LAKRA - OLD AND NEW DEMO

These past 2 weeks have been pretty hectic. Texas was a blast and incredibly rainy, and except for falling in a ditch, it was a great time had by all! Now back to the realities of work and everyday life. We can't all be on an endless vacation...

About 2 weeks before heading off to Texas, we played a show at a south central backyard. The show was a total throw back to when I was a young kid, with a bunch of young kids holding a 40oz Mickeys in one hand and 3 balloons in the other (if you've ever been to a street punk backyard in LA, you know what's up). To add to the feeling of being in 2005, I was surprised to see that LAKRA had played. I didn't get to see them play, as I had shown up late, but I did get to talking to one of the guys from the band. It turns out, they've just started playing again, which I think is pretty cool. The last time I saw this band play was probably about 6 years ago, and then they quietly disappeared. Anyways, it turns out that they've recently recorded a new demo and they were nice enough to send me their old demo along with the new one.

You can read more about them and their sound over at the Hardcore Por Vida Blog

You can download their old demo here

And you can download their 2014 demo here

GENERACION SUICIDA - 3 DAY TEXAS TRIP

That Dallas show has been moved to Denton. Sorry Dallas!

Next week, GENERACION SUICIDA will embark on a small weekend trip through Texas. We just felt like getting out of town for a bit, so why the hell not? We'll be playing Mangos in Houston with LUMPY AND THE DUMPERS, JJ's in Denton with STYMIE and SLIMY MEMBER, and Austin with KURRAKA, DETESTADOS and DYE. For the Texas trip, we will have a limited discography tape that has all our studio recordings from 2010-2014. More info on that soon.

Also, if you're in LA this weekend, go to this show! It's the last show we play before heading out to Texas and it's going to be in a small basement in Huntington Park. Email if you need the address.

RECKLESS - DEMO TAPE

RECKLESS from Oakland, CA. I got this tape when they came down to play in South Central LA (I believe it was earlier this year). I still remember the show like it was yesterday... It was a warm summer night (it's always summer in Los Angeles) and they came down with another band, STAY SCARED. I don't believe that I got the STAY SCARED tape, but luckily I did snatch this tape. Ripping US influenced hardcore. Think POISON IDEA, but not really haha. All the songs are relatively short, about a minute and a half, and they hit you fast and hard. They were great live too, so if you can catch them live someday, you definitely should. There were rumors going around that they were going to have a 7 inch ep out soon. Here's hoping...

Uploading demos, I've come to the realization that most bands have a bandcamp these days. This is the face of punk (and music in general) in 2014. But what do I know, I'm sharing this on a blog in 2014! Anyways, check out their bandcamp and support the band with any kind of donation if you can/want/feel like it. You can also download my tape rip if you want that hissy pleasure.

Download my tape rip here

And check out the RECKLESS bandcamp here

RAZORHEADS - DEMO TAPE

 

I learned a lot from our recent East Coast tour. Mainly that when google maps tells you that it'll only be 5 hours to get to New Jersey from Richmond, what it really means is that it's gonna take 10. Yes, routes on that side of the U.S. seem much farther than they really are. That night when we pulled into New Brunswick, people were rushing us out of the van and to get set up and play already. I hadn't even finished setting up merch and opening up my beer before it was time for us to play. It was definitely the most rushed show of the whole tour and that fuckin sucked. What did not suck that night, however, was RAZORHEADS. These guys played some brutal hardcore and were really fun to see live. They also seem to be a local favorite, as they had the crowd going nuts that night. This demo sounds more blown out than they do live. Download it and check it out for yourself.

