Babycakes Grand Opening in downtown Los Angeles

While there are no shortage of vegan and vegetarian restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area, one of the hardest things to find around here has been finding high quality desserts. This niche has been filled somewhat by Scoops in Silver Lake which serves exotic flavors of soy ice cream, but when it comes to baked goods it seems that Babycakes may be leading the way in L.A.. This bakery opened an L.A. extension on Sunday, January 3, 2010 after carving out a name and high esteemed reputation in New York City.


Not being ones to miss out on a major breakthrough in the world of sweets,  we made our way to Babycakes' opening and tried out some of what they had to offer. The highlight of the trip was a chocolate chip cookie sandwich.

Two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies that were the perfect texture, and consistency surrounded a light and creamy vanilla filling. This particular selection is gluten free and made with unrefined sugar. The majority of the items on their menu are gluten free and all are sweetened with either agave nectar or unrefined sugar, catering to strict vegan diets.

The bakery itself is small and is located in Downtown Los Angeles on sixth street, with Los Angeles Street on the corner. The staff are friendly and quick and you can see the bakers doing their magic in the back behind the register. Decorations are modest and overall there's a cheerful vibe. Even well into the afternoon there was still a long line and all of the customers seemed more than happy.

Babycakes Website: www.babycakesnyc.com


More photos can be seen HERE
 

 

-Ditch-
Asst. Editor
Big Wheel Online Magazine

 

 

 

Punk Rock Academy Fight Song – The Process of Belief

So it seems like lately I only get around to doing this around the holidays and maybe that’s all well and good because that’s when I seem to be the most inspired or maybe it’s just become a subconscious ritual like paying your bills at the same time every month or putting on your right shoe before your left every morning, who knows. Anyway as fate would have it I like most of us this time of year have the holidays on the brain and it has decidedly colored my thought process. Obviously I’ve been thinking about what to get for who and how much cookies and tamales I’ll stuff myself with this year but more importantly I’ve been thinking about The Kinks and U2. Actually every year about this time I start to think about The Kinks and U2 because to me they are as big a part of Christmas as egg nog -yep I love that stuff, and the Christmas Story marathon on AMC.

Why do I have visions of Ray Davies and the Edge bouncing in my head ? Well it’s because I’m an eternal optimist and the holidays just bring it out in me. And at the risk of pissing off my English Teacher friends with a horrible transition sentence I’ll start off explaining the Kinks. The Kinks wrote one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time “Father Christmas” one that I think is filled with hope and a belief that things can get better. “When I was young I believed in Santa Claus even though I knew it was my dad”. The essence of that line applies to life all year long. Even if you stop believing that a fat guy with flying reindeer is gonna break into your house and leave you toys still hope for the best. Sure its essentially a song about a guy getting mugged and trying to fight off childhood bullies but its also about seeing a shitty situation and realizing that something good can still happen. Trust me I had a couple of Christmas’ when my family wasn’t so well off financially and I didn’t get all the cool stuff my friends got but I never lost heart or hope-two traits that serve a punk well. The U2 part of the equation is a bit more convoluted but also a bit more telling about my personality and my idealism and optimism. Now the other night I was watching Spectacle with Elvis Costello and his guest were Bono and The Edge and I started to flashback on why I cared about these guys and why they resonated with me. Because I’ve argued with some people who say that Bono is a pompous self serving ass whose voice is too breathy but I digress. I thought about going to see Rattle and Hum in the theaters with my parents friends teenage daughters and thinking how cool it was that I went to the movies with high school girls when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I thought about how weird Zooropa was. I thought about their early videos with Bono’s hockey hair and Adam Clayton’s fro. But what I really thought was how they’ve always been a band that believed that music can change the world and change it for the better. That’s what always stuck with me they just didn’t sing about changing things for the better they lived it. They continue to put their money where their mouth is and inspire others to do the same. But it’s not just about U2 wanting to make grand world wide changes it’s about The Ramones believing that rock n roll didn’t have to be populated by coke sniffing millionaires spewing 18 minute songs about unicorns and trolls or The Clash wanting to have a riot of their own  or any other band the passionately and convincingly provided hope and optimism preferably with a two and a half minute blast of machine gun like guitars.

