Thirteen years ago, Long Beach was a landscape of raw potential and vanishing venues. For G and his partner Vicky, it was a city that needed an outlet—a place where the vibrant, colliding worlds of punk, hip-hop, metal, and Latin music could be documented without a corporate filter.
“Culture always has to be promoted,” G says, leaning back. “There always has to be an outlet. We used to have a shop called No Regrets, where we held punk shows every two weeks. We realized we needed to showcase the people who actually deserved to be seen.”
Vicky agrees, noting that the move to television was almost inevitable. “The scene has been here for a long time. It made sense to take what we were already doing in the shop and put it on the air.” What started as a labor of love has become an institution. Airing Friday nights at 11:00 PM for over a decade, Road Dogs TV operates on a simple, uncompromising ethos: If we think you’re cool, you’re on. If we don’t, you aren’t.
“We don’t do this for money or glory,” G explains. “We do it because we truly want to keep music, art, and culture alive in Long Beach. We believe it’s our obligation as Californians.”
The Green Room Confidential
When you spend a decade in the underground, you witness the surreal. Asked about the wildest moment they couldn’t broadcast, G chuckles, recalling a guest who “wanted a platter of guacamole and chips and went absolutely crazy when we didn’t give it to him”- “all while holding a tall can.” added stage manager Juan.
But for the most part, the “after-hours” nature of their slot provides complete creative freedom. The show has played host to heavyweights like Bill Ward of Black Sabbath, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, and the late DH Peligro of the Dead Kennedys.
“I feel like I’ve lived four lives just by doing this,” G says. “We’ve interviewed Jack Grisham from TSOL and all the guys from D.I. when nobody else could get them. All the big magazines and newspapers were there, but the only people in the green room were the Road Dogs TV crew.”
Mission from Gods
Reflecting on their longevity, the crew—including stage manager Juan and HTTH band manager Dennis—maintains that their success is rooted in the refusal to “sell out.”
“I’ve always had the mentality that I’m going to finance my own art,” G says, his intensity rising. “I just feel like the Blues Brothers. I’m on a mission from the Gods.”
Vicky adds that the “Road Dogs” network is built on genuine human connection, not industry status. “Money won’t bring you happiness. Being able to support local art and create unity within our own surroundings—that’s bigger than anything.” Coming Full Circle
This year, the show turns 13, and their band, Heavenly Trip to Hell, hits the 30-year mark. To celebrate, they are hosting their first-ever Road Dogs Legacy Awards show at the iconic Art Theatre on 4th Street.
“It’s the last standing single-screen theater around,” says Dennis. “Hollywood and the film industry actually started in Long Beach before moving to LA. It’s full circle, bringing it back.” As for the “rules” of this new awards ceremony? Vicky is characteristically blunt. “The first rule is: there are no rules. We’re recognizing people who have left a legacy of music and art, and because they didn’t do it for money. At the end of the day, art will pay you.”
For a crew that has navigated the highs of Mexico City festivals and the lows of seeing beloved local clubs shuttered, the mission remains unchanged.
“We’re not stopping,” Vicky promises. “We’re looking forward to so many more places, so much more art, and meeting so many more people.”
Road Dogs TV airs Friday nights. To catch the latest in the Long Beach underground, tune in—just don’t expect them to play the hits if they don’t think they’re real.
Thirteen years. Zero apologies. The Road Dogs Legacy Awards show hits the Art Theatre August 13,2026.
Keeping the Fire Alive on Streets of Long Beach, Ca.
Thirty years. In the music industry, three decades is a geologic era. Most bands flame out before their first van oil change, but Long Beach legends Heavenly Trip to Hell (HTTH) are still here, standing as the undisputed, unchanged heavy metal spine of a city that transformed completely around them.
“I’ve seen a complete change in all the bars and all the clubs in Long Beach,” says frontman G, looking back at a landscape of vanished venues and flipped ownerships. “But Alex has held it down on Anaheim Street for a very long time. The V-Room, The Stash—all of that changed. But it’s bands like Heavenly Trip to Hell keeping it going. We’re keeping it alive.”
HTTH didn’t just survive; they conquered. Born from the gritty, unhinged pre-internet era of Xerox flyers and underground tape trading, the band used whatever secrets necessary to claw their way onto local bills. They grew from a teenage pact between G and his brother, founding member and bassist Sergio.
