For The Record: Rockin’ in L.A.

Blog + Rock = Block?

Blog + Rock = Block?

Thank you Indie 103.1 and Joe Escalante for recently having me on the Barely Legal Radio show to talk about AFG Must Rock, punk rock and, of course,  entertainment law!
***

AFG Must Rock! is all about punk, power pop and rock and the Los Angeles music scene. I’m trying my best to be as “uncool” as Lester Bangs and write a few decent music reviews while trying to build a sense of community with the bands (and the fans).  

This blog also focuses on my D.I.Y. punk band, The Swagger Sticks. Our EP came out in August ’09 and our video will be out in November. The lead track, “Worldwide Pop Star,” features co-producer Jeff Lewis. Jeff played trumpet with The Jackson 5 back in the day.

‘The Sticks’ draw inspiration from The Ramones, White Stripes, New York Dolls, Pixies, Black Flag, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, The Cars, The Who, Social Distortion, Poison and Green Day.  

AFG Must Rock!
Check out: The Swagger Sticks  

*For Questions, Comments and Booking, please email AFG at SwaggerSticks@yahoo.com*

T-Shirt Mockup

Swagger Sticks t-shirt design by the incredibly talented Kazka from San Pedro!

The Sticks First T-Shirt Design

Is AFG Must Rock Legal?

"Hi Aron, This is Joe."

I taped a segment for Indie 103.1’s Barely Legal Radio progam with Joe Escalante yesterday…hopefully this will air!

I spoke with Joe about (bogus) trademark issues. I’m going to try and get permission to stream the show. I’ll keep you posted.

Indie went off the FM dial about a year and a half ago but  they live on as an Internet Radio Station. You can listen to Indie here.

AFG Must Rock!
The Swagger Sticks

Suicide “Ghost Rider”

The very first synth duo.

AFG Must Rock!
The Swagger Sticks

Does Animal Collective Deserve Best CD Of 09?

This is “Girls” from Animal Collective. Spin dubbed their CD, Merriweather Post Pavilion, the best album of 2009. I’m not buying into it. Is it me or is this bascially Blue Man Group versus Pet Shop Boys?

Q&A With Rob Z

Coming Soon!

2010 Rockin’ with Rob Z & Friends at El Cid

2010: A Rob Z Odyssey

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of checking out a Rob Z night at El Cid. If you don’t know Rob Z then stay tuned for my Q&A with Rob Z.           

For now, what you should know is that Z was probably best known by the denizens of the LA rock scene as Emcee Rob Z, aka ”Masturbator Of Ceremonies,” for the now defunct Kiss or Kill Club.            

But that’s not to say that Rob Z’s best days are behind him (though his beard is about a foot shorter from its peak a couple of years ago).      

In fact, despite Kiss Or Kill’s final curtain call in 2007, Z still plays a major role in the LA music scene.      

That’s because when he’s not fronting his own band, Z/Schnee and The Bleeding Livers, he’s putting together shows with some of LA’s best local bands for nights at El Cid and The Fox & Hounds.            

On this particular night, The Resonant Heads, Silver Needle and Tommy Peacock were on the bill. The room filled up pretty quickly with an enthusiastic crowd and luminaries from LA bands like Pussy Cow and The Dollyrots could be found lurking in just about every nook and cranny of the bar.             

First up were The Resonant Heads who, in my humble opinion, have the most perfect batch of punk rock songs that I’ve heard in a LONG time. Balancing great stage presence with great songs (along with a Devo cover) they restored my faith in punk rock. They’re the kind of band whose songs you fall in love with even as you’re hearing them for the first time.            

Silver Needle’s sweaty sonic assault was ferocious. They played with such intensity that I thought that their guitar necks might snap in half like a bunch of cheap chopsticks. I was chatting with Rob Z at the back of the room and, just as I asked ”Who are these guys?,” they played opening harmonics to their song “Tourniquet,” which was featured on the second Kiss or Kill compilation. I had an oh-shit-I-love-this-song-moment and then rushed up to the front of the stage for the rest of their set.             

I met guitarists Daniel and Andre right after their set and they could not have been cooler. By the way, here’s a bit of trivia for ya: Silver Needle shares a rehearsal space with The King Cheetah who, incidentally, are playing with The Swagger Sticks in February at Mr. T’s Bowl, but hey, that’s another story.            

Editors Note: I tried to add Silver Needle as a friend on my MySpace page today but got the message ”Silver Needle does not accept add requests from bands.” Bummer!            

Last up were Tommy Peacock. I’ve actually opened a couple of shows for Tommy Peacock, once at The Brixton in Redondo Beach with Dread Zeppelin, so I didn’t see their entire set. I can say this about Tommy Peacock & Co;  they are one of the most energetic bands in town. I’ve also never managed get their pop gem ”The Kids Say” out of my head since I first heard them play it at Nocturnal Bar a couple years back. Be sure to check out their Impossibe EP on iTunes.              

Well, it was an awesome night. Well Done Rob Z! Don’t miss Part 2 of Rob Z’s 2010 The Year We Rock this Wednesday, January 27th at El Cid. On the bill are Guided By Vices, The Hard to Get and an acoustic set from Z/Schnee (featuring Rob Z and Mike Schnee aka Chissum Worthington).     

