Photo by James BunoanScenester extraordinaire Andrew Roe works his days as the promotion and publicity manager for the House of Blues in Anaheim and his nights as the owner of Atrophy Pop management, where he currently helms the career of the rockin' sausage fest that is Throw Rag and where he used to manage the Damned. The Long Beach resident comes to us by way of England, where he was born, and also Chico and Seattle, where he lived for a time. Repeated questions as to whether he possessed a “turtleneck” went unanswered.
OC Weekly: What have you been listening to lately?Andrew Roe: There's a band that Alex Hernandez of Alex's Bar turned me onto called the Alleged Gunmen. They remind me of the Clash when they were in their Sandinista! era. Obviously, I've been listening to Throw Rag, the band I manage, because I've been trying to pick my brains to figure out the strongest songs for the record they're about to record with Tim Kerr, which will be released in May on BYO records. I've been listening to Supergrass; Queens of the Stone Age; and Nick Oliveri's side project, Mondo Generator. What else are you into?
After I stopped working with the Damned, I finally broke out Grave Disorder, and I thoroughly enjoy it now. Oh, and the Roots' Phrenology—I love that record. Audioslave are a guilty pleasure, but only because I'm a huge fan of old Soundgarden. Queens of the Stone Age have elements of old Kyuss, old desert metal and Screaming Trees and Soundgarden—it reminds me of all those bands I loved 10 years ago, like an eclectic mix of all of them, and I think that's why they're appreciated by an older demographic. I've also been listening to Corporate Avenger's Taxes Are Stealing.
That's an old album at this point!
Yeah, but I still like it. I like what they're saying. Oh, and Pleasure Club from New Orleans are an amazing live band. Also, the Catheters and Zen Guerilla.
So what's a good night out in Long Beach?
You leave my house, go down past Portfolio Coffee House, then hit the Pike, where you can get a beer and the best onion rings I've ever had and fries like they have in England. The next stop is Fern's. A block down is the Red Room, which has an awesome jukebox. It's a great little watering hole. And then the V room. At this point, you're good and drunk, so you want to jump in a cab and go over to Alex's—he's a great guy; it's a great place—and then cab home after that. That's a good night out in Long Beach. And if anyone likes British football, which is soccer, they should go check out the British Dominion Social Club in Garden Grove and become a member.
