Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
My punk rock outfit plays a lot of shows each Christmas thanks in part to a Christmas album we put out in 1996 and No Doubt's generous decision to cover one of the songs in 1997 -- luckily it was the only one I wrote on the album, and luckily Bobby Shriver called me and asked if I would donate my royalties to the Special Olympics so I wouldn't have to worry about any taxes on income from my career's only hit song. The picture I got at his Christmas party with Sergeant and Eunice was actually worth it though. (when my wife digs it up, I'll post it.)
So as I cris-cross the West playing in punk dives and an occasional House of Blues, I will take the temperature of these towns and their inhabitants from the perspective of a touring conservative musician trolling on the fringes of the entertainment industry. I will report this stuff here, because what else am I going to do?
First up, Reno, Nevada on Dec. 4th. Wonderful town, very CCW friendly. That means there are signs that say "alcohol and microwave ovens in this casino may harm you" but there are no signs that say you cannot bring in your concealed pistol to warm your chest while you play single deck $2 minimum blackjack with people who live in single family homes about 20 yards from the driveway of the hotel/casino, which to me is weird, but great. Zoning laws are just more laws I don't like.
Reno is like going back in a time machine. It's not broke, so no one "fixes" it. Somehow it's been left alone. It's not Laughlin which actually is beneath me, and it's not Las Vegas which bit off more than it could chew a while ago, and may never fully recover. I could live in Reno.
Next up: Santa Cruz, California, December 5, where I could not live. Imagine if you polished every un-shiny thing in Venice, CA, but left the human debris, put that in a refrigerator and you have Santa Cruz. Why make this place so cute if you're not going to do something about the......"dread-lock problem?"
If you love punk rock so much, why do you look like a homeless Robert Plant? Help me out here. Punk rock is defined in my mind's dictionary as fast music played by people with short hair. There are rules. Please cut your hair and take a shower at least once a week. You're ruining it for me. To be fair, most of the people inside our concerts, if you can call them that, are from the smart suburbs and don't look like the street trolls, so here's to them, and to everyone in Reno!
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Comments :
Oct '10
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
re Reno, I still don't know how Sharron Angle lost to Reid. All polls were saying she was gonna win.
Oct '10
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
Two lines of inquiry:
First, and most important, who's the blonde? Am I cluelessly out of the loop on an inside joke? Or do you subscribe to the entirely accurate theory that pictures of random beautiful women will get men to read your posts?
Second, being a conservative fan of punk - growing up with a brain in Thatcher's Britain will do that to you - I'd like to hear a little more about your touring schedule, such as it may by. Any chance you'll be coming to New Orleans? How about Denver for New Years? Will the blonde be with you?
Jul '10
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
AngloCon:
First, and most important, who's the blonde? Am I cluelessly out of the loop on an inside joke? Or do you subscribe to the entirely accurate theory that pictures of random beautiful women will get men to read your posts? · Dec 10 at 4:46am
It's Gwen Stefani, the lead singer of No Doubt, a band that came out of the SoCal punk scene in the 90s and achieved mainstream success.
I, too, would like to know more about the tour schedule. Will you be anywhere in the Southeast? There need to be people with Ricochet.com banners in the audience. Also, please tell me you're going to play "A Gun for Christmas" while carrying concealed. That would make us all very happy. :)
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
Just San Francisco on the 17th and Anaheim on the 18th. and Tucson and Phoenix this weekend. Thanks!
Aug '10
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
Hey Joe
A question from an old Pedro-Boy. Did you play much with the Minutemen?
I ask because my first job as a kid in high school was washing dishes at San Pedro Hospital, and my fellow dishwasher was Mike Watt. I also played football at the Boy's Club with Greg Hurley's little brother, Stinky.
I was more of a college radio guy back then (rock-a-billy, ska, Stiff Little Fingers, etc) so I never really got their music.
What made them so important to so many punk rockers?
Jul '10
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
Wylee Coyote
AngloCon:
First, and most important, who's the blonde? Am I cluelessly out of the loop on an inside joke? Or do you subscribe to the entirely accurate theory that pictures of random beautiful women will get men to read your posts? · Dec 10 at 4:46am
It's Gwen Stefani, the lead singer of No Doubt, a band that came out of the SoCal punk scene in the 90s and achieved mainstream success.
Gwen Stefani? Thank goodness, I thought it was Julian Assange.
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
Louie Mungaray: Hey Joe
A question from an old Pedro-Boy. Did you play much with the Minutemen?
I ask because my first job as a kid in high school was washing dishes at San Pedro Hospital, and my fellow dishwasher was Mike Watt. I also played football at the Boy's Club with Greg Hurley's little brother, Stinky.
I was more of a college radio guy back then (rock-a-billy, ska, Stiff Little Fingers, etc) so I never really got their music.
What made them so important to so many punk rockers? · Dec 10 at 11:13am
The Minute did have a niche appeal for sure. I saw them so many times I took them for granted and wish today I had paid more attention. We didn't play a lot with them because we were a bit younger and from Orange County. They were the Primus of the punk scene. Really good players but challenging for some.
He still gigs successfully Punks worship him because of his raw talent and association with Black Flag & SST Records. Thx Louie!
Edited on Dec 13, 2010 at 6:10pmAug '10
Re: Reno, Santa Cruz, Punk Rock, and a Merry Christmas.
Two of the most entertaining punk shows I have ever attended were in Reno.
I saw the Dickies at a crappy hole in the wall with about 25 other people, half of them didn't know who the hell the Dickies were.
I later saw the Dwarves at a different hole in the wall. That show only had around 10 people in the crown and the Dwarves played forever. It was quite a contrast to the 2 minutes, if that, they performed at a show in SF hosted by Jello Biafra. Though I have to admit that the performance by Electric Frankenstein at the SF show knocked my socks off and more than made up for the Dwarves "radical" departure. This is especially true given the Dwarves reputation for slighting the "big" shows.
As for your definition of punk, "Punk rock is defined in my mind's dictionary as fast music played by people with short hair."
I define it more along the lines of the musical embodiment of anger and frustration as performed by bands who play fast and hate hippies.
Not quite the same as people with short hair, as there are long haired punks. Just no hippies.