
Tag: youth brigade

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

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,