THE UNRECORDED SYNTHPUNK LEGENDS
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Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of 6 million young people making positive change, online and off! The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page. After you learn something, Do Something! Find out how to take action here.
Texting makes a crash up to 23 times more likely.
Teens who text while driving spend 10% of the time outside their lane.
5 seconds is the minimal amount of attention that a driver who texts takes away from the road if traveling at 55 mph, this equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. According to AT&T’s Teen Driver Survey, 97% of teens agree that texting while driving is dangerous, yet 43% still do it anyway.
19% of drivers of all ages admit to surfing the web while driving.
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43 states, plus D.C., prohibit all drivers from texting.
According to 77% of teens, adults tell them not to text or email while driving, yet adults do it themselves “all the time.”
According to CTIA.org, in the month of June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent or received in the United States, up almost 50% from June 2009.
The most recent National Occupant Protection Use Survey finds that women are more likely than men to reach for their cell phones while driving.
40% of teens say that they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone.
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EDITOR’S RAMBLE
THE JUMBLE
MERCH & MEDIUMS
THE RETURN OF LE SHOK
STORY OF THE SCREAMERS
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Editor | Brett Rodriguez Creative Director | Brett Rodriguez
Editorial
Features Editor | Johnny Rotten Managing Editor | Billie Joe Armstrong Senior Editors | Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool Online Editor | Al Sobrante Food Editor | Guy Fieri Research Editor | Albert Einstein Associate Editor | Darby Crash Staff Writers | Aaron Rodgers, Randall Cobb Assistant Managing Editor | LeJon Brames Associate Online Editor | Keith Morris Writer At Large | Stephen King Online Editorial Assistant | Crash Bandicoot
Design
Associate Art Director | Andy Dwyer Senior Designers | Leslie Knope, Ron Swanson Designer | Tom Haverford
Special Projects
Executive Editor | April Ludgate Senior Editors | Michael Scott, Jim Halpert Photography | Albert Licano, Jenny Lens
Research & Copy
Associate Research Editor | Pam Beasley Researcher | Andy Bernard Copy Editor | Kevin Malone
Black Noise International
Chief Executive Officer | Creed Bratton Chief Operations Officer | Stanley Hudson Chief Financial Officer | David Wallace
Media
Chairman | Eric Foreman President and Chief Operating Officer | Fez Vice Presidents | Donna Pinciotti, Michael Kelso
Main Offices
666 Hell Ct., Temecula, CA 92592; 951-420-6666
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Regional Offices
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W
elcome to the very first issue of Black Noise Magazine, a magazine that is dedicated to helping readers find new artists to listen to, upcoming shows, and interviews! Contrary to about every other punk magazine in existence, here at Black Noise we like to keep a clean and simple design that allows feels less crowded and is more legible because if I’m being honest, we have some pretty great stories and photographs in here. In the very first issue of the magazine, we go over some new bands that you should start listening to, new food places to try, and the passing of legendary Orange County punk rock musician Steve Soto. We also dive into the history of the Screamers, the unrecorded synthpunk legends from Los Angeles. But, the main event is one juicy story. We have the revival of Le Shok, a punk wave band from Long Beach who are reuniting for the first time in 18 years. So grab a beer (or water for the straight edge, we don’t judge) and expand your musical knowledge every month with every issue.
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R.I.P. STEVE SOTO
Soto, who founded punk rock stalwarts the Adolescents and played in a series of bands during nearly 40 years in the Southern California music
scene, has died. He was 54. Adolescents singer Tony Reflex shared the news on the band’s Twitter page. The coroner’s office says Soto died of natural causes Tuesday at home in Orange County. A multi-instrumentalist, Soto played bass in Agent Orange, which he co-founded in 1979. The band was one of the first to combine punk rock and surf music. He left a year later to start the Adolescents, which went on to release eight albums, including 2018’s “Cropduster,” and recently completed a U.S. tour. Soto was also a member of Manic Hispanic and Joyride. Fellow Orange County rockers The Offspring tweeted that Soto was “an inspiration.” Also, the band Social Distortion tweeted that Soto will go down as “one of the pioneers not only in the Orange County music scene, but the world.”
NEW BAND: SHRED BUNDY
Shred Bundy is a 5 piece band that combines multiple genres with an emphasis on horror and gore themes to create raw sounding, gut-wrenching music. “We wanted to come out strong. We were thinking that if we came out like the average band, we weren’t going to be taken seriously. We wanted people to notice us.” Their next show is at Bridgetown DIY in La Puente, an all ages venue.