That’s why we got into this to begin with because we BELIEVED in something, anything and we BELIEVE that there is some good or at least good music in this world. Whether it be about stopping genocide, ending apartheid or just something loud and fast to might allow us to make out with a cute girl(I already wrote about Punk rock love songs) in the end it all boils down to an unwavering faith in the ideal that things can always get better. Hope and Optimism aren’t exclusive to this time of year but they sure seem amplified. So in the end its not really about Christmas or any particular holiday but rather about still believing that all you need to change the world is “a red guitar on fire”. Now bring on the Festivus feats of strength.
 

 

-Daniel N-

 

 
Read more from Punk Rock Academy Fight Song HERE

 

 

Ten Years, Twenty Records

It's hard to believe that we are approaching the end of another decade. Punk rock is now well over thirty years old and the momentum just never seems to stop. The past ten years have been about rebuilding, redefining, and recreating hardcore while also getting back to our roots. Some of the best records to come out since 2000 build strength from the fact that they are truly timeless or at times even based on nostalgia. For instance Career Suicide and Total Fury shine through as bands who remind us of how great hardcore can be when it's stripped down to its most basic form and returns to its roots. Other great bands who fit into this category but did not quite make it on the list include the Regulation and Last In Line. Similarly the initial crop of bands who took their main influences from 80's thrash/hardcore crossover music were great because they were a reminder of some great bands from the past. We can thank Municipal Waste, Bones Brigade, Holier Than Thou?, and What Happens Next? for filling this role.

However some of the most phenomenal hardcore music of the past ten years was completely original, innovative, and showed that there were still ways to reinvent the wheel. Fucked Up of course are the most notorious for blowing people's minds with an unpredictable and experimental take on hardcore. Tragedy, who did not quite make it on the list are also well known for their innovative music, along with Modern Life Is War and the Suicide File. All of these bands have been inspiring in their creativity and willingness to shake things up. They will be known as bands that defined the decade and created a distinction between hardcore of the 2000's and the 1980's/1990's.

With everything that happened in the United States and the world abroad within the past decade, it was inevitable that some bands were going to write songs that took on more topical or political issues. A highly controversial president with an equally controversial administration led us into two controversial wars, and created controversial domestic policies under the Patriot Act while also redefining foreign policy. If bands like MDC and the Dead Kennedys thought they had material to write about, they should have tried growing up after 9/11/01. Current events were reflected in songs like Deadfall's "The Worst Four Years," Criminal Damage's "The Power Of Fools," and "The World Is Not Enough." Suicide File certainly wasted no time on subtlety with song titles like "W," "Ashcroft," and "Fuck Fox News."

Still while a lot of heavy issues were brought up in punk rock lyrics, there also was no shortage of songs about pizza, parties, smoking weed, skateboarding, 1980's movies, and hanging out. Municipal Waste may have inspired a lot of the more fun loving burritocore thrash zombies, but they certainly didn't do it alone. Unfortunately these jokes got stale pretty quickly and lost their cleverness with time, but I digress.

The following are what I consider to be twenty essential and definitive records of the '00 decade- not quite a "best of" list and also not quite a "most influential" list, but it lies perhaps somewhere in the middle. Also of course a good dose of my own tastes are implanted in this list, rather than a more universal view point.

Ten Years, Twenty Records:


"You ruined life for us- We'll ruin life for you"
1. Fucked Up- Hidden World

Early on in their career Fucked Up made their name as a band who put out great singles. The first batch of seven inches were all phenomenal with songs like "Baiting the Public," "Police," "Litany," and "Circling the Drain." Already they were known as a unique and special band and a record label pitch called them a "cross between Negative Approach and the Who." However no one could have predicted where Fucked Up were going with "Hidden World," which was their first proper full length (previously they had released a collection of singles and alternate versions called "Epics In Minutes"). In true mind blowing fashion, "Hidden World" was a double L.P. with many of the songs exceeding the four minute mark. When you fact or in that this record has violins and songs about the influence on politics and science from secret societies and the world of the occult, you have to figure that this record is pretty unusual. But make no mistake- Fucked Up still sound killer on songs like "Crusades" and "David Comes To Life." All of Fucked Up's records are extraordinary,  but "Hidden World" is more innovative than their earlier material and a little less out there than "The Chemistry of Common Life."

