Musink 2014 – Tech N9NE – Transplants – Rittz – at The Orange County Fairgrounds – Costa Mesa, CA

A completely different crowd and mindset from the straight edge fans that attended the first day of Musink 2014, and that crowd created a vibe that would set the stage for the day’s festivities.

The second day of Musink 2014 fans in attendance looked to have doubled in size from day one, and rightfully so because at the night later proved to all those in attendance: when Travis Barker puts on a show everyone shows up to the party.

Like at all conventions there are always more than a few non-profit organizations in attendance and Pinups for Pitbulls (PFPB) was one of them. An organization that was founded in 2005 as a way to educate people about the history, temperament, and plight of the pit bull-type dog; raising awareness to rally against Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) and Breed Discriminatory Laws (BDL). PFPB’s ultimate goal is to restore the image of the pit bull-type dog to its former reputation of America’s companion animal, war hero, and family member.  They accomplish this goal through many means; most notably by generating a calendar that features Pinup models and their Pit-bull’s. The profits from the sales of the calendar go directly to furthering the organizations aforementioned goal.

Rittz opened up day two of Musink’s musical festivities. Walking on to a dimly lit stage Rittz immediately performed “For Real” exclaiming “I’m going to start this show right.” Then performing his hit “F**k Swag” as the audience bounced to the bass as his performance went on. As his set ended Rittz thanked the audience for being at Musink with him and instructed everyone to stick around for the Transplants who were up next.

The Transplants only set show for 2014 was the second set of the evening. The audience, comprised of fans of all ages waited patiently for the transplants to take the stage. The concert room became progressively more packed as the night went on and by the time the Transplants was about to begin their performance the room was practically filled to capacity.

Travis barker could be seen stretching on the dimly sit stage; foreshadowing to the audience the highly energetic performance to soon follow. They opened up with “In a Warzone” and the rest of their performance to follow left nothing on the table as special guests that included Sen Dog (Cypress Hill), Matt Freeman (Operation Ivy, Rancid, Social Distortion, etc.) and Paul Wall all performed at various junctions of the Transplants awesome set.

Miss Musink, a beauty/ pin-up model contest that occurs during every Musink was decided shortly after Transplants set. Though four finalists were brought up to be voted on, the audience’s cheers for Erica granted her the title of Miss Musink.

Tech N9ne took the stage last to finish second day of Musink. Performing to a packed house tech n9ne brought the day to a fitting end. He catered to the audience's wishes and played a set list that included “Am I a Psycho,” and “He’s a Mental Giant.” 

In the middle of his set Tech N9ne noting the circle pit that began during “Am I a Psycho” he exclaimed to the audience “Circle pits aren't my motivation. Bras and panties are my motivation,” which appropriately lead to underwear being thrown onto the stage. Tech N9ne finished the night with a performance of “World Wide Choppers” then thanked everyone for attending.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Ryan R.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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Musink 2014 – Descendents – The Vandals – Love Canal – at The Orange County Fairgrounds – Costa Mesa, CA

Musink was as much about the artist as it was about the musicians and tattoo artist. Venders and other artist set up booths at the event as well. Tyson, an artist that has been drawing pin-up art for the better part of 10 years

was at the event selling some of his amazing pin-up art work. Jason and Chris from Degenerate Clothing Company, a vender that develops clothing that uses some of its profits to fund local musicians and tattoo artist, were also at the event promoting their company.

Big Wheel Magazine got a chance to interview Nick Cetrangolo (Lead Vocals for Red Devil Squadron), who was at Musink to tattoo and check out Judge. Cetrangolo, a local well known Musician, Skateboarder and Tattoo Artist was able to offer his unique perspective when asked what his general opinion of Musink 2014, he had this to say “I got to hand it to Travis Barker for getting some awesome bands. Usually at events like this, I find that there are a lot of mediocre bands, and those bands just end up being background noise. So it’s nice to get to see awesome bands and tattoo at the same time.”

Love canal opened up day one of Musink’s festivities and with Mr. Kerry (Vocals) yelling “are you excited to be here? I am because it's my fucking birthday.” Their set consisted of a fast paced straight up hardcore song selection that ended with “Civilization” and an audience ready and pumped for the vandals to take the stage next.

