88 BOADRUM AT THE LA BREA TAR PITS!!!!

Visually and audiophonically, this Friday evening gathering was the most impressive concert of the year: The Boredoms’ Yamatsuka Eye & Yoshimi P-We (& whoever those new cats are) leading 88 drummers in an 88 minute musical tour de force at 8:08pm on 8/8/08 at the La Brea Tar Pits… FUCK YEAH!!!

The Boredoms have been a fave of mine since I bought “Soul Discharge” on LP from Andrew Klimek at the second Sonic Disturbance Fest at the Cleveland Public Theater back in 1991. The album cover was super-freaky… and, damn, the music changed my life (seriously)!

Later, in 1992 the Boredoms stayed at my place on Mayfield Rd. for a coupla weeks. They were stranded in America… I took them to the Salvation Army and Angie’s Soul Food Kitchen, and they jammed at the Euclid Tavern on one of those classic Monday Nights with the Pain Teens (whose singer Bliss Blood ripped out a rendition of “You Only Live Twice” wich still gives me goosebumps when I reminisce), Brutal Truth, etc.—that was the funnest ever (and it took my mind off my pending ditching of college… or maybe encouraged it?). During that time I learned Eye was making all his money as a “black” model in Japan (he apparently would get sprayed with dark pigment, and rake in thousands of bucks in ad campaigns targeting the African-American worshipping Japanese youth market) and that there were no guinea pigs in Japan (Yoshimi was astounded by my guinea pig).

Flash forward many many years, and Eye has gone spiritual (and altered his name), and Yoshimi has a Flaming Lips album named after her, and they execute massive events like this one, with an all-star cast of underground icons like:

Hisham A. Bharoocha (Soft Circle)
Zach Hill (Hella)
Butchy Fuego (Pit Er Pat)
Kid Millions (Oneida)
Dave Nuss (No-Neck Blues Band / Under Satan’s Sun)
Christopher Powell (Icy Demons / Man Man)
Aaron Moore (Volcano the Bear)
Warren Huegel (Tussle)
Dustin Donaldson (Freelance Session, I Am Spoonbender, Link Wray, Thought Industry)
Derek James (Entrance)
Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse, All Smiles, Black Heart Procession)
Tim Soete (The Fucking Champs)
Michael Tapper (We Are Scientists)
Adam Pfahler (Jawbreaker)
Claude Collins-Stracensky
Sara Lund (Unwound)
Matthew Hartman (Sic Alps)
Chris Moore (Negative Approach)
Abby Ball
Ryan Huber
Geoff Soule (FUCK, Tara Jane O’neil)
John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees)
Shahin Motia (Oneida / Ex Models / Knyfe Hyts)
Alexis Garapulos (Arp / Expanding Headband)
Katelyn Hall (Mika Miko)
David Janik (Company)
Michael Henrickson (Smegma / Jackie-O-Motherfucker)
Tom Recchion
Michael Bulington
Trent Moorman (Like a Kite/The Saturday Knights)
Brian Dwyer
Damon Eliza Palermo (Mi Ami)
Michael Catano
Vice Cooler (xbxrx / Hawnay Troof)
Andy Connors (ex-A Minor Forest / Lumen)
Weasel Walter (xbxrx)
Adam Baz (Evangelista, Ohioan, Nightwonds)
Dave Aron (Koi Pond)
Pete Vogl (Koi Pond)
Robin Easton
Alianna Kalaba (We Ragazzi)
Gregory Rogove (Priestbird)
Jonathan Holland (Tussle)
Brendan Fowler (BARR / Car Clutch)
Adam Autry
Anthony Petrovic (Ezeetiger / The Drums)
Rob Barber (High Places)
Dan Rowan
Grace Lee (Foot Village)
Jason Adam Baker (Necking)
Andrew Neuhues
Sandra Vu (Midnight Movies)
Than Luu (Black Gold / M. Ward / Adam Franklin)
Jaiko Suzuki (Electro Putas)
Brian Miller (Foot Villlage)
Ryan Pritts (Paik / Bolmongani)
Gabie Strong
Jessica Espeleta
Patty Schemel (Hole, Juliette Lewis, Pink)
Roy Tatum (Wives)
London May (Samhain / Dag Nasty)
Wendy Shuey
Paul Quattrone (!!!, Modey Lemon, Midnite Snake)
Josh Taylor (Foot Village / Friends Forever)
Sarah Anderson (Lucky Dragons)
James Jolliff (Brother Reade)
Brian Girgus (lowercase / Track Star)
Yoshi Nakamoto (The Aislers Set)
Nora Brank
Chris Hathwell (Moving Units)
Kevin Stuart (Crystal Antlers)
Damian Edwards (Crystal Antlers)
Bianca Sparta (Erase Errata)
Michael La Franchi (Giant Drag / Let’s Go Sailing)
Taylor Richardson (Sunburned Hand of the Man)
Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus)
Diva Dompe (Black Black)
Tennessee Thomas (The Like)
Erin Garcia (Brother Reade)
Steven McCarty (Dead Meadow)
Joachim Cooder
Mike Sord Gard (M. Sord)
Aaron Sperske (Beachwood Sparks)
Sara Diaz
Wendy Farina
Greg Fox (Pink Mountain / Family of Love)

Kevin Haskins from Tones on Tail jamming with Weasel Walter jamming with Foot Village!?

I was in musical heaven!!! So weird… so great!!!!!!

Anyhow, Kyle bailed on this event at last minute (it was not for him… he detests “drum circle B.S.” and has a 2 minute attention span), so I hooked up with friend Chau, who has become one of my most inspiring new buddies… After the event, we checked out Chris Burden’s new LACMA installation of classic Hollywood lamp posts, plus we chatted with Will K and Liam Amazedude and Sam Lubicz, who told us about his very exciting upcoming Monday Night CD release (w/ me & Kyle at Pehr) on September 8th… don’t miss that.

After all the mind-blowing underground music from the Boredoms and friends, Chau took me to a mainstream WeHO gay bar which was totally hilarious and fun. We played a rather cruel pick-up game (as per Chau’s instruction) with the guys in attendance… But Chau got his come-uppance as a very out-of-shape and scary old man stalked him no matter where he went inside the club. Ha! Then we crashed… drunk, and aesthetically overloaded. Whew—whatta night! One of the best.

Enjoy the pics!!!!

88 Boadrum!!!