles and it’s outlying territories in a sort of post apocalyptic glamour. The glamor of tweekers and flamethrowers and the glamour of beer and sweat soaked teenagers in the midst of an angry slam pit. Non obvious landscapes and non obvious people as subjects seems to be what catches Seelie’s eye. Eaddy from Ho99o9 mentioned that they would be playing a show at the Tod Seelie opening the other week and I drew a blank on the connection between the name Tod Seelie and his works. Once I started doing some digging I came across his Bright Nights book and

Salad Days: The DC Punk Revolution Documentary

Salad Days Punk Doc is a Deep Dive on Dischord Records

Danny Baraz March 1, 2015

For decades, the music industry has found ways to exploit and capitalize on homegrown music scenes. Organic movements of pubescent and pre pubescent children, finding their voice and by proxy, the voice of the other kids in their neighborhood. Whether it was grunge in Seattle, hip hop in Brooklyn or punk in Orange County, the music industry sees a devoted legion of rabid consumption and immediately moves to find a way to make money from it. It seems like corporations have never failed to corrupt the purity of art except for one exception; Dischord Records in Washington D.C. Last night I went to the L.A. premiere of Salad Days: The D.C. Punk Revolution at The Regent Theater and I learned so much about one of the most influential, uncorrupt able, DIY music scenes that has ever existed. Salad Days is most definitely a chronicle and an ode to Dischord Records. There was very little in this movie about the Bad Brains outside of the acknowledgment that they influenced the entire scene. The movie was complete enough to mention other bands that influenced the region like The Cramps, The Clash and The Ramones and even a decent amount of time

The Dickies Dry Hump The Roxy

JustinThomas February 23, 2015

“There is no better place to be on a Saturday night than Hollywood.” These were the words mumbled by my Uber driver. All while the lunatic stranger from our Uberpool ride-share aggressively barked lyrics from Sublime’s 40 oz of Freedom to an audience of one. My Saturday night was already headed in the right direction. I arrived at the historic Roxy Theatre around 8 PM. The curtains were drawn, mo hawks were groomed, and “The Dickies” back patches were imperfectly sewn onto sleeveless denim jackets. Each of the times I’ve been to the Roxy, every artist has acknowledged the history of this venue, and any number of google searches will result an overwhelming number of articles about the mystique of the Roxy. This all lead me to believe there is no better venue to see The Dickies, one of LA’s most historic punk bands. As the curtains raised for the first time, my eyes were met with pure bewilderment as the stage was set with two white dudes in freshly pressed Mormon door-knocking uniforms, slicked back hair, and a Wall-E-eque computer holding a MacBook. It all took a second to process and what followed was one of the best shticks in

Babes in Toyland Still Inspire and Terrify at The Roxy

Vanessa Burgundy February 14, 2015

Kat Bjelland once described Babes in Toyland as “full frontal assault” and after last night, mommy mommy I need an adult. The Roxy was packed to its crusty edges with riot grrrls and boys, riot moms (thanks for the term, Tom Morello), and celebrities alike. Hell, the first person we ran into was legendary front woman, Exene Cervenka. The excitement was infectious and the room was pulsing with what felt like good, old-fashioned high school angst. No one really knew what to expect from the band that played it’s last show 18 years ago, warm-up show at Pappy and Harriet’s aside. Tom Morello came out to introduce the “matriarchs of metal” and any doubt was kicked to the floor when Lori, Kat, and Maureen took to the stage and tore their way through a 13 song set- No banter needed. Kat’s voice hasn’t lost a drop of power and by the time they broke into their third song, “Bluebell”, every sweaty person in the room was screaming “you’re dead meat motherfucker/you don’t try to rape a goddess”. Lori hit the drums like it was Lollapalooza ’93 and you’d never know any time had passed, save for the few times she sweetly

FIDLAR return and play one of their best shows ever at The Regent

Danny Baraz January 25, 2015

We all know FIDLAR as the beer swilling, vagina drilling, fun poking, nose coking blacked out voice of this generation. Proof that art imitates life and not the other way around. They are history repeating itself without being boring or predictable but rather, a reinforcement that the youth of today are still angry, sad and depressed enough to change this world if they are able to survive the chaos of coming of age. Zac Carper took a deep breath as he scanned the audience and began to formulate his thoughts. “This is fuckin me up. The Smell, this place, everything.” It reminded me of a statement from a man who has been on his best behavior for an extended amount of time, trying not to succumb to requests like, “C’mon, one hit won’t kill you”. And then they started playing Cheap Beer and the place exploded. The Regent Theater was combustible all night and why not? I’m pretty sure the last show FIDLAR played was headlining Burgerama 3 last year and they were not in their best form at that gig. Zac could hardly form a sentence and the band was not tight. Flash forward 10 months later and FIDLAR

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