“Growing up with G was like living in a monk prison,” Sergio laughs. “We were always fighting, trying to beat the shit out of each other. But then we realized we shouldn’t be fighting each other—we should be fighting the world. That’s when we embraced rock and roll. I thought we were gonna die young. But that didn’t happen. So, here I am.”
THE HTTH SONIC ARCHIVE
From Aztec Batman to Road Dogs TV, three decades of uncompromising noise.
Declaring War on the Sunset Strip
When HTTH finally migrated from Long Beach to Hollywood, they didn’t just play the legendary venues—they occupied them. Selling out The Whisky a Go-Go, The Rainbow, and The Viper Room became a regular rite of passage.
“It felt like we declared war on the Sunset Strip,” Sergio recalls of their early days. “All of downtown Long Beach would come out on a Tuesday night and we would just take over. We were younger, reckless, and going against the grain. When punk was popular, we went metal. When metal became popular, we played punk. We don’t compromise our sound.”
Keyboardist Vicky agrees that the band’s live energy has always been a zero-sum game. “Every single night we play, we give it 100%. We go up on stage and we fuckin’ rock the house. There are no boundaries in HTTH. We’ve never stopped ourselves because we wanted somebody to like us.”
That uncompromising sonic footprint—a devastating blend of dark Goth atmosphere, heavy metal, and industrial synth—frequently terrified the bands they opened for. Management often feared HTTH would upstage the headliners. “When you’re actually a good band and you can really play, it makes people who aren’t a real band kind of fearful of you,” G notes dryly. Yet, the true titans recognized their power. Backstage chaos and wisdom followed them, including a memorable joint smoked with Megadeth’s David Ellefson, who told them they had something special and to never quit. Then there was the cryptic encounter with Nikki Sixx: “Take my phone number down, I’ll probably never see you again.” Did they take it? “Negative,” Jose Drummer laughs.
No Covers, No Requests, No Capitulation
After 30 years, most bands rely on a nostalgia circuit. HTTH refuses. They don’t do request hours, and they possess one sacred, unbreakable sonic rule: “No fucking covers.” When asked which songs still feel dangerous enough to ignite a riot today, the band points to a legacy of sonic weapons. For Vicky, it’s their timeless anthem “Fuck the Police.” For Sergio, it’s “Type the Riot,” the track where their signature cocktail of synths, metal, and punk first crystallized.
“Our music is more relevant today than it was 30 years ago,” G states. “Back then, we were talking about what’s happening right now. We basically predicted the future. We should change our names from being a band to being psychics. It’s not negativity—it’s inspiration. We’re on fire.”
That fire keeps burning in their upcoming material, with new tracks like “Holy Water” tackling religion, and “Suicide Tuesday” capturing the brutal, chemical comedown of partying too hard. Sergio is even tinkering with heavy, dance-driven compositions to push the band into punishing new territory.
The Ritual of Survival
How does a band notorious for causing chaos survive three decades without killing each other? It comes down to brotherhood, an ironclad work ethic, and a running inside joke born in the studio with producer Adasi from Fuel Music.
“Every time we play and something doesn’t sound right, we look at each other and say: ‘Do it again, and do it right this time!’” Vicky reveals.
Ultimately, Heavenly Trip to Hell has achieved the rarest feat in rock: they exceeded every dream they ever set without selling out, softening their edges, or turning to methamphetamine to cope with the road. They carved out their own version of heaven right here in the underground.
“I don’t even believe in hell or religion,” G says, summing up thirty years of defiance. “I believe that you make whatever you want. This band has given me a life, and it has inspired me. We’re just getting started. Hell yeah. Watch out for the new music.”
The headline gig was fun. There’s something magical about actually having 3 albums done. It gives you a lot of options and you have the ability to play 75 minutes and still have some songs left to choose from.
The only thing that sucked is that our release was delayed by about 2 months. So we kind of had an album release party without the album actually being released.
What’s going on w/ the new album?
It is finally going to be released mid July. I’ll have the exact date this week actually. Our producer, who mind you increased prices by double midway through the album, is taking forever to deliver the final mixes.
This album was quite the rough experiences. I think everyone involved in the making of it almost
Pap died at some point. Except for Celinda. Celinda is invincible.
