The Brat got a prominent namecheck Friday 9/1/17 on NPR’s “All Things Considered”

The Brat got a prominent namecheck Friday 9/1/17 on NPR’s “All Things Considered”, in connection with a pivotal role the band’s song “SWIFT MOVES” plays in Celia C. Perez’s new book for middle-school readers, “The First Rule Of Punk”.

Click here for the article on NPR.

PEREZ: Mrs. Hidalgo is the mom of one of Malu’s classmates. And she owns a coffee shop in the neighborhood, Calaca. And I think she’s the adult that Malu maybe envisions herself as eventually growing into. She is not just a punk, but she is also really into her Mexican heritage. And when I started learning about Mexican-Americans in punk, those individuals kind of served a similar role for me.

MCEVERS: Yeah. There’s this one band she mentions. It’s The Brat. And we actually have some of it. Let’s listen.

PEREZ: Yeah.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SWIFT MOVES”)

THE BRAT: (Singing) You won’t forgive, but soon forget all the time we have spent. So again I get the shaft. Beer – what beer? I’ll take a draught.

MCEVERS: And I – so yeah, Mrs. Hidalgo, like, plays Brat for Malu. And this really starts to change Malu.

PEREZ: Yeah. And in that scene, Mrs. Hidalgo says to her something along the lines of, you should know about your history. And up to that point, Malu only – you know, only thinks of her history as what her mom is trying to teach her. And so for her, you know, history kind of feels like this stuffy, unrelatable thing that she just has no interest in. And then when Mrs. Hidalgo introduces this band and says, this is – you know, this is your history, too, then she starts to – I think something starts to click for her.

#thefirstruleofpunk #celiacperez

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PunkRockBeat.com – 80s Punk Rock Treasure “Outta East L.A.” from The Brat

In the 80s, while synthpop artists wrestled with issues of heartache and love gone wrong, the responsibility of tackling social issues fell in large part to the punk rock movement. One such band were East L.A.’s The Brat, who despite growing popularity and opening for acts like REM and X, disbanded before releasing a full length LP.

Fortunately, for fans of good music, the August 18 release of “Straight Outta East L.A.” on RockBeat Records brings to light a treasure trove of previously unreleased tunes by the talented quintet. Included on the 21 song set are all the tunes from their debut EP “Attitudes” and 16 recordings for the intended major label debut that never happened.

The recording and production here is top notch. Lore has it that remastering these tunes has been an ongoing project for guitarist Rudy Medina, even including the addition of new instrument tracks. The quality of the original tracks, including vocals by Teresa Covarrubias is so well preserved that the resulting new production is flawless.

The Brat: Straight Outta East L.A. on Amazon.com

So why did The Brat disband just as they began to show such promise? Perhaps major labels were unsure if the politically charged themes of their later material had commercial value. Certainly the sound was no concern; even from the beginning and the “Attitudes” EP with its themes of post adolescent romance and friendship, The Brat’s sound was radio ready.

When writing their follow up, the band’s social awareness came to the fore, in some cases addressing the historical injustices against Native American people, and about the experiences of Mexican American people.

From “The Wolf”

The star spangled wolf comes side to side
This land was made for all
So hard to grasp the logic, coming from its rabid paw
You say it’s democracy, believes in our equality,
You lied. The wolf and the lamb, the wolf and the lamb,
We are the lamb.

From “Slaughter of An Ancient Tribe”

Brown feathered warriors share a kinship with the land
Across the raging ocean lives the civilized of man
Setting sail to pass beyond the new horizon line
Sturdy sailing soldiers only conquest on their mind
Slay them, betray them, rob them, harm them, shoot them, pollute them

The disc is well worth owning and listening to, as part of Los Angeles’ music history and the Chicano experience, or simply because it’s great punk pop music. “Straight Outta East L.A.” is available as a CD, as a Mp3 download, and in Vinyl as well.

finis

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Finally, after many decades…

By AG on August 18, 2017

Several decades after The Brat recorded many of their material, it is finally remastered and released. This collection combines all songs from their 5-song EP “Attitudes” as well as songs that were recorded in the early 80s for their anticipated major record release (which never occurred). But rather than just putting out those original recordings, this effort gives a completely remastered and updated album based on that source material. It doesn’t sound dated and could very easily fool anyone to think the songs were recorded this year.

The songs themselves are outstanding, and this 21-song release is a must-have for anyone who got excited by the energy and sounds of the late-70s post-punk and early-80’s New Wave. But to categorize The Brat is an injustice. They were always more than the labels the music industry tried to pin on them. Finally we can all listen to the great music they created. And as I mentioned the songs sound fresh and appropriate for 2017.

The only think to keep in mind is that the titles listed in the Amazon page do not match the actual song list given in the back of the CD cover. Keep this in mind if you burn the CD as you’ll need to manually change the song titles.

