Social Distortion – The Aggrolites – Chuck Ragan – at the Hollywood Palladium – Hollywood, CA

When Southern California heroes Social Distortion are in town to play, they mean business. There isn’t another band from the Punk rock scene that’ve been able to rise from the underground right into the mainstream radio friendly world yet retain street credibility that’s survived 3 decades strong. Back on the road in support of the bands hugely successful 7th album “Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes”, (released by Epitaph Records) Social Distortion find themselves once again booked into a night after night residency; this time at the world famous Hollywood Palladium.

The opening night of their 3 show stint proved to be an excellent concert for so many reasons in this concert goers opinion. Though before I get to Social Distortions amazing set, let’s mention the cast of support bands. Former Hot Water Music front man Chuck Ragan’s folk rock set proved to be a great way to start off the night. Being that Social Distortions music draws from so many different types of rock, it makes sense that a solo artist with a focus on acoustic folk rock could fit perfectly on this “Punk rock” bill. With more diversity in store for us, we were treated to Los Angeles’s very own reggae upstarts, The Aggrolites. The toasty boss sound produced from The Aggrolites prompted many to dance in the tradition of roots reggae skank style. It’s a safe assumption that many were already familiar with The Aggrolites and already long time fans of the band, neither opener were treated to heckling or uninterested crowds awaiting the almighty headliner.

As the house lights dimmed down low, Social Distortions backdrop raised high above the very wide Palladium stage. The new album artwork adorned banner fit in perfect with the stage production set up, not quite “Spinal Tap”, but definitely not bare staged. Instead various high way road signs, street light lamps and a large number 13 were placed alongside the bands amplifiers. It was the most elaborate Social Distortion production in the bands long history. The moment Mike Ness graced the stage during the bands opening number “Road Zombie” is when it became obvious that the band were good and ready to show Hollywood just how Orange County veterans rock. Older hits “So Far Away” and “Mommy’s little Monster” sounded great as ever with new drummer David Hidalgo Jr. smashing away behind the kit. His versatility came in handy when tracks like “Bakersfield” and re worked slowed down versions of older jams required a softer approach.

Variety and versatility has remained one of Social Distortion’s strongest points over their long career, Thursday night was no different as all the stops were pulled out. Where many bands tend to play it safe and keep songs identical to their studio recording, Social D go the extra mile by throwing in a mix of extra instrumentation and re worked arrangements. Accordion and Organs found their way into a mix of songs that simply made the watching and listening experience that much more enjoyable. Much like the theme and sound on their new record, Mike Ness was easily able to transform most of his back catalog into soulful sounding gospel like hymns. The addition of soul sister backup singers only made it more soulful and is really awe inspiring as the mood of the concert transformed from brash Punk Rock into a sound that’s reminiscent of a 1950’s southern Baptist tent revival. Punk rocker to old bluesman, he does it and he does it well! Social D were able to blaze through their set with such variety and ease that it came as a shock to hear that they had one last song left to play, though we all knew they’d be back. (They still had two more live staples to play for us!)

The sets encore saw the SOLD OUT 4000 capacity crowd singing along to Johnny Cash’s classic “Ring of Fire” with graceful lungs in unison. As expected though, the nights closer “Story of My Life” brought the house down as it became a free for all. Flying shoes, crowd surfers and the biggest circle pit of the night followed as the crowd realized it was the last chance to party with Social Distortion for the night. For the first time of the night it seemed like a scene out of “Another State of Mind”, a film in which Ness and company were featured in the early 80’s.

Overall this older more mature version of Social Distortion puts on as amazing of a show as ever. The old and new fans both get their era of song selections throughout the set, but are both treated to reworked versions that honestly make for a better live sound. The only thing that lacked Thursday night was the absence of Prison Bound (1988) and Sex, Love And Rock N Roll (2004) songs in the set list. Both of those albums contain some of Mike Ness’ strongest song writing and catchiest tunes, their inclusions would have made the concert Social Distortions finest 2 hours, (perhaps they’ll make it in Friday or Saturday nights set).

The question critics may ask is can Punk rock mature and intermix with soulful blues and gospel in a way that remains true to its original attitude yet displays a different strength altogether? With Social Distortion’s new album and live show in 2011 the answer is HELL YES it can.
I suspect the following 2 nights at the Palladium will be a continuing celebration of the bands new album and reworked classics, a show that in my opinion is one of the best an “older” band can put on.

Go catch Social Distortion on tour now as they roll through your city, its well worth the price of admission.

