Summer Nationals Redux

The Summer Nationals Tour with The Offspring, Bad Religion, Pennywise & Stiff Little Fingers graced the stage of Mesa Amphitheater a little over a week ago (Friday, August 29^th 2014) to a warm and welcoming sold out crowd.

Stiff Little Fingers started the show off, and didn’t hold anything back… I’ll be honest; I didn’t catch S.L.F. as I was stuck in line to get into the amphitheater for most of their set. However, from what I heard from many other concert-goers, they definitely lived up to their reputation and blew the crowd away with their signature “Old-School” sound. After all, they are one of only a few 1^st generation punk bands who are still around. Pennywise followed, and brought the crowds energy up to a whole new level. Half way through their blisteringly fast set, they invited Mesa, Arizona’s very own Jason DeVore of Authority Zero out to sing a cover of “Minor Threat” alongside them.

Bad Religion took the stage next, a mere 10 minutes after Pennywise finished their final song, which is a true testament to how proficient and professional their crew is. I guess 35 years as a band has something to do with such a quick turnaround. Bad Religion came prepared to please ALL of their fans, new and old alike, starting with songs like “Dharma and the Bomb” and the properly titled “Fuck You” off of their most current release, True North. From there, they worked their way back in time, playing crowd favorites “Sorrow”, “Infected” and finishing off their set with a special treat for all of their older fans by racing through a handful of classics off of their legendary Suffer album, like “You are the Government”, “Do What You Want” and, of course, the title track, “Suffer”, without stopping in-between songs.

The Offspring closed out the night, celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the release of their chart topping Smash album. They took to the dark stage with their infamous "Time to Relax (Intro)” and as they faded into the opening riff of “Nitro (Youth Energy)”, the crowd went ape shit, the pit opened up and, just like that, they controlled the attention of everyone in the crowd. From there, they continued with hits, like “Gotta Get Away”, “Self Esteem”, and “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)” before closing out their set and ending the night with “The Kids Aren’t Alright”. The entire night was definitely one to remember, so if you weren’t there, you totally missed out. I heard they might do it again next year, which I sure as hell hope they do!

See ya in the pit!

-Art C De Baca III

Photos by: Garyn Klasek

A-Hooten and A-Hallerin'

When I arrived at The Rhythm Room to catch The Hooten Hallers, I didn’t really know what to expect. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen openers Black Mountain Moonshine before but, even if I was just catching them, I’ve never seen them in a setting like this. Hell, I hadn’t even been to The Rhythm Room in years. But what a show to return to this well known and established venue for.

Folk punkgrass rockers Black Mountain Moonshine took to the stage and immediately had the crowd bobbing along, young and old. I can’t imagine doing that in a newer heavily punk and rock influenced band but they sure do it well. Perhaps it’s how well that Ethan Minney marries their folky sounds with punk on mandolin that makes it work across the board. All I know is that he slayed so hard on the mando that he broke a string towards the end and kept right on destroying. Drummer Art De Baca is such a driving force behind the band’s energy that I’m surprised they aren’t breaking strings left and right. With Alec Rodriguez on bass, he had us eating out of his hands. More so than before, Luz Gamino really captured my focus on his acoustic and it didn’t hurt with Eric Dent soloing next to him on lead guitar.

Whiskey Kiss was up next with their brand of sweet rockabilly. I’m not gonna lie and tell you that I follow the genre but what I heard and saw was downright outstanding. Yes, their rockabilly sound stands out but what pulled me in was how well they moulded it with swing. On top of that, honestly, these cats know how to rock. I dig horns and was thrilled to discover that their trumpet player, Bruce Legge, is amazing. If that’s not enough to catch your attention, singer Niki Mercier wooed the crowd with her seductive voice. Yet, the showstopper of Whiskey Kiss’ set, for me, had to be their upright bassist, Nick White. Not only did he stand out by how well he pounded away on the bassline but I caught him showing off his balancing skills as he stood on the side of his bass while playing for what seemed like an eternity. I’ve seen other bassists do similar feats but goddamn!