 

"And so I say to all the young wild one/For you on your way up/The world isn't against you, my dear, it just doesn't care"
2. Modern Life Is War- Witness

MLIW had a huge guitar sound that distinguished them from other bands. Prior to "Witness" their live sound had never really been captured well in the studio and their previous recordings did not do justice to their massive sound. With some great production techniques, Modern Life Is War finally succeeded in creating a great record. Their sound was intense, heavy and atmospheric. The lyrics on "Witness" are intensely emotional, honestly depicting what it was like to grow up in the Mid West with vivid imagery describing both a physical and emotional landscape.  "D.E.A.D. R.A.M.O.N.E.S." is the most talked about song on the record and it is certainly a fast rocking tune, but there are some equally great songs on "Witness" that are a little further to the left of the dial, such as "Marshalltown," "Young Man Blues," and "I'm Not Ready."

 

"I might have to fight my friends/If they stand in my way/That's the price that I'll have to pay"
3. Annihilation Time- II

If Fu Manchu are hard rock's answer to Black Flag and BL'AST then Annihilation Time are basically punk rock responding back to Fu Manchu. Call it stonercore or psychedelic punk. All that can be said for sure is that Annihilation Time totally kills it. "The Worm," "Imaginary Mirror," "Panic," and "Dogends" all have the perfect combination of Sabbath riffage and punk rock energy. Just look at the cover of "II" and you will get the idea with its references to Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, and Rich Kids on LSD. Well someone's on LSD. That's for sure.

 

"If what it boils down to is 'You're either for us or against us' I guess I've got a tough, tough choice to make"
4. Suicide File- Twilight

Suicide File's "Twilight" showed the band transforming from a catchy mid paced hardcore Punk band to an intense powerhouse. Featuring members of No Reply and The Hope Conspiracy, the Suicide File were a tough force to reckon with. The songs on "Twilight" seamlessly blend the personal with the political by showing how our individual life decisions reflect society's expectations. The music is haunting and original. The lyrics are heart wrenching at times. It was the album that needed to be made when we were all trying to figure out what our roles were in strange and complicated times.

 

"I'm going to strengthen my action with thought /Make use of the gift that I got and walk fearless because I'm armed with a mind"
5. Have Heart- The Things We Carry

Just when it seemed like straight edge hardcore had gone completely stale, Have Heart gave it a fresh face with optimism, hope, and intelligence. What was great about Have Heart's songs was that they didn't ignore the negative things in the world, but instead just said that there were ways to rise above them on a personal level. Have Heart's music was equally great with power and passion that had otherwise seemed to have vanished from hardcore all together.

 

"I don't believe in sanity"
6. The Vicious- Alienated

Featuring members of Regulations and Gorilla Angreb, Sweden's The Vicious played a tuneful blend of creepy melodies that resembled those of the Adverts with the energy of the Middle Class. Every song on "Alienated" is catchy as Hell and The Vicious showed up all of us Americans with their superb song writing abilities. "Dead Town" features a great vocal performance especially.

 

"That won't stop the radio from telling us 'We know what you need, but we don't care'"
7. Criminal Damage- Criminal Damage

Criminal Damage's debut L.P. is the perfect mix of No Future Records (Blitz, Partisans, Violators) style Oi/street punk and the pure energy of American hardcore. With members of Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone, this isn't typical boots and braces chanting over two chords. Rather these songs go back and forth between well thought out political diatribes and introspective looks at every day life. The music is melodic and catchy but also angry and intense.

 

"This Is a lifestyle, not a career/We will create as much as we destroy"
8. What Happens Next?/Life's Halt- Start Something

"Start Something" might be the most epic split since Faith/Void. Both What Happens Next? and Life's Halt were amazing bands playing a modern take on West Coast thrashcore. Life's Halt rocked us with songs like "No Estoy Loco" and "Public Enemy Is Right. . . Burn Hollywood Burn" while WHN? contributed some great songs like "Weak Dogs Bark More" and "Positive Youth (Not Just for Kids Anymore)." Words to live by.

