UNKLE @ the El Ray - On the Scene

        Despite being on the scene since 1994, I had never heard Unkle's name until about two weeks ago.  Walking up to Amoeba records, I saw an in store appearance of the band being advertised on a billboard.  I remarked to my friend that they had a seriously deplorable band name and we left it at that.  No more thoughts were given to Unkle until just a few days ago, when by chance I stumbled across their track "Follow Me Down."  Although my ears usually prefer an appetite of loud guitars and raw vocals, something about Unkle pulled me in.  There are a million adjectives I could throw out in attempt to label their sound but i'll stick with 4.  Dark, visual, trippy and visceral - All encased in a pseudoelectro, shoegaze type of ethos.  Here's the "Follow Me Down" video to give you a better idea of what we're dealing with here.  (If you don't mind a little nudity, this song and video are both amazing).

                                 

        Needless to say, after seeing this I wanted more and it just so happened they were playing in LA at the beginning of the week.  I wasn't sure what scene to expect upon arrival.  One thing I knew...it probably wouldn't be mine.  However, the first guy I spoke to just so happened to be a photographer/writer who worked with other bloggers, mostly by giving them photos from different concerts.  What a coincidence considering I couldn't take my Flipcam inside!  Stay tuned to see some of his stuff from Monday night.  I also talked to some slightly jaded scenesters who eagerly took jabs at answering my questions.  What resulted is a great juxtaposition.  If you watch this video I think you can truly get a sense of the indie music paradox.  There's Matt, the slightly older, dedicated music lover who speaks rather profoundly about the event...then there's Austin and Constantine.  I mean, how could you not be a hipster with a name like Constantine.  They were both first time El Ray attendees who seemed only slightly familiar with Unkle's music and the event itself.  See the contrast for yourself:



        The show was predictably intense, full of very cerebral layers of music.  It was thick and at the same time ambient.  At times the sounds and visuals evoked some type of jungle scenario with green lights, amazonian vocals and off kilter rhythms.  Other times things got dark and weird with lush red lights, sexy singing and heavy, almost industrial sounds.  Ironically enough, the crowd was the perfect mix of Constantine and Matt's predictions.  There were the posh looking, "yuppie" crowd, all gently nodding their heads in unison, in between sips of their "$13 drinks." Some older fans were present.  Perhaps those who caught on to Unkle back in 1994, before this years breakout album landed them on the radio.  There was a small handful of raver-types who would not have seemed out of place twirling glowsticks around their dyed purple heads.  And of course a smattering of typecast hipsters, who perhaps came for a love of Unkle, or quite possibly came for a love of all things hipster.  To quote Austin "They're one of my favorite bands...I just started listening to them."

        Despite this collection of people, there was something very nondescript about the crowd.  I had a hard time pigeonholing people mostly because I think the scene is representative of the event.  Unkle are a very diverse and eclectic act and I think that reflects in their turnout.  I showed up with my typical interests on the back burner and felt almost anonymous because of it.  When people show up to hear weird, almost undefinable music, I think scenes also become ambivalent.  It wasn't like a group of "wangsters" showing up to see Eminem, or a bunch of "emo" kids hanging out for a My Chemical Romance concert.  It was way more of a niche-defying mix.  A collection of seemingly nondescript people from all walks of life, flocking together for something truly bizarre.

Are Juggalos Also Up On The Christian Scene? - Scene Update

 

I just came across a very curious article in the Boston Phoenix discussing Juggalos and their devotion to Insane Clown Posse as possibly having a link to Christian values...Naturally, having already looked into this little subculture, my reaction was very skeptical.  As the article questions, how is a band of rappers dressed as clowns, who rap about necrophilia, murdering people with axes and "dark carnivals" supposed to reflect even a smidgen of the Christian ideal?  Jenny Benevento, the researcher being profiled in the article, points to the devotion of the fans...not only to the music but to one another.  "Pay it forward, be really cool to everyone, share, talk to people who are by themselves. All of these are very Christian ideals, whether or not people identify them as such."  Well, that's one similarity I suppose, but she goes even further with the connection.  Referring to the Gathering of the Juggalos that I mentioned in my previous post as a "revival," and alluding to a possible metaphorical connection between the aforementioned "dark carnival" and heaven.  A stretch?  I think so.  Please watch ICP's allegedly Christian inspired video for the song "Miracles" below and decide for yourself.  But one thing is for sure, Christian or not, I don't think anyone will stop making fun of Juggalos whether or not they have religious affiliations...

                 

...Then again, "there's magic everywhere in this bitch," so you never know...

An Adrenaline Seeking Thrill Junkie or the Next Dale Earnhardt - Max's Scene

Name: Max Grice

Age: 20

Found:  Melrose St in Hollywood, waiting in line for a Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt release.

Scene:  A live fast die young, auto racer.

Profession:  Cold Stone Ice Cream guy.

Favorite LA Hangouts: Will Rodgers Beach  (He's in it for the lifeguards...)

