The OBGMs are Denz, the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist; Cola the drummer and keyboardist; Joseph the bassist and backing vocals and Jem keyboardist and backing vocalist.
The OBGMs are reletivitivly new, so the direction and endurance of their career is anybody’s guess. However, there are high hopes for this band. They are not wondering into the music buisness unprepared. In fact, two of the members have previous experience in the biz.
Cola and Denz began as a hip-hop production team, which explains the clear hip-hop influences in their music. Their 2017 self titled album thrust them in to the public consciousness.
If you wold like to sample the album, check it out here.
It is unclear if they are working on a follow up, but they are currently touring and captivating their audience with their live performances. Go to their home page to check out their upcoming tour date and latest Youtube videos.
That is all I have for now! Remember, the most punk rock thing you can be is unapologetically YOU!
I love bands that cannot be tied down to to a specific genera. 340 ML hails from Johannesburg South Africa, but they are originally from Maputo, Mozambique. The members are, Pedro Pinto on vocals, Rui Soeiro on bass, Tiago Correia-Paulo on guitar, and Rui Soeiro on bass.
History
According to legend… and Wikipedia, 340 ML began their life as a rock band called Panic Orange. Apparently they were quite good. They became semi-finalists in a music competition called Emerging Sounds. Then, in the middle of the competition, they decided to change genres from Rock to Ska. Really, who does that?
All four band members moved. All four band members moved from Maputo to Johannesburg for various academic and career pursuits. However, music was a priority for each of them.
Music Style
It is difficult to label their unique sound. As mentioned earlier, they were once a Rock band that turned Ska. Along with that is some distinct reggae/dub influence and elements of Jazz. They are all over the place, but it works. If you want to hear their music, please check them out here.
Thanks for reading!
Remember, the most punk rock thing you can be is unapologically you!
I’ll be perfectly honest. I had no idea they existed until a month ago. I was on the prowl for new music to update my playlists. I was looking for music that would pair well with my favorites (Big Joanie and Bloc Party).
Here I was, bumming around my favorite websites (AfroPunk, Punk Black and OkayAfrica) and I kept hearing buzz about this band. I am so glad I checked them out, and you should too. Here’s why.
5 Reasons You Need to Check out Generals of Monrovia (if you haven’t already)
5. They Are From Austin, TX!
They hail from Austin, Texas, one of the coolest cities in the Lone Star State. Austin is known for their thriving music scene and their music festivals It is not surprising that such a unique band would emerge from the city. Fun fact: This band actually relocated to Austin from New Westminster, Canada.
4. The Are Immigrant Punk
Immigrant Punk, to my knowledge, is not (yet) a genera of punk music. It is actually the name of Generals of Monrovia’s 2017 EP, which you can listen to here. The title of this EP is a clear political statement when racist, anti-immigrant speech is coming from the mouth a sitting president.
3. All Three of Them are Electrical Engineers.
Okay, so that has little to do with their actual music, but how cool is that?
2. They are Playful but Poignant
The best label for their genre is Pop-Punk. If you were alive in the early 2000’s then you remember that the radio waves were dominated by Pop-Punk (and Nu-Metal, but let’s not talk about that). If you remember, the Pop-Punk sound is generally upbeat, sarcastic, and somehow self aware. Pop-Punk bands tended not to take themselves very seriously. Therefore it was unusual for their music to tackle anything serious. While the Generals of Monrovia have a lighter Pop-Punk sound, their lyrics are a sharp critique of the status quo.
1. Their Music is LIT!!
Yes, I just said that. Though they are a political band, they do no hide behind their politics. Their music is straight forward, in-your-face, and fun to listen to.
There you have it! Those are 5 reasons to listen to Generals of Monrovia. And as always, the most punk rock thing you can be is unapologically YOU!!
It’s 1991. X-Ray Spex has not been heard from in almost 12 years. Suddenly they show up for a surprise show at Brixton Academy, and the show sells out!
This is what Poly Styrene wore for the show.
I freaking love her.
Four years later, in 1995, Lora Logic comes back and they record an album called Conscious Consumer.
There were supposed to be 2 more albums following this one, but Poly Styrene suffered a fractured pelvis when she was run over by a fire truck, and she couldn’t complete the project. Yes. You read that correctly.