Check Rob Z’s MySpace page for more details!         

Additional Links
The Resonant Heads
Silver Needle
Tommy Peacock
The King Cheetah
Kiss or Kill Club     
El Cid

AFG Must Rock!
Check out: The Swagger Sticks            

Dead Boys @ CBGBs (circa 1977)

Stiv Bators and ‘The Boys’ rippin’ it up.

AFG Must Rock!
Check out The Swagger Sticks

New Swagger Sticks Song & Show Just Announced!

   

Get Ready to ROCK LA!

We’ve got a show coming up and we just finished a demo for our new song called “Beginning in Reverse.” Check it out on The Swagger Sticks MySpace Page.   

The song was inspired by the SyFy channel, The Pixies penchant for surrealism and somniloquy (I swear, it’s all true).  

Jose Gonzalez and Matt Morales helped me out on background vocals. Jose will be playing drums and Matt will be on bass for our next show at Mr. Ts Bowl on Saturday February 6th.   

The show is being sponsored by my blog AFG Must Rock. It’s the first time I’ve put together a show and promoted it – this is going to be a blast!     

In addition to The Sticks, we’ve got four other killer bands on the bill: Radio Sweetheart, Icky’s Ego, The King Cheetah and The Shakers.   

Check out the flyer…I’ll be sending out a reminder next week.   

AFG Must Rock!

Performance Guitar Saved My Les Paul!

AFG and Kunio "Kenny" Sugai @ Performance Guitar

I was on a mission this week to get my Les Paul fixed. I (thankfully) ended up at Performance Guitar in Studio City. 
*****  

Peformance Guitar was founded by former Fender technical advisor, Kunio “Kenny” Sugai,  and he’s built and serviced guitarrs for a who’s who of rockers from Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) to Eddie Van Halen, Frank Zappa and Joe Walsh.     

The shop is so unassuming that I drove right past it the first couple of times I tried to find it. I had to stop in at West LA music to see if anyone had heard of the place: “Yeah, Performance Guitar…It’s is right down the street across from the In and Out Burger.”     

I finally pulled up to the shop and jumped across the river that had formed in the street from the unusually heavy winter storms battering Los Angeles. I walked inside and wondered if I was in the right place.     

The front part of the store is about the size of my living room. Is this REALLY the place? My eyes slowly panned the walls and then I noticed pictures plastered all over of legendary guitarists, like Steve Vai, posing with their guitars alongside Sugai. I had reached guitar nirvana!     

I walked up the counter and got down to business. My 1960 Goldtop Les Paul (re-issue) need some serious work: The neck was warped and the finish on the frets were worn down so badly that when you bent a string they would scrape against the neck and leave big nasty scratches on the neck.     

 I also couldn’t play more than half a song without the G string coming almost a full step out of tune. The electronics for the volume and tone would buzz and crack and, worst of all, the input jack had completely broken free and was jammed inside the body of the guitar.  It was literally unplayable.     

For live shows with my band, The Swagger Sticks, I’d been alternativing between a Fender Jaguar and an Noel Gallagher Epiphone, the one with the Union Jack on it. I had  used the Les Paul in our video but now I was really itching to play it during our next show at Mr. T’s Bowl on Saturday February 6th.     

I left the shop after being quoted about $200 to fix everything. Could that be possible? I was skeptical.      

Well, two days later I went back after getting a call from Kenny a day sooner than I expected. He plugged in my guitar and handed it to me. The neck was straightened out and the fret board was beautifully polished. My fingers slide down the neck like it was brand new! The G string stayed in tune. Gone was the buzzing from the bad electronics that controled the volume and tone.     

The input jack was reinforced with a metal plate so it would never break again. The toggle switch, which was broken, had been fixed even though I forgot to ask them to fix it. It was like someone had handed me a brand new guitar!! I wish I had taken in years ago. My Les Paul has been saved!     

Thank you Performance Guitar for such amazing work! I will never go anywhere else for guitar repairs and mainaince.     

Links:
Peformance Guitar     

AFG Must Rock!
Check out: The Swagger Sticks

AFG Must Rock Lineup Finalized @ Mr. Ts Bowl

The lineup for the Saturday, Feb 6th show at Mr. Ts Bowl has been finalized!  

We’ve got Radio Sweetheart, Icky’s Ego, The Swagger Sticks, The King Cheetah and The Shakers. Admission is only 5 bucks. Here’s the flyer for the show.  

Thanks to Verlaine at Mr. Ts for letting us put this together! This is the first show sponsored by AFG Must Rock and we’re looking forward to a rockin’ night!  

The Swagger Sticks & Friends @ Mr. Ts Bowl!

 Links:   

The Radio Sweetheart
www.myspace.com/theradiosweetheart   

Icky’s Ego
www.myspace.com/ickysego  

 The Swagger Sticks
www.myspace.com/theswaggersticks   

The King Cheetah
www.thekingcheetah.com   

The Shakers
www.myspace.com/ilovetheshakers   

 AFG Must Rock!