“Punk music finds life in one of L.A.’s oldest adobe homes in this original theaterwork. Set in the early 1980s in working-class Bell Gardens, three young punk musicians, from disparate cultures, squat in a vacant house. Inspired by the bands X, the Minutemen, and the Bags, the trio builds its punk songbook and a life-size zine, as they define their artistic identity and find their place in the musical and historic landscape of L.A.” (About…Productions)

In this episode, Jessica Schwartz talks with Theresa Chavez, theaterwork director, who co-created the narrative with her son, Gabriel Garza, and wrote the songs with Nina Diaz (Girl in a Coma). They discuss the importance of the theaterwork in offering this alternative perspective about early LA punk.

Links

Adobe Punk (About Productions) website

Plaza de la raza

Review from The Eastsider

Music Connetion Review

Playlist

Blondie - "Dreaming"

X - "The Hungry Wolf"

Blondie - "Detroit 442"

Adobe Punk, Bell System - "Diddly Squat"

Adobe Punk, Bell System - "Not to Scale"

Adobe Punk, Bell System - "Bell Underground Garden"

This episode was hosted and produced by Jessica Schwartz, and Erika Pesca did the editorial work.