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ull Metal Burgers brings backyard cooking to the next level by forging handmade smashstyle burgers, pulled chicken and vegetarian choices on a cold-rolled steel griddle. We are committed to juicy, crispy, and aggressively flavorful food with a heavy metal twist. With made-to-order and specialty burgers, additional entrees, meatfree options, and familystyle sides, we offer something for everyone and every event. The burgers are great because they’re not too big, which is a mistake a lot of other
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places make. They pile on topping after topping to make a huge tower of burger-ness only to make it awkward for customers to eat. Full Metal Burgers brings backyard cooking to the next level by forging handmade smash-style burgers, pulled chicken and vegetarian choices on a cold-rolled steel griddle. We are committed to juicy, crispy, and aggressively flavorful food with a heavy metal twist. With madeto-order and specialty burgers, additional entrees, meat-free options, and family-style sides, we offer something for everyone
and every event. The burgers are great because they’re not too big, which is a mistake a lot of other places make. They pile on topping after topping to make a huge tower of burger-ness only to make it awkward for customers to eat. Full Metal Burgers brings backyard cooking to the next level by forging handmade smash-style burgers, pulled chicken and vegetarian choices on a cold-rolled steel griddle. We are committed to juicy, crispy, and aggressively flavorful food with a heavy metal twist. With madeto-order and specialty
burgers, additional entrees, meat-free options, and family-style sides, we offer something for everyone and every event. They pile on topping after topping to make a huge tower of burger-ness only to make it awkward for customers to eat. Full Metal Burgers brings backyard cooking to the next level by forging handmade smash-style burgers, pulled chicken and vegetarian choices on a cold-rolled steel griddle. We are committed to juicy, crispy, and aggressively flavorful food with a heavy metal twist. Full Metal Burgers brings backyard cooking to the next level by forging handmade smash-style burgers, pulled chicken and vegetarian choices on a cold-rolled steel griddle. With madeto-order and specialty burgers, additional entrees, meat-free options, and family-style sides, we offer something for everyone and every event. The burgers are great because they’re not too big, which is a mistake a lot of other places make. They pile on topping after topping to make a huge tower of burger-ness only to make it awkward for customers to eat.
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& M M MERCH & MEDIUMS
MEDIUM DEALS OF THE MONTH Adolescents
Blue Album Vinyl: $12 CD: $08 Tape: $05
Star Fucking Hipsters Until We’re Dead Vinyl: $10 CD: $08
Circle Jerks
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Germs G.I. Vinyl: $12 CD: $08 Tape: $05
the Adicts Sound of Music Vinyl: $14 CD: $10 Tape: $07
Casualties
Group Sex (Original)
Proud to Be Punk (Unreleased)
Tape: $25
Tape: $20
NEW RELEASES THIS MONTH Raukous & Tanzler Split EP Vinyl: $12 CD: $08
Hybrid, Diversity, & 1034 L.A. Resurrection Split CD: $10
Le Shok
Dead Kennedys Too Drunk To Fuck T-Shirt $15
Bad Brains Compression shorts Stance $25
We Are Electrocution (Re-Release) Vinyl: $20 CD: $12 Tape: $06
Shred Bundy
Descendents
California Killcore EP
Socks - Stance
7”: $08 CD: $05 Tape: $05
$15
PATCHES ($2.99 EACH)
Moss! Cleaners / Voodoo 7”: $08 Tape: $05
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By Robert Ham Photography by Albert Licano 16 | Black Noise | 06.2018
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e Shok is a new wave inspired garage punk band from Long Beach, California. Originally formed in 1997 as a reaction to the sad and pathetic state of ‘90s punk, at a time when the majority of the band worked at the legendary Zed Records shop. With influences such as The Fall, Germs, and The Screamers, the band made their mark with a slew of outrageously wild live shows and a snotty, yet highly infectious lo-fi sound. The band released a stockpile of singles (including split singles with Ink & Dagger, Electric Frankenstein, and The Stitches) while only recording one album, We Are Electrocution, recorded in 1999 and originally released on the now-defunct GSL label. In 2018, the original line-up of Le Shok returned to action for a special Burger Boogaloo performance, to coincide with the rerelease of the “We Are Electrocution” album on Burger Records. Since its first incarnation in 2009, Burger Boogaloo has managed to throw a few surprising names into the lineup. In 2014, that included former Ronettes singer Ronnie Spector and ‘70s powerpop legends Milk ‘N’ Cookies. And last year, there were rare appearances by Japanese noise punk trio Guitar Wolf and longstanding roots rock band NRBQ.
