Former Members of The Mae Shi Reconvene at HLLLYH For New Album URUBURU

Photo of HLLLYH by Ezra Buchla
HLLLYH (Photo by Ezra Buchla)

Tim Byron wanted to get The Mae Shi back together. It had been about 20 years since the synthpunk band formed in Los Angeles and a decade since the original members reunited for a one-off show at Pehrspace. “It was the cliche of we’re getting the band back together,” he says on a recent video call. And, despite the fact that three of the members— Byron, as well as his brother Jeff Byron and Ezra Buchla— now live in the Bay Area while Brad Breeck and Corey Fogel are in L.A., he was able to do that. They recorded what was intended to be a new album from their old band. “But, at the end of the day,” Byron says, “it was different enough where we decided to give it a different name and have a separate identity from The Mae Shi.” The band morphed into HLLLYH and includes new members Dan Chao, James Baker and Burt Hashiguchi. Debut album  Uruburuis out on June 27. 

HLLLYH played their first show, opening for Brainiac at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, last January. Throughout this past spring, they’ve released three singles, “Dead Clade,” “Uru Buru” and “Flex It, Tagger,” with a cover song B-side included with each release. Byron is right, the music is different enough from what they did in the ‘00s to warrant a different band name. But, the energy of The Mae Shi is still there. 

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Klub Nocturno Is Back at Catch One on June 28 + More Happening in L.A.

Flyer for Klub Nocturno at Catch One in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 28, 2025

On Saturday, June 28, I’ll be DJing in the New Wave vs. Darkwave room for Klub Nocturno at Catch One (4067 Pico Blvd., Arlington Heights 90019). This is a full venue takeover, so there are five rooms for dancing, including Rock en Español vs. Cumbia, Deftones Night, Reggaeton and Banda vs. Quebraditas. Half of the profits will benefit families who have been impacted by ICE and tickets are going fast, so click this Dice link and get yours asap if you want to attend. This is a 21+ event and the party starts at 9:30 p.m. 

Earlier on Saturday, Analog Outlaw Book and Record Fair is happening at 2220 Arts + Archives (2220 Beverly Blvd., Historic Filipinotown 90057) from noon until 5 p.m. I went to the first event last year and it was fantastic. Click on the story linked below to find out more about this counterculture physical media marketplace. 

GET YOUR PHYSICAL MEDIA FIX AT ANALOG OUTLAW THIS WEEKEND

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Get Your Physical Media Fix at Analog Outlaw This Weekend

Paper flyer for Analog Outlaw at 2220 Arts + Archives in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 28
Don’t you miss paper flyers? Here’s one for Analog Outlaw happening on Saturday, June 28 at 2220 Arts + Archives in L.A.

The first thing I heard while roaming the stalls at Analog Outlaw Book and Record Fair last September was “Wicked,” a Psychic TV track that came out at the cusp of the 1980s and 1990s. It’s this seemingly endless, loopy acid house number— I hesitate to call it a song— that appeals to a very specific kind of weirdo who collects the fruits of the Throbbing Gristle family tree and spends their free time reading about cults and psychedelics and psychedelic cults. So, if you’re that type of weirdo and you hear “Wicked” out in the wild, you know you’ve found your people. 

And, yes, dear reader, I did find my people that day. Organized by Bibliomancers and Nooners Books, Analog Outlaw is a counterculture physical media marketplace. At the inaugural event, held at Zebulon last year, vendors from vintage issues of Rolling Stone to Goblin on vinyl and Frankenhooker on VHS to paperback porn. Mark Webber from Pulp was on hand to sign copies of his book, I’m With Pulp, Are You? I can’t even remember how many club pals I ran into that day. It was one of those events where you spend half the time hunting for treasure and the other half showing your friends what you found. 

For their second fair, on June 28, Analog Outlaw is moving to a larger venue, 2220 Arts + Archives. The roster includes mix of vintage media vendors and indie publishers, amongst them Hat & Beard Press, horror zine Midnight Companions and Neither Neither Books, as well as the first West Coast appearance of Japanese Avant Garde Books.

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Heaven 17 Was Right, ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’

Heaven 17 "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" 45 RPM vinyl single (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
Heaven 17 “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang”

The right record will always find you at the right time. Take last Saturday afternoon as an example. I was in Little Tokyo, flipping through 45s at Salt Box and just happened to come across “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” the 1981 single from Heaven 17. Did I have this? Did it matter? Even if I did have a copy, I could use another one because this nearly 45-year-old song is the jam for right now. Or, rather, it should be the jam for right now. 

I didn’t even have to listen to the song for the earworm to bury itself in my brain. “Have you heard it on the news?” it goes,  “About this fascist groove thang.” 

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Mark Your Calendars: ‘Monday Nights: L.A.’s Scene of the Century, 2005–2016″ is Coming to Leiminspace This August

Sean Carnage Monday Nights photo exhibition at Leiminspace in Chinatown August 2, 2025

Between 2005 and 2016, anything could happen on Monday Nights. The weekly series of DIY shows presented by Sean Carnage brought together synthpunk, metal, noise, hip-hop, unexpected cover bands and so much more. Locals like Health and Captain Ahab played Monday Nights, as did touring artists like Dan Deacon and Future Islands. The shows were influential on a wave of L.A. musicians coming up in the ’00s. They were influential for myself as well, as I covered the shows often early in my journalism career. So I’m excited to tell you now that I’m co-curating, “Monday Nights: L.A.’s Scene of the Century 2005=2016,” an exhibition set to open at Leiminspace in Chinatown on Saturday, August 2. Check out the press release below, mark your calendars , tell your friends and join us for the opening party.