Wrapping up the insanity was The Hooten Hallers. If you just walked in on a Hooten Hallers set not knowing anything about them, you’d take them for an in your face blues band that crawled out of the muck of the bayou in New Orleans, screeching the misery and triumphs of surviving Hurricane Katrina. But, in all honesty, this dark, gothic and borderline chaotic rhythm and blues band hails from Columbia, Missouri. They opened their performance with a bang, with the assistance of drummer Andy Rehm to blast out heavy blues rock with just enough zydeco, mostly coming from frontman John Randall, to really set the mood. Almost as much as The Hooten Hallers crashed down upon us with a barrage of jubilation, they were able to mellow us out in a mire of despair.

The Hooten Hallers’ abilities to play various instruments seemed to adjust the crowd for what we were about to be getting into. Randall’s raspy vocals really stood out to me, reminding me of a southern Tom Waits who really added an element of gospel. He only intensified the scenario bouncing from his five string lap steel to those moments that he went to town shredding on guitar. Rehm automatically draws attention by being a stand up drummer, literally. What he lacks in drum pieces, he makes up for, above and beyond, in skills, energy and performance. The man only rocks one cymbal, and well, but what really grabbed me was his attention to focusing on his floor tom, which works for both the band’s blues and rock aspects. The Hooten Hallers have no bass player, but one wouldn’t notice with Kellie Everett rocking both baritone and bass saxophones. One moment, she’s squealing away on sax while you’re tearing it up on the dance floor and the next, you’re swaying as she’s hypnotically serenading you. And last but not least, Paul Weber was killing it on harmonica all throughout the night. If that wasn’t enough, partway through their performance, he answered my prayers and proved the rumors true by busting out his tuba, accompanying Everett beautifully. Hell, even when he was blasting away on harmonica, they were quite the pair. If none of that was enough for the crowd, The Hooten Hallers closed out the night with their version of “Fuck the Police,” a crowd pleaser called “Leave Me Alone,” which left none of us feeling alone.

~Garyn Klasek

A Purrfect Circus?

These days, circuses aren’t always seen in a good light, especially when it comes to the treatment of animals, yet the Amazing Acro-Cats have shown that some circuses can be pawsitive. Formed in January 2006 out of Chicago by Samantha Martin, this four-legged, furry feline festival has sold out shows across the country with few exceptions as well as dipping into Canada. Audiences are astounded as they watch these skateboarding, bell ringing, barrel rolling, high wire walking, rope climbing, shopping cart pushing, hoop jumping and agility course running kitties tear it up. They’re accompanied on tour by Tuna and the Rock Cats, also trained by Samantha and dubbed the “world’s only feline band.”

Samantha is famous for using positive reinforcement training techniques, particularly clicker training. In this method, a clicker is used to let an animal know the moment that they perform a desired behavior. When rewarded, this develops into classical conditioning. When the animal repeats the action, it becomes operant conditioning and habitual as a result. In turn, cues can be developed in the form of commands. While learning desired behavior, the elimination of undesired actions can be achieved. Samantha has used her animal training expertise in husbandry and behavioral sciences for advertising in industry and commercials for the likes of Wal-Mart, PetCo and PetSmart. She’s also aided with animals in music videos for bands like Megadeth as well as on programs on MTV and Animal Planet. Samantha has even appeared on shows like the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and used her skills on the set of film production companies, such as New Line Cinema.

Compared to animal training methods that have been discovered in most circuses, it’s a wonder that they remain in business. According to the Humane Society, despite claims from circus promoters regarding circuses using only positive reinforcement when training animals, reports show use of punishments, like beatings, using everything from clubs to sharpened hooks, as well as food deprivation. The Acro-Cats, however, are rescue cats who apparently enjoy doing tricks for treats. Essentially, Samantha and friends take them in and work at finding new homes. Of course, not all do, so Samantha particularly is one of the most gracious cat ladies I've ever heard of. These circus cats are paid in stipends of fresh cooked chicken, salmon, tuna, and even swordfish. Polly Smith, booker and promoter of the troupe, did tell me that they have received a few e-mails from animal rights activists in protest but that they responded openly with invites to their performances, going as far as offering tours of their tour bus to see the cats’ living conditions on the road. Only one took advantage of the opportunity and, although Polly wasn’t with the troupe, she rests assured that the activist was pleased by the conditions, as well as the performance. If that’s not enough, the Acro-Cats work with shelters in local communities and aid in fostering animals. On top of that, a portion of their proceeds support animal welfare groups in each city.

