“A lot of people will ask us that: ‘Cumbia is the new punk—why?’ But more than anything else, it’s the power of the music.” –Mongo, Son Rompe Pera

Son Rompe Pera interview by Andrés Romero

What if I told you one of the best live acts in North America right now is a cumbia-punk band from Mexico City that features the marimba? With their nonstop touring schedule and reputation for raucous live shows, Son Rompe Pera has built up a worldwide following, playing to fans in far-flung places like Japan and Australia, as well as big festivals like WOMAD and Punk Rock Bowling. Far from having a “moment,” cumbia has enjoyed a decades-long diaspora across the planet, with each region along the way building upon the sound, adding its own local rhythms to the mix. The end result has been a culturally rich panorama of artists incorporating cumbia with ska, hip hop, metal, electronica, and, in the case of Son Rompe Pera, punk rock.

At the heart of the band are the three Gama brothers, “Mongo,” “Kacho,” and “Kilos,” who have, in the wake of their father’s passing, honored his legacy by taking the musical skills he passed on to them to the global stage. Recently, Jim Ruland, his wife Nuvia, and I traveled to Mexico City to catch a show at Salon Los Angeles. We sat down in a taco shop with the band, along with manager Timothy “Timo” Bisig, to talk about where they came from, what’s on the horizon for the band, and why cumbia is the new punk.

Faulty Cognitions interview by Sanden Totten

Hope is a powerful drug. Especially in times like these when society seems messed up beyond repair. That’s why when a band shows up peddling little bursts of hope, I sit up and listen. If they’re packaging that hope with singalong choruses, a driving beat, and high-flying riffs, then I’m all in.

Faulty Cognitions is a band full of hope, but I didn’t pick up on that at first. You know how some albums hit you right away and some creep up on you? For me, Faulty Cognitions’ debut album, Somehow, Here We Are, did both. On the first listen I was pulled in by the upbeat melodies and poppy hooks. I thought I’d found a chill summer record to listen to on rides to the beach. But on repeat listens the lyrics stood out more. The band sings about depression, anxiety, and the overwhelming problems facing the world. But they also talk about staying in the fight, supporting the younger punks in the scene, taking care of yourself, and other little victories in life. That’s when I started listening closer. It was like there was a second album hidden in the first. An album about hope against all odds. I started taking the songs like medicine.

Given that the primary songwriter and guitarist is Chris Mason, this all makes sense. He’s spent years honing his craft in bands like Shang-A-Lang and Low Culture. Faulty Cognitions gets compared to Hüsker Dü and The Replacements, but like those bands, they are a unique beast. The band started when Chris teamed up with his longtime friend, scene veteran, and bassist Yole Centeno (Nocturnal Prose, Sacred Games, Amygdala). They were joined by guitarist Nick Obregon (Eastern Condors, Nocturnal Prose) and drummer Mike Spliff (Sunjammers, Sticky Bandits). Somehow, Here We Are came out last year and their latest, They Promised Us Heaven, dropped in September. I spoke with the band while they were touring through Los Angeles earlier this year.

The Humblers interview by Kaeyli and Daryl, intro by Daryl

Let me start off by saying that the motivation for conducting this interview was not because of a personal interest in BDSM. While doing research for the interview I read multiple articles on the culture so I’d have some idea of the topic. The Humblers popped up on my radar because they played a show with some friends of mine and, between their lyrics and stage banter, it was apparent they’d established a concept that offered a fresh perspective and critical look at a subject often full of misconceptions and stigmatized. After decades of over-analyzing this shit, what could be more punk?!

They play catchy California punk that’s rooted in the tradition of bands that hail from places like Sacramento and Berkeley, all with an edge and aggressive demeanor of someone who’s spent most of their adult life in Los Angeles. I’ve always said that the best California bands can meld the cultures of the north and south parts of this state, and I feel like The Humblers do that. What other bands have directly worked with members of The Groovie Ghoulies and The Circle Jerks?

