Scene Swap: Orange Countians
Scene Swap is an exciting new feature in which we partner with artists and fans across the country to exchange musical recommendations in order to shine the spotlight on those bands who haven’t yet broken out beyond the confines of their own local scene. In this installment Orange County punks Audacity give us a few band recommendations from their corner of Southern California. Audacity will be performing at the Hexagon Bar on Thursday (12/5). Audacity: The scene in Orange County is nothing to blow your nose at!! not to sound defensive but our home county has been characterized as a cultural wasteland or dead end suburb so many times that I think people don’t realize all the awesome stuff that has come out of and continues to come out of our little part of Southern California!! to be really specific there’s a group of bands and friends that is known as the Slack Mafia . when we were in high school we started playing a lot of shows and parties with bands like Thee Makeout Party (members of which now run Burger Records), Pterodacdudes, Danger Strangers, and Shred Savage. these slack mafia guys were older than us , obsessed with the Church of the Subgenius and had their own houses and put out records and had gone on tours. It was the first time we felt we had met kindred spirits and like minded people in the music scene in the OC. Now a days Pterodacdudes still play occasionally, but the members have new also awesome bands like White Night, who just released a crazy good album on Recess Records, and Captain Slookie and the Rogue Squadron. Of course Burger Records have been instrumental in bringing a lot more attention to Fullerton and Orange County, bringing more bands through and having great all ages shows at the store. That’s a bummer about Orange County, there’s always all ages DIY venues getting shut down. There was recently a great skate warehouse / venue called Unit B warehouse that had to shutter it’s doors. Our friends in the great Dahga Bloom have their own warehouse called Thee Men’s Warehouse that just started doing shows again . Lots of our friends work at this bar called the Continental and it’s a good spot for touring bands to make decent money and the shows are always free. Some great bands from the Orange County/LA area everyone needs to check out include: White Night – the aforementioned White Night write some of the most beautiful music. Their new record, Prophets of Templum CDXX, is one of our favorite things to listen to on the road . I’ve heard some newer stuff they just recorded and it just gets more epic! we’ll be on tour with them on the west coast in January! Bad Antics- we’ve known bad antics maybe longer than anyone. we used to play punk type shows where all the bands were real influenced by 80s hardcore but the antics were the only ones doing it right! they’ve changed a lot too since we’ve known them and are way more stonier and ripping now. they are the most shredding band in California! Dirt Dress- the first SXSW we went to we got hold of their first tape and were immediately obsessed. Such odd and awesome lyrics and voice, and the music so minimal with changes and timing that you don’t expect. they’re another favorite to listen to in the van, and they also have a wonderful newish record out on recess. Gap Dream- Gabe’s from Cleveland but he moved into burgers warehouse space. He makes awesome music and loves his synths and laughing. our best friend bobby may plays bass and it’s wonderful to see him on stage. The Garden- we’ve been seeing these kids play since they were in high school and they’re headed for superstardom! they play super short songs with odd topics and are great musicians and put on a great show.Together Pangea- oh we’ve had many a great and terrible Time with the Pangea boys. They are some of our best buds and their songs are so sad and sexual and great. We sometimes do member swaps and always have fun together. Todd Congellierre’s assorted projects: Toys that Kill, Underground Railroad to Candyland, Stoned At Heart, FYP. Todd is god . He runs Recess Records and co-released our first two records with burger. We sometimes back his solo stuff as “Toddacity” and record in his studio Clown Sound. He’s our hero and his music is the best.
Health Care – Dan Bush from Thee Makeout party’s new stuff. His songwriting had a big influence on us and he has very pretty tender lovely songs. Mynx- our friend Cole sings and acts like a maniac in this band. it’s pretty evil sounding, which makes sense if you know Cole. Not for the weak of heart! Once again, Audacity will be performing on Thursday night (12/5) at the Hexagon Bar. Go check them out – it’s free!