But what do you expect? The album is called Rather Excessive. Of course making it wasn’t going to be the easiest thing in the world.
But what’s really great about it is that- this is the first time we have a group effort on the album. Every band member wrote their own parts on this one. On 53 Minutes it was basically just me n my producer in Germany and on Bonus Dias it was our producer, me n Rotten Rollin who is still our drummer to this day.
What’s next?
Lots of rehearsals to get a new setlist together followed by a bunch of shows with the new songs finally seeing the light of day. We should shoot some videos too. We have way too little of those out there.
Any big shows coming up?
The Viper Room and Daddy Diamonds. Oh and now that Adrian, who hates me, doesn’t work at 3 clubs anymore we’re finally gonna play there.
I will announce them as soon as we have the album release date. Also planning shows in San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and Vegas.
Any last words for your fans?
You guys have alot of Hollywood Apocalypse coming your way. New songs! New shows!!! LETS GO!!!
The heartbeat of the Long Beach underground isn’t found in stadium tours or viral trends; it’s found in the steady, relentless grind of artists who show up, day after day, for their city. On August 13, the Long Beach Art Theater will serve as the backdrop for a milestone celebration of that dedication: the Roaddogstv Recognition Awards.
This year, the ceremony takes a poignant turn as it prepares to honor two pillars of the local scene—the veteran rap group The Hustle Holix and the legendary Long Beach lyricist Big Supa—with legacy awards for their unwavering twenty-year commitment to the culture.
A Legacy of Longevity
For two decades, the Long Beach underground has relied on the presence of artists who hold the line. The Hustle Holix and Big Supa have become synonymous with the “International City’s” hip-hop identity, proving that longevity isn’t just about survival—it’s about evolution and influence.
The Hustle Holix have been instrumental in keeping the underground spirit alive, not only through their music but through their media presence. Their segment, Hustle Holix Hip Hop Corner on Roaddogstv, is celebrating a monumental 10-year anniversary. For a decade, this platform has served as a vital lighthouse for local talent, amplifying the voices of the LBC and bridging the gap between established legends and the next generation of North Long Beach lyricists.
Joining them in the spotlight is Big Supa, a titan of the West Coast scene whose career trajectory remains a blueprint for independent success. From his early rise with the West Coast Killa Beez—marking his indelible connection to the Wu-Tang lineage—to his relentless solo output, Big Supa has remained a constant force. With a discography that includes projects like Big Supa Tha Long Beach Pusha and 8 Dayze a Week, and his most recent power moves like the album Long Beach and the anthem “Still Banging Long Beach,” he continues to command respect as a true “Pusha” of the West Coast sound.
The Ceremony: A Night for the Culture
The Roaddogstv Recognition Awards at the Long Beach Art Theater are set to be more than just a trophy presentation. It is a moment of reflection for a community that has weathered industry shifts, economic tides, and the changing landscape of California music.
By honoring The Hustle Holix and Big Supa, Roaddogstv is highlighting the importance of the long game. These artists have chosen to build from the ground up, turning their passion into a permanent fixture of Long Beach history.
As we look toward August 13, the message is clear: while the trends may come and go, the legends who stay true to their roots are the ones who build the foundation upon which the future is written. Congratulations to both The Hustle Holix and Big Supa—thank you for twenty years of keeping the city’s heart beating.
In the attic he is bitten. Rats escape and unwittingly find sanctuary underneath the van of the paid mercenary genocidal human death machine , The Bad Soul.
The rats lay dormant in the van for days, convulsions, mutating, not awake but not quite dead incubating the disease. the twisted cocktail of bio-toxins intimately weave a new strand of sickness we find ourselves biologically fucked and now the true world order begins.
Attending an HTTH show the following weekend. The rats make their way into the club hypnotized and lethal. Motivated to kill.
The metal scene is the first to be exposed after incubation, Mojo El Diablo anti-propaganda machine greets the vermin with a war cry a work of art wrought with angst and above all else inspired for the Lost anarchy, blank pages are penned. the New New Testament is found deep within latest edition. His blood stream is saturated with enough blow to combat infection but even the sickest in society are turnt up. A suitable host for the afterlife party.
I would like to address the state of using your intuition. It’s a long journey to get to the center of You’re authentic being, especially with all the chaos surrounding Obstacles of distractions.
