Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Holy crap! I still can’t believe Chuck Dukowski Sextet is going to play our next Save Music in Chinatown punk rock matinee/benefit show. I’ve never met the original bass player for Black Flag in person–although I’ve talked to him on the phone and seen him play a few times (pics below)–so it was a long shot when I asked. But not only were he and his wife/partner/collaborator/inspiration Lora Norton down but he added that they were fans of GR magazine and loved Chinatown, too. Yes, I have been stoked ever since. To get all of you as amped up for the show as I am, here’s a quick Q&A with Chuck and Lora about their post-punk jazz combo, family, art, and Chinatown. MW: So amped that your combo will be playing our benefit for kids in Chinatown. Can you tell me about the Sextet’s impressions on the neighborhood? Memories of music or otherwise? CD: I’ll always remember playing The Hong Kong Cafe with Black Flag. It was an important rite of passage. At the time The Hong Kong was the place that you really strived to play. I remember seeing The Germs, X, The Plugz, and so many great bands in Chinatown. The whole plaza became a punk rock mecca. If people couldn’t afford to get inside, they would hang out outside where they could still hear the music. I always made of point of paying to see bands because I wanted to support everyone’s efforts. Back then almost every band you saw was really good. LN: Chinatown is one of the best places in Los Angeles. Just recently, Chuck and I went to an opening at Shepard Fairey’s gallery on Sunset and we went to eat at Ocean Seafood on Hill. We often have Dim Sum there, too. I bought a beautiful and weird sculpture of rats and peaches at Wing Hop Fung on Broadway. That is the best store! I love the architectural aesthetic of Chinatown; it’s so over the top. I am glad to see all the art galleries but I wish they still had venues for bands! MW: I saw that the CD6 played Historical Monument #157 recently, which is just north of Chinatown on Broadway. How was that spot? That gig? LN: We had a great time at HM157! It is a beautiful old Victorian mansion with colored glass windows and a lovely big porch. I am an architecture nerd so it was a real joy to play the spot. When I was a teenager no one dared to have shows somewhere so pretty and fragile. The audience would just destroy things. It is life affirming that young audiences can dig heavy music yet not thrash their environment. And I have the best time playing with young bands. I feel very lucky to play in a band with my oldest son and that his generation embraces us. MW: It seems like the CD6 just starting to play out a bunch of shows. Do you get into...
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The 20 Years Art + Mag and SuperAwesome: Art and Giant Robot shows at GR2 and the Oakland Museum of California, respectively, are coming up soon and Eric has assembled stellar lineups that boast many of the biggest-name artists who have appeared in the magazine and galleries. So many familiar faces, such great talent. The twentieth anniversary celebrations of Giant Robot’s first issue will be a blast, and I hope that some of you are able to attend them.
While I have not been involved in either event in any manner—art galleries and art shows are for artists not editors, I understand—I’d like to recall some other folks who were essential to my favorite magazine’s 16 years of publication.
King Buzzo played his first ever acoustic set at the Satellite last night and it was amazing. I really didn’t know what to expect when Scion announced the free show. Would it be Melvins Lite light? Were marshmallows going to be provided for “Kumbaya” moments? No way. It was heavy as shit, with Buzzo singing as if he heard the bone-crushing music of the Melvins in his fuzzy head while trying to break his acoustic axe’s unorthodox-tuned strings with every stroke. The badass set started with a super dark Alice Cooper cover and ended with my favorite Japanese psychedelic doom metal band’s namesake song, “Boris.” Somewhere in the middle of the show he previewed a cut off his upcoming album and surveyed a bunch of Melvins tunes. It was great. You had to be there–or not. There was a ton of SLR-wielding dudes filming the event so you should be able to check it out on the Scion AV site one of these days… Props to Tweak Bird for playing a far-out opening set. I arrived half-way through and was stuck in the back of the room, too far to take photos, but they ripped. BONUS REVIEWS You might have noticed that the GR site went down a week or so ago. Here are some friends’ shows that were casualties but need to be on this blog… Dum Dum Girls record release show at The Echo on January 28. I like the new LP but the new songs sound even better with the proper band propelled by my pal Sandy Vu’s killer chops and beats. Killer set of psychedelic pop goth with an extra dude added for bonus texture. I expect this lineup to be out of their collective minds by the time they hit Coachella. A Minor Forest at The Satellite on February 8. Back in the day, drummer Andee Conners stayed at my house with J Church, P.E.E., and this band, A Minor Forest, which just got back together for some reunion shows. They were tighter, heavier, and more mathy than ever. Perhaps more fun, too. So great to seeing him and the dudes in action and hanging out on the sidewalk, as well as opener Rob Crow. Kevin Seconds at Amoeba Hollywood on February 13. Okay, I don’t personally know the singer from 7 Seconds but Eloise is now part of the youth crew after attending the in-store commemorating his great new solo album. Accompanied by his wife Allyson and Kepi Ghoulie, the new songs aren’t meandering singer-songwriter stuff but brief, earnest bursts of energy that rip. Sound familiar? Save Music in Chinatown 2 on February 9 at Human Resources. Our fundraising has now reached about $7,500 to put toward music education at Castelar Education in Chinatown. The lineup of our second benefit matinee was a dream for me: DJ Adam Bomb from KXLU’s Bomb Shelter played first-generation L.A. punk and hardcore (Weirdos, Circle Jerks, X, Dils, Adolescents…) complemented by vintage 7″ singles from my friends from...