Thursday Night’s Set list
1. Road Zombie (instrumental) 2011
2. So Far Away 90’
3. King of Fools 92’
4. Bad Luck 92’
5. Mommys Little Monster 82’
6. Sick Boy 90’
7. Machine Gun Blues 2011
8. Ball & Chain 90’
9. Through These Eyes 96’
10. Bakersfield 2011
11. Sweet & Lowdown 2011
12. Down Here With The Rest of Us 96’
13. Cold Feelings 92’
14. Making Believe 92’
15. California Hustle & Flow 2011
16. Cant Take it With You 2011
17. Ring of Fire 90’
18. Story of My Life 90’

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

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Crashed Out – Crash & Burn

Back in 2007, Big Wheel reviewed and praised Crashed Out's "Pearls Before Swine". Approximately four years later, Crashed Out's newest release "Crash & Burn" has been given to us to listen to, and I can say with confidence that this album is just as great as "Pearls Before Swine". Crashed Out has polished the melodic Punk rock sound they always possessedand have infused some ska influences into their style. The album is full of catchy anthems such as "Break it Down" and "Son of a Gun".

If you're a fan of music like Rancid, Swingin' Utters, or Stiff Little Fingers, then "Crash & Burn" will satisfy your musical desires. I hope in the next few years when Crashed Out puts out another album, it's just as good of a listen as "Pearls Before Swine" and "Crash & Burn". They play mostly in Europe and we can only hope that someday fans here in the United States can be treated with a tour by a band of this caliber.

Band website: www.crashed-out.co.uk


 

-Sarah K.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter
 

 

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Ceremony Preview: February 2011 California Tour

It may seem strange nowadays that a band can achieve great success without the help of Facebook, Myspace, or their biography plastered everywhere on different websites. Named one of the "100 bands you need to know in 2008" by the Associated Press, Ceremony has proved that they can beat this challenge and will showcase their talents throughout California in February.

Although they were formed in 2005, the hardcore Punk sound that they maintain would make one think they belong in 1980's alongside bands like Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, and Negative Approach. Although they've played with different sounds in their career, one thing that remains with the Bay Area natives is that they're fast, in-your-face, loud, and aggressive; I'm excited to see all these elements portrayed live.

Vocalist Ross Farrar believes that inspiration is the most important element for Ceremony and that "we don’t necessarily incorporate the sounds of the bands we like into our music, but those particular bands have a certain aesthetic degree of emotion that moves people. The minimalism and the repetitive qualities and the lyrical content is all very captivating, and listening to that sound evokes particular emotions in all of us". Ceremony's Rohnert Park made Big Wheel Magazine's Top 9 Records of 2010, so rest assured that going to see this band is a solid move.

If you want to experience the unadulterated, raw anger and energy that each Ceremony performance has to offer than be sure to make it to one of their handful of California shows. The sold out shows and dozens of stage divers that come with them should convince you, if I haven't already.

February 18th 2011 at the Boulevard in Boyle Heights - Los Angeles, CA

February 19th 2011 at Che Cafe in San Diego, CA

February 20th 2011 at CYC in Fresno, CA

February 26th at Oakland Metro in Oakland, CA

 

-Sarah K.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

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Metallica: Club Dayz 1982-1984 by Bill Hale

Longtime rock concert photographer Bill Hale’s collection of sought after Metallica photos have finally seen the light of day in his new book; Metallica: Club Dayz 1982-1984. Bill’s involvement with the band stems back to their earliest incarnation, a time when the boys of Metallica were hardly old enough to buy beer, though would still proudly earn the nickname “AlcoholicA“. This rare and very intimate look into the world of Metallica captures the 4 horsemen live in small club settings, amateur promo shots, and candid photos taken backstage at concerts in the San Francisco bay area. Bill Hale’s ability to transform himself from front row concert photographer into fly on the wall makes for a most interesting look at one of Metals longest surviving bands.

The book opens with anecdotes from long time Metallica associates involved in the early 80’s thrash scene. Bill Hale explains his fascination with capturing the very explosive band that took the heavy metal world by storm overnight. In those days and in small clubs photo passes and safe photo pits were non existent, so if a photographer was interested in getting “the right shot” one would have to get very up close in personal with the very violent head banging crowd. The visual experience gained is a tremendous effort and prime example of a photographer suffering for ones art. Brief descriptions of each photo with locations and dates are provided giving a band timeline. The first photos of Cliff Burton as a member of Metallica are here along with Dave Mustaine’s first and last photos as a member of the band. Kirk Hammet even makes a few appearances here, first as a member of Exodus hanging backstage with Dave Mustaine (who Kirk would replace). These photos are as rare as they get in the Metallica world!