 

"We're in your fucking face!"
9. Shark Attack- Blood In the Water

While just about every other band was playing safe, clean cut varsity hardcore, Shark Attack were ugly, creepy, nasty, and in your fucking face! These guys were on a total Antidote (NYC) trip and totally changed the way that people looked at hardcore in 2000.

 

"Do you get off on my pain?"
10. The Prowl- Misery

The Prowl played a unique version of punk rock, which mixed influences from early death rock with the raw intensity of early hardcore. Imagine TSOL, Samhain, and the Adolescents having some kind of weird cult ritual together. The Prowl were that weird, creepy, and amazing. The band had members of Last In Line and Cops and Robbers but they were way darker and more mature than either of those bands.

 

"Thrash? Don't mind if I do"
11. Municipal Waste- Waste 'Em All

While Municipal Waste inadvertently started the trend of idiots running around in flip up hats and pretending to be Jeff Spicoli, "Waste 'Em All" is a killer record. Early Municipal Waste takes cues from COC, DRI, and Exodus. Super fun and super fast. Much more rocking than their later stuff that doesn't have as many hardcore influences.

 

"If I could I suppose I would/If I could change I would"
12. Out Cold- Goodbye Cruel World

Unfortunately after twenty years Out Cold have recently called it quits, but at one point they were getting better with every record, which flies in the face of all that we know about hardcore. "Goodbye Cruel World" was the pinnacle of their career and has a killer Negative Approach/Poison Idea vibe. "Misanthrope" in particular is awesome along with "Take As Needed For Pain." Out Cold were perhaps the most consistent band in the history of hardcore.

 

"Goodbye, my love/Hello, my friend"
13. Kill Your Idols- Funeral For a Feeling

KYI always managed to transcend sub genres and attract all sorts of different punks, straight edge kids, and skinheads. "Funeral For A Feeling" was probably their best record with fast and sometimes melodic hardcore punk songs. The lyrics on this record were pretty mature, kind of like a more sentimental version of Sheer Terror. The title track stood out along with their cover of Poison Idea's "Made To Be Broken."

 

"You're an easy target!"
14. Triple Threat- Into The Darkness

Featuring members of Mouthpiece and Hands Tied, Triple Threat's music is part BL'AST, part Flag, part Chain of Strength, and part COC. "Into the Darkness" is an intense record and showed vocalist, Tim McMahon looking at the darker side of life but staying positive nonetheless. "Man On Fire" and "Time To Disconnect" are perfect examples of the band's sound.

 

"Too much of everything"
15. Holier Than Thou?- The Hating of the Guts

Holier Than Thou? were kings of speed and the vocals on this record are punk as fuck. Another great example of more modern music with some great crossover/thrash influences. This is excellent skatecore stuff. "Too Much of Everything," which also appeared on the band's 7" is the best song. There's also a great cover of Stalag 13's "Conditioned."

 

"Let's go skate and ditch the show"
16. Bones Brigade- Focused

After their original vocalist. Andrew Jackmuah left the band to concentrate on singing with Cut the Shit, Bones Brigade recruited a young gun named Brian on vocals and despite some nervousness from fans he really fit the bill perfectly. "Focused" shows Bones Brigade moving on from the pure skate rock of their earlier efforts to adding some subtle metal influences. Nonetheless the energy was through the roof at this point and this record really stands the test of time/

 

"I still believe in the power of saying no"
17. Over My Dead Body- Sink or Swim

Over My Dead Body played melodic straight edge hardcore punk with a sound that was distinctly Southern Californian. Somehow they managed to stick out as the best band playing this style at the time and over all this is a feel good, positive hardcore record with no complications or lame distractions.

 

"I'm on a rampage/I'm fucking outraged"
18. Vitamin X- Bad Trip

Angry political straight edge fastcore from Amsterdam of all places. These guys totally rip and this is one of the most intense records in the fastcore style. Twenty one raging songs.