Download the demo here

 

And check out more from RAZORHEADS here

INFIDEL - DEMO TAPE

This one is kind of weird, because INFIDEL has their own bandcamp page and honestly $2 is not a lot for such a great tape. Oh well, I went through the trouble of ripping the tape anyway, so here we go. INFIDEL features current and former members of other notable bands from Vancouver like SPECTRES and SYSTEMATIK. Too me, this tape sounds like a noisey, reverb drenched version of CHRISTIAN DEATH... and I love it! LA had the pleasure of actually having INFIDEL play in South Central at The Dog Haus. If you missed them, well... you're a bozo! Today is the first actual rainy day in a long time in LA. For those of you that don't know, it almost NEVER rains in LA. So this demo goes great with the weather. Sit back, relax, light a few candles, drink some cheap beer in a wine glass and listen to this demo now!

You can download my ripped tape of the demo here

While you're at, support this band and actually visit their bandcamp page and pay for a cleaner version of these recordings. As punks, we should always be working to help each other out. Here's the link to their bandcamp page:

http://ministryofhate.bandcamp.com/

FRAUDE - DEMO TAPE

FRAUDE from South Gate/South Central. This is some fast thrashcore from ex members of HIT ME BACK (you can check out their great EP here). As I've said before, as a kid the big thing in the punk scene was street punk. So when I first heard HIT ME BACK, it was a breath of fresh air to my 14 year old mind. FRAUDE pretty much picks up where HIT ME BACK left off, with its tambourine shaking, blast beat playing style of hardcore.  Too bad they haven't released anything else since this demo tape.


You can download the demo here


Here's a video from a show we played with them like 2 years ago at a backyard show. Backyard shows are pretty rare these days, but we'll talk more about that later...

LATIN@ PUNK SHOWCASE!!!

This is kind of last minute, but tonight there is a punk show with a bunch of current Latin@ bands. Tonight it's THE OFFENDED, EKOLALIA, MALINCHISTA, AUSENCIA, and GENERACION SUICIDA @ The 5 Star Bar in downtown LA. While I don't particularly like bars, I Think this show should actually be pretty good. Only $5 and it starts at 8. Be there!

MUTANT ITCH - DEMO

The OCD in me HAD to re-edit the picture

Fresno, CA is one of those small towns that's in the middle of nowhere. Seriously, when we were there it was a quiet lonely town. It was the middle of summer and it was hot as FUCK too! Probably like 108 degrees, even at night. I remember when we were looking to buy beer and were directed to what looked like a small liquor store. Upon entering, it was like we were back in the wild west. A one legged guy with his one leg on a table watching TV, 2 other guys playing poker in a table across the room from him, and another guy behind ae counter. As soon as we enter, record skips, TV flickers, and everyone stops what they're doing to look at us. All we wanted was beer, but unfortunately all they had was warm beer. Nothing like warm beer in that 100 degree+ weather. So it is in this environment that we find MUTANT ITCH. Noisey hardcore that's as hot as the weather in Fresno. Live, these guys are a pogo fest. Think something along the line of EEL or EXTERMINACION . This tape, however, is super blown out noise at it's finest.  Definitely for fans of bands like CONFUSE, GAI, DUST NOISE, etc...

 

Don't take my word for it, tho. Check out the tape here

ELECTROCUTIONER - THE BLOOD OF THE PIG MUST FLOW IN THE STREET

LA is an interesting place. You have a lot of bands that rarely get the attention or recognition they deserve. Hype rules everything (not necessarily just in LA, but really everywhere). You also have a lot of things that are right under your nose and you'll never even notice them. Cue ELECTROCUTIONER. Mysterious, angry, brutal hardcore. Think along the lines of GISM, UNITED MUTATION, MOBS, etc... But with a UK82 twist. Yes, this is the kind of stuff everyone likes. It can be catchy, but so brutal at the same time. It's like you get the best of both worlds here. At under 7 minutes, the tape is pretty much over before you know it...

This tape is also dedicated to everyone that has been killed or locked up by pigs, a sentiment I think everyone in the hood shares. Yes, here where we are from, the reality of life is much different and the struggles we share are usually the only thing that can unite us. An angry community is pretty well represented here.

