Geezer Punks Descend on Ensenada

"We got our name because we're all getting a little bit older, and it's about time to send us off to the glue factory," jokes Greg Lowther, 40-year-old drummer for Glue Factory. "We're not hiding our age like Mick Jagger. We're embracing the fact that we're geriatric punk rockers."

On June 18, Glue Factory will play Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada with 3rd Alley.

"It's the first time a punk rock band has played at Hussong's," says Ensenada businessman and part-time rock promoter Memo Ramirez. Gringo rock bands have never played Ensenada's famous watering hole. Established in 1892, Hussong's is known for its strolling mariachi bands. The bar is packed most weekend nights. Ramirez says he suggested the idea to the bar owners and they liked it. Lowther likes the idea, too.

"I've been drinking at that bar since I was 15," says Lowther. "Ensenada is my favorite city outside the U.S.... Memo wanted us to play at Rosarito [Beach], but Rosarito is not as cool as Ensenada. Rosarito is a bad version of Huntington Beach."

In the past, Ramirez has booked Shortbus shows at Ensenada's Papas & Beer. Shortbus includes former members of Sublime and now records for the Long Beach Records label owned by Lowther. Long Beach Records' roster of ten artists (3rd Alley and Glue Factory among them) includes musicians that played in bands alongside Sublime in the late '80s and early '90s.

Glue Factory and 3rd Alley appear 9 p.m., June 18, at Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada. Must be 18.