The Clash (Band)

Manic Hispanic: ¡Pinche Punks!

Two decades of the greatest cult band (and Mexicans) in Orange County history

The Five Must-See Shows in OC This Week

Monday, April 29 The Originalites Gallagher's Pub & Grill Since coming together as teenagers (and later recruiting saxophonist Mike Belk after an impromptu jam session at a local gig), The Originalites have risen high in the ranks of Orange County's local music scene in the span of only five year ... More >>

Thicker Than Thieves

The Slidebar

The 50 Commandments of SXSW

By: DC9 At Night You're going to South by Southwest, right? Or you're already there? One of those things is bound to be true. Well, we here at DC9 have got some advice for you, and we've managed to format it all into the style of commandments, because one of our favorite things to do is pretend we' ... More >>

Let Fury Have the Hour Revists the Dark Days of Reagan-Thatcher to Paint a Bright Future

Moving crap from one corner of my garage to another a couple weekends ago, I set my eyes for the first time in years on an OC Weekly cover tied to a story I'd written. It was an illustration of Ronald Reagan with the headline "The President Who Created Punk Rock" (or something like that; I'm too laz ... More >>

10 Brushes with Celebrities in Orange County, Both Major and Very Minor in 2012

Moving cameras are nothing new to Orange County, where countless motion pictures have been shot, movie stars have frolicked and resided and, in more recent years, reality television stars have made our Plasticland "real."But though we're a short distance/long commute from being Hollywood adjacent, w ... More >>

Long Beach Lunch: The Pike Restaurant and Bar

More often than not, The Pike is the dark, punk-rock-slash-nautical-themed hole I wander into on blurry nights when I do not mind drinking in a crowded room of hipster egos along Fourth Street's dive-bar corridor. Once inside the piercing blue neon lighted structure, the busy decor inevitably falls ... More >>

What to Look for in Rage Against the Machine's 20th Anniversary Box Set

On November 10, 1992, Rage Against the Machine released their self-titled debut assault of rap-rock radicalism upon the music world. Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford combined their collective talents together as the Epic release would eventually peak at No. 1 on the Billbo ... More >>

The English Beat Are Still the Big Shots of 2 Tone Ska

Front man Dave Wakeling Explains how a bunch of UK punks became kings of island riddim

Julie Delpy Rocks 'New York'

Always more than an ingenue, she's taking on everything that's wrong with movies—and she's bringing Chris Rock

Pre-School Punks

[Ask Exene] Dressing your baby in band T-shirts doesn't alone make you a cool parent

[Ask Exene] Dressing your baby in band T-shirts doesn't alone make you a cool parent

Exene Cervenka is a writer, visual artist and punk rock pioneer. The OC transplant is the lead singer for X, the Knitters and Original Sinners. If you want to ask the legendary vocalist for advice, send an email to askexene@ocweekly.com. DEAR EXENE, As a relatively new parent in my mid-20s, I ... More >>

Jenny Lewis

The Observatory

The Black Keys Vs. Nickelback and The Death of The Rock Feud

​This week, Pat Carney of The Black Keys 'apologized' to Nickelback regarding his 'controversial' yet true comments about the Canadian quintet. In my eyes, the drummer of the Akron-bred band had no reason to apologize, true or not true. Over the past decade or so, rock (not hip-hop, which deserves ... More >>

Black Sabbath and Other Bands That Almost Played Coachella

​To cap off Coachella week, we here at Heard Mentality were bummed to find out that Black Sabbath were reportedly slated to headline one of the nights, but due to Tony Iommi's battle with lymphoma (get better Tony!), the band had to pull out from what would a great kickoff to the band's 2012 tour. ... More >>

Happy Birthday Mick Jones! Five Facts You Probably Didn't Know About the Foreigner Guitarist

​So what if Foreigner's Mick Jones is the less seminal/famous Mick Jones? The guitarist and songwriter of the schmaltzy arena-ready pop-rock band of the '70s is still making more money from Foreigner albums than the Clash ever did (with over 50 million records sold worldwide). At any rate, Jones i ... More >>

Jim Lindberg of Pennywise and Black Pacific on The Other F Word: 'I Check My Kids' Facebook Profiles Regularly'

​Jim LIndberg's 2008 book Punk Rock Dad: No Rules, Just Real Life described how the Lindberg, the man who sang "Fuck Authority" for the punk rock band Pennywise, raised three daughters. It was such an inspiring story that director Andrea Nevins offered to make a documentary on Lindberg and his fam ... More >>

