Apr 05, 2016 Announcing Save Music in Chinatown 9: California, Zander Schloss, Spokenest, Mike Watt & The Secondmen
Since Eloise started attending kindergarten, Wendy and I have joked about her school taking over our lives. These days, we volunteer with valet duties practically every morning, help in the classroom all morning once a week, and make the school yearbook. I also serve on the school site council and, for the last few months, Wendy and I have joined other parents in becoming activists to stop a charter school from taking over Castelar’s classrooms. Getting the petition signed, speaking at community group meetings, alerting the media, canvassing the LAUSD board, organizing carloads of parents to attend a Metro Charter School–it was a long month and our school probably safe from occupation for another year. But that’s another story.
I’m glad we can move onto this school year’s third Save Music in Chinatown DIY punk matinee/fund raiser for Castelar’s music program. Our idea has been to channel the historic neighborhood’s storied punk rock past of the Hong Kong Cafe and Madame Wong’s to have all-ages benefits that help its local school. And, once again, our show is packed with friends and supporters who happen to be in excellent bands…
Mike Watt & The Secondmen are returning for a second appearance. Maybe you saw the uncompromising punk/jazz trio open for The Gears and a secret set by the Adolescents in 2015? That was an unbelievable bill, and Watt, Pete, and Jerry want to open again this time since they’re making a pit stop on the way home from a gig out in the desert. How cool is the Pedro combo to make that detour for the kids of Castelar? No wonder the original Minutemen member and fIREHOSE member is not only one of the most respected bass players in all musical genres but one of the most loved by the L.A. punk underground, and he always plays with the most amazing humans.
Spokenest is part of the RazorCake magazine camp which both spans and levels L.A.’s glorious punk past with today’s sprawling DIY underground. The lo-fi duo cranks out raw yet complex jams with the love and dissonance that can only come from a married couple. Daryl has been a longtime champion of Save Music in Chinatown, inviting me to talk about the effort on a RazorCake podcast and then hosting me on his KCHUNG program to promote a later show. We’ve made a lot of good friends doing these benefits, Dary is one of them, and I love the music that he and Adrian make.
Like most people, I was first exposed to Zander Schloss through his role of Kevin in the movie Repo Man, one of my all-time favorite movies. Since then, I’ve seen him play guitar with Joe Strummer, Circle Jerks, Thelonious Monster, The Weirdos, and Sean & Zander. The latter duo played for us last fall, and it’s great to have Zander come back so soon to give us a solo set. While he has played guitar for some legendary and noisy punk bands, his solo stuff as as simple, raw, and beautiful as can be.
Ex-Jawbreaker drummer Adam Pfahler is a really good friend of mine. Not only did he play our Chinese banquet when Wendy and I got married, but this will be the third time for his band California to play one of our benefits. (Hector, Bob, and Steve, are you going to be left in the dust?) It’s been really cool to see California come by with demo tapes and then a 7″ single and now a brand-new LP. Besides Jawbreaker there are links to J Church, Pinhead Gunpowder, Green Day, The Influents, and bunch of other cool bands, but I’ve been listening to this one the most by far. What a great new band.
All said, musical taste is a highly subjective and many of you will not enjoy the show. It will be loud. There won’t be a lot of seating. There will be some children. It’s also Mother’s Day, and this type of show is not for all moms. But there will also be a killer bake sale, good coffee, and a very cool raffle. And you will be helping inner-city kids have access to music education at their public school. Hope to see you there with your cool mom or kids if they can handle it.
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