Immediate gratification equals third eye calcification. The hustle and bustle of the daily grind. It’s an Unconsciously long road to understanding that you always knew better the whole time by employing impairment of stopping self sabotaging tactics. Utilizing it as precautionary sense, avoiding unnecessary risk of tower damaging moments until we finally understand the true selves knew before we did. Authentic Awakening literally means before hand Knowledge is key. There is no goal Unconscious discovering never stops. We shouldn’t look for answers.
We should just listen to them.
To figure it out, go inside without a doubt
I would like to share a safety precaution with acquaintances following a distressing experience: when interacting with unknown individuals, particularly those from online marketplaces to exercise most control of enabling caution is paramount.
This is my most recent experience.
A true account of what transparency.
These indeed are actual factual
real Lifeline destiny changing events.
I posted a DVD on Marketplace and received an inquiries from an interested party. We agreed to meet at a gas station; however, upon the individual’s arrival, I noticed a discrepancy between the person in the profile picture and the one standing before me. Fortunately, I had a friend observing from a distance and my dog did not accompany me as I told the buyer
I would have with me. The buyer’s demeanor I would deem highly suspicious, and it became apparent that he had obtained my personal belongings information from a prior encounter at an event.
This unsettling experience underscored the significance of trusting one’s instincts and prioritizing safety. Most accidents occur within 3 miles of home.
Two individuals were involved that I was aware of that which leaves me three or more optional Scenario situations that could be concurring.
One pretending not to be the buyer
and another who did not match the profile picture that said he was the buyer.
Had my friend not provided support,
the situation could have escalated severely. This ordeal left me feeling apprehensive and raised major concerns about the extent to which lengths an individual would go to acquire a personal-item of mine. What is the Santa Maria is going on?
No ill forged against me will ever Prosper. I’m finally non revengeful with no choice of option in the matter as I am your mirror. When you summon unholy order over me you’ll most definitely shall receive that said blessing times three what goes around comes around by the power of three. It’s the universal flow of matter.
Consequently, I will be more cautious
in the future and advise others to do likewise. I didn’t liketo complain, but I don’t to back down either. I just wanted to throw out a little
friendly safety shout out to everyone that when you’re out at a new place may you not forget to turn your Wi-Fi off !
I noticed something very different and group stocking stalking. It’s a little bit in a long process. This way our brain doesn’t get to connect the 123 because of the time loop in between that’s where the word regret comes from knowing better but too late to do anything about it, but not today. Here we go.
This gentlemen that walked up to me
at a venue. Says I like that kiss bag Oh thank you sir
where can I get one?
Well I post on marketplace I was distracted momentarily after that, the person left. No goodbyes just gone. I observed him pulling out of valet parking
at the venue where I was attending. He stood out to me. He was a different breed than our fellow rock crew and then Suddenlyhe was just gone.
Like a bat out of hell. Before I could check out the white walls of his profile and his Choice of shoes, the mystery quickly became a memory. Never do business
with anybody that’s wearing flip-flops.
A while goes by and I check in my marketplace Messages and
there’s a gentleman in message there ~ we’ll just call him “lil d
lil d) I’m inquiring about your item for sale.
Is the DVD still available? ME) Yes it is. One weeks later ~ a new message ; Lil d) Sorry I haven’t got back to you. I was out of town. But I’m still interested.
Week later, New message ; lil d) I just drove in from
Huntington Beach. I’m in West Hollywood
Me) I’m busy doing what I gotta do when I get back to him much later
perhaps line it up for the next day He’s reply’s immediately to me It’s approximately 1130 at night. ME) I tell him I’ll meet him outside at the gas station. My friend works in there. I’ll have my Chihuahua with me.
~He says, you had mentioned you had kiss items. ~ in person later,
he tells me it’s a gift I need something for a
collectors birthday this weekend. not thinking, I take a picture of my kiss
gig bag that I only rarely really take out.
He says ~I’ll take it.
Great, I reply okay. let me know when you’re close. I’ll meet you outside
… Meanwhile, I ask my neighbor
Can you watch me out of your window
cause I don’t know this dude.
She happens to go downstairs We watch each other‘s back.
I get a message from Little D. It says I’m here …
I look over things.