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Jesika Von Rabbit Welcomes Listeners Into Bunnywood Babylon

Jesika Von Rabbit and bassist Lee Joseph press photo for Bunnywood Babylon by Aydra Swan
Jessika Von Rabbit and bassist Lee Joseph (Photo: Aydra Swan)

“Go Back to L.A.” started out as a joke. Jesika Von Rabbit and a friend were noodling around in her Joshua Tree home studio when she came up with the tune and the catchy, garage rock song stuck. Now, it’s the latest single from the singer’s recently released album, Bunnywood Babylon. “Hopefully, I don’t get too many people upset with me,” Von Rabbit says on a video call. 

The song’s title stems from bumper stickers that have been popping up in the Joshua Tree area following an influx of new residents and tourists from Los Angeles. “Some of the people who grew up out here maybe don’t want some of the more of the hip, fancy stuff that’s coming to town,” Von Rabbit says. “Sometimes that’s out of fear too. People are afraid of what they don’t understand.”

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“I’m Still a Punk”: Claus Larsen of Leæther Strip on Horror Novels, Cover Songs and Connecting with Fans

Leæther Strip Claus Larsen promotional photo
Claus Larsen of Leæther Strip

Claus Larsen is a man of many projects. There’s Klutæ, for which he released the new album, Godsent, in early May and appeared at Seattle festival Mechanismus later that month. Am Tierpark,  his Italo disco-influenced synthpop duo with John R. Mirland, released the album Shameless last year and the two musicians also have a punk band, Gusten, with a forthcoming album that’s near completion. Then there’s Larsen’s flagship solo project, Leæther Strip, which has been ongoing since 1989. It’s Leæther Strip that brought a capacity crowd to downtown Los Angeles’s Slipper Clutch on the final Saturday night in May. 

While Larsen released his latest Leæther Strip album, Fucking Perfect, in February, L.A.’s industrial heads are here for the classics. Tonight’s set is centered around Leæther Strip’s 1990s catalog and Larsen is pummeling the crowd harsh, EBM beats, his intense vocal delivery and a barrage of samples. Inside the small, upstairs venue, people squeeze as close to the stage as possible. 

“I love doing these shows because you see the faces. They recognize what they were into in the ‘90s and instantly, smiles,” says Larsen earlier in the evening, when we meet right after soundcheck. “They’re the reason I’m still able to do this, because I built up my audience back in the ‘90s and they’re still hanging on and supporting.”

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This Is a Good Weekend to Support Downtown Los Angeles

Photo taken on 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles by Liz Ohanesian
The curfew is gone, head back downtown this weekend.

Mayor Bass finally lifted the curfew that was thrust upon downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, so this weekend is a really good time to support the venues who were impacted by the 8 p.m. shutdown. Over at the Grand Star in Chinatown, Club Tenderness is on Thursday, June 19. Underground is still happening on Friday, but note that Underground’s Pulp Party has been moved to Friday, July 18. Saturday, 6/21, is Club Disintegration downstairs at the Grand Star and ‘80s Night upstairs. 

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Classic Pulp and Northern Soul Meet on “Got to Have Love” + More. on New Album

Pulp More. vinyl photo by Liz Ohanesian taken at Moldy Toes Records in San Clemente, CA
Found Pulp’s new album, More., on vinyl at Moldy Toes Records in San Clemente

Every time I hear “Got to Have Love,” I have to stop what I’m doing and dance. The second single from More., the first new full-length Pulp album in 24 years, is a northern soul-style stomper. Like the Four Seasons songs “The Night,” which Pulp covered many years ago, and “Beggin’” it has a beat that pushes you to dance harder and faster, to kick and spin and drop to the ground. And if the song itself doesn’t quite compel you to do all these things, the video, comprised of footage from the legendary U.K. club Wigan Casino, will. By the song’s end, you should feel some kind of relief. Maybe the weight of the world has lifted. Maybe you’re just overjoyed that you got through the song without pulling a muscle. 

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Digging for Fire at Bookmans in Mesa and Phoenix, Arizona

Bookmans Entertainment Exchange Mesa, Arizona (Photo: Liz Ohanesian)
With just a few spare hours in Arizona, I hit up Bookmans Entertainment Exchange in Mesa and Phoenix to dig for vinyl heat (Pic: Liz O.)

If you’ve spent a good amount of time in Arizona, you probably know about Bookmans. I’ve only been to Phoenix a few times and all of those were quick-turnaround work trips, so I hadn’t heard of the bookstore chain until the Saturday after DJing with Klub Nocturno at Crescent Ballroom, when we had enough time to hit up the locations in Phoenix and Mesa.

Bookmans is a lot more than a bookstore. It offers everything from books to guitars to video game consoles. What immediately struck me from visiting two of the five locations is that the range of what they stock varies between stores. I was (obviously) there for vinyl, which you’ll find at both the Mesa and Phoenix outposts, but the digging experience was as different as if I had gone to two independently owned stores. 

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Indie music and alt culture blog from Los Angeles. By Liz O.