The Static Jacks On Being Young, Dropping Out and Fearless Records

Michael Nika​Some bands devote short eternities to toiling away at their craft, playing shows wherever they can, and getting acquainted with industry folk, only for things to never really pan out. The Static Jacks aren't one of those bands. In 2007, the Westfield, NJ-based four-piece were in t ... More >>

Big Audio Dynamite at the City National Grove of Anaheim Last Night

Andrew Youssef/OC Weekly​Big Audio DynamiteAug. 11, 2011City National Grove of AnaheimHow do you know you're in the presence of greatness? That's a tough question to answer, especially when you're watching a front man who has been part of two majorly influential musical acts. The thing about watch ... More >>

Last Night: Green Day at the Tiki Bar

Remember way back when. . . ​Green DayAugust 11, 2011Tiki Bar Click here to see some images from outside Tiki Bar that night.I'm not gonna lie: I (shamelessly) tried every route possible to get into last night's ultra intimate, ultra special Green Day show at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa. I emailed ... More >>

Ten Songs That Foreshadowed the 2011 UK Riots

Beacon Radio (Creative Commons NC)​Watching footage of the UK riots has been shocking, scary and difficult, but the British have a history of taking to the streets in times of social upheaval as an act of defiance. The proof is in songs by its musicians: everyone from the Clash to Morrissey to Mot ... More >>

Garageland, a Joe Strummer Tribute, at 2nd Floor Last Night

Taylor HambyDuane Peters' Joe Strummer-inspired art.​GaragelandAug 3, 20112nd FloorDirectly above the mayhem from the U.S. Open of Surfing on Main Street in Huntington Beach, a celebration of three other cultures gathered: punk rock, art and skateboarding. "Garageland" was a tribute to Joe Strumme ... More >>

Songs About Girls From A(lison) to Z(ebulon), Part 1

​Music geeks, rejoice! Here's the ultimate list for you--a song with a girl's name in the title for each letter of the alphabet. We dug up everything from custy Beach Boys songs to deep cuts by the Smashing Pumpkins (who, by the way, have an inordinate amount of songs titled with girls' names, odd ... More >>

The Buzzcocks: Possessed by the Spirit of '76

Steve Diggle says the punk rock way of looking at the world is just as relevant today as it ever was.

Ah, the Why-Can't-They-Just Wait-in-Line Myth!

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And the securing-the-border myth! In the same week!

Welcome to Sharks Week!

Come sink your teeth into some old-school young-guy punk rock

Coachella: Big Audio Dynamite Nostalgia Not Enough; Animal Collective Needs More Weird

Animal Collective promo shot because iPhone camera FAIL​Big Audio Dynamite was one of my favorite bands when I was a tween. My friends and I even illustrated their songs in classroom doodles. But I'm not in the mood for nostalgia, just some psychedelic, mind-contorting reverb after three songs by ... More >>

Five Music Biopics We'd Like To See

​ Over the last decade, Hollywood has pumped out an increasing number of music biopics, treating us to everything from enjoyable theatrical hits (8 Mile) to wobbly, tear-jerking cable duds (Take Me Home: The John Denver Story). With Jeff Buckley, Sam Cooke and Clash movies in the works and rumor ... More >>

Cold War Kids Go to Coachella

Artist Matt Maust is also a bass player!

The Upsetter

Art Theatre

American Hi-Fi's Front Man Stacy Jones: 'I Just Turned 40, and I Have Not Had a Real Job'

​"American Hi-Fi has become kind of an inside joke for the four of us," says front man Stacy Jones by phone from his downtown Los Angeles home. "It's become kind of this boy's club where we drink beer and we watch sports and we play rock music."  Not an entirely bad gig: over the span of thei ... More >>

Damon Albarn Creates Yet ANOTHER Supergroup, This Time With RHCP Bassist Flea

Andrew Youssef/OC Weekly​Damon Albarn isn't even finished touring with his other supergroup, Gorillaz (read our review of the LA show here) before he's confirming that he's almost done recording his album with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea.Talk about keeping busy!

Gorillaz at the Gibson Amphitheater Last Night

Andrew Youssef/OC Weekly​GorillazOctober 27, 2010Gibson AmphitheaterSee the slideshow here! After playing a solid headlining slot at Coachella, Gorillaz brought their full stage production and a slew of guest all-stars for a blistering performance last night at the Gibson Amphitheater. The first a ... More >>

DJ/Promoter Ana Calderon: 'I Think A Lot of DJs Hate Me Because...I Made the Promoter/DJ Situation Become More of a Norm.'

