Waiting for the fall with Savage Republic

ILLUSTRATION by LUKE MCGARRY
Savage Republic came out of the tunnels in 1981, and if they had been from a city with a more established vocabulary, they would have been a no-wave band. But they were from Los Angeles—one of the proud outsider bands that took a push from punk [...]

Group grope with the Angry Samoans

ILLUSTRATION by LUKE MCGARRY
Saw Metal Mike Saunders once before an Angry Samoans set, hunched in front of the merch fence at Chain Reaction in about 2001 without anyone capable of discussing his fearsome Britney Spears predictions around: “Mark my words,” he’d written, “20 years from now ‘Hit Me Baby’ and [...]

Everything about the Stitches is true

The Stitches were almost called the Nubiles—names logged on a list singer Mike Lohrman kept at his now-shuttered Underdog Records in Laguna, in case he ever led a band—and that’s probably the most benign ‘almost’ the band ever experienced. The rest are rougher: almost made it big (Was Epitaph or [...]

Toys That Kill: More punk out of Pedro. $5. 21+.
ALEX’S BAR 2913 E Anaheim St, Long Beach 90804. 562.434.8292; alexsbar.com.
South Coast Chorale: Songs to “Make the Yule Tide Gay.” 5pm. $35.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 241 Cedar Ave, Long Beach 90802. 562.743.1365.

The Masque: The anniversary show that still seems like it shouldn’t be: The Plugz, The Eyes, The Deadbeats and all those other LA punks that dissolved decades ago. Now that they’re back, let’s get rid of New York. 3pm. $18-20. All ages.
THE ECHO 1822 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90026. attheecho.com.
Spot Lit: Susan Hansell, editor of [...]

They sent me one. It’s unreal. I thought I was too heartless for this kind of thing anymore but this is probably the best and most beautiful punk-archive book since HARDCORE CALIFORNIA, and with unrestrained production values, too. The Masque anniversary show is at the Echoplex this Sunday (so are Orphans, though!) and I’ll try [...]

Native Plant Sale: Kill your lawn, then stock up and save up on native and drought-resistant plants at the El Dorado Nature Center. All purchases help support the Center and habitat restoration. 9am.
EL DORADO NATURE CENTER 7550 E Spring St, Long Beach 90815; 562.560.1645.
Larry Mantle: The host of KPCC’s AirTalk comes to the Main Library [...]

T.S.O.L. doesn’t have to die

PHOTO COURTESY NITRO RECORDS

A year ago I had coffee with T.S.O.L. singer Jack Grisham. At the time, the group was prepping for two farewell shows at downtown’s Vault 350, the apparent final chapter of one of Southern California’s definitive punk bands. Fast-forward to a week ago, with Grisham calling from a [...]

Operator on returning

OPERATOR by JENNIE WARREN
HEADSETS AND PHONES courtesy of THE VINTAGE COLLECTIVE
Back when everyone was after “angular” or “spiky,” Operator was positively porcupined. It was the end of 2003, and guitarists Ed Stuart and Paul Sharar both came out of more Pistols-punk projects—Stuart from the early Distraction and Sharar from the Fifth Story Tenants—and [...]