Culture Shock and World/Inferno Friendship Society Sear the Valley of the Sun

 

Photos by Joe Maier    

It isn’t everyday that two stellar punk bands from both sides of the Atlantic find themselves joining together to embark on a cross-country journey around the U.S. All the way from the U.K., there’s cult eighties ska punk pioneers Culture Shock, sharing members with The Subhumans and Citizen Fish. Alongside them on this tour is Alternative Tentacles’ cabaret soul punk labelmate The World/Inferno Friendship Society straight out of Brooklyn. Alternative Tentacles refers to this tour as “The Team-Up of the Century” and they wouldn’t be wrong with this claim, especially in the punk world. Culture Shock recently reformed only to release a brand spankin’ new album called Attention Span only to bring it over to the states personally for the band’s first time playing out this way. World/Inferno, a fantastic band in their own right, has been steadily increasing the music they release while keeping the great tunes coming since debuting in the mid-nineties, having even recorded and shared the stage with fellow hometown heroes Leftover Crack. This joint tour found its way to the Phoenix area where local party punks Sad Kid supported the show, taking place at Yucca Tap Room.

Photo by Trevor Read

Sad Kid opened the show with a bang, bringing the kids out early. They’ve had impressive performances before but this one had tons of energy bouncing back and forth between the band and the audience. This was crystal clear with the all ages crowd, moshing in a frenzy and showing their opposition of the fence dividing the venue. Even much of the 21+ crowd were enthralled by the band, whether it was their first time seeing them or not. Drummer James Bohan brought his usual mesmerizing party beat to get the people movin’. Kyle King, as well, kept it poppy and provocative on bass while also rilin’ the audience up by starting an anti-fence chant. Rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Hill got the crowd rockin’ while shouting out his celebratory sermon. Jeremey Scalf also excited everyone between blasting away on trumpet and strikin’ out solos on lead guitar. Sad Kid was one helluva triumphant addition, setting the pace for one killer show.

Photo by Joe Maier

Culture Shock took the stage next, playing a marvelous mix of material from their early years to their current collection. On one hand, they played classics like “Punks on Postcards” and “Civilization Street,” the latter of which they dedicated to the memory of Erik Petersen from Mischief Brew, while also playing new songs like “Private Revolutions” on top of that. Their intensity was incredible for a project that isn’t as popular as The Subhumans or Citizen Fish. Perhaps it’s this freshness of the revitalized Culture Shock that makes for such a vivid experience. Singer Dick Lucas, mainstay over the years with all these projects from The Subhumans to Citizen Fish, maintains his signature vocals while, as always, spreading a sense of urgency. Backbone of the band is the talented Bill on drums, originally from eighties punk band Organised Chaos. Guitarist Alex shreds the fuck out between keeping that good ska rhythm going and rockin’ the hell out. Even Jasper Pattinson of Citizen Fish fame shows off one peculiar poppy performance on bass. Catching Culture Shock was a magnificent golden opportunity.

Photo by Joe Maier

Closing out this extraordinary show was The World/Inferno Friendship Society. They also played a wide array of songs from their catalogue. The band brought down the house with early favorites like “Tattoos Fade” to later sing-alongs like “Let’s Steal Everything” and “Addicted to Bad Ideas.” Having only seen them once before, this particular set of theirs really stood out between their sick song selection and their stage presence. Leading the band was frontman Jack Terricloth from late eighties Jersey punk band Sticks and Stones with his charismatic voice and mannerisms as well as defiant ideas. Even he found himself at odds with the fence. Sandra Malak got the crowd shakin’ between her poppy attack on bass and soothing vocals. Guitarist Frank Morin slayed whether tearin’ it up on rhythm or soloing. Mora Precarious had the audience raging out with her skills on drums. Tickling the keys like mad was Sticks and Stones compatriot Scott Hollingsworth. Modern addition Jeff Young on violin got the people swayin’. Baritone sax player Aaron Hammes from mid-nineties Chicago ska band Deal’s Gone Bad also left the crowd swooning. World/Inferno was a mesmerizing way to end this killer show. Overall, this was an unbelievable affair for everyone in attendance.

