>>PREVIEW
SOCIETY’S PARASITES
Saturday, June 30
The Rehab Society (all-ages)
The Distillery
"It’s tough to be a bunch of brown dudes in a band," says Societys Parasites drummer Jimmy Zepeda. While the comment is peppered with a hint of humour, he’s not joking. Hammering out a vitriolic brand of punk rock that blends the confrontational attack of early Los Angeles hardcore (Black Flag, Youth Brigade) with moderate influence from the intrinsic hooky sensibilities of modern-day heroes such as Rancid, Societys Parasites have been constantly overlooked and underappreciated, until recently.
"Being four Hispanic guys (the band is made up of vocalist/guitarist/brother Freddy Zepeda, bassist Andy Hernandez and guitarist Vince Gurubel) in a band, people think you either can’t play or they just don’t take you seriously," he continues. "And when you play punk rock, it’s even tougher… the circle of people is so much smaller. It’s been an uphill battle for us the whole way, but we’re not giving up and we’re not going away. I think this album – which is a dream come true – is going to prove that to people."
The band simply sent in their demo to Hellcat Records/Rancid main man Tim Armstrong and hoped for the best. Societys Parasites celebrate the release of their debut eponymous full-length on the label after a full decade of playing. The album is not only a testament to their survival instinct but also their adherence to a familiar yet original sound.
"It was almost unbelievable to have Tim Armstrong, one of our heroes, call us up and ask if we wanted to open for Rancid in our hometown because he was so impressed with our music," Zepeda says while relating how the band signed with Hellcat. "After he saw we could deliver, that’s when talk about releasing an album came about. I think the major thing that sets us apart to him and in general, though, is that we don’t care for any sort of style or scene. We care about getting out the anger at the shitty life we’ve dealt with over the years. To use the cliché, the music is what speaks for us, not how we look."
Incensed by ghetto/street life and the misdealing it breeds in order to endure, many of the songs on Societys Parasites are true-to-life dissertations involving personal experience, opinion and frustration. It makes for 14 blasts of lividness and aggression that are undeniably genuine. Delivered by a band barely past the United States legal drinking age, well, at least the anger is properly pointed.
"We really did grow up in a tough neighbourhood," asserts the affable Zepeda. "We had the choice of either being criminals like everyone else or starting a band, so my brother and I started teaching ourselves how to play when we were just kids. All of our friends are in jail now and they’re telling us that we’re the only ones who got out; who are actually doing something with our lives other than rotting away in a cell."
No, instead they’re rotting away in a tour van, supporting the record. Still, excitement mingles with anticipation in Zepeda’s voice. It’s genuine and sincere — the band deserves its fortune yet underestimates its value.
"Every day I call our friends at home to tell them this or that story on tour because even we can’t believe this is happening," he shrugs. "And when we get home, we’re still playing the same backyard for a couple of bucks that we’ve been playing for years. We’d rather have our friends come out and enjoy a cheap night of good music than subscribe to the fancy, overpriced club where no one can get in. We aren’t trying to prove a point. We do this because we love it. We’re level-headed, but we put on one killer show." |
Copyright ©2007 FFWD. All rights reserved.