Friday 06.24.11: LA RECORD presents MIDDLE CLASS / KID CONGO and The Pink Monkey Birds / GRANT HART (founding member of Husker Du) / The Urinals @ Echoplex

Middle Class

A few weeks ago, Frontier Records announced that for their 30th anniversary, they were hosting a show featuring a reunion by Santa Ana hardcore pioneers Middle Class.

The label (which released punk classics such as The Circle Jerks’ Group Sex,” The Adolescents self-titled blue album, and Suicidal Tendencies’ self-titled release) had reissued Middle Class’ seminal 1979 EP, Out of Vogue.

Soon after, members of the band (which broke up in 1982) refused interviews, saying the label was premature in announcing their reunion, as they were only “99.9 percent” sure that they were performing.

But OC punk history was made Friday when the reunion of hardcore originators the Middle Class went from 99.9 happening to 100 percent on as the foursome practiced in an undisclosed location for its first show in nearly three decades.

The Middle Class 2.0 includes original members Jeff Atta (vocals), Mike Atta (guitar) and Mike Patton (bass) and Matt Simon, the group’s second drummer. Original skinsman Bruce Atta-now a college professor-was asked to participate but “couldn’t put in the time,” said brother Mike.
The six-stringing Atta also said the group is hoping to get approximately 15 practices before taking the stage in less than two months. Currently, the band is hoping for a 45-minute retrospective set comprised of songs from its two singles and a few tracks from 1982′s full-length Homeland.

Depending on who you talk to, the band is regarded as either the first or second hardcore band ever (some say it’s Black Flag) thanks to the 1979 EP Out of Vogue, a four-song aural assault that took the Ramones’ penchant for downstrumming and sped it up to then-unheard speeds. This will be their first live show in since then.

For now, the Middle Class reunion (which will also feature The Adolescents, Flyboys, The Pontiac Brothers and Rikk Agnew) is shaping up to be a one-time thing, but Mike Atta said that could-or could not-change. OC Weekly

Kid Congo and The Pink Monkey Birds || Listen || Watch
Anyone who ever played with LA blues punks The Gun Club should be afforded the status of rock’n’roll legend. The fact that Brian Tristan – aka Kid Congo Powers – followed such a feat by playing with both The Cramps and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds means the man is beyond mere mortal categorisation.
This is Powers’ second album with The Pink Monkey Birds, and it sees him returning to his roots with a set of raw and raucous garage rock so primitive that it was actually recorded through the shitty PA of a high school gymnasium somewhere in the Midwest. You can just imagine the scene – a B-movie called something like Hell On Wheels and directed by Roger Corman, with a motley crew of leather-clad juvenile delinquents roaring off on their motorbikes after causing a rumpus at the prom; The Pink Monkey Birds’ ‘Hitchhiking’ is blasting over the top.
But this is not just a collection of straight-up garage nuggets, there are nods to Powers’ Chicano roots with
a cover of Thee Midniters’ spectacularly dumb ‘I Found A Peanut…’ and, courtesy of bassist Kiki Solis and drummer Ron Miller, there’s a real groove here. ‘Funky Fly’ (actually a cover of a track from Bo Diddley’s obscure ‘Black Gladiator’ album) and ‘Black Santa’ sound like The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion circa ‘Orange’, without the added annoyance of someone shouting “blooooze explosion!” every five seconds, while ‘Bobo Boogie’ and ‘Kris Kringle Ju Ju’ strut like The Meters in their prime. In short, on ‘Dracula Boots’ Kid Congo Powers has once again found the juicy jugular of soul-fired, funked-up rock’n’roll. You’d be foolish not to take a bite. NME

GRANT HART (founding member of Husker Du)|| Listen || Watch
Hüsker Dü was founded by Grant Hart, Greg Norton and Bob Mould in 1979. Only 17, Grant Hart was nonetheless a veteran of a handful of previous bands and had already been playing music professionally since the age of 13. Hüsker Dü made several records for the legendary “SST” label including the much-loved “Zen Arcade”, “New Day Rising” and “Flip Your Wig”. Moving on to Warner Brothers Records in 1985 they made two fine albums, 1986′s “Candy Apple Grey” and the band’s second double album, “Warehouse”.

Using a fake name, Grant produced all the visual art for the band, including all the record covers, some of which earned the band awards and helped secure the group’s artistic aesthetic. Ironically, it was Grant’s refusal to take the credit for this work that caused friction when other members insisted on receiving a fee for production of the records.

Leaving the group in 1987 to form first “The Swallows” then eventually “Nova Mob”, Hart and ex-partner Mould became embroiled in one of rock music’s most enduring feuds. The Hüsker Dü audience was already divided into two distinct factions before the band broke up. Afterward, Grant fans and Bob fans took turns finding evidence of friction in each man’s solo work. Where they once were compared to Lennon and McCartney musically, they were now put into the roles of bickering ex-colleagues.

Beginning with his 1988 release, “Intolerance”, Grant’s solo records have been subtle, thematic renderings that move the listener along the route, building up to climaxes all the more dramatically. Grant’s 2000 release, “Good News for Modern Man” continues with his practice of laying down all the instrumental tracks himself. This record was handicapped by label bankruptcy in the US, but was acclaimed by his listeners as the most fully realized record he has been involved in.

Grant’s post-Hüsker band “Nova Mob” disbanded in 1997 when Grant’s domestic partner and bassist moved to Holland to pursue other interests. During the band’s career they made two full albums and five singles. Nova Mob’s recording of Grant’s science-fiction rock opera, “The Last Days of Pompeii” was the last record released by Rough Trade International before they ceased operations. The ambitious project was only available for a short period, but a new re-mix of the record is prepared to be released soon. Hart is currently finalizing negotiations for his next recording.

Although music is still Grant’s main stock in trade, his visual arts skills remain as sharp as ever. In addition, he has recently taken part in several readings of his poetry as well as reading the works of his late friend Charles Henri Ford at the Metropolitan Arts Club in New York. He often performs with Patti Smith and has shared the stage with such notables as Charles Plymell, Philip Glass and of course his late chum William S. Burroughs. He currently serves such diverse organizations as The Duchamp Society, The Ghost Squadron of the Confederate Air Force and The Studebaker Drivers Club of North America.

The Urinals

8:30pm / $16adv; $18dos /18+