Staying true to their style The Vandals immediately began playing “Anarchy Burger" as soon as they stepped on stage followed by a performance of “Cafe 405” right after that. Not to be daunted by stage sound issues that had plagued the beginning of their set, The Vandals performance was done with poise and a kind of funny composure that only a band as seasoned as The Vandals could pull off. They ended their set with “My Girlfriend’s Dead” then instructed the audience to stick around for the headlining act, the Descendents that would take the stage next.

The Descendents were the last band to perform for the night. Their performance was nothing short of remarkable. One event of note that occurred during their set was when a kid was brought up on stage to recite the bands pledge, and how everyone in the crowd was laughing when the kid recited “thou shall not partake in decaff.”

When the Descendents set ended and those who attended day one of the festival left the fairground what seemed to be on everyone’s minds was speculation on how day two of Musink 2014 would unfold.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Ryan R.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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Street Dogs – Devils Brigade – The Interrupters – Jason Cruz and The Howl – at House of Blues – Anaheim, CA

If you weren't at House of Blues - Anaheim on Friday, you missed an awesome show. Kicking off the night was Jason Cruz and The Howl. A side project for Strung Out's front man, Jason Cruz and The Howl has a more Americana feel, with some Jerry Lee Lewis thrown in for flavor.

The small crowd that was gathered focused on the stage, and when they started playing "Blue Jesus", heads started to bounce along to the beat. I love Strung Out, but I think that Jason Cruz has found his musical and vocal niche with this new project.



Next up were The Interrupters, who are based out of Los Angeles. Fronted by Aimee Allen, aka Aimee Interrupter, and backed by the Bivona brothers (Kevin, Justin, and Jesse), this Ska-Punk band blew me away. By the time The Interrupters took the stage, the house was pretty packed.

Aimee is a charismatic singer, and the brothers are tight musicians. During their set, they dedicated  quite a few songs to the bands sharing the bill with them ("Power" was dedicated to Street Dogs). Towards the end, the father of the Bivona brothers came on stage to accompany the band with his trombone; the apple(s) didn't fall far from the tree, as Mr. Bivona rocked the hell out of his horn. (He proved to be the first surprise guest of the evening.)  



Started as a side project of Matt Freeman, Devil's Brigade was the third band of the evening. From start to finish, Devil's Brigade's set was high energy. The growling vocals of Matt kept the crowd entertained, and around the 5th song, the crowd started a (subdued) circle pit.

Before starting "Bridge of Gold", Matt brings out the 2nd surprise guest of the evening--Tim Armstrong. The crowd went ape-shit, and remained that way through the rest of the set. They closed with "Ride Harley Ride", dedicated to "the old people, from back in '94".

The excitement of the crowd was palpable, as we waited for Street Dogs to hit the stage. There was the requisite chanting of "Let's go Street Dogs!" before the curtain was up. As soon as Street Dogs started, the energy was non-stop. "Punk Rock and Roll", "Fighter", and a cover of Steve Earle's "Johnny Come Lately" were just a handful of songs they chose for the evening.

After wishing a "Happy St. Pats to everyone tonight", they started in on "Two Angry Kids". It was shortly after this that a mohawked kid (maybe 9 years old) crowd-surfed to the front, and Mike McColgan brought him on stage. The kid was up there for only a few seconds, before he took a running leap back into the crowd.

After that bit of excitement, McColgan dedicated "Up the Union" to, you guessed it, any union members. Following that, they brought out Jesse Wagner as another surprise guest, and introduced "Drink Tonight" as song for "all the alcoholics out there". They closed out the night with "Final Transmission", dedicated to Cpl. Jordan Stanton.

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 

-Anni Thyme-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate – at The Moorings – Aberdeen, UK

The LA band Love/Hate burst on to the music scene in 1990 with their debut album “Blackout in the Red Room” with accolades from the like of Kerrang and Metal Hammer. On June 1st, 1992, lead singer Jizzy Pearl performed his legendary publicity stunt to try and help album sales.

This involved Jizzy, with the help of a few others, successfully erecting a cross on the letter 'Y' of the Hollywood sign in LA and performing a mock crucifixion on it. He spent a few hours in jail and made headline news.



