Punk Rock Motel for an afternoon of skateboarding and Punk Rock with a grip of bands – at Pink Motel – Sun Valley, CA

Rip it up!  On the third day of summer the iconic Pink Motel in Sun Valley found itself doing just that. Hosting the first ever “Punk At The Pink Motel 2012” It brought us an assortment of everything D.I.Y. Kicking off around 1:00pm Punks and skaters gathered around an emptied pool and makeshift stage like a wonderful flash to the past, to an era somewhat forgotten but as alive and in your face as ever. Generations past, present and futuretook turns shredding the pool and slamming in the mid day pit.

Pacoima based “Rip Off’ took the stage first getting the days festivities off in the right direction, harnessing a Dr. Know, Exploited like energy Rip Off’ is definitely a band to keep an eye on.

From Lock/Jaw to The Chimpz To Fallujah-71 all taking their interpretation of Punk and running with it. Lock/Jaw got the people moving with songs like “She’s a dude” and covers of Blink 182 and Pennywise’s “Bro Hymn”.



The Chimpz introduced us to something different a hard rap/rock style blended in with great covers of “Johnny B.Good” and “Sweet Home Alabama” dubbed “Sweet San Fernando valley”. Maybe it was the heat or maybe it was the hooch but another type of show broke out amongst the fans a type of “Shit Faced Striptease” stealing some of the attention away from the acts it wasn’t long before “our performer” disappeared into the crowd.

For the purist Fallujah 71 is right up your alley. The 3 piece band take a hardcore to the point approach to writing and playing, With songs like “Don’t Wanna Be A Moron” and “Psycho Neighbor”, it was more than fitting for the days debauchery.

As the time past the temperature rose and the empty beer bottles and cans started to pile up all around us. The vendors on hand had a nice array of goods to sample and buy. For skaters finding themselves in need of another deck Unmodern Industries had a nice selection of high quality boards and parts to keep things thrashing through the night.

For those looking for a clean smoke, David and Duke over at Dukie Stixx had a wide arrangement of hand made wooden pipes cleverly crafted out of old furniture legs and whatever else these two gents could find, in true D.I.Y. spirit they turn “one mans trash into another mans treasure” to create beautiful hand made works of art.

The Peeks drew the largest pit of the day and garnering the most fan interaction throughout their set. Dewey Peeks was a key part of getting the entire event together. The young 17 year old took it upon himself to organize and follow through from booking to vendors to securing the location, he wanted to capture the old school feel and remind people all over skating and Punk rock go hand in hand.

After Saturdays showcase on and off stage we look forward to seeing more from this young man and The Peeks.

Symbol Six was up and next and did not disappoint with a clean professional Punk sound and the crazy high energy of front man Eric Leach, It was a must see set and Eric made sure of it for the first 10 minutes, before a single note was played, he implored and demanded all skaters and folks gathered around the pool to join him at the front of a stage and they obliged.

To their drunken delight , Symbol Six ended a great set and dedicated their last song to all the skaters as they dropped in and barked the Pink Motel pool.

With the night winding down it was time to sober up and what better way than with a “Taqueria El Sevaro” taco, street dog or slider. Chef Pablo Romero served up these beauties all day to my personal delight I crushed about 7 tacos and was on the hunt for more. With my taco fix curbed and the sun dissipating into night.

Johnny Madcap And The Distractions with their rock n roll/raw pop sound drew everyone front and center. Ending the night, fittingly with Billy idols "Rebel Yell". These type of D.I.Y get it done shows are sadly few and far between and after the success of Saturday's event we hope its the first of many, cheers to the organizers for all their hard work to put on such a kick ass event!

Please NOTE: All of the photos that were shot for this article were taken without blocking the audiences view of the band or interfering with the band's performance. The goal is to document history, not to become part of it.


             More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Gio Van Dam-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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