Big Wheel 15th Anniversary Party with Channel 3 – The Billy Bones – Johnny Madcap – Fallujah 71 – The Peeks and guests – Los Angeles, CA

Crazy to think that 15 years ago the wheels got turning here, we can't believe it either, so with that milestone reached it was certainly time to have another bash to celebrate. Gathering up some of the best talent here in the Los Angeles area to play at the party, the stage was set for an epic event. Next came kegs of premium beer and plenty of wine to keep the audience lubricated throughout the night.That in addition to 200+ invited guests the party went off and the drinks were flowing.


Weeks before the party there was a "win an invite" on the Big Wheel Facebook to the party and before we knew it there were 900 entrys which freaked us out and in reality 900 people were not gonna show up, but even half that many would have been too many for this venue to hold. We could of found a bigger place, yet we wanted to have drinking be free and as much as you wanted, something other places could not accommodate. Let us take you for an overview of the party since you can't drink and write at the same time, here is a bit of what went down.


A super sketchy wall of photos was thrown together last minute of about 50 photos out of an achieve that does not even attempt to scratch the surface of photos the Big Wheel staff has taken over the years.


Getting your drink on courtesy of our lovely bartender - Nikki


The Peeks out of Burbank, CA were invited to play the event and they represent the up and coming Punk bands of the class of 2011. For the short time that they have been around, this band is filled with talent and songs that are melodic and original. Make sure you check them out next time you see them on a show. www.facebook.com/ThePeeksBand


A band that we had been tracking since their inception in 2007 is Fallujah 71 and in 2009 there were awarded as one of the top records by Big Wheel, so it was great to have them play the show. Inspite of their bass player not showing up on time, the band was joined on stage by a guy attending the event and on the spur of the moment filled in and the show went on -it was still a great set. www.facebook.com/fallujah71


One of the best bands in Los Angeles right now is Johnny Madcap and The Distractions. This was the one band that the staff had hoped all year could play the anniversary party, and what a gift the staff got as well as the crowd that came out got with their performance. This is a band that lights the place on fire and creates a memorable show with a set filled with original songs as well as covers that will give you goose bumps. www.facebook.com/1234distractions


Billy Bones who has been a staple of the Los Angeles Punk scene and a member of the Class of 77, he has also been a staple going back to nearly the beginning of when this website first got trucking. With that said, it was only fitting that The Billy Bones would play this milestone event. The 13 song set took was a history lesson of the material Billy Bones has performed from Skulls classics to the songs of The Billy Bones new record. Many thanks to the entire band for their performance and their support over the years we have been around.


The surprise international band of the night was Akabane Vulgara on Strong Bypass from Japan. This 3 piece band of Punk chicks play some pretty fierce Punk rock and totally kill it. You can not believe how stoked we were when we found out that they would play the party as a stop on their west coast tour. After they were done playing the crowd could not believe what just went down, and for many they just got introduced to their new favorite band from Japan.  www.akabane-vulgars.com



Rounding out the music for the night was Channel 3, who are always a great group to have at any party where there is alot of drinking going on. If we search our archives we will find plenty of epic events that Big Wheel has been lucky enough to have CH3 perform at, because after all, who would not want to have the original good time fellas there. Opening up with "Didn't Know" which drew a thick crowd to the floor in front of the band from the bar area as everyone was ready to take in the performance. After that song the crowd was ready for action and the place erupted and the active pit left any spectators either joining in or being knocked down. For the rest of their set the place never saw a dull moment, but that is to be expected from a band like Channel 3. www.chthree.com

Actually during Channel 3's set things were getting a little weird and the venue was saying that they were shutting the place down, which came as a total surprise. The schedule of events was to close the night out with a 40 minute window for what would be the All Star Jam. This was to be the part in the program where members of various bands that were at the party would jump up on stage and play a few songs and then make way for the next band or combination of bands, however they worked it out.

A 10 minute window was eeked out and then special guest, A Pretty Mess took the stage to play a couple songs and then that was it for the night. Make sure you friend A Pretty Mess on Facebook ... HERE so that you stay up to date on their next gig, this is a band you for sure want to go see live.

Ok, so that is if for the party. Major props to Mike for coordinating another great Big Wheel event!

Here we are now 15 years later and our staff has covered over 2200 shows, taken well over a million photos, listed over 11,000 shows that were going on at any given time… all in addition to the hundreds of hours of concert video, lots of interviews, record reviews, articles and various news items. All of us here even trip out that we have produced that much content. Over the years we have witnessed many websites and in some cases random photographers attempt to duplicate the content that is found within this site and all these same alternative sources came and went as quickly as they came. Once the reality sets in that this type of work is not that glamorous and that is takes a ton of effort and dedication, many of these other sources simply gave up.

In a city where bands, venues, marriages or clubs are lucky if they last more than a few years, all of us at Big Wheel find it unbelievable that we let this go on for 15 years now. THANK YOU for all of your support over the years and leaving Big Wheel as your number 1 source here in Los Angeles and Southern California.

             More photos of the party can be seen HERE

Big Wheel Magazine Staff

 

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