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The 2018 installment of the Boogaloo — a festival celebrating punk, garage rock, and psychedelia organized by the folks behind indie label/records shop Burger Records — is no exception, with promised sets from a reunited Hunx and his Punx and the first-ever U.S. show from Japanese group Firestarter. But the name on the poster that has been leaving many a music fan speechless is that of Le Shok. The Long Beach-bred electropunk outfit is set to make its first appearance
on stage in 15 years this weekend at Oakland’s Mosswood Park. If the name isn’t striking a chord with you, don’t let that throw you. Le Shok burned like a firework during their brief five years together, a colorful blast that faded quickly away. The band was something of a sensation in California in those wild, filesharing days of the late ‘90s and early 2000s, known for their confrontational live shows and a vintage sound that emphasized slashing guitars and cheap keyboards. They also released a bunch of records along the way, short run seven-inches and a single LP, We Are Electrocution, that quickly went out of print. Le Shok picked up enough buzz at the time to justify a couple of tours across the U.S., but after numerous lineup changes and some internal tension, the group fizzled out in 2001. As with a lot of cult bands, Le Shok has had plenty of folks championing them since then, including Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, the two friends who started Burger Records in 2007 and have just reissued Electrocution. “I was talking with a friend who worked at Burger a couple of days a week,” recalled Andrew Reizuch, guitarist and cofounder of Le Shok. “And he’s, like, ‘Man, they always talk about you guys and how you were one of their biggest influences on the label when they started out. I bet they’d love to put out Le Shok stuff.’” What began as the former members of the band getting together to hammer out the details about the reissue — and make plans for the record release party and art show they held a couple of weeks ago in their hometown — turned into a reminder of how much they enjoyed one another’s company. That turned into discussions about playing one more 06.2018 | Black Noise | 19
both to celebrate the re-issue and put a positive finishing touch on Le Shok’s history. “I think it’s just the right time with the band,” Reizuch said. “We have the right energy right now, so we’re, like, ‘Fuck it. Let’s do this.’” That kind of attitude is what marked Le Shok’s brief initial existence. Originally the byproduct of a gaggle of employees and hangers-on at the Long Beach shop Zed Records, the quintet was motivated by their attempts to offer up a kind of counterbalance to what they
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saw as the overly macho atmosphere that was permeating the punk scene at the time. So while they played fast-paced, hyperactive music that is easy to slam dance to, everything else about what the band did was a conscious effort to rub against that. They gave themselves a French-sounding name and purposefully used a lot of pink in the artwork for their records. And when singer Todd Jacobs (aka Hot Rod Todd) got up in
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people’s faces during the band’s shows, he’d often give them a smooch instead of a shove. By anyone’s account, Le Shok was nearing the cusp of a breakthrough when they split. Their album was getting played on John Peel’s influential BBC radio show in the United Kingdom and there was talk of a European tour. But by that point, the band was cycling through members with Reizuch deciding he didn’t want to even be a part of the last U.S. tour. Add in the group’s tendency to drink heavily before and during their concerts, and the center could not hold. “I think everybody just sort of wanted to do their own thing,” Reizuch said. “And it was just time. You go hard for something and go all in for a while, and that can be an amazing thing, but it can be amazing to the point of breaking.” That’s likely part of the reason why Reizuch is measured in his response when asked if Le Shok will play any more shows after their big reunion at Burger Boogaloo. It may have been nearly two decades ago when the band split up, but the muscle memory of that time together still feels fresh. The rehearsals have been positive and they’ve been enjoying working out all the little details about the reissue and accompanying art show. Going much deeper down that rabbit hole might be too much for them. “A lot of people have been asking, ‘Hey, are you guys going to tour Europe?’” Reizuch said, laughing. “I’m, like, ‘If you can pay us to tour Europe, sure.’ I don’t think anything’s gonna happen. I mean, it would have to be a lot of magic like what Sean and Burger Records did to get everything together at the right time. You can’t really force that.”BN
RELEASES So What 7” - EP Tiger Suit Records 1998
DNA 7” - EP Tiger Suit Records 1999
We Are Electrocution - LP Gold Standard Laboratories 1999
Booze Is the Best Part 7” Split w/ Electric Frankenstein Know Records 2000
Electric Digits 7” Split w/ Ink & Dagger Initial Records 2000
Telephone Disasters 7” Split w/ The Stitches Gold Standard Laboratories 2000
S&M 7” - EP Slamdance Cosmopolis 2001
LA to NY 6” - EP Kapow Records 2001
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The Great Lost Band of the First Wave of L.A. Punk By Mark Deming
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eing ahead of your time can be a risky career move. Take the case of the Screamers. When punk rock hit Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, there was no band bigger than the Screamers. They could sell out two or three night runs at the most prestigious clubs in town, including the Whisky a Go Go and the Roxy. Robert Fripp sat in with them on stage, Devo raved about them, and the Dead Kennedys cited them as a key influence. They’re still remembered as one of the most unique bands of the era, a group that looked and sounded like no one before or since. So how come you’ve probably never heard of them? Screamers superfan Jello Biafra unwitting summed it up when he called them, “the best unrecorded band in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.” The Screamers never got around to making an album, and their efforts at documenting themselves with video and film projects may have been prescient, but hobbled by their timing: they broke 26 | Black Noise | 06.2018
up just as MTV was getting off the drawing board. There was also the matter of guitars – the Screamers didn’t have any. Bandleader Tommy Gear played a cheap synthesizer cranked up to an earsplitting volume, an electric pianist (the group went through several) accompanied Gear with his instrument amped up and run through a distortion box, drummer K.K. Barrett bashed out frantic rhythms on a small drum kit, and lead singer Tomata du Plenty mesmerized the audience with his wildly theatrical stage moves and barking vocals. The result wasn’t synth pop or new wave noodling, but wild, raucous and ranting punk rock, even without guitars. But while the no-strings lineup made sense once folks saw the band, it also meant they were the only band of their kind, at least in their early days. The Screamers were an unusual band, and their backstory was just as unique. In the early ’70s, Tomata du Plenty was an associate of the notorious radical
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The iconic original drawing of the Screamers logo done by Gary Panter.