Jizzy Pearl brought his version of Love/Hate to Aberdeen, but due to an ex member of the band threatening to sue him the tour was renamed “Jizzy Pearl’s Love/Hate”. He also had to change the recent Love/Hate album “Crucified” to a solo album. This is to be the last tour under Love/Hate and Jizzy is now going to be the front man for Quiet Riot.
Jizzy came on stage saying “finally after twenty four years we get to play Aberdeen in the Moorings! We call Chicago the windy city but it is definitely your city!”

The first song of the evening was straight off the new mini album - a song called “Hanging You Out to Dry” about the infamous Hollywood stunt with a view point from the crucifee himself. We got seven songs from the first album, the most notable two were “Mary Jane” about smoking marijuana where Jizzy grinned and said “I see we have lots of smokers here!” and “Straight Jacket”. These seven were followed by seven songs from the second album. The evening was due to finish with “Wasted in America”, but they carried on with another couple of tracks and got the crowd going and singing along with their rendition of “Ace of Spades”

With Michael Ellis on Bass, Matt Star on drums and Chris Brady on Guitar, this was a good old rock n’ roll show - lots of guitar solos, hair flinging and just general good fun. There may be a love/hate relationship between the members of the original band, but between this band and the fans it was only love.

 

 

-Dod Morrison-
Big Wheel Overseas Staff Reporter

 

 

 

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Gary Numan – Big Black Delta – and Roman Remains – at The Mayan Theatre – Los Angeles, CA

Gary Numan headlined a sold out show Thursday night at the Mayan Theatre in downtown Los Angeles and what a show it was! If you were in attendance then your ears may still be ringing. If you weren’t, well you missed out on one of the best shows of the New Year thus far.

Opening the night was Roman Remains who are certainly a band to keep an eye out for. Their dark brand of music (as it seemed to be an ongoing theme for the night) certainly hit a chord with the crowd who made it into the Mayan early and thankfully so. Fronted by a beautiful blonde the band possesses equals amounts of talent and sex appeal. They aren’t too harsh but not too pop and find themselves some place right in the middle which make them edgy, yet accessible.

Main support came from a duo called Big Black Delta who definitely approach electronic music with a more modern technique. Their front man shared laptop duties as well as working the stage by dancing frantically side to side and shouting through a vocal processor. It felt very impersonal as the stage was very dark and most of the time hard to decipher lyrically. Their drummer plays a simple kit to a bombastic rave worthy drum track; it is definitely of the time and would have been better suited as show opener instead of main support.

After two openers, fans were finally treated to the night’s main event, Mr. Gary Numan. With an album just that dropped late last year, Gary is definitely pushing his new material to the max and doing do with the utmost confidence. Looking better and younger than most born during his decade, he shines in darkness and excels where many fail. His voice is crisp, his moves are sleek, and it’s as if he has sipped from the fountain of youth.

His light show and stage production compliment the heavy hard hitting down tuned tracks that hail from “Splinter”. Older jams also get the heavy treatment, which make them eerily reminiscent of Trent Reznor and co. Some would even go as far as calling this era of Gary’s career “Nine Inch Numan”. It is as if the many bands Gary and his “Tubeway Army” originally inspired have in turn inspired the electronic music pioneer. The only unfortunate omission from his set was “Storm Trooper in Drag” which is a longtime fan favorite. Though thankfully every other known Numan hit was performed and done so refreshingly well.



Gary Numan’s tour kicked off just a day before the Los Angeles date, so if he is coming to your local theatre do yourself a favor and get a ticket to one of the best shows currently on the road!

 

 

-Louie Bones-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

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SkaWars 2014 – at Plaza de la Raza – Los Angeles, CA

With the 2014 SkaWars festival now in the books we take a moment to look back at all the festivities and excitement, that quite possibly made it the best SkaWars to date.

