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Live Five: B-Side Players, North Korea, Blame Betty, Barefoot Hockey Goalie, Hocus
Latin funk, apocalyptic punk, roots rockabilly, alt-rock, and power pop in University Heights, City Heights, Carlsbad, Little Italy, San Carlos
Kitty Plague?
B-Side Players at The Lafayette Hotel: Lou Lou’s Jungle Room
December 26
“We now represent the Brown Majority,” says Karlos Paez, the dreadlocked frontman of Latin funk band B-Side Players, who helped launch the group in 1994. “The surfer, suburban stereotype of California is changing fast. It’s not all bleach blondes anymore.” Specializing in socially conscious dance music sung in both Spanish and English, the ensemble fuses sounds from Latin America (Cuba, Mexico, Brazil) with funk, rock, jazz, and hip-hop. The group won a San Diego Music Award for Best World Album for their 2009 record Radio Afro Mexica, and they won Best World Music at the 2011 SDMAs, an award they took home again in 2012. Their incendiary live shows celebrate diverse cultures, especially Chicano identity. The performance takes place at the Lafayette Hotel’s concert-friendly supper club and event venue, Lou Lou’s Jungle Room.
North Korea at the Tower Bar
December 26
Founded in Autumn 2021, North Korea plays apocalyptic punk: heavy, loud, chaotic, and full of raw fury, often with heavy hardcore influences. “I am the songwriter, drummer, and singer in the studio, and I handle vocals live as well,” says Wade Youngman, a founding member of Unwritten Law who has also branched out with acts such as Demasiado and Spray Allen. “For North Korea, I have a rotating cast of musicians who create and perform with me.” The band’s lyrics feature themes of rebellion and intensity, contrasting with the actual music from the nation of North Korea, which is state-sanctioned and rarely strays outside classical-folk boundaries. They’re currently working on an EP and they recently released a video for their track “Bring On the Flood.” The bill includes Hamapple, a Long Beach band founded in 2016 that blends classic punk roots with catchy hooks on albums such as Radically Left Out (2021) and The Worm (2022).
Blame Betty at Carlsbad City Library
December 27
This edition of the Library’s Saturdays In the Courtyard series kicks off with a free dance lesson from McCann Dance instructors, who will teach fun steps to show off on the dance floor. Then, enjoy a high-energy performance by Blame Betty, a trio known for their rockabilly, roots rock, and surf music. Formed in 2019 by guitarist and vocalist George Comes, drummer and vocalist Jim Buehl, and bassist and vocalist Bobby Villa, the group's style is based upon the sounds of Sun Records and other artists from the 1950s, heavily influenced by Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Link Wray, and Johnny Cash, in addition to Southern California surf music. Courtyard performances take place outdoors, weather permitting. Cannon Art Gallery and Chapters Cafe will also be open so you can enjoy an early evening full of culture with friends. Seating opens at 4:30 pm and is limited (it’s recommended to bring your own chair), with live music starting at 5 pm.
Barefoot Hockey Goalie at the Casbah
December 28
Local alt-rock heroes Barefoot Hockey Goalie creates bizarre mini rock operas, such as Darius, An Interview With Thomas Edison, and Fedik's Butcher Shop, the latter about Estonian Butchers and their adventures in America, with songs about raccoons and hoodlums. Their EP Kid Champion was about an ill-fated boxer vs. the Devil, and they debuted their magnum opus Clairemont: A Suburban Rock Opera in 2022. The bill includes The Strangulators, a newly formed film-noir inspired theatrical costume band founded by members from Pony Death Ride, the Spice Pistols, and Screamin YeeHaws. Also performing will be Kitty Plague, co-founded in 2011 by Mark Haemmerle (Starcrossed) and named for a large litter of kittens once born in Haemmerle’s back yard.
December 30
Punky power-pop rockers Hocus is fronted by Lando Martinez, a self-described “Mexican from Texas” who retired from the U.S. Navy in 2008 after serving 20 years. The left-handed guitarist describes his songwriting as “A blend of ’90s, British, and today...I’d say Hocus music is like a smooth, relaxing drink with a twist of razor blades. Music that is melodic and raw at the same time.” After playing their first show at O’Connell’s in January 2009, the band’s debut album Better Than You was nominated Best Local Recording at the 2010 San Diego Music Awards. They appear in the documentary There Is Nothing Out There: A San Diego Concert Film (which also includes the Soft Pack, the Silent Comedy, Transfer, and others), as well as being featured in 48 Hour Freak Out, a film short documenting the band’s whirlwind round of three local gigs staged over the space of one weekend in San Diego. This performance takes place at the San Carlos venue formerly known as Navajo Live.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Live Five: B-Side Players, North Korea, Blame Betty, Barefoot Hockey Goalie, Hocus
Latin funk, apocalyptic punk, roots rockabilly, alt-rock, and power pop in University Heights, City Heights, Carlsbad, Little Italy, San Carlos
Live Five: B-Side Players, North Korea, Blame Betty, Barefoot Hockey Goalie, Hocus
Latin funk, apocalyptic punk, roots rockabilly, alt-rock, and power pop in University Heights, City Heights, Carlsbad, Little Italy, San Carlos
Kitty Plague?