 

19. Career Suicide- Invisible Eyes

Career Suicide were one of the first modern bands to emulate the late 70's hardcore sound and to this day no band has done it faithfully. Clean guitars, great songs. "Boredom Boredom Boredom" sticks out on "Invisible Eyes" which shows the band perfecting their art.

 

"Street smart!"
20. Total Fury- 13 Songs

Japanese dudes who worship Minor Threat and all things Dischord related. Need I say more?

 

 

-Ditch-
Big Wheel Asst. Editor

 

 

 

Living At The Movies

Since its inception Punk rock has shared a mutually exploiting relationship with the media. While the media has latched onto the sensational aspects of Punk rock in order to freak out nervous parents and to increase their audience. Meanwhile Punk rockers have used the media's hunger for a story for various purposes, whether it be just to fuck with some straight laced reporters or just to get some free promotion. Some of the most interesting products of this strange relationship have been movies dealing with Punk music or Punk rockers. These films run a full gamut from full on Punksploitation movies to attempts at making well thought out documentaries about Punk rock and the philosophies that go along with the Punk movement.

Rock N Roll High School is the first Punk movie really worth mentioning and to this day it might be the best out of all of them. Originally film makers planned on calling this movie Disco High School, but apparently it suddenly dawned on them that Punk rock was way cooler than disco music and Saturday Night Fever had already been made. Rock N Roll High School is the story of Riff Randall, a high school chick who is rightfully obsessed with the Ramones and rock music in general. The role is perfectly played by the ever so drool worthy P.J. Soles and that in itself is enough to watch the movie. Overall its a campy throw back to 1960's rock movies with a modern twist. Riff Randall's arch nemesis is her high school's principal, Mrs. Togart who has declared war on rock n roll. Togart's character is hammed up when she performs ridiculous experiments on lab mice which involve exposing them to rock music at loud decibels. There is some incredible live footage of the Ramones playing live and if you look closely you'll catch Germs vocalist, Darby Crash pogoing in front of the stage. Of course the best part of the movie is when the Ramones save the day and help Riff Randall blow up her high school.

With British Punks always being just a little behind their American counterparts it took until 1980 for the Sex Pistols to release their own movie which came in the form of The Great Rock N Roll Swindle. While the music was obviously great and some of the music video type footage was kind of cool, as a whole Swindle comes of as self absorbed propaganda and the humor for the most part just isn't very funny. The gross out factor is fairly high, particularly in the scene where Malcolm McLaren is in a bath tub full of foggy water. This scene does manage to prove to the world that just because you're involved in the Sex Pistols legacy doesn't mean that your own pistol is much to speak of. A less biased version of the Pistols story is told in The Filth and the Fury, which unlike Swindle features Johnny Rotten in the cast.

In early 1981 director Penelope Speeris released The Decline Of Western Civilization, a documentary on Los Angeles' budding hardcore Punk scene. While this film often tends to show Punks at their worst, making racist comments and generally mostly coming off as complete knuckleheads, it is classic for its amazing concert footage of Black Flag, X, the Circle Jerks, The Germs, Fear, and the Bags. A few punks in the mix do come off as a little more coherent than the rest, particularly Black Flag's Chuck Dukowski and the Darby Crash interview is humorously candid. It's unfortunate that Alice Bag is not interviewed as she always seemed to have something interesting to say. Unfortunately The Decline has never been officially released on D.V.D. but there are consequently plenty of bootlegs floating around.

After The Decline there were a few DIY documentary films that sought out to show Punk rock in a more positive light. Urban Struggle: The Battle Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a somewhat obscure flick that tells the story of Orange County's first club dedicated to Punk rock and how local law enforcement made it a point to make sure the venue was shut down. While it is super short at about forty five minutes in length, the interviews are generally pretty thought provoking and there is some killer footage of TSOL and the Circle Jerks as well as some rare early footage of Rollins singing with Black Flag. Another State of Mind is a much more well known movie and it documents Youth Brigade and Social Distortion's first American tour. Along the way they interview Punks all over the country and eventually meet up with the guys in Minor Threat in Washington DC.

