New Music Alert: The Paranoyds' "Hotel Celebrity"

The Paranoyds' have a new release in the song "Hotel Celebrity." The video and lyrics has the band messing with celebrity culture. We toast to celebrities who are turning their bodies into fake idols. Botox. Suction lips. White teeth. Needles. Operation tables. Tanning. All that makes brief or extended appearances in the video. This all against the backdrop of their psychedelic punk that has made them a favorite Los Angeles band over the last three plus years. 

Photo taken during Happy Sundays Long Beach

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 37

The only online set I caught last week was The Paranoyds. Hey, honestly, if I could only catch one online set during the week -- this band would be one I'd circle to fill that spot. I've loved this band since the first time I caught them at The Factory. Their pop-punk tunes just grab your attention.

Their set was on the Dr. Martens' Instagram page and was at 1 p.m. So I caught the set while doing the work-from-home situation. They looked in good cheer and sped through a quick 15 minute set. All the band members were in place so the full band sound was on display.

If I had known it was just 15 minutes, I would have stopped working. Instead, I let their music be my motivation to get through what I needed to do at that moment.

The Paranoyds

The Moroccan Lounge: The Paranoyds, Howlin Rain, Broncho

I got an Instagram DM from one of the band members from Howlin Rain, wondering if I'd be interested in checking out their set at The Moroccan Lounge. Yeah, I was.

One thing to note is that this show was on a Friday night. I was also interested in the Warriors-Cavaliers game. What did I do? I drove on down to DTLA with the radio on. Then I parked and listened until the end of the game, even though it was a blow out. The game ended at around 8:30 p.m. and then off I went inside the venue. That's when I nearly panicked.

The Paranoyds were a late add to the bill. I happened to catch them once at a warehouse show and was eager to catch them again. When I got to the ticket counter, I looked up at the printed schedule they had on the wall and saw that The Paranoyds were scheduled to go on at 8:15 p.m. I was like, "What?" I asked the ticket guy, "When do The Paranoyds go on?" Sure, the schedule said 8:15, but those are sometimes taken with a grain of salt. The reply, "Around 8:45 p.m."

They killed it with their punk sounds and their cool conversations.

They had the comment of the night with their, "If you've never seen us before that's really cool, because we're from here."

The Paranoyds

Howlin Rain was up next. I have to admit that this was my first time catching their set. I also have to admit that I've never met the person who invited me, Jeff. So as they were setting up, I saw three members of the band setting up. As they were setting up, I decided to take a chance and waved at one of the band members, "Are you Jeff?" The reply, "No, he's coming out." A photographer next to me over-heard my conversation and said, "Jeff's the bass player." And so I said to myself, "Hmm, there's another band member?" Well, there is. Just before they were about to start their set, out came Jeff on bass. He plugged in and was ready to jam.

This band has a Southern Rock style that reminds you of John Mellencamp. I swear one might expect them to break out in a cover of "Small Town."

Howlin Rain

Broncho had the fans out, the screaming fans. One fan came right up to the middle of the stage and screamed her lungs out. I think that she was screaming so loud that it interfered with the sound guy's ability to properly set up the sound.

What couldn't I help but notice? Next to the kick drum was a brown envelope. And sticking out was a $10 bill.

Their sound is loose and makes you want to nod your head. With how the lights were shining, I also started to think of the ending of many of the Twin Peaks' episodes where a band played in a bar as the credits rolled past.

Broncho

Irritation of the night: a very drunk dude came to the front of the stage during Howlin Rain's set. At one point, I noticed that he was actually humping me. It took me a couple seconds to realize what he was doing and then I pushed him away. Then later he came up and started to rub my head. At that point, a female friend of his came over and told him to stop it.

The Paranoyds with Pinky Pinky and Red Channel at a DTLA Warehouse

Someone I follow on Instagram posted that The Paranoyds were doing a show in a DTLA warehouse on a Friday night. I had heard about The Paranoyds, but had never seen them before. They were also playing with Pinky Pinky, a band I saw during FOMO week and really liked.

Honestly, part of me was thinking I shouldn't go. I was feeling like I was on the verge of getting a cold. Then on the other hand, I was thinking: I haven't been to a warehouse show in awhile, I've never seen The Paranoyds and Pinky Pinky was on the bill.

Of course, based on this post, I decided to say "so what" to the potential illness and head on out on a near freezing night in Los Angeles.

Opening up the night was Red Channel. A synth driven band to say the least, there were two synths on stage. There were some amusing moments on stage. One of the synth musicians lost the count when it came to their song list. "We have two songs left." Someone else in the band came back with, "We have four songs left." Then during another song, the bassist was setting up the beat for the start of a new song. All the other band members were looking at him with a look that I knew meant he was not going in the right direction. He eventually stopped playing and asked, "That's not how the song starts?" Some fun, amusing moments.

Red Channel

Next up was Pinky Pinky. They starting out the set by asking everyone to come closer to the stage, which everyone did immediately. Then off they went on their garage rock set. This band is just fun to listen to and watch. It's like every single member of the band has some very different personal styles. Guitarist Isabella has this mellow style of playing. I honestly think she barely moved her feet during the set. Eva on bass has this habit of pushing the side of her mouth out with her tongue. Part of me thinks she does it to help her concentrate during the more tricky parts of her bass lines. Then there's Anastasia on drums who hits the beats with careful perfection. 

Pinky Pinky

Closing out the night was The Paranoyds. Their punk sounds quickly started a mosh pit. I was hanging out at the front of the stage and repeatedly felt bodies bumping into me. Honestly, it was a well controlled mosh pit. Everyone had smiles as they body slammed and shoved each other around. Best moment of the night: the bassist was getting tangled up in her bass line due to her constant moving. Then she accidentally unplugged herself. This got a conversation going. "Our bassist hasn't been plugged in this whole time, we've been on backing tracks this whole time. How embarrassing!" Response, "I'm trying this new thing, it's called filler." As the set was closing out, "Does our sound smell like the brown stuff?" Yeah, I think you can figure out what was being implied. Nope, they had the place punk rocking.

The Paranoyds

As for the warehouse: out on 8th street, next to a topless bar. The event was up on the 4th floor of the warehouse. I'm not sure what the other rooms on the floor are used for, but the space for the night was nice and spacious. Perhaps the size of The Satellite (the ground portion of The Satellite). And interestingly, the stage lights were solid -- important fact for photography.