B-Side Players at The Lafayette Hotel: Lou Lou’s Jungle Room
December 26
“We now represent the Brown Majority,” says Karlos Paez, the dreadlocked frontman of Latin funk band B-Side Players, who helped launch the group in 1994. “The surfer, suburban stereotype of California is changing fast. It’s not all bleach blondes anymore.” Specializing in socially conscious dance music sung in both Spanish and English, the ensemble fuses sounds from Latin America (Cuba, Mexico, Brazil) with funk, rock, jazz, and hip-hop. The group won a San Diego Music Award for Best World Album for their 2009 record Radio Afro Mexica, and they won Best World Music at the 2011 SDMAs, an award they took home again in 2012. Their incendiary live shows celebrate diverse cultures, especially Chicano identity. The performance takes place at the Lafayette Hotel’s concert-friendly supper club and event venue, Lou Lou’s Jungle Room.
North Korea at the Tower Bar
December 26
Founded in Autumn 2021, North Korea plays apocalyptic punk: heavy, loud, chaotic, and full of raw fury, often with heavy hardcore influences. “I am the songwriter, drummer, and singer in the studio, and I handle vocals live as well,” says Wade Youngman, a founding member of Unwritten Law who has also branched out with acts such as Demasiado and Spray Allen. “For North Korea, I have a rotating cast of musicians who create and perform with me.” The band’s lyrics feature themes of rebellion and intensity, contrasting with the actual music from the nation of North Korea, which is state-sanctioned and rarely strays outside classical-folk boundaries. They’re currently working on an EP and they recently released a video for their track “Bring On the Flood.” The bill includes Hamapple, a Long Beach band founded in 2016 that blends classic punk roots with catchy hooks on albums such as Radically Left Out (2021) and The Worm (2022).
Blame Betty at Carlsbad City Library
December 27
This edition of the Library’s Saturdays In the Courtyard series kicks off with a free dance lesson from McCann Dance instructors, who will teach fun steps to show off on the dance floor. Then, enjoy a high-energy performance by Blame Betty, a trio known for their rockabilly, roots rock, and surf music. Formed in 2019 by guitarist and vocalist George Comes, drummer and vocalist Jim Buehl, and bassist and vocalist Bobby Villa, the group's style is based upon the sounds of Sun Records and other artists from the 1950s, heavily influenced by Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Link Wray, and Johnny Cash, in addition to Southern California surf music. Courtyard performances take place outdoors, weather permitting. Cannon Art Gallery and Chapters Cafe will also be open so you can enjoy an early evening full of culture with friends. Seating opens at 4:30 pm and is limited (it’s recommended to bring your own chair), with live music starting at 5 pm.
Barefoot Hockey Goalie at the Casbah
December 28
Local alt-rock heroes Barefoot Hockey Goalie creates bizarre mini rock operas, such as Darius, An Interview With Thomas Edison, and Fedik's Butcher Shop, the latter about Estonian Butchers and their adventures in America, with songs about raccoons and hoodlums. Their EP Kid Champion was about an ill-fated boxer vs. the Devil, and they debuted their magnum opus Clairemont: A Suburban Rock Opera in 2022. The bill includes The Strangulators, a newly formed film-noir inspired theatrical costume band founded by members from Pony Death Ride, the Spice Pistols, and Screamin YeeHaws. Also performing will be Kitty Plague, co-founded in 2011 by Mark Haemmerle (Starcrossed) and named for a large litter of kittens once born in Haemmerle’s back yard.
December 30
Punky power-pop rockers Hocus is fronted by Lando Martinez, a self-described “Mexican from Texas” who retired from the U.S. Navy in 2008 after serving 20 years. The left-handed guitarist describes his songwriting as “A blend of ’90s, British, and today...I’d say Hocus music is like a smooth, relaxing drink with a twist of razor blades. Music that is melodic and raw at the same time.” After playing their first show at O’Connell’s in January 2009, the band’s debut album Better Than You was nominated Best Local Recording at the 2010 San Diego Music Awards. They appear in the documentary There Is Nothing Out There: A San Diego Concert Film (which also includes the Soft Pack, the Silent Comedy, Transfer, and others), as well as being featured in 48 Hour Freak Out, a film short documenting the band’s whirlwind round of three local gigs staged over the space of one weekend in San Diego. This performance takes place at the San Carlos venue formerly known as Navajo Live.