The Deadbeats at the Echoplex. Photo by Bob Lee for the Los Angeles Beat.
This Sunday, July 31, Part Time Punks are bringing one of the most beautifully perverse musical acts in LA punk history to the stage. Widely regarded as the most musically competent of the city’s first wave of punk bands, the Deadbeats have existed only in short, not very sustained bursts of energy since 1977, releasing their first full-length in 1995. I’ve had the chance to see them a few times since 2008, usually as part of a get-together of Masque veterans, where they have routinely stolen the show. For this gig, they’re headlining, and giving the opening slots to two of their present collaborators. Heather Galipo, guitarist for the twisted and thrilling Egrets On Ergot, will reprise her role as “Nurse Heather” in the Grand Guignol extravaganza that is a Deadbeats set. And local hero Rikk Agnew (Adolescents, Christian Death) will play a set with his own band before joining the Deadbeats as their new guitarist. The band will have copies of their new double-LP release 666-1313, material recorded with original drummer Shawn Guerin shortly before his death, but only recently finished. Details about the project have been slow in coming, but all will be revealed tomorrow night at the Echo. You never know when it might their Final Ride, so don’t miss it.