I went with a bunch of friends to catch an afternoon performance and walked up to the ticket counter/merch table before running into Polly, a bit of a Renaissance woman for the troupe who books and promotes for the Acro-Cats, Rock Cats and even SXSW apparently. More so, she also works at the merch table, as well as the tech table, running lights and sound. She welcomed us and we sat with a bunch of friends who were already there. First thing to be noticed is the extravagant stage set-up, with a tall post for the cats to climb that has a rope pulley for descent, a yoga mat for stretching, a table set up for a rock band, and other various odds and ends of an obstacle course, as well as a series of kennels. Among the crew of performers are many cats, a chicken and a groundhog, all directed by Samantha and her human friends. Using treats, clickers and directions, the felines were led through a cavalcade of hoops, tight ropes, a ramp for skating and bowling, and chairs and various posts to jump to and from. There was also cart pushing, ball pushing and riding and a trick where one cat jumped into a toy car and a bigger cat pushed it around. This was followed by a bell-ringing contest between Tuna, the cat and band leader, and the chicken, Cluck Norris. Tuna rocked a service bell while Cluck pulled the rope on a miniature church bell. According to the audience, both did well but Cluck clearly won the contest. Finally, the Rock Cats approached a decent amount of instruments that the cats and Cluck Norris, played, led by Tuna on cowbell, Samantha and other humans. The cats were even free to abandon stage for the audience, although only a few did. After a little over an hour of tricks and rocking out, the audience was invited onstage to meet the performers and trainers.

The Amazing Acro-Cats and The Rock Cats pounce once more on Phoenix at Playhouse on the Park, located at 1850 N. Central Avenue. Remaining performances run on January 30th and 31st at 7 PM, February 1st at 4 and 7 PM and the 2nd at 1 and 4 PM. Tickets are $19 and can be purchased in advance through their website at www.circuscats.com.

~Garyn Klasek

The Busiest Band in Reggae

           Not many bands have the privilege of starting off playing with their idols the way that The Aggrolites did. A conglomeration of two reggae/ska bands in Los Angeles, The Vessels and The Rhythm Doctors, they originated in 2002 as what Jesse Wagner, their lead singer, describes as “a bunch of dudes from the same scene,” backing reggae star Derrick Morgan live as well as in the studio. The Aggrolites have also backed Phyllis Dillon, Joseph Hill from Culture and Prince Buster among others. In fact, Prince Buster encouraged them to be their own band, which Jesse mentioned as being like playing with a rock star such as Dave Grohl and having him tell you to start a band. They coined the term “dirty reggae”, pulling from old ska, rocksteady and early reggae, as well as modern ska/reggae like Hepcat. They also wanted to go a different direction from many of the ska bands at the time by focusing on reggae.

The Aggrolites recorded their debut album, Dirty Reggae, in 2003 on Axe Records, an L.A. reggae label. This was accomplished in one day, with songs recorded in one take and many improvised lyrics. Despite focusing so heavily on Jamaican music, they’ve spent much of their time on punk label Hellcat Records. The Aggrolites appeared on Hellcat’s Give ‘Em the Boot IV compilation in late 2004, signing to the label about a year later. In 2006, they released their first self-titled album and supported Madness on tour at the end of the year. For The Aggrolites, this punk label was, as Jesse puts it, a “perfect fit.” Tim Armstrong, member of Rancid and founder of Hellcat, is a huge ska/reggae fan. This doesn’t surprise The Aggrolites, since punk and reggae go hand in hand, especially with bands like The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers. The following year, they collaborated with Tim Armstrong on his first solo album, A Poet’s Life. The Aggrolites loved every minute of it. He wanted their input on the recording. According to Jesse, Tim told them to "make it dirty reggae."

