Los Hot Boxers - Uno (2009)

Los Hot Boxers are a San Jose ska band that I checked out randomly at my local venue and was thoroughly impressed. I bought their EP and have been playing it a ton. They have a very similar sound to Santa Cruz's own The Expendables, another band I like a lot, but these guys have a more jazzy feel with Latin undertones. At the show I felt like they are the kind of background music played at a party you had no intention of attending, and ended up meeting a bunch of stand up folks and having a blast. To put it more in real life context, say you had hard week at work, and all you want to do is drink a stiff one and watch the game, but you feel guilty cause you told your coworker you would show to his party, and you go begrudgingly, and it ends up being the highlight of your month.

My favorite jams are "Hold You Close" and "How's It Gonna Be". The only thing that disappoints me is that I am only finding out about them now, during the winter and rain, and they are a total summertime BBQs, beer pong, and Tecate 30 packs type of groove. The singer has some awesome lyrics that I personally can identify with, like when he talks about hesitant phone calls and their negative repercussions in "How's it Gonna Be". Solid band, and a solid find, definitely would recommend picking up the album and seeing them live.

NoFX & The Expendables @ The Canyon Club

We boarded the limo bus with a bucket full of beer and booze around 7ish in front of Velvet Jones. 23 brave souls on their way to witness veteran punkers NoFX do their thing at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills. I had found out a week prior while in Santa Cruz that fellow SC Locs, The Expendables, would be the second opener, so that increased the size of my boner for this show exponentially. After many years of loving NoFX's signature brand of raunchy, political, and drug/alcohol-fueled music, this was my first chance to see them live.

Having acquired a healthy buzz on the ride down, the first thing to do when we got there was hit the bar. Not long after that, The Expendables began their set. While rockin out to "Down, Down, Down", the second song of the set, long time buddy Cam (former member of The Expendables) found me in the crowd and slapped a backstage pass on me. Ho. Lee. Shit.

While backstage drinking free beer and shootin the shit with some cool folks I completely miss The Expendables set. Oops! Drank more free beer. Went to the merch table and bought an Expendables tee shirt. Drank more. Went backstage again where I almost run into Fat Mike of NoFX as he is being directed to the stage, so I just follow him up.

I end up standing directly behind the drum kit for the entire show with a shit eating grin and, of course, FREE BEER!!! Needless to say, I don't really remember what they played, or for how long, but I know I left with that same smile.

Now, I know what you are thinking, "This is the worst show review ever." And that very well may be. But I had a great fuckin time and I highly recommend checking out NoFX and/or The Expendables whenever you get the chance. Who knows, maybe you will end up backstage drinking free beer.

(Adding pics later)

The Dirty Heads - Any Port In A Storm (2008)

Working with a similar influential underpinning of hip hop, ska, pop-reggae and/or reggae-rock as the likes of Sublime, Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, and Santa Cruz's own, The Expendables (the list goes on), Any Port In A Storm has, what I would call, a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" sensation to it. What I mean is, on this album, the combination of the two primarily used influences—reggae & "white-boy" hip hop—make for a drastically conflicting tempo, intensity, and therefore, overarching feeling, from track to track. For example, I enjoyed the mellow & melodious—albeit familiar for anyone who recognized the aforementioned bands—pop-reggae tracks such as: "Everything I'm Looking For," "Know That I," "Chelsea," and the clear standout, "Stand Tall," that gave more weight to the reggae influence. However, I found myself immediately skipping over tracks like "Hip Hop Misfits," "Morning Light," and "Check The Level," because they entirely shifted style, tone, and approach and agitated the mood and theme that the other tracks had developed. I know that the variation of influence and flux in disposition is natural and appealing for some, and may be stimulating in a concert setting; however, the fluctuations in style make Any Port difficult to enjoy in its entirety.