BEACH GOTH VII 2018: CALIFORNIA’S MOST WICKED FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR
Halloween is coming a little early this year ghouls and fools! Since 2012, The Growlers have been performing and headlining their own spook-takular socal festival, Beach Goth and they’re doing it again on August 5th at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Don’t worry, costumes are still encouraged! This year’s lineup includes stellar performances from Starcrawler, GWAR, Doug E. Fresh, Bleached as The Ramones and many more! There are also a few familiar Beach Goth faces such as The Drums, La Luz, The Voidz and of course the boogeymen themselves—The Growlers!
All July, The Growlers have been putting on special pop-up events in LA that are only sample-bites of what the Beach Goth will be like this year. So far, these pop-ups have been packed with beach gothers and wicked entertainment such as a performance from headliners, Starcrawler and puppet shows from the famous Bob Baker Marionette Theater. And if you weren’t already excited enough, The Growlers have released a new album, “Casual Acquaintances” just in time for the festival! This album is the first to be released off The Growlers newly formed and very own label imprint, Beach Goth Records and Tapes. In collaboration with Burger Records, there will be one-of-a-kind limited edition merch of this album and so much more, only available at Beach Goth pop-up events.
STARCRAWLER
Starcrawler is straight out of a mental hospital and possessed by the same demons as Ozzy Osbourne in 1982. Their performance will give you nightmares but their music will fully restore your faith in rock and roll. With fast and grimy guitar solos, heavy-pop lyrics, classic rock influences, and a hardcore aesthetic, Starcrawler is going where no other band is brave enough to go anymore. They’ve captured a long lost ingredient of rock and roll that’s not only heard in their heavy-riffs and lyrics about Los Angeles and oral sex, but saturated in their entire performance. These guys are young but they could easily be touring with early 70’s Iggy Pop. Starcrawler takes us back to the time when rockstars were these mythical creatures that resembled and performed just as extravagant as the art that they made. Lead psychopath Arrow De Wilde, gets off on shocking her audience. Her schizophrenic on-stage persona is well-known for spewing out blood in a hospital gown and disappearing at the end of her act. Starcrawler gets bigger every year so make sure to get there early; you’re going to want to see this.
THE VOIDZ
Don’t call it a comeback, but The Voidz are appearing once again for Beach Goth! They’ve performed Beach Goth 2015 and Growlers Six Festival 2017 (aka Beach Goth 6) and now it’s hard to even imagine a beach goth without them! The Voidz are what happens when you get six of the most musically gifted minds together. Frontman Julian Casablancas heavily assisted The Growlers with 2016 album, City Club so it’s no wonder why we keep seeing him chillin’ with The Growlers. Julian Casablancas is to The Growlers as what India is to The Beatles, he gave them a little more depth and a new musical vision. The Voidz are the future of music. If you haven’t tapped into The Voidz’s second album Virtue, one of the best records of 2018, you’re depriving your ears of a psychedelic eargasm. By far one of the most original bands today and seeing them perform is something you’ll never forget.
THE GROWLERS
In the year 2006 in Orange County, a magical historic event occurred; The Growlers had formed. These surf-rock legends have come a long way from then, but they have yet to forget their roots. The Growlers’ earlier music was heavy surf-rock dipped in dark bluesey melodies and twang. Surf-rock was no doubt in everyone’s music library in the early 2000’s but The Growlers were putting their own mysterious spin on it. With earlier chilling tracks like “Slack Back Boot Man” and “Someone Something Jr.”, they were creating their own genre that we now all know as beach goth. Fast-forward to today, The Growlers are an incredibly successful band who have worked with legends such as Dan Auerbach and Julian Casablancas on previous records. Like all musicians naturally do, The Growlers have grown from their surf-rock vintage sounds and moved on to a poppier flavor without losing too much of their darker moodiness. Their new album “Casual Acquaintances”, is made up of demos and unfinished business from the previous album, City Club. Within “Casual Acquaintances” you’ll find that old rustic beach gothy sound that we all love about The Growlers. With a new album and a brand-spankin’-new label, this year’s Beach Goth Festival is sure to be the most wicked!
BEACH GOTH POP-UP
Free!! First come, first served!!!
All items are while supplies last.
This Weekend’s Schedule:
07-27 Friday 6-11PM
07-28 Saturday 6-11PM
07-29 Sunday 2-8PM
Coverage and Photography by Sade De La Espriella and Veronica Potes
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