Ginger to the left and I recognize as the
man in the profile picture of the
aka buyer from marketplace
I signal him with my hands to
roll his window down. I say are you lil d ? He laughs oddly and says naaaaaa
I’m like oh Ok I’m an astonished, and was a bit off my game cus I’m in pain. I only have so many hours in a day
For anybody that knows about that MS gate The first four hours are excellent but the hours following sadly I slowly slip away inter frozen swollen mid drift fused spine. scoliosis and MS triggered sort of living hell so I make sure to use the time that I have with passion projects. Out 1 day down equals two days down. I’ve been this way since the showdown few years back.
As Bonnie says to me.
“You shouldn’t walk all
the way up to that truck.
ME) But I thought that was the guy.
So I walk to the right towards this gas stations and the guy pulls in the gas
station and yells toward me. “hey Constance, it’s me”
Nothing like the redhead
that was in the profile picture.
I didn’t put it together at the time this dark haired devilishly debonaire gentlemen pulls up and rolls down the driver’s side window of his beemer.
He seemed a little nervously eager vibe
but yet calm slow cool enough with no Apparent Plan B. It wasn’t his first rodeo. He’s had something in his left hand but it’s like if his hand was on the
ground or lower front seat driver floor. so I don’t over lean my head to the
opening of the window and signal Bonnie to please come over when that happens.
He sets down whatever it is and he says “I just want the bag holding the money inside to where I’d have to reach my arm in for it and
I don’t. I stand back slightly and
I pray to myself outloud “Not today santonia!
lil d)says I’m a fan!”
~It still doesn’t register with me
I smoke and reply that I have the whole season here for you the DVDs?
Reluctantly lil d ) Yes OK I’ll take them
He commits telling me what a
pleasure it is to have met me and again that he’s a big fan of mine.
That’s it. The counter is over. I walk away with Bonnie. The other guy still parked on the left where my front door is.
Soon after I m in my casa and I see there’s a notification for a new marketplace message and I open it and it reads.. Can I have your phone number ? We discussed this other KISS memorabilia and that we would be in touch.
I give him my text number. I don’t notice that he’s called. I see a missed call. I don’t call it back.
I look at my text and now it says;
“Now, I can do this proper~
JUST IN CASE I L U You’re gorgeous. Next time we can spend more together.”
After a while, I’m stressed.
Buyer number one fake?
Buyer number two fake.
Who is who at this point
was yet to be all determined.
I realize and revisit look the
gingers profile picture after I just
rated this nice dark hair devilishly debonaire gentleman ops.
I said holy shit to myself outloud.
This is the gingersnap that was
in the left vehicle looking off the beatnik.
I remember him from walking my dog earlier before all this would facetiously happen. Coincidentally on the left Ginger
was already out there when I would get correspondence from From lil d buyer. Validating he had been stalking for a while.
The man to the left that
said he wasn’t so why was there two men ? one to my me to the left at my front door.
The other man to the right of me.
What wouldn’t happen ? if my friend didn’t watch my back? and I would’ve just showed up with my Chihuahua.
I indeed met at that man the buyer at the venue prior when he introduced himself to me. why would somebody go out of their way from Huntington Beach.
Assuming that’s true and then wait all day in West Hollywood. Im imagining wherever he was complaining that just at the strip wasnt the same ….
Just to get my kiss concert bag? My personal effect? sight unseen, no post No pic or no nothing At this point, he didn’t even know detailsz
This makes me very uneasy . We all need to watch ourself better That’s kind of rare. And fake and VERY QUESTIONABLY-UNLIKELY SAFE. Trust your intuition. The devil really is in the details and he’s very distracting. New priorities can save your life from unnecessary tower moments at bay. Slay safe out there. It’s definitely seems to be a new world without order.
We’s back with Thad Law, and his hew band Fast Hammer, and here’s what he’s gotta say.
Thad: We certainly have a blast every time we come to Hollywood, and I am sure this Nickstock will be no different. Just to clarify…FastHammer was founded over a decade ago by Toni Aleman, but I have jumped on board relatively recently. He does not know this yet, but I will refer to him as Toni “Aeolian” because of his rich minor Malmsteen tonality, and mastery of music theory, which blows my mind every time we talk about it. This is a four-piece project, and amounts to a 4-to-5-hour catalogue of juicy, guitar rich, kick ass rock/metal music. Toni handles all the guitar parts.
