Quick Hit Band Interview: Symbol Six

Symbol Six at Redwood Bar

Interview with the band. Enjoy:

What’s the story behind how the band started out? In 1979, I was in the 9th grade and punk rock made its way into my world. My life changed as Southern California punk rock affected me in ways no other music had. I wanted to be part of this movement! So my freshman year of high school I made it my mission to start a band! But, I wanted to do this with the best people I could find. Now, since I couldn’t play an instrument, of course I became by default the lead singer and talked the guys into letting me join the band I was putting together! Hahaha! Miraculously, within a year we were playing with Social Distortion, Bad Religion, Christian Death and many others. That same year we signed with the infamous Posh Boy Records who released some of the best punk rock records of all time! To this day we truly recognize and appreciate the privilege to be even a small part of this huge and important time of Rock n Roll history! One of my best memories ever was when I heard our song played on the radio on Rodney on the Roq. In 2018, I'm lucky and thrilled to still be in this band with my best friends Phil George, Evan Shanks and Tony Fate! We still enjoy playing, touring, writing and recording the original tunes as well as the new music we make and release together as a band.

What are some of your favorite spots, locations, areas in Los Angeles? What make them your favorites? Honestly, we loved the scene and the clubs of that long lost time with venues such as Madame Wong’s, the Starwood, Whisky a go go, Club 88, the Fleetwood, Godzilla's and lots of warehouse shows! What was great is that they were ALL ages and there was a thriving scene we felt a part of.

Own thoughts: We still love writing and playing original music! It’s still from the hearts . . . perhaps more now than ever! It's a very fractured culture out there. There are so many great bands playing to empty rooms . . . people seem to find their unconsciousness at home on social media. There is a big overall disconnect between reality and fantasy. Today, music is experienced and created by the ones that have genuine interest and connections in the songs, in their meanings, in their value and effects on the world.