~ Garyn Klasek

Sugar Skull Explosion Exterminates on Zombie Party

Courtesy of Sugar Skull Explosion

It’s not rare to hear of punk bands including family members. What is odd is a punk band that is cross-generational, let alone a family band, that also really works well either despite or because of that dynamic. This is the case for Phoenix’s garage horror-punk duo Sugar Skull Explosion. This project consists of father J-Skull on bass from local acts like Hug of War and daughter E-Skull, who hasn’t even hit her double digits yet, beatin’ the drums. Not even a year old, this team has already released an EP and a single. As they gear up for their next show, they will also be releasing their next album, without a single song clocking in at over two minutes, Zombie Party.

The album kicks off with “Defeat the Beach/Lost Control,” a darkly nihilistic surfy garage punk medley. E-Skull thrashes out from the get go for the first part before J-Skull takes us down a shadowy yet fun road on bass while on the attack with dual vocals. Sugar Skull Explosion goes a slightly sludgy direction that’s choppy and droney on “Doll Brain.” Short and to the point is “Hallmark Holiday,” where they really bring the ruckus. “The Demon” takes the listener into garage-y horror-punk territory. E-Skull tightens up for a poppier rhythm on drums while J-Skull takes the lead on vocals sans the alternating vocals towards the end.

Perhaps the best song on the record goes to “I Don’t Want To,” an angst-riddled, rage-filled thrash punk song that could be ripped out of the lives of Sugar Skull Explosion. J-Skull busts out the heavy bass in a murky cloud as E-Skull smashes the hell out of her kit, both screeching out arguments that we’ve all been through. The band slows it down for “Question Everything,” a coming-of-age garage punk tune led by E-Skull on vocals that shows you can never be too young to despise any form authority takes on. The duo closes the album out fantastically with “Apocalypse,” a stripped-down nihilistic peace-punk song with tambourine in place of drums. J-Skull’s bass-playing on this one is reminiscent of Rudimentary Peni while E-Skull’s vocals flash back to Crass’ Penis Envy in an end-of-the-world fashion.

All in all, Zombie Party is a glorious addition to Sugar Skull Explosion’s punk catalog. Even more, this is a wonderful local punk record if not a marvelously pertinent punk album in general. If you haven’t been one of those incredibly fortunate people to have caught this band, it would be in your best interest to check out this record and, if you have the chance, their album release party. Sugar Skull Explosion is playing with Dog Party, Sneeze Attack and Diners on Thursday, July 28th at 51 West in Tempe.

~ Garyn Klasek

The Offspring Pounce into Summer Nationals

Photo by Tijs Van Leur

It can be hard to last in the limelight, stay relevant and still keep the punk kids coming out to shows in hordes for over thirty years no doubt. But this is exactly what SoCal veterans The Offspring have managed to maintain. Whether slamming out skate punk, pushing out pop punk or carving out commercial hits, this band accomplishes many feats while keeping their music fun and fresh. While we all anticipate their tenth studio album dropping, punks can get pumped for The Offspring’s tour by thrashin’ out to their EP they made for their Summer Nationals Tour with some of punk’s finest.

The Offspring opens up their Summer Nationals EP with Bad Religion’s “Do What You Want.” Straight out of the gate, drummer Pete Parada bursts forward, taking the reigns while Dexter Holland and Noodles hammer the tune out on guitars. Holland does an excellent job staying true to BR’s ferocity on vocals and to his own vocal stylings while the rest of the band harmoniously back him up on the “oohs and aahs.” They follow this up, leading straight into another Bad Religion song, “No Control.” Bassist Greg Kriesel, AKA Greg K., seems to spring out, accentuating the guitars. Holland appears to have had some intense fun on this one, working with BR singer Greg Graffin’s linguistically extensive vocabulary. Switching gears, The Offspring takes on Pennywise’s “No Reason Why.” Right off the bat, Kriesel and Noodles set the more melodic tone on bass and lead guitar respectively as the rest of the band comes in to build up the song to it’s naturally speedy pace. Parada rips it up on drums at this point while Holland and Noodles trounce on guitars.

If nothing else, Summer Nationals proves that The Offspring can still rage forth the raw energy they whipped out from the mid eighties into the nineties with excellent precision. If that’s a sign of anything, we can only expect to see a preview when they pass through of what’s to come on their next eagerly awaited album. The Offspring kick off their tour at The Marquee Theatre in Tempe on July 21st with local punk rockers Lightspeedgo.

~ Garyn Klasek