Anyways, this tape has been in my walkman all week. Now you can enjoy it all week too.

Download it here

LA EQUI - PRAXIS TAPE

Mondays always suck. Ask anybody what's their least favorite day of the week and they'll all tell ya it's Monday. But today, we have this little demo that will hopefully get you through it. LA EQUI (or is it LAEQUI?) is one of the newer bands from LA. They're a 2 piece that forgoes a bassist and keeps it strictly at just guitar, drums, and vocals. This band kind of reminds me of the bands that were coming out in 2009 in LA. This could easily have been coming out alongside RAYOS X, POLISKITZO, TUBERCULOSIS... All the bands that made LA unique for punk. This demo takes me back to a simpler time, before everything started to get gentrified and people from other states started moving in and telling us how LA punk should be... We won't talk about that (for now), so let's just crack open a 40oz, inhale some noz, and enjoy this demo.

Download it here.

By the way, noz is stupid. Don't do it. I lost way too many brain cells before realizing how dumb that shit is...

RAT'S REST - DEMO

 In 2013, GENERACION SUICIDA was on a west coast tour, when we finally drove into Eureka, CA. It was a long trip, marred by car troubles that started on our way back from Kamloops to Vancouver. You see, the trip between those two cities is pretty much 4 hours of nothing through a mountain. About 2 hours back into our trip to Vancouver, our truck just sputtered and died. This was on a desolate road, in Canada, 2 hours away from the nearest city, with no cell phone reception. This was also in early March... A period when Grizzly Bears are just starting to come out of hibernation. Needless to say, I was a tad bit worried. I was having visions of every horror movie and slasher flick I've ever seen. In a panic, we filled our pockets with rocks in case any would be killers (animal or human being) would come out of the woods. Eventually, a nice couple drove by and offered to drive one of us to the nearest small town to try and buy a new battery. We volunteered (sacrificed) our roadie for the trip to go and bring back a battery. An hour later he returned, alive and well, but more importantly with a new battery. The couple offered to actually drive behind us the whole way to Vancouver (it was along their way) just in case we were to break down again. They were the friendliest people I've ever met, and to this day I wish I could repay their kindness, but alas we parted ways as soon as we drove into Vancouver.
                   Unfortunately for us, as soon as we got back to Vancouver our car went dead again... right on the border waiting to cross back into the USA. We eventually got a tow truck that towed us across the border and right to the nearest mechanic in Bellingham, WA. That mechanic totally screwed us over and took a huge chunk of our tour money (In return, Juan ate all the complimentary pastries and took the biggest shit of his life without flushing). Once back on the road, I was tense. I couldn't help but feel that the truck was going to give out at any moment. I was worried it would break down in the middle of downtown Seattle traffic. I was worried it would break down going through the woods in Oregon. I was worried it would break down going through the small towns on the way to Eureka. Honestly, some of the homes in those small towns had confederate flags hanging from their windows. These were towns that were only about 3 city blocks long, but they were the most nerve wrecking little trips. As a truck full of Latin@s, being stranded in these towns would not be ideal (to put it mildly).
                      Finally, we reach Eureka. I don't know if you've ever been to Eureka, but it's an interesting town. A small town, where everything seems to close at 5 (much like Kamloops, actually). Once at the show, there was maybe like 10 people at the show, which is not surprising because it is a small town. After all that, I'm really not expecting much of the show (it was a folk and punk show), when suddenly RAT'S REST takes the stage. These guys were great. Punk that was both melodic and raw. They looked like they had just gone through similar troubles as they looked ragged and tired, and the singer kept chugging from a 2 litter bottle of Squirt (I'm assuming laced with Vodka) to get through the set. Watching them play to this small crowd was reenergizing after everything we had been through. So I did the only logical thing and bought the tape after their set. It was just a blank white tape in a silver bag with RAT'S REST written on it with marker. That was all the merch they had...
               The demo of course is killer! And you should definitely check it out for yourself. It's just as good as their live set and definitely something that will most likely go over everybody's head. Don't follow the crowd. Take a look in the cracks. It's worth the trouble every now and then.

