This was basically a 36th anniversary party for Vinyl Solution. We didn’t know that before this morning. We just were driving up to Long Beach to see the Joneses, as we’ve never seen them before and missed their last reunion show at the Whisky a few months ago. So we certainly didn’t want to miss them this time! We also didn’t know that the Zeros were supposed to be on this bill, but cancelled a couple days earlier! Vinyl Solution is my favorite record store in Orange County, and probably everybody’s favorite record store in Orange County. I’ve bought a lot of records there, and when I had my record label, Scam-O-Rama Records, I sold a ton of records there. A ton. More there than any other record store including Tower, Lou’s, Off The Record, and Spin. Maybe combined. They got an excellent selection of vinyl and if you’ve ever been fortunate enough to be allowed to use their restroom, it’s ALL David Lee Roth photos on the walls, ALL over the place! Like every single photo of him ever taken! Anyways, Happy Anniversary Vinyl Solution! May you have many more!
So not only was this my first time seeing the Joneses, this was also my first time at the legendary Alex’s Bar! Pretty cool place and they were even featured on Bar Rescue as a good example of a punk rock bar (the punk bar being rescued didn’t know what they were doing and needed to be shown an example). Decent beer, good service. Outdoor area with merch booths and even a hotdog stand. And some really cool velvet style art on the walls!
Anyways, onto the music, because that’s first and foremost. Hotel Mercy were up first. They were pretty mellow, but interesting. The singer/guitarist, in between songs, would stare above into the stagelights, get focused, then once the song started, would play like a man possessed. Singer/guitarist and guitarist were sharing glasses of whiskey. I thought it was really cool that at the end of one of the last songs, they snuck in a little bit of “It’s Not Enough” by Johnny Thunders.
Up next were Loose Trucks. Full on Orange County punk band. Loud, fun, and full of attitude. Some great songs too! I’m not too familiar with them, but I will be once I pick up some albums! I did get a CD EP at the show, which is pretty solid. The bassist looked really familiar. I think he may have been in the Juvenile Wrecks, which would make sense since we saw a couple of the other guys in that band in the audience.
And then The Joneses. They’re one of those legendary bands from the ’80s, that really should’ve been more legendary, but kind of imploded. Their singer, Jeff Drake, has a book out and I was hoping to get a copy, but it’s all sold out. If anything, the Joneses in my book, are responsible for writing one of the top 100 songs of all time. Maybe even top 50. The sleazy, ever so catchy “Pill Box”. I never saw them back in the day, so I didn’t quite know what to expect. But they delivered big time. Loud guitars, great songs. But just because “Pill Box” is one of the greatest songs written, it shouldn’t overshadow their other great songs like “Ms 714” and “Tits And Champagne”. A couple covers, including their slammin’ version of Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock”. They had a number of special guests too, including a kick ass harmonica player for a bunch of songs. A great night out and well worth the drive all the way to Long Beach.
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