Thu
Oct
18
The Whigs
The Record Company, Criminal Hygiene
Bootleg Bar
2220 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA, 90057
Doors 8:00PM / Show 9:00PM
This event is 21 and over

With their new album Enjoy The Company, The Whigs have created a raucous ode to rock and roll. From the opening track, an exhilarating eight-minute mission statement called "Staying Alive," the record offers a powerful sonic rendering of a band opening up to the depth of their past and kicking open the doors to their future. But most of all, this is the undeniably established sound of a band affirming their legacy in the American rock and roll paradigm.
While The Whigs recorded their second record Mission Control at famed Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood and their third release In The Dark in Athens, the making of Enjoy The Company was a dramatically different affair. This time the group sought the guidance of veteran producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Son Volt, Sonic Youth) and the solitude of Dreamland Studios housed in a historic church in rural Woodstock, New York. “We went out there to record without any distractions,” bassist Timothy Deaux explains. “There were no girlfriends there, no bars to go out to. It was just us and the music. Our last album focused on some pretty dark themes and with this one I think there’s a newfound sense of optimism and purpose. We didn’t make a sugary record, but I think we are honestly feeling good about the band and our lives and it comes across in the sound.”
As a result, The Whigs latest features ten tracks of pure celebratory rock and roll fueled by the rhythms of the road, the classic albums that inspired them and nights spent together on stage. “When we’re out there driving from show to show, that’s my favorite time to get new song ideas,” Gispert says. “And the tracks we eventually picked for the album are the ones that we love playing live.”
The song “Gospel” mines a joyous guitar hook for a timeless FM radio feel while another track “Rock And Roll Forever” is a spirited hard riffing love letter to the power of primal rock. And after opening with the impassioned declaration of resilience in “Staying Alive,” the record perfectly bookends with an equally ardent proclamation entitled “Ours.” The song begins with reflective vocals over a lone guitar. Then, like some lost track from a beloved vinyl classic, the music builds, drums exploding accompanied by a volley of power chords. “That song was written about a child whose parents were teaching him how to share,” Gispert explains. “It’s not mine or yours, but ours. Our band, our music – it’s open to anybody.”
The Record Company
Criminal Hygiene was formed on October 3rd, 2011 over a couple of really good burgers at Olympian Family Restaurant in South Central Los Angeles. Eat lunch there and you might start a band too, its a fucking great establishment. On that shameless day, founding member Michael Fiore took a break from his double bacon chee to share with founding member James Pratley Watson a simple idea: "Let's record some music…" to which founding member James replied: "Let's get drunk first…". The duo did those things that day, and thus, Criminal Hygiene was formed. At this time, they were in their last year at the University of Southern California, and frequently skipped class over the next 7 months to get drunk in the middle of the day to record music. They were angry, lost, and generally not giving a fuck. Since then, an angel by the name of Sean "Bird Man" Erickson has swooped down from Tacoma on the wings of his incredible mustache to join the band on drums. With the addition of Bird Man, Criminal Hygiene has become a real band, with purpose and meaning for themselves, the music world, and beyond - or at least they are still trying to figure that part out...
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The Whigs with The Record Company, Criminal Hygiene
Thursday, October 18 · Doors 8:00PM / Show 9:00PM at Bootleg Bar