One 1980's movie that takes a much more tongue in cheek look at Punk rock is Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. The cast features members of the Sex Pistols and The Clash and the plot revolves around two bands- The Looters (a fictional band which had a similar lineup to the Professionals) and the all female Punk group, The Stains. In a way the movie predicts the Riot Grrl movement of the 1990's while also poking fun at Punk sensationalism and the commercialization of subcultures. There is a brief but funny cameo featuring Black Randy and the Metrosquad. While this is a fictionalized story it is a much more legitimate Sex Pistols related movie than Sid and Nancy.

While the mainstream culture became more fascinated with skateboarding in the 1980's the mandatory Hollywood movies about skating followed the trends and no 80's skate flick would be complete without Punks. Thrashin' was a pretty lame movie about a skate Punk gang called the Daggers terrorizing their much more wholesome counterparts. The movie degenerates into a teenage love story but it is actually pretty charming in its B rated cheesiness. Gleaming the Cube, which starred a young Christian Slater was a much cooler skate movie with some serious Cold War era themes. Slater the skater teams up with his skate rat pals to cause terror in the suburbs and eventually to solve a murder mystery after Slater's step brother is murdered. There's all sorts of weird things going on with covert anti Communist operations. There's some excellent skating in the movie performed by Tony Hawk and various other Bones Brigaders.

Of course no list of Punk rock movies would be complete without talking about Repo Man which is a super trippy Sci Fi movie about a Punk rocker who lands a job repossessing cars and somehow gets caught up in a conspiracy involving space aliens. Similarly to Gleaming the Cube it has some weird Cold War era themes and some strange subtle critiques of Reaganomics. It takes watching Repo Man at least three times before it starts to make sense but it ends up being pretty cool in its absolute weirdness. Often times the movie itself is overshadowed by its soundtrack featuring Fear, Black Flag, the Plugz, Iggy Pop, Suicidal, and the Circle Jerks.

As strange as Repo Man can get, it is nothing in comparison to the incredibly obscure Du-beat-eo, which is about a filmmaker attempting to make a documentary about the Runaways. With a local gangster putting serious pressure on him to complete the movie by the next morning, he falls asleep and has a super weird nightmare where he is tortured by El Duce of the Mentors. The cast also features Joan Jett and Derf Scratch of Fear. Du-beat-eo is a lot to take in and it can be pretty overwhelming and surreal, but it is an interesting historic piece in a strange way.

Suburbia was Penelope Spheeris' Punk rock movie after The Decline and it tells a somewhat fictional story of Punks living in a squat in the Suburbs of L.A. While the movie was filmed in Downey it seems to be partially based on the Orange County Punk scene and also Punk houses in L.A. like the Skinhead Manor. This movie is full of more sensationalism and overall shows punks as a pretty nasty bunch. The better parts of the story focus on the importance of friendship and also the fucked up environments that lead kids into situations where they feel the need to run away from home. There are certainly parts of Suburbia where T.R.- the movie's central punk rock gang, come off as pretty bad ass rather than just scummy. Despite some of its downfalls Suburbia is essential Punk rock viewing and has awesome footage of TSOL, the Vandals, and D.I.. Later Spheeris made a Hollywood style comedy called Dudes about New York Punks (played by Flea and cohorts) taking a cross country trip and meanwhile battling with rednecks (one of whom being played by Lee Ving).

For most of the 1990's Punk was regarded mostly as a cultural footnote and there weren't too many Punk related movies. However with the mainstream success of Rancid, Green Day, and the Offspring some nostalgia for 1980's Punk rock was generated and out of such nostalgia came SLC Punk which was sort of to punk rock as American Graffiti was to 1960's rock n roll and car culture. That is it was a mainstream Hollywood take on an underground culture of the past (or so the filmmakers seemed to believe). SLC Punk is sort of a coming of age dramedy about Punks in Salt Lake City railing against their stagnant and conservative surroundings. It is undoubtedly cheesy as all hell but on some levels it does talk about the tensions between punks and mainstream society in a somewhat humorous manner.