Welcome to the dungeon.

Zack Static Sect interview by Mike Frame

I like lifers. What I really love are bands and artists who start out great and get stronger as they go along. Many of my all-time favorites are in the realm of punk rock’n’roll specifically: Jeff Dahl, Lazy Cowgirls, Sonny Vincent, The Hangmen. The list goes on and on. People should get better at what they do over time. That’s certainly the case with the Zack Static Sect.

Starting out in The Statics in the early ’90s, it’s been a wild ride for Zack—from tinny, lo-fi “budget rock,” through straight-up rock bands, and now into something that puts it all together with the Zack Static Sect. The Statics’ first release also just happened to be the first release from a Bay Area record label called Rip Off Records in 1993. That label went on to release many highly sought after records by multitudes of bands over the next decade and a half. The Statics also released two ripping full-length albums on Rip Off, with the 1997 album Punk Rock And Roll being the high water mark for the band.
Zack also ran Rat City Records with Michael Goodall during that era. They released singles by The Drags, Zeke, The Makers, Spaceshits, and more. The discography is mighty for the era and many of those records now command serious collector prices. Rat City released a great single by The Invisible Men, which included Zack in the lineup, and that band also released a single on Estrus Records.

Zack had a front row seat for several of the Pacific Northwest trends and hype trains throughout the ’90s and beyond, but he kept his head down and pushed forward with bands, releases, and life. He can now look back at a pretty serious body of work through three-plus decades. Whether it was the grunge hype of the early ’90s or the Estrus/’90s garage punk underground bubble that followed, there was always a lot more going on in the region and in Seattle. Whether people were paying attention or not, the spirit that The Sonics kick-started in the ’60s was always there, trend or no trend.

Family life and the usual “adulthood” stuff slowed things down for Zack for a bit, but the last decade and a half has seen a flurry of activity, from the Knights Of Trash for several years and now the Zack Static Sect. The Zack Static Sect is quite busy, playing gigs and issuing multiple records each year. The Sect stuff is my favorite stuff Zack has done. The vibe, to my ears, is very “Beantown Sound,” meaning that I can hear everything from The Remains to DMZ, to Willie Alexander, to Nervous Eaters, and The Dawgs. Boston has always had that mid-tempo punk via rock’n’roll thing down solid and that’s the sound I hear in the Zack Static Sect. I simply can’t get enough. The Mummies and Billy Childish will always be the heartbeat underneath it all, and I’m really loving his newest project.

Scott Torguson interview by Jiffy Marx

I became aware of Wet The Rope thanks to hardcore historian Tony Rettman, who interviewed WTR’s singer Scott Torguson last year. Once I realized Scott had also been the vocalist for the ’90s emotional hardcore band Amber Inn, of whom I’m a long time fan, I reached out to Scott to see if Wet The Rope wanted to play with Night Court on the tour I was booking. I say “emotional hardcore,” though at the time we called it “emo.” Scott and I laughed about what kids now consider emo, but back then it was an ideological—or at least idealistic—underground movement within the hardcore/punk music scene. Although these bands were predominantly made of straight white dudes, it was at least a step in the right direction away from the macho and sometimes violent earlier hardcore scene of the 1980s. Wet The Rope’s first recordings were “angrier” hardcore, but I can still hear some of the mid-tempo post-hardcore—with angular guitars and intelligent lyrics ranging from personal to political—and a heavy Revolution Summer-era D.C. influence that had originally drawn me to Amber Inn. I introduced myself by relaying that our bands had played together while on tour in 1994, at the Goat House in Seattle.

Scott messaged me back right away and told me it was actually 1995 at the Radio House. Not that I didn’t believe him, but I asked him how he could be so sure. He responded by mentioning he’d made a list of every show he’s ever attended or played since 1987. Out of curiosity, fascination, and envy I asked if he’d mind if I checked it out.