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The Big Takeover – Video Premiere: “High School” (live) by The Brat

Video Premiere: “High School” (live) by The Brat

The Brat: Photo Credit: Daniel Villereal

The Brat was a Chicano punk rock ensemble originating from the barrios of the East Los Angeles, California. Its three core members consisted of lead singer Teresa Covarrubias, lead guitarist Rudy Medina, and alternate lead & rhythm guitar player Sid Medina.

From their conception in 1979 to their eventual break-up in 1985, The Brat contributed to the customization and inter-meshing of multiple musical and cultural models that culminated in the distinct East Los Angeles, Chicano punk sound. The Brat, a hard-working and politically-conscious band, nurtured the DIY punk scene of East L.A., which was defined by unofficial venues and backyard shows because the wealthier West L.A. circuit controlled the popular market.

By the time the famous Club Vex was founded in 1980 – by Los Illegals frontman Willie Herron, who desired an official venue to host East L.A.‘s numerous underrated bands, who were mostly Chicano – The Brat had become one of the biggest acts in the area. In late 1980 The Brat was signed as the flagship band of the upstart label of another local punk group, The PlugzFatima Records. This collaboration resulted in The Brat’s only recorded album, the EP Attitudes, a five-song collection of some of their popular originals featuring Covarrubias’ aggressive, yet melodic, punk vocals critiquing social inequality and Rudy Medina’s – who was called Rudy Brat – urgent guitar hooks over drums with a reggae feel.

The Brat never found breakthrough success and remained an underground East L.A. Chicano act until breaking up in the late ’80s.

The Big Takeover is pleased to premiere a live performance clip of “High School” by The Brat, the song of which appears on Straight Outta East L.A., a new CD/vinyl album coming out on August 25th via MVD Entertainment Group and RockBeat Records.

Straight Outta East L.A. contains all 5 tracks from the long “out of print’ Attitudes EP. The rest of the songs were performed and recorded during the few years The Brat were together, but were never released until now. Most of those recordings were unmixed or were left unfinished until members returned to the studio and finished the songs in recent years.

Pre-order Straight Outta East L.A.

RockBeat Records Facebook

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Dangerous Minds – ‘STARRY NIGHT’: MUSIC FROM THE WONDERFUL (AND CRIMINALLY OVERLOOKED) CHICAN@ PUNK BAND THE BRAT

The influence of Mexican-American musicians on L.A. punk is undeniable thanks to key bands like the Zeros, Plugz, Bags, Stains, Suicidal Tendencies, Los Crudos et al sporting either partly or entirely Chicano/a lineups, but the full story really has yet to be told. That’s partly due to a schism in the L.A. scene—bands from East L.A. really didn’t get to participate much. In a segregated and cliquey city, East L.A. bands weren’t typically prioritized by a scene centered in the more affluent West Side areas where all the clubs were located.

But as ALWAYS happens when a sufficiently motivated creative scene is stifled or confined, a vibrant DIY ethos emerged. In 1980, East L.A. venue The Vex began supplementing a thriving gymnasiums-and-backyards gig circuit, and a creative community grew, a community that included the Boyle Heights band The Brat. Formed in 1979 and fronted by vocalist Teresa Covarrubias, the band purveyed an irresistiblecatchy, poppy, sound that was underpinned with punk aggression, politically conscious lyrics, and three-chords-and-a-cloud-of-dust arrangements. They were championed by Plugz/Cruzados main man Tito Larriva, who in 1980 released their 5-song E.P Attitudeson his Fatima label. They also released, on the 1983 Los Angelinos: The Eastside Renaissance compilation, a song called “The Wolf,” which sounds for all the world like an inspiration for Concrete Blonde’s indelible “Still in Hollywood” riff.


 

The Brat became one of East L.A.’s foremost bands, but despite opening for the likes of X, R.E.M. and Adam and the Ants, they faced a lot of apathy, eventually including their own. Tired of struggling against a segregated scene and unable to secure a deal with a record label despite their excellent rep, the band broke up in 1985. Covarrubias eventually went on to form Las Tres with Alice Bag and Odd Squad’s Angela Vogel, and The Brat remained relatively obscure compared to most of their contemporaries. Fans and collectors who want a copy of Attitudes can expect to drop about $100 (as of this writing there’s a copy on Discogs for a bargainous $85), but that won’t be necessary for long. Rock Beat Records will be releasing Straight Outta East L.A. this week, and the 21-song 2XLP includes new mixes of the five songs from Attitudes plus never-released sessions with Doors/Janis Joplin producer Paul Rothchild.

Several of the songs from the compilation have been synced to archival video of The Brat playing live. Alas, Dangerous Minds is only allowed to share one of them with you, but we got first pick, so here’s our favorite, “Starry Night.”

BONUS! Here are a couple of clips featuring interviews with Teresa Covarrubias. Her segment in the Beyond the Screams documentary starts at 4:10 if you don’t want to watch the whole thing…but you should watch the whole thing.

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