Download the demo here

I actually downloaded the demo myself from the Remote Outpost blog (I was too lazy to rip it from my own tape). Check that out also as he has his own story of RAT'S REST. Check that out here

WAY BACK WEDNESDAY - LA VOZ (FINAL DEMO)

I've talked a lot about LA VOZ in the past (and you can download their 2009 demo here and their "Deprimido" 7 inch here). To me, they were one of the most underrated bands in the scene back in the day. I remember the first time I saw them play at the Boyle Heights house along with SILENT MAJORITY from Portland (man, I wish I bought their tape that night). They were pretty cool to watch live, though I think a lot of people didn't really give them a chance and so they just kind of gave up. I remember when I use to book shows at the Crash Pad back in the day and I would always hit up the drummer from LA VOZ to come play. They always bailed last minute though and there were always rumors that they had already broken up. For sure, the last show they ever played was a show in some little basement on Skid Row in Downtown LA. Anyways, these days Mario (the vocalist) plays guitar in GENERACION SUICIDA, and more recently we also added Elias (the guitarist) as our new bassist, so I guess in the end everything kind of worked itself out. This final demo is the last thing they ever recorded as a band. It appears that they only made 60 of these CD-R's, but it seems most of them are in my car (AKA the trash). That's a damn shame, cuz this demo is pretty good. You can really see the progression that they were making, as the songs seem a bit slower and more melodic. If you liked the first demo and the 7 inch, then you'll probably enjoy this too.

Download the demo here: Y YO QUISIERA!!

NO TE MUEVAS!!

A while back (almost 4 years ago actually), I wrote a piece about RIP and how they are one of my favorite bands to have ever come out of the Basque Country. I just found out yesterday that the ex guitarrist, Jul Bolinaga, has passed away. Needless to say, it's pretty sad, considering that "No Te Muevas" was and still is one of my favorite albums, and it was a huge influence on everything I did musically growing up (everything from ASKO to GENERACION SUICIDA has been touched by that album). Anyways, here's  the link if you want to see what I had to say about RIP 4 years ago (as usual, Mediafire is an asshole and has taken down my link, but the album is easy to find with a little help from Google). While I think a lot differently these days, this album still remains as one of my favorite records of all time.

Here is also a cool little documentary film about RIP. The audio is a bit weird and kinda blown out, but it's still great.

GENERACION SUICIDA - TODO TERMINA

Our latest effort. If you've been following this blog, you've most likely been following GENERACION SUICIDA as well. This record has been out for about 3 months now. It was recorded in March of 2014 at a tiny studio near Downtown LA. Everything except the vocals were done on that one day. In coming up with the idea to make this record, we intended to make something that was a bit harder and more raw than the first Lp. I'd like to think that we succeeded in what we were aiming for, as this record is faster and more aggressive than "Con La Muerte a Tu Lado". Anyways, we took the original picture for the cover ourselves. However, it was too low res to use, and so it was retaken during the "Todo Termina" music video shoot. Below you can see the original pic that was going to be used.

 



Not a huge difference, but yeah. Obviously, we have no idea who's grave that is...

Anyways, there was a lot of work put into this record and a lot of ideas that I'm glad we were finally put onto wax. Below you can check out the music video we did for the record:

You can stream and buy "Todo Termina" off our bandcamp here

Here's a youtube upload of the full album too

We've already begun working on writing material for a 3rd Lp, but let's just stop here (for now)...

