Beatnik Lounge hosts punk show featuring Hex Code (Long Beach) and locals Bombshelter Alley, Larry Copcar this Sunday
Fresh from their past capacity show at Long Beach’s Bamboo Club, Hex Code is currently on a tour of the Southwest crossing the Mojave and Sonoran deserts including Vegas, Arizona, and concluding in Joshua Tree at the Beatnik. While they hail from the shores of Long Beach and this is the band’s first-time playing Joshua Tree, singer Mary Animaux assured Z107.7 they are no stranger to the more rugged nature of our area:
“I’ve been camping and climbing for as long as I can remember, especially Joshua tree rocks. Actually, when I was rock climbing there, I scraped off half my face in junior high and so I was like the big scab face girl… you know, the girl in your junior high, Scab Face Girl? That was me! But when you’re that young back then the only places to go was like Sizzler and Jeremy’s coffee and now it’s like this bustling art community that’s so cool so it feels really special to be there for that,” said Animaux.
Hex Code is fronted by Animaux on vocals and keyboards, often singing in unison with guitarist Veronica Cruz, rounded out by bassist Matt Fry and drummer Issac Larios. In the vein of darker punk bands like Legal Weapon and Murder City Devils, Animaux further describes their sound.
“We are loud and upset because we have a lot of things to be loud and upset about, but it also comes with a dark, maniacal humor in between.”
Locals Bombshelter Alley also bring a maniacal humor to the stage and even over the phone when Z1077 called singer Christopher to inquire about their origins from Memphis to Joshua Tree:
“So I was born in Memphis, then about the time I was 14 I went out at midnight to meet the Devil to become a good guitar player, but he told me that I didn’t have a soul yet so I needed to get on the road and get back to him. I eventually ended up in Joshua tree and well… I’m still working about getting that approval. Apparently, I need to work harder, get a little sexier, but I think that I got to the point where they call me the Guitar Killer now.”
Despite their outrageous radiance, Christopher says he wants to keep the band relatable to locals:
“We want to make an experience that the people can relate to, so we might say something about murderwinds blowing our car down the street… and the coyotes were hooting… and the owls were barking… and the lizards were lizarding, just because people might have experienced that themselves in the past twelve hours. I feel as though nature wants to kill me and my job is to try to amuse nature long enough to get away.”
Opening the evening will be an improvisational performance by hardboiled free-jazz drummer Larry Copcar accompanied by a local sax player.
“I’d say to expect spontaneous, raw, and in the moment music. We’re just gonna improvise off the top of our heads, but I’m not gonna talk about what we’re going to do before, or after, or during,” said Larry.
The show starts at 7:00 p.m. sharp this Sunday at the Beatnik Lounge in Joshua Tree, located at 61597 Twentynine Palms Hwy. The show is free, donations encouraged for the touring band.