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King Buzzo played his first ever acoustic set at the Satellite last night and it was amazing. I really didn’t know what to expect when Scion announced the free show. Would it be Melvins Lite light? Were marshmallows going to be provided for “Kumbaya” moments? No way. It was heavy as shit, with Buzzo singing as if he heard the bone-crushing music of the Melvins in his fuzzy head while trying to break his acoustic axe’s unorthodox-tuned strings with every stroke. The badass set started with a super dark Alice Cooper cover and ended with my favorite Japanese psychedelic doom metal band’s namesake song, “Boris.” Somewhere in the middle of the show he previewed a cut off his upcoming album and surveyed a bunch of Melvins tunes. It was great. You had to be there–or not. There was a ton of SLR-wielding dudes filming the event so you should be able to check it out on the Scion AV site one of these days… Props to Tweak Bird for playing a far-out opening set. I arrived half-way through and was stuck in the back of the room, too far to take photos, but they ripped. BONUS REVIEWS You might have noticed that the GR site went down a week or so ago. Here are some friends’ shows that were casualties but need to be on this blog… Dum Dum Girls record release show at The Echo on January 28. I like the new LP but the new songs sound even better with the proper band propelled by my pal Sandy Vu’s killer chops and beats. Killer set of psychedelic pop goth with an extra dude added for bonus texture. I expect this lineup to be out of their collective minds by the time they hit Coachella. A Minor Forest at The Satellite on February 8. Back in the day, drummer Andee Conners stayed at my house with J Church, P.E.E., and this band, A Minor Forest, which just got back together for some reunion shows. They were tighter, heavier, and more mathy than ever. Perhaps more fun, too. So great to seeing him and the dudes in action and hanging out on the sidewalk, as well as opener Rob Crow. Kevin Seconds at Amoeba Hollywood on February 13. Okay, I don’t personally know the singer from 7 Seconds but Eloise is now part of the youth crew after attending the in-store commemorating his great new solo album. Accompanied by his wife Allyson and Kepi Ghoulie, the new songs aren’t meandering singer-songwriter stuff but brief, earnest bursts of energy that rip. Sound familiar? Save Music in Chinatown 2 on February 9 at Human Resources. Our fundraising has now reached about $7,500 to put toward music education at Castelar Education in Chinatown. The lineup of our second benefit matinee was a dream for me: DJ Adam Bomb from KXLU’s Bomb Shelter played first-generation L.A. punk and hardcore (Weirdos, Circle Jerks, X, Dils, Adolescents…) complemented by vintage 7″ singles from my friends from...
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Yes, it’s awesome to throw DIY benefit shows to raise money for music education my daughter’s elementary school and great to help the community where my grandparents and in-laws have hung out. But on a purely selfish level, it gives me an excuse to work with some of my favorite bands and people. So while I have Mike Magrann committed to playing our February 9 show at Human Resources, I figured I’d ask him the latest about Channel 3. They were OG punks on Posh Boy records, they were on not one but two Rodney on the ROQ compilations, and now they are playing Save Music in Chinatown. Rad! CH3 seems to be playing more than ever. How did this run of shows begin? As we grow more, ahem, mature it is a lot tougher to get us four guys together for a weekend jaunt or two-week tour but we do okay. And it seems that playing out a lot breeds more gigs, ya know? If we can make a point to hit certain cities or go to Europe each summer, then we can count on the shows being a little better next time through. A few more familiar faces and–most importantly–we know the good places to eat! You’ve been touring with friends, playing festivals, and getting your portrait done by the dude who draws Allroy and Milo. Why are you playing our rinky dink benefit? Ha! It’s all due to the persistent nagging of one Martin Wong! But it’s actually an honor to be able to put your music to a good use, and music education is something near and dear to our hearts. Kimm and I, who are famously friends since second grade, always shared a love of music growing up and we actually learned to play guitars together at an after-school program in seventh grade. Besides, it’s always nice to play at venues out of the norm. I mean, we’ve played enough 1 a.m. sets at mildewy dive bars to last a lifetime. Let us do a matinee with cookies and coffee once in a while, for God’s sake! Did your band play much in Chinatown back in the day? Got any stories? We played at Wong’s Chinatown venue once but it was well after its prime. But we did play a lot at Esther’s Santa Monica venue, where she would always chase us out of the kitchen for making out with girls and trying to steal beer! Our first-ever gig after making the Posh Boy EP was across town at the Brave Dog on 1st Street… Whenever I Google Channel 3 or look up the hashtag on Instagram, I always see Thai TV starlets. Do you know anything about that scene? I know, right? All I know is we get an awful lot of posts on our Facebook page in Lanna and Lao script! I don’t know what the hell they’re saying but a fan’s a fan, even if they do think they’re logging onto their fave soap opera page! Looking back, pre-Interweb, it was a pretty bad idea naming the band CH3. You Google...
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