Like Suburbia, The Edge of Quarrel features Punks playing Punks rather than actors playing Punks and to say that this isn't obvious would be a lie. EOQ is about dueling gangs of Punks and straight edge kids in Seattle. It gets to be pretty silly and melodramatic but the good intentions are there. The cast includes members of the Murder City Devils who also play live along Trial.

More recently movies like American Hardcore and What We Do Is Secret have been released. American Hardcore is a documentary about American Punk rock in the early 1980's. Many of the interviews are amazing and some of the footage of bands is also pretty great. There are some problems with a movie that is meant to be sold to a Punk rock demographic but also claims that Punk is dead. However overall the movie is entertaining and thought provoking. What We Do Is Secret is a biopic about Darby Crash and the Germs. It is clear that this movie took several years to make as the acting improves significantly throughout the movie as well as the pace. It tells an important story and by the end of the movie it's actually pretty emotionally engaging.

While there are plenty of Punk related movies that this article doesn't mention, hopefully most of the most notable ones have been covered along with some more obscure titles. Watching these movies can be a lot of fun and usually this is done most enjoyably with a large group of friends who like throwing popcorn at the T.V.
 

 

-Ditch-
Asst. Editor

 

 
 

 

Punk Rock Academy Fight Song – He’s my friend, He’s my alibi

Everybody has that one friend. The friend that could talk you into anything, get you out of anything and make you think twice about a whole lot of things. The type of friend who was both the angel and the devil on your shoulder-it just depended what kind of mood they happened to be in that day or even that hour. For me that friend was Herman we were friends since we were about four and he was my next door neighbor for a long while. Hell our birthdays were just three days apart. We were best friends, classmates, team mates and partners in crime who eventually went on two wildly different paths in life. We were a southern California version of a Martin Scorcese flick. One of the most you important things to know about my old friend was that his older brothers had given him the nickname of the weasel. Why you may ask? Well Herman’s brothers were two pretty big guys who were lineman on the high school football team and Herman was small, skinny, sneaky and well pretty much a weasely kind of a guy. Always up to something and always able to get out of most any situation. Herman was reckless, impulsive and care free. Now me on the other hand I tended to be more cautious, thoughtful and afraid of getting in trouble as a kid. My parents loved him but were always more than a little wary of him and his parents loved me and were glad that I was his friend.

We were a perfect fit. We were good cop bad cop in OP cords. He was my excuse to throw caution to the wind and I was his alibi. All he had to tell his mom was “it’s okay i was with Dan” and whatever fear of possible trouble was instantly abated in his mothers mind. The thing about Herman was that he could always convince me into doing something I wasn’t to sure of and it either ended up in me getting hurt, getting in trouble, having the time of my life and on several occasions all three. Over the course of our youth Herman would be responsible for some of my fondest memories and some of my biggest regrets. It’s because of Herman that instead of waiting for my mom to pick us up at elementary school we decided to take a short cut home and I fell into a bunch of prickly pears. It’s because of Herman that walking home from the roller rink in junior high we got chased by a bunch of high school kids who intended to kick our asses-he yelled a litany of profanities at them and then started to run like hell. I got caught, he out ran them and hid in some bushes. It’s because of Herman that I tried jumping off my neighbors roof into my pool and wound up with a concussion. It’s because of Herman we went joyriding in my parent’s truck at midnight and then had to push it home when the battery conked out on us at our friend Gus’s house. It’s also because of Herman that I became a Raiders fan (still not sure what category this falls under), learned to drive stick, played football, had my first shot of tequila and its because of Herman that I eventually learned to surf-which for kids from the San Gabriel Valley is no easy feat.

