Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

Cambodia finally has its first entry into the Academy Awards and the movie is now showing at the Art Theatre in Long Beach. In The Missing Picture, director Rithy Panh combines hand-carved figures with archival photos and footage to retell his experiences surviving the Khmer Rouge. The artful and affecting documentary is packed with style, intelligence, and heart, and there really is no other movie like it. At a special screening on Saturday, March 1 at 3:00 p.m., the director will be on hand to introduce the movie and take part in a panel that also features producer Catherine Dussart, French narrator Randal Douc, and composer Marc Marder. Adding extra perspective are Chhom Nimol from Dengue Fever, Prach Ly from the Cambodia Town Film Festival, Anderson Le from the Hawaii International Film Festival, and yours truly. Moderating will be my friend Julia Huang from interTrend. Check out the trailer, below, and get tickets at arttheatrelongbeach.com. It’s the same price as a regular show even though you also get the panel discussion, a dance performance, and a reception with food and drink… Or reach out to me directly and I’ll see what I can do for you. More press, in case you aren’t sold yet. Hope to see you there! “Startlingly, Panh tells his story through a mixture of Khmer Rouge propaganda newsreels and little clay figurines. It was perhaps the only way of managing the devastating memories.” – The Guardian “Panh’s remarkable new documentary works as a survivor’s testament, a film about memory and loss–and as a self-reflexive essay asking how atrocities should be depicted on screen.” – The Independent “The Missing Picture is personal and unexpected, a documentary that mixes media in an unusual way to very potent effect.” – The Los Angeles Times “The film, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, uses miniature clay figures and archival newsreels to recount Mr. Panh’s childhood memories—the missing pictures of the title.” – The Wall Street Journal
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I met Pat Hoed when he was playing bass for Down By Law. It was after the Chemical People moved on as Dave Smalley’s backing band, and I recall that lineup playing at Jabberjaw as well as releasing a pretty great double 7 inch. Actually, I interviewed them for Flipside, too, and I fondly recall having pato and chips with Pat and Jaime Piña at Jaime’s pad after a Chems show… Since then, our paths have continued to cross. Way back when it would be at the Hollywood Book and Poster booth at Comic-Con and then at underground wrestling events (where Pat did commentary as Larry Rivera) in the alley behind Mondo Video A-Go-Go on Vermont. Afterward, it was at Brujeria gigs (the Satanic drug-dealing Mexican death metal band in which he donned the bandana and sang as Fantasma, whom I interviewed along with Pinche Pinch for Giant Robot) and punk movie premieres (We Jam Econo, Filmage). But what came to mind as I was setting up the next Save Music in Chinatown show was him playing vintage punk and hardcore records as Adam Bomb, his alias for the famous KXLU hardcore show, The Final Countdown. I can’t believe that my old friend and L.A. punk mainstay (who was in Nip Drivers, Left Insane, and a ton of other bands) said yes. Really stoked that you’re contributing to our benefit! Did you go to punk shows in Chinatown back in the day? Hello, glad to be a part of this! When those Chinatown shows were happening, I wasn’t able to drive. The Hong Kong Cafe seemed so far away. And out here in Los Feliz, I was alone on punker island. None of my friends wanted anything to do with this strange music so I was confined to shows at Baces Hall and the Other Masque that was on Santa Monica and Vine. Good times, man! Last time I saw Adam Bomb in action was the closing of Track 16 with Middle Class and Meat Puppets. You played a great set. Do people ask you to come out and play records very often? That was a great show and I thank Jordan and Dave of We Got Power for the opportunity to have played that one. I don’t get too many invitations these days. I also still play bass in quite a few bands so I think it’s hard for people to distinguish my true aim: bass or DJ? It would be nice to pick up some more DJ action but with so many people doing it these days, it’s tough. Maybe I need some “representation.” How many bands are you in currently, anyway? Right now there is The Golden Rulers, Black Widows, The Probe, and The Rush Riddle Orchestra. I’ll let you know if anything else comes along. I’ll never get tired of bass! Do most people on the street know you as Adam, Pat, or Fantasma? All three! I don’t mind it–but don’t forget Larry Rivera! Anything else...
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I met Pat Hoed when he was playing bass for Down By Law. It was after the Chemical People moved on as Dave Smalley’s backing band, and I recall that lineup playing at Jabberjaw as well as releasing a pretty great double 7 inch. Actually, I interviewed them for Flipside, too, and I fondly recall having pato and chips with Pat and Jaime Piña at Jaime’s pad after a Chems show… Since then, our paths have continued to cross. Way back when it would be at the Hollywood Book and Poster booth at Comic-Con and then at underground wrestling events (where Pat did commentary as Larry Rivera) in the alley behind Mondo Video A-Go-Go on Vermont. Afterward, it was at Brujeria gigs (the Satanic drug-dealing Mexican death metal band in which he donned the bandana and sang as Fantasma, whom I interviewed along with Pinche Pinch for Giant Robot) and punk movie premieres (We Jam Econo, Filmage). But what came to mind as I was setting up the next Save Music in Chinatown show was him playing vintage punk and hardcore records as Adam Bomb, his alias for the famous KXLU hardcore show, The Final Countdown. I can’t believe that my old friend and L.A. punk mainstay (who was in Nip Drivers, Left Insane, and a ton of other bands) said yes. Really stoked that you’re contributing to our benefit! Did you go to punk shows in Chinatown back in the day? Hello, glad to be a part of this! When those Chinatown shows were happening, I wasn’t able to drive. The Hong Kong Cafe seemed so far away. And out here in Los Feliz, I was alone on punker island. None of my friends wanted anything to do with this strange music so I was confined to shows at Baces Hall and the Other Masque that was on Santa Monica and Vine. Good times, man! Last time I saw Adam Bomb in action was the closing of Track 16 with Middle Class and Meat Puppets. You played a great set. Do people ask you to come out and play records very often? That was a great show and I thank Jordan and Dave of We Got Power for the opportunity to have played that one. I don’t get too many invitations these days. I also still play bass in quite a few bands so I think it’s hard for people to distinguish my true aim: bass or DJ? It would be nice to pick up some more DJ action but with so many people doing it these days, it’s tough. Maybe I need some “representation.” How many bands are you in currently, anyway? Right now there is The Golden Rulers, Black Widows, The Probe, and The Rush Riddle Orchestra. I’ll let you know if anything else comes along. I’ll never get tired of bass! Do most people on the street know you as Adam, Pat, or Fantasma? All three! I don’t mind it–but don’t forget Larry Rivera! Anything else...
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Of course, Money Mark was featured in the pages of Giant Robot mag many times and even played our big outdoor show in the streets of Little Tokyo with J Church and the Red Aunts. That must have been in 1995 or so. I still buy his records and go to his shows whenever I can, in recent years at JANM, The Troubadour, Amoeba, Spaceland (with the Mattson 2), and that HUF show with Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, and Fredo Ortiz (where I shot the pics above and below). Mark’s bands and sets are always different but the music is as grooving as it is experimental and straight from the heart. His songs are impossible to dislike. He’s the reason why Check Your Head and Ill Communications are the heaviest Beastie Boys albums.