PURA MANIA - REY DE RATAS (BOTH 7")

You should be familiar with these guys (you can find the awesome demo here, if you haven't gotten it already). Dark post-punk/hardcore/Oi/new wave sound. Really, it's a bit difficult to classify. The music has a dark desperate feeling, while the vocals are gruff and harsh. It's like if BLITZ when post punk (but none of that Second Empire Justice stuff haha). We recently went on an East Coast tour with these guys and they are just as good live as they are on record. A treat, every single night for 8 nights straight. Rumor has it that they'll be coming down to LA next February or April. Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope so.

You can download La Estafa Musical here
Download Musica Para Gente Fea here

Here's a complimentary photo of El Rey de Ratas himself, Rafa. Taken at the last show of tour at the Acheron in NYC.


It is MANDATORY to listen to this at full volume!

GENERACION SUICIDA // PURA MANIA EAST COAST TOUR

GENERACION SUICIDA and PURA MANIA will be touring the east coast this summer. Check out the tour poster for dates and cities. GS will have our new LP out in time for this tour, as well as new shirts, pins, and armbands. See ya on the east coast!

PROXY AND RULETA RUSA IN SOUTH CENTRAL LA TONIGHT!!

Tonight at The Dog Haus, get your fix with PROXY, RULETA RUSA, GENERACION SUICIDA, POLISKITZO, and DAMAGES. PROXY is making the long trip all the way from Montreal, Quebec Canada and are ex-members of INEPSY, so you know what to expect! You can count this show as a pre-burnout fest show, as tomorrow will be the first day of Burnouts en Baja (which if you haven't got your tickets yet, you are fucking up!). Burnouts en Baja will feature bands like PROXY, LOS MONJO, RULETA RUSA, CATASTROPHE, CALAFIA PUTA, DFMK, and a grip of other bands from both LA and Tijuana.

 The main point of this fest is to bring LOS MONJO closer to the USA so people from here can go see that band (since LOS MONJO can't cross into the USA due to legal problems). It's actually quite ironic then that there are a lot of punks that love LOS MONJO in the USA that still won't be able to go see them, due to the fact that they live in the USA undocumented and can not cross the border themselves. Well, let's just hope that eventually LOS MONJO can work out their paperwork problems and come play LA to a crowd that would seriously appreciate them.

SOUTH CENTRAL LA: THE OTHER BARRIO

One of the most common misconceptions about not just GENERACION SUICIDA, but really ALMOST ALL LATINO bands in Los Angeles, is that we are from East LA. Although I mean no disrespect to East LA and all the obvious Latino culture there, I do want to point out that Latinos are not only found in East LA, but are found everywhere in Los Angeles. South central LA is where GENERACION SUICIDA was born and where you will find a very strong Latino punk scene that includes many bands that are often erroneously attributed to East LA.

Although there are many similarities between East LA and South Central, we can't ignore that they are still 2 separate areas where residents identify themselves with their own unique ideas and perspectives on culture. To snowball every Latino band into one geographic location denies the chance at getting a unique individual perspective, a point of view that may differ from someone else regardless of race, barrio, or color. All you'll see is another "East LA 'Mexican' punk band".

While we're at it, I just found a very interesting interview with Tito Larriva from THE PLUGZ who are often considered an integral part of the 80's East LA punk scene. Here's what he had to say:

"I’ll be honest with you. Coming from Texas, and coming to L.A. and living here for so many years, I never felt in Texas that I didn’t fit. Then when I got [to Los Angeles], suddenly the Plugz, my punk band, are from East L.A. I must have told the L.A. Times and the L.A. Weekly 200 times, “I’m not from East L.A. I live in Hollywood. Hollywood. H-O-L-L-Y–.” They even started calling us 'Los Plugz.' I gave up"
 
Leonardo Nevarez of Musical Urbanism gives a pretty good explanation for this simplistic view on geography:
"'East L.A.-based punks,' [is a] reference [to] the city section synonmous with its Mexican barrio... This geographical tag was a way for gringos, punk or otherwise, to get a simplistic fix on [bands]".

