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LOCAL MUSIC

By TUCSON TEX, The BLACKBOARD

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Hola, everyone, good ole TUCSON TEX here again to bring another update on our local scene. I wish I got to see more bands this month than I did; it’s been real chaotic in this Arizona drifter’s Bako homestead. I got to VINNY’S to see a couple newer bands to Bakersfield. The line-up was THE AMY MUNOZ PROJECT (not THE EDDIE MUNOZ PROJECT, like the Californian printed), THE 50 PERCENTERS, MORGAN and KANARY. I was excited since AMY told me she was going to have a different vibe going that night that I’d seen before. When I got there, the VINNY’S folks told me Amy had canceled on account of coming down with a throat thing and couldn’t sing. THE 50 PERCENTERS played a cool set of imported Arizona desert rock. The beginning seemed a little shaky, but then they seem to gel together. They even played a pipeline-ish instrumental that they called “DIAMONDBACK BRIDGE.” Which I thought was cool because Tucson just built a bridge that looks like a diamondback rattlesnake. The next band MORGAN totally blew me away. I didn’t know what to say except the guys told me ahead of the gig they were a cross of punk and grunge, and they were going to blues tonight because they thought the VINNY’S crowd might riot if they played their usual sounds. Thank St. Martin they played their originals, because they made it on my list as one of the best bands in Bakersfield. Now I don’t ALWAYS like to use other bands to describe bands doing original songs, but I know some readers need this as a reference. MORGAN’s sound was sort of HUSKER DU: the drummer was solid and powerful, the lead guitarist was laying down some cool-ass solos, just right, not plain, boring, or too long, and the bassist was doing some driving lines, some funky parts for playing with a pick. They rocked! They even ended the set with “WHITE ROOM;” that smoked. Last on the bill was KANARY from L. A. They looking sort of glam-punk, but they had a vibe that reminded me of the MC5 with a PRETENDERS vocal style. The crowd was eating it up, dancing and rocking out, even at parts singing with the band; it was cool, to say the least. To just say the band rocked or sounded great isn’t enough…. Then I went that Saturday to STUDIO 45 (I thought they had stopped having gigs). The line-up was THE 50 PERCENTERS, LIFE CAN WAIT, MORGAN and THRIVE. THE 50 PERCENTERS seem to have some tech problems on stage vocal feedback, plus you could hear the next band playing a snare while the Percenters were playing their set. Am I the only one who thinks you should pay respect to some else’s set when they are playing? I know how this is going to sound, but it put a bad taste in my mouth, so I’m sorry, LIFE CAN WAIT, I didn’t watch you play. I listened from outside, which sounded like I had missed another punk band playing punk rock with three influences: RAMONES, BLINK-182, and OFFSPRING. Which I find sad, ‘cause from ‘79-’86, punk rock had the most diverse collection of styles in all of rock history, and this was all they could pool from. I’d like to see them play again; first impressions should never be your last impressions. Next came MORGAN. Like at VINNY’S, they torn it up, leaving me feeling that if the last band sucked, it wouldn’t matter. They were worth my whole door cost. They did no covers; this time the rhythm guitarist sang two songs instead of one, with this kinda LOU REED self-suffering vibe: totally cool. Last was THRIVE, who announced they had no bassist, and I thought not a CRAMPS- LOCAL H- WHITE STRIPES rip-off! But once again, my bad feelings were shot down. THRIVE had more of a MOD meets SURF PUNKS vibe, with a little stoner classic rock in for good measure. It sounds mismatched, but they totally pulled it off. Well I’ve got to run. I’ll have CD reviews in next month’s issue. I need more CDs to review, so please send them in to THE BLACKBOARD or to TUCSON TEX 2076 WHITE LANE # 168 BAKERSFIELD CA 93304. Or you can drop them off at DOWNTOWN RECORDS (ask for DAVE or JAKE) and they’ll pass them to me. Any comments, feedback, love letters, hate mail, send them to TUCSON TEX at tumbleweedpost@emailaccount.com . Adios ‘til next time.

This article copied from The Blackboard, VOL.3 #5 MAY 2003.

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