Any shows lined up?
Thad: Well, since last time we chatted about this, I probably mentioned the various projects I am involved with, and the notion of “drummer drama” that has tended to be the rate limiting step to progress and booking. I don’t want to jinx it or anything, but we seemed to have remedied the situation, having found Joey Aguirre, who has signed on as our permanent chairman of temporal mechanics. He is a beast, and we are all happy with what he has brought to the project. No drama or bullshit with this fucking guy. We are polishing the above-mentioned catalogue, and are fixing to throttle up the booking this fall.
How as NAMM?
Thad: I can’t recall. JK…kind of. We did not play anywhere, and it was a real in and out for me. I went out with FastHammer bass player, Darin Huska, who lives near me in Northern Colorado. He and I tend to be partners in crime when it comes to skiing, mountain biking, jamming, and putting away the beer. We spent a day and a half of walking around looking at booths and what not. We saw Tiffany sing at the NAMM jam. That is about it.
Any big shows lines ups after Nickstock?
Thad: This is how I generally see things as they stand at this moment. FastHammer is such a large catalogue of material that, in a sense, that has become the umbrella heading, and has eclipsed some of the other projects. For example, Breaking the Law is still an active Judas Priest tribute. However, since FastHammer is capable of doing so much Priest, we might say, we may commandeer an entire night, and insert a segment subhead as “Breaking the Law”, with all its unique video support and production. There are parallels for other tributes in the works, including those for Van Halen, and Megadeth. Also, I am not sure if you recall a rowdy bunch of piney rogues called “Coloradicals”, who came through here, but that is still an active punk project playing a bunch of smaller shows this summer, in the Denver metro area. The only difference is that it is now called Amongst Wolves.
What is next after that?
Thad: Well, we will just have to see about that. Honestly, I have never felt more comfortable with the lineup. Serendipity at its best. We are looking forward to the fall for FastHammer, and in the meantime, I am planning to dabble in the NOCO (Northern Colorado) punk scene.
Any last words for your fans?
Two windmills were chatting one day, and one says to the other, “what kind of music do you like?”. The other replies, “I am a huge metal fan”. That is definitely me. I love playing more than anything else.
Hello, my name is Ashlin Ashbaugh, Mojo’s new Junior editor and personal assistant. This would be my first article/column. Never done this before, so here goes nothing.
So, there’s a couple up and coming shows and events I’m going to this summer. The first show I will be going to is THROW RAG on June 20th, which are headlining the show at the Garden Amp. The Grabbers will also be there at the show. This will be my second time seeing Throw Rag. I saw them 2 years ago at the same place. FRYING SAUCERS will be in the locker room, which is the small room at the amp. They were recommended to me by Dennis M Kopczak.
The next day after Throw Rag, I’m going to Black Hole Records to see THE ORDER OF THE FLY. Owner Bill Evans of the Black Hole Records, band, NAUGHTY WOMEN, is also playing. It will be in the parking lot of Black Hole Records.
Then, on July 2nd, for my 18th birthday countdown, it’s off to the Whisky A Go Go for the METEORS and other psychobilly bands.
On July 11th, I will be also going to GUTTERFEST, which Guttermouth are headlining. Dan the Bull from CHEMICAL CONTROL is playing in the locker room at the same event.
After that, on July 18th, I will be at Reverend Horton Heat at The Observatory OC.
On August 13th, I will be at the Road Dog TV awards show, a night of unity in Long Beach, celebraing 13 years of music, art, and culture at the Art Theatre. Which I got personally invited to by G from HTTH (Who are celebrating their 30th anniversary.).
Stay tuned for my review of each event in the next issue.
People always ask me what it’s like running the LA Punk Museum. The truth is there is no museum building. There never was. Punk was never about sitting quietly behind glass. Punk is movement. Punk is community. Punk is showing up. Punk is carrying history in a cardboard box to a gallery, a club, a university, or somebody’s living room and sharing it with whoever walks through the door.
The last month has been a perfect example of that.
I’ve been bouncing between archives, galleries, universities, television projects, concerts, museum planning, and enough coffee meetings to keep a small city awake. One day I’m discussing the future of Punk School, the next I’m digging through forty-year-old flyers, and by nightfall I’m singing Kurt Weill songs and talking about the first wave of Los Angeles punk rock.