 Anyways, this post was a bit different to my usual post about music, but I think it was something important that needed to be addressed. I included these pictures of my neighborhood because one of the most common question I get asked during interviews (from those that know what's up) is "what is it like to live in South Central"? I never really know how to answer that question, because to me everything seems normal. I have lived here for 24 years and don't really know what else to compare it to. So, here are some pictures of my neighborhood for you to see for yourself.

HOUSE OF BREATH

This post is going to be a bit bare bones, seeing how much I actually know about this band and the obscurity of this demo. HOUSE OF BREATH is a post punk/goth band from Los Angeles featuring members of PESSIMIST (which is a hardcore crust/death metal band). While I've seen PESSIMIST play a couple of times, I've only had the chance to see HOUSE OF BREATH play once. Word on the street is that this band is no longer active and actually rarely ever played in the first place. That's a damn shame, because what we have here is some total SISTERS OF MERCY type post-punk/goth/death rock (or whatever you wanna call it). Although this is a 4 track demo, I only managed to get a hold of 3 of the 4 tracks. This demo is perfect for that gloomy train ride to that job we all hate in the morning or to finish off the night with a few beers alone...

EDIT: Apparently, this band is still active, although now they go by the name COCOON and use a drum machine. They still play pretty rarely though...

Download the demo here

ABORTION REELS - YOU'RE WELCOME (DEMO)

ABORTION REELS are one of the best bands in So Cal, yet I still haven't had the chance to see them. They play so rarely, which is extremely unfortunate as this is one of the best demos that came out last year. ABORTION REELS come from the Inland Empire and share members with PESADILLA DISTOPIKA (which if you haven't heard, you should check out what you've been missing by downloading the demo here).
This tape is everything you want in hardcore: ferocious riffs, vicious drum beats, and a front man that sounds crazy as fuck! I couldn't really find that many videos of ABORTION REELS live, but this video at least shows how good they are live:

Download the demo here: YOU'RE WELCOME

PURA MANIA DEMO "RATAS DE DOS PATAS"

Take one look at this artwork and you may think this is some old 80's South American punk band, but you'd be (somewhat) mistaken. PURA MANIA comes from Vancouver, BC Canada and this demo is from this year, 2014 (although the insert says 2013). Consisting of Members of FRACASO and SPECTRES (what a combination!), this band has elements of raw 80's South American punk with a slight dark post-punk feel... and it rules! "1000 Años despues del hombre" will have you wanting to shake out of your own skin in public places (just try to show a little restraint, please!). Now to only convince PURA MANIA to come to Los Angeles...

You can download the demo here.

Please comment if the link is down. Mediafire sure likes to delete files it has no business deleting these days...

BED BUGS

What's this? More raging hardcore from the Inland Empire? Say it ain't so! This time coming from the non existing beaches of Mentone Beach, CA. BED BUGS is the kind of hardcore that really gets under your skin. It's tough, but not exactly like all the other tough guy stuff that's going around in the scene right now (which is a good thing). You can hear a sneak peek of their EP below. I hope you dig it as much as I do! It will be out sometime this year on MATA LA MUSICA DISCOS (check out their site here). 

EDIT: I've just noticed that this shitty Cincopa thing has a limit. I unfortunately can't upload the full BED BUGS demo here, but I'll try to put it up once its been properly released. Sorry! 

...

You can catch BED BUGS (along with CRIMSON SCARLET and DEAD CULT) on March 22 at The Dog Haus in South Central LA. It's gonna be a hell of a show!

LITOVSK

Hey! For all of you that are lucky enough to still be coming around to this blog, here's a little treat for ya. Litovsk is a 4 piece post punk band hailing from the coastal city of Brest, France. Their sound is very dark and gloomy, similar to bands you'd probably find in Portland. We were lucky enough to see them play while we were in Brest and I recently found their demo online. Now if I can only get my hands on the actual tape...

You can download their demo (and I suggest you do) here.

Here's a video I found of Litovsk on Vimeo: