Skinnie Magazine Issue 130 - July/August 2013 by Skinnie Magazine

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THErundown

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FEATURES p.009

PALMS From Deftornes and Isis

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BATTLE FOR WARPED TOUR WINNERS Local Bands Battle It Out For A Spot On The Tour

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WINERY DOGS A New Project

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KEN ROCZEN Taking Motocross By Storm

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SKINNIE GIRL Nazanin Mandi

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Marky Ramone From ‘Dust’ To Ramone

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SKINNIESCENE The Rundown On What You Missed

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Issue129 MAYjune2013

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july/august 2013 J ISSUE NUmber 130 www.skinniemagazine.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PUBLISHERS Jimmy Clinton Jason Zahler ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDITORIAL Jimmy Clinton Jasen T. Davis, Alex Mendoza, Eric Bonholtzer, Katie Evans, Kristie Bertucci, Patrick Douglas, Lacy Ottenson, Elysia McMahan, MM Zonoozy Editor-In-Chief

Contributing Writers

For editorial submissions, email editorial@skinniemagazine.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ART & DESIGN Art department

Morgan Desmond

PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Vincent, Alan Rivera, Sean Myers, Joanna Miriam, Wil Marques, Damian Tsutsumida, Karen Curley, Harmony Gerber, Edison Graff, Erik Faiivae, Christian Sosa, Cody Black Contributing Photographers

Sales & Marketing Marketing Director

Jason Zahler Matt Lee, Julius Lopez Assistant Alexis Hernandez Advertising

For all sales inquiries email sales@skinniemagazine.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Administrative House Of Designs Morgan Desmond Angela Jugon Raquel Lopez, Cynthia De Los Santos and Ryan Mercer Webmaster

online editor

Contributing Staff

FASHION Fashion Director

Michelle Ngo Linh Duong

Fashion Coordinators

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SUBSCRIBERS If the post office alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address within two years. LEGAL DISCLAIMER The content in this magazine is for entertainment and intended for mature audiences only. Advertisers are responsible for their ads placed in the magazine. Skinnie Magazine is not responsible for any actions taken by their readers. We may occasionally use images placed in public domain. Sometimes, it is not possible to identify and/or contact the copyright holder, if you claim ownership of something we’ve published, we will gladly make a proper acknowledgement. Skinnie Magazine does not share opinions and/ or views stated by the writers and or photographers. Some of the content published may be of a mature nature; we do not, in any way, condone underage drinking or any other illegal activity. All submissions become property of Skinnie Magazine, be it text, photos, art, etc. Skinnie Entertainment Magazine All Rights Reserved. 2013

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debut album from

Palms When Deftones and Isis meet

By Patrick Douglas

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Three years ago, the Los Angeles five-piece known as Isis decided to call it a day and at least for now close the book on the band. Five albums in ten years was enough as its members decided it was time to branch out and work on other projects. Three of the five in Isis found that it wasn’t as easy to quit each other as initially thought and soon Jeff Caxide, Aaron Harris and Bryant Clifford Meyer were jamming tunes together again.The studio space was a bit smaller and they were without a vocalist but the songs were too good to ignore. Enter Chino Moreno. The dynamic Deftones frontman had grown a close relationship with Harris and through conversation offered to drop vocals on a track. A few melodic sessions in a closet later and the song, “Mission Sunset” was born and with it a collaboration that may just have the makings of a winner. “(We’re big) fans of the Deftones, especially the past few albums which were very good,” explained Meyer. “As soon as the subject came up and as soon as he did a demo thing, we thought ‘This could actually be really good.’ Not that you doubted it could be good but you just never know until you hear it. It went from there. Finally when he tracked the first song, we all got the scratch vocals back and were like ‘Wow, this is really good.’ We were super psyched. He went above and beyond what any of us would’ve imagined. We would’ve been happy with 30 seconds of singing in any situation but he definitely took it to a whole ‘nother level. They were super boring with no singing.” The 6-track, self-titled debut record has no blistering tracks or quick, in and out songs. Two of them, “Mission Sunset” and “Antarctic Handshake,” each push ten minutes in length and show a side of Moreno more associated with his work in Team Sleep than the Deftones. Caxide, Harris and Meyer are adept at making lengthy, detailed songs from working together in Isis. Bottom line is; there was no conversation about making a catchy pop song that could be heard on radio any time soon or could be compared to anyone’s previous work. “Just from our past output, that’s obviously something we’ve never been concerned with,” said Meyer. “We’ve always leaned way more towards the Pink Floyd side of things as opposed to the Brittany Spears side of things. At the same time, we’re all big Beatles fans and Radiohead fans. We might have subconsciously made it more, I don’t know if the word is ‘poppy’ but they’re slightly more accessible (than Isis). I hate using that term, too. It’s stupid. It’s definitely an ambient record and that’s stuff we’re into and it comes naturally to us to make songs like that. I’m sure it’ll continue in that direction one way or another.Who knows, maybe the next record there’ll be a short song. We’re open to do anything.” The genesis of Palms came when the three former Isis partners began writing new music with no real direction or idea of what was to come next. Harris, who started drum teching for the Deftones, decided to approach Moreno about possibly contributing vocals. “Aaron (Harris) and I started playing a month or a couple months after the Isis

thing was done and Turner and Mike moved away so we were left with the practice space,” Meyer recalled. “We moved our practice space to share with somebody else, basically because we couldn’t pay for it anymore. Our nice, big one. It turned out better because we moved into a space with big windows and stuff. It was a reenergizing situation.We finally coerced Jeff into coming down.The music went from there. That was a pretty chill time between the three of us writing the music. Aaron got to know Chino through friends (and) I guess he played some of the demos for Chino and Chino dug it and did some demo vocals on them. It was all a natural organic thing. Nothing was set straight away and at the same time, it did end up happening. It wasn’t some Backstreet Boys thing or something like that.” Keeping with the organic theme, the band decided to avoid the traditional enter the studio, hit a stopwatch and lay down tracks sort of approach, instead opting to record bits and pieces here and there. “First off, we didn’t record in a studio. We did the drums in a studio but we did everything else on our own,” said Meyer. “With Isis, we had to make an Isis record, which was great, but with this, it was like we could make whatever we wanted to so there were definitely ideas being brought in that, not for any other reason other than they weren’t appropriate for Isis stuff. That was kind of exciting actually. With Isis, we always had two weeks to get in the studio and record and as you do with most bands. This situation just didn’t warrant that happening. I recorded all the keyboards and Aaron mixed it in his apartment and recorded Chino in his closet.” Meyer estimates that roughly 60-percent of the music was written when Moreno joined the fray.While other high profile bands have paired with new lead singers and new projects in recent years (Stone Temple Pilots with Richard Patrick as Army of Anyone and Guns ‘N Roses with Scott Weiland as Velvet Revolver for example) the men of Palms look at this a little differently. “We’re very fortunate that we’re able to get it together. We’ve been working on making this kind of music for a long time,” said Meyer. “Hopefully, I think that’s kind of where it blossomed. We would never have even approached it if we thought it was stupid. When we play, we like the music that’s being played and hopefully with that, it means other people will like it. As far as the singer, I don’t know, it’s been such an easy situation that we’ve never really thought about it to be honest with you. We’ve just thought about it as our new band that Chino happens to be singing in and does a great job. There’s none of that rockstar bullshit with him. If there was, we probably wouldn’t be friends with him anyway. He’s a cool dude.” There are no misconceptions about the direction Palms will go in down the road. No one expects Moreno to suddenly quit Deftones and the band is happy just making occasional music and playing the occasional show in and around California. “We all knew going into it that we weren’t going to be full time touring or anything,” said Meyer. “We do have a couple more song ideas and there’s no reason not to make another record and play shows when we can and that’s fine with us. We all have other projects and are doing other stuff. There’ll definitely be more projects coming out one way or another. Certainly another Palms record or EP, no doubt.”

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SKINNIE Battle For warped tour 2013 The Battle Rages On... Support Local Music

Photos by Daniel Yosinari, Eric Foss, Steve McClory

For the last eight years, the swell of the summer concert season has been met with a formidable precursor in Southern California. Coinciding with one of the biggest national tours and a generational anchor among concertgoers across the country, The Skinnie Magazine Battle for Warped has served as the farm club of sorts, for emerging artists driven to reach the punk platform that is The Vans Warped Tour. Since 1995, The Vans Warped Tour has remained the most diverse, proven, and influential traveling concert festival of its kind. Responsible for launching some of rock music’s biggest names into the ranks household notoriety, this caravan of rock, hip-hop, punk, metal, reggae and every subgenre under the sun has spent 18 years cementing its legacy in pop culture.As the tour has evolved, a new generation of fans and musicians have claimed it as their own only adding to the undeniable truth about Warped – if it’s summer time, the buses are coming through your town. Consistent with tour founder Kevin Lyman’s work ethic and reputation for encouraging the underdog, cities throughout the country have organized grassroots competitions to give deserving artists the opportunity to share the stage with the superstars. Backed by the support of companies like Ernie Ball – the Southern California installation of The Battle for Warped is manned by Skinnie Magazine and acropolis Records and coincides with Ernie Balls National on-line contest (www.battleofthebands.com). Connecting four of the Southern California target markets, The Greater Los Angeles area, The Inland Empire, Orange County, and San Diego – the aim is simple – provide a stage for the best undiscovered talent in Southern California and see who earns a spot to perform at The Warped Tour.

The structure of the competition pits regional talent in a series of preliminary, semifinals, and one big final show for each of the four markets.With each year that the Battle has grown, so has the turnout, resulting in capacity crowds at Southern California rock institutions including The House of Blues in Anaheim and new to this year, The House of Blues located on the internationally renowned Gas Lamp district in down town San Diego. Always the media spectacle, each year the finals for each market turnout a veritable who’s who of industry tastemakers and music professionals. Critiquing participating artists on key components of their presentation, live performance, crowd reaction, stage presence, and technical ability are all crucial aspects that pass through the judges evaluations. For the 2013 edition – Loose Nutts proved victorious in San Diego and went on to perform at Warped Tour down south. Further north, FESTE conquered Orange County, The Kyms took over the Inland Empire, and Fused By Defiance earned their spot at Warped Tour for the Los Angeles stop. As the Battle for Warped forges ahead strong into it’s eighth year, the real noteworthy aspect continues to be the excitement the series manages to generate.The Battle manages to make dreams come true for anyone that has ever picked up an instrument in the garage.The Vans Warped Tour remains the pinnacle of counter culture celebration. The Battle for Warped tour gives undiscovered talent a chance to compete on a very real level, for the attention of the thousands of attendees that flock to the summer institution every single year.

SD WinnerLoose Nutts

Website:www.reverbnation.com/loosenutts Music:www.soundcloud.com/loosenutts

Upcoming ShowsFriday, July 26 @ House of Blues San Diego Friday, August 9 @ The Jumping Turtle Bar and Grill, San Marcos

“We shake butts!”

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SKINNIE Battle For warped tour 2013 cont.

Ventura WinnerFused by Defiance

Websitewww.fusedbydefiance.com Musicwww.soundcloud.com/fusedbydefiance/fxd Upcoming ShowsFriday, Auguyst 30 @ Tap House, Huntington Beach

“This is the sound that we chose for the world… up on a stage where the lights display, FxD will reign supreme”

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Pomona WinnerThe Kyms

Websitewww.facebook.com/TheKyms Musicwww.youtube.com/thekymssocal

Upcoming ShowsSaturday, August 10 @ Music Boutique, Pomona Saturday, August 24 @ CWM Festival, Fullerton Saturday, August 31 @ 2J’s Lounge, Fullerton

“Being able to perform the music

that we make for our friends, family, and a hopefully growing fan base. We love what we do and we just want to entertain you with it.” skinniemagazine.com 15

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SKINNIE Battle For warped tour 2013 cont. PomonaWinnerFeste

Websitewww.facebook.com/festemusic Musicwww.youtube.com/festemusic

Upcoming ShowsFriday, August 16 @ Amplyfi, Los Angeles Tuesday, August 20 @ House of Blues Anaheim

“It was one of those nights

where you’re reminded why you do what you do. It was vibrant, electric and passionate. We had an incredible time!” 16 skinniemagazine.com

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winery dogs

The New Project from Mike Portnoy By Patrick Douglas

Mike Portnoy has been synonymous with the prog rock outfit Dream Theater for a quarter of a century. His frantic pace on the drums helped make him one of the most respected to play the instrument.That’s why it came as a shock to Dream Theater fans a few years ago when he suddenly quit the band that he helped form. He quickly joined Avenged Sevenfold for a brief stint after their drummer, The Rev, passed away but he never really became a full-time member of that group, offering his services more as a helping hand than a creative partner. Portnoy is back in the saddle behind the drum kit, ready to give it a go in a full-time project called The Winery Dogs that includes bassist Billy Sheehan and vocalist/guitarist Richie Kotzen. The power trio has released their self-titled debut and are trying to bring classic rock back into the hearts and minds of rock fans everywhere. It’s a new step for Portnoy who admits he’s been more drawn to prog and metal bands thus far in his career. “We wanted to accomplish something that had that kind of old school sound but with a new school approach,” explained Portnoy. “There’s a few bands that have tapped into that over the past few years. Black Country Communion and Chickenfoot come to mind. For the three of us, it was a chance to dig into that. I grew up listening to the Stones and Zeppelin and Deep Purple and The Who. For me this was a chance to really dig into that classic rock sound. Great rock bands are kind of undefinable and you can’t really put them into a category other than being rock. What is Van Halen? Van Halen’s just a rock band and I think this band has those kinds of elements. When you’re just a rock band, the palate is wide open to do almost anything.”

PhotosTravis Shinn

The genesis of Winery Dogs began when Sheehan and Portnoy began jamming with a guitarist just for fun.When things didn’t work out with the guitarist, they set out to find

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“ I put everything into

everything I do, I wouldn’t do it if my heart wasn’t into it. I definitely see (Winery Dogs) as a band. ” 20 skinniemagazine.com

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the perfect person to join the fray. In a way, the final piece of the puzzle in getting The Winery Dogs to fruition came from a suggestion by rock journalist Eddie Trunk, who suggested adding Kotzen. “Me and Billy were working together on a power trio with somebody else at the time and things just didn’t work out with the other guy. Eddie Trunk suggested Richie Kotzen and it was a brilliant suggestion,” said Portnoy. “Because me and Billy were looking for a guy that was an amazing guitarist and an amazing singer and an amazing songwriter and Richie is all of the above. The three of us got together and there was an immediate chemistry.” One of the most technically sound drummers in the business, Portnoy was the second youngest drummer (behind Rush’s Neil Peart) to be inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. For 25 years, he anchored Dream Theater, a band known for its intense and complicated song structures. But The Winery Dogs isn’t just about Portnoy’s drum prowess. Perhaps the biggest surprise coming out of The Winery Dogs is Kotzen’s abilities on vocals. Cut in the same vein as singers like Robert Plant, David Coverdale or Chris Cornell, Kotzen has the pipes to deliver as a frontman. “He’s an unbelievable vocalist and I don’t think people realize that about him. I think people instantly connect him with his time in Mr. Big and Poison and in both cases he wasn’t the lead singer,” said Portnoy of Kotzen. “People are going to be blown away once they realize the incredible voice that he has.” Known more for his shredding abilities after taking over for C.C. Deville in Poison and playing with Mr. Big for a few albums, Kotzen pulls double duty in The Winery Dogs, also playing lead guitar. “(He’s) filled with so much soul and emotion,” said Portnoy. “Richie is more of an artist in the vein of somebody like Prince where he’s just got this incredible ability to play with so much soul and so much feeling and just move you with a single note.”

Portnoy was also quick to shower Sheehan with praise, describing the bass player as being one of the top in the business and someone he’s proud to work with. The new album features numerous bass solos that should impress listeners regardless of their genre preference. “Billy Sheehan is a true pioneer of his instrument. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the Jimi Hendrix of the rock bass guitar,” said Portnoy of his new bandmate. “I see that and I have the utmost respect for what he’s done with his instrument.” Joining forces with Kotzen and Sheehan has given Portnoy inspiration in doing something new and different. “Almost everybody I’ve been with in a band over the past 25 years has either come from a progressive background or a metal background and I don’t think Billy and Richie come from either of those backgrounds,” explained Portnoy. “For me, that’s what makes them different from anybody I’ve ever worked with. It all makes sense when we come together.” “I’ve done many, many projects in bands throughout the years and each one of them has its own excitement and its own different nuances that make it fresh but in this particular case it was a different genre for me,” he continued. “It’s what inspired me.” At this stage in the game, Portnoy doesn’t find any style or composition of music to be a challenge and doesn’t need to look for work. The Winery Dogs isn’t just a quick project for Portnoy. He believes in The Winery Dogs and is approaching it as a full time gig. “I put everything into everything I do,” he said. “I wouldn’t do it if my heart wasn’t into it. I definitely see (Winery Dogs) as a band. All three of us are committed to making this something that has some longevity and something that we can call the next chapter of all three of our careers. We’re treating this as all three of our new band.”

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Y A D R U T A S 4 2 T S U G AU

RYAN DUNGEY

DEFENDING CHAMPION

GET TICKETS:

ALLISPORTS.COM/MOTOCROSS 22 skinniemagazine.com

fullcontact

in love with the dirt

ken roczen is taking Motocross by storm Words by Patrick Douglas

At age two, most toddlers still wear diapers to bed and worry about things like where the next snack is coming from or what SpongeBob is up to.

Not so for motocross phenom Ken Roczen. He was learning the basics of riding a dirt bike in his second year of life and was competing with others by age three. Born and raised in Germany, Roczen benefited from parents who recognized his genetic skills and nurtured them. He didn’t fight the urge to ride, instead he embraced it and because of that, he has become one of the top riders in the sport today. “I got into it because of my parents,” he explained. “They were very athletic and they were very big into sports. Before I was born they started building a track at our house because my dad and my mom were basically supporting some friends of ours. I was there and I got a bike and I loved riding. It was never a thing where they were like ‘You’re gonna be a dirt bike racer.’ I just always took the bike and started riding. My first race was when I was three. I’d just gotten into it pretty early compared to other people. I always switched to the next bigger bike early. At least two years before everyone else did. I always loved riding bigger bikes. It’s just very uncommon to start that early ‘cause most of the kids start at five.”

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fullcontact Roczen has taken the sport by storm at a ripe old age of 19 years old. He has already won the Monster Energy AMA Supercross title for 2013 and is in a heated competition with Eli Tomac for the 250 outdoor championship. If it seems like all the success has happened to Roczen overnight, it’s best to consider that 17 of his 19 years of life have been spent preparing for this moment. The early days, as he recalled, were spent learning the ropes from his father who would often let him ride on a bike with him. “I guess I have it in my blood a little bit,” said Roczen, speaking with a mild German accent. “My dad told me that I was very gentle. I would sit on the front and he would let me steer and basically control the bike. Most of the kids ride the bikes the first time and gas it really hard and don’t really have control but for me, from the beginning, I was always good at that. (My dad) always trained with me and I guess it’s a lot of technique but he learned me how to train and get good. We were doing it kind of the old school way. I don’t have any other trainer but my dad.” Roczen was signed to Red Bull at the same age kids in the states are preparing to enter fifth grade. It was the equivalent of Kobe or Lebron getting a deal with Nike while still in elementary school and was borderline historic at the time. “I was one of the youngest ever to be sponsored by Red Bull. I was 10 or 11,” recalled Roczen. “I’ve been with those guys for quite a long time. That was a huge opportunity for me. Red Bull was the sponsor everyone wanted to have. I’ve never regretted it. They’re such a sick sponsor and it’s cool to have been part of it for so long.” Roczen cut his teeth on the motocross circuit in Germany but it was apparent by his late teens that the United States was the ideal destination to reach the pinnacle of the sport. “Where I’m from, there’s still a lot of people out there riding (but) dirt bikes over here are like soccer is over there,” he said. “In my eyes it’s quite a bit bigger than over there. It comes on the TV here. In Europe, you can’t find it anywhere on the TV. You have to go on the Internet and download it here or there to even be able to watch it. I think the fanbase is very crazy over there but the fanbase over here is a little bigger.” While Roczen can communicate with a bike like no other regardless of where the track is, it was his move to the states that initially became somewhat of a culture shock for the rider. Getting used to a new nation as well as a sport so feverishly followed was difficult at first, according to Roczen. “In the states, it is very, very different. I came over here and it was a huge move,” he said. “I was 16 years old. You come here and you don’t know anyone. You don’t know where to buy groceries. It was hard to get used to a lot of things. Racing weekend was very stressful, especially the travel. It started out with supercross. Coming over here was a whole bunch to learn and we go outdoors and the travel time (was hard). The travel schedule was really busy. It took me a long time to figure things out but I think I finally started feeling like home and I tried not letting the flying and travel bother me as much.” While many athletes strive to meet the standards set by those who came before, the great ones often cite an urge to be the inspiration rather than be inspired. Roczen didn’t want to just compete in the states, he wanted to own them. “I never wanted to be like someone. I always wanted to be the best ever,” he said. “The best who’s gonna be out there. The best in the world. That was always my goal. Of course there were people like Carmichael or Jeremy McGrath back in the day that were really rad. I used to watch them ride all the time on TV (but) I was never like ‘I wanna be like that guy.’ I always said I wanna be better.” You won’t find Roczen beating his head from stress after a race or doing anxious rituals beforehand to get pumped up. He’s all about approaching the race with a sense of calm and relaxation. As he explained, stress has followed him everywhere he’s competed and he’s learned to ignore the butterflies that often come with this level of competition.

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“I’ve always had to deal with pressure so I think I’m a good guy to deal with it. Honestly there’s a lot of different types of riders out there. I’m the type of guy where I’m serious when I have to be serious but other than that, I’m relaxed,” said Roczen who spends his free time surfing, playing basketball or just rolling on a BMX. “I eat whatever I want, to be honest. I still watch what I eat but I’m not as crazy as some other ones who won’t eat this or eat that. I’m basically super relaxed. I still try to enjoy life. That’s my main part. If you can do both and you know your body and know that it doesn’t hurt you as much, that’s the best way you can do it.” As the season comes to an end, Roczen also isn’t worried about Tomac creeping up on him in the standings. Whatever happens will happen and his goal is to just enjoy the final run and finish strong. “It’s all about putting in your work and being confident in my eyes,” he said. “Confidence is a pretty big thing and I think right now, I’ve done some good work. I’m really positive about things. You need to be up there every single weekend. The

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competition is very strong, too. Whether he goes down or I go down or we make a mistake, one of us is always gonna come up there (so) it’s basically all about putting riders in between us so we can make up some points.” Roczen’s decision to travel to the U.S. to compete in motocross three years ago has been a positive one and he doesn’t regret it one bit. He cites the fans and the media coverage as inspiration to reach the top of the game. His plans at this point are to conquer and dominate the sport and convince American motocross enthusiasts that the kid from Germany is a force to be reckoned with. “I’m super happy that all the fans are going so crazy. It’s always fun to ride with them,” he said. “They treat me very good. Being a foreigner, I think it’s not that easy to cheer for a foreigner but they do that really good. Fans is what makes us riders have fun in the sport. I wanna get all the titles I can get. For me, it’s important to stay healthy and be able to enjoy life after all the hard work that we do.”

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NAZANIN McCARTHY

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skinniegirl

PhotographerMichael Vincent www.michaelvincent.com Makeup ArtistNadia Mohammadpour StylistJasmine Benjamin ProducerRobert Valentino BookerVMG |Image Group PR

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From ‘Dust’ came

marky ramone The Rise of a Ramone Words by Patrick Douglas

While Black Sabbath was constructing its first album, getting ready to unleash it to eventual rock and roll history, a trio of high school kids in Brooklyn were putting together a band called Dust with a similar flavor. Dust ultimately became more of the stuff of legends instead of a legend itself. With only two records released in 1971 and 1972, the group split up and its members found success in other avenues. The most successful member of the band was drummer Marc Bell, who would go on to join another famous New York band that he would incorporate in his last name when he started going by Marky Ramone. To this day, he’s the only surviving member of the classic Ramones lineup. More than 40 years after Dust broke up, Sony has decided to combine and reissue the two Dust albums for rock and roll enthusiasts to enjoy. People can now pick up the self-titled debut and sophomore release, “Hard Attack,” both on one CD. The resurrection of Dust came from a huge underground following who, until now, could only reference dusty LPs or limited release CDs to hear the band. “I still tour with my group and play Ramones songs and kids come up to me with old Dust albums,” said Ramone. “We said, ‘Let’s do this right. Let’s rerelease and put it out.’” Dust is one of the most influential bands of its time that no one has heard of. The trio of Ramone, Richie Wise and Kenny Aaronson began jamming together as kids and grew a local fanbase that included future members of the Ramones as well as the guys who would eventually make up KISS. “We had to go to high school.We had to make our parents happy and put that diploma on the wall,” recalled the 56-year-old Ramone of the early days. “We did the two albums and we rehearsed in my parent’s basement and almost blew the stucco off the walls.We persevered. School in Brooklyn was a very rough neighborhood in New York so we channeled that energy and all that crazy stuff into the music.”

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Pictured L-R: Richie Wise, Kenny Aaronson, Marky Ramone Photos CourtesySony

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The resulting sound was a mix of the low-tuned, doom chords that Black Sabbath would make famous, mixed with the erratic Keith Moon-like drumming of Ramone, all in an era when there wasn’t yet a moniker known as “heavy metal.” As Ramone explained, the band had a great following in their hometown of New York City but had trouble getting noticed beyond that. He credits poor management and a sub-par label for the poor development. “Our manager wasn’t that experienced at the time so due to managerial problems, we decided to stop. We fizzled out,” Ramone said. “We weren’t getting booked in better places. The same old places we were playing so we just felt that things were discombobulated. We were also on a bubble gum label.” The group wasn’t a waste, however, as all three musicians were able to use their experience with Dust to go on to bigger and better things. Having the young and impressionable members of KISS as fans of the band, Wise went on to work and develop them and ultimately produced the first two KISS records. Aaronson became a highly successful session musician and Ramone joined with an up and coming local punk band known as the Ramones. “They were in the audience,” said Ramone. “Dust used to play a lot in New York in ’71, ’72. This was way before the punk scene. Members of KISS. Members of the Ramones and the New York Dolls would be in the audience watching us and they’d come up to me and say, ‘We thought the band was great.’ They liked what they saw. They saw three guys who could play very well and we didn’t want to be part of any scene. We were just a band. We just wanted to be known for our playing.” Listening to the drumming style on both Dust albums, it’s somewhat of a shock for some to picture Ramone going from a fast-paced heavy metal style to a more beat driven punk beat.

“Dee Dee (Ramone) asked me to join the Ramones because Tommy (Ramone) wanted to leave and they wanted Tommy to leave,” said Ramone, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “They were bullying him and he just wanted to produce. The next thing I knew, I was in the group and the first song I recorded was ‘I Wanna Be Sedated.’ Different drumming obviously. Ramones is just 4/4 and 2/4. Dust has so many accents and 5/4 and 6/8 and different stops and gos. It’s definitely the opposite of what the Ramones and punk rock’s about.” Getting the Dust albums back out to the public is something Ramone has wanted to do for years if only for posterity’s sake. “Letting people know how this band and music was at the time and what was available at the time (is important),” Ramone said. “Now they can listen to it and hopefully learn from the musicianship off of these two albums. There’s not too many people now who are playing like this.” While the members of Dust were able to go on to great things, there will always be the “what if” floating around the legacy of the group. “If we would’ve continued into the third album with a company that knew how to market this kind of music, that definitely would’ve put us over the top,” said Ramone. “We were very young and we were inexperienced so we fizzled out and continued in the business separately on our own ways.” “We were by far one of the first heavy metal bands in America and the thing is, these songs were written on the first album before the Black Sabbath album came out,” he continued. “I’m not saying we’re comparing ourselves to them or them to us but England had the great heavy metal bands so we thought,‘Let’s show ‘em what America has and what we can do.”

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SKINNIEScene

@ Yost Theatre

INDEX

LOS ANGELES

LAS VEGAS

ORANGE COUNTY

SAN DIEGO

INLAND EMPIRE

p.038 Weekly Club Listings

p.040 Weekly Club Listings

p.042 Weekly Club Listings

p.044 Weekly Club Listings

p.046 Weekly Club Listings

Calendar Club Pictures

To Receive Updates on Skinnie Scene Club Listings or To Submit Your Events, E-mail: Update@skinniemagazine.com to be Added to Our Weekly Skinnie E-blasts.

skinniemagazine.com 37

Los angelesSkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Jamie Barren of EVENTVIBE, Alex Orlovsky of MUSE

LA CALENDAR

07/31 HOB 20th Anniv. Presents Hollywood Undead @ House of Blues Hollywood

@Colony Nightclub

@Supperclub LA

@Colony Nightclub

@Playhouse

Bow Wow & Jermaine Dupri @Playhouse

@Playhouse

07/26 Rancid @ Hollywood Palladium 08/02 Steve-O @ Ice House 08/10 HITRECORD ON TV w/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt @ Orpheum Theatre

08/1-4 X GAMES L.A. 2013 @ Staples Center & Irwindale Event Center

08/17 Queens of the Stone Age @ Gibson Amphitheatre 08/31 George Lopez @ Gibson Amphitheatre

068/24 Maria Bamford @ Hollywood Improv

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Los angeles | Skinniescene

Lucha vavoom 10th aniversary

@ mayan theatre

Images by Karen Curley

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Las VegasSkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Jeremy Wassink of Eventvibe.com, Danny Mahoney/XS and Tryst, Joshua Jose, the D Las Vegas

LV CALENDAR

08/08 LiveNation presents Mac Miller:

Debbie Gibson @Harrah’s Las Vegas

@ Electric Daisy Carnival

Hot Chelle Rae @Golden Gate Casino

@ Electric Daisy Carnival

Prince Amukamara & Pilar Davis @ “PRiSM”, Luxor Caino

Liquid @ Aria

Allison Harvard @The D Las Vegas

Nick Hissom’s21st B-Day @Tryst

Space Migration Tour

@ Mandalay Bay 07/26 Urban Hangover II: Vegas Getaway @ Planet Hollywood 07/31 Roller Con: 2013 Roller Derby Convention @ Riviera

08/17 Midsummer Lingerie Carnival @ Palms 08/11 2013 World Hip Hop Dance Championships @ Orleans Casino 08/13 An Evening w/ Willie Nelson & Family @ The Smith Center 08/31 Las Vegas Gun Show @ Sport Center of Las Vegas

08/23 Kid Cudi @ Boulevard Pool

08/31 Ron White @ The Mirage

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Rex Lee w/ Jabbawockeez @“PRiSM”, Luxor Caino

Usher w/ Jabbawockeez @“PRiSM”, Luxor Caino

Las Vegas | Skinniescene

presidents day weekend at body englis and the joint @

hard rock hotel & casino

Photos: Scott Harrison / Erik Kabik Photography, Carlos Larios / Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hew Burney

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Orange countySkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Taylor Eszlinger, Bobby Reyes of Eventvibe.com, Clubdistrict.com

OC CALENDAR

08/03 Beer Loves Music: Rock’N’Roll Beer Festival @ Yost Theater

@Sutra

@ Yost

Battle for Warped Tour Finals@ House of Blues Anaheim

07/18 Wiz Khalifa & A$AP Rocky @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 07/27 Courtney Love @ The Grove of Anaheim 08/10 105 FM presents: Go Fest 2013 @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

08/11 Jagermeister Music Tour: Molotov @ The Observatory 08/19 WWE: Monday Night Raw @ Honda Center 08/23 Ralphie May @ Irvine Improv

08/28 Black Sabbath @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

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Orange countySkinniescene

Vans Warped tour

@ The GREat park of irvine

Photos by Jen Reightley

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san diegoSkinniescene

Photos by bobby reyes, Jeremy Wassink of Eventvibe.com

SD CALENDAR

07/25-28 Ramona County Fair @ Ramona Outdoor Community Center

@ Fluxx

@Flux

Intervention Sundays @Hard Rock Hotel

@Bassmnt

Foundation Fridays @ Ivy

07/26 Sugar: Epic Home Return @ Somewhere Loud 07/28 Intervention Sundays: EC Twins @ Hard Rock Hotel SD 07/30 Bruno Mars @ Valley View Casino

08/08 Casbah presents: Foals @ House of Blues SD 08/02 2nd Annual Steel Beach Party & Beer Brew Fest @ Downtown SD 08/16 Jamie Kennedy @ American Comedy Company 08/24 Billy Gardell @ Pala Casino

08/23 Zombie Disco Squad: @ Spin Nightclub

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inland empireSkinniescene

Photos Courtesy of Vive Tequilla Lounge, Margarita Rocks

IE CALENDAR

07/25 Too Short @ Vive Tequila Lounge

@Vive Tequilla Lounge

@Margarita Rocks

07/27 Fontana Art Festival @ Fontana Park 08/07 John Lovitz @ Ontario Improv 08/14 Daughtry & 3 Doors Down @ Pechanga Casino

07/28 Andrew Dice Clay @ Marquee 15 08/24 World Championship Muay Thai @ Pechanga Casino 08/24 Brad Paisley @ San Manuel Amphitheater

08/31 Empire of Psychos @ Racks Billards

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Skinniesceneinland empire

MEZ Sports Presents

PANDEMONIUM VI

Photos by Alan Rivera

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RONN

IE RE

AUGUST 1-4 WHERE RECORDS ARE MADE.

TICKETS AT AXS.COM 48 skinniemagazine.com

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