Doug Neil/OC WeeklyDJ Ana Calderon (with hat) at a recent Club Mesa event. To her left is SUN Group co-founder Brendan Thomas.​If you're one of the lucky ticket bearers, the doors of the Fox Pomona will part Oct. 19 so you can witness the sold-out, ethereal post-punk glory of Interpol.  Arriv ... More >>

Sesame Street vs. Yo Gabba Gabba! The Musical Battle for Your Kids' Coolness

Sesame Street​Sesame Street wants your kids to be cool. And not by learning the alphabet, easy addition or "good government bullshit" (sorry, it's the 20th anniversary of the release of GoodFellas).No, they're doing it through pop music.This week, The Street (I hear that's what the cool toddlers a ... More >>

Lee Rocker Says You Don't Have to Cuff Your Jeans to Be Rockabilly

Andrew Youssef / OC WeeklyLee Rocker rocks with the Stray Cats in 2008 at the OC Fair.​Last Friday, we posted a Burger Records interview that didn't make it into this week's feature about Orange County's music scenes. Today, we've got a Q&A that we did while trying to figure out what was up wi ... More >>

Powerman 5000 Power Through

​ The man behind Powerman 5000 (aka PM5K), Spider One, doesn't sound like he wears chains and studded necklaces for a living. But one of the original purveyors of nu-metal (Powerman 5000 hit it big in the late '90s with their songs "When Worlds Collide," "Nobody's Real" and "Supernova Goes Pop") ... More >>

Lay It Down, Clowns!

[Locals Only] Yeastie Boys fight for their right to play punk covers

Lemon Sun Swim With The Fishes

​This Friday, Los Angeles band Lemon Sun will be playing a show at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific with a host of other vintage-rock minded DJs and bands. Lemon Sun vocalist Rob Kolar explains that playing  for a captive audience of sea creatures will be a first."We just don't want the ... More >>

No More AC/DC! Five Songs That Should Be On A Blockbuster Action Movie Soundtrack

​I spent Memorial Day taking my son to Iron Man 2, and while watching -- or rather listening to -- the movie, I became depressed. The original Iron Man soundtrack had Suicidal Tendencies and Ghostface Killah tracks. The sequel, though, is wall-to-wall Angus Young, which gave me a massive Batd ... More >>

Hugh Cornwell Gets a Grip

Former front man of punk pioneers the Stranglers has a firm hold on the present

New Year's Eve Party Playlist

Looking for some tunes to blast at the bash you're hosting tonight? Or maybe to crank up in the car on your way to a slamming soiree? Here's my New Year's Eve Party Playlist, featuring the best from the past year and stone cold classics. Enjoy. Flickr user Sada 1988Click song title for YouTube clip ... More >>

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwrtten

Long Beach Art Theatre

LowBallVideoChatter: LynnMarie & the Boxhounds, "Squeeze Box" (plus Grammy rant)

God, I hate the stupid fucking Grammy Awards, an annual music industry wank-off that I've seriously been railing against ever since I was 12 -- in 1980, the year wus-pop icon Christopher Cross swept all the big awards, beating out classic recordings like Pink Floyd's The Wall (which somehow flew und ... More >>

Because You're Ugly: Baby Wit!

It's never too early to start raising your little anarchist. Baby Wit has been selling its unique range of baby and toddler clothing since 2003, with their offerings of Sonic Youth, Billy Bragg, Edgar Allan Poe, the Smiths, Hitchcock and the Clash onesies and even some pieces by artists Meomi and N ... More >>

And!

  The bassist for The Good, the Bad and the Queen: Paul Simonon (of the Clash!), wielding his bass guitar like a tommy gun, seemed to pose for the cameras as much as possible. Even Damon Albarn might've been a little jealous. 

In Brief: The Official Will Swaim Playlist

I'm sure by now that most of you who read this are aware our editor-in-chief, Will Swaim, has resigned. What you may not be aware of, however, is our boss's penchant for singing—constantly. Seriously. Dude sings more than Rebecca Schoenkopf does. Which is A LOT. Anyway. In memorium, I'm posti ... More >>

!Ask a Mexican!

'Anyone who needs to ask why people dance to Los Tigres del Norte has no soul or is a gabacho'

Brown and Down

What's Humming Through the Skulls of Orange County?