However as we got older we inevitably grew apart for the reason that Herman’s exploits and fun loving mischief started to take a decidedly more criminal slant. It started off with relatively harmless things like joyriding in our parents cars and then he got into shoplifting and then dealing some weed out of his bedroom window and eventually progressed into full blown drug fueled felonious acts-by him not me. As if following that Scorese script by the time we were 18 I was heading for College and he was heading for prison. Herman wound up doing a good stretch in California’s correctional institutions for a botched home invasion and I ended up doing a long stretch at Long Beach State. I lost touch with my one time best friend and have only seen him once since he first got locked up. About five years ago he showed up at a post wedding party for one our friends in San Gabriel. I was still wearing most of my tuxedo, sporting red hair and tattoos. He was wearing a wife beater, jeans and sporting jailhouse tattoos. We were both pretty drunk and talked for about an hour and I remember him asking me if I ever learned to surf and i told him yeah and it’s because of you. I haven’t seen him since but I’ve heard he’s still been in and out of jail. I do miss my old friend but sometimes the best thing a friend can do is not be there.

 

-Daniel N-

 

 
Read more from Punk Rock Academy Fight Song HERE

 

Punk Rock Academy Fight Song – Ghouls Night Out

So it’s the last week of October and it’s been a month since last you heard from me. I’ve had a million different ideas banging around my head but I haven’t had the time or inclination to put them to paper or computer screen. Work and family have taken precedent over music and writing-such is the bitch of turning into a responsible adult. I love my family and I love my job but sometimes I feel like the gap between my rebellious youth and my adulthood just keeps widening. What to do then to narrow that gap? Easy, watch it’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and reflect in the beauty of one of the greatest holidays ever. That’s right kiddies I’m talking about Halloween.

I know I run the risk of becoming yet another unoriginal cliché -“Wow, a insert your sub group or genre that loves Halloween, how original” yawn. But lets face it must clichés are rooted in the truth and the fact of the matter is Halloween lets all the normal people feel like a punk for one day. And for those of us who have to play Clark Kent during our work day we get to become Super Man again. We spend the majority of our year subverting our true colors save for the odd Friday were we can wear a Ramones t-shirt to work the rest of the time throwing on our mainstream costumes to help pay the bills. Then comes that one magical day when everybody gets to be someone different and we can be ourselves. More importantly it’s the holiday that breaks all the rules. You get to dress up as devils demons and ghosts and then go out at night and ask strangers for candy with your parent’s permission. You can walk into the grocery store dressed as a vampire pirate or robot and no one will bat an eyelash. It’s like being a kid and your mom would let you dress yourself in whatever you felt like. As a child I hated horror movies but always loved Halloween cause I got to wear a cool or on several occasions not so cool costumes (thanks mom) and eat candy till my stomach hurt except for those times my dad said he had to check it and would eat all the good candy. But like a beach ball at a Dodger game some moron had to ruin all the fun. I’m sure we all remember the Halloween scares of the eighties-stories of people putting razors in candy, crazed satanic murderers, etc.-that gradually sucked the fun out of this great day.

This led to several years of trick or treating at our church-which seems like an oxymoron but wasn’t nearly as bad as it sounds. My parents didn’t think I was going to hell because I enjoyed All Hallows eve they just didn’t want some deviant slipping a killer kit kat into my tick or treat bag. Over time I started to lose interest in and thought I’d outgrown the fun part of Halloween and I focused more on the mischief-toilet papering peoples houses and throwing pumpkins in the street but I just wasn’t the same and truthfully I missed the fun part of it. I missed wearing costumes. And I discovered that most of the bands I liked looked like they loved Halloween so the progression was natural. I loved wearing shirts with skulls and dying my hair and listening to the Misfits-c’mon you had to see that one coming. I think I dressed up more for Halloween while in college and immediately after than when i was a kid because it seemed like an extension of who I really was. My favorite costume was my Matt Skiba Devil-suit and tie, mini devil lock and poorly applied eyeliner and if I could have shown up to work like that I would have and honestly I don’t think many people would have noticed the difference. Truth be told my wife tells me that when I’m not in my work clothes it looks like I’m wearing a costume and to me that’s a compliment. I don’t love Halloween because I’m dark, brooding and into evil -I love it because it makes me feel young. So this year I’m gonna crank up my Misfits, TSOL, AFI, Alkaline Trio CD’s, watch the great pumpkin Charlie Brown, and practice the dark arts-okay the last one’s a lie-we’re taking our daughter trick or treating and feel completely normal. Oh and maybe I'll smudge on some eyeliner.

 

-Daniel N-

 

« Previous Page — Next Page »