Los Angeles has a long and lustrous music history, from the vibrant blues and R&B scene of the ’40s and ’50s to the Sunset Strip’s psychedelic garage renaissance of the ’60s to the iconoclastic and razor-sharp punk and rockabilly revival scenes of the late ’70s. But somewhere along the way things got all mixed up — at least in the arena of punk, garage and all-around rebel music. For more than twenty years you can count the great L.A. garage bands on less than ten fingers.
Sure, we have a lot of old fart bands reuniting and charging big bucks for tickets — the embarrassment that is X and the new Germs and countless other ’70s-’80s comeback greybeards on a nostalgia kick. But what of something new and fresh? We had the Humpers and we had Loli and the Chones and the short-lived-but-wonderful Lipstick Pickups, but otherwise the scene has been as dry as a tin can in a desert gully.
The lilting Echo Park and Silver Lake indie rock scene is constantly up in your business, but it’s a rare day when you get a great garage punk show. Thank the good lord for the Redwood Bar & Grill and, occasionally, Long Beach’s Prospector — two venues that regularly book good music for bad people. The local press and the local music-going public seems to care not a whit for anything halfway decent. Even the well-intentioned Real Boss Hoss, which strove mightily and fervently to inject some juice and vigor into the local rock ‘n’ roll world finally gave up and threw in its chips due to lack of interest. It’s sad and it’s depressing and it doesn’t seem like it’ll change any time soon.
There are, however, glimmers of hope. Last weekend at the Eagle Rock Music festival I was reminded of one other fine Los Angeles garage rock band that has never truly received its due: Jail Weddings, a ten-piece act that’s like crimson lipstick, film noir, a pearl-handled handgun and a dash of Black Randy’s Metrosquad boiled together in a pot. The band defies categorization and does whatever the hell it wants despite a dearth of press coverage and fan zeal. Fronted by Gabe Hart of the much-missed Starvations, Jail Weddings have released two stellar seven-inches and now a one-sided twelve-inch EP on White Noise, “Inconvenient Dreams.” It came out in July to no fanfare and scant press coverage. I haven’t heard it yet, but based on last weekend’s feverish performance, it’s sure to be a fine record. Keep rebel rock alive in Los Angeles.

- Jason Gelt