It was just a few weeks ago that I reconnected with Mark at the Troubadour, where Fredo’s Bongoloidz were playing a show. We caught up with each other regarding our gigs and our kids, and of course I mentioned that my wife and I started a series of DIY benefit concerts to raise money for music education at our daughter’s school. When he said that he’d play our show, I said no way. It’s too small. Then he said, “Really, I would.”

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Of course, Money Mark was featured in the pages of Giant Robot mag many times and even played our big outdoor show in the streets of Little Tokyo with J Church and the Red Aunts. That must have been in 1995 or so. I still buy his records and go to his shows whenever I can, in recent years at JANM, The Troubadour, Amoeba, Spaceland (with the Mattson 2), and that HUF show with Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, and Fredo Ortiz (where I shot the pics above and below). Mark’s bands and sets are always different but the music is as grooving as it is experimental and straight from the heart. His songs are impossible to dislike. He’s the reason why Check Your Head and Ill Communications are the heaviest Beastie Boys albums.

It was just a few weeks ago that I reconnected with Mark at the Troubadour, where Fredo’s Bongoloidz were playing a show. We caught up with each other regarding our gigs and our kids, and of course I mentioned that my wife and I started a series of DIY benefit concerts to raise money for music education at our daughter’s school. When he said that he’d play our show, I said no way. It’s too small. Then he said, “Really, I would.”

Continue reading