Many esteemed photographers like Ross Halfin and Anton Corbijn would shoot Metallica in their later years and capture them in all their success fame and glory, though what makes this book more interesting to the casual or hardcore Metallica fan is that what’s captured here is pure metal and nothing more and nothing less (112 pages to be exact!). There aren’t private planes, fame, ego maniac’s or sold out 75,000 seater stadiums here. What we get here in “Club Dayz” is a raw look at a band that had drive and determination to play music and work hard on the club scene night after night in front of a growing army of fans.

Being a fan of Metallica, I’m glad that Bill Hale was there at the right place at the right time with his camera shooting away. This happens to be the earliest account of photos to surface on this bands early period, the innocence captured here is complete opposite of what the majority of fans would later come to see, and because of that this book is a must have for the true Metallica fan.

Here is a source for the book:
Metallica: Club Dayz 1982-1984   from www.amazon.com

 

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

History Lesson Part 1: Punk Rock in Los Angeles in 1984

Classic raw Punk footage and interviews with: The Meat Puppets, The Minutemen, Twisted Roots and Redd Kross will be coming out on DVD on March 22, 2011

It has been said that Los Angeles and San Francisco were the last major metropolitan cities in which Punk music scenes developed and once it hit California, Punk changed shapes numerous times, spread to every corner of the United States and became a permanent fixture in the culture.

In 1984, a teenage Dave Travis decided to capture Punk rock in Los Angeles on video tape, a fascination and hobby that he would continue until 1997, logging in hundreds of hours of Los Angeles area shows and interviews. In "A History Lesson Part 1, Travis presents live footage filmed in the spring of 1984 featuring the Meat Puppets, Minutemen, Twisted Roots and Redd Kross interspersed with interviews of members from each group which examines and puts a perspective on the early years of "psychedelic" Punk rock in Los Angeles and Phoenix, AZ. Each song by each group is presented from start to finish.

The Meat Puppets started playing Punk rock in their hometown of Phoenix, Arizona out of a feeling of alienation. After sharing a bill in Phoenix, Black Flag invited The Meat Puppets to play a show with them The Cuckoos Nest in Costa Mesa, CA. The group played their chaotic shamanistic psychedelic punk which messed with the minds of the hardcore punks in the audience who started a riot during their set. This prompted Greg Ginn of Black Flag to invite The Meat Puppets to record an album for SST.The group recorded "Meat Puppets 1" over a non-stop three day session while tripping on acid at Unicorn Studios in West Hollywood.  A year later, the group returned to the studio and with a more structured and coherent approach for "Meat Puppets 2." Three songs from that album were captured live on May 5, 1984 at Perkins Palace in Pasadena, CA. Melons Rising and Saturday Morning capture the bewitching feeling of "Meat Puppets 1," while Lake of Fire captures the new direction they were moving towards with "Meat Puppets 2."

The Minutemen were the original Punk band from San Pedro, California. Bassist Mike Watt, a childhood friend of guitarist D Boon says that Boon's mother taught him how to play bass. When the two first started playing together, they tried to cover rock songs, like American Woman and Black Dog. Then they saw a Punk rock showone night in Hollywood and had the revelation that they could play their own music. Boon would write phrases on scraps of paper and Watt would put these to music. Watt would write songs with beginnings, middles, and ends. D. Boon would write songs with just verse and chorus. The songs were short, often less than a minute long.  They would write solos into the songs so the other players could rest. Boon had a thing about ideas and principles; he and Watt would talk and argue about everything, even having to pull over at a library while driving between towns on tour to resolve a debate they were having about European History. They philosophized that their world was divided into two parts; Gigs and Flyers. Gigs were the shows. Flyers were everything else which would get people to the shows. Records, radio, videos; these were all flyers to the Minutemen. Six Minutemen songs are featured: A History Lesson Part 2 and Jesus and Tequila from Hollywood's legendary Cathay De Grande and No 1. Hit Song, Martin's Story, The Big Foist, and Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs were captured at The Olympic Auditorium.



Paul Roessler formed Twisted Roots in 1981 after the demise of the Screamers. The original lineup featured Paul's sister Kira on bass and Pat Smear of the Germs on guitar.  The band enjoyed instant success as a punk rock super-group followed by a period of chaos emerging with a new lineup featuring Dez Cadena of Redd Kross, Black Flag and The Misfits on guitar. This lineup would soon metamorphosize into DC3.  Roessler was heavily influenced by Public Image Limited and took to heart Johnny Rotten's philosophy that it was about musical anarchy not political anarchy. The songs Never Was, Mommy's Always Busy in the Kitchen, and Love Your Friends were captured in May of 1984 at the Music Machine in West Los Angeles.