In 1996, Poly Styrene and X-Ray Spex was supposed to preform at the 20th anniversary punk festival, but Poly could not play the show. X-Ray Spex disbanded shortly after that, but their legacy lives on!
Poly Stryene 1957-2011
Remember, the most Punk Rock thing you can be is unapologetically YOU!
This is a part one of a two part post about the legendary black feminist punk band, X-Ray Spex.
The original line up of this explosive band was Poly Styrene, Jack Airport, Paul Dean, Paul B. P. Hurding, and Lora Logic.
Poly Styrene was inspired to form her band after seeing the Sex Pistols. Little did she know the enormous impact her band would have on the Punk Rock World!
Poly (whose real name is Marianne, by the way) got to know Johnny Rotten. It says a lot that Johnny was actually a bit stunned by Poly’s…oddness. Poly was a lot of things. One thing she actively tried not to be was a sex symbol. She claimed that she would rather shave her head than to be seen that way. And she did. According to legend, she actually shaved her had at Johnny Rotten’s apartment. How Punk is that?
The Beginning
X-Ray Spex was formed in 1976, at a time when punk movement in Britain was picking up speed. This band were active pioneers to the genre. In 1977, X-Ray Spex recorded their most recognizable song. The feminist anthem, Oh Bondage, Up Yours!
In late 1977, the sax player Lora Logic, who was actually a student (hence her rather studious stage name), wanted to finish her education. She was replaced by someone named John Glyn.
No, not that guy. G-L-Y-N.
In 1978, they released their debut album! What set X-Ray Spex apart was Poly Styrene’s delightfully shrill and gravelly voice, and the saxophone, which was fairly unusual in Punk music.
Germ Free Adolescents
X-Ray Spex went on hiatus in 1979. It would be about 13 years before they are heard from again. Look out for Part 2 of X-Ray Spex!
Remember, the most Punk Rock thing you can be is unapologetically YOU!
This post is going to be unusually short because there is not much information in this band. Here is what I know.
Mona is an awesome Punk Rock band from Maputo, Mozambique. The members of the trio are Goro the drummer, Singer and Bass Player Mel Vicious, and the Black Punk Girl Guitar Player, Monace. If you want to listen to them, you’ll have to find them on YouTube or Facebook.
Wrap your head around that for a moment. Today we are going to talk about the legendary Punk Rock Band, Pure Hell. (Geeze! Even their name is is punk. I am typing this at work, and I have to minimize my screen every-time someone walks by.)
Okay. I am going to be honest. While Pure Hell is not my favorite band, I have nothing but respect for their influence. After all, they influenced not only Bad Brains, but almost every other punk rock band that I love.
Formed in Philadelphia around 1974, Pure Hell is not just a Proto-Punk Band, but they also influenced other genres such as glam rock of the 1970s.
The tragedy of their band history.
They have played along side Sid Vicious, New York Dolls, Patti Smith and other punk acts that everyone remembers. Despite that, no one remembers them. Why? Like many Afropunk bands, they were dismissed from the history of punk rock. Despite the fact that they were so influential to so many punk, hard core, and even metal rockers, few people know who they are. (See the Dazed article where I got some of this info)
The members of Pure Hell were Kenny Gordon, Lenny Boles, Preston Morris, and Michael Sanders. Their stage names were Stinker, Steel, Chip Wreck, and Spider, respectively. Steel Boles once stated, mistakenly, that they were the first Black Punk Band. I guess they didn’t know about Death either.
This head-scratcher of an image was borrowed from the Dazed article about the History of Pure Hell.
All I can say about pure hell is this:
They influcened not just Black Punk Rock, but all punk rock.
They were truly punks in that they did not give a f*#@ about what other’s think of them (see above photo).
It is not fair that their history and contribution is largely ignored.
I am going to leave it there. Thank you for reading!!
Remember, the most punk thing you can be is unapologetically you.
This is not a neurology post… this is about the punk band! *awkward laugh*
The first Black Punk band I every (knowingly) heard was Bad Brains. The song was I Against I. I fell in love and my world was BLOWN. WIDE. OPEN.
This genre bending band is too punk for your labels! They are not just punk. They are reggae. They are hard rock. They are alternative metal. They are just…EVERYTHING!
Okay. I am going to calm down, and we are going to talk about Bad Brains.
The Beginning!
