1. 
2. 
3. 

Gomez Comes Alive!

There are two types of people when it comes to the eighties. Those that lived through it and those who wished they did. I for one couldn't wait until they were done, not that the nineties were great either but at least it wasn't the eighties. Let's think about it for a second; this was the era of Reagan, crack cocaine, contras, corporate takeovers and individuality painted with neon colors. All art seemed to be Anglo-centric, even art done by non-Anglos seemed to get that slick sheen of progress that was dated the minute it was presented. To have soul was almost a crime in the era of conformity. You were considered a dinosaur if you did. Playing records made by the underground saved my life as a kid in the eighties.

Punk rock and Hip-hop were babies back then and hadn't lost its rawness. Music from other countries that did not look to the great Satan for influence also thrived. If it wasn't for hindsight I would have written off the eighties completely but lately people have been playing me music from that time that I wanted to forget. They showed me that buried underneath all that eighties slickness there were indeed great songs. What seemed mechanical then has much more soul now.

A band like Los Abandoned has the advantage of hindsight. They can strain out all the toxins from the eighties and save the nutrients. When they do incorporate the toxins it's for irony sake. It comes out on the Ramones meets The Cars new wave of "Van Nuys (Es Very Nice) or the semi-creepy "I Stalk U". They use their influences wisely. It reflected on the audience that came out to see them. It was the kids that look like they want to be transplanted to the eighties and the forty-somethings that wish they were back in it. It's also that mixture of late 80's/early 90's roc en Espanol that comes out in their music as well. The Anglo audience may not be that familiar with it but this is the music that the young rockeras and
their token gay male friend grew up on like Choco milk.

Los Abandoned have been the perennial opening band in Los Angeles for the last few years now. With the amount of people that came to check them out on an in-store on a Thursday night, it seems like those days might be over.

*Listen to the Los Abandoned Interview, part of our new series of interviews with artists and musicians.