The LA Punk Museum continues its strange and wonderful life as a nomadic institution. We pop up wherever we’re invited. Galleries. Universities. Cultural centers. Record stores. Wherever people want to talk about punk history. The museum was founded on the idea that culture belongs to the people who made it, and every year more people seem interested in preserving these stories before they disappear.
I’ve also been spending time working on Punk School, a project that has grown far beyond a book. What started as a collection of memories is becoming a curriculum, a workbook, an archive, and a challenge to the idea that education only happens in classrooms. Punk taught many of us how to think for ourselves, build communities, create art, publish our own media, and survive. That’s an education worth preserving.
Meanwhile, preparations continue for what promises to be a very busy year in Europe. The upcoming exhibitions in Vienna, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Germany are bringing together artists, musicians, archivists, and troublemakers from around the world. It’s exciting to see how punk culture continues to evolve while still carrying the DNA of those first chaotic years.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how international punk has become. When I first got involved, most people thought of punk as a local scene. Today, I can have conversations with artists from Berlin, Vienna, Mexico City, Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles all in the same day. Different languages. Different cultures. Same spirit.
I’ve also continued my work with university archives and researchers documenting punk history. For years, people dismissed punk as something temporary. Now universities are collecting flyers, fanzines, photographs, video footage, and oral histories. The kids who were once told they would never amount to anything have become subjects of academic study. There is something wonderfully punk about that.
Music remains at the center of everything. Whether it’s revisiting the work of Kurt Weill, celebrating the Ramones, talking about Nina Hagen, or discovering new bands carrying the torch, the soundtrack never stops. Punk has always been more than a genre. It’s a conversation that stretches across generations.
And then there’s Tequila TV, which somehow continues after all these years. Public access television taught me an important lesson: don’t wait for permission. If nobody gives you a platform, build your own. That lesson still applies today whether you’re making television, publishing a zine, starting a podcast, or opening a museum.
What I’ve learned after decades in punk rock is that survival itself is a creative act. Every flyer saved, every story recorded, every young artist encouraged, every old friend remembered adds another thread to a history that was never supposed to last.
Yet here we are.
Almost fifty years after the first punk explosion, the culture is still growing, still arguing, still reinventing itself, and still finding new people who need it.
LEMMY WAS RIGHT: THE BEST EXHIBIT IN THE MUSEUM IS THE GIFT SHOP
Lemmy always told me the best exhibit in any museum is the gift shop.
So naturally, the first place I went when I walked into “Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos: Punk Culture 1976–86” at the Skirball was the gift shop.
The funny thing about punk is that nobody ever expected it to end up in a museum. We were the flowers in the dustbin. We were the kids they said wouldn’t amount to anything. We were making flyers, stapling posters to telephone poles, sleeping on floors, starting bands with three chords and a bad attitude.
Now there are museum exhibitsAnd honestly? I thought it was a good show.
What struck me most wasn’t what was hanging on the walls. It was the people walking through the doors. The average age seemed to be around sixty. Veterans returning to the battlefield. Survivors checking in on their own history. But there was also a steady stream of younger visitors wandering through, trying to understand what all the noise was about.
Punk is popping out of the ground like weeds all over the world. The seeds got scattered decades ago and now they’re growing everywhere.
The Skirball is about as sterile a location as you can imagine for a movement that thrived in filthy clubs, abandoned warehouses, rehearsal spaces, and somebody’s living room. Yet somehow it works. Maybe because punk was never really about the location. Punk was about the people.
The gift shop was packed. I was told they can’t keep punk buttons in stock. The staff members were wearing them. That alone made me smile. The revolution may have been commercialized, but at least people are still wearing the uniform.
One of the highlights was meeting the manager of the gift shop, a leather smith from Los Angeles. Good people. The kind of people punk has always attracted. Creative people. Makers. Outsiders. The folks who build culture instead of consuming it.
The exhibition itself was assembled by curator Cate Thurston and guest curator Michael Worthington, who clearly understand that punk wasn’t just a sound. It was a community. A network of outsiders finding each other.
Walking through the galleries, I couldn’t help thinking about all the people who aren’t here anymore. The musicians, artists, promoters, photographers, zinesters, club owners, and weird kids who made this thing happen. They probably never imagined their homemade flyers and battered jackets would someday be displayed behind museum glass.