Washington DC, 1977. That is when and where they were formed. This Rastafarian Reggae band is widely regarded as one of the founders of hard core punk music. The were not always punk, however. They began as a Jazz fusion band.
Oh, and they were not called Bad Brains, back then. They were called Mind Power (Insert Psychology Joke Here).
How Mind Power became Bad Brains (And how I wish I knew more neuro-psychology jokes)!
Their sound evolved from Jazz Fusion to a the fast and loud sound we all know as hard core. They did not leave their Jazz Fusion/Reggae roots behind. While other punk bands focused on simple power chords and repetitive rhythms, Bad Brain’s music was much more complex and melodic. Somehow, despite the complexity of their sound, they were still as abrasive and in your face as any hard core punk band.
Here and Now!
Today, Bad Brains remains as influential as ever. If you read my two previous posts, you can infer that Bad Brains is indirectly responsible for the revival of Proto-Punk band, Death. I highly recommend their music. They are one of the gateways into the world of Black Punk.
That is all I have for today! Remember, the most punk rock thing you can be in unapologetically you!
My last post was about the strange tale of the First Punk Band, Death. In that post I mention the strangest part of the story: Rough Francis, a band whose members are descendants of the members of Death, found out BY ACCIDENT that their ancestors were in a band in the 70s!
Here is a brief history of Rough Francis.
Not the band. The person.
Do you remember David Hackney from Death? After Death disbanded, he and his brothers still attempted to carve out a career in music. They each worked on different projects, and none of them were successful. David, as he continued his career, adopted the stage name Rough Francis. Unfortunately, he was only able to release one single before he died in 2000.
The name lives on!
Unknowingly walking in the footsteps of their father and uncles, the three sons of Bobby Hackney decide to form a punk rock band. In 2006 the three brothers, accompanied by other band mates were a Bad Brains cover band (AWESOME!!!!)
It was around that time that they discovered the legacy that they were carrying on. One of the brothers stumbled upon a Death single on the internet. Eager to honor their father and late uncle, they named their band Rough Francis and learned to play songs by Death.
In 2008, Death was able to live again (sorry about the bad pun) as Rough Francis preformed 7 of their songs. This lead to the rediscovery of the OG Punk band, and the creation of the documentary, A Band Called Death.
That is the story of Rough Francis!
Remember that the most punk rock thing you can be is unapologetically you!
Let’s talk about Death. Not the end of life. Not metal band with the same name, but the Proto-Punk band called Death.
From Wikipedia.com, this is a photo of the three original members of Death.
I was born in the 1980’s so I didn’t witness the cultural impact that the Beatles had when they preformed on Ed Sullivan in the 1960s. I am not a huge Beatles fan by any means (My husband is the Beatles Fanatic in our household), but I acknowledge that I will forever be in their debt. Much of the music that I adore would not exist, if it wasn’t for the “Fab Four.”
According to legend (and the people who edited the Wikipedia article about Death) Bobby, Dannis, and David Hackney watched that history altering moment when the Beatles preformed on Ed Sullivan in 1964.
The Fates smiled on them, and the universe decided that Punk Rock should be a thing because the next day, David found a guitar in an alley. Just waiting for him. He and his brothers would form a band called…Rock Fire Funk Express. That is the best name ever, and I am a little sad that they changed it.
The reason why they changed their name is understandable. David convinced his brothers to change their name to Death after their father died.
This band was only active for 1971-1977. Then they disappeared into obscurity after recording only 7 songs. Most people would never hear of them, and that was almost the end of their story.
Then there was a miracle.
If it wasn’t for the movie, A Band Called Death, most people would have never known that they even existed.
Even their children didn’t know they existed. According to a 2013 WIRED article, one of Bobby Hackney’s sons happened to stumble across one of the 7 tracks Death recorded in the 1970s. He recognized his father’s voice and was blown away. His dad was a Punk Rocker.
What makes this story so weird is that the decedents of Death had their own band, Rough Francis (more on them in a different post).
I can’t give away many more details than that without spoiling the film, but the bottom line is this:
Death was a Punk band in int very early 70s. They almost faded into obscurity with out any acknowledgement that they were (one of) the FIRST (proto) Punk Bands, and they deserve to be prominently feature in the Pantheon of Pioneer Punk Rockers.
That is all I have for today. Remember: The most punk rock thing you can be is unapologetically YOU!
Black Punk Rock 101 