Redd Kross were teenagers from Hawthorne, CA who started playing shows with Black Flag while some of the members were still in Junior High School. Though they gigged with punk bands from the South Bay, they felt that they were outsiders because they were obsessed with pop culture and felt more of a connection with rock star persona than their punk rock peers. Three songs were filmed at the Pomona Valley Auditorium in June 1984: Janus, Jeanie, and George Harrison, Linda Blair, and Annette's got the Hits. The band at the time consisted of two pairs of siblings: Jeff and Steve McDonald and Dave and Vicki Peterson of The Bangles temporarily replacing the freshly departed Dez Cadena before guitarist Robert Hecker joined the group. This was Peterson's only show with the group. Steve McDonald currently plays bass in OFF! with Keith Morris.

Videographer Dave Travis grew up in Los Angeles where his dad worked as a cameraman for NBC and CBS news as well as TV shows such as "Chips" and "Fantasy Island." When he was 15 his dad handed down to him an old video camera and he began shooting Punk rock shows in Los Angeles. He eventually became a freelance video editor, working on projects such as Black Flag's "Slip It In" video as director and editor, "1991 the Year Punk Broke" featuring Sonic Youth and Nirvana as editor,  the Kurt Cobain memorial for the 94 MTV Music Awards as editor, and many more. Travis also ran a recording studio with his sister, bassist Abby Travis, called Tarantula Ranch and in the mid '80s helped pioneer the desert Generator Shows.

Travis captured Punk bands on video in L.A. for 14 years until 1997 when he decided to put down his camera. In 2000 he became a teacher with stints at John Adams Middle School teaching World and U.S. History and Santee Education Complex, a High School in South Central, L.A. teaching History and Economics. After spending nearly a decade as a teacher, Travis re-united with his passion for video and began digitizing and restoring his old footage. "A History Lesson Part One" is the first fruit harvested from his archive. Travis also plays cello in the long-time Los Angeles punk / psychedelic / jazz band Carnage Asada.

Movie website: www.ahistorylesson.com
 

 

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Interview with Smeg of King Kurt

Interview by: Dod M.
Big Wheel Overseas Correspondent


After seeing King Kurt last year at Rebellion and again a couple of month’s later in Aberdeen, both were great gigs. I managed to catch up with singer Smeg, who is a great front man, jumps about the stage and pulls some of the best and funniest faces I’ve seen. With more shows lined up in 2011 this will be a good year for King Kurt.

King Kurt - What’s the origin of that name?
In 1980 the band was called Rocking Kurt and his Sour Krauts until they had some shows in North Wales during an hallucinogenic aside in the Snowdonia foothill it was decided to drop the rock, thus rendering it down to King Kurt and his Sour Krauts, after some debate it was decided to render it further thus resulting it in King Kurt.

How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
We've all known each other now for 30 years, some a bit longer than that, I'm not sure about anybody else met, but I met the band because Paul was fiddling with a woman that I had fiddled with and went along to see them. A bottle of whiskey and the ruination of somebody's "happy" birthday, the course of history was set.

What originally attracted you to the music scene?
Drugs and women.

What has been your biggest challenge as a band?
Not killing each other, Drugs and women.

Your gigs were know for the fans taking food along and having massive food fights, how did this start?
At the 101 club in Clapham Junction, in maybe 1981 when Jeff Harvey left the band it was decided to make him a cake, literally, and it all kind of snowballed from there.

Do you still do it today?
After a while it became very difficult to play anywhere and when we could the cleaning bills were more than we were being paid; however, sometimes it still goes on but as long as the band don't do anything themselves we seem to get away with it.

What’s your favourite King Kurt song and why?
Wreck a Party. I think it kind of sums up the essence of the band. It's got it all. Relentless beat. The guitar riff and lalala.


What’s your coolest/funniest band story?
Really the funniest story is the fact that we've been going on and off now for 30 years and maybe, that's the coolest too.

How much do you think Punk/pyschobilly music has changed in the last 30 years?
The bands have got older.

There was reunion gig last year followed by some shows, what made you decide to get the band back together?
I wish I could say money but that was none of that. It was fun, though and cool to play with original members. It was Paul's fault.

Did you enjoy playing Rebellion Punk festival and what did you think of it?
Yes, it was cool; thought it was a great festival, nice to see some old pals and so many new faces, then WE'D LOVE TO DO IT AGAIN

I recently saw you in Aberdeen, did you enjoy playing café Drummonds, do prefer small intimate venues?
Yes, Drummonds was cool. Aberdeen has always been a lot of fun for us, it was nice to be back there after so long, and we're back again in June.

What makes a good crowd?
More than 4 people.

Are you still a fan and of Who?
Yeah, I like all sort of stuff but a huge of Strangy (King Kurt bass player) 'cos everybody wants to be him. He's like a God to us

Any last words?
Chop 'em out!

King Kurt MySpace: www.myspace.com/alcoholicrat

 

 

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