This is one of the earliest photos of the Screamers - 1977. Photo by Jenny Lens.
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hippie drag performance group the Cockettes before he headed to Seattle and joined an outré gay cabaret troupe called Ze Whiz Kids, which also featured Tommy Gear (then calling himself Melba Toast). Ze Whiz Kids evolved into a pop group called the Tupperwares, but when du Plenty and Gear relocated to Los Angeles in 1977, the Hollywood punk scene was being to jell, and the playful sound of the Tupperwares gave way to the manic attack of the Screamers. As Barrett said in the essential L.A. Punk oral history We Got The Neutron Bomb by Mark Spitz and Brendan Mullen, “If it was all Tomata’s thing, we would have been much too light and wimpy, and if it was all Tommy’s thing, we would have been … Rammstein. We were right down the center between the two of them.” After the Screamers made their debut at a party for Slash magazine in 1977, they quickly became the toast of the L.A. scene, and by 1979 they were the town’s biggest unsigned act.
However, for all their local popularity, the group was reluctant to tour, and only made their way out East for a handful of dates in the fall of 1978. Small labels offered the band recording deals, but idea man Gear had other plans – he wanted the group to release video albums instead of LPs. The Screamers were fascinated by the idea of making videos that would make it easier to control the sound and images they sent out to the world, and they began making primitive performance videos in 1978.
By 1979, they had teamed up with Rene Daalder, a filmmaker best known for the cult favorite Massacre at Central High. With Daalder’s help, the Screamers had grand plans of staging elaborate multimedia shows and Daalder wanted to build a movie around the band’s talents. (Daalder’s zeal might have been inspired by the Screamers inexplicable absence in Penelope Spheeris’s classic documentary on early L.A. punk, The Decline … of Western Civilization, which also failed
to include fellow scene luminaries the Weirdos and the Controllers.) Gear quipped in We Got The Neutron Bomb, “The Screamers’ greatest downfall was that we were easily bored,” and as the band took off 1980 to strategize and work on their projects with Daalder, things began to fall apart. When their long awaited multi-media extravaganza, titled “The Palace of Variety,” finally debuted at the Whisky on July 9, 1981, the elaborate show, which featured only Barrett and du Plenty on stage, received savage reviews from critics and a lukewarm response from fans. The three night run of “Place of Variety” would prove to be the last shows the Screamers would ever perform, and it was 1986 before Daalder’s film starring Tomata, Population: 1 finally premiered. After the Screamers called it a day, Gear left the music business and was little heard from, while du Plenty occasionally worked in the theater before making a name for himself as a visual artist; he died on August 21, 2000. Barrett unexpectedly has enjoyed the most successful post-Screamers career, becoming a successful production designer in the film industry. Barrett’s credits include Being John Malkovich, Lost in Translation, and Where the Wild Things Are; he earned an Oscar nomination for 2013’s Her. And while the Screamers’ recorded legacy has still not appeared on LP or CD (outside of a handful of bootleg releases), a concert DVD, Screamers: Live in San Francisco September 2nd, 1978, was issued in 2004. And a few decades after the fact, the Screamers final seem to have found their proper medium in YouTube, where numerous clips of the band’s performances can be found, several racking up better than a quarter-million views. Time may have finally caught up with the Screamers, but no band since has duplicated their raw, electrified magic. BN
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