Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Back in the stone age/print era, we used to have a section of Giant Robot mag where we would invite friends and family to share My Perfect Day. Sometimes they were were artists, musicians, or filmmakers providing a glimpse into their awesome lives. More often they were regular dudes like you or me, simply enjoying and showing off their beloved hometowns.
I’ve been blogging a lot about the rad bands that are playing our next DIY punk matinee (The Chuck Dukowski Sextet, California) as well as how it’s going to benefit public schoolkids in Chinatown by paying for their music education. So you already know about it being a killer show for a great cause. But it’s also important to me is that people come to the neighborhood where my grandparents, in-laws, and now my daughter have spend time and have a rad day.
We get to see some pretty rad shows here in Los Angeles. Of course, the thing is that you have to leave your house on cold (about 50 degrees, for us) winter nights and sometimes it even drizzles. Yeah, it’s rough. But how can I not see a rare show by The Muffs when they’re playing about two miles away just on the other end of the Silver Lake Reservoir?
We get to see some pretty rad shows here in Los Angeles. Of course, the thing is that you have to leave your house on cold (about 50 degrees, for us) winter nights and sometimes it even drizzles. Yeah, it’s rough. But how can I not see a rare show by The Muffs when they’re playing about two miles away just on the other end of the Silver Lake Reservoir?
Descendents at GV30
Before Goldenvoice promoted mega shows at Coachella, Staples, and Nokia, I knew the promoter’s name from flyers that I’d pick up at Zed Records, which also sold tickets to their shows at like Fender’s, Bogart’s, and the Palladium. Goldenvoice was the first promoter to book punk shows at “real” venues, giving chances to California bands that were treated like threats by the mainstream (Black Flag, Dead Kennedys) as well as touring bands that only got played by Rodney on the Roq (Damned, 999). My dorm rooms were decorated with those flyers, as well as posters for shows like PiL, Siouxsie, and the Jesus & Mary Chain, which also had the logo. This weekend, Goldenvoice honcho Gary Tovar booked three nights at the Santa Monica Civic (scene of early shows by The Clash and The Jam, not to mention Urgh! A Music War) to celebrate 30 years of business but also the roots of L.A. punk.