Hosted at the serene Lincoln Park in Los Angeles, SkaWars once again welcomed its loyal legion of fans for another day of non-stop music. Boasting over 25 bands in one day, the action and volume was fast paced and unrelenting from when the doors opened up until the last magnificent band of the evening. As Lincoln Park and its beautiful landscape made for a gorgeous and stunning backdrop, the venue itself was one of beauty and culture. Spacious enough to host the SkaWars contingency and then some, with ample room for vendors, merchandisers and a high vaulted stage making for excellent acoustics and a sense of grandeur not seen before with other SkaWars stages.

The set times, where as one would expect from a SkaWars bill: Short and Overlapping. Not necessarily a bad thing as this played perfectly into the banner headline of “Ska WARS” as a sense of bring your ‘A-Game’ hung over the stage throughout the day. Each band bringing something intense and finely honed, like a samurai’s sword or Jedi Knights Light Saber, no Jedi Mind Tricks needed, just water and more music. With Skank pits slamming from just after noon to just after midnight the ones causing the entire ruckus were as follows:

NOISE CORNER:           SKAWARS STAGE:

East Side Agents           Libertadorers

SkaKillnAnthem           Paranoias

Mano Sucio                    The Steady 45’s

L.A. Crooks                     2 Tone Lizard kings

23 Skunks                       Dub 8

A La Brava                      Matamoska

HappyDrunk Cartel     Profesor Galactico

Ekolekua                         Mafia Rusa

LosKungFuMonkeys   RedStore Bums

Café Con Tequila          The Toasters

Hijos Del Sol                  La Resistencia

Dispenska                      Viernes 13

Rudo Movimiento       Chencha Berrinches

                                          The Delirians

                                          Pachamama

As science and its inability to clone have shown us, we can’t be in two places at once—yet. So with that being said let us focus on the acts that truly set the bar for the evening and provided a few knock out blows along the way. The fury came early in the day as bands on both stages introduced fans to a taste of what they could come to expect from then on out. East Side Agents, Libertadores and The Paranoias all provided early excitement in their own right.

As Libertadores and Paranoias both brought a popular and high-energy brand of Skacore, as The East Side Agents brought something a little bit different in their approach to ska, even a surprising and really well done version of a popular Save Ferris tune. East Side Agents should see their spot on coming SkaWars lineups rise, as their notoriety should rise with it. 

With L.A. Crooks and 23 Skunks holding down a respectable and high-energy set and pit, one of the bigger Local draws was gearing up for their set on the Main Stage. The Steady 45’s have worked diligently to put themselves near the top in the local scene alongside recording and banner mates The Delirians and Pachamama, all of whom represent the Steady Rock Groove Factory out of Whittier. As the weeks lead up to SkaWars a noticeable addition was being talked about all over social media, as The Steady 45’s have earned the respect of artists from Jamaica and

LA’s 90’s golden revival age. The word was out “bring your best traditional dance moves” and boy did the kids ever. Playing original yet firmly entrenched in tradition Ska & rock steady, The Steady 45’s manage to do something only seen maybe a spattering of times at a skacore show let alone SkaWars. Bringing the skank pit to a stand still as young fans danced around their bags and sweaters in a circle facing one another in true traditional fashion, dating back to generations of 60’s Jamaican dancehalls and Los Angeles’s Ska/Reggae Club scene. The evolution of the young Los Angeles Ska enthusiast was never more on display as it shows: sometimes you have to go back to the past to get to the future of LA Ska and Rock steady.

As is commonplace with a SkaWars Event, migration from one stage to the other is expected, even at times the standard. But with such a heavy bill it seemed the front row of the main stage was locked down for a solid chunk of the day. As Dub8 and their reggae roots synergy seemed to pleasantly surprise a lot of the younger fans not to familiar with roots or reggae. But one thing most music lovers are familiar with is The Doors as Dub8 threw a unseen uppercut to the ears of all in attendance with their masterfully done reggae rendition of the Doors ‘Five to one’ truly something to behold as LA’s older reggae circuit has come to expect from Dub8.

Now we reach the heaviest of hitters in the LA Skacore scene, Matamoska, Profesor Galactico, Mafia Rusa, and Red Store Bums.

