May 02, 2017 Save Music in Chinatown 12 preview with Alley Cats, Tabitha, Schizophonics, My Revenge, and Alice Bag
I’m as shocked as anyone that we’ve reached the twelfth Save Music in Chinatown show at the end of four school years without flaming out, burning out, or being defeated in any number of ways. Putting on all-ages punk rock matinees to raise money for Castelar Elementary’s music program is actually more fun than ever. I love the mix of old friends and new bands, familiar faces and brand-new ones, and coffee and cookies never gets old…
The next show is headlined by the Alley Cats, who I discovered via the soundtrack to Urgh! A Music War when I was in junior high. It also had live tracks by The Cramps, Go-Go’s, X, Joan Jett… How great is that? I was too young to see them at the Starwood, Hong Kong Cafe, or Whisky, and now they’re playing our humble little show!
And then there’s a special set by a trio called Tabitha, which is pretty new but has serious experience. I know Mayuko and Tsuzumi from their previous band, The Binges, and now they are ripping at guitar and bass, respectively, with Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction raging behind the drum kit! This is a rare, DIY setting to see a fast-evolving band that is destined for proper club shows and arenas.
And is there a harder-working, more sweaty or soulful, garage rock band than Schizophonics who are coming all the way from San Diego? The trio’s brand-new and beautifully orange-colored 10″ is so loaded with energy that the needle barely stays in the groove. Just like Pat Beers barely stays on the ground when the band plays. Prepare to be blown away.
And, finally, My Revenge. This will be Hector Penalosa’s third Save Music in Chinatown show, tying him with California for the most appearances in our lineups. He has been in so many excellent bands from The Zeros to Flying Color to Baja Bugs, and My Revenge touches on all of them with elements of punk rock, power pop, and garage rock and seasons fans will probably recognize a few of the songs as well…
But while I easily get carried away with the bands, the punk rock tradition of the old Hong Kong Cafe in Chinatown, and the combination of caffeinated beverages and baked goods, what sets these shows apart is that it not only benefits inner-city kids by supporting an excellent music education program at the neighborhood’s public elementary school but it exposes the ones who can handle it to DIY culture and subcultures. I got turned to the underground on as a teenager, and is has informed and empowered everything I do ever since, but what can do that do for kids who are exposed to it in elementary school!
We also have something new: a book reading by Alice Bag. (Photo above when the Bags singer came out to our last show with Ford Madox Ford, featuring Chip from The Dils and Rank & File). I’m thinking we should have more literary elements in the future… So many ideas with just two years to go before Eloise moves on from elementary school. What will happen then? Come out to a show while you can. L.A. punk in the late ’70s at the Hong Kong Cafe was great but this can be a golden age, too!
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