Heroes: Will Farrell, Jeff Gordon and Jay-Z

Brand Loyalties:

Drink of Choice:  Red Bull

Personal Soundtrack:

All Time Low - "Weightless"

Angels and Airwaves - "Rite of Spring"

Four Year Strong - "On a Saturday"

Mystery Question:  Favorite flavor of ice cream?
...."I hate ice cream, I work at Cold Stone so I fucking hate ice cream."

Guidos, Mountain Men and Crunk Punks, Oh My! - The Top 5 Scenes of 2010

1.) The Guido












Remember 2009's "Bro" scene.  Well, it's morphed...and there is no argument that 2010 is the year of the Guido.  They are everywhere you look.  On the beach, at the gym and at the club.  They are dating your sister and on almost every channel of your TV.  With a massive boost from reality TV hit "The Jersey Shore," everyone now knows what G.T.L. stands for and what a "Snooki" is.  You know a scene has worn out it's welcome when South Park dedicates an entire episode to mocking it, as they did last week.  So pop those 'roids, get that full body wax and coin yourself a dirty Jerz-worthy nickname real fast, because if you can't beat 'em (you can't) join 'em.

2.) The Mountain-Man

This hairy, homeless looking, scenester seems to be everywhere except a mountain these days.  From Boston to LA, this flannel wearing, whiskey drinking, coulda-been-a-member-of The Band looking dude can be found at any Devendra Banhart concert or scouring a local music store for obscure Grizzly Bear 7"s.  Don't offer him a razor, this guys beard is his most prized possession and he wears it proudly even in the hottest of temps.  So keep your eye to the streets and don't give him your pocket change no matter how bad he may look like he needs it.

3.) Hipster-Hop

All it takes to shift scenes these days is a shopping trip and a few updates to the Facebook profile.  This often results in a very apparent scenester cross breed.  One of these very unmistakable modern amalgams is that of the emo-rapper.  A blend of the sensitive, tattooed and pierced punk rocker, and the swag obsessed, bling wielding, weed enthusiast.  These are the guys who might record gangsta raps on garage band yet be the first kid in line to see Fall Out Boy.  A lover of everything Travis McCoy and probably sporting at least one Atmosphere lyric tattooed on them, just wait to see what scene they add to their repertoire next.

4.) The Bike Messenger

You've probably seen this guy flying by you while you sit in traffic, his hopefully ironic but probably not meant to be mustache gently blowing in the wind.  As the fixed gear bike or "fixie" riding trend is on the rise, so is the bike messenger sub culture.  Never seen without an over-sized saddle bag strapped around their torso, grease stained cut off or rolled up pants and undersized cycling hats, this is one of the only recent scenes to conveniently also work out as a profession.  Sometimes known to roll in groups, with names like Cycle Jerks (of course using the Circle Jerks logo) and Spoke Junkies... make sure to always check the lane before opening your car door or face getting a U-lock to the skull.

5.) The Rainbow Hipster

 It doesn't matter if Easter is right around the corner or not, these forward/backward thinking fashionistas rock a whirlwind of pastel colors year round.  Inspired solely by American Apparel ad campaigns, these guys and girls wear their bright, solid colors proudly.  They have inspired me to coin the term "pseudo-matching" where the shirt never quite matches the socks but who knows, maybe the socks match the underwear...

A Bob Dylan Wannabe or a Long Lost Jonas Brother? - Mark's Scene

Name: Mark Diamond

Found: Melrose St in Hollywood, waiting in line for a Johnny Cupcakes t-shirt release.

Scene: An ironically anti-pop blues musician.

Profession: Student @ Lee Strasburg Theatre and Film Institute

Favorite LA Hangouts: The Beverly Center and any of the Hollywood music venues.

Heroes: Bob Dylan and John Mayer

Brand Loyalties:

Drink of Choice: Water

Personal Soundtrack:

Rolling Stones - "Some Girls"

John Mayer - "Room for Squares"

Anything Lil' Wayne

Mystery Question:  What's your sister's name?
...Jordanna

On the Scene - Acid Tiger/Ringworm/Blacklisted @ The Roxy

I can't possibly write about different scenes without occasionally delving into them.  That's why I jumped at the opportunity to nab some free tickets to see such an eclectic loud music lineup.  Ranging in genre from progressive punk rock to more traditional hardcore, the scenes were sure to vary...and vary they did.  It was apparent as soon as I parked.  Swarms of pierced, tattooed and band swag wearing anti-fashionistas were everywhere.  What suprised me even more was the range of age groups...but more on that later.  The first band up was Acid Tiger.  Somewhat of a super group (members of Converge, United Nations ect...) from Brooklyn, NY.  Playing a mix of hyped up progressive rock, with spazzy guitars and everywhere-all-at-once drums, these guys have quite the following on the East Coast.  The same can not be said for the West.  As soon as they started playing it was evident.  The crowd stood around, arms crossed, and nary a head bang was to be seen.  After they finished their first song a scream was heard from the crowd, "hurry up, we want Ringworm!"  And from there things went downhill.  Heckling continued throughout their set as the older, tougher crowd that had showed up for the recently reunited hardcore stalwarts, Ringworm, became tired of the more spaced out and dynamic AT.  The band even lamented at one point, "well, we wish their were a few people from Brooklyn here..." Here's a song from their set.  If you like what you hear download their s/t debut here.

