A Night on the Strip, Part 1:

Damn you, Roxy. Thus continues our tumultuous love affair, sullied by cheap beer and your decadent, hallowed halls, scarred with the names of your favorite lovers: Guns N Roses. The one and only Les Claypool. Even those devil-worshiping bastards Slayer have had their way with you before blowing town and leaving you sticky, bruised and confused.

But no worry. I  came with some competition — Sam from the Suicide Girls is here to give you some loving. And tonight you’re gonna get the loudest pounding you ever got — at the hands of The Street Drum Corps, 3 guys who just want to blow your f*cking roof off. And who better to split heads wide open than Tommy Lee?

Don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that Street Drum Corps may be a contender for the loudest band on earth. Last I heard, Manowar was still reigning champion at 139 decibels. But all SDC might need are a few amps in front of those kits, and it could all be over.

Decked out in ghoulish, glow-in-the-dark makeup that would make Marilyn Manson mess his pants — and looking like a cross between the Sex Pistols and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the SDC were a bit reminiscent of Stomp, only if its ringleader was Jim Rose, and the participants all listened to John Zorn. Sterno cans, beer kegs, car tailpipes — anything that could be banged was, with one simple mission in mind: to leave your eardrums strewn across the floor. Yes, you may be screaming “WHAT?!” to your friends and co-workers over the next year, but a ringing in the ears never felt so damn good. Hey, somebody pick up that phone already!

But perhaps most interesting of all was how SDC had the ability to unite metalheads, goth kids, and B-Boyers –  whom in L.A. are often as cliquish as high schoolers –  and get all shakin’ ass to the beat, or backspinning on beat street. Songs like “Bang!!” and “Wrecks” were heavy as f*ck and drew on the soundtrack/instrumental influences that helped land the group their first deal with Interscope Records. Toward the show’s closing, Tommy Lee’s silhouette emerged through the fog and seizure-inducing strobe lights (on a stage set that actually looked a lot like an old Motley Crue video) for a quick cameo on “Ratatat”, which saw the boys straying from their instrumental roots and making that tricky transition to the traditional verse/chorus/verse formula. The industrial/electronica influences shined here, with singer Booby Alt sounding eerily like Revolting Cocks frontman Josh Bradford, and co-conspirators Adam Alt and Frank Zummo never missing a beat.

Street Drum Corps mix superb showmanship, nifty songwriting and great promise. My only hope is that they aren’t lured too far from their roots — here’s a band that clearly crosses musical boundaries, and it’s their love of percussion which showcases their true talents. Keep the drums up front, SDC. We love you the way you are.

Street Drum Corps have a residency at the Roxy for the next few weeks, so drop in and check them out for yourselves, Nov 30th or Dec 7th! And if you really want to check in with them in an intimate and awesome way, they will be live on the Suicide Girls Radio Show this coming Sunday, Nov 21st on 103.1 fm in Los Angeles.

Related Posts:

The Slew: A New Era of Turntable Rock

The Red Hot White Mystery

Florence & The Machine Take Over The Wiltern