Here are some bio information that I took from the LA Times website>
Teresa Covarrubias was the vocalist for The Brat. Their debut EP Attitudes is a prized item among collectors and Straight Outta East L.A., a double album packaging it with other rare tracks, was released in 2017.
Tracy “Skull” Garcia was the bass player of Thee Undertakers. Starting off by playing local parties in 1977, they became regulars in the scene centered around the The Vex.
Jack Rivera drummed for the Stains, East L.A.’s first, most notorious, and highly influential punk band. The Stains were contemporaries and friends of Los Angeles first-wave bands Germs, X, Mau Maus, Screamers, and The Gears. Their out-of-print, self-titled album on SST Records is a holy grail amongst punk, hardcore, and metal record collectors.
The following are my notes from the panel discussion:
Jimmy Alvarado
Grew up in City Terrance and was involved in the punk scene since 1981 when he was just 14. In the late '90s he got interested in putting together a documentary. East LA punk was assumed to have been a very short lived scene in East LA, but he knew that wasn't correct. He decided to give some attention on that scene. He started to work with Razorcake to put up short videos on the scene - 8 to 18 minute segments.
The music was authentically written -- about how they lived in their neighborhoods, straight forward and working class.
Teresa, Tracy, Jack were the first wave of punk. They built on each other. He wanted the films to come out so that people could see the connection from 40 years back to the the current generation.
The Vex (a music venue) was a springboard to get to a larger audience. It was a spot on the map.
When The Vex officially closed, bands started to play in backyards. The scene moved to the Silverlake Lounge. Each generation seems to start in the backyard parties.
Teresa Covarrubias
Everyone has their own sense of how they fit. East LA was a cohesive scene for a bit of time. But when her band did shows outside of East LA, she felt like an outsider. She felt that there were expectations on her as an East LA band and as a woman. Outside of East LA, fans didn't know what to expect. Record companies were looking at them, but trying to be fit them into the girl band mold. The band just didn't fit in the 80s A&R world.
What spoke to her was the struggling family - that element of struggle and having to wok hard. That is what influenced what she wrote.
Nothing has really changed from what they wrote when they were young.
She feels that artists do what they do to reach people.
Lyrically she was influenced by Bob Dylan. She loves the melodic and the esthetic of punk music. She loves The Clash, David Bowie, The Jam, The Slits. She can appreciate everything, but especially lyrics that have something to say and are interesting.
The Vex venue was a moment when everyone came together. It was an art type of scene. It was a time when you went to shows and you knew everyone there. There was a great sense of community. It didn't last very long.
Her band got a lot of flake -- were told they weren't punk. For her, punk isn't a sound, but an attitude. Punk is not being afraid of people saying shit about you.
Tracy “Skull” Garcia
He generally didn't feel like an outsider be it in East LA or outside of East LA. He often got a lot of crap, but that is just music. They were part of the East LA scene, but still had to explore other areas to show people what they could do.
Their music was about being Catholic and politics, riots, and the Brown Berets. Lyrics back then can also apply to today.
The first location for The Vex was where neighborhood kids got together. His band played with DOA at the second one. When there was a reunion show at The Vex, all these kids showed up. Their parents had told them to go see the older bands that were playing the show.
OC bands wanted to play The Vex in East LA, because they knew it had a scene. The Vex felt like a unity thing, it was more than just a punk scene.
The bandmembers in his band didn't kill each other. They used to punch each other during rehearsals though and there were threats to throw people out of the band, but the band stayed together.
A lot of debauchery during his time in the band. It was like a soap opera, a good soap opera. He has no regrets. He got to tour in Europe. When you're young, you're stupid. When you get older, you think, "How did I survive that?"
Jack Rivera.
Didn't feel like an outsider while playing music. Felt accepted by the wider punk scene. No one really was rude to them. Just dealt with jokes. Had a good experience.
He was pissed off like most young punk kids who weren't football kids. The music was aggressive. He had played drums since he was a baby. It was nice being in a band and playing with other kids.
As compared to his band, some punk bands sang about surfing at the beach.
He moved on from being a drummer to playing guitar, but is now more accepting of his past as a drummer.
He was at the last show of the original The Vex. One guy started throwing shit. Skin heads came up from the OC and tore the place up really bad. It took a couple months (Paramount Ballroom) to get a new venue. Rodney on The Roq, Black Flag started to show up. The scene maybe lasted two years.
He was just 15/16 when he was with The Stains. He got to play big time shows. Going on tour was earth shattering to someone his age.
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