Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Before starting his set, Keith Morris explained why OFF! wanted to have its eponymous LP release show at the Whisky. Even though the Sunset Strip landmark is now a cheesy venue that seems more concerned with selling drinks to poseurs and T-shirts to tourists than rad shows, it is a symbol of L.A.’s matchless musical history from psychedelic rock like the Doors and Love to first-generation punks the Germs and X to more recent metal shows that even I saw like Guns ‘n’ Roses and Michael Monroe (not to mention touring bands like SNFU, Scream, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, NOFX, and Green Day, as well as the first Descendents reunion shows…). Add to that OFF!
Openers Spider Fever seemed to soak up some of the venue’s psychedelic past with the elevated stage and high-end light system actually adding some unintentional-yet-not-inappropriate flair to their tweaked take on garage rock ‘n’ roll. I saw OFF! drummer Mario Rubalcaba front the band with his upside-down guitar and no-nonsense singing before playing with Hot Snakes not long ago, but this show seemed even tighter and actually more fun. After seeing the band a few times, it almost seems like the meeting point of many of Mario’s bands: the balls-out rock of RFTC, psychedelic aspects of Earthless, rawness of Clikatat Ikatowi, and energy of OFF! I was stoked to pick up the band’s amazing full-length LP, and you should get it, too.
The Morning Benders/POP ETC outside The Troubadour (March 25, 2010)
A lot has happened since the last time I talked to Chris Chu. In 2010, The Morning Benders were headlining a sold-out Troubadour with rows of fans camped out in front of the stage hoping to hear masterful and sometimes even orchestral indie rock such as “Excuses” from up close. Since then, Chu and his band has changed their name to POP ETC (turns out benders is derogatory slang for gays in Europe) and the sound has undergone an overhaul, as well. In anticipation of the self-titled new album (which comes out on June 12) the band released a raw, self-directed video as well as a mixtape of bold, R&B-derived pop complete with Auto-Tuned vocals last week. The transformation seemed crazy until I realized that the band has never been afraid of production and that David Bowie followed up Diamond Dogs with Young Americans and Altered Images added as much polish between Pinky Blue and Bite. Chu and POP ETC look young but have toured with the likes of Broken Bells, The Black Keys, Grizzly Bear, and Death Cab for Cutie and know what they’re doing. I hit up Chris on the new songs and sounds.
MW: Can you tell me about the mixtape? Is it experiments, outtakes, or something else?
CC: The mixtape is actually a collection of all original songs (except for the cover of Björk) recorded around the same time as our new album. Basically, when we started recording we realized the songs were divided into two families. One group became the mixtape and one became the POP ETC album.
There are plenty of “endless running” games out there. And some of them are pretty fun. But how many have psychedelic monsters, clobbering-time gloves, perishing children, and a truly ripping soundtrack by one of the raddest bands ever? Escape from Age of Monsters has all that, not to mention inside jokes ranging from Fat Albert to Michael Jackson to Tiger Mom. I had to ask Mayuko Okai, my friend and guitarist for The Binges, and Michael Su, CEO and co-founder of Massive Joe Studios, how the new iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad game went from finger-tapping addictive to head-banging awesome.
MW: Michael, how did you decide to get a real rock band like The Binges involved in Escape from Age of Monsters instead of a circus-like 8-bit soundtrack?
MS: We knew from the get-go that this had to have a metal soundtrack. Given our indie nature, we thought it’d be cool to find an up-and-coming band to work with rather than just getting a game composer. Our CTO had been to a Binges show in the past and suggested them. We went on YouTube, saw how they killed it on stage, and we knew we wanted to work with them. Boy, did we luck out!
Went to a couple of last-minutes shows recently… I had noticed that the Lee Ranaldo Band would be playing the Satellite not much more than a mile from home a couple of Tuesdays ago, but didn’t decide to go until I realized that (1) his songs were some of my favorites on the last two Sonic Youth albums and (2) my friend Gabie’s band was opening. How could I not go?
Even though I was the designated “curator” of Saturday afternoon’s Animal Style skate video program at FAAIM’s annual film festival, there was still some room for surprise. I had actually never seen Chiayo!, the third video released by the preduce shops/crew from Bangkok. But I had a feeling it would totally rip just like its predecessors, and that is exactly what happened. Loosely framed by a self-deprecating bachelor party theme that channels the spirit of the Bones Brigade, it shows shredding from all over Thailand, China, and even the United States. Next-level skating, crazy style, and amazing scenery leads up to Lert Saeri absolutely killing it in the final sequence. And if that weren’t enough, there’s a totally rad ’80s Thai new wave soundtrack on top of that!