About two weeks later, The Aggrolites released Reggae Hit L.A., which, unbeknownst to them, won an award from IGN for the best reggae record of 2007. They had the pleasure of appearing on Yo Gabba Gabba!, created by The Aquabats’ frontman Christian Jacob. For them, this popularized old school reggae for youth. It broadened their fan base from skinheads to mothers. Around this time, The Aggrolites lost their original bassist, J Bonner, and replaced him with Hepcat’s David Fuentes, who unfortunately passed at the end of the year. Not only has Hepcat shared members with them but they’re also close friends who introduced The Aggrolites to traditional ska. They wouldn’t exist without Hepcat.

In early 2009, The Aggrolites went back into the studio, releasing their fourth record, IV,mid-year. Towards the end of the year, they began touring and joined up with Slightly Stoopid about a month later. Contradicting my expectations, Jesse thought of them as “freaking cool” despite not knowing what to expect. The Aggrolites give them a huge amount of credit, seeing them as good musicians. Slightly Stoopid treated them like brothers and are humble, nice people. The Aggrolites also opened for The Pogues but, shy of a couple times, didn’t really get to meet their singer Shane MacGowan. Jesse says that The Aggrolites were “lost in time,” and felt like teens in the eighties. Rugged Road, the fifth and latest release for The Aggrolites, was recorded in early 2011, their first album on Young Cub Records.

Over the years, The Aggrolites have played with many reggae acts. As far as ska and reggae acts go, they’re up there with the Slackers when it comes to how often they play. Some bands like this make a decent living off of their music if they’re lucky. Yet, for many of them, it’s not about the money so much as their love of Jamaican music. For Jesse, if there’s any ska and/or reggae artist that he could bring back from the dead, it would be Delroy Wilson. As far as the future for The Aggrolites, they hope to be working on another record soon. They would also like to take some time off from touring. Their members have other various projects that they’re working on. Jesse, personally, would like to work on a kids album.

    When I arrived at The Aggrolites show at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, I had just missed local 2-Tone ska/new wave band Liam and the Ladies but what I heard from outside the venue was just what I expected to hear from one of my favorite high-energy Phoenix bands. DJs Beat Betty and Fullstop were spinning their usual mix of awesome ska and reggae tunes as I walked into the packed venue. Along the way to grabbing a brew, I ran into several friends along the way, including Mark Allred from The Haymarket Squares. Before I knew it, The Aggrolites began their set.

    As they started, it felt like the typical Aggrolites' show that I've experienced a couple of times prior. Yet in no time, their soul started shining through with classics like "Funky Fire," "Banana" from Yo Gabba Gabba, and "Dirty Reggae". One of my favorite parts of their live show centers around Roger Rivas’ mind-blowing skills on the keys as he slams the melody home. Who really surprised me was Sean Rainy standing out by thrashing out the soul on the drums, reminescent of many Slackers' shows I've seen. Even Jeff Roffredo hopped along the bassline while pogoing in the air. Ricky Chacon rocked out the rhythm on guitar for everyone on the dancefloor while shaking it onstage. And, like always, Jesse Wagner serenaded the crowd with his heavy voice as he bounced from center stage to stage right and left. Occasionally, he'd take a break to shred on lead guitar. They even had a guest reggae vocalist that they pulled up onstage to sing with them that made the show that much more interactive and incredible. One would think this was done for a second wind but it seems more like the spontaneous kind of fun that a band like The Aggrolites enjoys.

If that wasn't enough, my friends Marcia Leach, a local DJ, and Katie Lawrence, AKA DJ Beat Betty, took to the stage to skank it up with a friend of theirs named Tori. At one point, The Aggrolites played the Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down," while Mark Allred and I belted out the lyrics with them from the crowd. On top of all of this, they wrapped up and left the stage, leaving the crowd in a frenzy. As we all chanted for them, they returned to the stage to give us a few more killer tunes before ending the night.

All in all, The Aggrolites brought their A-game, taking me back to what ska/reggae bands like The Slackers were throwing down back in the late nineties to early 2000s, when their horn section would parade off stage to "The Saints Go Marching In" before their encore. Reminding me of the clash of "Season" battle songs between Skinnerbox, Hepcat, The Stubborn Allstars and Dr. Ring Ding and The Senior Allstars around that time period, I can't say that this is a challenge that The Aggrolites are giving the ska world. Regardless, anything that can help contribute and increase energy and ideas throughout the ska and reggae communities should certainly be embraced by all of us who love this music.

   

~Garyn Klasek