All have seen the biggest push from Evokore (aside from La Resistencia and Viernes 13) and rightly so. These young yet seasoned top tier acts have manage to take the local scene by the jugular and have no intentions of letting go anytime soon. Only further demonstrated by the flood of upcoming new releases to see national audiences via iTunes and other online shopping formats, Mafia Rusa and Matamoska to name just a few. As they gear up for new music to hit shelves one can only assume it can harness the energy that their live acts have shown for sometime. In the past this journalist has referred to Mafia Rusa’s stage presence as a kin to “Bats out of hell”. There is no barricade, amp, drum riser or anything else that these finely tunes young musicians will not climb and climb over all the while still performing in perfect harmony. As they perform fan favorite after one another drawing HUGE pits for ‘No Mercy For The Rude’ ‘

The Zed Word’ and ‘Party Squad’ their sets are truly that, a party. On the flipside to their beautiful recklessness is Matamoska’s high energy and BIG BALLS! Within the first couple seconds of Matamoska’s set you knew what you were in store for, sheer craziness and fun, as crowd surfing and stage diving complimented their already ape shit music and charisma even causing one fan to pass out. ‘Dia de los Muertos’ ‘Heroes with Beards’ ‘Flan’ and ‘Beer Goggles’ all kept the same energy and rhythm we soon hope to see on their newest cd release in April at The Whiskey A GoGo. 

As the Toasters, La Resistencia and Viernes 13 comprised the “Early Bed Time’ headline acts, the show had been announced to be a sell out as those on the inside rejoiced in unison. Fans of Skacore No doubt are familiar with one of the true third-wave pioneering act from New York, Buck and The Toasters. Performing their already world renowned songs to another generation of appreciative and loyal skacore fans they touched on everything you could expect to hear Buck belt out with his trademark vocals. ‘Talk is Cheap’ ‘Two Tone Army’ ‘Weekend in LA’ ‘Pirate Radio’ and ‘Thrill me Up’ sprinkled their short yet compact set leaving none with the feeling of missing out as these have proven to be crowd favorites over the decades.

With La Resistencia and Viernes 13 being the dual-wielding acts most in the skacore scene would be familiar with, they easily garnered the largest pits and biggest ovations of the night and rightly so, they play and promote enough to have such a loyal following, unfortunately since photographers were barred from the surrounding stage for their two sets (for in house documentation) you’ll have to take my word for it. But don’t fret, as La Resistencia has two awesome shows coming up on March 1st at the Airliner and April 6th with Matamoska and Mafia Rusa at The Whiskey A GoGo.

For those whose Skacore fix was near insatiable they had veterans Chencha Berrinches to finish them off for the evening, coming out to a haunting intro and cheers of “Chencha, Chencha” they surely did not disappoint, the short yet devilishly wonderful set was just what was needed to maintain and carry over the already climactic energy for the two bands to follow.

Representing the Steady Rock Groove Factory, The Delirians and Pachamama bring two different yet pivotal styles to Los Angeles and The end of SkaWars 2014. As those with early bed times and those just too pooped out to hang, found out later Pachamama and The Delirians brought one of the more professionally crafted sounds to SkaWars.

With their popular roots and socially conscientious lyrics, Pachamama encompass more than just musicianship, they convey a message most skacore lovers are sadly missing, in that they bring true social unity and societies ailments to the forefront. Always thought provoking and feet moving Pachamama’s sound opens more than ears, it opens the eyes and mind to the world around you in true roots fashion others have seem to have forgotten plus with their tune ‘Rude boy’ it opened up the pit as well, even having a live artist paint throughout the set. As the popularity of traditional music in Los Angeles has become more and more of a sight along club marques, the Delirians have played one of the larger roles in today’s resurgence. No Strangers to the SkaWars stage, The Delirians prove you don’t need to growl or scream to cause a dance floor shakedown. Measured in their approach, the sound is clean and at the highest caliber.

These young men have performed with and for countless Jamaican legends past and present, they’ve packed numerous local clubs, Hollywood venues and even performed to an estimated 40,000 people on the pier with Jimmy Cliff just last year. Skawars faithful love these young men from East Los’ as their style is rooted in 60s tradition yet uniquely all their own. Skawars was truly one for the books this year, with an even card from beginning to end, all the artists had to leave home feeling like champs and counting down the days till the next throw down.

-Gio Van Dam-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

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