Yoko Ono’s Los Angeles Dreamscape
The first thing visitors encounter at Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind is an enormous portrait of the artist herself. She sits cross-legged in a sparse room, calm and centered, as though waiting for us to catch up. It is the perfect introduction to an exhibition that is less about looking at art and more about participating in it.
I attended the pre-opening in Los Angeles and found myself immersed in a world where art refuses to stay quietly on the wall. Visitors danced beneath flowing black fabric suspended in bright white space. Others scribbled messages, drawings, poems, and dreams on walls and ceilings, reaching as high as their arms would allow. One room has become a vast ocean of blue ink, layer upon layer of human expression accumulating over time.
Standing inside that room feels less like viewing an artwork and more like standing inside the collective consciousness of Los Angeles. Names overlap drawings. Hearts sit beside political statements. Simple sketches coexist with elaborate illustrations. Thousands of individual voices become one giant conversation. The room itself becomes the artwork.
Nearby, German helmets hang overhead like strange parachutes filled with puzzle pieces. Visitors are invited to take one home, carrying away a fragment of a larger whole. It is a simple gesture, yet profoundly moving. We leave with a piece of the puzzle and a reminder that none of us ever sees the complete picture.
The exhibition includes one of Ono’s most famous works, Cut Piece, the legendary performance in which audience members were invited to cut away portions of her clothing while she remained seated and silent. Decades later, the work still confronts viewers with uncomfortable questions about power, vulnerability, consent, and human behavior. There is also a shattered window marked by what appears to be a bullet hole. The image strikes the heart immediately. Ono has always understood how a small visual gesture can open an enormous emotional space.
I had the privilege of seeing Yoko Ono’s work in London last year, and this Los Angeles presentation only deepened my admiration. There appears to be no limit to the territory her imagination is willing to explore. Long before I understood Fluxus or conceptual art, Yoko Ono was one of the first avant-garde artists I followed. She represented a world where art could be an idea rather than an object.
Which brings me to the Beatles. History has not always been kind to Yoko Ono. For decades she was blamed for breaking up the world’s most famous band. Yet standing among these works, that narrative feels increasingly absurd.
I remember hearing stories of the Beatles in Hamburg, singing in German, wearing leather jackets, and playing marathon club sets before the machinery of superstardom took hold. Their original spirit was experimentation, rebellion, curiosity, and artistic risk. Yoko Ono did not destroy that spirit. She embodied it.
The Beatles were always going to evolve. Every great partnership eventually changes form. What matters is that the creativity continued. John Lennon continued. Paul McCartney continued. George Harrison continued. Ringo Starr continued. The music survived. The art survived.
Debuting in 2014, Screaming Soup! broke ground as the first fully animated horror host show and has been helping evolve the honored TV tradition for audiences of the 21st century. Starring a gas guzzling, laser slinging skeleton cowboy named Deadwest with his apocalyptic goat for a sidekick, Billy, the duo constantly find themselves in outrageous misadventures in the Wild Weird West while reviewing B movies they think horror fanatics should check out or even avoid at all costs. Currently in its sixth season with over 50 episodes and counting, Screaming Soup! has entertained fans with chainsaw arm wrestling, jurassic rodeos, big top bar brawls, and over 300 movie reviews plus interviews with fan favorite horror icons like Kane Hodder and Danielle Harris. In addition, the web series has survived a season long crossover with Charles Band’s Full Moon Empire, regularly guest stars other contemporary horror hosts, and features cameos by vocal powerhouses like Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Ghostface from the Scream movies. Recognized for its alternative approach to horror hosting, Screaming Soup! is a recipient of the Silver Bolo Award on Joe Bob Brigg’s Last Drive-In on Shudder and won the coveted Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for best documentary of 2023 for Screaming Soup! Presents the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Retrospective, a three hour documentary on the history of the Attack of the Killer Tomatoes franchise. Screaming Soup! can be found across most social media outlets with its homebase at ScreamingSoup.com, and is currently working to produce toys, books, and trading cards in the near future.
Watch Screaming Soup! online and join animated horror hosts Deadwest and Billy on all their misadventures in the Wild Weird West as they review B movie fright flicks from yesterday and today!
this weekend.
.