Next up was the band that seemingly had the biggest scene present,  Ringworm.  Now you way venture to guess what band named "Ringworm" might sound like...and your probably right.  They've been playing the same aggressive mix of metal and thrashy hardcore since the early '90s and their fan base is a loyal legion of scary brutes.  This is where the older crowd became apparent.  Lots of big, hairy, tattooed, aggressive looking 30-somethings who, although a little past their show going prime, went nuts.  I tried to capture the violence of the dance floor in the video but it's a little dark.  Just know, those things thrashing around in the shadows are the fists and feet of hardcore Ringworm truants.



Pretty intense stuff...And then there was headliner's Blacklisted.  These guys broke down a lot of musical boundaries with their newest record, combining melody and a more solid rock approach to their traditional hardcore background.  The scene?  A lot of young kids, looking suspiciously like the mainstream emo/punk crossover's this scene has been so saturated with in recent years.  Although, as you can see in the video, the crowd went nuts.  These kids new every word and weren't hesitant to jump over the heads of everyone in front of them just to get a chance to sing them into an outstretched mic. 




The mix of young and old was a surprise in this scene but overall the feel was one of unity.  Everyone was bonded together over their love of loud music and getting rowdy.  Although this scene often gets recognized for overtures of violence and rebellion, from what I saw there is also a tremendous amount of respect.

What is a Juggalo? - Scene Alert

       For those of you who wake up asking yourself, "what is a Juggalo?" Never fear..."What's Your Scene" is here to explain.  To nutshell:  A Juggalo is a diehard fan of the group Insane Clown Posse or ICP.  A musical ensemble known for inappropriate antics, clown face paint and overzealous fans.  The music is a mix of rap and metal and combined with a gangster/carnival theme.  Laughable: yes.  Parodied:  Oh yeah!  Popular:  somehow?
       The staying power of the Juggalo in the modern age is baffling.  How these "scenesters" are taken seriously while maintaining an almost cult-like outer appearance blows my mind.  I accredit their tenacious hold on fandom to the idea of strength in numbers.  From what i've seen, Juggalo's seem to roll with numbers.  One face-painted, baggy pants wearing clown is mock-able but 10 of them will have you fleeing the mall in no time.  These "psychos," or "ninjas" as they often refer to themselves, congregate once a year to sing the praises of ICP at a festival known as the Gathering of the Juggalos.  The infamy of this scene dates back as far as 2001 when the group appeared on the O'Reilly Factor.       
        More recently, the release of a new album saw a complete resurgence of Juggalos.  After the release of their latest music video "Miracles," ICP and their legion of Juggalos caught a new level of media attention.  Including a slew of parodies, most notably on a 2010 episode of SNL.  SO, you may still be asking yourself...what is this scene?  What does it look like? Who are these people?  Well folks, here is how we break it down:

Name: Shaggy 2 Dope, Violent J, Axe Killa, Hatchet Man, Psycho Ninja ect....

Found:  Mostly Detroit but nationwide

Scene:  Juggalo (and Juggalette)

Favorite Hangouts:  Gathering of the Juggalos or any ICP performance

Heroes: Insane Clown Posse, John Wayne Gacy and the Boogie Monster

Guilty Pleasures: The mall

Brand Loyalties:

Drink of Choice: Faygo soda

Personal Soundtrack:

Insane Clown Posse "The Great Milenko"

Insane Clown Posse "The Riddle Box"

Insane Clown Posse "The Amazing Jeckel Brothers"

A Fixed Gear Biker or a Hardcore Party Kid - Sam's Scene.

Name: Sam Gorelick

Found: Sunset Blvd outside The Roxy

Scene: A fixed gear biker and a hardcore, party kid

Favorite LA Hangouts:  The Smell and The Cha Cha Lounge

Heroes: Dad, James Bond and Bill Cosby

Guilty Pleasures: Justin Timberlake, Hygiene

Brand Loyalties:

Drink of Choice: Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Personal Soundtrack: Click to listen or for download pages.

Comadre - "Vol. 4 Mixtape"

Offspring - "Smash" 

Man Man - "Man in the Blue Turban" 

An Introduction to What's Your Scene?

Los Angeles is the perfect place to launch this project.  It is brimming with off-beat individuals and hetero-personalities.  A city full of people who are not from this city.  As a fish out of water, I can't help but profile.  And that's what this is: A profile.  An assembly of characters giving definition to what they look like, what they're into and who they are.  I think it's only fair to readers that I start by first introducing myself.  To be asked "What's Your Scene?" by a stranger can be off-putting and awkward.  However, there is no high horse being rode on my way to asking this question. Only a genuine curiosity in today's omnipresent and diverse subcultures. This isn't Look At This Fucking Hipster.  I want to give a voice to these scenes.  I want to share their music, their interests, and their views of themselves.