By snoadmin
The do-it-yourself philosophy is a quintessential element of the punk scene, and in the spirit of this tradition, local punk enthusiasts hosted a Dia De Los Muertos gig Saturday night in Long Beach.
The show took place in a private building off Seventh Street and featured bands Iron Fist, Dementes and other collaborations between local Los Angeles-based musicians. The theme of the event was “Halloween cover night,” and each act assumed the identity of a famous old school punk band. Among the bands covered were Dead Kennedys, Motörhead, X-Ray Spex, The Casualties and The Partisans.
The show’s most notable performance was the collective group of mostly females that played as legendary X-Ray Spex. During their set, the crowd flocked to the vocalist, screamed with enthusiasm, sang in unison and threw their fists in the air. Gaby Castillo, the band’s bassist, was surprised by the crowd’s support.
“X-Ray Spex is a really explosive band from the 80s, so we expected people to get into it,” Castillo said. “It definitely happened, but I think it was like way crazier than what I anticipated.”
According to Castillo, each band member’s participation in the X-Ray Spex cover band was a one-time deal.
“We actually all play in different bands,” she said. “Robert Lopez, who drummed tonight, plays guitar in Drapetomaniac, and I play bass and guitar in Sadicos. Everyone’s got different things going on. We did this for fun.”
Castillo said she also enjoyed the DIY nature of the event.
“It was really cool; it’s nice to have a bunch of cover bands play and to see people get into it,” she said. “Kids really love it.”
Daniel Ruiz, an environmental science major at the University of California, Berkeley, joined the event to perform songs by the Dead Kennedys. Despite some early road blocks, Ruiz said he felt that the show must go on.
“I usually play in Dementes, so we threw this together last minute,” Ruiz said. “The bassist dropped out the day before the gig, so we really came up with tonight’s set in a short amount of time.”
Ruiz, who traveled all the way from the East Bay, had a good impression of the night’s festivities.
“It started a little late, but it was really good and really fun, especially the X-Ray Spex band,” he said. “They were really on point, and everybody was having a good time.”
Iron Fist, which shares members with renowned street punk band South Central Riot Squad, performed songs by Motörhead. Paul Miranda, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, had little time to prepare for the show but felt determined to make it happen.
“We literally only practiced two times as Motörhead,” Miranda said. “This was actually our third time playing all the songs We did it, though. We messed up a little, but we did it.”