Moments later, a spreadsheet landed in my inbox. Having played in numerous bands—from the 7 Seconds-worshipping, Sham 69-covering Platypus Scourge, then evolving from Sinker to the aforementioned Amber Inn and Wet The Rope— Scott booked shows and tours for his own bands, as well as a who’s who of ’90s punk. He lived a little over an hour from Berkeley during the heyday of Gilman and the list made me greener than the lid on my compost bin. To put it mildly; it kinda blew my fucking mind.

After our last Sacramento show with criminally underrated locals The Globs, which Scott helped set up, I interviewed him about his bands, his other interests and occupations, and his list.

One Punk’s Guide to Hurling by Eric Carlson

For a lot of people in the punk rock sandbox, team sports aren’t very punk rock. I suppose that’s because we associate team sports—often rightly—with bullying, toxic culture, and authoritarian leadership figures. But I have a confession to make: I like sports. I especially like to play team sports. Team sports aren’t inherently toxic and there are a lot of aspects of punk rock that depend on team mentalities: cooperatives, collectives, and being in a band, for example. So, I like team sports. Through high school I played soccer (both indoor and outdoor), basketball, and football, and later in adulthood I played on volleyball and soccer teams. But when I was in my mid-twenties I was turned on to the greatest (and, in my opinion, most punk rock) team sport I’ve ever come across: hurling. Hurling is like a great hardcore record: it’s fast, chaotic, and violent, but when done well it’s absolutely mesmerizing and even elegant in its own way.

When I tell people that I play hurling, they usually say a.) “What’s that?”, or b.) “Is that the thing with the ice and the big stone and the brooms?”, or c.) “You mean like ‘puking’, haw haw haw.” In actuality, hurling is perhaps the most captivating and intense field sport you might ever see, let alone play; to see hurling is to be intrigued, but to play hurling is to be enthralled. I was first turned on to hurling in Milwaukee in 1997, and twenty-eight years later I still drag my old bones out regularly to play. The game is kind of like field hockey meets lacrosse, and it’s five, maybe ten times faster than either one of them could ever hope to be. It’s not for no reason that hurling is often called “the fastest game on grass.”


“Information moves quickly, accuracy notwithstanding… I accidently saw the graphic video, my phone automatically delivering me a snuff film I never asked for.” –Donna Ramone (instagram)

“While twenty-five-year-old me is disappointed that I’m listening to hardcore, fifteen-year-old me is glad I’m back…. I felt strong. I felt powerful. I felt the opposite of old.” –Jim Ruland (instagram)

“Sometimes you just don’t wanna do shit. And we should feel empowered to say no, just because…. I must say no so I can say yes in other ways.” –Lorde Destroyer

“You can heckle against the propaganda all you want. It may even do some good to be there heckling. But you still paid the price of admission.” –Sean Carswell (instagram)

“It’s one of those amazing occurrences that cannot be produced from a capitalist system, only from a system where ‘doing cool shit’ is the local Bitcoin.”–Rev. Nørb (instagram)

“Music often leaves an imprint, even long after it stops, resonating for what can seem like an eternity…. Here’s to seeing you on the other side, my grandfather.” –Designated Dale

“You say bootlicker like it’s a bad thing!” –Art Fuentes (instagram)

“Kenny Loggins really couldn’t stand up against, ‘I saw your mommy and your mommy’s dead.’.” –Rhythm Chicken (instagram)

“I’m a loving parent, and an aging punk who is deeply suspicious of our relentless, unexamined technological advancement. But I’m also fucking tired.” –Jennifer Whiteford (instagram)

And photos from the lovely and talented:

Chris Boarts Larson

Mari Tamura

Albert Licano

This issue is dedicated to the memories of Bruce Loose, Ann Everton, Scott Aicher, Soo Catwoman (Susan Lucas), Pixie Panik, and Tofu the dog.

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